Coin Collecting News » Tim Shuck

The News at a Glance – August 6, 2010

Tim Shuck — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:48:56 +0000

Ostheimer Collection Rarities Offered
The E-Sylum
NBS members who attended the NBS annual meeting at the 2000 ANA Convention in Philadelphia may recall a presentation by W. David Perkins titled, “The Ostheimers of Philadelphia and their Extraordinary Collection of Silver Dollars.” The Ostheimers assembled one of the largest and most complete collections of early U.S. Silver Dollars 1794-1803 by die marriage (Bolender reference numbers). The Ostheimers purchased from Freeport, Illinois dealer Milferd H. Bolender the early dollar collections of both K. P. Austin and W. G. Baldenhofer (See The Asylum, Volume 25, Number 2, Spring 2007: “Who was Farish Baldenhofer?”), adding rarities along the way including one of the two Lord St. Oswald 1794 silver dollars, Lot 137 in the 1964 Christie, Manson and Woods auction of the Lord St. Oswald Collection.
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Treasures from the Vault: U.S. Patterns
PCGS Blog
U.S. Patterns cover a wide range of coins that were struck (for the most part) to test new designs, new metal compositions, new denominations, or new minting techniques. They are an extremely interesting series that include famous coins such as: 1792 Silver-Center Cent; 1879 and 1880 Stellas; the 1866 No Motto Quarter, Half, and Dollar; certain Gobrecht Dollars; and a plethora of other rarities. Most patterns are extremely rare, many of them unique or with mintages in the low single digits, although there are exceptions (over 1,000 1856 Flying Eagle Cents were made). Pattern coins appear on the market infrequently and usually end up in strong hands when they sell. In some cases, it might be years (or even decades) before a particular pattern coin comes on the market.
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PMG Registry Set Showcase: Legal Tender Greenbacks
Paper Money Guaranty
The Small Size Legal Tender Notes Complete Set requires 29 different notes, one from each series and denomination of small size red seals ever issued. These notes are very collectible, evidenced in part by the 56 different sets competing in this Registry category, creating some stiff competition. The top set currently has 27,665 points but is followed closely by two tough competitors with 23,487 and 22,616 points. Registry sets are ranked by score. Scores are assigned to each individual note and a set’s score is simply the sum of the scores of the individual notes that it contains. Scores are based on a proprietary algorithm that considers a note’s value, rarity and desirability. This “raw” measurement is then adjusted by a formula designed to maximize Registry competition and reward Set completeness.
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Methods of Collecting Coins
NumiStories
For years I followed the collecting philosophy of “collect what you like”. What I ended up with was a hodgepodge of random coins from all over the spectrum: moderns, random 19th century type, the odd world coin, etc. It was clear my collection had no focus. So I began “filling holes”. This means concentrating on a specific series and attempting to accumulate each date and mintmark of that series, usually displaying them in a folder or album. These albums consist of individual spaces, or holes, for each coin, thus the term “filling holes”. If you were to poll 100 coin collectors, you would probably find that these two approaches are the most common. However, I was always disappointed with my “random accumulator” collection. There was plenty of variety but it looked amateurish.
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CCAC Chairman Gary Marks Talks Coin Art
Numismatic News
CCAC Chairman Gary Marks was on Capitol Hill to share the message. Of specific concern: The lack of design quality has been evidenced in designs that are cluttered and lack focus; Design devices are used that are so small they cannot be readily discerned by the naked eye; and The use of “storyboard” depictions that attempt to illustrate design themes in literal terms. “Historically, some of this nations most acclaimed coin designs have been achieved through the effective use of allegory and symbolism,” Marks told Congress last month. Sometimes the CCAC is given just one design for a medal and asked to make a recommendation, Marks said, allowing no time for revisions because of tight production schedules.
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Rare Chinese Silver Pattern Dollar Offered
Paul Fraser Collectibles
Baldwin’s summer sale of coins, medals and banknotes in Hong Kong is set to be another major event in numismatic collecting and investment next week. As we’ve already reported, the medals section of the sale is set to be led by two variations of the Order of the Double Dragon – each expected to fetch up to around US$90,000 – impressive enough for a stand-alone medals sale. But they are not the expected top lots in the auction. There are coins and banknotes available from all over the world: China, Japan, Australia, India and a few from the United States and Britain. As you’d expect, however, it’s the Chinese coins which are expected to impress the most.
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The News at a Glance – August 5, 2010

