Coin Collecting News » Commemoratives

Finding Numismatic History in Unlikely Places

Pinnacle Rarities — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:39:20 +0000

Ezra Meeker – Champion of the Oregon Trail

Over the summer months our numismatic travels took us to great historical cities like Boston and Philadelphia. And this week we travel to Baltimore, another city rich in early Americana. Of course, across the nation there are local historical sites and, more specifically, sites of numismatic interest. Over the last 200 plus years, our mints have aided the extraction from a number of precious metal lodes. Now many of the once thriving businesses are gone, with a few remaining as mint and mining museums or historical landmarks.

Each place chronicles a rich history founded in capturing natural resources and refining them into tangible representations of our history. Living in the Northwest, we are thousands of miles from any of these sites. While some old mines exist in the state, the real history of Washington State lies in the old growth forests. The “American” history of the region is for all intent and purpose quite young. But, sometimes you don’t have to look far to find a piece of numismatic lore right in your own back yard.

Recently we took the family to a large state fair located in the city of Puyallup (pyoo-al-uh p). One of the town’s principal founders was a pioneer who travelled to the Oregon Territory in the mid-nineteenth century. He eventually settled in the foothills of Mt. Rainier. This man was Ezra Meeker. His contributions to the northwest are many, but he is best remembered nationally for his extensive work on having the Oregon Trail marked.

According to the Meeker Mansion website, “Ezra Meeker became the self-appointed champion of the Oregon Trail in 1906, when at the age of 76, accompanied by two oxen, a wagon, a driver and a dog, he made his way from his front yard to Washington D.C., by way of New York City.”

Meeker first took the Oregon Trail as a young man in 1852. A true pioneer, Ezra was lured by the promise of the new territories. Finally settling in a valley below Mt. Rainier, Meeker cleared his own land and eventually became an internationally successful hops farmer. His travels included a stint in Europe and a couple forays into the Alaskan territories.

Meeker was obviously impacted by his early trip out west. He had a connection to the Oregon Trail. He recognized it as a part of American history and felt it should be cherished and preserved. In his mid-seventies, he harnessed his oxen and retraced his steps from some 50 odd years ago in a Conestoga wagon. He deemed this trip the Oregon Trail Monument Expedition Trip. During this trip he promoted the trail awareness, lectured, handed out pamphlets and eventually gained a lot of publicity. Meeker met with Teddy Roosevelt, who agreed in principle to in some way recognize the Oregon Trail, but the bill died in Congress.

After returning to his home, Meeker wrote an acclaimed book on the subject entitled The Lost Trail, Meeker again braved the 2,000 mile trail with an ox drawn wagon in 1910. He was again to promote its preservation, but this time he intended to map the route. He was in favor of a transcontinental railroad along a similiar course, which he also intended to lobby for. Despite completing the trail, and the map, his second trip was somewhat of a failure. When he arrived out East he was contacted by the Senate and told not to come to D.C. After some other tribulations, he found his way back to Washington State. He continued to campaign, worked on a movie, lectured and published another book – Ox Team Days. Eventually he’s instrumental in the formation of the Oregon Trail Memorial Association. Through that organization he petitioned Congress getting final approval for the Oregon Trail Commemorative in 1926. The proceeds from the distrubution were used to mark the trail.

The first Oregon Trail commemoratives rolled off the press seventy-five years after Meeker’s original trek. After the initial run, additional mintages were struck until 1939. John Sinnock’s design from sketches done by John Frederick Lewis is arguably one of America’s most beautiful numismatic examples. The Oregon Trail remains a very popular series. And on the back is depicted an ox drawn wagon said to be inspired by Ezra and his travels. The colorful story of Meeker proves that no matter where you live, look hard enough and you’ll likely find a piece of numismatic lore. For me it’s at the Meeker Mansion in a small city with the funny name – Puyallup.

Pinnacle Rarities, Inc., one of the most respected dealers in high-grade, certified U.S. coinage. On thier site you will enjoy a wealth of informative articles, as well as access to one of the finest quality inventories of PCGS and NGC certified rare coins on the market.

