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The
Award Winning
Monthly
Newsletter of the Anchorage Coin Club
Volume 7, Number 10 |
October 1994 |
|
October Membership Meeting | ||
Wed., Oct. 5, 1994 | Central Lutheran Church |
7:00 Open |
SHOWTIME
The
time of year that most of us have been waiting for has arrived. The three shows
are listed below. The first two shows are completely full, including wait lists.
The Northway Mall show may still have very limited space remaining. For
information about table space availability, call Robert Hall at the phone number
listed at left.
There
are some things to remember about show organization. For the Sears show, dealers
can generally arrive at the mall at 8:00 on Saturday morning to set up their
displays. On Sunday morning, dealers may show up at 9:00 if they wish, but as
the mall does not actually open until noon, many people choose to come in at
11:00 AM.
Times
are roughly the same for the Eagle River show. The main thing to remember is
that dealers must bring their own skirting for their tables. Coin dealers will
be set up along the windows near Payless; card dealers will be set up in an
island near the card store in the mall.
FALL SHOWS:
SEARS MALL
OCT. 1-2
EAGLE R.
OCT. 15-16
NORTHWAY
NOV. 11-13
Larry
Nakata would also like to set up an exhibit of counterfeit coins at the club
table. Most collectors have managed to accumulate a few bogus pieces during the
years, and Larry would like for members to bring some of their fakes in to be
used in the display.
Cards
or other forms of written material will be made up to explain the various ways
that counterfeits can be produced. Hopefully we can come up with examples of all
of the most popular forms of copying coins including casts, struck pieces,
electrotypes, and others. Anybody having fakes that they would like to lend to
the club to be included in the display may speak to Larry at any of the club
meetings or at the club table at most shows.
DONATION TO THE YN PROGRAM
The
members of the Anchorage Coin Club have collectively donated $100 to the YN
program. This donation comes in the form of 10 grab bags with a retail value of
approximately $10 each purchased from the ANA. How the grab bags will be
distributed will be decided by the YNs and the YN program administrators.
While
we are on the subject of YNs, this seems like the ideal time to announce our
newest member, a young and ambitious young fellow named Joel. Joel presently
classifies himself as a United States type coin collector. His present focus is
on nickels, from Shield through Buffalo. Welcome to the club!
YNs
should note that there is a letter from Larry Nakata updating the YNs on the
plans for their fall programs.
Another
item to note is that Mr. Nathaniel Grabman donated an uncut sheet of 16 one
dollar notes to the YN program. As will be shown on a later page, the uncut
sheet was given away in a drawing held among the YNs that showed up at the
seminar.
SEPTEMBER MEETING
The
September meeting program was a slide show borrowed from the ANA library about
regular issue United States gold coins.
Mike
Orr took the honors of orating the presentation, which gave vital statistics
about each of the major gold types from 1795 through 1933. Pictured were some
amazing gold pieces including many pre 1834 specimens, $4 gold pieces, and other
great rarities.
Jim
Susky provided current value information for many of the early varieties that we
all dream of but few will likely ever own.
UPCOMING CLUB MEETINGS
The
program for the October meeting will consist of our second bid board auction.
Some coins have already been submitted to the auction, and these pieces are
listed later in the newsletter.
For
people that have coins to submit to the October bid board, remember to bring
them with you to the meeting on the 5th. It may be a good idea to show up a few
minutes early to get your cards filled out and get the coins on display for
others to see.
The
actual auction will be held immediately following the regular meeting.
The
November meeting will feature a video on the subject of counterfeit detection, a
subject that should concern all collectors.
This
video was donated by Mr. Anthony Swiatek at this year's seminar. It starts out
showing the methods and tools used in counterfeit detection and then goes into
examples showing some of the most popular coins to copy. As can be expected, the
most popular key date coins are also the ones that are most often faked.
Our
December meeting will see our annual potluck. Please note, the December meeting
will be held on THURSDAY, December 8th. Mark your calendars now! It is necessary
to switch days to avoid conflict with another function that will be using the
kitchen area on Wednesday.