Tim Shuck — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:20:51 +0000

A Review of NGC’s Collection Manager
Coin Update News
The advertisements declare, “You spoke. NGC listened.” My response? Now it should learn to program. I’m writing today as much in my capacity as journalism school director as numismatist. I’ve dealt with software for decades, buying, vending and even designing virtual reality prototypes with others at my science-oriented institution. NGC’s Collection Manager is cumbersome and too detailed for most users with little or no experience with this company. The advertisements state that collectors wanted a Web-based software able to be accessed anywhere 24/7 that organizes collections and allows them to be shared with others. Excuse me, but that’s called a set registry, and because hundreds of them already are registered on the NGC site, Collection Manager has to operate technologically under the registry protocol, format and design.
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2010 $1 James Buchanan Coins Available August 19
U.S. Mint
James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791, near Mercersburg, Pa. The oldest of 11 children, he began a successful law career in 1812. During the War of 1812, he helped defend Baltimore against British attack. In 1845, he became President James K. Polk’s secretary of state. His later service abroad as U.S. minister to Great Britain helped insulate him from the growing domestic controversy over slavery, which was reaching a crescendo by 1856, helping him secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. He served one term in office, 1857-1861. Former President Buchanan died on June 1, 1868, in Lancaster, Pa. … To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, any order placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of August 19, 2010, at 12:00 Noon (ET) shall not be deemed accepted by the United States Mint and will not be honored.
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David Alexander Receives Burnett Anderson Memorial Award
Stack’s News
The Burnett Anderson Memorial Award for Excellence in Numismatic Writing is presented annually to a researcher, author or journalist in recognition of his or her career contributions to numismatics. First conferred posthumously in 1999 to its namesake—a newsman’s journalist—the award is sponsored by F & W Publications, and the winner is selected in a cooperative process by the American Numismatic Association, American Numismatic Society (ANS) and Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG). The recipient of this year’s award is David Thomason Alexander, an accomplished writer, cataloger and numismatist currently employed by Stack’s in New York City. Born in Brooklyn, Alexander and his brother, John, began collecting coins in 1949 after the family moved to Florida.
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2010 U.S. Boy Scout Silver Dollars Sold Out
Mint News Blog
It appears that the proof version of the 2010 Boy Scouts of American Centennial Silver Dollar has finally sold out at the United States Mint. The coin had been lingering on “waiting list status” for an unusually long time. The United States Mint began sales of the Boy Scouts Silver Dollars on March 23, 2010. Because of the large number of current and former Boy Scouts and the relatively low authorized mintage of 350,000 coins, a sell out was widely expected. On April 23, 2010, the US Mint indicated that they had received orders sufficient to meet the “maximum limit” for the uncirculated version of the coin. They continued to accept orders for a waiting list, which would have orders fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis if coins became available due to order cancellations.
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Spreading Knowledge Helps Grow the Hobby
Numismaster
I got a call not long ago from a woman who had a coin she couldn’t identify. “It’s a silver dollar,” she said. “I took it to a local bookstore, and we couldn’t find it in a book they had. The owner of the store said you could tell me what it was.” “What’s the date?” I asked. Of course, I was thinking that she and the bookstore owner had probably tried to find the coin in the Red Book (A Guide Book of United States Coins), and if it wasn’t in the Red Book, what could it be? “1829,” she said. What did she have, I wondered. A fantasy piece? “What’s it made of?” “Oh, it’s silver,” she said. We made arrangements for me to see the coin, and I met her the next day. Can you guess what the coin turned out to be?
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Royal Canadian Mint Adds New Dinosaur Coin
Royal Canadian Mint
Euoplocephalus tutus is the newest addition to this series that sparked the imagination of dinosaur hunters everywhere when it was first introduced in 2007. This large armadillo-like creature lived in Alberta between 76 and 70 million years ago. Its body was covered with bony armour embedded in its skin. Even its eyelids were covered with moving bony plates and its tail had a defensive club that was formed by four bony growths fused together. … A selective aging effect creates a powerful impression of fossilized bones in stone. In fact, this technique ensures no two coins are exactly alike. Each 99.99% pure silver coin is unique and—with a design that was developed in close collaboration with palaeontologists at Alberta’s Royal Tyrell Museum—is an original and compelling keepsake of one of humanity’s great fascinations.
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The News at a Glance – August 4, 2010

