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coinsbygary

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Journal Entries posted by coinsbygary

  1. coinsbygary

    In the Mean Time...

    By coinsbygary,

    Well it’s been a long time since I last wrote. Retirement has kept me pretty busy at my church having delivered the morning sermon last Sunday and again tomorrow. With all that I am doing, I have a whole new appreciation of pastors. However, I’m not writing about my outside exploits today but my numismatic ones.


     
    You see while I have been busy with church activities, I have been amassing several new purchases along the way including a new book! I also served as kind of a consultant for a Coin World writer who is publishing an article about Laura Gardin Fraser in the next issue. Oh, and I will have to write about the podcast I recorded for Coin World that is still being edited. But today I’m writing about a Spanish provisional government pattern I got in the mail this week from an e-bay seller in of all places, Argentina.


     
    First the new book. I haven’t got it yet but it is on order from Wizard Coin Supply. The book is by Roger Burdette entitled, “Girl On The Silver Dollar.” It is Roger’s contention that the girl that graces the Morgan Dollar is not Anna Williams and I have long wanted to know why not.


     
    These are indeed exciting times and without further ado, let me get into the meat of my blog.


     
    After the 1868 ouster of Queen Isabella II from the throne in Spain came a new provisional government and new coinage. Without a royal on the throne these exciting new coins featured the feminine personification of Spain, Hispania. I started collecting these coins years ago for my seated imagery collection but it has been a rough go. Because most of the coins circulated very few of them survive today in MS condition. Fortunately, I have been able to purchase all the copper coins in MS condition but the silver coins are difficult and expensive to obtain in that condition. My highest grading silver coin is AU-53. I am still missing three of the silver coins in my collection and need a miracle to get the 20-Centimos silver coin with a mintage of 5000 and a survivability today much lower. However, I digress. Back to the point of toady’s blog.


     
    Since I am a guy who only started collecting these for their design, I wanted to have at least one coin with design features as crisp as if they were just struck. In this copper pattern I get all that and them some. The relief on the pattern is much higher and sharper than that on any of the coins, bar none! When I happened upon the e-bay listing by accident I couldn’t believe it. Because it was an overseas seller, I hesitated a little. When I saw that he had an excellent feedback percentage with over 11,000 replies I placed a reasonable snip bid on what is now the first pattern in my collection. I won the auction with a bid that is about half of what certified examples had sold for at Heritage.


     
    Still this pattern has a few drawbacks with some sort of foreign residue on the obverse and around the rims and lettering but most important NO mechanical damage. There does not appear to be any nicks or scratches in any of the fields! Yesterday, I sent my pattern off to NCS for conservation that I hope leads to a good grade.


     
    With that I am starting a new custom set over at Collectors Society entitled, “The Coinage of the Spanish Provisional Government.” It is populated with all the coins I currently own including my new purchase albeit in “want” status until it is graded. There is a lot of information I have collected and saved that I will have to shake the dust from but it all leads to a great start to a new set! If you look there is a rabbit at the feet of Hispania on the pattern that is not on any of the coins. This design feature goes all the way back to Hadrian and the Roman Empire but for now I can’t remember what the rabbit signifies. I digress again! You know I’m getting excited by all the rambling on!


     
    Thus, I will leave you with a link to my new set. https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=28027


     
    Oh BTW, I’m also posting a Germania Mint medal I just purchased featuring you guessed it, “The Allegories.” Germania and Britannia are the first in the series. Germania and Columbia are next! This looks like it will be a pretty cool series of medals that I will want to collect. Gary  



  2. coinsbygary
    This year’s annual ANA World’s Fair of Money is perhaps one of the most memorable coin shows I have ever attended. Every show is special in its own way but this one was the first one in which I was a Money Talks presenter.
     
    The annual ANA World’s Fair of Money is a wonderful opportunity for advanced and novice collectors alike to locate those hard to find coins for their collections. For some it is a rare opportunity to roam a large bourse floor filled with dealers from across the country selling every type and category of coins. Literally, there is something there for everyone and more importantly every budget. I ended up buying a PCGS MS-62 1859 Indian Head Cent for my type collection. I also bought a new 10x loupe and a Kennedy half-dollar Christmas tree ornament from the United States Mint. (I kindly ask the collecting purists out there to not throw their shoes at me for that one, lol).
     
    The annual ANA World’s Fair of Money is a wonderful opportunity to view million-dollar coins you would not otherwise see. Among the many coins I saw was an 1804 silver dollar, an 1854-S half-eagle, and two 1913 Liberty Head nickels. The thrill of viewing these coins never gets old. What kind of made me sad about the 1854-S half eagle is that the new owner cracked it out of its original NGC holder to a PCGS holder. The kicker in all this was that the grade remained the same. I don't know why but I was disappointed to hear this, at any rate on with the blog.
     
    I usually take my wife with me to these shows. When I point out the million-dollar coins she has a hard time believing they are worth that much. This is when I impress her with my vast numismatic knowledge (YEAH RIGHT). For instance, I had the pleasure of telling her the 1854-S half-eagle is only one of four known. More often than not she responds with the single word, “WOW.” (Wife impressed; hubby points earned, ya gotta love it)!
     
    The annual ANA World’s Fair of Money is a wonderful opportunity to learn new things. My wife and I always enjoy viewing the competitive displays. This year as a bonus for submitting a people’s choice ballot each submitter received a 2019 copper-nickel proof set! I enthusiastically told the guy who gave me my ballot that this was a pretty good deal! He agreed! At every show I ever attended I have gladly cast my ballot for the people’s choice display. However, never before have I gotten something for doing what I am always glad to do.
     
    Now I must sadly confess that my first Money Talks presentation is the one in which I was the presenter. What a wonderful experience it is to share what I have learned in numismatics with others. Now I see that this is something I want to do again …and something I will have to attend as a member of the audience. For being a presenter, I was given a certificate by the ANA and a medal from the Chicago Coin Club with my name engraved on it. There is much more I want to say about this experience but it will have to wait for a future post. Stay tuned, its coming.
     
    The annual ANA World’s Fair of Money is a wonderful opportunity to get reacquainted with old friends …and to meet new ones. To me this is one of the best aspects of being involved with this hobby. There is nothing like hanging with like-minded enthusiasts to talk nothing but coins for hours on end. No one in my close circle of family and friends collects coins and to tell the truth it gets kind of lonely. This is why a local coin club is so important to connect with others of like mind.
     
    When we arrived at the show, we met up with a dealer friend of mine and another collector who is a common friend to us both. (Actually, these two guys were friends before I met them). BTW this is the dealer who found me the 1859 Indian Head Cent I bought at the show. Since our common friend is a local resident, he took us out for an original Chicago deep dish pizza. None of those fake wannabe deep dish pizza places, but the real deal. You know, there is nothing like talking coins over a genuine deep dish pizza!
     
    Our second day at the show was the day of my Money Talks presentation. At the presentation I met with a collector friend I know from Houston. It is always refreshing and enjoyable to see people you don’t often see and very good to have him in my audience. Also, in my audience cheering me on was a couple from my local coin club. Because of my proximity to Chicago my club chartered a bus to the show, many of which I also saw roaming the bourse floor.
     
    Many of my numismatic friends are sight unseen and people I only know because I regularly blog at the ANA and NGC. Thus, you can imagine the thrill I felt when preparing for my presentation that a blogger from the ANA boards walked up to me and introduced himself! How nice it was to have him in the audience also! Now no longer sight unseen, I feel like we connected and have forged a beginning to a new friendship.
     
    Exhausted from just two days at the show we drove home after having had a very good time at the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money! Gary



  3. coinsbygary

    Summertime Fun

    By coinsbygary,

    Every year in August my local coin club sponsors a picnic for the members of the club. Out of a total of just over 100 members, 20-30 people typically come out to the picnic along with their spouses. The club supplies the meat and drink and the members bring a dish to pass. If you have good people and good food you usually have a good time. 
    If that was all there was to the club picnic, I’d be totally happy. What really sets this outing apart is the bingo games for spectacular numismatic prizes! There are typically six lots of prizes donated by a local coin dealer associated with the club. Sure, there are some items that the dealer is offloading from his inventory but there are other things that are nothing to balk at. For instance, the last prize is a 1/10 oz gold eagle! To win that one you have to cover every square on your bingo card.
     
    Well, I didn’t win the gold eagle but I was glad for the person who did, he’s a pretty good guy and a very active member. However, I did win one of the other lots! I was so thrilled because I never win anything! Included in my lot is a 20th century mini type-set with a Mercury Dime, Buffalo Nickel, Lincoln Steel Cent, and Bi-Centennial quarter. Three incomplete Whitman folders, Lincoln Cent number one and two, and a Jefferson Nickel folder (no silver war nickels). Rounding out the lot is a 1685 silver Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel German 3-taler coin, 500-piece puzzle complete with ANA write-up on “The Lute Player” coin.
    Oddly, I thought the Jefferson nickel was the best item in the lot but not necessarily the most valuable. You see several years ago I started a Dansco Jefferson Nickel album that I wanted to populate with coins from my pocket change. The first thing I did when I got home was to raid the Whitman folder to populate the empty slots in the Dansco album. Now I consider myself a pretty advanced collector but some of the best fun I have with coins is stuffing those albums, no-kidding. I had a blast.
    Although the Lincoln Cent folders were incomplete, both were pretty full. For instance, number one is complete from 1932 to 1940. Number two is complete from 1941 to 1959 except for the 55-S. Again, I was surprised by how many coins my prize encompassed.
    The ANA puzzle is going to be a lot fun. I think I’ll save that one for the cold winter days ahead! I hope you are all having a great summer and one week from today I’ll be giving my presentation at the ANA World’s Fair of Money. Having finished the edits to my presentation and getting it pared down for the allotted time I’m getting stoked! Right now, I’m just practicing the presentation at home twice a day. I’ll be ready and I’m pinching myself to see if this is real, little ole me giving a presentation at a national show! It just doesn’t get much better than this.  Gary



  4. coinsbygary

    Tincture in Heraldry

    By coinsbygary,

    Have you ever looked at the shield on many of our 19th and 20th century coins and wondered what the lines across the top horizontal bar of our national shield represent? How about the lines on the vertical bars? Beyond the vertical bars representing the 13 original states holding up the single bar representing the federal government you may be surprised to find that the lines or the lack thereof on the bars are defined by certain colors in heraldry called tinctures.