Decembers
meeting, besides being on a different day, will also be held in a different
location. Instead of our usual room on the main floor, we will be downstairs in
the large room near the kitchen area.
INVESTMENT CONTEST
Remember
to bring your entries for the investment contest to the October meeting. Entries
are due by the end of the meeting on Wednesday.
The
rules are presented in full in last month's newsletter, but I will give a brief
summary here.
You
have an imaginary $1000 with which to build an imaginary portfolio of up to ten
different coins. You are allowed to have as many of each particular coin as you
wish, within the bounds of your $1000 limit. For example, you may have 100 of a
coin with a trends value of 50 cents each, and this will count as one of your
ten coin selections and $50 of your $1000. All values must be taken from Coin
World's trends.
THE
YN CORNER
by Larry Nakata
With
the Summer of '94 now at an end, our YN (i.e. Young Numismatist) meetings will
again resume. The next YN meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 14th at 7:00
PM at the Central Lutheran Church. On the October 14th YN meeting agenda will be
VHS tape presentations on "Money: Summing It Up" (a National
Geographic narration on the history of money) and "Building a Coin
Collection From Pocket Change" (as narrated by Scott Travers).
Thanks
are in order to our Anchorage Coin Club members for donating $100 in ANA (i.e.
American Numismatic Association) grab bag coins to the YN program. At the YN
meeting on October 14th, the YNs will be discussing programs that will put these
coins to good use.
The
September Coin Seminar held at the Golden Lion Hotel was attended by five of our
YNs: Billy McGinnis, Nathaniel Grabman, Joel Yarmon, Robin Sisler, and Jerry
Robinson. Thanks to the generosity of the club members attending that seminar,
it made possible free attendance by these YNs. Anthony Swiatek gave an excellent
seminar on subjects covering coin grading, counterfeit detection, and U. S.
Commemorative Coinage. All five YNs received ANA Certificates of Completion for
attendance at this seminar.
Again.....A
BIG THANKS TO OUR COIN CLUB MEMBERS WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE!!!
So
with Autumn now upon us, YN activities are expected to resume. See you YNs at
the October 14th meeting.........
1994 Seminar: Anthony Swiatek on
Commems
Nineteen individuals were lucky enough to have attended our 1994 seminar
featuring Mr. Anthony Swiatek. Anthony was a wonderful speaker with a nearly
bottomless pit of numismatic knowledge to draw from. Mixed in among the numerous
lawyer jokes (Doug Williams would not have been a happy camper) were a wide
array of topics including commems, grading, counterfeit detection, and
investment advice.
Friday's
focus was counterfeit and altered coinage. There are many ways to make an ugly
coin look "better", as well as a variety of ways of
"improving" dull Uncirculated pieces. Several carousels of slides were
used to illustrate these modifications to coin surfaces.
On
Saturday, we continued with the discussion of altered and otherwise improved
coins in the morning. We also discussed diagnostic markers that are used to
identify certain genuine key date coins. In the afternoon, we started an
analysis of commemoratives by types.
Sunday
was spent continuing with our type by type analysis of United States
commemoratives. After the slides, we looked through several boxes of mostly
overgraded slabbed commems. By the end of this third day, most participants were
a bit worn out and had a lot of information to digest.
We
ate very well over the three days. In the morning, there was a tray of assorted
danishes to munch on. Lunch featured sandwiches, except on Sunday, when we all
enjoyed a large buffet. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, groups of people went
out to fancy local restaurants for some good food and socialization.
All
persons that attended received several books, including Mr. Swiatek's own book
on commemoratives, a 1995 Redbook, an ANA grading guide, and a guide to
commemoratives by Q. David Bowers.
At
the September E Board, the members present began discussing possibilities for
future seminars. If anybody would like to suggest a topic and/or a speaker, let
your suggestion be known.