Tim Shuck — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:57:45 +0000

The Walking Liberty Half Dollars
Numismatic News
Who doesn’t like the Walking Liberty half dollar design? The Saint-Gaudens design for the gold $20 might win the honor of being called the most beautiful coin of the United States, but the Walking Liberty half dollar surely was the most beautiful coin design accessible to the average person. Only the Buffalo nickel might dispute that title with the Walking Liberty half dollar. If we didn’t all collect Walking Liberty half dollars out of change in the 1950s and early 1960s, it wasn’t for artistic reasons. It was purely financial. A half a buck was just too much money to tie up in one coin. Years of inflation might make that statement hard to believe for youngsters today, but it was true.
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American Medallic Sculpture Association at Boston
ANA
The American Medallic Sculpture Association (AMSA) has created a medal commemorating its meeting and exhibit at the 2010 ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston. The obverse, designed by Daniel Altshuler, honors John B. Hynes, mayor of Boston (1950-1960) and namesake of the show’s Hynes Convention Center; the reverse, designed by Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, features AMSA and the ANA. A first run of 25 medals will be made available to fulfill advance orders and sell. Should the 25 bronzed medals run out, a second numbered edition of 3″ diameter silver plated copper medals will be struck.
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Exceptional Paper Quality (EPQ) Banknote Designation
PMG
“Why didn’t I get EPQ?” We get this question often. Exceptional Paper Quality (EPQ) is an important attribution that can add significant value, so it is important to understand. This month I will review some of the factors that prevent a note from receiving the EPQ attribution. First, let’s review the criteria for the EPQ designation. PMG uses the EPQ designation for notes that have not been physically, chemically or materially processed to lend the appearance of a higher grade. Some visible factors that prevent a note from receiving EPQ are pinholes, stains, stray ink, paper pulls, erasures, tears and splits. These are visible even to the untrained eye.
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“The Medal Maker” Video Online
The E-Sylum
Medallic Art Company has placed “The Medal Maker” on its web site in four parts. The 1997 video features master medallist Laura Gardin Fraser and was filmed by Hollywood film producer Michael Craven. It was narrated by Elizabeth Jones, former U.S. Mint Chief Engraver. The script for the 30-minute video was written by Dick Johnson, a frequent contributor to The E-Sylum. It is a recasting of a 1929 black-and-white film which shows Laura Fraser creating a model for a medal of the National Sculpture Society, their Special Medal of Honor. It takes the viewer through every step from preparing a background plate to the critical review of the finished medal by five of her sculptural peers.
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Understanding the Coin Dealing Business
Susan Headley
Whether you are buying or selling coins, you can increase your advantage when dealing with coin dealers by understanding how things work behind the scenes. One of the biggest problems I see, as an observer of the coin collecting marketplace, is the wide gulf between what the average consumer expects from a coin dealer, and what the average coin dealer believes he should provide to the consumer. The majority of these differences boil down to trust. The average consumer thinks he can trust the coin dealer to give him an honest appraisal and pay a fair price for the coins he is selling. The average dealer feels it is right to pay the lowest price he can for the coins, to maximize his profit, and that it is up to the consumer to do his homework.
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No Coins Needed
Dave Harper
At least since the great coin shortage of the mid 1960s, collectors have been aware of the role the vending machine industry plays in overall demand for U.S. coins. What the vending machine industry wants in terms of coin composition and electronic signatures has carried great weight with the Treasury. Venders don’t want to spend money to refit their coin discrimination mechanisms. That may be about to change. What if the vending industry stops using coins, or greatly reduces their use? Then what? I began thinking about the flip side of yesterday’s blog about growing coin demand because of a timely article in the Wall Street Journal.
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The News at a Glance – August 3, 2010

