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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Grand Canyon State To Launch Grand Quarter
By CoinLink


The State Capitol Senate Lawn in Phoenix will be the site of the Arizona Quarter Launch on Monday, June 2, 2008, at 10 a.m. (Arizona Time). United States Mint Director Ed Moy will join Governor Janet Napolitano in hosting the festivities. The public and news media are invited to this free event which celebrates the 48th commemorative quarter-dollar in the popular 50 State Quarters® Program.

The Arizona quarter goes into circulation nationwide the same day. After the ceremony, the public may exchange their bills for $10 rolls of shiny, new Arizona quarters at the event. Each child under 18 attending the launch will receive a free Arizona quarter.

On the eve of the launch, the public and news media are invited to a free Coin Collectors Forum in the Carnegie Center from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Arizona Time) on Sunday, June 1, 2008 hosted by United States Mint Director Ed Moy. The forum will provide an opportunity for the public to let United States Mint officials know what citizens would like to see on U.S. coinage in the future.

Arizona was the 48th state to be admitted into the Union on February 14, 1912. The 50 State Quarters® Program honors the states in the ordered they joined the Union.

WHAT: Launch of the Arizona Commemorative Quarter-Dollar Quarter ExchangeCoin Collectors Forum on Eve of Launch

WHO: United States Mint Director Ed MoyGovernor Janet NapolitanoBeth and Bill, 99.9 FM KEZ RadioRoberta Crowe, Arizona Quarter Commission ChairMariachi Aguila de Marcelino CervantesSouthwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers

WHEN: Launch: June 2, 2008, 10 a.m. (Arizona Time); Quarter Exchange to followCoin Collectors Forum: June 1, 2008, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Arizona Time)

WHERE: Launch: State Capitol Senate Lawn, 1700 West Washington Street, PhoenixCoin Collectors Forum: Carnegie Center, 1101 West Washington Street, Phoenix

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Sentiment is positive
By Mark Ferguson
Coin Values Market Analyst

We've seen tremendous price appreciation for coins during the bull market of the past five years.
But with all the talk in the mainstream news about the credit crunch, a recession, possibly even a depression, or at least the most difficult of economic times facing us since the Great Depression, is there really still potential for price appreciation in the coin market?

The general sentiment of players in this market, who are both collectors and dealers, is a resounding "Yes, most definitely!"

The whole coin market may not be poised to appreciate, but in speaking regularly with coin people I have found that most who are involved in this market agree: particular areas show potential for appreciation.

The primary thinking is that we're in for another round of general economic price inflation.
Historically the coin market does very well during times of inflation. The signs are obvious that living costs are in a rising trend, beginning with our need for transportation, both personally and in shipping goods.

Even if the costs of particular goods themselves are not appreciating yet, many vendors in today's economy are adding a fuel surcharge.

Merchants can't continue to cover rising fuel costs, so price rises will have to occur throughout the economy, especially in restaurants and grocery stores, as a "food crisis" develops.
Because of the rising costs of living, some coin dealers are noticing that collectors of average means have slowed down with their purchases.

The obvious choice to make is to feed one's family, rather than plunk down a few hundred or a few thousand dollars to purchase coins. Many dealers are experiencing the effects of this choice.
The great majority of people will be maintaining their employment, though, and it is hoped their compensation will continue to rise to pay for living costs. So, many collectors will be able to continue to purchase coins, other "things" and entertainment.

Obviously the well-to-do will still have capital to put into coins. There will be some unfortunate folks who experience business or investment reversals.

But many will also be able to take advantage of new opportunities that require capital.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Nine-Sided Silver Coin
By Austrian Mint


The Austrian Mint celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Herbert von Karajan, a 20th century musical giant, with a new nine-sided silver commemorative coin minted in Special Uncirculated and Circulation quality.

This year Herbert von Karajan would have celebrated his 100th birthday. He was born on 5th April, 1908, in the city of Salzburg. To commemorate this great Austrian conductor the Austrian Mint in Vienna is issuing a 5 Euro silver coin on 7th May, 2008.

