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Lastufka Collection

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Journal Entries posted by Lastufka Collection

  1. Lastufka Collection
    This is the second in a series of posts which highlight various standout pieces from my personal collection.
    Today we're taking a look at my 1795 Middlesex-Forster's token, one of the first pieces purchased for my Symphony Set. You can view hi-res pictures here (or just enjoy them in the video!).
    Obverse: Crown and date surrounded by musical notation for "God Save The King", which is also the melody used for "America (My Country, Tis of Thee)".
    Reverse: "WM Forster. Violin, Tenor & Violoncello Maker" along with the address in a double circle, surrounding The Prince of Wales’s crest.
    Edge: Plain (some examples exist with lettered edges)
    Tokens like these were produced by private individuals and businesses in the late 18th century as population growth and the Industrial Revolution spiked demand and the government failed to supply enough coinage for every day use.
    This token was made by William Forster, a highly-regarded instrument maker. Forster had an instrument shop in London, which is advertised on the reverse of this token.
    Forster was also a music publisher and he entered into a deal with the composer Joseph Haydn to publish Haydn's works, including numerous symphonies, quartets, and solos.
    Thankfully tokens were popular coins to collect, even back at the end of the 18th century, so this high grade piece survives today. While it may not be rare or scarce or particularly valuable, it is one of the highlights of my Symphony Set and I treasure it for that reason.
  2. Lastufka Collection
    The Royal Mint just started a new series called Music Legends. It's an annual program and each year they'll feature a different band on silver, 1/4 gold, and 1oz gold coins. The first band was Queen and the two gold pieces sold out immediately. Here's mine, got it to add to my Symphony Set. The first modern band to make it into the Symphony Set!
  5. Lastufka Collection
    After the wonderful response to my previous Journal entry, the first in my Collection Highlights series, I decided to turn the idea into a video series as well. So from here on out, each Collection Highlight post will be presented as both a text Journal entry, and a short video like the one featured here.
    This being the first video in the series, I hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think. Any feedback on information or features that should be added to future videos in this series will be duly noted!
  7. Lastufka Collection
    This is the first in a new Journal series I'll be working on called "Collection Highlights". I also have a custom registry set where all of these highlights will be included for easy viewing in the future.
    This series features standout coins from my collection as I work to rebuild my registry sets after selling the majority of my collection to fund a move across the country and the purchase of a new home (this particular piece was one of the few that I just couldn't let go).
    I have photographed each coin in detail and described each piece with attention to both technical and historical aspects.
    Collection Highlight No. 1 - 1926 Sesquicentennial of American Independence G$2.5 (view this coin in the NGC Registry)
    Composition: Gold (0.12094oz)
    Diameter: 18mm
    Mintage: 46,019
    Obverse: Liberty holding a scroll representing the Declaration of Independence in one hand and the Torch of Freedom in the other. Designed by John R. Sinnock.
    Reverse: The Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. Designed by John R. Sinnock.
    I fell in love with the 1926 American Sesquicentennial gold commemorative the first time I saw a photo in the Red Book. It’s a beautiful dual date coin celebrating the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This is the second example I've owned after I upgraded an MS 63 graded coin to this nicer piece.
    These gold commemoratives were minted, along with a silver half dollar commemorative, to help fund the Sesquicentennial Exposition held in Philadelphia from June 1 to November 30, 1926. The fair was not popular with the public who, at the time, was more excited to celebrate the present than honor the past. In addition to the low turn out, this was a low relief coin, which also proved unpopular with visitors. Of the 200,000 pieces minted, only 45,793 gold commemoratives sold at the fair. The rest were melted once the event was closed, leaving a final mintage (including assay pieces) of only 46,019.
    The coins were originally sold without protective sleeves or cases at the fair, so high grade examples above MS-63 are rare, as most show marks and wear from handling. My example here is graded NGC MS 65+ with just over 100 individual coins grading higher.
    Long-time readers may remember this coin from when I acquired it a little over four years ago, and may also remember the additional items pictured above. But for new readers, those additional items are my Sesquicentennial button and bell, and my sheet of four 1926 USPS two cent commemorative stamps. The button features dual dates, same as the coin, and a replica of the Liberty Bell hangs from the button and actually rings when worn! The stamps feature the Liberty Bell and the dual dates as well.
    All together a beautiful set of ephemera from over 90 years ago, and a worthy first coin in my "Collection Highlights" series.
     
     
  8. Lastufka Collection
    I've had a set of Westward Journey first day coin covers for years. I always liked the designs (of both the coins and the covers).
    And I am a big fan (maybe the only fan? hah!) of the Sacagawea dollars. So I bought a coin cover of the first issue, and then had it signed by both obverse designer Glenna Goodacre, and reverse designer Thomas D. Rogers, Sr. (after we had a nice chat about his design via email).

