Artist’s conception of the 1964-D Peace dollar, the #1 coin on the new PCGS Top 100 Modern U.S. Coins list.
At the top of the list is the 1964-D Peace dollar, the coin I chose for the logo of this blog. Although U.S. Mint records from the time show that 316,076 were struck, they were never placed into circulation and all were allegedly destroyed. Apparently, PCGS believes, as I do, that someone might have purloined at least one coin. They are offering a $10,000 reward just to seeand authenticate an example.
Let’s assume for the moment that a 1964-D Peace dollar still exists and you had the money to spend, which of the Top 5 in the PCGS Top 100 Modern U.S. Coins would you like for your collection?
This week’s poll asks if you belong to a local coin club.
I believe that local coin clubs are more the future of the hobby than national clubs. Members of local coin clubs can get involved in ways they cannot with a national club and have a greater impact in their community than on a national basis.
I am a member of two local clubs, the Montgomery County Coin Club (MCCC) and the Washington Numismatic Society (WNS). I joined MCCC in 2002 when I became interested in collecting again and have been significantly involved since. I think we are a strong club in an area of the country where there are varied interests a lot of alternative activities for people to be involved. Attendance at our monthly meets range from 20 during the slow summer months to over 40 when we have a popular program. For 2013, I will once again serve as the club’s president.
Last year I joined WNS with the intent of going to their meetings and getting involved with a different group of members. While some WNS members are also MCCC members, there people who are not members of both and a different way of doing things. My “real life” work requirements has prevented me from being more involved, but I hope that will change in 2013.
I am also a member of the Maryland State Numismatic Association (MSNA), the umbrella organization over clubs in Maryland where I have been Vice President since 2012. MSNA is in transition because of local changes in the numismatic climate, mainly the three-times per year Whitman Coin and Currency Expo held in Baltimore. The transition gives us an opportunity to try new ideas and help grow interest in numismatics in Maryland.
Being a member of these organizations allows me to meet and talk with others about numismatics. There are some members who are well known on the national scene, those whose regional knowledge has been valuable, and those with interesting collections and ideas that I would have never thought about.
Taking the time to meet other collectors is as rewarding as the hobby—especially with MCCC and WNS who dedicates a part of their meeting to exhibits, a numismatic “show-and-tell” of new finds or something different from their collections.
Are you a member of a local coin club? If not, why not? Vote in the poll and comments are always welcome below!
EDITED TO ADD: To find a club in your area, you can search for one through the ANA Club Directory. You can search by state, zip code, or even by specialty.
Do you belong to a local coin club?
No, but I am interested in joining (58%, 11 Votes)
Yes and I attend meetings regularly (26%, 5 Votes)
There is no coin club in my area (11%, 2 Votes)
Yes, but I do not attend meetings regularly (5%, 1 Votes)
As I am looking to pare down my collection to concentrate on a few select areas, I did not have anything on my numismatic wish list. Over the last few months, I have bought books that I will use for research. Otherwise, I have been just keeping up with the latest releases and not worrying about the holes in the parts of the collection I will be keeping.
But that does not mean I did not receive a numismatic gift. Although it was not a holiday gift, a friend went to China and found a set called Qing Dynasty 12 emperors. The set contains 12 medals representing the Qing (pronounced as Ching) Dynasty that ruled China from 1616 through 1911. The set covers six pages with two medals per page. Each depicts a different emperor with their clan’s name around the top edge, their name to the right of their image, and the years of their reign below the image. All of the lettering is in Traditional Chinese. The reverse on all of the medals features the dynasty emblem that was used on the flag during the time the dynasty was in power.
Each of the medals are on a sealed plastic page with a paper insert that has an image of the emperor, his name, clan name, when he ruled, and a brief paragraph about him. On the front, the information is in Traditional Chinese, the reverse is in English. All of emperor images are drawings except for the last one, Xuantong Emperor, who abdicated in February 1912.