    Tincture is a relatively small palette of colors used in heraldry dating back to 12th and 13th century Europe. These have been adapted to numismatic uses by certain patterns which represent the colors in heraldry. For instance, on the 1883 shield nickel I picture the horizontal lines across the top bar represent the color blue. The vertical bars with stripes represent the color red and the plain bars represent the color silver or white.

    In my NGC seated imagery custom set, I have an MS-64 NY 1863 NEW YORK F-630AM-1a CHRISTOPH KARL token featuring a seated image of Germania. The image on the obverse of this token has been incorrectly identified by some as “Liberty”. However, by applying tincture in both the flag and the shield the seated image is clearly not Miss Liberty but in fact Germania. Apart from the tincture, Germania is wearing a mural crown. In the 19th century mural crowns were used primarily in Europe to represent republics or in the case of this token the German Confederation.

    Following the pattern of heraldry, the flag has the black, red, and yellow bars of the German Confederation. The only problem I have found in this flag are that the bars are vertical instead of horizontal as is the German Confederation flag. I googled this discrepancy for an explanation and found that the vertical bars were easier to see by the belligerents, both friend and foe on the field of battle. Another give-away that this token features Germania is the double-headed eagle of the German Confederation coat of arms in a field of yellow as defined by the pattern of the gold tincture.

    For more information on Tincture click the following Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tincture_(heraldry)

    For more information on Mural Crowns click the following Wikipedia Link:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mural_crown

    For a detailed write-up about my token click the following link:

    https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinView.aspx?sc=257286             

    Below is the credit for the use of the tincture graphic:

    By Original:MontrealaisVector:Wereonderivative work Hagman adding DE language, 3 October 2011 (SVG switch and optimization by Perhelion)Hebrew by Ori~ - Own work based on: Tinctures.gif, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1025379

    Gary




  5. coinsbygary
    Recently I bought a new macro lens for my camera. The lens is a Laowa V-DX 60MM F2.8 Macro 2:1. Now I know I already have a macro lens but if I am ever going to take my coin photography on the road, I will need a much more versatile lens.
    For versatility this lens is it. I can focus in as close as 18.5cm and as far as infinity. At 18.5cm I have 2-1 magnification. The only drawbacks are that I have to focus manually and set the aperture manually. No big deal on those since I already do that. The big plus is that one lens will do a 15mm gold dollar and a 131mm medal from my camera stand.
    As with any new toy of this nature there is a learning curve to get the pictures just right. This gave me an opportunity to upgrade many of my poorer quality pictures. Looking through my collection I decided to re-image the first coin I ever bought, an 1881-S proof-like Morgan Dollar. I bought this coin as a teen and still own it today as a 60-something retiree.
    Oh the memories! I bought the Morgan for only $12 along with a gold-plated Ike dollar, A 1953c star crisp-uncirculated $2 bill, and a number of replica fractional California gold pieces. Of these I still own the $2 and probably the others but I can’t find them.
    What was really cool about this coin purchase was that I didn’t buy the coins from a dealer but from a camera store! I have always loved photography and in high school we had a fully equipped dark room that I could use. For me to be in one place that had both photography supplies and coins was tantamount to a kid in a candy store!
    That this Morgan Dollar only cost me 6 hours of “busting suds” for a restaurant at $2/hour was incredible. I just couldn’t believe it cost so little for a proof-like coin that was silver and nearly 100 years old. Oh the naivety of youth. Little did I know then that 81-S Morgan’s are quite common and inexpensive to obtain. However, at the time I thought I pulled off the coin purchasing coup of the century!
    I have never regretted buying that coin and I’ll probably die owning it. Some time back I sent it to PCGS for grading and they sent it back as cleaned without putting it in a holder. Back then they didn’t do details-grading. On the obverse of my coin you will notice cleaning hairlines under the “us” of Pluribus. Oddly, I didn’t notice the cleaning until PCGS pointed it out. This was only the beginning of my education identifying coin cleaning BEFORE sending them in for grading.
    Later I sent my 81-S Morgan to a company call NTC (Numistrust Corp.) for grading. They didn’t document the cleaning and sent it back as MS-63 DMPL. I agree with this grade and have never cracked it out and probably never will. Over the years my 1881-S has lightly toned. Incidentally, since then I only send coins to NGC for grading and will buy only PCGS and NGC certified coins.
    At any rate thanks for taking a walk with me down memory lane! For your viewing pleasure please enjoy a picture of the first coin I ever bought taken with my new toy! Also, for your viewing pleasure is a close-up of an 1880/79-CC VAM-7 Morgan dollar. As you can see my new toy will do nicely. Gary



  6. coinsbygary
    Happy Mothers Day to all the Collectors Society Mothers. Some years ago I may have posted this coin but I don't remember. That said the message of this coin is always appropriate and I dedicate it to mothers everywhere. Therefore, I am posting this coin and its story now.
    The 2008 Latvian 20-Lats gold coin commemorates the 15th anniversary of the renewal of the Lats currency following Latvian independence from the old Soviet Union. Though this coin commemorates Latvian Independence, it also celebrates motherhood by utilizing a 1922 design conceived by sculptor Teodors Zalkalns, but never used. Additionally, this coin has the distinction of being named the Coin of the Year in 2010 by Krause Publications. Krause Publications is a leading publisher of several numismatic books and periodicals.
    This NGC MS-67, 2008 Latvian 20-Lats coin minted by the Austrian Mint has a mintage of only 5000. The diameter of the coin is 22mm and weighs 10 grams. This coin has a gold fineness 0.999 and has an actual gold weight of 0.352739 Oz.
    The gold "Coin of Latvia" shines with the promise of a good fortune and happiness in the future. It is also a special sign of recognition of an outstanding Latvian sculptor, since it carries out the project conceived by Teodors Zalkalns (Grinbergs until 1930; 1876-1972) in 1922 to create a 20-lats gold coin. The plaster model of the coin preserved in the archives of the Latvian National Museum of History contains symbols that are of great significance to Latvia.
    Zalkalns' images of mother belong to the classical treasures of Latvian sculpture. The sculptures created during World War I and modeled after a refugee from Courland are a potent symbol of the nation's suffering and transcending that suffering. The obverse of the coin also features a woman in a headscarf, which to any Latvian signifies motherhood: when a baby was born, the husband presented the wife with a headscarf. A woman used it to cover her head whenever she ventured out in the world. Folk tradition has it that a person who is lost can find the right way if she turns the headscarf inside out and ties it anew; that a knot in one of the loose ends can help one remember, and if such a knot is tied when a star is falling, one's wish will come true. All these good things are tied to the mother image. Mother is the symbol of never-ending cycle of life, linking the past, present and future generations.
    The feminine principle gives life to an individual and likewise is at the core of the family and state. The feminine principle unites the spiritual with the material; the symbols on the reverse of the coin, bread, apple, vessel with a curdled milk beverage and a jug of milk also signify fertility and plenitude. A knife, symbolizing masculine action, is placed next to the feminine images.
    Finally, I want to thank all the mothers out there for the selfless sacrifices they make on behalf of their children. I also want to thank my wife for her unconditional love for my children. I also want to thank my mother for putting up with me and instilling Christian values in my life that have allowed me to be successful and joyful in spite of the hardships. I love you Mom, I love you Linda.
    Gary
     

     
  7. coinsbygary

    I Am Honored

    By coinsbygary,

    Sorry folks no image this time! It just doesn't seem quite appropriate for this post. You see, today I have accidently discovered that one of my writings was linked on the website of a national humanitarian organization!
     
    I still have to pinch myself to see if this is really happening! This all started with my coin club asking for club members to give a presentation at some of our upcoming meetings. I thought it would be nice for me to do a presentation based on my Laura Gardin Fraser coin and medal collection and I went right to work on my power point presentation to be given at the next club meeting on May 8. I really enjoy my club and the opportunity I had to offer other members free imaging of their coins at a recent buy-sell-trade event. This upcoming presentation will give me the opportunity to share other aspects of my numismatic interests in research, writing, and collecting. If that goes well, I plan to apply for a "Money Talks" presentation of the same material at the Chicago "Worlds Fair of Money" later this summer.
     
    One of the medals in my presentation is the "National Institute of Social Sciences medal". The mission of the National Institute of Social Sciences is to "promote the study of the social sciences, to support social science research and discussion, and to honor individuals who have rendered distinguished service to humanity." The bronze medal in my collection was presented to Clara D Noyes to honor her for distinguished service to humanity. Though the bronze medal is no longer awarded, the gold medal is still awarded on an annual basis since 1913. Because the medal design has not changed and it appears prominently on the upper left hand corner of every page on the institute's website I thought to comment on the artistic numismatic legacy left to them by Laura Gardin Fraser. This led me to a page that described the medal. As I went down the page I noticed a few additional reading links, One of which curiously seemed familiar to me entitled, "A Beautiful Medal for a Worthy Recipient." I thought, no it can't be? Yes it can! The link directs you to an article I posted at NGC's collector's society on 4/14/17! How awesome is that! 
     
    In fact, I've been a collector for a very long time and no other set that I have ever put together has brought me more accolades than "The Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser." My contact network of medal collectors is phenomenal, especially considering that I am not a medal collector and that my network has sent me referrals, watched e-bay listings on my behalf, and gladly have shared information without which my LGF set would not have been possible. I've had three LGF articles published in the PAN publication, "The Clarion." In fact the post from the link that I am referring is in the October, 2017 issue of the Clarion! I've had cold contacts from authors wanting to publish my images, other people wanting to sell me their medals, and the family of Clara D Noyes that wants to buy my social sciences medal back! Incidentally, I have every intention of selling it back when I find another example for my collection. In return the family representative has sent me a signed copy of a biography he wrote about Clara! All these things do me great honor along with all of you who follow my blog posts. This has all been a surreal ride for me that brings new and amazing things my way. As I always say, "Who would have thunk it?" It has just been a wonderful ride that I would have never in a thousand years anticipated. I am indeed blessed!
     
