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ACCent: The Monthly Newsletter of the Anchorage Coin Club
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Volume 26, Number 5 |
May 2013 |
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April Membership Meeting |
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| Tuesday May 7, 2013 |
Central Lutheran Church, 15th & Cordova |
7:00 PM |
PLEASE NOTE NEW MEETING DATES
The regularly scheduled meeting date
has been changed to the
first Tuesday of every month,
with the next meeting to be on June 4.
It is a POTLUCK,
so please bring a food item.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Door Prize: 1942 Mercury Dime AU58 won by YN Aaron Alleva.
Membership Prize: 1912-D Barber Dime VF20 also won by YN Aaron Alleva.
Update by President Carl on club's 25th Anniversary Coin set.
The design of the die (obverse side) was shown in our club's newsletter last month. Winner of the design (Stan Mead) commented the design looked really good. Note: The reverse side of the 25 Year coins will feature the State of Alaska Seal.
At the coin club's board meeting, decision to have the Alaska Mint proceed with the die.
Members will be able to purchase a two coin set (silver and bronze in a display box) with a nickel coin added (in flip) with the set. Members purchasing the two coin set with nickel coin will have their membership number edged lettered onto the silver coin. Price to be determined by the time of our coin club meeting on May 7 (First Tuesday of May).
Members will also be able to purchase individual silver, bronze, and nickel 25th Anniversary coins. Pricing to be determined by the time of our May 7 membership meeting.
We're trying to get some 25th Anniversary coins ready in time for our club meeting on May 7th.
Stan Mead:
Our coin club's Summer Picnic is scheduled for Saturday, August 3rd. This was the best available date that could be arranged with the Municipality of Anchorage Parks Department. Summer picnic will be held at the same location as last year - Abbott Community Park on Elmore St. in Anchorage. Usual time: Start time at 12 noon and run through the afternoon.
Announcement by Stan that we would like to have the YNs come in a bit early (6:30 PM-6:45 PM) to the club meeting so that a short YN Meeting could be done prior to the main membership meeting each month. YNs who volunteer and help out with our club's activities qualify for YN Bucks that can be used to purchase coins at our monthly coin auctions. Note: Club members wishing to donate coins, numismatic items, and to also donate cash (for the YN Program) please see Stan.
Raffle corns for the monthly meeting were:
This was won by Larry Nakata. Larry then donated the coins back to the club for the monthly auction.
Larry Nakata presented on the topic of the "U.S. Peace Dollar".
Following presentation, monthly coin club auction held. Meeting concluded following monthly coin club auction.
Meeting held at the Yamato Ya Japanese Restaurant located near the University Center in Anchorage. Meeting called to order at 6:30 PM by President Carl.
Update by Carl on 25th Year Anniversary Coins:
Overall cost of die came in at $1700 from Alaska Mint. It will take another two weeks before die is ready.
Minimum quantity for minting by the Alaska will be 50 units.
Two coin set (Silver and Bronze) in case can be provided. Edge lettering of the member's number can be provided on the silver coin of this two coin set.
Nickel coins also available.
Discussion by Board on costs of the 25 Anniversary Coins followed:
For coin club members: Two coin set (Proof-like Silver and Proof-like Bronze) in case with member number edged lettered on silver coin. Includes one Nickel coin (in mylar flip). Price: $95 per set.
Individual Proof-Like Silver coins (in encapsulated holder). No edge lettering. Price: $75 each.
Individual Proof-Like Bronze coins (in Mylar flip). Price: $15 each.
Individual Proof-Like Nickel coins (in Mylar flip). Price: $15 each.
Board approved minting of 25 Bronze and 25 Nickel coins from the Alaska Mint in order to meet the Alaska Mint's requirement of a minimum 50 unit order. If these coins can be ready by our May 7th membership meeting, coins will be sold at $15 each or $25 for purchase of a pair of Bronze and Nickel coins.
Orders for sets and coins to be taken at our May 7th club meeting for the next series of coins and sets to be minted by the Alaska Mint.