85 Years Of
Lincoln Cents
By Roger E. Wollam
Anchorage
Coin Club member #17
85 YEARS OF LINCOLN CENTS
Eighty-five
years ago the first Lincoln cents were struck. But for a reverse design change
and metal composition, this one cent coin is the most popular and longest
running minted coin in U.S. history. More Lincoln cents have been minted than
all other coins before it, yet, there are very few real key coins to collect,
considering the 85 years of production.
1909-S "VDB"
1909
Found the end of the series of the "Indian Head Cent" and the ushering
in of the "Lincoln Cent" and controversy. After a short time of
production, the Secretary of the Treasury, Franklin MacVeagh, ordered the
removal of the "VDB" (Victor D. Brenner - designer) from the dies. The
San Francisco mint had already minted 484,000 coins and the removal of the
initials caused the price of the 1909-S "VDB" to jump to 25 cents
each. It is to this day one of the most sought after of all the Lincoln Cents.
CAUTION - You must watch out for some very good die struck counterfeits.
1909-S
The
1909-S with a mintage of 1.82 million, which in most cases would not be
considered low mintage, is so popular that it also is a key date. A repunched
"S" over a horizontal "S" usually brings the same price as a
normal 1909-S. It is not uncommon for the 1909-S and the 1909-S "VDB"
to have a wood grain surface with parallel yellow and brown streaks brought on
by impurities in the metal. Most times this is overlaid on a yellow - red
background instead of the usual red color.
1910-S "VDB"
Yes,
1910-S "VDB"! Some of the unused "VDB" dies of 1909 were
mistakenly used in 1910, according to Kenneth Bressetts' "Guide Book".
So look very carefully at your 1910-S cents for a faint "VDB" on the
reverse.
1910-S TO 1915-S
These
dates are more semi-key than key, unless you are looking for Uncs. Even though
there were between 4 and 6 million minted each of these years, very few Uncs
were set aside and those that you do find will mostly be weakly struck. You will
find the "S" mints easier on the West coast and some are being found
in circulation even now, including the 1909-S
"VDB".
1914-D
A
real classic in the Lincoln Cents - 1.19 million minted, but according to the
prices you will pay, you would think that there were less.
1922-D?
Well,
it began as a "D"..... Because the Denver mint was the only mint to
run Lincoln Cents in 1922, we know the combination of worn and clogged dies and
improper spacing of the dies was the reason for the missing "D" mint
mark on many coins. If you want a true 1922 "plain", it cannot have
the smallest trace of the "D". It will be very weakly struck on the
reverse as well as the obverse - look for a small "I" and joined
"RT" in LIBERTY.
1931-S
Here
is a case where 866,000 mintage became a large number. Collectors hoarded bags
and rolls of this low mintage coin so you should be extra particular in choosing
one. Don't settle for the common unevenly struck coins - you can find better.
1943 BRONZE
The
Mint denies these were ever minted, but the fact is 17 have been found and it is
estimated that maybe as many as 30 exist. A true bronze, will of course, NOT
attract a magnet and it will be very sharply struck with wirelike rims.
1944 STEEL
About
a dozen of these have been found and came about the same way as the 1943 bronze.
Some of the planchets from the previous years run were still in the hoppers when
they started the minting process and were run along with all the others.
1955 DOUBLE DIE
This
coin is easily recognized from the "poor man's double die" in that it
has doubling at the date, legend, and motto. The "poor man's" has
doubling only on the last five of the date. If you are going to find one of
these, it may not be any better than XF as most have already been snatched up.
Most
of the rest of the Lincoln Cent series is not sought after like these we have
just mentioned. However, there are other varieties in the Memorial series,
double dies and etc., that many look for and can, at times, bring a good price.
If you really want a good low dollar challenge, try collecting a complete set of
the Memorial cents out of circulation. The 1960 small and large dates, 1970
small and large dates, and all 7 varieties of the 1982's? Have fun and happy
collecting....