The Royal Mint’s Three Gold Coin Set to Commemorate the London 2012 Olympics

The Royal Mint — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:44:33 +0000

Faster Three-Coin Set to Commemorate the London 2012 Olympics

The Royal Mint launches its limited edition Gold Series – an exclusive three themed set created in fine 22 carat gold only. Inspired by the Olympic motto Faster, Higher, Stronger, the ‘Faster’ Series is the first set to go on sale in celebration of the 30th Olympiad in London 2012.

Including the rare £100 coin – the highest denomination for a coin available – the prestigious Gold Series is the ideal high-end memento of the first UK Olympics for over sixty years. With only 4,000 of these sets available to buy globally, this unique set is accompanied by an individually numbered Royal Mint certificate denoting the limited mintage of these coins and ensuring their high value investment in years to come.

The Faster Series coin set is presented in a luxurious hardwood walnut case with the Olympic Rings inscribed in gold foiling on the lid. The second and third three-coin sets of this singular collection, representing Altius (Higher) and Fortius (Stronger) will be available to purchase later in the countdown to London 2012.

Inspired by the classical heritage of the Olympic Games and combined with modern sporting achievement, each of the three coins in the distinctive Faster collection feature a different Roman God reflecting the first strand of the Olympic motto ‘Citius’ or ‘Faster’: Neptune, the God of the Sea, (1oz) watches over the sport of sailing; Diana, the Goddess of Hunting, (1/4oz) overlooks modern cyclists and Mercury, the God of Speed, (1/4oz) is depicted alongside track athletes.

The obverse of the coin has been designed by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS with the Olympic reverse designed by sculptor John Bergdahl, who looked at both the classical and contemporary interpretations of the Olympic Games. Bergdahl explained: “The Olympic ideals span more than two and a half thousand years of history so I took inspiration from combining the classical ideology of the ancient Gods with images of modern athletes in modern attire and equipped with modern technology. And who knows, maybe those same Gods will still be smiling down on us in London 2012.”

Dave Knight, Director of Commemorative Coins, commented: “The Gold Series is incredibly exciting for us; it is the only collection in our London 2010 coin programme to feature the iconic Olympic rings and is the first ever £100 UK coin not featuring Britannia. As the name suggests, the collection is exclusively in gold and will not be available in any other metal. All these factors come together to make the Series highly prestigious and highly desirable. With the Faster set being the first launch from The Gold Series, I have no doubt that global demand will be incredibly strong and sell out quickly.”

Neptune

The God of the sea, Neptune’s order, control and authority of the seas were absolute and indisputable, making him one of the most respected of the gods. This coin represents the strong connection between Neptune and the Olympic sport of Sailing, a sport in which the Olympians must command and control whatever the water throws at them, just as Neptune did.

Mercury

An athletic and vigorous young god, Mercury was renowned as being the messenger of the gods, flying swiftly between the mortal and immortal worlds. The coin’s design represents the strong association Mercury has with the modern day athlete, in particular the Olympic runner – a vigorous athlete who relies on the similar attributes demonstrated by Mercury, such as speed and agility.

Diana

The Goddess of the hunt, Diana followed and pursued her reward armed simply with a bow and arrows in search of her prey. On this coin we see Diana with the Olympic cyclist. Hunters in their own right, they pursue and chase their reward often stopping at nothing to reach their target – the finish line and Olympic Gold.

Coin Profile: An Analysis of The Johnson-Blue Collection of Liberty Head Eagles

CoinLink — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:35:23 +0000

by Doug Winter – RareGoldCoins.com

Every few years, an auction takes place that gives me a bad case of “Dinosaur Syndrome.” By this, I mean the coins bring so much more than what I bid that I think to myself that I’m a dinosaur and am out of touch with current Numismatic Reality. After I talk myself out of this and take a deep breath or two, I find that analyzing the sale is a useful tool for my bruised psyche.

