Fight Finished!
The talk around the Washington, DC metropolitan area is not what is happening on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is what will be happening on Constitution Avenue starting at 2:00 PM on November 2. According to the Mayor’s office, the parade for the World Champion Washington Nationals will begin on Constitution Avenue NW at 15th Street NW and end on Pennsylvania Avenue NW at 3rd Street.
A rally will be held at the end of the parade route.
If you are a baseball fan, you hope that every World Series goes six or seven games. Most of the drama comes in those last two games. This series was no different.
Obligatory numismatic content:
Fans of the Nationals can purchase a commemorative plaque from the Danbury Mint that includes a bronze medal. This is an uncompensated message only used so that I had something numismatic to add!
This Week In Pocket Change
At the end of the day, I empty the change from my pockets and put it on top of my dresser. Every Saturday, I search through that change to see if there was anything interesting. This week there seem to be quite a few fun finds:
• Bicentennial Quarter
• 1946 Jefferson Nickel
• 1945 & 1952 Lincoln Wheat Back Cents
• 1978 Canadian Quarter
• 1979 Canadian Cent
While none of the coins are worth much, it is still fun to find different coins in pocket change. They will go into my found coins bank with the others that I have found.
Looking back, I never showed off my found coins bank. It was from a gift by my wife (then girl friend). The bank is a solid oak box with the door of an old post office box on the front. The box was made by R.P. & Company who purchased the doors from the Postal Service, refurbished them, and made them into banks. My bank is their Flying Eagle brass model, circa 1906. The bank has a few wheat cents, older nickels, Bicentennial quarters, a few foreign coins, and a $2 bill I received in change a few years ago.
I wonder if anyone else even keeps their found coins or has a “found coins bank.” Let me know.
I Know… The US Mint is Broken
I received a few notes from readers asking why I have not commented on the US Mint’s recent failures. I have a feeling that they were prompted to ask after reading this post at the Mint News Blog and Susan Headley’s story about the Mint’s computer issues. The short answer is that I have said all I can say about the Mint.
After writing about the Mint’s pricing policy with the Ultra High Relief Double Eagles, a commenter criticized me for not having respect for the Mint employees. It prompted me to write about who I thought was the blame at the Mint.
Almost two weeks later, the Mint changes its return policy giving bogus reasons for not managing this situation correctly.
If Andy Brunhardt was hired to “fix” the operations of the US Mint, his performance has been much less than stellar and seems to be getting worse. I am just tired of harping on it.
Rather than comment here, I have written to my members of congress, Office of the Inspector General for the Department of the Treasury, and staff of the President of the United States. Hopefully, between those five people I hope to see progress.
Founded 220 Year Ago
On March 4, 1789, the first congress convened under the new Constitution of the United States of America. Congress met at Federal Hall in New York City, the temporary capital until Washington, DC was built. Because March 4 was the first day of the constitutional government, it was the day that the president would be sworn in. This would last until the passage of the 20th Amendment of the Constitution in 1933.
The formation and seating of congress predates the presidency. After meeting on March 4, committees were formed to create an infrastructure for the legislative branch, which was then debated on April 1, 1789, when congress had its first quorum. One of its first orders of business was to form the Electoral College that voted George Washington as the first President of the United States. Washington, who did not accept a salary, was the only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College for both of his terms.
Washington appointed a cabinet and selected Alexander Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury. In addition to setting up an economic system for the new country, Hamilton wrote a report to congress recommending a monetary system and a mint to strike coins in 1791. Congress did not pass the first Coinage Act until April 2, 1792.
As collectors, we can thank and curse congress over the politics of coin making in the United Sates. But without them, we would have nothing to collect!
Coin images courtesy of the US Mint.
Mint To Offer Lincoln Cent Rolls
I went to the US Mint’s online catalog to see when the Puerto Rico quarters and District of Columbia Quarter first day covers would be released. While scanning down the list of Scheduled Product releases I noticed that the Mint will be releasing a roll set for the Lincoln Cent Birthplace coins. These rolls are scheduled to be released on March 13.
Also in the list are roll sets for the Formative Years, Life in Illinois, and Presidency coins.
With the backlog of cents in the Federal Reserve System preventing these coins from circulating, this is a good idea. It will allow collectors easier access to the coins.
But what of the costs? Rolls of other coins wrapped in US Mint paper are sold with a premium. Rolls of dollar coins in the Mint wrapper with a $25 face value are sold for $35.95. Kennedy Half dollar and State Quarter rolls contain $20 worth of coins (2 rolls) sells for $32.95. How much of a premium will the Mint add to rolls worth 50-cents each?
Would it be possible that the Mint will also sell these coin as part of their Direct Ship program? Under the direct shipment program, the Mint sells 10 rolls of Presidential Dollar coins at face value ($250) in commercially wrapped paper with free shipping. It may not be cost effective for the Mint to do with with $5 worth of Lincoln Cents, but it is an option for them to think about even if they do charge for the shipping.
I may order these rolls, depending on the pricing. It may be easier than waiting for the banks to get these coins.
Mercanti Named 12th Chief Engraver
Buried within the hype of the Ultra High Relief Saint Gaudens Double Eagle and all of the other news of the day was that during the ceremony for the opening of the UHR exhibit at the Philadelphia Mint was the announcement that John Mercanti would be the 12th Chief Engraver of the US Mint.
Mercanti, who was previously the “Supervisory Design and Master Tooling Development Specialist,” has been working for the US Mint since 1974 and has been responsible for the design of some of the Mint’s most spectacular coins of the last 35 years. Mercanti worked under Chief Engravers Frank Gasparro and Elizabeth Jones.
After Jones retired in 1990, the US Mint abolished the position of Chief Engraver. After 19 years, Director Edmund C. Moy has decided to bring back the position and offer the job to the Mint’s most experienced and accomplished engraver. Mercanti deserves the honor to join this elite group:
| Robert Scot | 1793-1823 |
| William Kneass | 1824-1840 |
| Christian Gobrecht | 1835-1844 |
| James Barton Longacre | 1844-1869 |
| William Barber | 1869-1879 |
| Charles Edward Barber | 1879-1917 |
| George T. Morgan | 1917-1925 |
| John R. (Ray) Sinnock | 1925-1947 |
| Gilroy Roberts | 1948-1964 |
| Frank Gasparro | 1965-1981 |
| Elizabeth Jones | 1981-1990 |
| John M. Mercanti | 2009-present |
Congratulation to John Mercanti!
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