Meeting held at the Tarasco Mexican Restaurant located near the University Center.

Called to order at 6:30 PM by Club President Carl.

Review of correspondence by Board.

Larry Nakata: At this time we have 20 donated lots for the club's August 3rd Summer Picnic Donation Auction. A number of the donation lots were great donations... including a 1883-S U.S. $10 Gold. Note: The list of donated lots to be posted in the newsletter. The Board was able to take a look at the 20 lots at this Board meeting.

The Board then went over the plans for the August 3^rd Summer picnic:

• Details were announced in the last newsletter and to be reposted in this month's newsletter.

• Items to be purchased by the club were reviewed. Stan Mead will be picking up the items.

• A number of volunteers to meet at 11 am at the Abbott Community Park Pavilion to get things ready by 12 noon.

• Donation auction lots ready to go. We will accept additional donation lots at the Summer picnic event which can easily be included for the auction.

• The club's monthly raffle prize coin (donated by Stan Mead) will be a Year 2000 $5 US Gold Eagle PCGS MS-69. Carl will also be donating some additional coins as secondary raffle prizes.

The Board would like to thank all of our club members for the generous donations made for the club's Donation Auction and this month's raffle prizes. Proceeds from these donations will benefit our club programs. THANK YOU!!!!

Next Board meeting to be held at 6:30 PM August 21st at Yamato Ya Japanese Restaurant (located near the University Center). Club members welcomed to attend..... Larry Nakata / Secretary

Lots Donated for August 3^rd Coin Club Picnic BBQ Fundraising Auction

1. 1993 Silver Eagle in BU condition.

2. 1883-O Morgan $1 AU.

3. Set of four (4) Lincoln cents: 1909VDB VG, 1919-S G, 1934-D XF, and 1937-S AU.

4. 2012 Silver Eagle in BU condition.

5. 1904-O Morgan $ 1 in AU condition.

6. 1985 $10 Royal Australia Mint BU 92.5% Silver, 20 grams.

7. 2008 State Quarter Proof Set: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, Alaska.

8. 2009 Presidentail Proof Set: Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor.

9. 2013 "America the Beautiful" Quarter Proof Set.

10. 2007 U.S. Mint Proof Set (14 coin).

11. Cherry Pickers' Guide 5th Edition, Vol 1

12. Cherry Pickers' Guide 4th Edition, Vol 2 Autographed by Bill Fivaz.

13. Set of three coin books: 2012 Red Book, 2012 Blue Book, US Paper Money 2nd Edition.

14. 2013 $1 Silver Eagle PCGS MS-70

15. 1909 VDB Lincoln Cent MS-64 Red.

16. 1942-D Mercury lOc PCGS MS-65 Red.

17. 1894-O Morgan $1 VG

18. 1925 Stone Mt. Commemorative 50c MS-64

19. 1883-S Liberty $10 Gold EF-40

20. Complete Set of (1971-1978) Ike $1 BU/Proof in Dansco Album.

When I was growing up everything was paid for with small pieces of gold weighed out on a handheld balance stick. Some things were traded like a goat for four chickens or a sack of gram for a bale of hay, but a craftsman did not have much for trade. My father taught me to be a builder when I was just a kid. I went to work on the temples of the gods. I still have my first coin. It is a 1/4 G with protection stamped on it. Apollo bestowed it upon me when I was an apprentice building his temple. My father was the senior craftsman on the project and resisted the change to coins. He preferred to be paid with gold and buy staples with gold.

Still, most of the tradesmen did business in gold taking coins by weight for payment. Then it was decreed that coins could buy more than their weight in gold and my father joined the rest of us counting corns instead of weighing out bits of metal.

When Ares called upon us to go to war I buried my first coin along with my other treasures under the old oak tree on the hill behind our home. Then I marched into the sunrise with my friends. We did not know what the gods had in store for us but we kept marching for days. We were each given a heavy wooden shield and a sword. Our captain told us about the invaders who came from across the ocean. How they had come in great ships and were camped on the beach. That night Poseidon began to stir the ocean and we knew what was coming. Fierce winds descended upon us and the enemy was trapped between our army and the wrath of the ocean storm. After two days of bitter fighting we had vanquished the invaders. The war was over and we were each paid an odd-shaped gold coin. I returned home from the war with deep scars and terrible memories to find rust demons attacking my treasures. But my first coin, the 1/4 G, survived. It was as shiny as ever.