If you want to know more about the Qing Dynasty, you can read this page that is not pretty but uses the medal images as part of its explanation.
Based on the information I can find, the medals are 38 millimeters in diameter (1½ inches). I found a few references that they are made from silver, but I am not sure. From what I can tell by looking at the color and the weight of the medals, without cutting into the sealed pages, they may be made from a copper-nickel alloy. I do not think they are made from silver or silver-plated. But it is a very cool set and it was nice of my friend to think of me while she vacationed so far from home!
Which brings me to this week’s poll: Did you get anything numismatic-related for whatever holiday you celebrated?
Did you receive a numismatic-related gift this holiday season?
Yes I did and it was something I really wanted. (42%, 11 Votes)
I did not but I bought myself my own numismatic gift. (38%, 10 Votes)
Yes I did but it wasn't something on my want list. (8%, 2 Votes)
I did not but I did not have a numismatic gift on my list. (8%, 2 Votes)
I did not... maybe next year or for my birthday. (4%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 26
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In the mean time, here are images of my Qing Dynasty 12 Emperors set.
Last week, the U.S. Mint published their product schedule for the rest of the month and the first quarter of 2013. So for this week’s poll, which 2013 coin are you most interested in?
American Silver Eagle Proof
While I could have allowed more than one answer, I decided to limit you to just one of the programs that change plus the American Eagle coins. For me, I will always buy at least one example of the silver bullion, uncirculated, and proof coins each year to keep my nearly complete collection going—missing only the 1995-W proof.
For the changing programs, the 2013 Presidential $1 Coins will honor the presidencies of William McKinley (the 25th President), Theodore Roosevelt (26th, whose “Pet Crime” gave us better coin designs), William Howard Taft (27th, the only president to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), and Woodrow Wilson (28th president). Although there are interesting stories about earlier presidents, “modern” United States history is usually taught beginning either McKinley or Roosevelt—which is unfortunate because many people could learn a lot from post-reconstruction politics.
2013 Native American Dollar Reverse Design
One of the most under-appreciated designs have been those for the Native American $1 Coin. Using the obverse of the original Sacagawea Dollar, the reverse has been changing since 2009 to honor the history and other contributions made by native Americans. Aside from honoring their important contributions, the designs have been wonderful. In 2013, the reverse design commemorates the Delaware Treaty of 1778. The design features a turkey, howling wolf, and a turtle as the symbols of the clans of the Delaware Tribes, and 13 stars to represent the colonies. Not only are these great designs but they make wonderful education pieces that should gain more attention when congress does the right thing and eliminates the paper dollar note.
2013 Girl Scouts of the USA Centennial Silver Dollar
The 2013 Girl Scouts of the USA Centennial Silver Dollar honors the organization’s founding by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia on March 12, 1912. Low founded the Girl Scouts a year after meeting Sir Robert Baden-Power, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in England. When Low returned to Savannah, she put the concept in motion. According to the Girl Scouts’ website, “On March 12, 1912, Juliette Low gathered 18 girls to register the first troop of American Girl Guides. Margaret ‘Daisy Doots’ Gordon, her niece and namesake, was the first registered member. The name of the organization was changed to Girl Scouts the following year.” Surcharges from the sales of this coin will be paid to the Girl Scouts for program development and delivery.
Which 2013 coins are you interested in purchasing?
Which 2013 coins are you most interested in?
Any of the American Eagle Coins (30%, 11 Votes)
Native American Dollar (22%, 8 Votes)
5-Star General Commemorative (19%, 7 Votes)
Girl Scouts of the USA Centennial Silver Dollar (14%, 5 Votes)
I am not interested in any of these coins (14%, 5 Votes)
“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.” — Democritus
The power of the opinion. Opinions drive us to do things based on what we hear, how we feel, and process the information around us. Opinions make us different and even binds us together as a species. Opinions can have a significant effect on society, like and election. Other times, opinions can be like screaming into the wind, like complaining about the U.S. Mint.