Tim Shuck — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:56:06 +0000

The Rare Bronze Octagonal 1904 St. Louis Olympics Medal
Stack’s News
The first modern Olympic Games, spearheaded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, were held in Athens in 1896. In the 114 years that followed, a wealth of medals and coins has been created, sought after by an fanatically determined group of specialized collectors. The Athens contest and the 1900 Paris Games followed with increasing success and medals exist from them. Then the decision was made to hold the Games of the III Olympiad (the four-year interval culminating in the next Games) in distant St. Louis, Missouri, in conjunction with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (LPE). This was the kiss of death to the dignity of the Games, which were promptly relegated to an expo back closet called the Physical Culture Department under the Director of Exhibits. Only 554 athletes took part from 11 countries.
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NGC Hosts Exhibits at the ANA World’s Fair of Money
NGC
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) will host two numismatic exhibits at its booth (#704) during the convention. The first is also from the Simpson Collection and includes two incredibly rare coins. One is the finest known proof 1804 $10 grading NGC PF65 Ultra Cameo, among the most desirable and most valuable of all US gold coins. Struck in 1834 for presentation to diplomats, just three exist today. The second is the very seldom seen proof 1804 $10 struck in silver graded NGC PF64. This pattern coin, designated as J-34 in the standard Judd reference, is one of no more than five known. This exhibit marks the first time these two companion coins have been exhibited together.
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The Biggest Show of the Year
PCGS Blog
The annual convention of the American Numismatic Association is always the biggest coin show of the year. Dealers bring out their best coins, most of the major buyers attend (many plan their summer vacations around the ANA show), and there are always huge auctions held in conjunction with the show. This year the ANA summer show is being held in Boston, August 10 to 14, though there is a “pre-show” August 7 and 8. There will be three auctions…Stack’s, Bowers and Merena, and Heritage held before and during the show. The show auction is the Heritage auction and it is huge. Both the B&M and Stack’s auctions have some great coins. I estimate that over $50 million worth of coins will be sold at the three auctions and another $50 million worth of coins will trade hands on the floor of the coin show. It is going to be a monstrous event.
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The Art and Science of Coin Buying and Selling
Scott A. Travers
Coin buyers and sellers are constantly making deals. Some end up doing very well for themselves, while others learn later that the joke was on them. Unlike the contestants on Let’s Make a Deal, however, those who negotiate deals involving coins don’t have to operate strictly by guesswork. They can arm themselves with facts, figures, insights and common sense and emerge from just about any deal with at least fair value – and perhaps a good deal more. Deal-making is second nature for professional numismatists. “Deal,” after all, represents two-thirds of the word “dealer.” You don’t have to be a dealer, though, to grasp and even master the art (and science) of deal-making. At the outset, it’s important to understand some conditions that are peculiar, if not unique, to the rare-coin marketplace.
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New Book on Buffalo Nickel Abraded Die Varieties
NumiStories
Great opportunity awaits the dedicated Buffalo variety collector, and this book is the ultimate guide in that endeavor. One look at the advancing values of the two best known abraded die varieties, the 1937-D 3 leg and the 1936-D 3 1/2 leg Buffalo nickels, and one can see the genuine need for this reference. Taking into account the increasing popularity and Red Book acceptance of these varieties, now is the time to begin your search! What are abraded die varieties? In Part One of this book Ron Pope defines traditional and non-traditional abraded die varieties, explains how these varieties were produced, and devotes a full page to the description of each known date and mintmark for which that variety occurs.
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What’s the Proper Way to Examine a Coin?
Numismatic News
One thing has not changed since the first class I taught in Colorado Springs, Colo., with Charles Hoskins back in 1973. I saw students using all kinds of methods to view coins. A few would lay the coin flat on the table and bend over it with their magnifier blocking most of the light needed to see the coin. Others would hold the coin and magnifier practically at arms length while trying to see the image in the lens almost a foot away from their eye. Unfortunately, many students continued to do this after being shown the “correct” way to view a coin. I believe the best method is to hold the magnifier to your eye and bring the coin up to the lens until it is in focus. Place your head close to the light source so that the light is between your magnifier/eye combination and the coin.?
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The News at a Glance – August 2, 2010