Just prior to the 2010 Boston ANA convention, Stack’s sold a specialized group of Liberty Head eagles that they named the “Johnson Blue” collection. These coins were interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, they were clearly fresh to the market and, I am told, many of them were purchased by the consignor back in the 1980’s. Secondly, the coins mostly had original surfaces with a nice crusty appearance; a welcome change from the usual processed better date Liberty Head eagles that one sees available in today’s market. Finally, there were a number of dates that you typically don’t see much anymore (such as 1863, 1864 and 1865) in grades that were above-average.

I had a feeling that this was going to be a strong sale, but the final results were pretty stunning to me. In some cases my bids were close to winning a lot; in other cases they were laughably distant from the eventual final bid. Let’s take a look at some of the more significant eagles in this collection and ponder on their prices.

1842-O, Graded MS61 by PCGS. Lot 1094.

Stack’s sort of underplayed this lot in the catalog, but New Orleans eagle collectors knew that this was a special coin. There are just three Uncirculated examples known to me and this fresh example had excellent color and surfaces. The last Uncirculated piece to sell was Superior 5/08: 103, graded MS61 by NGC and pedigreed to the S.S. Republic shipwreck. It brought $29,900 but I discounted this price as the coin was not attractive. But given this prior sales record, I bid $40,000 for the Johnson-Blue example and thought I had a decent shot of buying it. I wasn’t even close. The coin brought $74,750 which, to me, is an incredibly strong price and one that shows me the depth of this market.

1848-O, Graded AU55 by PCGS. Lot 1101.

This was a nice example of a date that isn’t really all that rare in the higher AU grades. I figured it would grade AU58 at NGC. There have been at least seven different auction records between $5,000 and $6,000 in the last six years for AU55 coins and a nice AU58 is worth $7,500 to $8,500. This coin brought $12,650, or around double what I would have paid. And results like this set the tone for the whole evening.

1852-O, Graded AU55 by PCGS. Lot 1108.

I like this date very much but wasn’t really overwhelmed by the quality of this coin. It was what I call “product.” This means a coin that I would be happy to own but since it is just so-so for the grade, I wouldn’t bid strongly for it. There have been at least nine auction trades in the last seven years for 1852-O eagles in AU55 (mostly in NGC holders and mostly low end for the grade) and they have typically brought between $5,000 and $6,000. This example sold for $8,912.50. While I don’t regard this price as “astonishing” I do think it is very strong; especially when one considers that Trends for an 1852-O eagle in this grade is only $8,750.

1862, Graded AU58 by PCGS. Lot 1133.

This is an interesting date. It is common in the lower circulated grades and only moderately scarce in AU53 to AU55 but it is very rare in properly graded AU58 and there are just two known to me in Uncirculated. The Johnson-Blue coin was among the best 1862 eagles I’ve seen; clean and lustrous with good color and nice eye appeal. But I didn’t think it would upgrade. Enough of these have traded in AU58 that I expected a nice PCGS AU58 like this to bring $5,000-6,000; possibly as much as $7,500 given the nature of this sale. The final price realized was $25,300. What makes this price even more remarkable was that the far superior Bass IV: 681 coin, graded MS62 by PCGS, sold for just $12,650. Maybe I’m totally out of touch with the market, but I think you could have taken the exact 1862 eagle that sold in this auction and shown it to five very sharp gold dealers at $7,500 before the sale and all five (myself included) would have passed.

1863, Graded AU50 by PCGS, Lot 1135.

I was reasonably certain that this coin was going to be a bidder favorite. The 1863 is among the rarest Liberty Head eagles with just 1,218 struck. There hadn’t been a piece available at auction since Stack’s 9/06: 1492 (a raw “AU” that sold for $21,850) and just five slabbed pieces had sold since 2000 (including the amazing PCGS MS63 that was ex: Bass IV: 683 and which, at just $52,900, has to rank as one of the single biggest bargains in the final Bass sale). The Johnson Blue coin was a bit “ticky” but it had nice color and was notable for its originality. It brought $27,600 which seems like an incredible price given that Trends is $17,500 and CDN Bid is $15,000. I’d say it is actually a pretty good value and that published price information is way too low; and should be changed to reflect the true value of this extremely rare issue.