One coin set (with the silver coin to be edge lettered with the number 49- as Alaska is the 49th State) to be minted and sent to the ANA (American Numismatic Association). Note: Our coin club has sent complimentary 5 year, 10th year, 15th year, and 20th year sets to the ANA over the years. The 25 Year Anniversary set to be provided as well as approved by the Board.
On other business:
John Larson: Our club's May 7th raffle will feature a set of two coins: 1885-O Morgan Dollar and an 1886-O Morgan Dollar. Both Morgan Dollars in VG + condition. Raffle tickets will be $5 / ticket or 5 tickets / $20.
For May 7 club meeting - refreshments will be potluck items. Club members asked to bring in dishes, salads, and dessert items to meeting.
As there was no further business to discuss, the board meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM......
Larry Nakata/Secretary
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Lots Submitted by Bill Fivaz for May 7th (Tuesday) Membership Meeting
1. Two coin set (Matte and Proof) of Felix Schlag's original design for the Jefferson 5c. Dies created by Ron Landis and struck in .999 Silver. Minimum Bid (MB) $60
2. 1945-P Walking Liberty 50c MS-65 (Original) MB $50
1. 1931-D Lincoln Cent in AU. Minimum Bid (MB) $20
2. 1868 Shield Nickel Mint Error in EF MB $25
3. 1921-P Mercury Dime in Good. MB $30
4. 1941-D Mercury Dime MS-65 FSB MB $ 19
5. 1896-O Barber Quarter (Semi-key Date) in AG condition. MB $20
6. 1937-P Washington Quarter MS-64 MB $ 25
7. 1832 Bust Half Dollar VF+ MB $ 70
8. 1834 Bust Half Dollar MS-61 (Luster!) MB $695
9. 1935-S Peace Dollar PCGS MS-63 MB $315
10. 1941 Canada 50c (Narrow Date) AU MB $10
11. 1963 Canada $1 MS-65 P/L MB $15
12. 1903 Great Britain Halfpenny AU MB $15
13. 2003 Liberia $20 (.999) Desert Storm PF-65 MB $25
14. 1923 $1 Silver Certificate Fine MB $25
15. 2006 $100 Star Note in EF No Minimum
16. Donation Lot from Bill Fivaz: Eight (8) Silver Certificates.
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Annual Summer Picnic
The Annual Summer picnic is scheduled for Aug. 3, 2013 from 11:00- 3:00 pm. The Anchorage Coin Club is seeking donation items to be auctioned off during the picnic. This Auction is the main fund raiser for the club and is the main reason "dues" have never been increased. The money raised also pays for most of the food items, soda and chips throughout the year. Please consider donating!
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The U.S. Peace Dollar
By Stanley Meade (Member #64)
At our club's August 6th meeting, I gave a presentation on the subject of the "US Peace Dollar". This is a follow-up article for those of you who did not have a chance to attend that meeting. In the course of looking for reference material on the US Peace Dollar, I was somewhat surprised to find little, if any, specific books on this subject. It was necessary for me to go through a number of reference books to put together this article. This is what I found.....
In April of 1918, the Pittman Act authorized the US Treasury to melt up to 350 million silver dollars for the war effort (World War I). Some 273 million were eventually melted... part of which was reused in the United States for domestic coinage... and to conserve the US gold supply. The remaining bullion ended up going to the British government for use in their mints in India.
In agreeing to the melting of the silver dollars, Congress stipulated that the dollar had to be replaced with newly minted metal coming from United States mines... with a stipulated price of $1/ounce for silver, regardless of the current international market price.
At that time, the melted silver dollars, under the terms of the Pittman Act, constituted nearly half of the entire production of US Morgan silver dollars.
After 1918, silver prices spiked over the $1/ounce market price delaying the US Treasury's purchase of silver. By May, 1920 the Treasury did finally purchase silver at $ 1/ounce.... with the international market price at 70 cents/ounce. By March, 1921 the international market price for silver was 53 cents/ounce. It became clear that the US mining interests were making money on such subsidies by the US government... thanks to the Pittman Act. Thankfully, the last required purchase of such silver (as specified in the Pittman Act) was in November, 1924.
So... the Pittman Act of 1918 set the stage for the minting of the US Peace Dollar. The silver purchased at $1/ounce from US mining interests was used for mintage of the Peace Dollar for years 1921 through 1928.