On the occasion of his death in 1989 the New York Times characterised Karajan as “probably the world’s best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music.”

As a child he already showed great talent on the piano. He studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum and later at the university and academies in Vienna. His first public performance (as a “trail-conductor”) was in 1929 with the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg. In 1930 he became the conductor and musical director at the City Theatre in Ulm.

During the war Karajan’s membership in the Nazi Party protected his career and his part-Jewish wife, but it proved a hindrance after 1945, despite his acquittal by the Austrian denazification examining board. Nevertheless, he conducted in Milan and in London as well as at the Lucerne Festival.

In 1955 he was appointed the music director of the Berlin Philharmonic for life. In Vienna he conducted the world famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and at the Vienna Opera, as well as at the Salzburg Festival, where he also established Easter Festival.

Karajan was recognised worldwide as a masterly conductor. Although he conducted (and recorded) all the great composers, he was especially associated with the performance of the works of Beethoven, all of which he put on record.

In 1972 The Council of Europe commissioned him to arrange Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from the Ninth Symphony as the European anthem. Karajan was also instrumental in the development of the compact disk, lending his prestige and endorsement to the recording and sale of CDs.

The nine-sided silver coin shows a portrait of Herbert von Karajan in one of his well-known dramatic poses while conducting. It is based on a photo portrait. In the background are the notes of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; a reference to his arrangement of the European anthem.

The small Euro-star logo marks this coin as Austria’s contribution to the 2008 Europa Silver Series which is marketed from a partnership of European mints. The other side of the coin bears the face value of “5” encircled by the shields of the nine federal provinces of Austria.

There will be 100,000 coins in special uncirculated quality for collectors; 75,000 in informative blister packs, and 25,000 for the Europa series.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Zinc or Swim
By THOMAS G. DONLAN


THOMAS GRESHAM WAS NO FOOL. "Bad money drives out the good," he said in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Canny people have been saying it ever since, and acting accordingly.
In 20th-century America, gold was the first good money to go. First, it was driven out of circulation by a flood of paper; then the government confiscated much of the gold its citizens were hoarding.

Silver dollars were the next driven out, and silver quarters and silver dimes weren't far behind. In 1965, it cost more than 10 cents worth of silver to make a dime. First, the government made it illegal to melt down coins, then it took the silver out.

Pennies were next. Until 1982, there was enough copper in a penny to pose a temptation to melters and hoarders.

The pennies made after 1982, though intrinsically almost worthless at the time, now contain more than a pennyworth of zinc and copper. And there's more than five cents worth of copper and nickel in a nickel coin.

Since 2006, it has been illegal to melt down pennies and nickels for their metal; now there are active proposals to substitute baser metals for zinc, copper and nickel.

There is a better alternative: Create good money, and maintain its value.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

The art of money


Something has happened to our money.

And no, not just that the American peso has dropped historically against the euro, making trips to France and Italy half-again more costly than they used to be.

Rather, our $5, $10 and $20 bills and our coins have suffered a severe drop in quality when considered as art. advertisement Yes, money is art, whether it's the engraving that makes up the bills or the bas-relief sculpture on our coins. There are long histories in both as art mediums, from the intricate lozenge-and-dot portraits of the 17th and 18th centuries and the commemorative medallions struck from the Renaissance on.

But craftsmanship at the mint and at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has declined precipitously, leaving us with wallets full of bad art. This wouldn't be so noticeable if the older coins and bills hadn't been so beautifully made.

"When I compare our money with European money, ours has fallen quite flat in design and execution," says Dan Mayer, printmaker for Pyracantha Press at Arizona State University.
Look at an old bill, before the anti-counterfeiting "improvements" of the 21st century. Not only are the portraits more lifelike - there's a personality behind the eyes in Grant's picture on the $50 bill - the designs also are fuller, more detailed and graceful, full of trailing acanthus and olive leaves.

The vegetative growth and architectural motifs that used to grace our bills announced our national fecundity. We were a waxing moon, a rising tide. The scrollwork and border ornament recalled the inventive bustle of the Renaissance.