Now I am old. There have been good times and bad. Through it all I kept my first com. All the coins now are bulls and lions. You never see a protection symbol coin anymore. It may not be the biggest coin or the yellowest coin but I earned it on my first job and in the service of Apollo. It is the one treasure I will keep forever.....

In the valley 2.2 miles from Palmer on the Palmer Wasilla spur is Alaska's newest com shop: Uncommon Cents. Uncommon Cents is on the north side of the road. Enter the building through the door on the right side. The shop is upstairs.

Greg owns this coin shop that has everything from mint sealed mint sets to St. Gaudens twenty dollar gold pieces. Greg is so friendly that it is almost like having Roy back only without the smoke. If there is a coin you can't find in Anchorage or don't want to chance the web go to Uncommon Cents.

        US Coins have been around since the creation of the United States. There is much knowledge to gain about how the coins were created and the origin of the coins. How coins are priced is another topic. The third and final topic covers different varieties of odd and obscure coins consisting of many different varieties. Thus, the history and the origin, values of each coin, plus how different varieties and designs tell a story of how these coins became the face of the United States of America.

        When the US Mint produced flowing hair denominations the design was brutally criticized. Many people thought that it looked like Lady Liberty was being blown away or blown off the coin. The design features Lady Liberty with her hair being blown back as if in a storm. The US Mint quickly changed the design of Lady Liberty and her hair to a softer image with curly hair instead of straight hair.

        The Liberty Cap series of coins prospered over a long mint life. Created by Joseph Wright "The obverse featured a larger version of "Liberty" facing left" (Half Cent Coin History 2012). The Liberty Cap design was very attractive and proved to be a satisfactory coin.

        Large Cents are referred to as "Large Cent's" because they are physically large and heavy compared to other coinage. They have a face value of one cent and a very heavy composition weight of 13.5g of copper. The Large cent group has many different designs such as the Liberty Cap, Classic Head, and Draped Bust. Each of the designs didn't survive long, but together the production of Large Cent's lasted about seventy five years. Production of these long living coins was stopped due to criticism from the public. People complained that the coins were too big and too heavy for a small denomination. This forced the mint to melt down some of the Large Cent coins and make smaller cents known as the Small Cent which were lighter than the bulky Large Cents.

        Half Cents were like the large cents in many ways. A Half Cent is about half the weight of a Large Cent with half the face value. The Half Cents lived about seventy-five years, and were also criticized by the public because the small denomination coin was too big and heavy for such a small amount. Due to inconvenience, Half Cents were also melted down and assisted in the making of the new Small Cents.

        The newly designed Small Cents gained popularity fast, like a wild fire spreading through a forest. The people of the United States were much happier to have small cents that had the same face value as the large bulky Large Cents. Also, one small cent was lighter than a Half Cent and the Small Cent had more buying power too. Carrying around three Small Cents was a little heavier than one Large Cent. The Small Cent was so successful that they are still minted today with a different obverse known as the Lincoln Cent. The first design of the Small Cent was called the Flying Eagle Cent designed by James B. Longacre. Even though the Flying Eagle design had a short mintage the production of Small Cents continued. The next face of the Small Cent would be called the Indian Head Cent. This particular design lasted almost fifty-five years with some different varieties here and there.

        The Two Cent Piece wasn't favored by the public. "The two-cent piece is one of the shortest-lived issues of United States coinage" (Yeoman 123). Designed by James B. Longacre the Two Cent Piece was minted just shy of ten years.