    Here are two links to the National Institute of Social Sciences website. The first will take you to the main page and the second to the page with mu link.
    http://www.socialsciencesinstitute.org/
    http://www.socialsciencesinstitute.org/the-gold-medal
    Gary
  8. coinsbygary
    ...And now I have it! A search encompassing a fair number of years has culminated with the purchase of an MS-61 1882-H Newfoundland $2 gold coin. This is like a dream come true from the first time I knew that this coin existed until now. FYI, I bought the book, "The Gold Coins of Newfoundland 1865-1888" shortly after it was published in 2017.

    In 1865 the Royal Mint began striking new coins exclusively for Newfoundland including a $2 gold coin for a then population of 122,631 people. You will notice the conversion values for this coin on the reverse of 200 cents/100 pence. This is related to Newfoundland's coinage being based on the British Pound well before Great Britain adopted the decimal  system for its currency. Thus there was 240 pence to the pound which converted to $4.80 in Newfoundland currency.

    The Newfoundland $2 gold coins were struck for circulation irregularly between 1865 and 1888 from a low mintage of 2,500 to a high mintage of 25,000. Incidentally my coin has a mintage of 25,000. The 1882 coin also has an H mintmark denoting that it was struck at the Heaton Mint in Birmingham. This coin was designed to be nearly equivalent to the American Gold Eagle which also circulated in Newfoundland. A US gold eagle contained 0.48375 ounces of gold while the 0.91666 fine Newfoundland $2 coin  had 0.0981 ounces of pure gold. Thus the Newfoundland $2 gold coin was worth $2.0277 US dollars. The diameter of the Newfoundland $2 coin is 17.983mm and the weight is 3.328 grams.

    I have been looking for a suitable yet affordable example of this coin for many years. My problem is that this coin is scarce and was popular as a circulating coin. Thus there are very few nice looking coins to be had. I had decided that if I was going to pay good money for this coin, I wanted it to look nice. With only a handful of MS-65 coins and steep prices for an MS-64 coin, I was looking for something in the AU-58 to MS-62 range. Without really looking too hard this coin popped up on e-bay with a best-offer option. I put forth my best offer and it was a sale. The gold toning on this coin gives it contrast. As such it is a very nice looking coin with lots of eye appeal. Gary

  9. coinsbygary
    Much of this post is quoted from a response to a recent post by thisistheshow entitled, "Let me try this again, for the first time." I made a lot of points in that response that I thought are worthy of an expanded stand-alone post. In a nutshell this post is an autobiography of my 40+ years of collecting coins. 
    Thinking back on my 40+ years of coin collecting I liken my numismatic experience to that of the Biblical parable of the prodigal son. I started my numismatic journey as a youth with type collecting. I was fascinated by the variety of coinage designs throughout our nation’s history. At the time I was also interested in odd denomination coinage.

    I soon bought a Red Book and wore out the bindings. I literally spent hours paging through that book dreaming of the coins I wanted to buy. It didn't take too long for me to become fascinated with the coins in the back of the book. No, they weren't the classic commemoratives but the gold coins and especially coins minted at obsolete mints like Charlotte, Dahlonega, New Orleans, and Carson City. Here again, I was interested in another type of type set, that of mintmarks. Still as a youth growing up in Wisconsin, I was glad to see a Wisconsin coin in the back of the Red Book! Today I proudly own a Wisconsin commemorative half dollar.

    Enter my time in the US Navy and my collecting took a different direction. From every foreign port I had visited I collected that country's circulating coinage. The same happened after I got married and lived in Europe for a year. Today, I still own many of these coins mounted in albums. Following this my prodigal journey into the numismatic far country began in earnest. This began several years of hit and miss but mostly miss in my collecting. At that time, I was collecting things like Silver American Eagles and modern commemoratives. In fact, I had so many interests I couldn't keep up with them all. It's kind of like the jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

    At the peak of my numismatic prodigal journey I started a collection of Morgan Dollars beginning with the New Orleans minted Morgan’s and toners. After this I thought, “why not collect them all.” For two years I was buying Morgan Dollars at a phenomenal rate. I even bought the granddaddy 1893-S in VG-10 condition. Following this I hit burn-out before completing the Morgan collection. This led to a momentary hiatus from buying Morgan Dollars. I thought that the Morgan Dollar hiatus would help to renew my interest in them but to no avail. I ended up selling most of my Morgan's including the 93-S.

    I did end up keeping the Morgan's grading MS-65 to 66 and all my CC mint marked coins including several GSA CC's. Keeping the CC's was the first indication that I was heading home, to my childhood fascination with obsolete mint facilities. Interestingly, this did not extend to New Orleans. Keeping the 65 and 66's grew from a love of numismatic beauty. This did not include the heavily abraded ugliness of lower graded MS Morgan's. Ultimately this may have been the main reason for my loss of interest.

    Concurrently with the Morgan's, I thought to collect Eisenhower Dollars. With those I completed the set in short order. Then I sat back and thought what now and sold most of those. Still I found what I had learned by assembling the Ike's to be a worthwhile experience.

    Serious numismatic soul searching brought me back home to my roots and type collecting. I just love the variety of our nation’s coinage, always have, always will. Now my focus is upgrading the coins in my type sets with coins that have higher eye-appeal. With these coins I am engaging my love of numismatic beauty.

    Notwithstanding, while I was in the numismatic far country, I discovered that I liked thematic and topical sets. I started sets entitled, "Inspirational Ladies, The Use of Seated Imagery in Numismatics, and The Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser". In all these sets I continue to add coins as I discover good candidates.

    When you boil it down what I really like is variety! Consider this, with the exception of commemoratives all the other far country sets were series-based sets. Thematic sets are based on a theme with DIFFERENT coins that match the theme! In these sets I can mix and match coins, medals, and tokens from all over the planet.

    I wish I knew how much money I wasted in the far country. Sometimes, I refer to the money I lose as the cost of learning and participating in MY chosen hobby. Think of it this way. Say a person likes to golf and spends hundreds of dollars if not thousands on green fees in a year. Is there any means for the golfer to recover his or her losses? No and even more significant you never here them complain about the money spent enjoying what they love to do. Still, I am not in this to lose money and I don’t like throwing good money after bad. Just like the prodigal son came to his senses after he wasted his inheritance so have I in terms of what I like to collect. Just like the prodigal son learned some important life lessons in the far country, so have I.

    In the end though, you still have to try different avenues of collecting if for nothing else to see if you like it. My problem was not that I started the Morgan set but that I put very little thought into it and went into a full throttle buying binge. When I came to my senses, I had already spent thousands of dollars!

    Now that I know what I like, I won't be taking any unnecessary journeys away from home and what got me interested in collecting coins as a young lad living under my parents’ roof. I have come full circle back to my numismatic roots.

    Please enjoy my picture collage of the many different types of coins, medals, and tokens from my collection.

    Gary 

     

  10. coinsbygary
    As of December 28th 2018, I am officially retired and am eager to move on into another chapter of my life. Retirement came a little sooner than I expected but when my employer offered me a generous buy out, I realized that I had to take it now or never see that opportunity again. Realistically, at 60 years old I had no more than 4 years left anyway and probably a little less.

    Now retired, I find myself having to live on a lot less money than I had before. To make things easier on my family I used the buy out money to pay off the main mortgage on our house. This in and of itself will make living much easier. Furthermore, all the other outstanding consumer credit I had is paid off. After all these years of not budgeting because I earned more than I needed to live on I finally sat down and made a budget on a spreadsheet. Remarkably, I found that retirement life for at least this year should not prove to be too difficult. That will change however in 2020 when we will have to buy healthcare.

    That said, I have very little wiggle room left in my budget to buy coins. So, the question I ask myself is how do coins and collecting fit into retirement? Fortunately, I am discovering that the hobby is bigger than just buying coins.

    Fortuitously, I saw this life change coming years ago and I worked furiously to complete as many of my type sets as possible before retirement. With gold hanging around at $1200-$1300 an ounce, most of my recent purchases have been of classic gold type coins. Now my 1834-1933 gold type set is complete with the exception of the 1907 high-relief St. Gaudens Double-Eagle. At the price I can expect to pay for that bad girl I’m going to have to leave it as an open slot.

    Having completed my Dansco 7070 type set (19th through 21st century type) I identified certain coins in my set for upgrading to more eye-appealing coins. I started this upgrade project about 2-3 years ago but have not been able to finish this part of my collection. To complete it I plan on selling the doubles in my collection to buy new coins. My goal has been to have the most eye-appealing coins in this set that I can afford. Thus, instead of using new money to purchase these coins I will sell off existing coins that no longer fit into any of my sets.

    As a collector who has been collecting coins since I was a boy I currently own hundreds of certified coins. Many of these will make a nice pool of coins for bartering and selling to have the collection I want through retirement. I have five sets that have won major NGC awards and those sets plus the balance of my type sets will make up the core of my collection.

    In May of 2018 after years of knowing of its existence I finally joined my local coin club. (I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner). This will keep me busy with the local collectors where I live. On occasion one of our club meetings is a buy-sell-trade meeting. This is a popular event for many of the members and especially the dealer members of the club.

    At the last meeting I offered to image two coins for free to every club member present at the buy-sell-trade. This has allowed me to demonstrate my macro photography set-up and help me to determine if this is something I want to do in retirement for fun and a little extra income. Now that I know this will be a thing I want to do, I will rent a table at local coin shows around the state to offer my services. For the time being this will only be an on-site thing. I don’t want the responsibility for people’s coins off site.