The new bills, full of iridescent ink, microprinting and watermarks to discourage counterfeiting, are defensive and speak of a nation feeling the need to protect itself. There is no room now for the purely ornamental or decorative profusion of the old designs. Everything there has a purpose, stripped down like some typographic battlement.

Genuine beauty comes from an effusion of confidence and grace; in contrast, our new bills look as though they were designed by forensic engineers.

Even worse are the newer coins, which look less like legal tender and more like tokens at a state fair. Or perhaps you catch yourself trying to peel back the foil to eat the chocolate inside.
The portraits on them are an embarrassment - one observer noted that the frontal portraits must have been "zombie presidents."

One problem is that the coin designers have chosen to represent the faces not in profile, but head-on. It's hard to make a shallow relief sculpture of a full face without having the nose stick out too much. The new coins try, but because they have to be flat - after all, they have to stack - the nose gets squashed flat into the cheeks, and the eyebrow ridge stick out as much as the nose. Hence the zombie look.

Looks not important
Madison looks more like Count Olaf in the Lemony Snicket movie than a founding father. Jefferson has an eyebrow ridge like Frankenstein's monster.

The "Return to Monticello" nickel is just as bad, with its oddly squished portrait of Jefferson, off-center on the coin's front.

The problem is that the rationale for changing the design is conceptual, not visual.
As Ed Moy, director of the U.S. Mint, says, "We are proud of the result of interesting design innovations like the forward-facing Jefferson nickel, so appropriate in showing a forward-thinking president who had the foresight to expand our country westward through the Louisiana Purchase."

Fine metaphor, lousy image. There's a reason we have used profiles since the beginnings of coinage some 2 millennia ago.

The worst is probably the new State Quarters series. The Arizona quarter begins the minting process Friday for a June 2 release date. The many state designs vary in quality - Arizona's is one of the better ones - but it's the road-kill George Washington on the front that's the main problem.

These things are hard to describe in words, but reach into your pocket and pull out some art - I mean, some change - to see for yourself.

If you have more than a couple of quarters, at least one is likely to be the old eagle-backed quarter that has been standard since 1932, and another will probably be one of the new state quarters.

Look at Washington's head on both. The old head was satisfying and sculptural; the new head is flat, ugly and can't make up its mind if it wants to be bas-relief sculpture or incised drawing. Sculpture and drawing are different things, and they don't sit well together in such a tiny space as a coin.

"Relief on most modern coins is lower," says Michael White, spokesman for the Mint, "because of volume and vending-machine usage. When you make billions of coins, you don't do the same relief."

Little relief in sight
In fact, there's hardly any relief at all.
You can see that confusion between the three-dimensional sculpture and the outlined two-dimensional drawing on many of the individual state designs. The Michigan quarter is practically nothing but an outline map of the state. That isn't sculpture. Coins this dull could be molded out of plastic.

Even the space around Washington's head is a disgrace. Move the old quarter in the light to notice that the background space is not flat, but dish-shaped. Because it's modulated, it catches the light as it moves in a way that makes the space - even the empty space - come alive. But the new quarter has a flat, uninflected background, as if no one really cared or paid attention.
All around, the founding fathers' portraits have lost their vitality. Look at the lifeless portraits on the newer $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills. Hamilton's nose is out of joint on the $10. . Look at Andrew Jackson on the $20 and ask yourself, "What's going on with those shoulders?" His head looks like a giant paste-on over what might be taken for a volcano.

Aside from poor draftsmanship, there's a lowering of craftsmanship in the bills.

The problem is that money is printed by engraving, and the engraving process is a slow, exacting one that few people have either the talent or patience for anymore.

"We live in a time that moves much faster than it did in the 16th, 17th or 18th centuries, when engraving rose to a peak of craftsmanship," says printmaker Mary Hood of Arizona State University. "We don't have the time to do it."

The engraver has to cut a line in a metal plate using a sharp metal burin. For the lozenge-and-dot technique used for portraiture, a series of parallel lines have to be drawn to follow the contours of the face. They are incised more shallowly in areas that should be light and more heavily in darker areas. Keeping the pressure even is a task for someone who has a great deal of time to spend getting it right.

