Miami Valley Coin Club

Scrip: An Alternative for Legal Tender

Scrip was issued by State, County & City municipalities or private merchants or other businesses. It was issued not only by mining companies, but also by industrial giants. Scrip was not legal tender and was usually issued in denominations less than $1 during times of financial stress (when coins were hoarded and unavailable) to help businesses make change for their transactions. In general, this scrip was only accepted locally.

Most scrip issues happened during the Great Depression, approximately 1932 to 1938. Scrip was issued by a company to pay its employees and usually could only be exchanged in company stores owned by the employers. Doing so would allow the companies to avoid paying taxes and other costs associated with paying employees in cash. Often the scrip was worth less than actual currency, forcing employees to shop where prices were inflated and quality was poor. Often left with no money by the end of the week, it made it impossible for employees to leave the company and find other work.

 Fair Labor Act of 1938 prohibited employers from paying employees with scrip and required workers to be paid in actual currency.

There are many ways to collect scrip:

• By location
• By theme
• By denomination
• Use your imagination

Despite the 1938 law, scrip is alive and well today, if you take the time to recognize its different forms:

• Gift cards
• Local currencies
• Coupons
• Vouchers

A Different Collecting Idea – Sample Slabs

What are sample slabs? They are grading slabs from different grading companies that usually contain a coin that is ungraded with the word “SAMPLE” on them. Grading companies sometimes give away slabs that include inexpensive modern coins to demonstrate their products, to show new features, or as gifts. These slabs are used to serve a triple purpose:

1. To show collectors what the new type slabs look like.
2. To build excitement about the unveiling of a grading company’s newest slabs.
3. To serve as a limited-edition memento.

There is even a book by David Schwager, Sample Slabs, in its 2^nd edition (an updated 3^rd edition is in the works). It is available in an electronic copy (sampleslabs.info) There is even a website for collectors you can check out, www.sampleslabs.com.

Sample slabs are typically given away at coin shows and special grading company events. Websites like eBay and Instagram are the best secondary markets to acquire these slabs. Prices vary widely from about $10 to $100’s and even $1000’s depending on the coin in them.

The Intriguing “Horseman” Gold Coin

George C. Baldwin and Thomas S. Holman went into the minting business at the height of the California gold rush. In 1850 they hired premier designer Albert Kuner to design their new coins. One f the gold coins he designed was the $10 “Horseman” or “Cowboy”.

It is unknown how many of the coins were struck, but few have survived due to a scandal that took place in March of 1851. It was determined that the coins were underweight, their true value was only $9.74.

As a result, people refused to accept them in commerce. The odd thing is Philadelphia Mint assays done in 1851 found that several other private minting companies’ coins, including Moffat & Co., Dubosq & Co., and Dunbar & Co. also were underweight.

Faceless Banknote

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, once known as Zaire, the government of Joseph Mobutu was defeated in 1997. The new government was not about to use banknotes with his face on them, so they punched out Mobutu’s face on the notes and continued to use the notes until new ones could be printed. You can still find these notes in online auctions.

July Meeting Reminder

The first Thursday in July is the 4th so there will be no meeting that evening. The meeting is being rescheduled for Thursday, July 11th instead. We hope to see you then and meanwhile, have a great 4th of July.

1982-P Jefferson Nickels: An Uncirculated Rarity?

Starting in 1982, the U.S. Mint took a two-year hiatus on producing uncirculated coin sets. The exceptions are the number of nickels the Mint packaged into souvenir sets sold at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.

In total, the Philadelphia Mint struck 292,355,000 nickels in 1982, the third year that a “P” was placed on the obverse of the nickel. Any uncirculated 1982-P nickels survived due to collectors setting them aside. It would be unlikely that more than two or three million 1982-P nickels were set aside.

1982-P nickels, in XF or Au grades, sell for about $1.50. These nickels graded in MS67FS are trading in the $1,500 to $4,000 range. If you own an uncirculated 1982-P Jefferson nickel, it might be worth your while to get it graded.

June Meeting

Our next meeting is fast approaching! It’s this coming Thursday evening at 7pm at the usual place, St. Marks Church, 456 Woodman Dr.