1864 Graded AU53 by PCGS. Lot 1138.

The 1864 is not as rare as the 1863 (mintage this year increased to a “whopping” 3,500) but its Civil War issuance makes it popular. The last comparable coin to sell at auction was an NGC AU53 (Superior 9/08: 458) that went for $10,925. The Johnson Blue coin was one of the nicer AU examples of this date that I’ve seen and I thought it was a good candidate to upgrade to AU55. That said, I never expected it to sell for $23,000. Especially since an NGC MS61 had brought only $16,766 back in Heritage 3/05 auction. But the market has clearly changed for Liberty Head eagles and yesterday’s prices suddenly look like the bargains that I’ve been ranting about for the last decade+.

1865 Graded AU53 by PCGS. Lot 1139.

The last of the four important Civil War Philadelphia eagles in this collection and a rare, underrated issue with an original mintage of 3,980. I find the 1865 to be a harder coin to locate than the 1864 although the PCGS population figures do not support this. The Johnson-Blue coin was a decent AU53 which was a trifle on the dull side but which had nice color and a good overall look. It sold for $9,775 which I though was a pretty reasonable price, given what the 1862 and 1864 eagles sold for. The last AU53 to trade at auction was an NGC piece, Heritage 2009 CSNS: 3844, that sold cheaply at $5,463. The Johnson-Blue coin brought more because it was nicer. Trends on this date is only $10,000 in AU55 and I think it should be raised to reflect the true rarity of this issue.

1870-CC Graded EF45 by PCGS. Lot 1149.

This was one of my favorite coins in the sale. It was a choice, original example of a date that is recognized as the key eagle from the Carson City mint but which is, at the same time, a coin that is still undervalued in many respects. My gut feeling was that this coin was worth in the $40,000-45,000 range and I bid $35,000. I did not win the coin as it sold for $46,000. With Trends at $45,000 this seems like a very strong price for the issue but I actually think that while not “cheap” it was a pretty good value for the buyer. There have been very few nice 1870-CC eagles available since 2007 and the last decent piece to trade at auction, a PCGS EF40, brought $40,250 as Lot 2147 in the Heritage June 2008 sale.

What did this sale prove to me? The first thing was that it reiterated (for about the 8,776th time…) that there is a huge demand for nice fresh coins and when they become available, published price levels often have to be ignored if you want to buy them. The second thing was that the Liberty Head eagle series has really come of age. With the Liberty Head double eagle series out of the price range for many collectors due to the high price of the rare issues, eagles are no longer regarded as a poor cousin. There are clearly a number of collectors assembling date sets of eagles and many of the dates that were ignored in the distant past are now in demand. If a coin is high in the Condition Census, in a PCGS holder and attractive for the date and grade there are eager collectors who are not bashful about paying up for the coin(s). My guess is that Liberty Head half eagles will be the next series to show this surge of interest and if a fresh deal of these does become available, I wonder if we will see a repeat of the Dinosaur Syndrome where I leave another auction with my prehensile tail tucked between my legs.

1936 – The Crest of the Commemorative Coin Wave

Pinnacle Rarities — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:13:10 +0000

By Dan Duncan – Pinnacle-Rarities.com

Historically, 1936 was not a great year for most Americans. The United States was deep into the Great Depression. There was an unemployment rate of 16.9%, banks remained unstable, and the dust bowl continued to devastate the plains states. But with the U. S. economy floundering, a pass time known as “the hobby of kings” was flourishing. Coin collecting in the 1930’s was heated by a willing U.S. Mint, fueled by the interest in the classic commemorative series, and railroaded by a new breed of numismatist – the marketers.

These promoters took full advantage of the new urbanization of America. There was an increasing ease, functionality and reliability of the U.S. Postal Service combined with improved printing and advertising mediums. Uncertain times had opened the public’s eyes to alternative investments, and these early dealers took full advantage. Commissions were established and pushed for approval from Congress for the production of commemorative halves. The commission would purchase quantities from the U.S. Mint to resell at a profit, presumably using the proceeds to further the objectives of their respective commission. The scruples of many of these organizations came into question early on.