In the details
Few people have the patience needed or the courage to attack a metal plate knowing that making a mistake means having to start over again.

"We're different since the ADD (attention-deficit disorder) revolution," Hood says. "And there is no command Z in engraving. If you make the line, you cannot correct it. Because it is so slow and hard to control, hand engraving has been replaced by modern commercial processes. It's all digital now."

The esthetic concern fades away. Who actually looks at money, anyway?

Perhaps decline is a historical inevitability. One remembers the incredible flowing drapery carved by Greek and Roman sculptors and the slow decline of the art into the third and fourth centuries, when the drapery folds no longer had any relation to the body underneath.
This is what happens when people lose their ability to see, to look with attention. It has often been said that we live in a visual culture, but that's not really true. We may have given up the written word, but what we are calling visual is really just a written symbol: The stick-figure female that signifies the women's restroom. You read such symbols, not see them. It gives up its meaning instantly.

A real woman, in contrast, can be studied for a lifetime.

There are hopeful signs. The initial design update of the bills had a giant medallion holding the presidential portraits.

"They shifted the oval off and simplified the design," Mayer says. "It was totally out of balance."
But the newer bills - the most recent $5 bill was released in March - has done away with the medallion altogether, and although Lincoln is still large, he fits into the design better without the space-eating oval surrounding him. And with the addition of subtle colors, a line of stars and an eagle, it begins to recover from the disaster of the previous design.

They haven't attacked the $1 bill yet. Perhaps that's because the naked dollar simply isn't worth counterfeiting.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Investing in 'rare' coins rarely pays off
by Chuck Jaffe


On a recent trip to help my ailing in-laws in upstate New York, I came across a full-page ad in the Finger Lakes Times saying "the last restricted rolls" of Empire State quarters would be sold in the next 48 hours. The ad was built to look and read like a newspaper story, and I tore it out of the newspaper, wondering just who might fall for this stuff.

A short time later, my wife traveled to her parents' home, and was asked by her dad to remove some valuables, basically a drawer with old piggy banks and tins filled with a lifetime of pocket change." When she brought it home, there were years of interesting coins to look at, plus nine little blue velvet bags. Inside those bags were the very same kinds of rolls of uncirculated New York state quarters, which, judging from some accompanying paperwork, had been purchased from a similar offer seven years ago. Each order was exactly as described by the ad in the Finger Lakes Times, including a specially wrapped roll of 25 coins -- the wrapper saying they were restricted to New York residents only -- plus the "free quarter" encased in plastic.

My wife, Susan, the most patient and understanding woman in America, said: "I'm betting this isn't the smartest investment my parents ever made."

In fact, it's one of the dumbest, because the "special state quarter offers" are a good example of a bad investment, the kind that sucks people in all the time.

To its credit, World Reserve Monetary Exchange's ad -- actually described as a "Universal Media Syndicate Special Advertisement Feature" -- does not focus in on the investment value of the coins, instead discussing how the Lady Liberty quarter will not be minted again, and how proud New Yorkers may want to set aside some of these tokens.

There is a small part of the ad, however, headlined "Value for state quarters soar," and which discusses how the Tennessee quarter "has already increased in value an astonishing 1,100 percent." Ohio and Louisiana quarters are also up more than 300 percent in value, according to the accompanying chart.

It sounds great, but the World Reserve phone representatives couldn't tell me who was paying that much and said only the value of the quarters "might" go up.

In talking with coin dealers and looking at value tables, the best price I found on perfect-condition Tennessee quarters was 75 cents, a far cry from the 1,100 percent gain, which would make the quarter worth about three bucks. The best value on New York quarters was 28 cents.
And those are prices that dealers sell coins for, not the price you'll get taking your quarters to the open market.

Moreover, the entire idea of buying new quarters for monetary gain defies logic, even by the sometimes illogical standards of collectibles. State quarters were minted in huge quantities; the special New York wrapper is just something the World Reserve slapped on them, not some special, valuable designation. In fact, some collectors pay more for "original bank-rolled coins" and might look askance on the World Reserve's rolls of 25 quarters (rather than the standard 40).