Club auction at 8pm after the meeting. Buy or sell with no added fees.

Convenience: The End of Coin Collecting?

Society is, and always has been, guided by convenience. The human race continuously is, and always has been, guided by the search for ease and instant gratification. In other words shortcuts.

Take fast food for instance. Did it really start in the 20^th century? It seems like a good guess. Think about the birth of franchises like McDonald’s, White Castle, and In-N-Out. But the fast food tradition started much farther back in time, long before America was founded. Excavations of the ancient city of Pompeii have revealed that the Romans of that day had businesses known as thermopolia, or their day fast food restaurants, that sold prepared meals to be carried home.

Today we have numerous fast food choices, numerous drive-thru services, and even prefab homes. You don’t have to go to the restaurant; you can call Grubhub or Uber Eats and have your meal delivered to wherever you happen to be. Your groceries can be ordered online and delivered directly to your home.

So how is modern day convenience affecting our coin-collecting hobby? People are shying away from using cash. A majority of companies now pay employees with direct deposit. We then pay our bills online with credit or debit cards, never actually touching any physical money. When was the last time you went to the post office and bought stamps?

I went to a doctor recently and when I tried to pay the bill with money, I was told that the office didn’t accept cash. Really???

How long before governments stop issuing hard coins and currency entirely? What will be left for coin collectors to collect? There is already talk of ending the denominations of cents and nickels. More than one country has already done so (think Canada). 2019 statistics from Iceland report that less than 10% of their retail transactions are done with cash. Which country is next? What is the next coin-collecting generation going to collect? Emailed receipts?

Wouldn’t that be “Convenient”?

Dual-Dated Coins Suggested for 2026

Just as was done for our Bicentennial (the minting of quarters dated 1776-1976), it has been suggested that the Mint issue dual—dated Lincoln cents and Jefferson nickels for our semiquincentennial 250^th anniversary celebration in 2026.

Will Any Modern Coins Ever Appreciate in Value?

Believe it or not, the answer is YES! Take the U.S. Mint’s State Quarters for instance, namely the ones released in the year 2000. These would include Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Virginia.

Did you collect state quarters? If so, you may have some real treasures. The PCGS website lists the 2000-P Massachusetts, in MS-69 grade, at a whopping $7,000. The 2000-D is listed at $9,000 and the 2000-P South Carolina lists for $8,000.

Granted, a MS-69 is nearly a perfect coin, but could any of yours grade that high? If so, everyone who thought collecting these quarters was a waste of time and resources is in for a shock. Makes you want to dig through those quarter stashes, doesn’t it?

Also, some from 2001 are listed in the four-figure range, particularly the North Carolina, the Rhode Island, and the Kentucky quarters struck at the Philadelphia Mint. You might want to take a closer look at quarters from these two years again.

Even some of the quarters from other years have values that would surprise you.

Annual Miami Valley Coin Show

The Most Valuable “Common” Coins to Collect

Lincoln Wheat Cents:

These were minted from 1909-1958 and are worth at least $1, or 100 times their face value.

Indian Head (Buffalo) Nickels (1913-1938):

Most well-worn and dateless Indian Heads (Buffalos) are still worth $1 each. Well-worn Buffalos with dates are usually worth $2 or more. Even at only $1 each, that’s 20 times face value.

Jefferson War Nickels (1942-1945):

These nickels, minted during World War II, contain 35% silver. At worst they are worth $1.30 each (melt value). That’s 26 times face value. These nickels are sought out due to their silver content.

Mercury Dimes (1916-1945):

Silver dimes are ALL valuable, Mercury dimes are especially so. Although not very commonly found in circulation any more, if you find one, keep it. Even in worn condition, if they have a date, they can be worth $4-$5 dollars each. That’s 400-500 times their face value. Their melt value is $1.67 each (almost 17 times face).

Roosevelt Dimes (1946-present):

Pre-1965 silver Roosevelt dimes, with a date, are usually worth at least $3 each (300 times face). Not a common find in circulation these days, they are sometimes found and like Mercury dimes, have a melt value of $1.67 each.

Silver Washington Quarters (1932-1964):

Well-worn silver Washington quarters are still worth between $6-$10 dollars. Melt value of a silver quarter is $4.17. That’s 24-40 or 16 times face respectively.