Sometimes, expressing our opinion can be fun. I have taken the fun part of expressing our opinions in collecting and numismatics and added the ability to express your opinion privately, without anyone knowing what you think. If you look in the right column of this page, there is Poll section where I will post a weekly poll asking for your opinion on something. Anything. All related to numismatics.
The first poll is asking which is your favorite dollar coin design of the six choices listed. Pick one, click on the “Vote” button, and your opinion will be recorded.
Polls will change every week on Monday. Some polls may be about something serious or I may ask less than serious questions. Regardless of the question, it is all in fun.
You can vote once per poll. Yes, I know there is a way to “beat the system.” But if you are that passionate about a question, go ahead!
“It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse races.” — Mark Twain in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson
Every week, Heritage Auctions sends out an email newsletter from their various auctions. Saturdays, they send out a newsletter about their coin auctions. While the newsletter is mostly about their upcoming auction and tips for using their website, there are some interesting tidbits that make it worth reading. One of the interesting features is the interactive section toward the end of the note.
Up until recently, the interactive section was more of a numismatic trivia-type of section where they asked two questions. You selected your answers and clicked through to their site to see how you did compared to others. Recently, Heritage changed the section to be a poll. This week’s question (copied so you can participate):
This got me thinking as to why were these coins chosen out of all of the possible modern commemoratives. Two are based on classic designs: 1999 George Washington Commemorative $5 gold coin was based on the design that Laura Gardin Fraser submitted for the design of the 1932 Washington Quarter that was turned down by then Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, a known misogynist; the 2001 American Buffalo Commemorative Silver Dollar was based on James Earle Fraser’s Type 1 Buffalo Nickel design. James Earle Fraser and Laura Gardin Fraser were husband and wife.
The 1992 Olympic Silver Dollar features a baseball pitcher that is similar to the image of Nolan Ryan that appeared on the 1991 Fleer baseball card. Although designer John Deecken denied the connection, the coin is sometimes referred to as the “Nolan Ryan Commemorative.”
One of the significant attributes of the 1999 Dolley Madison Silver dollar is that the coin was designed by Tiffany & Co., the famous jewelry company, whose moniker “T&Co” appears on the coin as the designer. It marks the first time that a private company’s name appears on a United States coin.
Finally, the 2000 Library of Congress $10 Bimetallic Commemorative Coin is the only coin featuring this type of bimetallic composition. The coin features an outer ring made of gold surrounding a center made from platinum.
As I looked at the list, I knew that the 2001 Buffalo Dollar would be the most popular even though I think the 2000 Library of Congress Bimetallic commemorative is the most unique. But why these coins? The U.S. Mint has issued a lot of commemorative coins with great designs since restarting the commemorative coin program with the 1982 George Washington Half Dollar with the 2012 Star Spangled Banner coins being the most recent.
Since I am not a collector of commemorative coins, I was thinking that if I had to choose five coins what would I have chosen and why. Here is my list (in date order):
1982 George Washington Half Dollar because it is the first of what we consider the modern commemorative period.
2000 Library of Congress $10 Bimetallic Commemorative Coin because it is the only bimetallic coin of its type made by the U.S. Mint.
2001 American Buffalo Commemorative Silver Dollar because it is similar to the design of the Buffalo nickel, one of my favorite coins.
2008 Bald Eagle Half Dollar with the obverse showing two baby eaglets and an egg in an eagle’s nest with the reverse an image of the Bald Eagle “Challenger.” This coin shows the continuing of the Bald Eagle like the continuing of the nation. I love the symbolism.
2012 Star Spangled Banner Silver Dollar screams “United States of America!”
I do own a 2012 Star Spangled Banner Proof Silver Dollar.
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But that does not mean I did not receive a numismatic gift. Although it was not a holiday gift, a friend went to China and found a set called 