"It's not collecting. It's speculation," says Jon Hanson, a rare-coin dealer in Wellesley, Mass. When the hype dies and the focus shifts, there's no demand, and you're left having paid too much."

Indeed, what makes the special quarter offers so bad is the pricing. You get 25 quarters -- face value of $6.25 -- plus the special "free" one in its special case for $21.10. Because I called in after the 48-hour period, operators told me I'd have to pay an extra two bucks.

That price includes the shipping and handling charges, but it basically means buyers are spending 88 cents for every 25-cent coin they purchase. That means that with the best price currently listed by coin dealers for those Tennessee quarters -- much more scarce, and most quarters in any roll would fall below that standard of excellence -- they're still below break-even. And since the deal was on New York quarters -- now fetching 28 cents in the best condition -- investors start out deeply underwater.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

2008 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins Available


The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2008 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins at 12:00 noon (ET) on May 5, 2008. This year's coins feature the final design in the three-year series entitled, "The Foundations of American Democracy," celebrating our Nation's Judicial Branch of government.

Emblazoned on the reverse of the 2008 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins is an allegorical image of Lady Justice, a classic symbol dating back to the Greeks and Romans. Scales, suspended from a finger of her right hand, represent the delicate balance of the law. A sword in her left hand symbolizes the power of reason, which can be wielded in either direction. The bald eagle-our Nation's symbol of courage and freedom-watches over our firm foundation of democracy.

The coin's reverse was sculpted by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Joel Iskowitz and engraved by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Charles Vickers.
The obverse of the 2008 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins-designed and engraved by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver John Mercanti-bears an image of Lady Liberty, symbolizing vigilance and faithfulness to duty.

American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins bear the "W" mintmark denoting production at the United States Mint at West Point. Each coin is encapsulated in plastic and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

Pricing and mintages of the 2008 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins are listed below:
Coin Price
Maximum Mintage
Product Limit

Proof One Ounce
$2,299.95
16,000
6,000

Proof Half-Ounce
$1,174.95
15,000
5,000

Proof Quarter-Ounce
$ 609.95
15,000
5,000

Proof Tenth-Ounce
$ 269.95
20,000
10,000

Proof Four-Coin Set
$4,119.95
N/A
10,000

Note: Maximum mintages reflect the total number of individual product options and the coins included in the four-coin sets.

The United States Mint will accept orders for the 2008 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins at its secure Web site, www.usmint.gov, or at the toll-free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).

Saturday, May 03, 2008

1838-O sale mystery unraveled
By David L. Ganz


The 1838-O half dollar is a genuine rarity, with only 20 pieces struck and the fate, 170 years after striking, of just about a dozen known pieces in existence leaves some unaccounted for. I’ve liked this coin for many years and made it a centerpiece of my new book that Krause is publishing in July, “Profitable Coin Collecting.”

More than 50 public auction sales of this coin are of record, some over a hundred years ago. The Mickley sale in 1867 by Woodward saw the coin offered as Lot 1782 and the selling price of $2.75. The same coin was acquired by J. P. Clemens and when Edward Coogan sold his collection in 1878. Lot 159 contained the same coin and brought $15.

Frossard sold his own collection Oct. 2, 1884 and Lot 400 in that sale featured an 1838 New Orleans half dollar which brought the “enormous” price of $63 only to find an early case of economic recession in the coin field so that by the time Lorin Parmalee sold his collection in 1890, the coin stepped back to $23.50.

Thomas Elder sold the Wilson collection in October 1908, and Lot 346 featured the very same 1838-O half dollar. It resounded to a $570 mark. In the span of 40 years, the coin rose in value from $2.75 to almost $600 – weekly wages in the United States at the time averaged about $6.
In the 1950s, the Anderson-Dupont sale by Stacks yielded a $3,500 price realized for an impaired proof specimen. That coin would be resold nine times in the succeeding half century and form the basis of the mystery that has existed for almost 20 years.

