“Laurel has excellent experience in successful advertising and marketing in a half dozen business fields as well as trade shows. She’ll be a tremendous help in our efforts to keep our company in the forefront of the numismatic community, and to expand the awareness and enjoyment of rare coins with new audiences outside the usual hobby universe,” said Steven L. Contursi, RCW President.

Contursi generated international headlines in May when he sold his unique 1794 specimen Flowing Hair silver dollar for a record $7.85 million.

A native of New Jersey, Kamper is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Alabama with a major in advertising and a minor in English.

“I’m very excited to be working with the RCW team. We’ll be looking at fresh advertising and marketing strategies to educate new customers about the benefits of rare coins because they can be a great asset to an individual or investor. Keep an eye on RCW for upcoming announcements and a ‘new look’ in our print materials and web site,” said Kamper.

For additional information, contact Rare Coin Wholesalers, 8015 Irvine Center Dr., Suite 440, Irvine, California 92618. Phone: (800) 347-3250 or visit online at www.rcw1.com.

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“The coin was found in 1944 by Kenneth S. Wing Jr. of Long Beach, California who was assembling a set of Lincoln cents at the time,” said Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers (www.RCW1.com).

Wing became a prominent Southern California architect who co-designed the Long Beach Arena in the late 1950s. He passed away in 1996.

“When his heirs recently asked me to examine the coin, I doubted it was genuine. But then I got a magnet and was surprised when the coin did not stick to it. So, on behalf of Mr. Wing’s heirs I submitted it for certification,” Contursi explained.

“It’s delightful and amazing there are still examples of great numismatic rarities to be ‘discovered’ and reported to the hobby.”

Contursi plans to publicly display the 1943-S bronze cent at various coin shows including the upcoming American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money® in Baltimore and the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo in September. To honor the memory of the coin’s finder and the family that owned it for 64 years, he requested that NGC include the notation on the encapsulation insert label, “Kenneth S. Wing Jr. Coll.”

“My Father was an avid penny collector. His parents would get him rolls of pennies from the bank every few weeks, and he’d search through them. He found the 1943 (bronze) penny in Long Beach in 1944 when he was 14 years old, but I’m not sure if it was from pocket change or from a roll (of circulating cents) from the bank. He took it to a local dealer who offered him $500 for it, but my Father said it wasn’t for sale.”

The coin was in a simple Capitol Plastics cent holder in a bank safe deposit box with the rest of Wing’s collection, found there after he died in 1996. Paul Wing says his father didn’t talk much about the coin over the years, and he didn’t actually see it until after his father passed away.

“My Father pulled most of his collection from circulation, and purchased a few coins he could not find. He found a 1922 ‘no D’ cent in change, but had to eventually buy a 1909-S V.D.B.,” explained the son.

Those coins remain in the collection inherited by Wing’s family.

“The 1943 bronze Lincoln cent really transcends a wrong planchet error. Today, it’s widely considered to be a classic twentieth century rarity, more kin to a transitional type, and now is collected as part of the regular series by devoted Lincoln cent enthusiasts,” commented Dave Camire, President of Numismatic Conservation Services and a mint error consultant to NGC.

“This piece is particularly important because it’s from San Francisco, a scarcer mint for the issue compared to better-known Philadelphia Mint specimens. This coin is also a recent discovery to the numismatic community,” Camire stated.

Common zinc-coated steel cents will stick to a magnet but the handful of known 1943-dated Lincoln cents mistakenly struck in bronze (in this case, an alloy of 95 percent copper and 5 percent tin and zinc) will not. The zinc-coated steel metallic composition was used in 1943 to conserve copper that was needed for U.S. efforts in World War II.

“When I purchased the coin I also received Mr. Wing’s interesting file of correspondence dating back to 1946 as he tried to verify the coin’s authenticity. Some of the responses he received from the Mint, the Smithsonian Institution and well-known dealer of the era, Abe Kosoff, may seem a little humorous today.”

In a letter to Wing dated August 20, 1946, Acting Director of the Mint Leland Howard wrote: “In reference to your letter of August 11th, there were no copper cents struck during the calendar year 1943 at any of the coinage Mints. Only the zinc coated steel cent was struck during that year.”

Today, though, the hobby is aware of more than a dozen 1943 bronze cents with at least one example known from each of the Mints producing Lincoln cents that year: Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco.

Contursi acquired the coin and correspondence for $72,500. The letters from and to Wing indicate he tried for decades to get information about his historic, off-metal cent.

Wing wrote to Encino, California dealer Kosoff on October 3, 1958: “In 1948, on a trip to San Francisco, it (the coin) was shown to the Director of the mint and his ‘private’ opinion was that of authenticity. In 1957, my Father was in Washington, DC, (sic) he attempted to have the Treasury Department examine it, however, they refused and referred him to the Smithsonian Institution.”

In his response dated October 8, 1958, Kosoff replied: “It would be of prime importance to determine, beyond any doubt, that your 1943-S Cent is a genuine one. This would require a number of tests and the outlay of considerable cash.”

Additional correspondence regarding the coin’s journey to Washington with Wing’s father is a June 18, 1957 letter from V. Clain-Stefanelli, Curator of the Division of Numismatics at the Smithsonian in which he wrote: “The authenticity of this piece is in my opinion beyond doubt. In fact, as you certainly recall, Mr. Mendel L. Peterson, Acting Head Curator of the Department of History, fully concurred in this opinion.”