        The Silver Three Cent Piece also known as the trime "Was authorized by Congress March 3,1851" (Yeoman 124). The trime features a star on the obverse with a shield in the middle. The reverse has a "c" with three roman numerals in the center. The Three Cent Piece was favored because it was lightweight and it took three cents to buy a postage stamp. The sad thing was the mint discontinued the silver version due to hoarding by the public. The hoarding was stopped by changing the composites of the coin from silver to copper and nickel which is referred to as the Nickel Three-Cent Piece.

        Thomas Jefferson came up with the idea of a Twenty Cent Piece. The coin was minted long after his death until 1875. The Twenty Cent Piece was another short lived product of the mint because the public complained that it was too close in face value to the quarter dollar. Soon after the mint heard the criticism they discontinued the coin after just four years.

        Seated Liberty denominations rolled into circulation in the mid 1800s. Designed by Christian Gobrecht the Seated Liberty design was favored by many people. The denominations were minted toward the end of the 1800s.

The Draped Bust denominations consist of the half cent, large cent, half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar.

Liberty Cap demoninations include Half Cent, Large Cent, Half Dime, Dime, and the Quarter.

The Small Cents dating from 1856-1909 only include Flying Eagle Cents and Indian Head Cents.

The Two Cent Piece has a short lived but memorable life.

The Three Cent Piece has two types, the Silver Shield within Star, and the Nickel Coronet Head.

The Twenty Cent Piece also has a short lived life like the Two Cent Piece but the twenty cent piece only sees four years of mintage.

Seated Liberty Denomination consists of the Half Dime, Dime, Twenty Cent piece, Quarter, Half Dollar, and Dollar.

        Coins are priced by their grade, melt value, and/or variety. Coins are graded by a scale called the Sheldon scale. The scale has grading from one to seventy points, one being the worst grade and seventy being the perfect and flawless coin. Some coins are minted for bullion purposes. Bullion is "Gold or silver considered as so much metal; specifically: uncoined gold or silver in bars or ingots" (Webster 130). A coin can also be priced by "variety of rarity." This considers how many coins in a specific year were minted, and by which mint. Collectors pay a price for certain coins because one, they may think the com has a good grade and design, two, the collector may like the history behind the coin, and three, he or she may have been searching for the particular coin for a long time in order to complete a unique set. Collectors pay for coins based on a numismatic scale. Numismatic value is a product of variety, supply and demand, and mintage all combined together.

        The melt value of a coin is priced based on how many ounces of a precious metal are in a coin. Different coins have different melt values. For example melting down a modern penny provides hardly any value from its zinc content but melting down a Half Dime produces 1.34g of silver ($1.54) thus making the Half Dime far more valuable.

        Different varieties of coins can be minted on purpose or by accident. An example of an on purpose variety is the two varieties of the Three Cent Piece known as the trime. The first variety dates from 1851-1853 and "Had no lines bordering the six-pointed star." (Yeoman 124) The second variety dates from 1854-1858, "There were two lines, while issues of the final 15 years show only one line." (Yeoman 124) "Issues from 1854 through 1873 have an olive sprig over the III and a bundle of three arrows beneath." (Yeoman 124) An example of a variety of a coin that was struck by accident is the famous 1955 double die. A double die effect happens when a coin is struck twice slightly off kilter than the time before. The larger the difference in the strike than the previous time the more the coin is worth. Different varieties are more popular than other varieties.

        The Large Cents are the king of varieties. There are about three hundred different varieties of Large Cents. Most of the varieties were authorized by the mint director but some were created by accident. There is no real answer to why there are so many different varieties of Large Cents.

        There is so much more to discover in the world of US coins. Only a small glimpse of US coins has been revealed in this paper.

Works Cited

• Webster, Merriam. "The Living Webster Encyclopedia Dictionary of the English Language." Illinois: Chicago 1975.

• Yeoman, R.S. "The Official Red Book A Guide Book of United States Coins." Atlanta: Georgia. 2011.

• US Coins Catalog Half Cent Coin History Draped Bust 2012 http://rareuscoins.looknooks.com/articles/half-cent-history.html

• 2000 $5 U.S. Gold Eagle PCGS MS-69

• and more....

Anchorage Coin Club
PO Box 230169
Anchorage, Alaska 99523