The unknown answer: an August 1989 sale as Lot 202. What was the price realized?

This seemed like a fairly easy answer since at least seven different sales since 1989 offered other coins, or even this one, and referred to the auction sale, the lot, and its pedigree. None of them, however, listed the price – though they did for many other items.

I had a vague recollection that this was one of many of the shadow auctions that surrounded the ANA convention each year, which began with the Apostrophe auction sales in 1979. Trouble is, I didn’t have the catalog. So I called the ANA library and the American Numismatic Society library and asked if they had a copy of the catalog and prices realized.

Little did I realize that this was the first of more than a hundred inquiries yielding a giant conundrum – both organizations forwarded the page description but neither had a prices realized or hand price version of the catalog.

Next, I reached out to Dennis Baker, who then edited the coin dealer newsletter and today owns NumisMedia – but he didn’t remember the sale of event or have any strong recollection. I decided to check the two weekly newspapers (I have nearly complete sets of both) and found no mention at all.

I decided to try the numismatic information program (NIP) funded by the Harry Bass Foundation, thinking that perhaps The Numismatist might have had a small story on the price realized. No luck there, either.

Back in the 1980s, I regularly attended coin auctions as a buyer and as a reporter and immediately thought of some of my colleagues and friends who did likewise. So I contacted Julian Leidman, who attended many of the other sales and normally was a great source of recollection.

Julian responded with a case of bad memory but very good suggestions. I’ve forgotten about Vintage, which was only around for a couple of years, but he remembered vividly. “Larry [Hanks] had partners, I believe, David. I think that they were Dale Williams, now in Montana, Norm Pullen, now in Maine, his brother, Bill, now in Florida. One of them might have a catalog that is priced. You might also try Tony Terranova or Ken Goldman. I cannot find those catalogs, sorry.”

John Danreuther, similarly contacted, wrote, “I can’t remember what it brought. I checked my catalog, but I don’t have prices realized for this lot. I did not attend that sale, so don’t have that info. I think Larry Hanks could help you, as he was the main man in that auction group. Larry should be able to give you the buyer, too.”

So I began correspondence with Larry Hanks, who remembered the coin, the catalog, but neither the consignor, the purchase price nor the winning bidder. I also started to look at alternative sources – books that carried prices realized and similar. I thought the Coin World Almanac might be a good idea, but the coin was not covered.

Similarly, Auction Prices Realized which Krause publications published into the year 2002 might be a good source – and I had 1989 volume in my library. Unfortunately, it covered 1988. I bought on eBay the 1990 volume only to find that it didn’t cover the Vintage auction sale at all.
There was no reference to it, either, in my extensive reference library of some 5,000 volumes. I had previously bought both a catalog and some prices realized from Karl Moulton, and reached out to him. He did send the Vintage catalog, but it also lacked the prices realized. Bryce Brown had neither the catalog nor the prices realized.

I was beginning to think that this could be no sale or one where no prices realized were printed or possibly both. Larry Hanks then saved the day. “I was a partner with Vintage Auctions at that time. I’ll see if I can find a copy of the prices realized. I do know the coin did sell,” he e-mailed. Now we’re cooking with gas.

He recalled that “A collector from the Northeastern part of the United States was the buyer. If my memory serves me correctly, the coin either sold for $45,000 or $50,000. I’ll also check and see if I can find out who consigned the piece.”

I thought I was on the right track and ready for the answer but Larry continued that “Unfortunately, in August, 2007, a large portion of my numismatic reference library (including hundreds of books and catalogs from 1858 to 1964) was destroyed in a flood in (of all places) El Paso. My original reference copy of the Vintage Auction with the prices realized was a part of the destroyed reference materials.”

Back to the drawing board. I reached out to Dwight Manley and Kevin Lipton, known for their discerning eye and purchase of major rarities. Dwight wrote back in an e-mail, “Some guy that had Anchor Coins from Florida I think may have bought it ... he was buying them back then ... his name may have been Walter ...a stocky guy with gold chains.”

