Miami Valley Coin Club

Test Your Coin Trivia Knowledge

1. Name the first real-life woman to appear on a circulating U.S. coin.

2. When was the famous 1804 Draped Bust Dollar struck?

3. What is different about the obverse of the 2023 Washington quarter?

4. Which coin was the first to carry the “P” mintmark?

5. True or False? The last silver U.S. coin minted for circulation was in 1964.

6. True or False? The first coin minted by the West Point Mint was the 1984-W $10 Olympic Commemorative coin.

7. When was the “D” mintmark first used?

8. Name the first U.S. coin to sell for over one million dollars.

9. What is the highest grade for a 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, the world’s most valuable coin?

10. Name the first coin to carry the motto “In God We Trust”

Answers

1. Susan B. Anthony Dollar

2. 1834-1835

3. Washington facing right

4. 1942 Jefferson Silver Nickel

5. False. 40% Kennedy halves minted through 1970

6. False. The West Point Mint had been striking Lincoln Cents & Washington Quarters without mintmarks since 1974

7. 1838 on Dahlonega gold coins

8. 1913 Liberty Nickel

9. PCGS MS65 – sold in 2021 for $18,872,250

10. 1864 Two-Cent piece

History of The Two-Dollar Bill… Are They Bad Luck?

The Federal Government began printing paper notes in 1862 and included was the $2 note. The Two was continuously printed until 1966. Then in 1976, as part of the bicentennial celebration, the $2 note was brought back.

It has been nicknamed the “Tom” because Thomas Jefferson has been on the front of the note since 1869. Originally Alexander Hamilton was featured, although not the same picture of Hamilton that appears on our $10 notes.

The $2 bill has had a bad reputation:

• An urban legend claims that at one time, election rigging was common and the reward for a favorable vote was $2. There was a belief that politicians would purchase votes for $2 therefore, having a $2 bill could be seen as evidence that you had sold your vote. While most likely an urban legend, the myth still gave the bill a sinister reputation.
• In the early 1920s, Prostitution was $2.00 a trick, leading some to refer to the bill as a “whore note.”
• The gambling tracks have a $2.00 window, and if you won, many times you were paid in $2.00 bills. If you were caught with $2’s in your wallet it could lead people to assume you were a gambler.
• The $2 bill was often thought to be bad luck, as “deuce” was a name for the devil. Recipients would tear off one corner, believing it would negate the bad luck of the bill. This caused many of the bills to be taken out of circulation as mutilated currency.

Contrary to what you might think, the $2 bill is not rare. 108.3 million were printed in 2022 alone.

A $2 Dollar Love Story

Originally printed in The New York Times is the Story of Myrta Gschaar and her husband, Robert. In 1980, and with a very small income, Robert couldn’t afford an engagement ring, so he and his bride-to-be exchanged $2.00 bills.  They folded the bills and kept them in their wallets to remember each other’s commitment before their marriage.

Years later, Robert was a victim of the September 11 attacks.  Four years after the attack, Robert’s remains had yet to be recovered.  The Special Property recovery unit at the Police Department notified Mrs. Gschaar that it had recovered remains at ground zero, including a wedding ring and a wallet containing a neatly folded $2.00 bill. 

How Many Copper Pennies In Your Hoard?

Many collectors will tell you how many copper pennies they have bagged up and hoarded over the years. Some say 15-20 bank bags full. Some say several gallon jugs full. But nothing compares to what John Reyes and his wife found when it came time to empty out a deceased family member’s house in Los Angeles.

In a crawl space in the basement, they discovered a huge stash of pennies that had been collected by Reyes father-in-law; 800,000 is the rough estimate. It took them a whole day just to carry the coins out of the basement. Their bank manager told them that there wasn’t enough room in the bank’s vault to store them.

They thought maybe they would sort through the coins in hopes of finding a million dollar penny, but gave up that idea after looking at just 300. They put the hoard up for sale, asking $25,000, about three times the hoard’s face value.

Anyone want to over-pay for some copper cents?