That is one chapter of the story of the Peace Dollar.
The second chapter deals with the politics involving the design of the US Peace Dollar. In my research, it is my perspective that Chapter Two starts with the November, 1918 issue of the ANA's magazine, The Numismatics (later to be called Numismatist by the ANA). In that particular issue, there was an article by Frank Duffield in which he proposed a victory type coin for general circulation commemorating the World War I events by the United States. His article, "Souvenir and Commemorative Coins" was also presented at the ANA Convention in Philadelphia scheduled for October, 1918. The 1918 ANA Convention was never held because of the infamous 1918 Influenza epidemic that swept throughout the United States.
However, this article appears to have set the foundation for the proposed mintage of the US Peace Dollar A follow-up article in May, 1919 (in The Numismatics magazine), by Mr. Sorenson, reinforced the recommendation for such a coin.
At the ANA Convention in August, 1920... the famous numismatist, Farren Zerbe, gave an impassioned plea for such a silver dollar commemorative coin..... whose design would commemorate the signing of the peace treaties that ending World War I. Farren Zerbe was to follow-up with a text of his speech in the October, 1920 issue ofThe Numismatics. In short, the article stated: " Our Peace coin should be of good size for best art effects, and if it be one for popular use by all people, the half dollar is naturally suggested and would probably be a common choice. But, should we resume the coinage of the silver dollar, that coin should be a consideration. We gave our silver dollars to help win the war; we restored them in commemoration of victory and peace. It was an event that led the way for our first commemorative coin- The Columbian Half dollar. Won't you take advantage of another Chicago event, this convention, to lead the way for our first special coin for circulation?".
As a result of this speech, Farren Zerbe is credited with promoting the creation of the US Peace Dollar.
What follows is a series of events leading up to the creation of the Peace Dollar:
August, 1920: ANA appoints a five member committee for the souvenir Peace Victory coin.
May, 1921: Congressional resolution for the coinage of Peace Dollars.
July, 1921: President Harding issues an Executive Order assigning the Commission of Fine Arts to move forward with coinage design.
November 23, 1921: Eight artists are asked to participate in a design contest for the Peace Dollar.
December 19, 1921: The winning obverse and reverse designs are announced with De Francisci judged the winner.
The winning design came under political storm when veterans groups took exception to the Eagle holding a broken sword. These veterans saw this as an admission of defeat. The concerns resulted in President Harding ordering this matter rectified. The Chief engraver, Morgan, made the according changes.
Production of the Peace Dollar began on December 26, 1921 and ran through the end of the year for the 1921 coin. A little more than 1 million were minted in this short timeframe. It soon became apparent that the coin's high relief design was too high... making it difficult to strike and causing excessive die breakage. The US Mint corrected the design in it's 1922 series by reducing the high relief..... but in the process, somewhat lowering the coin's aesthetic appeal. About 88 million Peace Dollars were minted in the 1922 series.
The mintages of the Peace Dollars accordingly dropped in the years that followed going into 1928. By the 1928 series, the Mint had produced enough silver dollars to satisfy the requirements of the Pittman Act.
The following year, 1929, saw the start of the Depression period. Mintage of the US Peace dollar was discontinued at that time and saw the US Peace Dollar return for a two year "curtain call" in 1934..... because more silver dollars were needed as backing for silver certificates.
The design came very close to reappearing one more time in 1964, when Congress authorized production of 45 million new silver dollars, apparently in an effort to serve the needs of the Nevada gaming casinos. With the smaller silver coins rapidly disappearing from circulation, this was viewed as a gift to special interests. After the Denver Mint produced 310,000 Peace dollars in May, 1965 (dated 1964), President Johnson rescinded the order. Although all pieces were presumably recalled and re-melted, rumors persist of several coins that survived.
Chapter Three deals with my statement that there is no right way nor wrong way to form a collection of Peace Dollars. It would be nice if one could study the mintage figures of these dollars to determine what is rare and what is not. As an example, the 1921, 1934, and 1934-S have mintages around the 1 million mark. Yet... from 1921 through 1935... almost 200 million Peace dollars were minted.
