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Coin News for July 6, 2010
New Book: 100 Greatest Error Coins
The E-Sylum
In this richly illustrated coffee-table book, three of America’s best-known error-coin specialists take the reader on a personal guided tour of the remarkable misstrikes and other oddities produced by the U.S. Mint. 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins is the seventh entry in Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest™ library. It follows books that showcase coins, paper money, medals and tokens, comic books, and stamps. “Each of the 100 Greatest error coins was voted into place by leading coin dealers, collectors, researchers, and historians,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. Inside, the reader will find prized and seldom-seen rarities—the unique and high-valued pieces that collectors dream about.
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U.S. Mint, Army and Air Force Exchange Service Promote $1 Coins
U.S. Mint
The United States Mint and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) are teaming up to encourage regular use of $1 coins in everyday cash transactions at military exchanges. Retailers at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; and Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base and the Air Force Academy in Colorado have been selected by AAFES to participate in a $1 coin launch initiative to begin on July 4. The goal of the initiative is to expand $1 coin usage to all 1,703 AAFES locations throughout the country. Exchanges are retail stores located on military bases and facilities that serve active duty and retired members of the Armed Forced and their families.
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CCAC in Search of Coin Design Excellence
Numismatic News
The U.S. Mint has some great artists, so why aren’t we getting great coin designs? The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee wants to know. Three years ago Mint Director Ed Moy called for a “neo-Renaissance for coin design” and “a new level of design excellence.” But that hasn’t happened, said CCAC Chairman Gary Marks when the group met June 28 in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Something must be done to ignite the renaissance,” Marks said. To that end, he appointed a Subcommittee on Coin Design Excellence tasked with developing recommendations addressing design quality regarding all future theme and design proposals. Marks said the goal is not to lay blame or point fingers. The goal is for the U.S. to attain a “level of excellence in coinage design that is simply unmatched in the world.”
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Looking for an Oak Tree, Finding a Willow
Heritage Blog
I had the coin on my desk. Massachusetts silver. The holder said “Oak Tree Shilling, Good Details.” It wasn’t much to look at, or rather, there wasn’t much to look at on it, as worn as it was. Even so, I figured I would be able to match it to a die pair and give it an attribution. I couldn’t attribute it. Nothing matched. It showed parts of designs from at least two strikes, so I was expecting the attribution to be complicated, but still… Two runs through reference books later and about thirty seconds after I went from frustrated to flat-out vexed with the coin, I admitted defeat and showed it to Senior Cataloger Mark Borckardt. He went through the same stages I did, until he had a brain-wave: what if this “Oak Tree Shilling” wasn’t an Oak Tree at all? “Maybe it’s a Willow Tree.”
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The Grand Plan for PCGS CoinFacts
PCGS Blog
Imagine with me for a few minutes… Imagine if you will… Every U.S. coin…all regular Mint issues, all proofs, all varieties of those issues, and include Colonials, Territorials, and Patterns. In other words…imagine the entirety of U.S. numismatics. Now imagine a photo…an image online…a great image…of the finest known example of all of those coins. Imagine a variety guide…a guide which has detailed images, including close-ups, of each variety. A guide on how to distinguish each variety. Imagine all the technical info for every coin: mintage, metal content, size, designer, etc.
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Afghanistan War Medals Auctioned
Paul Fraser Collectibles
Two particularly interesting medals with modern resonance are two Second Afghan War medals awarded to British soldiers for service during 1878-80. Both men were members of the 72nd Highlanders, and both sadly met their deaths in the conflict. The first of these was Colour-Sergeant John Yule. Mentioned in despatches by Lord Roberts for being ‘first man up’ in the assault on the Takht-i-Shah, he captured two enemy standards in a daring attack, but was killed the very next day at Conical Hill. Again leading a charge, he killed the first enemy soldier, but was then killed by a gunshot.
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About the Author
Tim Shuck is a life-long Midwestern resident, and started collecting coins after finding an Indian Head cent on the ground at his childhood farm home. Additional encouragement came from looking through a collection of well-worn late 19th and early 20th century coins kept by his grandfather in an old leather coin purse. Current collecting interests include U.S. types from the Civil War era through the early 1930's, and Colonial and Early American coins.