Coin Collecting Gift Ideas for Fathers Day

If your father/grandfather is into coin collecting, here are some gift ideas that just might be the right fit.

1. A book about the hobby so he can explore some new ideas.

2. A subscription to a coin-collecting magazine.

3. A specific coin that he needs for his collection.

4. Coin collecting supplies – coin flips, a coin album, album inserts, etc.

5. Membership to the ANA.

6. A piece of coin art, like a hobo nickel or a poster.

7. A gift certificate to their favorite coin shop or dealer.

Whether they are just beginners or experts, your father/collector will always appreciate a gift to support their hobby in numismatics. 

Someone Most Coin Collectors Are Familiar With

I was born in Philadelphia in 1909, just weeks after the release of the Lincoln Cent. My grandparents immigrated (legally I may add) from Italy. My father was a musician and was very disappointed that I didn’t want to follow in his footsteps. In fact, he routinely destroyed some of my early art efforts.

I graduated from South Philadelphia High School in 1927 and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. I also studied at the Fleisher Art Memorial and at various places around Europe.

In 1942, I was hired by the United States Mint as an assistant engraver and worked under John R. Sinnock, designer of the Roosevelt Dime and the Franklin Half Dollar. In February of 1965 I became the 10^th Chief Engraver of the United States.

Prior to that I am credited with the design of the Lincoln Memorial Cent reverse and the Kennedy Half Dollar reverse. After becoming the Chief Engraver I designed the Susan B. Anthony Dollar and the Eisenhower Dollar.

I liked to tell people I am a sculptor, and that they probably carried some of my art in their pockets. My name is Frank Gasparo.

Money Trivia: The Lincoln Cent, Memorial Reverse, is the first U.S. coin to have the same person pictured on both sides of a circulating coin; bust on the obverse, statue on the reverse.

Our Next Meeting

Our next club meeting is Thursday June 1. Please come out and have so fun and gain so knowledge. The club meets in the St Marks Episcopal Church 456 Woodman Drive Dayton, Ohio 45431 at 7:00 P.M.

A Decoration Day Commemorative Collection

Decoration Day, today’s Memorial Day, was first celebrated in May 1868 as a tribute to pay homage to the hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and soldiers who lost their lives during the Civil War. It also presents another way to build a different collection of coins.

1. Build a collection of coins dated 1861-1865. These coins can be one denomination such as Indian Head cents. These 5 dates in Fine grade could set you back about $175 or less. Or you could expand this idea by adding one of any of the coins minted during these years. Example: one 1864-65 Two Cent Piece, one 1861-65 Three Cent Silver, one 1861-65 Seated Liberty Dime, etc.

2. Collect a set of commemorative half dollars with the theme of the Civil War. This could include the 1925 Stone Mountain Commemorative, the 1936 Gettysburg Commemorative, the 1937 Antietam Commemorative, and the 1995 Civil War Battlefields Commemorative.

But let’s not forget the importance of Memorial Day. Here are 4 things we should remember to do every Memorial Day.

• Since 2000, Public Law 106-579 asks that we all recognize one minute of silence at 3:00pm.
• This day is about honoring those who sacrificed their lives for our country, not just serving (Veterans Day)
• On Memorial Day the flag should only be raised only to half-mast until noon, then fully raised.
• Memorial Day was originally scheduled for May 30 because no Civil War battles took place on that date. By 1968, after all of the  Civil War veterans had died, Memorial Day belongs to all of the fallen of all eras.

A Different Collecting Strategy:

Forget Mint Marks & Dates Only, Build a Collection of Varieties

PCGS describes a variety as, “A coin of the same date and basic design as another but with slight differences.”

Building a collection of varieties requires being something of a specialist within a selected coin series. Take the Mercury Dime for instance:

The three major varieties include the 1942/1, the 1942/1-D, and the 1945 Micro S. Sure, you could go all gaga and attempt to collect every variety listed in the “Cherrypickers’ Guide”, but that is really specializing. A simple collection like this one would require only 6 coins; all 3 varieties, a “normal” 1942, a “normal” 1942-D, and a “normal” 1945-S.

