Week Six

 

Coin News: Coin Dealer Interview with Malcolm Renner of Idaho Gold and Silver

I interviewed Mr. Malcolm Renner of Idaho Gold and Silver, and am sharing the questions and answers that were in it. Here they are:

Q.  How long have you been in the coin industry?

A.  I have been with Idaho Gold and Silver for 8 years, and in the coin business for 35.

Q.  What would you say are the pros and cons of coin dealing?

A.  The biggest thing is learning what to buy, and what not to buy, and how much to pay for it. When people come into my business they say “Oh, this looks like a good business, how can I get into it?” And I tell them the first thing you need is a storefront, then advertise, then make $30,000 in bad coin buys, and then I’ll tell you what to do from there.

Q.  Do you think that coins, currency, or bullion sells better? Why?

A.  Bullion. In the current state of the world’s economy, people are nervous. Most countries, like places in Europe or the United States are pumping tons of money into government organizations, and get very little overall satisfaction from them. And I think that because of this, more and more people are buying gold and silver, to protect themselves financially, and 5 years ago, people wouldn’t even consider that. I think people are just scared, because they don’t know what the end result is going to be.

Q.  What effects do you think the Stock Market, checks, and credit cards have on the coin industry?

A.  Almost none. The stock market is an entirely different form of investment, and as a former stock broker, I can tell you that when all of that government spending catches up with the market, it is going to go down a lot. As for checks and credit cards, they are really just an easier way to buy coins, so I would say that it has a positive affect.

Q.  What is the most interesting coin that you have ever sold?

A.  One time I had a guy bring in four silver dollars. Three of those dollars were worth about $8 each at the time. And the other was a 1893 S  Morgan silver dollar in About Uncirculated condition worth about  $24,000. This is proof that it is always worth it to go through those old silver coins that Aunt Martha left you. Thousands of people out there still have these piles of coins that may or may not have valuable coins in them, but it’s always worth it to check.

1893 S Morgan Silver Dollar

Q.  Do you collect coins?

A.  Yes I do. I collect ancient coins.

Q.  What is your favorite coin design?

A.  I like the Barber Coins. There is nothing better than a Brilliant Uncirculated Barber Half Dollar.

Q.  What drew you to coin dealership?

A.  I am a second generation coin dealer. My father was a foundry worker back in the 1960’s. When I was about 15 years old he retired, and the first thing that he did was open a coin store.

Q.  Do you like your job? Would you trade it for anything else?

A.  Yeah, I like my job. I wouldn’t mind hitting the lottery, though.

Q.  What do you think the hardest part about being a coin dealer is?

A.  Education. You have to know what you are looking at, what condition it’s in, know what the market value is, and there is a lot of publications out there, like the internet, that don’t have the real values. I have people come in and show me a coin worth $20 and say “I looked this up on the internet, and it’s listed with a $300 value!”

Q.  What would you say is the most fun part about being a coin dealer is?

A.  Opening the store every day, because every day is a treasure hunt. You never know what will walk through your door.

Q.  What are your thoughts on modern coin designs?

A.  You know, since they don’t contain any precious metal, they are pretty, but they don’t really do anything for me.

Q.  And now the hardest one: What is your flavor of ice cream?

A.  Chocolate. Period.

 

That was me and Mr. Malcolm Renner of Idaho Gold and Silver. The pictures above are some photos of his store, except for the 1893 S Morgan Dollar

 

 

Coin of the Week: Peace Dollar

The silver dollar is a beautiful coin, and one of the best designs in my opinion in Anthony de Francisci’s “Peace” Silver Dollar.

The Morgan Dollar lasted from 1878 to 1904, and then a silver shortage halted production until 1921. This was shortly after the end of World War II, and everyone was hungry for peace. So the U.S.A. started producing the Peace Dollar. The first ones were made in 1921, with a designed high relief. High relief coins have their designs pushed in so much that they become unstackable. Needless to say, people found this impractical, and regular production resumed in 1922. But even though they were called Peace Dollars, the word “peace” appears only as a small word on the reverse. And another silver shortage halted production between 1928 and 1934, and again in 1936.