Roger
E. Wollam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the beginning of the decade, James Madison is in the White House; pioneers
are moving further and further west; and the country turns 34 years old.
The
westerners, now entering the Mississippi River basin, were encroaching more and
more onto lands habitated by the Indians. Numerous conflicts ensued. The new
settlers became convinced that the British were assisting the Indians due to the
advanced fighting techniques that were being used by the natives.
This
led to the westerners requesting that war be declared on Britain to stop their
assistance of the Indians. Easterners were against this idea because Britain had
become one of the country's best trading partners, although they were also
guilty of sinking several American cargo ships.
President
Madison agreed to request that congress declare war on Britain if the war hawks
would support him for reelection in 1812. They agreed, and congress declared war
in June 1812, by a very slight majority.
In
what is now referred to as the War of 1812, the Americans took the lead at the
start before the British could really get organized. The US Army and Navy were
tiny and untrained, with only three ships in the Navy and 5000 troops in the
Army.
In
1813, most battles took place near the Canadian border area. The Indians had
sided up with the British, and were found to be very effective warriors. The
Americans were still better organized, and continued to have the upper hand in
most battles.
The
British finally got organized in 1814, when they defeated Napoleon in Europe in
April. Their plan was to launch a three pronged attack, to move south from
Canada, west from the sea toward Washington DC, and north from the Gulf of
Mexico into the Louisiana Territory.
The
greatest British victory took place at Washington DC, where they met limited
resistance. They were able to get into the city easily because President Madison
had no plan to defend it, believing that there was no chance of the British
getting that far inland. The British proceeded to loot the city and then burn it
to the ground.
The British marched into Washington DC,
looted the city, and burned it to the ground.
Things
were going better for the Americans up north. The British were coming south from
Montreal along the western coast of Lake Champlain. In a battle near
Plattsburgh, New York, 3500 Americans defeated an army of 11,000 British
soldiers.
By
1814, the reasons for the war had disappeared. John Quincy Adams led a
delegation of diplomats to Belgium that summer to discuss the terms of a peace
agreement. The talks dragged on, and the war continued.
In
October, 1814, the Americans had their greatest victory of the war at New
Orleans. The British brought 50 ships full of troops to the northern Gulf Coast
to march to New Orleans. A force of American troops under the command of General
Andrew Jackson went south to stop the British.
Jackson
and his troops made life difficult for the British through a policy of constant
harassment. The British waited two weeks, then attacked.
The
British had 5300 troops against 4500 for the Americans. When the battle was
over, 2036 British soldiers were killed or injured compared to only 21
Americans.
In
December of the same year, a peace treaty was finally signed in Ghent, Belgium.
The peace treaty actually showed that the whole war was a ridiculous affair,
with neither side really gaining anything.
There
were two positive outcomes of the war. First was an agreement that the seas were
open to all ships, meaning that American trade with Britain could resume.
Second, it was agreed that the border with Canada would not be armed. This
created the longest unguarded border in the world, and retains that distinction
today.
Now
that the war was over, the United States wanted to get back to the business of
international trade. During the decade of the 1810's, all of the colonies in
South America rebelled against Spain and became independent countries. However,
these new countries were weak and unable to defend themselves well.
The
United States and Britain saw these new countries as potential trading partners
with numerous natural resources and a need for finished products. Spain was
thinking about trying to reclaim some of it's colonies and France was thinking
about gobbling up some new ones. To prevent all of this, President James Monroe
(elected in 1816) drafted the Monroe Doctrine stating that the United States
would prevent any European country from colonizing any countries in South or
Central America. Great Britain promised the full backing of it's Navy to support
the Doctrine.
Passage
of the Monroe Doctrine combined with support from Great Britain helped to get
the United States recognized as a powerful new country.
With
increased trade, there was some support for tariffs to protect American
manufacturers. During the war, when trade with Great Britain was greatly
reduced, manufacturing in the United States increased greatly to fill the void.