Collecting only by date and mintmark isn’t the only way to collect coins. Pick one or more of the coin series above and collect simply for value alone.

2023 Christmas Party

The Miami Valley Coin Club Christmas Party Will Be Held At Archer’s Tavern,

2030 E. Dorothy Lane, Kettering, on December 14 at 6pm.

Fun, food and a free door prize raffle!

What better way to end 2023!

Peace Dollars by the Number

Peace Dollars were minted from 1921 to 1935, but were actually struck only 10 of those 15 years. To complete a full run of dates and mintmarks you would need to acquire only 24 coins, for a date run only, just 10.

The total mintage of Peace Dollars from 1921 through 1935 is roughly 191 million total coins. The seven issues with mintages of more than 10 million each (1922, 1922-D, 1922-S, 1923, 1923-S, 1924, and 1925), when combined total 156 million coins. The other 17 dates comprise a total of only 34 million, or roughly 18% of the total series.

The Philadelphia Mint struck 110 million Peace Dollars, the San Francisco and Denver Mints, which comprised a distribution area of nearly two-thirds of the continental U.S., struck only 79 million.

A “Foreigner” Depicted On A U.S. Coin?

Yes, it happened in 1892 with the striking of our first commemorative coin, the Columbian Expo Half Dollar, and that foreigner was, of course, Christopher Columbus. He eventually made 4 different voyages to the Caribbean and Central and South America, never actually stepping foot on U.S. territory.

Was Columbus Italian? Well, technically. But he was truly a citizen of the Republic of Genoa, a city-state on the northwestern coast of the Italy near France.

Charles Barber designed the Columbian Expo Half Dollar obverse; George Morgan designed the reverse. 950, 000 went unsold and later entered into circulation. NGC lists the coin at only $35 in uncirculated MS-60 condition.

Want a different companion coin commemorating Columbus’ voyage? Starting in 1958, and through 1967, Italy issued a 500 Lire coin from the Rome mint depicting the first voyage. It features Columbus’ three ships on the obverse, was approximately half-dollar in size, and struck in .835 fine silver. It too is listed by NGC at around $35 in MS-60.

The Greatest Generation

The United States Mint joined U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) and U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), along with representatives from the Friends of the National World War II Memorial, to unveil the designs for the 2024 Greatest Generation Commemorative Coin Program during a ceremony at the World War II Memorial Sept. 20 in Washington, D.C. The designs are emblematic of the National World War II Memorial and the service and sacrifice of American soldiers and civilians during World War II and will be featured on a $5 gold coin, a $1 silver coin, and a half-dollar clad coin.

October 5th Is Our Next Meeting

September 7 Meeting

All of us poor collectors will be meeting tonight at 7pm. Join us !

The Omega Man (or Woman)

Who was the Omega Man? In the early 1970’s, numerous 1907 high relief Double Eagles began to surface. Being a rare coin, suspicions were raised and prompted a closer inspection of these coins.

It was discovered that a Greek Omega symbol (Ω) had been added as a “signature” of the counterfeiter. It was located within the claw of the eagle and couldn’t be detected under simple magnification.

Later this same “mark” was found on 1874, 1878, and 1882 $3 gold coins, located within the “R” in the word ‘LIBERTY’.

50 years have gone by and the counterfeiter has never been identified.

Omega Symbol Within the Eagle’s Claw

Omega Symbol Within the “R” in “LIBERTY”

Want to Invest in Argentine Pesos Anyone ?

On May 22, Argentina released its new 2,000 Peso bill, its largest denomination ever. The “official” exchange rate to the U.S. dollar is 8 ½ pesos to one U.S. But most Argentines buy dollars in unofficial markets where they trade at over 480 pesos versus the official rate of 235 (2,000 pesos ÷ 8 ½). Citizens rush to spend their pesos as quickly as they can before their pesos lose more of their value.

The current leading candidate for the Argentine Presidency says, “The peso melts faster that ice in the Sahara Desert.” He is proposing replacing Argentina’s domestic currency exclusively with the U.S. dollar.

At this time coins have stopped circulating due to devaluing.