In the roaring 20s, the stock market was going strong; jobs were plentiful: the Mint was melting silver dollars to make more Peace dollars. One has to wonder how many Peace dollars were melted to make later date Peace dollars.
The Act of December 18, 1942 called for melting of 50 million more silver dollars, including Peace dollars. Peace dollars continued to be melted on numerous occasions during the 1950's, 1960's, and especially during the late 1970's and early 1980's when silver prices reached $50/ounce (a strange time when mint state specimens of Peace Dollars were worth more as bullion than as numismatic coins).
In my research, I could find no records kept on the types, dates, and mint marks that were melted during these times. One can only speculate. A quote by Q. David Bowers puts it well when he states: "However, no writer or researcher, including me, has all the facts or creates all of the good theories. Unquestionable, as time goes on, the field will attract scholars who will employ increasingly sophisticated research techniques, and the order of rarity rating will be modified. For Peace dollars, as with Morgan dollars, there is one area of guesswork - how may coins were melted."
All I can say is that in mint state grades, certain San Francisco and Denver issues in the middle 1920s are much rarer than the traditionally rare 1927, 1927-S, 1928, and 1934-S Peace dollars.
I would also advise to be careful of the so-called bargains in Peace dollars when you see them advertised. Descriptive grades such as "Beautiful brilliant", "Select Uncirculated", "Superb Quality", "Gem BU", etc. No grade is given, but what you are likely to get is the MS60 grade if you are lucky. Expect the AU grade if the price of the Peace dollar is at the bargain price.
Rarity is not only in the numbers minted, but they can include the varieties, such as the Large "S", Small "S", Small "D", Medium "D", and the 1934-D doubled die.
A special thanks goes to David Bowers and his book "The Comprehensive US Silver Dollar Encyclopedia", John W. Highfill and his book " The Comprehensive US Silver Dollar Encyclopedia", Bill Fivaz "Cherrypickers Guide", and Joel Edler & Dave Harper for their book "2003 US Coin Digest"........ Stan Mead.
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Official Anchorage Coin Club
25th Anniversary Coin Order Form
These coins commemorating our club's 25th anniversary are now available for a limited time. Only a very limited number will be made. Please order now to avoid disappointment. Please bring this order form to the May 7 membership meeting or send payment to:
Anchorage Coin Club
P.O. Box 230169
Anchorage, Alaska 99523-0169
| 25th Anniversary Coin Type | Price | Quantity | Price X Qty |
| Set of two Silver and Bronze coins in a presentation box. Also includes a nickel coin in Mylar flip. | $95 | ||
| Silver coin encapsulated | $75 | ||
| Bronze coin in Mylar flip | $15 | ||
| Nickel coin in Mylar flip | $15 | ||
| Total | $ |
Name:___________________________________________________
Contact Number:___________________________________________
Email Address:_____________________________________________
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ANCHORAGE COIN CLUB
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
NAME:_____________________________________________________
ADDRESS :_________________________________________________
CITY:________________________ STATE:_______ ZIP:___________
TELEPHONE (HOME):________________________________
(BUSINESS):________________________________
MY COLLECTING INTERESTS ARE:________________________________
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MEMBERSHIP DUES: $25 / Year Regular Membership $10 / Year Youngsters & School Aged Kids up to Grade 12 $10 / Year for Seniors, Handicapped Members, Send application and dues to : Anchorage Coin Club
and Associate Members Living Outside Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska 99523
ANCHORAGE COIN CLUB MONTHLY RAFFLE
Tickets $5 each, 5 tickets for $20, or 11 tickets for
$40. Purchase and Drawing at the May 7 meeting.
Set of two Morgan Dollars VG+: 1885-O & 1886-O
ANCHORAGE COIN CLUB
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ANCHORAGE COIN CLUB OFFICERS:
President: Carl Mujagic
Vice President: Glenn Dean
Secretary: Larry Nakata
Treasurer: Stan Mead
Board Seat #1: Loren Lucason
Board Seat #2: John Larson
Board Seat #3: Tim Burke
ACCent Editor: Carl Mujagic