    Other than that, I’ll have time to do research and write-ups for the sets I currently own. For the most part, this part of collecting will cost me little or nothing! Other than that, I may do more blog posts like I used to do in the past. I may also dabble in doing a display at a major show like the annual Central States show in Schaumburg, Ill. After all, if I can win awards with virtual displays on NGC’s registry, why not real displays at a show?

    As a sidebar to an earlier post, I got the provenance on the certification labels I was hoping for with two medals I purchased directly from the curators of the Fraser Studio Finds. (The Numismatist, June 2018). With a custom set dedicated to the Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser, I am thrilled to own these medals that once belonged to the Frasers! I want to thank Laurynn at NGC for working with me on this one to note the Fraser provenance on the labels.

    Interestingly, the 1912 John Cardinal Farley caste medal at 131mm is too big for a holder. In Its place NGC graded the medal as is and sent a card with photographs of the medal and its label. NGC also stipulates that the grade is as is when the medal was graded and that the NGC guarantee for grade does not apply.

    It seems that in the end just because I’m retired and not buying as many coins as I used to does not mean that I will have to give up on the hobby! Pictured is the card sent back to me with the Farley medal and a macro shot of a 1942-D 2/1 Mercury Dime I took for one of my local coin club members.

    Gary


  11. coinsbygary
    Because of my Laura Gardin Fraser collection an article in the June 2018 issue of The Numismatist entitled, “Fraser Finds”, aroused my interest. The author of that article went on to describe his pure joy at the Fraser finds comparable to that of discovering lost treasure. For my part I found this article fascinating. Never could I have imagined that Tom Rochovansky and his wife Nancy were preserving so much of the Fraser’s work as a legacy to them.
    Normally for me this is where the story ends. Later I was to find out that this was in reality where the story began. A friend of mine who has been invaluable to me in both researching and acquiring many of the Laura Gardin Fraser medals in my collection contacted me about the article. He went on to say that he lives within driving distance of the Rochovanskys and made an appointment with them to inspect the finds for himself.
    When my friend returned from inspecting the Fraser’s studio pieces he sent me a report of his findings. I was somewhat disappointed that there didn’t seem to be anything of interest to me in the report. Later my friend on a subsequent visit discovered two Items that he missed on the first visit that I was VERY interested in purchasing. Those pieces were a bronze 1912, 131mm cast medallion honoring John Cardinal Farley on his elevation to the cardinalate of New York. The second is a bronze 1915, 64mm Rosemary Hall 25th anniversary medal. I’ll have more to say about these medals later but for now, as Paul Harvey would say, “The rest of the story.”
    This is where having a friend that knows something about medals is indispensable. After finding out about these two medals I told my friend that I was interested in purchasing both of them. The price for the Rosemary Hall was about what I could expect to pay and well within my budget. The asking price of the Cardinal Farley medallion on the other hand was a stretch for me and just outside what I wanted to pay. With that my friend was willing to negotiate a fair price on my behalf to the Rochovanskys based on his knowledge of the market and it was a sale! Two medals once owned by Laura Gardin Fraser are now in my personal collection! Indeed, both of these medals truly represent a “Most Excellent Provenance”!
    I mailed a check directly to Tom Rochovansky with a hand written note thanking him and inviting him to peruse my set. After receiving my check, Tom gave me a call and I had a wonderful conversation with the curator of the Frasers studio artifacts. Tom went on to say that he personally knew Laura Fraser as a child and often referred to her as Aunt Laura. I asked him if I could conduct an interview with him about his experiences with the Frasers and he was very willing for me to call him at a future date. Now who could ask more than the prospect of acquiring first-hand information about the Frasers?
    In a bit of numismatic history Tom Rochovansky went on to say that he loaned the plasters for the 1999 200th anniversary of the death of George Washington half-eagle to the mint. In return the mint sent him one of the half-eagles that he incidentally still owns. The mint also returned the plasters which are also still in his possession. Finally, Tom told me about some of the non-numismatic items he still has, one of which I may be interested in purchasing at a future date when I will likely make-up a display case of this collection.
    Finally, I was not the only person to benefit from the “Fraser Finds” article in the Numismatist. Another of my friends introduced to me through the same person who contacted the Rochovanskys acquired several plasters, one of which is the obverse of the Oregon Trail commemorative half-dollar. He has also written of his purchases in the July 22 edition of “The E-Sylum” complete with pictures. Lest you think our common friend didn’t find something for his collection, think again. There are now three very happy collectors with their purchases and Tom Rochovansky glad to place a few of the Fraser artifacts into good homes.  
     




  12. coinsbygary
    Bide-A-Wee is Scottish for "Stay A While" and is the name of an animal rescue and adoption center in Manhattan founded by Mrs. Flora D'Auby Jenkins Kibbe in 1903. Bide-A-Wee still exists today and has a policy of not euthanizing the animals in their care except for pain and suffering. As a result in 115 years of operation they have been able to place over a million dogs and cats into loving homes. 
    A collector favorite, the Bide-A-Wee medal was awarded to persons in grateful recognition of their "service in the cause of friendless animals." The pictured medal is a bronze un-awarded uniface example designed by then sculptor Laura Gardin around 1913 just before her marriage to James Earle Fraser. It is interesting to note that although the Medallic Art Company catalogs the die pair as MAco 1918-002 that the design pre-dates 1918 because it is signed Laura Gardin rather than Laura Gardin Fraser. The obverse of the medal features three of Laura Gardin's favorite dogs seated together. Surrounding the dogs is the inscription, "LOYALTY, DEVOTION, FORGIVENESS, HUMOR." The edge inscription reads "L.G. Fraser (copyright symbol) 1919. 
    The picture attached to this post is of Arctic explorer Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd being presented the Bide-A-Wee medal in 1930 for devotion to his terrier ironically named, "Igloo". Interestingly, Laura Gardin Fraser is also credited with designing the National Geographic Special Medal of Honor for Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd in 1930. One side of this medallion sized medal prominently features the bust of Admiral Byrd.
    The only fly in the ointment is that this medal is details graded by NGC for cleaning. When I submitted the medal for grading, I hadn't noticed the cleaning. Now that the medal has been graded I can see the cleaning and I agree with NGC's conclusion. For me, the fingerprint on this medal is more distracting than the cleaning which is probably why I didn't catch the cleaning. Still, even with the cleaning and fingerprint I visually find this medal very appealing. Thus, I am thrilled to own this medal because it is scarce and rarely comes up for sale or auction. 


  13. coinsbygary
    One of the things that endears me to coin collecting is allegorical art. I have several sets in my collection based on allegories alone. I have always maintained that coins are a powerful medium to communicate national ideals through allegorical images.
    For me a lot of the fun in collecting coins is deciphering the allegories. In researching the allegories, I am amazed by how much I have learned about world history through the stories told on coins! For instance I had not known that the name "Borealia" had been considered for Canada's name at it's confederation in 1867 before I acquired the latest coin for my allegorical "Inspirational Ladies" set. The following is a description of my coin purchased from Tallisman Coins and comes from their website:
    Building on the classical concept of a female national personification, Canadian artist Rebecca Yanovskaya offers a new allegory for a modern Canada. Framed by waves and maple leaves that unite land and sea, Borealia is the very picture of strength and confidence as she stands against the majestic backdrop of Canada's tallest peak, Mount Logan, which represents the soaring spirit of innovation.
    Like the British figurehead Britannia, Borealia is clad in traditional robes, but with unique armor that hints at Canada's journey since the colonial era. Every engraved element in this intricate design carries deeper symbolic meaning, including those that allude to the weight of history: the fur cape that represents Canada's pre-Confederation past; the feather that pays tribute to Indigenous Peoples; and the poppies of remembrance woven into her hair. In one hand, Borealia holds the shield of the Arms of Canada; in the other, a dove of peace, a nod to Canada's historic role as peacekeepers, but also to Canadians' desire for peace.
    Facing forward towards the future, Borealia is strong, optimistic and steadfast, like the people she represents, whose ideals and spirit continue to shape and redefine the nation's global future. With one foot reverentially set in the past, her name is an ode to one of the proposed names of Canada leading up to Confederation: Borealia.
    Traditional engraving creates a classical portrait of the modern Miss Canada, a highly symbolic and meaningful allegory or personification of the goddess Miss Canada, struck in one full troy ounce of 99.99% pure silver, and layered in precious 24-karat gold!
     She is youthful yet wise, peaceful yet  powerful. She is Borealia, (from "borealis," the Latin word for "northern") the goddess Miss Canada, who radiates strength and confidence on this fully gold-plated, 99.99% pure silver proof. This symbolic personification is a superb rendering of a classic allegorical figure who represents the collective spirit of Canadians in today's world: hopeful and steady in resolve and perseverance, rising to meet the challenges that lie ahead.


  14. coinsbygary

    Older and Wiser

    By coinsbygary,

    I always thought it to be a shame if a person only grows older without growing any wiser. People often classify such a person as a fool. Concerning my relationship to coin collecting, wiser after so many years has finally come!
     
    After going trailblazers buying Morgan Dollars several years ago, I had lost interest in the series and finally sold off much of my collection in 2017. Now my interest in Morgan Dollars only includes the following: MS-65 and higher Morgan’s, GSAs, and Carson City Morgan’s. The rest, more than 40 coins in all, were sold, most at a loss to acquire the coins that today represent my real passion.
     
    At that time several years ago, I was adding Morgan’s to my collection at a rate of two or three coins a month. E-Bay was an addicting and all too easy venue for me to buy coins. It became as if, “I see, I like, I buy.” Never mind if I saw a coin, bought it, and only a few days later saw one I liked better and bought that one. I often rationalized that purchasing the new coin was subsidized by the old coin. To tell the truth, I was compulsively and indiscriminately buying coins. This no-win situation only robbed me of my numismatic passion and subsequently turned me into a numismatic fool.
     
    My Laura Gardin Fraser collection has taught me the patience needed to not only enjoy coin collecting but to do it at a pace that is both reasonable and results in buying quality coins that will never need to be upgraded. You see, when the coins and medals you need in your collection rarely make an appearance on the open market, you have to learn patience. Patience  then is a good indicator of passion. If I have no patience, I have no passion resulting in burnout. So far, I haven’t lost patience with my LGF set and now don’t expect that I will. In fact, I just picked up two scarce pieces at bargain basement prices, one with a mintage of only 30! I will post more about those later.
     
