Apr 11, 2008 | coins, fun, other
As the first weeks of spring and the fiscal quarter, there seems to be a lot of activity in the numismatic markets. Even as the precious metals market is fluctuating like a running roller coaster, the numismatic market seems to be going like gang busters. Numismatic News is reporting that Heritage Auction Galleries will auction an original, not restrike, 1804 dollar at the next Central States Numismatic Society convention. The coin is certified MS65 by NGC and is expected to be sold for the highest price for a silver dollar.
A reader sent an email asking if I thought the growth was pushing the ordinary collector out of the market. My initial reaction was to look at what the trade press was writing about high end, rare coins, and think that I could not afford those coins. Even the “low end” coins selling over $100,000 is out of my price range. I was ready to answer “yes, the ordinary collector is not part of this market.”
Then I looked at my own collecting activities. After all, I consider myself an ordinary collector. As the market grew and the economy turned, rather than gather many collections, I am concentrating on a few item types. For example, my New York connection was able to add some nice items from a variety of sources. All are interesting and inexpensive collectibles.
When I answered, I told my correspondent that maybe the generalist collector could be priced out of the market, but a collector with a passion and goal can still find affordable numismatic items for their collection. There is nothing wrong with creating specific collecting goals and I encourage you to find yours.
Happy Collecting!
Apr 9, 2008 | fun
New York City is my hometown. I was born in Brooklyn and was moved to Long Island when it was time for me to go to school. Like everyone, I like to go home now and then just to keep connected. Sure, I read the New York Times online, but there is nothing like being there… there is nothing like staying at a midtown hotel and watching the active life on the streets as the taxi drops me off at 11pm.
With New York being America’s crossroads to the world, I thought I would find something interesting in my pocket change. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I should have expected that since I did not go to many tourist areas, preferring to visit friends. I was not there long enough to visit any of the local coin stores either.
It was a fun trip even though my pocket change did not yield any surprises.
Mar 30, 2008 | cents, fun
Sometimes, the debate on the value of our under appreciated zinc-coated-copper cent can get very passionate. While there are multiple sides to every story, we may forget the satire in all of the arguments.
As part of a similar discussion on the Collectors Society forums, we were introduced to this satyrical “scientific” answer to the question, Is a penny worth picking up?. It is a serious sounding, tongue-in-cheek look at what it would cost to pick up one of these coins laying on the ground.
As you read, please check the links in the article’s section titles!
It’s Sunday… we might as well have a little fun!
Mar 29, 2008 | fun, medals
In the movie 300, Leonidas lead 300 of the best Spartan soldiers to prevail over the more powerful Persian army. In sports, 300 is a perfect bowling score where the bowler has thrown twelve straight strikes. The Chrysler 300 is a car model and the face value of the Rocky Mountain Panoramic Photography Commemorative coin is 300 Canadian dollars.
You may ask, “what is this obsession with the number 300?”
This posting marks my 300th posting to the Coin Collector’s Blog.
Three hundred times, I have written, mused, and ranted something about coins. Weather it be about my own collecting pursuits, news, opinions, or an occasional review, I have used this forum to entertain and inform. I thank everyone for reading.
So that this post is not totally self-ingratiating, I do want to go back to an earlier post and provide an update. On December 3, 2006, I wrote about a new acquisition that was not exactly numismatic-related. His name is Boomer, our cute little puggle. At time we brought him home, he was a nine week old bundle. Today, Boomer is 45 pounds of adolescence with the appetite of a Pug and the nose of a Beagle. He is a fun dog with a playful personality who continues to give us joy each day.
To end this posting with something numismatic, I found an image of a collectible I never posted here. It is a 63 millimeter bronze medal honoring the sesquicentennial (150 years) of the Long Island Railroad. For anyone who has spent any time on Long Island, the LIRR is an important part of the life and culture. Its lines concentrate in Jamaica, Queens where Long Islanders would be dispatched into areas of New York City to the west and home to Long Island toward the east. I purchased this medal a year ago for a nice price since there is a rim ding on the reverse between the “N” and “G” in the word “Long.” Since this minor imperfection does not detract from the medal’s beauty, it was a perfect addition to my New York collection!
Happy collecting!
Jan 17, 2008 | coins, fun, pocket change, quarter, silver
Many collectors are cherrypickers. We search change, dealer junk boxes, and other places for bargains. Then there are those hardcore cherrypickers who look for slight errors, die varieties, and other subtle features missed by the casual onlooker. I am not a hardcore cherrypicker. But I do search pocket change to see what I find.
After returning home from dealing with family business, my wife left a sandwich bag full of change and later told me she needed soda money. That means pick out the quarters, see if there is anything interesting, and fill up the quarter tube so she can buy her daily Coca-Cola. I started picking out the quarters and one caught my eye. It was worn but it had a distinct color. I dropped the coins on the desk and heard a distinct “ting.” It was the sound of days gone by. It was the sound of a silver quarter!