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson tried to revive the Peace Dollar, and ordered several struck at the Denver mint. But just then, silver prices hit record high, and Johnson ordered those 1964 D Peace Dollars melted. None are known to exist today. PCGS, a coin grading service, will pay $10,000 for an authentic example. Other Peace Dollars were struck  presumably dated 1970, in copper-nickel to test the idea of the Eisenhower Dollar.

1921 high relief Peace Dollar

 

1964 Peace Dollar

 

 

Making a Mint: Chief Engravers

The U.S. Mint has had 12 chief engravers, each one with a significant style. Here they are, with some of their finest work underneath their names.

Robert Scot

1795 $5 Gold

William Kneass

1838 Capped Bust Half Dime

Christian Gobrecht

Seated Liberty Design

 

James B. Longacre

$3 Gold Coin

William Barber

Amazonian $3 Gold

Charles Barber

1878 “Washlady” Silver Dollar

George T. Morgan

Schoolgirl Dollar Pattern

John R. Sinnock

Ben Franklin Half Dollar

Gilroy Roberts

Kennedy Half Dollar Front

Frank Gasparro

1977 Dollar Pattern

Elizabeth Jones

1982 George Washington Half Dollar

John Mercanti

American Eagle Reverse

Week Five

 

Coin of the Week: 1804 Silver Dollar

The silver dollar has always had a shaky past, including such things as gaps between mintages, size and metal changes, patterns of all sorts of designs, and, most notably, rarities. The 1804 Silver “Bust” Dollar is one of the most legendary coins in American history. It’s value is stunning, and the coin itself doesn’t look half bad either. Here are the facts behind this legend:

In the year 1804, official U.S. Mint records state that 19,750 silver dollars were struck. Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but then, why are there only 15 of these beauties known today? The strongest theory behind this is that in 1804, 19,750 silver dollars were struck… dated 1803 or 1805. This process ensured that people still had silver dollars, but they were struck at a different date than what was shown. We don’t really know for sure why.

In 1834, the government had an issue. They wanted to give some important people that were visiting the U.S.A. something special, but had no idea what!

Wait! Do you remember that no 1804-dated silver dollars were made? Well, maybe we could make some, and give them to these people as souvenirs.

And so 1804 silver dollars were struck in 1834, and also sometime between 1858-1860. Many years later, this coin in on the list of the most expensive coins in the world. One recently sold for $3,725,000.

1804 silver dollars were made in three different ways. The first, or Class One, of these were minted in 1834, with 0.867 troy ounces of silver, and had the words “HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT’' on the edge. The second, or Class Two dollars had only 0.794 troy ounces of silver, and no words on the edge. The Class Three dollars had between 0.872 and 0.881 troy ounces of silver, and the same edge lettering as Class One.

 

1804 Silver Dollar

 

Wonderful World: Euros

In 2000, a new idea, unlike anything ever done before was almost ready to happen. And it worked. The Euro is a currency meant to replace the many confusing systems of European money. Think of it like this: you have your own country, and you decide to start producing money for use in that country. We’ll say that your currency is called a Ralph. Now, you are happy with your money, but one day you decide to take a trip to some other countries for a change of scenery. While you are getting ready to go, you decide to trade in your Ralphs for the money of these other countries. One problem. The first country you go to uses a currency called a Bid. But the Bid is more valuable than the Ralph. So for every 10 Ralphs you exchange, you only get 1 Bid.

When you are done in this country, you get ready to go to the next, and you need to change your remaining Bids into this country’s currency, called the Dike. But the Dike is less valuable than the Bid, so for every Bid that you exchange, you get 4 Dikes.

Quick! How many Dikes could you get for 17 and 1/2 Ralphs? See the problem? Too many confusing currencies make for a lot of trouble. So the Euro was introduced to keep this problem away. As of this writing, 21 countries have switched from their currencies to the Euro. These countries can produce their own Euros with different designs. But now, if you want to go to Greece, Germany, Spain and Latvia all in one trip, all you need to do is turn your money into Euros! Maybe someday, other countries will pick up the idea, and create other, wider circulating currencies.