    That said, I will not be branching out into other numismatic ventures other than the following:
    •       Allegorical and inspirational women featured on worldwide coinage. Since my wife’s mother died of breast cancer, I will be buying the “pink” gold half-eagle going on sale by the US Mint in March.
    •       Seated imagery featured on worldwide coinage.
    •       A US gold typeset featuring all the major varieties from 1834-1933, less the 1907 high relief St. Gaudens double-eagle. (Only the prohibitive price tag keeps me from acquiring that one.)
    •       High-grade Morgan dollars, Carson City dollars, and GSA’s.
    •       Final upgrades to my 7070 US type set purchased on my behalf by a dealer friend of mine.
    •       …And of course my Laura Gardin Fraser coin and medal set!
     
    My dealer friend buys attractive coins for my 7070 type set from my want list in the grades that I can afford. My want list is a five year plan to acquire the coins that I will never have to upgrade and so finally complete a set that I will be proud to own going into retirement. This dealer friend also attends all the coin shows that I cannot. Thus, I am learning to patiently acquire coins via one of the oldest of collector venues, “The Coin Show.”
     
    Coins shows also give my dealer friend a chance to sell or trade my old coins at the best price possible. Therein is yet another opportunity for me to learn patience especially for my VG-10 1893-S Morgan. My friend held that coin for close to a year before finding a suitable buyer at the January FUN show.
     
    In 2017 I spent most of the proceeds of my Morgan sale to purchase coins to fill my gold type collection. Now only the no-motto half-eagle and no-motto Indian Head Eagle remain. Additionally, I am waiting until the spot price of gold goes much higher to sell the gold coins I purchased long ago and recently upgraded. This again is another opportunity for me to learn patience since many of those coins I purchased when gold was close to $2000/oz.
     
    In 2018, I expect my new purchases to be far fewer as I move more towards quality over quantity. So far this year with the proceeds from the 93-S Morgan I bought a beautiful E-bay purchased MS-64 1908 no-motto St Gaudens Double-Eagle and a FUN show pick-up, MS-66 1913 ty 1 Buffalo Nickel for my 7070 type set. I purchased both these coins with a couple hundred dollars to spare.
     
    Needless to say these two coins are not subject to upgrades as they are absolutely gorgeous for their grades. Through the patience of selectively purchasing only those coins that fit my narrowly defined passion, have I finally become wise. 




  15. coinsbygary

    A Golden Opportunity

    By coinsbygary,

    Over the last several years I have been feverishly working to upgrade the gold coins in my collection since the spot price of gold has fallen from its peak valuation in the fall of 2011.
     
    In the last two years or so I have been able to upgrade several of the MS-62 and lower graded gold coins in my collection to 63 and 64. To date, I have been happy with the quality of the MS-63 and 64 gold coins I bought and I consider them to be the final upgrades for my gold type set. With the spot price of gold being relatively stable over the last few years, I have had the time I needed to buy these expensive coins at a price I can afford.
     
    This golden opportunity has also allowed me to add several nice circulated classic gold coins and varieties to my collection. Except for the 1907 high-relief St Gaudens Double Eagle, I fully expect to add all the major 1834 to 1933 US gold varieties to my collection.
     
    This brings me to the 1897-S MS-62 Type 3 Liberty Double Eagle in my collection. Over the last several months I have been looking for an acceptable MS-63 or 64 example. The problem is that I have not found a coin in those grades that is all that much better than the 62 I already own. The problem has always been the location and severity of the contact marks on the obverse. Dare I consider a gem-uncirculated MS-65 upgrade?
     
    According to both PCGS and NGC population reports, PCGS grades a total of 8,204 Liberty Double Eagles in MS-65 and NGC grades 9,221. For the most part, gem condition Liberty Double Eagles are very scarce and as a result very expensive. Now if all those 65’s were spread evenly across all the dates I would not be having the following conversation.
     
    Of the total MS-65 populations from both grading services, 65% of PCGS’s and 64% of NGC’s population are 1904 double eagles. With thousands of 1904 MS-65’s in the marketplace, the 1904 double eagle presents a wonderful opportunity for the type collector to own a gem quality gold coin at a relatively low price. This then is where a lower and stable spot price comes into play when making my decision to upgrade my current double eagle.
     
    In 2011, I bought my current double eagle when an ounce of gold was at its peak valuation. At that time I suspected that gold would continue to rise. Now they say that hindsight is 20/20 and since I bought this coin, gold has fallen to roughly the level it has held for more than a couple of years. Now when I decide to upgrade any coin in my collection I usually sell the lower graded coin to subsidize the higher graded coin. However, in this case I am going to hold onto that 1897-S coin until the price of gold goes back up.
     
    With that settled, I went on the hunt for an MS-65 double eagle to replace my 62. After looking around a little, I found about twenty-five 1904 MS-65’s on Heritage’s website as “Buy It Nows” with a few having a “Make Offer” option. Like all the rest of the grades not all MS-65’s are created equal so I picked the coin I liked the best and made an offer for $100 lower than the BIN.
     
    Now Heritage was supposed to contact me in three days and when they didn’t I thought they had declined my offer. That was until 11 days after my offer when I received an invoice in my e-mail box for the coin I wanted! With that I upgraded an MS-62 coin to 65 for only $32 more than I paid for the 1897-S! Essentially, I just got a 3-point upgrade for free! If I were to sell the MS-62 at a loss it would then cost me about $600-$700. Still not that bad for an upgrade to a coin of this magnitude.
     
    This all reminds me of the UNC-Details 1889-S Saddle Ridge Double Eagle I bought for about the same price as the two coins I am writing about. When I compare the Saddle Ridge coin to the 1904, I think the Saddle Ridge coin has a shot at MS-65 were it not for the cleaning below Miss Liberty’s truncated neck. The cleaning may not be all that apparent in the PCGS photo but in the hand it is front and center.
     
    Unlike the 1904, 1889-S double eagles are very rare in MS-65 with a NGC valuation of $36,000 and a PCGS valuation of $30,000! I only paid a small fraction of that price for this coin, about 1/14 to 1/15 of the fully graded coin! Thus, I am thrilled to own this coin even though it has been cleaned. The moral of the story is don’t even think of cleaning your coins, you may do them irreparable damage perhaps costing you thousands and at the same time representing a great deal for me (lol)! Merry Christmas to all!




  16. coinsbygary
    There are few things in numismatics that I enjoy more than strong allegories on coins and medals. Where the allegory is unknown, I endeavor to decipher it within the historical context of the numismatic piece. Because of this love I created two NGC custom sets, “Inspirational Ladies” and “The Use of Seated Imagery in Numismatics.” Researching the coins and medals contained in these two sets has given me many hours of enjoyment!
    One coin that I recently acquired illustrating a strong allegory is the 2017 Canadian .9999 Fine Silver $100 Coin, “Juventas et Patrius Vigor” (Latin for “Youth and Patriotic Strength”), 1867 Confederation Medal. This coin is 76.25 mm in diameter and weighs 10 oz. The mintage is 1000 and my coin’s serial number is 321/1000. This year Canada is celebrating their 150th anniversary of confederation. Marking the occasion, Canada is releasing a number of commemorative coins.
    The obverse of this massive coin features an 1867 profile bust of Queen Victoria and a current profile of Queen Elizabeth II along with their corresponding crowned monograms. The obverse represents Queen Victoria as the British queen in power at the time of confederation in 1867 and the current queen, Queen Elizabeth II.
    Faithfully reproduced, the reverse of this coin is modeled from the dies of the original 76.5 mm, 1867 Canadian Confederation Medal. Issued with Queen Victoria’s approval, this medal was minted in silver and bronze. It was awarded to persons of merit for their service to Canada. The original mintages are one gold medal presented to Queen Victoria, fifty silver medals, and five hundred bronze medals. The designers of this medal were brothers JS and AB Wyon. These medals seldom appear on the open market and are quite expensive. I found an auction record for a beautiful original silver medal selling at $2750.00 CAD + $550 buyers premium on 7/13/11 ( http://www.icollector.com/1867-Canadian-Confederation-Silver-Medal_i10734270 ). I also found the record of a bronze medal that sold for $800 USD ( https://www.emedals.com/a-rare-confederation-commemorative-table-medal-1867-c0881 ).
    The reverse features Britannia representing the UK, seated and holding a scroll on which is written “Confederation.” The lion resting its head on Britannia’s lap is reminiscent of “Una and the Lion” from Spenser's “The Faerie Queene.” Around Britannia and idealizing the motto “Youth and Patriotic Strength” are four young maidens representing the four original provinces of Canada; Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick . Ontario is holding a sickle and sheaf representing agriculture. Holding a canoe paddle is Quebec representing commerce. In Nova Scotia’s hand is a shovel representing mining. Finally, New Brunswick is holding an ax to represent forestry. I gleaned much of the information for this post from the following website,  http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/honours-history-awards/conf-medal.page . Here you will also find a lot of interesting facts about the original medal that I had not mentioned in this post. Until next time, happy collecting! Gary.