Tim Shuck — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:52:40 +0000

Commission of Fine Arts Reviews 2012 Presidential Dollar Designs, Recommmends Three
Coin Update News
The Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) reviewed proposed designs for the 2012 Presidential Dollars during a meeting held July 15, 2010. The United States Mint provided the CFA with four to six obverse candidate designs for each coin. The CFA made recommendations for three out of the four coins to be released. The Presidential Dollar Program, which began in 2007, honors the former Presidents of the United States in the order served. Four different coins are released each year with the obverse design featuring a portrait of the President being honored. The reverse of each coin has featured a rendition of the Statue of Liberty designed by Don Everhart. The coins to be issued for 2012 will feature Chester A. Arhur, Grover Cleveland (first term), Benjamin Harrison, and Grover Cleveland (second term).
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Before You Buy or Sell Coins
PCGS Blog
I just bought a new flat screen TV for my daughter. Before I bought it I spent a couple hours on the Internet researching different models and comparing prices from different Retailers. Good thing I did because I didn’t know that 120 Hz screens have the best performance for video games! It’s the same thing with coins. I only spent $900 on the TV but I know I spent more time learning about my options then some coin buyers do before spending far greater amounts on a coin. So what should you do before you buy a coin? (By the way the exact same information applies when you are selling.) I have always thought there are three basic pieces of information that are essential to know before buying: population; APR (auction prices realized) and pricing. Let’s dig into each a little more.
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John Paul Jones on a Comitia Americana Medal
Stack’s News
The only naval hero honored in the Comitia Americana series (struck by the Paris Mint for the Continental Congress) is Scottish-born John Paul Jones (1747-1792). Jones, commemorated on a 57.3mm piece, is remembered for his exploits on the French-built Bonhomme Richard (Poor Richard, a tribute to Benjamin Franklin) which electrified the world during the American Revolution. The obverse shows a uniformed bust of Jones as Commander of the Fleet. The reverse depicts the sea fight of Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis off the Scottish coast on September 1779. The British ship was captured by Jones and made part of the infant American navy. This Paris Mint medal was the work of Augustin Dupré, though his name does not appear on this example, struck from 19th-century copy dies made at the Philadelphia Mint that deliberately omitted his name.
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The 1938-D Mercury Dime
Numismatic News
Perhaps it is time we take a second or even a first look at some of the lower mintage Mercury dime dates like the 1938-D. Right now the 1938-D seems fairly stable in terms of price, but you have to think that $34 for an MS-65 and $62 for an MS-65 with full split bands is awfully inexpensive considering its mintage and the potential for demand for a coin that is now more than 70 years old. The 1938-D Mercury dime had a mintage of 5,537,000. It seems unlikely that a coin with such a mintage would be overlooked and especially unlikely that it would be overlooked for seven decades. However, in the case of the Mercury dime you have a coin set that traditionally has basically been about one date: the 264,000 mintage 1916-D. If any dates were seen as being in the same class as the 1916-D, they were not regular dates but rather the 1942/41 and 1942/41-D. overdates.
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Numismatist Eric Newman Discovers Audubon’s First Engraved Illustration
The E-Sylum
For more than half a century, scholars and biographers of famed bird artist and ornithologist John James Audubon had been stumped. In an 1824 diary entry, the young French immigrant, who lived for several years at Mill Grove in Montgomery County, mentioned that he had given a drawing of a running grouse to a Philadelphia engraver for use on a New Jersey banknote. It would have been a key moment – the first published illustration for the struggling artist, then 29 years old. But if so, where was it? Nobody could find it. And as time went by, many began to dismiss the story as a typical Audubon exaggeration. But Robert Peck, curator of art and artifacts at the Academy of Natural Sciences, decided to give it one last try. What he and Eric Newman, a numismatic historian from St. Louis, found has rocked the world of Audubon scholars, who are calling their discovery “a eureka moment.”
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Coin Information Adds Value
Coin Values
Information is a key component in determining an object’s value and sometimes a nugget of a coin’s history can substantially increase a coin’s price. For example, one could argue that research, suggesting that a 1794 Flowing Hair dollar graded Specimen 66 by Professional Coin Grading Service was the first silver dollar ever struck by the U.S. Mint, strongly boosted the coin’s importance to justify the reported $7,850,000 that it traded for in a private treaty sale. In other words, the research elevated the coin from being a noteworthy early U.S. coin of great interest to specialists to a landmark rarity with broader appeal.
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