Some countries, including the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic, have not foregone their own currency systems. But here are the countries that now use the Euro. Next to each one is it’s former currency.

Austria (Schilling)

Belgium (Franc)

Cyprus (Pound)

Germany (Mark)

Estonia (Kroon)

Spain (Peseta)

Finland (Markka)

France (Franc)

Greece (Drachma)

Ireland (Pound)

Italy (Lira)

Luxembourg (Franc)

Latvia (Lats)

Monaco (Franc)

Malta (Lira)

Netherlands (Guilden)

Portuguese escudo

Slovenia (Tolar)

Slovakia (Koruna)

San Marino (Lira)

Vatican City (Lira)

 

And here are these country’s 1 Euro Coins:

Top left across: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City.        Below: Latvia

 

 

Cool Commemoratives: Library of Congress Bicentennial

One of the COOLEST commemoratives ever is the 2000-W Library of Congress Bicentennial. It is the only commemorative coin in the U.S.A. that is Bi-metallic, or made of two different metals, with one in a ring around the other, such as the Euros mentioned above. What makes this coin even cooler is what metals are used. This coin has a ring made of Gold, and a center made of Platinum. The coin’s front shows the hand of the ancient goddess Minerva (better known as Athena) holding a torch over the dome of the Jefferson Building in Washington D.C.  The reverse side shows the seal of the Library of Congress, encircled by a wreath of laurel.

2000 Library of Congress Bicentennial

 

Amazing Artists: Charles E. Barber

Charles E. Barber was born on November 16, 1840, in London, England. His family moved to the U.S.A. in 1852, and Barber, 19 years old at the time, became an apprentice engraver at the Mint under none other than… drumroll, please…. his father, chief engraver of the Mint, William Barber!

Several years later, Barber became chief engraver in his own right, but he developed a nasty relationship with another engraver, George T. Morgan. They worked together on many projects, but not happily. Barber was often criticized for not picking nice enough coin designs, but Barber himself was a pretty good artist. He designed a depiction of Lady Liberty that was used on the dime, quarter, and half dollar, as well as a $4 Gold Stella, a really cool half dollar pattern, and several pattern coins, not to mention a circulating nickel. Barber died on February 18, 1917, and was replaced by none other than George T. Morgan, his old rival.

Barber also designed coins for other countries.

 

Barber Nickel

 

Barber Dime

 

Barber Quarter

 

Barber Half Dollar

 

Barber Half Dollar Pattern

 

Barber’s Sketch for a Puerto Rican 1 Peso

 

For more information on Charles E. Barber, be sure to visit these:

http://www.usacoinbook.com/encyclopedia/coin-designers/charles-e-barber/

http://www.uspatterns.com/charlesebarber.html

 

Trial and Error: The Nickel

The five cent coin had first come around as the silver half dime. But with prices rising, this was abandoned in the 1870’s, and the nickel was born.

Well, actually, the nickel had been around since 1866, but it really took off after the half dime had disappeared. The trouble was, no one could decide what to put on the nickel. The first design was a union shield, a familiar sight during and after the Civil War. But critics called the design off, and, as seen above, Charles E. Barber’s nickel design was next. But rumors had been swapped that an Indian princess or George Washington was to be placed on it. This was not done, and Barber’s Liberty Head design was replaced by an Indian and Buffalo, which we today call the buffalo nickel.

This design was very popular, and lasted 25 years. Then more rumors started up. The Mint did want to replace the buffalo nickel, the question is, with what?

That was a question even the mint could not answer yet. Tons of designs made their way through. But the Mint finally chose a design by Felix Schlag showing Thomas Jefferson. And there you have it. The troubled history of the nickel. But wait! The trouble continues. Today, it costs more than 5 cents worth of metal to make a nickel, and many are calling for it’s production to be stopped. Oh dear…

 

Half Dime

 

Shield Nickel

 

Washington Nickel Pattern

 

 

Indian Princess Nickel Pattern

 

Various Jefferson Nickel Patterns

 

Jefferson Nickel

 

New Jefferson Nickel