  17. coinsbygary
    With the advent of the NGC and PCGS registries came new and improved ways to catalog, preserve, and display the coins in your collection. This after years of collectors plugging raw coins into albums. Yet, I feel that there was something nostalgic about plugging coins in an album that may have been lost.
    PCGS has tried to recapture that nostalgia in their registry with their coin album software. I must say that for a while I was impressed and jealous. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer NGC’s registry and I do not currently maintain a registry with PCGS. However, there was something in me that longed to present my collection in that format, especially my NGC 7070 Basic US Type Set. After all, isn’t this set based on a Dansco coin album anyway!
    Still, there has got to be a way to get the best of both worlds and I think that I have found it! A week or two ago I got an email from a coin supply vendor announcing that Dansco would for a limited time make their 7070 album available for purchase. Jumping on the opportunity, I ordered the album with no intention of ever putting a coin in it!
    When the album arrived, I photographed the front and backside of all the pages. Next, I loaded them up to Photoshop Elements and started to plug photographs of my coins into the slots. I was in essence creating my very own virtual coin album with the advantage of enlarging the page to more closely inspect the coins. Eventually, I’ll put all the pages together in a power point file or something like that. Yes, the page files are a bit large to post. But for me, I am looking for many hours of enjoyment both plugging coins and enjoying them all together in one frame well into the future!
    So far I have page 1 of 5 finished (I’ll order the gold page 6 separately) and I’m posting a scaled down picture of that page with this post. Happy Collecting!
    Gary

  18. coinsbygary
    When I read Jackson64’s journal, “Added coins 4 and 5 to my Jersey 1/12 shilling set” I got stoked because there was much about what he was saying about his style of collecting that matches my own. For instance, I like to manage 4 or 5 sets at a time like he does. Currently, I am working on a US type set, along with my custom sets Inspirational Ladies, The Use of Seated Imagery in Numismatics, and The Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser.
    Still, there is a bit of a twist to my collecting habits that is slightly different meaning that I am actively pursuing coins for my US type set and LGF custom set while at the same time passively seeking coins for the other two. By passively, I mean that if I run across something that I like and it fits into the Inspirational Ladies and Seated Imagery sets, I will often buy those coins. Recently I bought a new coin for my Inspirational Ladies custom set.
    I get a lot of coin related e-mails listing various coins for sale and I tend to peruse most of them. Much of the time I see nothing of interest and immediately delete them. However, a recent e-mail from Talisman Coins listed a really cool 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation 2017 silver dollar featuring Miss Canada. For a while there, I was hemming and hawing about purchasing it as a single coin.
    A little later I got another e-mail from Talisman listing a Canadian proof set with the Miss Canada Silver Dollar included but with a twist. This coin was different in that it had gold plating in selected places on the coin. When I saw a picture of this coin my jaw about dropped. Rarely have I seen medallic art with the level of intricacy and beauty as is this coin! The only possible show stopper was that it was not offered as a single but only in a set with proof versions of the other Canadian circulating coins. So I bought seven coins to get one.
    I considered cracking out the dollar to submit it separately. That said, this set is not at all cheesy because every single one of the circulating coins were struck up in pure silver, from the nickel to the “toonie.” The standard dollar, Miss Canada dollar, and two dollar all have some level of gold plating. Pulling the dollar and submitting it would have been easy had the coins been mounted in individual capsules.
    When the set arrived it came packaged with book-like leather covers and the coins encased in a single plastic mount. Simply put, this set is way too nice to crack out any of the coins for a submission. This presents a dilemma of how to enter the Miss Canada coin into the Inspirational Ladies set. Perhaps, I will have to buy eight coins to get one. Buy the single all silver uncirculated Miss Canada dollar, submit it, and post the pictures of the gold plated version. This all seems like a pretty big expense just to get one coin into my set. Sometimes this hobby of ours is just not logical! We’ll see, I’m in no hurry.
    On another front, I just purchased a very nicely toned PCGS MS-63 1853 with arrows Seated Liberty Dime for my type set replacing an XF-40 dime. This presents another problem of how to represent this new purchase in my NGC set. Simple, I just keep the old coin and use the MS-63 pictures. …Or, since this coin was toned I could search Heritage to see if my coin was ever auctioned. What I found was that Heritage auctioned it in 2004 in an NGC holder meaning that someone along the way cracked it out and sent it to PCGS. Thus if the holder number is still valid, I might try entering the old NGC number. Naw, this is all ridiculous I’m not going to that degree. Interestingly, NGC had the coin graded at MS-63 also. Happy collecting all!!!!
    Gary



  19. coinsbygary
    One might think that shifting gears and a different direction are synonymous. However, the truth is that though related, they are two separate actions. A different direction in that I will be liquidating a portion of my current collection to focus on another and shifting gears in that I will be buying fewer but higher quality coins to upgrade the remaining sets.

    All this started with my losing interest in collecting Morgan Dollars. A year or two into collecting Morgans, I got bored with them. With a goal of completing the 103 coin set I was buying coins at a break neck pace that focused on volume rather than quality. To regain interest I thought that all I needed was a break. Though I fully intended to resume purchasing Morgans and completing the set, the longer I was away the less likely it would be that I'd return. Truth is I never got back.

    After long and careful consideration, I decided to discontinue collecting Morgans and liquidate the bulk of my Morgan Dollar collection. All told, I will be selling 43 coins. I did not make this decision lightly as I have thought about it carefully for the better part of a year. Yet there are a number of things that led to this decision after going trailblazers for Morgans six to seven years ago when I started out only intending to complete a New Orleans Mint collection. (The decision to collect all the Morgans came after completing the New Orleans portion of the set.)

    While away from Morgans, I found myself drifting back to my boyhood roots, type and theme based collecting. I became fixated on completing my 7070 type set and working on my theme based seated imagery custom set. I started to buy the best type coins I could afford and since I was buying fewer coins, I could spend more. I've learned that when it comes to beauty there is nothing like a classic coin in a high state of preservation. These coins are not only more beautiful, they are more likely to hold their value as a highly desirable collector coin. Furthermore, as a person who also loves photography, I have learned that premium quality coins are definitely more photogenic!

    What then was the problem I had with Morgans that caused me to give up on them? I think that a collection of affordable quality coins in a complete Morgan Dollar set are a huge show stopper. Affordable coins are sometimes no higher than low MS grades and many are still lower. A VG 93-S will fetch more than $2000! Still I could live with a lower grade as long as it doesn't have distracting contact marks. Simply stated, most MS-62 to 64 Morgans have numerous and distracting contact marks.

    High grade Morgans are a thing of beauty. Most MS-65 and higher Morgans are a sight to behold and because of this I am keeping my 24 coin set of Morgans that grade MS-65 and higher. I also have this thing about Carson City, there is just something about Carson City that intrigues me. Therefore, I am also keeping my Carson City registry set. Additionally, I have six GSA pedigreed Carson City Dollars of which two are graded MS-65 (1882, 1883).

    Another factor in my decision is that I will be retiring in no more than six years. At that point my collecting activities will be severely curtailed. With this in mind I have targeted a number of coins in my type set to upgrade over the course of the next six years. It is also unlikely that I will be starting any new registry or custom sets but rather find other pieces to add to my custom sets like my Laura Gardin Fraser set.

    Another area of focus will be my gold type sets. Finding nice type-1 and type-2 double eagles has proven to be quite challenging because of the distracting contact marks found on most of these coins. Still after long searches I have managed to get an 1852 type-1 that at AU-55 is remarkably void of contact marks! For the type-2 I had to decide what level of contact marks is acceptable since it is nearly an impossible coin to find without them. In deciding my tolerance level I borrowed from a Bible passage which states that love covers over a multitude of sins. In relation to double eagles I found that luster covers over a multitude of dings, gashes, and abrasions. It doesn't literally mean that the contact marks are covered but that they are not as noticeable. All that said, I am still having a hard time finding a decent upgrade for my MS-62 type-3! Oh well, I am going to thoroughly enjoy the hunt in the few last years I have before I retire! Attached is a photo of the AU-58 type-2 that I found to be acceptable.
    Gary 
  20. coinsbygary
    One might think that shifting gears and a different direction are synonymous. However, the truth is that though related, they are two separate actions. A different direction in that I will be liquidating a portion of my current collection to focus on another and shifting gears in that I will be buying fewer but higher quality coins to upgrade the remaining sets.
    All this started with my losing interest in collecting Morgan Dollars. A year or two into collecting Morgans, I got bored with them. With a goal of completing the 103 coin set I was buying coins at a break neck pace that focused on volume rather than quality. To regain interest I thought that all I needed was a break. Though I fully intended to resume purchasing Morgans and completing the set, the longer I was away the less likely it would be that I'd return. Truth is I never got back.
    After long and careful consideration, I decided to discontinue collecting Morgans and liquidate the bulk of my Morgan Dollar collection. All told, I will be selling 43 coins. I did not make this decision lightly as I have thought about it carefully for the better part of a year. Yet there are a number of things that led to this decision after going trailblazers for Morgans six to seven years ago when I started out only intending to complete a New Orleans Mint collection. (The decision to collect all the Morgans came after completing the New Orleans portion of the set.)
    While away from Morgans, I found myself drifting back to my boyhood roots, type and theme based collecting. I became fixated on completing my 7070 type set and working on my theme based seated imagery custom set. I started to buy the best type coins I could afford and since I was buying fewer coins, I could spend more. I've learned that when it comes to beauty there is nothing like a classic coin in a high state of preservation. These coins are not only more beautiful, they are more likely to hold their value as a highly desirable collector coin. Furthermore, as a person who also loves photography, I have learned that premium quality coins are definitely more photogenic!
    What then was the problem I had with Morgans that caused me to give up on them? I think that a collection of affordable quality coins in a complete Morgan Dollar set are a huge show stopper. Affordable coins are sometimes no higher than low MS grades and many are still lower. A VG 93-S will fetch more than $2000! Still I could live with a lower grade as long as it doesn't have distracting contact marks. Simply stated, most MS-62 to 64 Morgans have numerous and distracting contact marks.
    High grade Morgans are a thing of beauty. Most MS-65 and higher Morgans are a sight to behold and because of this I am keeping my 24 coin set of Morgans that grade MS-65 and higher. I also have this thing about Carson City, there is just something about Carson City that intrigues me. Therefore, I am also keeping my Carson City registry set. Additionally, I have six GSA pedigreed Carson City Dollars of which two are graded MS-65 (1882, 1883).
    Another factor in my decision is that I will be retiring in no more than six years. At that point my collecting activities will be severely curtailed. With this in mind I have targeted a number of coins in my type set to upgrade over the course of the next six years. It is also unlikely that I will be starting any new registry or custom sets but rather find other pieces to add to my custom sets like my Laura Gardin Fraser set.
    Another area of focus will be my gold type sets. Finding nice type-1 and type-2 double eagles has proven to be quite challenging because of the distracting contact marks found on most of these coins. Still after long searches I have managed to get an 1852 type-1 that at AU-55 is remarkably void of contact marks! For the type-2 I had to decide what level of contact marks is acceptable since it is nearly an impossible coin to find without them. In deciding my tolerance level I borrowed from a Bible passage which states that love covers over a multitude of sins. In relation to double eagles I found that luster covers over a multitude of dings, gashes, and abrasions. It doesn't literally mean that the contact marks are covered but that they are not as noticeable. All that said, I am still having a hard time finding a decent upgrade for my MS-62 type-3! Oh well, I am going to thoroughly enjoy the hunt in the few last years I have before I retire! Attached is a photo of the AU-58 type-2 that I found to be acceptable.
    Gary

