Nov 27, 2014 | celebration, coins, commemorative
1920 Pilgrim Tercentenary Half Dollar Commemorative
This coin commemorates the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower. The image is of a pilgrim carrying a Bible.
The image is of the Mayflower, the ship that brought the pilgrims to Massachusetts.
Thanksgiving in the United States is usually traced back to the Pilgrims celebration of their first successful harvest in 1621. The three-day event was attended by 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans that lasted three days. The tradition of giving thanks for successes was a tradition that the Pilgrims brought with them from England. This three-day celebration in 1621 is considered the first Thanksgiving.
Although there is no record of the menu, it is likely that the meal consisted of food from the harvest, venison, and Indian corn. The local natives killed five deer as gifts for the celebration. Given the abundance of seafood nearby, it is likely some made it to the celebration as well.
Thanksgiving was celebrated during many different times within the colonies, mainly to give thanks for something that was honorable to the colony or the locality that observed the celebration. The first national recognition of a Thanksgiving celebration came when General George Washington declared December 1777 as Thanksgiving honoring the defeat of the British at Saratoga. As President, George Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving celebration on November 26, 1789. The only other president to issue a Thanksgiving proclamation was President James Madison. From then, it was up to the individual states to declare a Thanksgiving holiday.
After reading a diary from the time of the Pilgrims, writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale wrote editorials campaigning to bring back the Thanksgiving celebration. As part of her efforts Hale developed recipes for roasted turkey, pumpkin pie, and stuffing that are part of the inspiration for today’s Thanksgiving feast.
Hale’s message made it to the White House where it was embraced by President Abraham Lincoln. As part of his attempt to maintain the union, President Lincoln issued a proclamation that made Thanksgiving Day a national annual event on the last Thursday in November beginning in 1863.
You might not have heard of Hale but you might know one of her most famous poems. In 1830, Hale published Poems for our Children that included one originally titled “Mary’s Lamb.” Today, it is more commonly known as “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Thanksgiving remained the last Thursday of November until 1939 when he declared Thanksgiving to be on the fourth Thursday of the month to give merchants more time to sell good during the Christmas shopping season. Congress passed a joint resolution in 1942 fixing Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November.
In 1947, the National Turkey Federation has provided the President of the United State with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys. President Harry Truman is credited with pardoning the first turkey in 1947 but it did not become a tradition until President Ronald Reagan started in 1987 and continued by President George H.W. Bush in 1989. Since 1989, the pardoned turkeys have lived the rest of their lives at Frying Pan Park in Herndon, Virginia.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jun 6, 2014 | celebration, commemorative, commentary, foreign, history
Operation Overlord was the largest amphibious invasion in history.
Originally scheduled on May 1, it was rescheduled to June 5 and then June 6 because of weather.
Commanded by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the invading force consisted of 156,000 Allied troops using 5,000 ships and landing craft bringing on shore 50,000 vehicles with overhead support from 11,000 planes and 13,000 paratroopers.
Across 50 miles of Normandy coast line, the United States forces were assigned Utah and Omaha beaches, the British Army was assigned to Gold and Sword beaches, and the Canadian Army invaded Juno beach.
Operation Bodyguard created six decoy invasions as a distraction to the Germans so as to divert their attention from the intended invasion at Normandy. Gen. George S. Patton, considered the most skillful tank commander in U.S. military history, commanded a fake mission to invade Pas-De-Calais.
Omaha Beach was the focus of the attack because it was the most heavily defended beach.
On the first day, 4,414 Allied soldiers were confirmed dead.
Victory was declared on July 21, 1944 when the Allied forces captured Caen, one of the major objectives of the invasion.
The Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer is the final resting place for 9,387 Americans. Across its 172.5 acres sits 9,238 crosses and 149 Stars of David where 41 sets of brothers and 3 Medal of Honor recipients rest. The Walls of the Missing is engraved with the names of 1,557 soldiers missing in action.