Contursi said his recently-acquired 1943 bronze Lincoln cent is quite special for him. “Of all the million dollar coins I’ve bought or sold – from Brasher Doubloons to the King of Siam set – this is the first 1943 ‘copper penny’ I’ve ever owned!”

For additional information, contact Rare Coin Wholesalers, P.O. Box 3873, Dana Point, CA 92629. Phone: (800) 347-3250. E-mail: RCWcoins@rcw1.com. Online: www.rcw1.com.

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“Our company had more than $100 million in rare coin sales the past two years, and over 90 percent of those transactions were wholesale to other dealers. Our new division will focus on new markets and customers who are private collectors or people looking for alternative investment opportunities,” said Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers.

“Chris Cipoletti is the ideal person to oversee Rare Coin Consultants of America. He’s knowledgeable about the numismatic marketplace; he’s a strategic, visionary thinker; entrepreneur and motivator.”

The new division will have a strong presence at financial services and investment trade shows.

“We’ll be working with financial planners and investment advisors as well as individuals. There are many people who are interested in collecting, such as fine art, but are not yet comfortable with their knowledge of numismatics. These are people who are looking for a strong investment vehicle that is fascinating to own while it produces returns,” said Cipoletti.

In addition to serving as ANA Executive Director for almost five years, Cipoletti is an accomplished attorney who received his Juris Doctor degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1986; created and presented leadership development and training seminars; is an active leader in many non-profit and civic organizations; and even owned and rejuvenated a Colorado inn and 150-seat restaurant.

In recent years, Contursi and Rare Coin Wholesalers have acquired and publicly exhibited such well known, historic items as the legendary King of Siam proof set that was presented as a diplomatic gift on behalf of President Andrew Jackson; America’s first gold coin, the unique 1787 Brasher Doubloon with punch mark on the eagle’s breast; and the Neil/Carter/Contursi 1794 Draped Bust dollar that many experts believe is the very first silver dollar ever struck by the United States Mint.

For additional information about Rare Coin Consultants of America, phone (800) 347-3250.

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The historic coins and accompanying documents related to the famous 1915 exposition will be exhibited by Steven L. Contursi of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, California.

The display includes the original Shreve & Co. copper and glass frame and original box that housed the coins when they were sold. In addition a $200 invoice to a buyer in Kansas dated July 29, 1915, signed by Farran Zerbe, chief of the Coin and Medal Department for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, along with the June 8, 1940, signed letter and $575 invoice from Texas dealer, B. Max Mehl, who resold the set to a Los Angeles buyer.

The coins in the set in the exhibit are certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation as follows:

• 1915-S silver half dollar, NGC Mint State 66
• 1915-S gold dollar, NGC MS-67
• 1915-S gold $2.50 quarter eagle, NGC MS-67
• 1915-S gold $50 octagonal coin, NGC MS-65
• 1915-S gold $50 round coin, NGC MS-67

“The octagonal $50 denomination gold coin is one of five superb condition Panama-Pacific gold and silver San Francisco Mint coins that were registered by Panama-Pacific officials as the sixth of only 24 complete coin sets produced for the event in 1915,” said Ronald J. Gillio, Expo General Chairman. “The ‘Pan-Pac’ set that will be displayed at the show includes the original $200 invoice, but the coins and their original copper and glass frame are valued today at about $700,000.”

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) was a world’s fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery from the 1906 earthquake. The fair was constructed on a 635 acre (2.6 km²) site in San Francisco, along the northern shore now known as the Marina.

The United States Congress authorized the San Francisco Mint to issue a series of five commemorative coins. The coins were the 1915-S silver Panama-Pacific half dollar and four gold coins. The denominations of the gold coins were 1 dollar, 2½ dollars (quarter eagle), a 50 dollar round coin, and the 50 dollar octagonal coin. Zerbe also supervised the creation of a series of commemorative medals, an award medal, a souvenir medal, and diplomas. The Pan-Pac coins have the distinction of being the first commemorative coins to bear the motto “In God We Trust”, and were also the first commemoratives to be struck at a branch mint.

The mintages for all 5 coins in the set were quite small by modern standards. Just 27,000 half dollars were struck. The Gold Dollar had a small mintage of only 15,000 pieces while $2.50 had a mintage of less than half, only 6,749 pieces. The octagonal $50 had a miniscule mintage of only 635 pieces however the Round $50 was even less. With a mintage of just 483 the round $50 coin has, in fact, the lowest mintage figure of any official U.S. mint issue of the 20th Century.

At the Fair these five coins were sold both individually and in framed sets. However, not surprisingly, few were purchased. The Pan-Pac coins have the distinction of being the first commemorative coins to bear the motto “In God We Trust”, and were also the first commemoratives to be struck at a branch mint.

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“In recent years this organically farmed vineyard annually has produced about 300 cases of an acclaimed ultra-premium Cabernet Franc blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. The 1794 dollar is an ultra-premium coin believed by many experts to be the very first silver dollar struck by the United States,” said Contursi.

The coin is graded PCGS Specimen-66, and insured for $10 million. It is on loan to the American Numismatic Association’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum, and will be exhibited at the ANA World’s Fair of Money® in Baltimore, July 30 – August 3, 2008.

The first bottles of Little Creek red wine produced by Contursi are expected to be released in 2011.

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