    But all six coin covers have been locked up in my safe for years, where I can't see them easily.
    So today I finally decided to buy a frame and some photo-corner-sticky-holder things and put together this wall-hanging presentation.
    I love it. And now I can see the coins and covers every time I look up from my desk.

  9. Lastufka Collection
    Decided to re-shoot a few coin pics last night.
    I chose coins where I definitely felt there was some room for improvement in the photography department. I take all of my own pictures, first with a lot of advice from Brandon (brg5658), and second with a few of my own learned tricks.
    After editing the pics this morning, it was clear that the 5oz silver America the Beautiful specimen coin was the winner for "most improved". (you can view it full size and with the reverse in my custom set called "A King's Ransom")
    The coin is very difficult to light because it's a full three inches in diameter (most of the coins I photograph are around 1? in diameter). And as you can see with the old pic, I had a difficult time getting enough light to the center of the larger coin.
    The new image is not only more even, it's also more dramatic and true to life with its shadows. More like a sculpture and less like a coin, which I love (and which I'm always striving for with my coin photos).
    I achieved the better lighting by introducing a forth large light (most of my coins are photographed using three small lights). After my three standard lights were set, I held the forth larger (and brighter) light at a greater distance with one hand - almost mimicking the sun shining down and hitting the front of his face - while triggering the shutter with my other hand.
    I was so happy with the improvement I just had to share. (let's be honest the old pic was pretty bad, now I don't hate looking at this coin in the set)

  10. Lastufka Collection
    Pun intended.
    Back in 2012 my custom Symphony Set won NGC's Most Creative award. Thanks NGC! The Symphony Set is a collection of world and US coins and tokens that include musical elements or themes, from composers to instruments to sheet music.
    I haven't added to it in three years as I was away from coins while moving across the country and selling my business. But now that I'm back I have added a number of new coins to the Symphony Set, and I re-imaged the entire set last week.
    So I thought I'd share the latest newp.
    It's a 1788 halfpenny. The edges are scalloped (which looks really cool), and it's silvered (from what I've been told that means it's a copper core sandwiched between two thin sheets of silver before being minted). The pressure from the minting process causes the shadowing seen on the lettering around the obverse and reverse. The reverse makes the coin relevant for my set as it features a horn, a stringed instrument, and a music score.
    It's a lot of eye candy for such an old token. I love it. It's pictured below along with a preview of the re-imaged Symphony Set. Check out my custom sets area to view the full-res Symphony Set images (a few coins are missing description, but those are coming soon, research is a challenge on these scarcer tokens).

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  11. Lastufka Collection
    Post your Lincoln cents!
    Today is Lincoln's birthday and I just picked up a great 1955 Doubled Die for my collection. This particular example is graded MS 63 RB by NGC.
    It's estimated about 24,000 of these error coins made it out of the mint (40,000 were produced, but 16,000 were destroyed once the error was discovered). The error coins were found in circulating change by the end of the year, initially in upstate New York and Boston.
    A number of those '55 doubled die cents were found in cigarette packs. Cigarette vending machines sold packs at 23 cents a piece in the mid-50s, but the machines only accepted quarters. Rather than lose sales by raising prices, some cigarette manufacturers included two cents inside each pack as change for your quarter. This could help explain why so many of the '55 doubled die cents have turned brown compared to the certified census data of the other surrounding years.
    The '55 doubled die is probably the most popular Lincoln cent error. The doubling is easy to see without a loupe or macro photography. Enough examples exist (over 5,000 certified examples) that prices are relatively affordable. And being able to cherrypick this error from pocket change, at least in the 50s and 60s and 70s, gave even modest collectors a chance to own one.
    The 1955 doubled die cent has made numerous appearances in popular media and texts. The coin is featured in the 100 Greatest US Coins book by Whitman Publishing (third edition), was a minor plot point in Weird Al Yankovic's 1989 film UHF, and more recently, was a major symbol in Stephen King's A Good Marriage short story and film.
    Below I included a close up of the error on the date (not that it's needed), and a vintage Lucky Strike cigarette ad along with the exterior photograph of a Boston-area shop from the 1950s. I think they add a little flavor to the presentation.
    Feel free to post some of your Lincolns in celebration of his birthday today.