On this, the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, the day Operation Overlord began, there is one more statistic that should not exist:
The number of commemorative coins issued by the United States to honor those that served and gave their lives to help begin the liberation of Europe from the worst criminal of all time: ZERO!
Although the U.S. Mint did issue a World War II 50th Anniversary commemorative coin in 1995, this country should honor those who participated in the largest amphibious invasion in history and set the world on a safer course.
With the number of veterans of that day dwindling as they are all nonagenarians, I would like to thank them for their service and the families of the fallen for their service. I only wish that congress would realize that their bickering over nonsense with flags on their lapels pales in comparison to the sacrifices made on that day in France. They just do not get it.
Canadian $10 Commemorative of the 70th Anniversary of D-Day featuring the obverse portrait of King George VI, the reigning monarch at the time of the invasion.
70th Anniversary of D-Day 2014 Alderney £5 BU Coin from the Royal Mint.
Bimetallic 2 € commemorative issue from the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint)
May 26, 2014 | celebration, commentary, history, medals, US Mint
Cherokee Nation Code Talkers Medal
The next year, southern states began their own Memorial Days to honor their soldiers who died during the war. No specific date was used but occurred in late April through June. By 1880, there was a more organized Confederate Memorial Day. These celebrations honored specific soldiers to commemorate the Confederate “Lost Cause.” By 1913, a sense of nationalism saw a commemoration of all soldiers that have died in battle.
In the north, the fraternal organization of Civil War veterans The Grand Army of the Republic began organizing “Decoration Day” in 1868. Decoration Day was to honor the fallen by decorating the graves of Union soldiers with flowers and flags. Ceremonies included speeches that were a mix of religion, nationalism, and a rehash of history in vitriolic terms against the Southern soldiers. The acrimony against the South began to subside by the end of the 1870s.
Memorial Day did not take on national significances until after World War I. Rather than being a holiday to remember those of died in service during the Civil War, the nation began to recognize all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during all conflicts. By the end of World War II, most of the celebrations were renamed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. Memorial Day did not become an official holiday until 1967 and its date changed from the traditional May 30 to the last Monday of the month by the Uniform Holidays Act (Public Law 90-363, 5 U.S.C. § 6103(a)) in 1968.
Regardless of how you view the current world conflicts, the men and women who serve in our military deserve the honor and respect for their service. Pray for their ability to safely return home.
We will resume numismatic writings shortly.
Mar 20, 2014 | celebration, coins, news
Niue 2014 One Dollar Hyacinth Macaw—Endangered Species of Animals ½ Oz Proof Silver Coin
For those of us in the United States, this has been a brutal winter. Whether you have been buried in snow, had to endure droughts that have not been seen in over 100 years, or record cold temperatures, there are many who would like to forget this past winter. Then there are people like me who would like to see their snow measured in feet and not inches!
Whatever your feelings are regarding the Vernal Equinox, it officially occurred at 4:57 PM UTC (or 12:57 PM on the United States east coast). Maybe you can try the semi-annual tradition of balancing an egg on its end. Good luck!
Jan 1, 2014 | celebration, coins, commemorative
Happy New Year!
As we begin a new year, we should look forward to better times for our hobby, our nation, and our world. I wish you and yours a Happy and Healthy 2014 and hope that you find the key coin of your dreams!
2014 Civil Rights Act of 1964 Silver Dollar obverse
2014 Civil Rights Act of 1964 Silver Dollar reverse
Images courtesy of the U.S. Mint.
Dec 23, 2013 | celebration, coins, commentary, Federal Reserve, platinum, US Mint
If there was a countdown of the idiocy of the punditocracy of this country, the discussion over the $1 Trillion platinum coin would be the number 1 story. As I previously explained, which it is feasible for the U.S. Mint to strike a $1 Trillion coin, the question remains, “Who will buy the coin?” In order for the U.S. Mint to gain from the seigniorage that would come from minting and selling this coin.