Somewhere, my wife received a 1964 Washington Quarter in change. If I was to have it grade, it would probably be slabbed in Extra Fine condition. There is some slight luster and it shows the signs of once being in someone’s collection. According to coinflation.com, the coin is worth about $2.85 in metals (as I type this), which is probably more than its numismatic value. But that does not matter… it was fun to find!!
Nov 5, 2007 | fun, US Mint
My final coin find of the weekend is not a coin but a fantasy. As I was putting my collection in order and taking digital pictures of some coins, I found the image of my ultimate fantasy coin in my pictures folder. It is not a real picture—it is a Photoshop created image of my fantasy coin: the famous, and allegedly non-existent, 1964-D Peace Dollar.
In short, there was a call to strike additional dollars during the early 1960s when there were general coin shortages specifically from western states. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the US Mint to strike new Peace Dollars. Even though it was not publicized, the Mint created new dies and 30 trial strikes. It was later reported that 316,076 business strikes were made at the Denver branch mint became an open secret. Once congress found out, all but two of the trial strikes were destroyed. The trial strikes were allegedly destroyed in 1970.
Like the 1933 Double Eagles and 1913 Liberty Head Nickels, the 1964-D Peace Dollar is not supposed to exist. And like the 1933 Double Eagles, the Department of the Treasury has declared these coins to be illegal and promised to prosecute any who possess one. However, rumors of the existence of at least five of these coins persist.
I hope everyone had a good weekend and enjoyed reading about these coins as much as I enjoyed writing about them!
Nov 3, 2007 | fun, tokens
Although I had this token for a while, I was about to put it into an AirTite holder for storage. Since it was already imaged, I thought I would share it here. This is a token from the Trioboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority. The TBTA (now part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority) is responsible for managing the bridges and tunnels that connect different areas of New York City. At one point in my life, I lived in New York and worked in New Jersey. To make the commute easier, I used to buy these token for $20 per roll to use in the exact change lanes. That lasted a week for crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Staten Island.
With the introduction of EZ-Pass, tokens are no longer used. It is a relic of a bygone era of not so long ago when I commuted in and around New York City.
Let’s see if I can find more.
Oct 22, 2007 | coins, fun, state quarters
Do you have the Monday morning blahs? Do you need a small mental pick-me-up? Then don’t think about work. Go to Mental Floss and test you knowledge of the reverses of some of the 50 State Quarters. They show you 20 quarter reverses and you guess the state from a choice of two. I scored 19 out of 20 after not being able to remember the second coin.
Enjoy!
Oct 6, 2007 | coins, fun, other, rareties
Can you own a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel? What about a 1856 Flying Eagle Cent? Is there a 1907 High Relief Saint Gaudens Double Eagle in your future? Most of us commoners can only dream about owning one of these great rarities. But would it be interesting to have a unique collectible about these and other great coins?
A friend who is a baseball card collector and was searching the Internet looking for a a particular card. After doing a series of online searches he stumbled on a website that he thought I would be interested in seeing. Sure it was about trading cards, but not of baseball players. He said that these were trading cards of rare coins. I thought my friend was doing some early weekend celebrating, but it was such a different idea that I had to see for myself. His email had a link to www.eaglesofamerica.com. When the page loaded, I was surprised to see that this company had partnered with the Upper Deck Company to create rare coin trading cards.
What an interesting idea! I probably will never own most of these rare coins, so why not supplement my collection with trading cards about them? According to the site, “Series 1” will be sold in foil packages at coin and hobby shops. Each package will have eight out of 500 different cards, one of 100 Lucky Penny card that will have an uncirculated Lincoln cent from 1930-70, and one bonus card. The bonus card has an assortment of prized to be claimed from the publishers.
The cards will be available in November from hobby shows with a suggested retail price of $5-6 per pack. Sweepstakes and other prizes are described on the site that include a 1907 High Relief Saint Gaudens Gold Double Eagle, a Trade Dollar, a 1799 Bust Dollar, and a trip to Washington for a visit to the Smithsonian Museum. It will be interesting to see if these cards generate interest in the numismatic community.
Aug 27, 2007 | coins, fun
For some of us, collecting is fun in and of itself. But sometimes, you just have to have more fun and play with your money. We use our money to make art. We can also use nice coins to test our memory. But what about using coins to make jewelry? No, this is not about drilling a hole in the coin to make bracelets or necklaces. How about using a Kennedy half-dollar to make a ring?
The instructions found at this site requires a half-dollar, steel base, a spoon or small machinist hammer, a drill, sandpaper, channel lock plyers, a Dremmel or similar device, and metal polish. From the looks of the pictures, a 1964 silver Kennedy half-dollar was used. Silver may be softer than clad coinage, but the clad layering may make for an interesting 3-color look.
I have not done this. But I might consider using a 1965-1970 40-percent silver clad half-dollar for a different look. Enjoy!
Image from the website discussed.
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