  21. coinsbygary
    The story of this coin starts at work on a summer afternoon in Wisconsin. Working at various cell sites throughout the region, I occasionally have the opportunity to observe different kinds of wildlife. On one of those occasions, I heard what I though to be a hummingbird fly by my ear only to find that it was a large praying mantis.
    Immediately, I had noticed that the praying mantis had landed on the chain link fence surrounding the cell site. I have seen praying mantis's before but this bug was huge measuring almost two links on the fence! I moved a little nearer to take a closer look and observed the big bug turn its head to look at me. Talk about creepy, just let a huge bug stare you down and see how you feel about it. At that point with cell phone in hand, I took several pictures of the big green monster.
    Now fast forward a year or so to May 2015 and one of the most frightening experiences a young person can go through, meeting the parents of their boyfriend or girlfriend. In this case it was my son's girlfriend and we decided to meet the first time at a restaurant for my birthday. Whats more, breaking the ice for both parties is always a little awkward. Seeking to discover common points of interest, came the normal questions, what do you do, where did you go to school, where are you from, etc? Yet, I felt it was up to me to make her feel comfortable and at this point I wasn't making much progress.
    In the course of the conversation I found out that my son's girlfriend had studied zoology in college and loves animals. I do not remember how the conversation turned to praying mantis's but when it had I showed her the cell phone pictures of the praying mantis I encountered at work. She was thrilled with my pictures and stated she had only dealt with immature, much smaller, praying mantis's. Immediately, the atmosphere of our restaurant date eased considerably. Since our conversation was two way, I had no problem telling her of my interest in numismatics.
    That following Christmas, my son brought his girlfriend to our annual Christmas celebration at my mom's house. Present were my three sisters, my children, and many of my nieces and nephews along with the grand nieces and nephews. Since we have such a large extended family we have a custom of drawing one name from a hat to buy a gift valued at about $25 to exchange. My son's girlfriend decided to participate in our family custom for 2016 and drew none other than yours truly! I usually feel sorry for anyone that draws my name. Everyone knows I collect coins and there are very few things a person could buy for me valued at $25!
    Because of the weather, my son couldn't make the celebration at my mom's house this year and we decided to meet at a restaurant to exchange gifts and make plans to see the movie "Rogue 1." At dinner my son's girlfriend gave me a small box. Inside was a 2012 Canadian $10 coin featuring you guessed it, a praying mantis! Immediately I made the connection and appreciated her thoughtfulness towards me.
    For my part, I would have never bought this coin on my own and to tell the truth, I didn't even know it existed. In fact, my son's girlfriend searched e-bay for any coin featuring a praying mantis and only found this one. This then is what makes this a coin of great value, the idea and thought came long before the coin. I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas and I wish you all a very prosperous 2017.
    Gary

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  22. coinsbygary
    Besides world coins, tokens, and medals based on a particular theme, my primary area of numismatic interest is in United States coins. This past year though I have delved into an area of numismatics that until now was unfamiliar to me. Rather than starting another theme based set, I started a set based on the work of a particular sculptor. I started a collection of coins and medals featuring the artwork of Laura Gardin Fraser.
    While I was somewhat familiar with the coins attributed to Laura Gardin Fraser, the same cannot be said concerning the many medals she designed. Familiarizing myself with her medals became quite a task because she was much more prolific in designing medals than she was with coins.
    The first thing I wanted to know is what to collect. All her coins are very well known and readily available. However, I had no clue as to the number and availability of the medals Laura Gardin Fraser designed. Later, I was to discover that she may have designed and sculpted up to one hundred medals.
    A search of the internet produced a medallic art databank created by Medallic Art Company corporate historian, D. Wayne Johnson. Laura Gardin Fraser's databank page was the most important internet resource in helping me to identify her medals. This page had practically everything, a comprehensive list of items by date with pictures, auction appearances, and a bibliography which I found invaluable to my research.
    I also found the ANA archives of The Numismatist and the Newman Numismatic Portal very useful. The archives of The Numismatist contains numerous articles on Laura Gardin Fraser's work. I even found a couple of the ad pages to be helpful. The Newman Numismatic Portal contains all the medallic art auction catalogs of the Presidential Coin & Antique Company. These catalogs were especially useful because of the lot descriptions and estimated valuations. The valuations helped me to determine what I could expect to pay for the medals in my collection.
    Along with purchasing new pieces for my collection came new books for my library. These included End of the Trail by Dean Krakel, The US Mint and Coinage by Don Taxay, and Numismatic Art in America by Cornelius Vermeule. Other references included The American Women Medalist, a Critical Survey by Elaine J. Leotti and a January 1970 Coinage Magazine article entitled, Ordeal of Laura Gardin Fraser by Don Taxay. In fact, I think Don Taxay's article in Coinage Magazine is the most credible narrative I have read on the contest for the Washington Quarter.
    Next, the purchasing avenues for medals is somewhat different from that of coins. However, other places such as E-Bay are pretty much the same. For me, E-Bay was a familiar place in which to begin my collection. It was also a good source of Laura Gardin Fraser's most readily available medals. That said, it didn't take to long for the E-Bay well to dry up. Subsequently, the annual Presidential Coin and Antique auction quickly emerged as a top purchasing outlet for all those difficult to locate medals.
    In the last Presidential Coin and Antiques auction I passed on a scarce silver Washington medal and ended up winning a silver plated Morgan Horse medal at a price that was towards the bottom of the estimated valuation. What really surprised me about winning this auction is that even before I found out that I had won the auction, or even paid a single red cent, the piece showed up on my doorstep! I've never had this happen before especially since this was my first auction with Presidential. All this brings me to the most important and necessary element of my transition into the world of medals, the human element!
    While looking for information pertaining to the 1947 MacArthur peso and 50-centavo piece in The Numismatist, I ran across a letter to the editor written by a collector of anything Fraser. This person also included their e-mail address in the body of the letter. With a little encouragement from another of my friends I sent a cold contact e-mail inquiry to the writer of that letter. To my amazement I got much more in his reply than what I had asked for or even hoped for.
    What I have now is a new friend who is very eager to help me in my quest. One of the resources that I have not had the opportunity to examine is the Fraser family papers. However, my new friend had. As a result I found out the specific contents of a nine-point letter Laura Gardin Fraser had sent to the Philippine embassy chronicling her difficulties with the Philippines peso and 50-centavo coins.
    Later we had an hour long conversation over the phone about Laura Gardin Fraser and he freely answered a number of my questions. He also e-mailed me some of his own writings on the topic and sent a spreadsheet he had compiled of many of Mrs. Fraser's works. As an extra bonus the spreadsheet contained the latest final hammers for each piece. This was very helpful as a tool to help me gage how much I would have to spend in order to continue this collection.
    My new friend also watched for buying opportunities on E-Bay and more than once notified me of a piece that his search uncovered and mine missed. My latest two purchases are a direct sale from a friend of my new friend. I purchased the 1912/13 National Institute of Social Sciences medal and the rare 1932 John Endecott Massachusetts Tercentenary medal from this person after a very pleasant half-hour phone conversation and a confirming e-mail. I immediately mailed him a check for the medals and he mailed the medals to me on the next business day. As it turned out, the day my check cleared his bank was the day the medals showed up at my house.
    This is the way I love to do business and I am impressed with the honesty and integrity of the people I come in contact with in this hobby. It really doesn't get much better than this. And to all those who have helped me in my numismatic journey a hearty, thank you!
    Gary