Mintages for particular issues were purposely lowered to add sale points to push prices for the particular issue. Some committees, honorable in their goals and intentions, gave in to dealers wishing to purchase the entire mintage up front for the privilege to handle distribution. These dealers fabricated stories of sell outs, and “resold” issues at higher aftermarket prices.

The story of the classic commemoratives begins in the late nineteenth century, but the series didn’t start picking up steam until the 1920’s. The early issues had shown collectors fabulous returns. And by the mid–30’s speculators and collectors alike were clambering for the new issues. The promoters and their commissions were willing to oblige. In Feb. 1936 Lee Hewitt, of Numismatic Scrapbook pointed out, “Commemoratives continue to advance in price along the whole front. This advance has been in progress for several months and at this writing is still going strong.”

The demand had grown to such proportions that famed numismatist B. Max Mehl produced a short book, The Commemorative Coins of the United States. In this he professes to the bourgeoning series’ place in the landscape of American numismatics stating, “The fact remains that the coins, or at least a majority of them, are of historical interest, and to a great extent represent and are of much numismatic and historical value. In fact of greater numismatic value than the majority of our regular issues.” Ironically, in the same tome, Mehl admits guilt to his part in the formulating schemes by which instant rarities were made by reducing the mintage figures.

It was this practice and more that soon turned the commemorative scene ugly. Numismatic organizations were complaining about the corruption. Congress was investigating. And by the fall of 1936, collectors began to tire of the shenanigans that accompanied many of the issues. Just keeping up with the rush of new designs was difficult for some collectors financially, especially when forced to pay the exorbanent after market prices. In 1939, Congress stopped the production of previously approved issues and the party was over (or at least paused).

In 1936, at the crest of the wave, despite being only a few years after ceasing gold coin production, the Mint employees were not bored. In addition to the production of newly authorized proof sets for the general public, the nation’s Mints produced twenty one different commemorative half designs – nearly half the classic commemorative type set.

This bubble for the classic commems was formed from the perfect numismatic storm – a new marketer style dealer pushing designs through a willing Congress to sell to an ever growing number of collectors and speculators. The demand pushed prices to unprecedented levels. Unlike other numismatic market frenzies, the classic commemorative boom was not from economic necessity for specie, or an unbalanced precious metal value. It was immediate commercial collector and investor demand that facilitated the creation of these designs. And regardless of the early tainted objectives, the leg work and marketing done by these enterprising coin dealers created a one of modern numismatics most prized series. The fruit of their labor gives us a palette of designs in which to enjoy. Each one carries with its own unique story, albeit some more colorful then others.

Bibliography

Bowers, Q. David. Commemorative Coins of the United States – A Complete Encyclopedia Wolfeboro, NH. Bowers and Morena Galleries, Inc. 1991
Bowers, Q. David ed. An Inside View of the Coin Hobby in the 1930’s: The Walter P. Nichols File Wolfeboro, NH. Bowers and Morena Galleries, Inc. 1984
Hewitt, Lee F. “About Commemoratives” Numismatic Scrapbook, February 1936, Volumn II, No.1
Mehl, B. Max. The Commemorative Coins of the United States. Fort Worth, TX. B. Max Mehl, January 1937
Swiatek, Anthony and Breen Walter. The Encyclopedia of United States Silver and Gold Commemorative Coins 1892–1989New York, FCI Press, 1981. Wolfeboro, NH. Bowers and Morena Galleries, Inc. 1990

Coin Profile: The Farouk-Norweb 1915 No S Panama-Pacific Half Dollar in Gold

Heritage Auctions — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:18:15 +0000

One of Only Two Known

Heritage will be offering one of only two known 1915 P50C Panama-Pacific Half Dollars struck in Gold (Judd-1960 PR64 NGC) during the Boston ANA Signature Sale in August Lot # 13007.