I spoke again with Julian Leidman who confirmed that “Walter” collected 1838-O half dollars – that’s right, collected them – but that he didn’t think he was a purchaser. Since it is from Florida, I thought David Akers who responded to an inquiry” I am sorry but I did not attend that particular sale and have no record of the price realized or the buyer.”

Time to bite the bullet and speak to some more coin dealers who were involved in Vintage coin auction sales. Norm Pullen couldn’t have been nicer, and I caught up with him in Maine in the early spring. He also had absolutely no recollection of coin or event, though he suggested Larry Hanks could provide the answer.

Larry’s estimate of $45,000 was the first ballpark figure that made sense. A call to Dale Williams yielded what he termed a “Swiss cheese” memory that brought me no closer to the buyer or the amount than before.

In the middle of all this, Heritage offered the coin in its Central States auction sale, which meant a great opportunity for a chart showing price changes over an extended period of time – if only I could just get the price.I spoke with Arthur Friedberg, of the Coin Currency Institute, who I’ve known for more than 30 years, and Neil Berman, who I’ve known almost as long. Neither had the catalog or prices realized or suggestions beyond checking with the ANS. During this time, the ANS library was in the process of packing up for a move, but Frank Campbell, the retiring librarian, couldn’t have been more helpful.

He checked the coin dealer newsletter closest to the sale date and several other sources and came up with a goose egg. So, too, the ANA librarian Amber Thompson. Bryce Brown now stepped in with a promising suggestion for yet another library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and Ted Buttrey.

I wrote to Buttrey, as well as the keeper of the coins, and heard that they had the catalog (an online examination showed that) but also no prices realized. In response to my request, Ted also confirmed that the catalog was not hand priced. Stuart Levine, Sheridan Downey, Andy Lusting, Scott Travers Maurice Rosen, David Harper, Ron Guth, Wayne Homren, Jeff Friedman, Ken Goldman and others all jumped in with suggestions.

Ken Goldman had an epiphany; he told me he owned this particular coin in 1986 but has no knowledge afterwards. My task so far is summarized in an e-mail to Ron Guth, PCGS president: “I’m researching the 1838-O half dollar for a chapter in a book on collecting and investing in rare coins (Krause, 2008) and heard that you had something to do with Vintage Auctions back in 1989.

“According to the catalog, which I have, Lot 202 is 1838 – O half dollar. I can’t tell whether or not it’s sold because I don’t have a copy of the prices realized. The ANS has the catalog and no prices realized. The ANA lacks even the catalog. Karl Moulton’s Web site said Larry Hanks was a principal, so I contacted him; ownership was not relevant but the results were. I then cite the Heritage pedigree:

“Still looking for that elusive information on the 1838-O half. Julian had no information. Bowers no recollection. Neil Berman nothing. Zero from ANA and ANS Library. Karl Moulton no price realized. Frank Campbell of the ANS checked Auction Prices Realized and there is no coverage or listing. I found old issues of Coin World in August-September 1989 and looked to see if there was a story about the auction or the sale and found none. Though my Numismatic News holds are more disorganized (I was writing for Coin World then), to the same effect from what I did find. Dennis Baker, then editor of Coin Dealer Newsletter, also no recollection.
Beth Deisher yesterday checked her index and manually reviewed the same papers that I did – no p/r, no story about them.”

“Nothing in The Numismatist that I could find. Jim Halperin and the Heritage team who are selling one at Central States also came up empty on the Vintage specimen. One thought that I have is that some of those in attendance might have kept book the way I used to at the Apostrophe sales, by bidder, opening bid and result. Larry Hanks (who recalls that it did sell, but can’t remember what price – today he believes $45,000 – lost his paperwork and library in a rare El Paso flood – but was going to check.

Dale Williams (who claims he is too old and has a bad memory and doesn’t remember at all), Ken Goldman (who told me he owned this particular coin in 1986 but has no knowledge afterwards), Julian Leidman (early on, who referred me to Larry Hanks and Ken Goldman, but had no independent recollection); all for naught. I still need the data.”