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  23. coinsbygary
    I have finally completed all the write-ups for The Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser. This medal was the last write-up for me to complete. Next year I'll have more medals waiting in the wing to add to this set including the 1912 National Institute of Social Sciences medal and the scarce 1930 Endecott Massachusetts Bay Tercentenary medal.
    As a young girl, Laura Gardin had always enjoyed her family's summer home in New Jersey where she especially enjoyed riding her horse. It was here that she developed her lifelong love of animals. As a result, it is not unreasonable to speculate that her passion for animals significantly contributed to her skill at sculpting animals and especially horses. [1]
    In 1923 Laura Gardin Fraser had two significant commissions for medals involving horses. The first was the "Horse Association of America Polo Pony Medal". To more accurately sculpt the clay model for this medal, Mrs. Fraser borrowed some polo mallets from the Horse Association of America. Mallet in hand, Mrs. Fraser would practice striking the balls while on her horse at full gallop in a vacant lot adjacent to her Westport, Connecticut home. This in turn gave her a better feel for the polo rider and his mount. Subsequently, it wasn't too long before the neighbors took notice and pick-up polo matches were in full swing! [2]
    Her other work in 1923 was "The Morgan Horse Club" medal. There are two uniface versions of this medal. The obverse uniface medal features a single left facing Morgan horse against a mountainous backdrop and the phrase, "The Morgan Horse Club" around the upper rim. The reverse uniface medal features a touching scene of a Morgan mare with her foal and the word "Vermont" as its legend. The state of Vermont is significant in that it was here that the Morgan horse pedigree originated. Beside the two uniface issues, there is a single medal that features the devices of both uniface medals. Later "The Morgan Horse Club" changed their name to "American Morgan Horse Association". In 1972 they re-issued the medal but removed the word club from the obverse legend to reflect this change.
    The medal I have pictured as the reverse is an uncertified silver plated "obverse uniface" of the re-issued medal. The reverse of this re-struck medal has the initials "AMHA" engraved on it which stands for the "American Morgan Horse Association". Saddle Seat represents a type of riding style that accentuates the horses trot. The date is 1974. The MS-64 certified medal pictured as the obverse is probably one of the original 1923 medals and was most definitely minted earlier than 1972. Furthermore, this medal has both the left facing Morgan horse obverse and the mare and foal reverse.
    The founding sire of the Morgan horse pedigree was born in 1789 with the given name "Figure". The horses owner was Justin Morgan who was a teacher, composer, businessman, and horseman. Figure was an especially prized horse because of his natural ability to pass on his distinguishing characteristics through several generations. Figure died in 1821, the result of an untreated kick from another horse. The Morgan horse is particular known for its use by the military as a calvary and artillery horse during the civil war. The Morgan horse is also especially well suited to pull a carriage. Morgan horses as a breed are especially attached to their owners. The American Morgan Horse Association has as a motto on their webpage header, "The Horse That Chooses You". [3] [4]
    Laura Gardin Fraser's early works with horse themed medals helped to prepare her for what some call her greatest work. In 1936 Mrs. Fraser won a $100,000 commission to sculpt a double equestrian sculpture of Civil War Generals Lee and Jackson. This project would take 12 years to complete culminating with the statues' dedication at Wyman Park in Baltimore on May 1, 1948.
    In an interview with Dean Krakel, Laura Gardin Fraser recalls, "Hard work, horses, research, and imagination went into the statues, and twelve years of my life. A sculptor's life is measured in large chunks of time. A statue like the Lee and Jackson becomes a part of you. It's like raising a child. Of course Jimmy and I carried on other projects at the same time. If a project wasn't literally big and big in importance, then it wasn't really worth the while. Of the one hundred thousand dollars I received for Lee and Jackson, I might have netted fifteen thousand dollars. The architecture alone cost fifty thousand dollars. Then there was the casting and shipping cost. Of course, there is no satisfaction quite like that of a beautifully complete and acceptable creation. Jimmy liked my Lee and Jackson--that was enough."
    An art critic for the Bridgeport Connecticut Evening News paid Laura Gardin Fraser quite a compliment when based on the strength of her horses, he compared her to famous French animal artist, Rosa Bonheur, calling Mrs. Fraser the "Rosa Bonheur of Sculpture". [5]
    1 End of the Trail, the Odyssey of a Statue" by Dean Krakel pg. 32
    2 "The Numismatist" July 2013; "Canine & Equine The Art of Laura Gardin Fraser" by Carl Stang
    3 Origin of the Morgan Horse; http://www.morganhorse.com/about_morgan/history/
    4 The Morgan Horse-Profiles in History: Introduction; http://www.morganhorse.com/museum/morgan-horse-history/the-morgan-horse-profiles-in-his/
    5 "End of the Trail, the Odyssey of a Statue" by Dean Krakel pg. 37-38
    Gary

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  24. coinsbygary
    To me there is nothing more beautiful than a strongly struck, mint-state or almost-uncirculated, Type 1 Liberty double eagle with a minimal number of contact marks. Conversely, there is nothing uglier than a heavily worn Type 1 double eagle or a highly graded coin with numerous contact marks. Thus, as a type collector, my challenge is to find a double eagle that meets both my criteria, AND more importantly, is affordable. Fortunately, I had a wide range of dates that I could choose from.
    Examples of the Type 1 or for that matter Type 2 Liberty double eagle are scarce in mint-state condition. When scanning through numerous auction listings, I just have to stop and stare awhile when I came across an MS-64 example with only a few contact marks. The beauty of these coins simply captivates me. While I've always dreamed of owning the aforementioned coin, realistically I'll probably never be able to afford it. This meant that I was resigned to search through more readily available and affordable AU listings for my collection.
    I am of the belief that a cherry-picked AU coin can have as much eye appeal as an MS coin and in some cases more. However, when it comes to double eagles, numerous contact marks can be a huge show stopper. I get it that gold is both heavy and soft and thus lends itself more easily to contact marks but if I am going to own just one of these, by golly it's going to have nice eye-appeal. Being a realist, I was also willing to pay a premium over market value for a nice looking coin.
    After on and off searching, I oddly found the coin I was looking for in one of those web page ads, you know the ones on the top, sides, and bottom of the web page you're surfing. Since I frequent coin sites, the ad was for Heritage. There I found a common date 1852 NGC AU-55 double eagle that was just gorgeous. This coin has NO distracting contact marks, and accenting pockets of mint luster around Liberty's mouth, eyes, hairline, coronet, and head. Adding to the coin's eye appeal is the mint luster in the crevices between the locks of Liberty's hair and in the protected areas around the stars giving them the appearance of glowing. In my mind the only real draw back was a little bit of black and green residue on the coin's reverse. This I quickly determined was something I could live with especially given the fact that I absolutely loved the obverse. Additionally, this coin is strongly struck with full star lines and incredible hair and facial detail making the accenting luster look all the more stunning. In my mind this was a must-have coin and I put in a very strong bid for it that prevailed at the final hammer.
    When compared to the spaghetti hair style of the Type 3 Liberty double-eagle the hair on the Type 1 is much more realistic, appearing like glistening waves rather than combed spaghetti. The Type 1 almost reminds me of pictured models with beautiful air brushed hair! The down side of the Type 1 Liberty double eagle is that it only takes a little wear to make the hair look matted down and clumped together. Thus a strong strike on the Type 1 is essential to its eye-appeal. Add the contact marks and you are looking at something that is down-right ugly. I'll say this though for the Type 3, and its that it wears much better than its Type 1 and 2 counterparts.
    What puzzles me about this coin is how it avoided getting the contact marks that are all to common on this type of coin. With that, I formulated a theory which I suppose is as good as any. I theorize that the original owner of this coin picked it up uncirculated at a bank or even at the treasury's cash window. Then that person probably held it as a pocket piece separated from any other coins. It could have been held in a vest pocket which may account for the even polish like wear that contrasts the frosty pockets of mint luster and the fine hairlines in the coin's field. The residue on the reverse could have been from, you guessed it, sweat!
    Finally, when it comes to eye-appeal I think this coin looks better than most of the MS-62 examples I've seen. Needless to say, this coin is one of my favorite coins that I'm proud to own and at a price that was affordable.
    Gary

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  25. coinsbygary
    As America entered the 20th Century, our nation began to turn its attention towards addressing a number of social issues. Among the issues we addressed as a nation was our high infant mortality rate. As a means to educate and encourage parents concerning the proper care and hygiene of their children, contests were held at popular public venues. These contests were then used to measure child development among the contestants and gather statistics. Cash prizes and a medal were awarded to the parents of those babies with the highest scores when compared to scientifically established developmental standards.
    To promote and conduct the contests the "Better Babies Bureau" and the popular Woman's magazine, "Woman's Home Companion" sponsored "Better Babies" contests in a number of county and state fairs across the country. The following is an excerpt from the September 1913 issue of "Woman's Home Companion" concerning the bronze "Better Babies" award medal designed by then sculptor Laura Gardin. (This medal was issued shortly before Laura Gardin's marriage to James Earle Fraser.)
    And all this time another branch of the Better Babies Bureau had been working out plans for prizes, medals, and certificates of award which will be used this year at all state fairs holding Better Babies contests.
    " A Better Babies Medal, to be cast in gold, silver and Bronze!"
    A very pleasing Idea, and one which ought, by good rights, to be entrusted to a woman. So one of the Companion's art editors went hunting for just the right sculptress to design it. He found her in that quaint section of old New York known as Greenwich Village, perched under a skylight, far above the roar of the elevated railway traffic.
    Her name is Laura Gardin, and she ranks among the most successful of America's young sculptors. Her mother was a water-color artist of considerable note and her grandfather was Theodore Tilton, artist, poet, and journalist, equally well known in America and in France, where he spent his declining years.
    Miss Gardin began to study sculpture at the Art League when at seventeen years of age. There she captured the St. Gaudens prizes for composition and for figure from life, with the corresponding scholarships. After three years' work at the League she studied with J. E. Fraser, who, by the way, designed the new nickel for the United States Government.
    She has exhibited regularly at the spring and fall exhibitions of the Art League. Some of her best known works are: a heroic figure of Booth as "Hamlet"; "Timidity," a charmingly graceful female figure; "The Wrestlers," shown at the recent Gorham exhibit of bronzes, and the official medal of Cardinal Farley, done in 1912 to celebrate his elevation to the cardinalate. It was this medal which won for Miss Gardin the very desirable distinction of membership in the National Sculpture Society.
    When she undertook the commission of designing the Better Babies medal, Miss Gardin decided to employ no one model but to study babies collectively--babies of the rich and babies of the poor, babies on parade and babies rolling on the sand and in gutters, and particularly babies splashing in their bath. The result is the wonderfully human pair of babies which make the Better Babies medal greatly admired by artists. They are real flesh and blood babies, not idealized cherubs.
    Miss Gardin watched jealously every step in the casting of the medals.
    "No harsh lines," she warned the workers, "Better Babies have soft, vague lines. Their dimples come and go. Their curves are changeable, elusive and, whether they be blond or brunette, they have what I call a blond softness which is expressed in the single word innocence." [1]
    Concerning the artistic appeal of the Better Babies medal, Elaine J. Leotti in The American Woman Medalist, A Critical Survey comments, "Fraser's Better Babies medal done in 1913 for the Woman's Home Companion is her only piece which can truly be called feminine. It is a well-balanced medal, nicely executed if a bit on the sentimental side. The babies' bare flesh is soft, almost palpable; their curls and dimpled elbows invite touch, thus appealing exactly to the audience the medal was meant to impress." [2]
    [1] "Woman's Home Companion" Vol 40, September 1913 pg. 22
    [2] "The American Woman Medalist, A Critical Survey" by Elaine J. Leotti pg. 212

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