Overall
there was a majority support for tariffs. The only opponents were the merchants
in New England who were concerned about a reduction in trading volume. However,
the tariffs were passed in 1816 prompted by a great increase in imports. In
1814, the last year of the war, $12 million of products were imported from
Britain. The next year, imports from Britain increased nine times to $113
million.
During
the war, many state banks loaned out more money than they should have. This lead
to great support for a second Bank of the United States because the people had
lost trust in the state banks.
The
new Bank of the United States took the pressure off for only a short while. It
was soon discovered that the new bank had issued too much paper money for the
amount of silver and gold coins that were on reserve.
On
top of the lack of reserves, Europeans stopped purchasing produce grown by
western farmers now that war in Europe was over. This made it hard or impossible
for the farmers to pay back their loans to the bank, leaving insufficient funds
to pay off depositors coming in to make withdrawals. This caused a run on banks
as people rushed in to get their money out while there was still some to get.
The
banks closed, leaving many people broke. Since broke people can not buy
products, businesses went out of business. The people also could not buy food,
leaving the farmers in even worse shape.
What
we had was the first nationwide depression (unfortunately not the last). It
started in 1818 and lasted for three years, causing a dramatic slow down of
projects such as roads and canals that help large areas of the country as people
adopted a me-first attitude.
A
quick look through the Redbook shows that there really was a severe lack of
coinage at the Philadelphia mint. Only two denominations saw significant
mintages on a regular basis: cents and half dollars.
The
only other copper coin in circulation, the half cent, was produced only in 1810
and 1811, with a total output of 280,000. No more half cents would be made until
1825.
Among
silver coins, no half dimes or silver dollars were made at all. As for dimes,
they were produced only in 1811 and 1814 for a total of 485,000 pieces. Quarters
were little better with a total of 600,000 pieces being made in 1815, 1818, and
1819.
The
only gold coins to see production were the half eagles, and only 470,000 of
these were made in the entire decade. Minting of eagles was suspended in 1804
and quarter eagles in 1808.
Coming in
November: the 1820's
BID BOARD SUBMISSIONS
The
following coins will be available for purchase at the October meeting's bid
board. The dollar amounts listed are minimum bids:
1
cent
1915
AU-50
31.00
1
cent
1928-S
MS-60
2
cents 1864
LM
EF-45
20.00
5
cents 1945-S
MS-65
10
cents 1941-D
MS-64
10
cents 1945
AU-50
25
cents 1936-S
AU-58
15.00
50
cents 1875-CC
AU-58
375.00
50
cents 1935
MS-63
32.50
Dollar
1884-S
EF-45
25.00
Please
note that the grades given above are those assigned by the consignor, not by the
consensus of a panel. The buyer is encouraged to examine each coin before
purchase.
REMEMBER
TO BRING YOUR COINS TO SUBMIT FOR BID BOARD TO THE OCTOBER MEETING!!!
The Anchorage Coin Club
Meetings:
Membership meeting - First Wednesday of the month, 7:30 PM
E-Board meeting - Third Wednesday of the month, 7:00 PM
Meetings held at the Central Lutheran Church, at the corner of 15th
and Cordova
Club Officers
President-
Mike McKinnon
Days: 786-7490
Eves: 248-0955
V. President-
Mike Orr
Days: 258-9100
Treasurer-
Paul Wheeler Days:
563-3910
Eves: 694-0962
Sec./Editor-
Mike Nourse
Any: 344-9856
Board of Directors
Robert Hall- Days: 265-8782
Roy Brown-
Eves: 563-6708
Larry Nakata-
Days: 269-5603
Eves: 563-1729
DUES
Life Membership
$250
Regular Membership
$25/year
Associate Membership
$10/year
Junior Membership
$5/year
To
save cost, members not responding to renewal notices within three months will be
considered inactive.
The Anchorage Coin Club is a non-profit organization formed
to provide information, education, and a meeting place for individuals having an
interest in numismatics.
Correspondence Address: PO Box 230169 Anchorage, Alaska 99523