Stuart Levine thinks he has a lead: “I think that the 38-O in question may have been a coin that Julian Leidman bought out of a Herb Melnick sale around 1982. I think I remember the coin not selling in the 1989 sale. Ask Julian.”

And so I go back to my friend of 30 years Julian Leidman.

On April 6, Julian copies me with an e-mail: “I have a colleague who is doing some research on the 38-O halves, Lowell, and we have been unable to find the price realized when you bought your coin. Would you be kind enough to tell me? I hope that you do well in the Heritage auction.” Yup! Julian found the 1989 buyer – the 2008 consignor.

I drop a note to the writer and get back a reply that puts it all in perspective: “I have the original catalog of that sale. The only thing I have is the minimum bid was $27,000. I started bidding at $32,000. There was a two-page write-up in the catalog about the 1838-O history, how and where it was minted.”

Back comes the conclusion of the search and the footnote: “ I do not recall my increments to the $37,000. It is graded by PCGS at Pr-45 at the time I bought it.” The price realized with the 10 percent buyer’s fee is $40,700. The buyer was Lowell Yoder, who sold the coin April 17, 2008, “so it can be a blessing to help those in need and to serve our Lord and may my Lord bless you.”

The price realized: $276,000 for the Proof-45 half dollar rarity – a simple return of about 17 percent annually.
And so its 54-year price history is logged as follows:
Anderson-Dupont, Stack’s, Nov. 1954, $3,500;1957 ANA, Federal Coin Exchange, Aug. 1957 $4,450;1983 ANA sale, Kagin, Aug. 83, $29,700;Jasper Robertson collection, Mid American, May 1985, $32,500;1986 ANA Sale Kagin Aug. 1986 $33,000WH “Woody” Blevin, Superior, June 1988, $44,000;Vintage Auctions, Vintage Auctions, Aug. 1989, $40,700;Yoder family, Heritage, April 2008, $276,000.

All this for a footnote to the chart. The book’s due out in July.

Thursday, May 01, 2008







CCAC Picks 2009 First Spouse Designs



By Numismatic News




Designs for 2009 First Spouse gold coins and bronze medals were considered at the Citizen Coin Advisory Committee meeting April 22.

Images of the First Spouse coin designs viewed at the meeting can be seen on Page 23, identified by codes used by the committee.

For the Anna Harrison coin, CCAC preferred designs AH-O-02 for the obverse and AH-R-02 for the reverse. First Lady Harrison was a supporter of education and an avid reader, and the reverse design reflects these attributes.

The committee selected LT-O-04 and LT-R-03 for the Letitia Tyler coin. She suffered ill health and spent most of her time on the family's plantation caring for their eight children. She died in 1842, about a year and a half into her husband's Presidency.

President John Tyler wed again while in office, in 1844, marrying a woman named Julia Gardiner. For the Julia Tyler coin, the CCAC singled out designs JT-O-03 and JT-R-01. The reverse design shows President Tyler handing the First Lady the gold pen he used to sign papers annexing Texas to the United States, an action she had helped achieve.

Sarah Polk designs SP-O-05 and SP-R-01 were preferred, the reverse showing her working as private secretary to President Polk in the White House.

Designs featuring Margaret Taylor that CCAC selected were MT-O-01 and MT-R-01. She spent much of her life moving with her military husband. The reverse design chosen highlights her care for wounded soldiers during the Seminole War.

The medal designs are not shown here for space reasons. They all correspond to the coin designs shown. Removed from the medal versions are denominations, metal content information and text such as "2009," "E Pluribus Unum" and "In God We Trust." Removal of these items allows for the central design elements on the reverses to be enlarged for the medals.

At the meeting, CCAC also reviewed an intended design theme proposed for a 2009 Native American dollar. Highlighted in this theme were agriculture; agricultural practices such as crop rotation, round cropping, hybridizations, irrigation and other techniques still in use today; and Three Sisters symbiotic agriculture, which involves increasing productivity by planting corn, climbing beans and squash in the same plot.
CCAC's Web site is at http://www.ccac.gov/.