The design is the same as the regular-issue 1915-S Panama-Pacific commemorative half, but lacking the normal S mintmark. Struck in gold with a reeded edge. Other S-less Panama-Pacific half dollar patterns are also known in silver and copper. These extremely rare patterns were clearly clandestine strikes, produced at the Philadelphia Mint before mintmark punches were applied to the working dies. There are two known examples of the gold half dollar, both struck on cut-down, struck Saint-Gaudens double eagle coins. Similar examples are known of the 1915 Panama-Pacific gold dollar and of the round and octagonal fifty dollar pieces, all lacking the S mintmark. The website USPatterns.com comments of the pieces, “These could be die trials but it seems that they were really struck for profit.”

Pollock comments in his United States Patterns and Related Issues:

“Farran Zerbe, who was involved in the coining and distribution of the Panama-Pacific commemoratives in California, has been quoted by Walter Breen as saying that specimens ‘may have been struck as trial pieces at the Philadelphia Mint by the instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury, who was a coin collector.’ The Secretary of the Treasury at the time was W.G. McAdoo of New York, a name familiar to students of U.S. paper money.”

Anthony Swiatek, in his Commemorative Coins of the United States (2001), writes much more unequivocally concerning the 1915 Pan-Pac half dollar, “Extremely rare trial pieces, made at the Philadelphia Mint, were struck without the S Mint mark. Two were created in gold, six in silver and four in copper for Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo–a coin collector!”

Further along, Pollock records his notes on the present specimen:

“Careful examination of the Farouk-Norweb coin [the present coin, listed as No. 2 in the Census below] reveals planchet file marks and traces of an undertype, indicating that the half dollar dies were impressed on a cut-down $20 gold coin, which had been filed to remove high-relief details. This piece is remarkably thick: 2.4 mm at the edge versus 2.1 mm for a regular-issue Panama-Pacific half dollar.

“The characteristics of the coin suggest that it was made clandestinely. Since the piece is overstruck instead of being made using a new planchet of normal thickness, it can be inferred that there was a desire on the part of the manufacturer that no mention of the piece be made in the bullion account books, and thus it may have been produced secretly at the Mint in the same manner as the 1913 Liberty nickel or the Class III 1804 dollar. The only other known example of the variety [listed as No. 1 below] is reportedly also struck over a cut-down $20 gold piece.”

The reverse die of the present specimen is rotated about 40 degrees counterclockwise from normal coin turn with respect to the obverse. In contrast, the Brand-Johnson-ANA specimen, No. 2 in the census below which we auctioned in 2003, shows only a slight counterclockwise rotation, on the order of 10 percent. The reverse of this piece also shows considerable evidence of the remaining Saint-Gaudens double eagle obverse undertype on the reverse, as follows: In the central shield area and to the rim below and on either side, traces of Liberty, the peripheral stars, the rock, the gown outline, the ASG monogram, and portions of a date (possibly 1916) appear, the last seen beneath the AR of DOLLAR. The juncture of Liberty’s head, neck, and left (facing) arm appear under TAT and IN / WE.

While the logical date to appear is, of course, 1915 rather than 1916, the last digit in the undertype date, while far from bold, appears tantalizingly to have a top loop that much more resembles a 6 than a 5. No trace of a mintmark appears above the date.

This piece is fairly conclusive evidence that, contrary to the prevailing view, chicanery and profiteering at the Mint did not die out in the 19th century. Farran Zerbe’s reputation as a numismatic huckster is widely known, but others (possibly excluding Zerbe) may have been involved in the production of this piece–possibly some of the same personnel responsible for the 1913 Liberty nickels.

Census. Only two pieces are known.
1. Fred E. Olsen Collection (B. Max Mehl, 11/1944), lot 1769, which realized an astounding $4,250; King Farouk; Palace Collections of Egypt (Sotheby’s, 1954), lot 309; Norweb Collection (Bowers and Merena, 11/1988), lot 3307; Lemus Collection (Heritage, 1/2009), lot 1962, where it brought $300,000. PR64 NGC. The present specimen.

2. Virgil Brand; Burdette G. Johnson; Celina Coin Co.; A. Friedman; ANA (New England Rare Coin Auctions, 7/1979), lot 1365; Sound Beach Collection (Heritage, 11/2003), lot 11252, which brought $165,000.85; Southern Collection; Simpson Collection. PR64 NGC. (#12176)