If the coin is has to be paid for by a depositor before it can become legal tender, who will buy a $1 Trillion coin?
How could the coin be used to reduce the debt? If the coin is just deposited with the Federal Reserve, there will be a $1 Trillion liability on the government’s balance sheet. In order to make the books balance, the Department of Treasury would have to sell debt bonds to make up the difference and that would add $1 Trillion to the national debt.
If the coin is bought by the Federal Reserve, then the Fed will have to pay $1 Trillion to the U.S. Mint for the coin reducing its overall working capital by $1 Trillion. Paying for a $1 Trillion that could not be used will just transfer the debt from the general treasury to the Federal Reserve. Since the Federal Reserve is in charge of managing the country’s money supply, the net effect will be to reduce the money supply by $1 Trillion that will cause the economy to shrink—any time you artificially remove money from the economy it will shrink which will also weaken the buying power of the U.S. dollar.
Transferring the debt away from the general fund might look good on paper but the effect will shrink the economy and cause more problems than even considering the constitutionality of doing this.
The bottom line is that regardless of what the U.S. Mint sells, there has to be a buyer. If there is no buyer then all the government would do is transfer balances from one balance sheet to another without any net gain.
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, held a mock contest on Facebook for the public to design a potential $1 trillion coin. The concept of a coin was even a joke to the folks at Heritage whose mockup included famed Mad Magazine “pitchman” Alfred E. Newman.
Dec 22, 2013 | BEP, celebration, commentary, currency, Federal Reserve
It is that time of then when the pundit class of this country puts together their list of the best, worst, or most impactful stories of the year being concluded. There was even an advertisement on satellite radio about an upcoming show that will list the Top 10 moments in music for 2013. After a meeting of the Board of Directors for the Coin Collectors Blog (all three of us: me, myself, and I), the last ten days of the year will count down what we feel are the Top 10 Numismatic-Related Stories of 2013.
Number 10: Lew’s Lewpts
75th Secretary of the Treasury Jacob “Jack” Lew
Lew, whose autograph has been called “lewpty” and been compared to the decorative icing on a Hostess cupcake, made a promise to the president that he would do better with his penmanship. During his confirmation hearing, Lew told Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, that he promised the president he would do better. This did not satisfy those with an ironic sense for the different when a petition appeared on the White House website to “Save the Lewpty-Lew.”
MSNBC on-air comparison of Jack Lew’s autographs: the original Lewpts on the left and what will appear on U.S. currency to the right.
The other signature on U.S. currency is that of Rosa “Rosie” Gumataotao Rios, Treasurer of the United States. Rios was sworn in as Treasurer on August 20, 2009 and has served in that office ever since. Rios’s signature appears with former Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner on Series 2009 notes. Ironically, Geithner also changed his signature when he became secretary.
-
-
Tim Geithner’s autograph before becoming Treasury Secretary.
-
-
Tim Geithner’s signature as it appears on U.S. currency
Rosie Rios signature on the older (Series 2009) $100 Federal Reserve Note
Notes that will include Jack Lew’s signature will appear on all Series 2009-A notes.
Glad we were able to resolve this pressing issue!
Dec 12, 2013 | celebration, coins, love token
Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a-Jupiter and Mars
Gift coin presented to guests at Sinatra’s 77th birthday bash at the Star’s Desert Inn casino
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra never graduated high school having been expelled for not being a good buy. While working as a riveter and delivering newspapers, Sinatra used to sing for tips—something he had done since he was eight years old. Eventually, Sinatra began signing at local clubs in Hoboken before becoming a professional singer in the 1930s.
Sinatra was a troublemaker throughout his career. Starting with his break-up with the Hoboken Four and subsequent disagreements with Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra went in the 1040s and the beginning of World War II as a capable musician but not liked amongst his peers. Although he was classified as 4-F for military service (“Registrant not acceptable for military service” by the draft board) because of a perforated ear drum, many active-duty entertainers and journalists hated that he flaunted his lifestyle while many were serving, even if they were just entertaining or acting as clerks without the fame or glamor.