How about the Lincoln Cent? There’s the 1922 Weak D and the 1922 No D. The double die obverses; 1955, 1969-S, 1972, and 1995. And there are the 1998, 1999, and 2000 Wide AMs along with the 1992 Close AM.

Collecting a series doesn’t have to be every date and mint mark. There is no end to the different ways to collect. What different slant can you put on a collection?

1981 Type I and Type 2 Proof Washington Quarters

There were 4,063,083 proof sets struck by the San Francisco mint in 1981.  Although a lot of past attention has been placed on the Type I & II Susan B. Anthony Dollar proofs,  the more collected Washington Quarter is beginning to attract the attention of quarter enthusiasts.

There are no figures available to know just how many Type II proof sets were struck. Experts believe that roughly 10-20% of 1981 proof sets were of the Type II design. That means there are somewhere between 400,000 and 800,000 Type II Washington Quarters out there in the world. And though that means that they are not particularly rare, a modern-era coin with a production of less than one million does indicate scarcity.

As for price differences between the two types, when you look at PR70 DCAM grade level, The Type II quarters sell for around $215 and the Type I quarters sell for around $38. This makes the Type II is worth seeking out.

Type I has serifs on the mintmark

Type II mintmark appear bulbous

Next Meeting: May the 4th…(be with you)

Our next meeting approaches and it just happens to coincide with Star Wars Day, Thursday May 4, 2023. Come out and maybe add some new knowledge about coins and coin collecting.

Congrats to Legacy Knights for coming in tied for second in adding new members to the ANA. They got a mention in the May 2023 edition of Numismatic News. Great job Dave and the club!

By the way, if you are into Star Wars and coins, there are 62 different Star Wars coins to collect in the Power of the Force collection to satisfy your collecting needs.

If It’s In a Slab, It’s Got to Be Legit

Not so fast there cowboy! Recently on both Morgan and Peace dollars, “certification” numbers have been found on more than one coin. The crooks are getting smarter.

Unsuspecting buyers look the certification number up on a legitimate grading company website, sees that the number corresponds with the coin, and thinks that everything is A-Okay. The truth may be that the coin is a fake, the holder is fake, and the certification number is also fake. Crooks are creating multiple “coins” and then using a legitimate NGC or PCGS registration number on the holder. There is a correct coin out there with that certification number somewhere. But there may be several counterfeits also.

PCGS and NGC have temporarily deactivated some numbers that they know have been used in this way.

If you happen to be attending the Central States Numismatic Society convention in Schaumburg, look for an educational display of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF). They will have examples of some of the fakes they have come across.

How do you avoid being scammed? Work with a reputable dealer or coin expert and stay away from places like Craigslist.

More Coin Theft In the News

Beaumont, Texas

A mother and adult son were charged in connection with the theft of rare coins in the Beaumont, Texas area. She worked for the U.S. Postal Service, her adult son died before he could be tried in state court.

Local post office representatives stated that the packages were being stolen after leaving the distribution facility, but that wasn’t the case. Some of the coins stolen started showing up at local coin shops as the thieves were selling them off. One customer entered the serial number at NGC of a purchased item and was notified that it was stolen.

This just puts an explanation point on some of what was discussed at our recent club meeting concerning coin theft and the length that thieves will go to rob collectors and dealers. If you buy through the mail, quickly report if the coins were not delivered. When leaving a coin show, it can be smart to team up with a friend and keep an eye out for suspicious characters hanging around the area. You can never be careful enough.

For more info go to:

April 6, 2023

Our next club meeting is this coming Thursday at 7pm. Bring a friend, bring a favorite coin for show and tell, bring anything numismatic related to sell at the club auction, and possibly learn something new and exciting about coin collecting.

*** Warning: coin collecting has been shown to be addictive***

World War II Emergency Issues

Early in the 2^nd World War, the United States produced two different kinds of emergency currency paper money. One issue was for Hawaii and the South Pacific; the other was for Africa and Southern Europe. Today collectors refer to these notes as “Hawaii” and “North Africa”. Because the government was concerned that large amounts of U.S. money would possibly fall into enemy hands and be used against our country, these two kinds of currency were issued for U.S. troops to use in those specific areas of the world.

The 1935A series “North Africa” notes were issued to troops headed for Africa. Instead of the usual blue seal, these notes had a yellow seal. If they fell into enemy hands they could be demonetized and made worthless. These notes were issued in denominations of $1, $5, and $10. All were Silver Certificates, series 1934A.

For the “Hawaii” notes, an overprint of H-A-W-A-I-I was placed twice on the face of each note and once on the back. The Treasury seal was brown instead of the normal blue. These notes were in denominations of $1, $5, $10, and $20. The $1 notes were 1935A Silver Certificates; the other denominations were 1934A Federal Reserve Notes.

In Hawaii, the government required that all U.S. currency be replaced with notes bearing the HAWAII overstamp. This left a major problem: what to do with all the currency exchanged for the overprint version. Rather than ship all that money back to the mainland, it was decided to burn it. At first it was burned in a local crematorium, but that was taking too long. So the government used the bigger furnaces of the Aiea sugar mill to finish the job.

Coin Show Safety

The world seems to get a little more dangerous every day. When attending a coin show these days, it’s smart to be a little cautious and avoid becoming a criminal’s next victim:

1. Assume you are a likely target. Stay alert to people who are around you.
2. Never leave any coins that you have brought or coin show purchases in your unattended vehicle.
3. Know the location of security and emergency services offices.
4. If you are a dealer, make sure to keep display cases locked.
5. Use your phone to photograph/video suspicious persons.
6. Remove any show credentials before leaving the building.
7. If you are accosted, stay calm, and never chase after the thief.

Seriously!

Yes, that’s right! No October meeting. It’s too dangerous for us to act like responsible human beings and meet in a safe manner…

STILL!

Not Again…

First it was on then it is off…AGAIN!! Mr. Dewine thinks we may just cause another increase in the pandemic if we get together as a group for an evening of coin collecting fun. So, that said, there will be no September club meeting.

Maybe October. Maybe next year. This is beginning to look like a one meeting year with (maybe) a Christmas get together. It’s a real shame that we are not smart enough to meet without exposing ourselves to covid-19 (or so our State Government says).

Will It Ever End?

Once again our club meeting has been cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns.

Maybe some day we will be able gather again and swap coin stories.

Treasure Hunt Ends

Ten years ago, art collector and dealer Forrest Fenn, claimed to have buried a treasure worth a considerable amount of money somewhere in the western United States. He was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and told he wouldn’t survive.

Forrest loved the great outdoors and nature and felt that to encourage people to explore the outdoor wonders of America, he needed a way to get them out there. So he said he buried a treasure chest in the Rockies, then wrote a poem giving a series of clues to reveal the location of the treasure.

Not The Actual Chest

As the years past, people began to doubt whether or not there really was a treasure or maybe this was just an old man’s hoax.

Surprise, surprise! A man from the eastern U.S. has finally found the treasure chest. He sent Fenn, who survive his bout with cancer, pictures and a description of where he found the chest. Fenn said that it hadn’t moved since the day he had buried it.

The chest’s contents weighed 42 pounds and contained:

• Pre-Columbian animal figures
• Ancient Chinese jade carvings
• Jars of Alaska gold dust
• Antique jewelry
• Gold coins numbered in the hundreds
• 2 gold nuggets weighing more than 1 pound each
• Various gold objects worth their weight in bullion

The treasure ‘s worth is estimated to be over one million dollars

Forrest Fenn is a Vietnam Air Force vet with 328 combat missions flown, a Silver Star recipient, and was shot down twice. He is currently a healthy 89 years old.

July Club Meeting… NOT!!

Once again the pandemic has reared its ugly head and caused our club meeting to be cancelled.

We need to find a location that does not have to play by our government’s social distancing rules. Everyone should start looking for new possible meeting locations.