Although Sinatra started to act in 1944 and co-starred with Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh, Sinatra returned to acting to help repair his image. He co-starred with Gene Kelly and Esther Williams in Take Me Out to the Ballgame to critical acclaim.
The best is yet to come, and wont that be fine
You think you’ve seen the sun, but you ain’t seen it shine
Modern Hobo Nickel based on the Hirschfeld portrait of Sinatra by AG
Sinatra was a his acting stride in 1960 when he starred with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford, the original “Rat Pack,” in Ocean’s Eleven. He appeared in 17 more movies until 1970. After 36 years in show business, Sinatra announced his retirement in 1970.
Of course he made a comeback playing concerts and making guest television appearances. Sinatra also sang for songs that appeared in movies and later appeared with other artists in duets. He was one of the recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors with Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson.
Sinatra’s last public concert was held in Japan in December 1994. The last time he sang for an audience was at a private part for the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament in February 1995. He ended the show singing “My Way.”
After that show he began reducing his appearances and stopped appearing publicly following a heart attack in February 1997. He died in May 1998 following a second heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at 82 years old.
Frank Sinatra courted controversy throughout his life. Although a later release of FBI files showed he had almost no ties to organized crime, Sinatra embraced that controversy in order to overcome his own insecurities and to gain acceptance and access to what was then mob-controlled Las Vegas, where he saw great success. In fact, the Gaming Hall of Fame inducted Sinatra as a member in 1997.
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and ev’ry highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way.
Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.
Nov 29, 2013 | celebration, coins, US Mint
As we welcome Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, the U.S. Mint is getting into the act by bringing back Free Standard Shipping. Buy whatever your want from the U.S. Mint online catalog and get free standard shipping until December 6, 2013.
According to sources, the free shipping promotion in September went very well bringing increased sales volume to the U.S. Mint. Since shipping and packaging are the few aspects that the U.S. Mint can control on its own, they are going to use whatever it takes to get noticed to bring collectors and gift buyers to their site.
They got me. I am going to be ordering my 2013 Presidential Dollar First Day Covers with the free shipping. I have to keep my collection up to date!
Unfortunately, the Teddy Roosevelt Coins and Chronicles set will not be released until December 17, after the free shipping sale.
Nov 28, 2013 | celebration, history, other
American Abundance designed by Albert Laessle and issued in 1934
After arriving in the New World in 1620, the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest in 1621. The three-day even was attended by 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans that lasted three days. The tradition of giving thanks for successes was a tradition that the Pilgrims brought with them from England. This three-day celebration in 1621 is considered the first Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was celebrated during many different times within the colonies, mainly to give thanks for something that was honorable to the colony or the locality that observed the celebration. The first national recognition of a Thanksgiving celebration came when General George Washington declared December 1777 as Thanksgiving honoring the defeat of the British at Saratoga. As President, George Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving celebration on November 26, 1789. The only other president to issue a Thanksgiving proclamation was President James Madison. From then, it was up to the individual states to declare a Thanksgiving holiday.
As part of his attempt to maintain the union, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that made Thanksgiving Day a national annual event on the last Thursday in November beginning in 1863.
Thanksgiving remained the last Thursday of November until 1939 when he declared Thanksgiving to be on the fourth Thursday of the month to give merchants more time to sell good during the Christmas shopping season. Congress passed a joint resolution in 1942 fixing Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November.
In 1947, the National Turkey Federation has provided the President of the United State with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys. President Harry Truman is credited with pardoning the first turkey in 1947 but it did not become a tradition until President Ronald Reagan started in 1987 and continued by President George H.W. Bush in 1989. Since 1989, the pardoned turkeys have lived the rest of their lives at Frying Pan Park in Herndon, Virginia. Those pardoned by President Obama have gone to live at George and Martha’s old place in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Medal image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute.
Loading ...