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  12. Lastufka Collection
    The discovery of the prototype reverse was made in February of 2005, to celebrate I recently purchased this second high-grade example.
    Who would have thought that free dollar coins given away inside boxes of Cheerios would later sell for over $20,000 each at auction?
    In 2000, the US Mint was scheduled to release a new dollar coin. After failed attempts in the past, the Mint was set on promoting and distributing the new "golden" Sacagawea dollars as widely as possible. One such promotional deal was struck with General Mills, who agreed to include a new 2000-dated Lincoln cent in 10,000,000 boxes of Cheerios, while one in every 2,000 of those boxes also included a new 2000-dated Sacagawea dollar. (Other promotions included TV ads featuring actor Michael Keaton voicing a CGI George Washington promoting the dollar, in addition to numerous print ads showing Washington spending the new dollar coins at parties.)
    The Mint only had to make 5,500 of the new Sacagawea dollars for General Mills, but because the promotion was set to kick off in January, the Mint had to produce these coins a few months ahead of schedule in the fall of 1999. At that time, the design for the new dollar coin hadn't been tested or finalized yet, and here's where these "Cheerios Dollars" differ from all the other Sacagawea dollar coins.
    The reverse of the Sacagawea dollar depicts a soaring eagle. The prototype reverse die used to make these early coins for General Mills had very detailed, beautiful tail feathers not seen on any of the other Sacagawea dollars. When I spoke to former Mint employee and reverse designer Tom Rogers about the change, he told me that after minting the dollars for General Mills, the Mint discovered "the reduction rings were wiping out the tail feather details in the dies". So these details were removed before any more dollar coins were struck, leaving all future Sacagawea dollar eagles with less detailed, flat tail feathers. This prototype die's details made these first coins completely unique. And "unique" in coin collecting usually means "valuable" in coin collecting.
    This unique, more detailed set of tail feathers on the reverse wasn't discovered until five years after the promotion, in February of 2005. Many factors account for such a late discovery. First, because these were given away in boxes of cereal, most were acquired by non-collectors who simply handed the coins to their children, or spent them without knowing what they had. Second, the coins were mounted on the inside of the box with the obverse, or front, of the coin displayed in the Cheerios plastic packaging making it impossible to examine the reverse without removing the coin from its original packaging. And finally, because no one knew the prototype reverse existed, no one knew to look for it.
    Because most of these Cheerios dollars were spent, very few were preserved in mint state condition. And again, "condition" in coin collecting usually means "value" in coin collecting. Additionally, over the last few years, examples of non-prototype reverse dollars have been found in original Cheerios packaging, so only an unknown fraction of the 5,500 Cheerios dollars even feature the unique reverse.
    As of January 2015, ten years after the initial discovery, only 105 of these Cheerios dollars with prototype reverse dies are currently known and authenticated.
    Once discovered, news spread and collectors began to search for this unique variety. A few years later in 2008, three separate examples of these coins sold at auction for prices ranging from $23,000 to $34,000. These auctions were all held by Heritage, the largest auction house for numismatic sales.
    After the initial excitement wore off, later examples have sold between $5,000 to $12,000, setting an average estimated value for this variety now at around $7,000.
    In 2008, the reverse prototype Cheerios dollar was included in the 100 Greatest US Modern Coins book by Whitman Publishing at #14 on the list. The latest edition from 2014 bumped up its placement to #12.
    I purchased one of these Cheerios dollars in January of 2012 in a private transaction with a coin dealer from North Carolina. One year later I sold that example for a 53% profit on eBay. Recently I purchased a finer example (pictured below) from Heritage Auctions. This Cheerios dollar has been authenticated and graded by NGC as MS 67.
    I've also collected a Cheerios penny in General Mills original packaging, and a First Day Sacagawea coin cover hand-signed for me by both obverse designer Glenna Goodacre, and reverse designer Thomas D. Rogers (again, pictured below) to enhance the Cheerios dollar presentation.

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  13. Lastufka Collection
    I purchased this coin in 2012, paying a bit of a premium over other 1909 VDBs at the time, but I believe it to be a premium coin.
    A year later I began selling some of my collection as an unexpected move across the country and a new home purchase needed financing. When my friend Brandon (brg5658) heard I was listing some of my coins, he immediately made me an offer for this VDB, as he had seen it in hand to photograph it and had complimented the coin on a few occasions.
    I sold it to him at the price I paid, and we were both happy.
    But man, over the years, I really started to miss this piece. Now that things have settled down from the move and house purchase, I hit the ground running on a high grade type set this year. When Brandon and I reconnected, he offered to sell this VDB back to me, on the condition that if I ever need to liquidate again, he gets first right of offer on the coin. Fair enough!
    So now this beauty is back home in my collection and I'll just shut up and let you take a look at it. A more historical description of the 1909 VDB Lincoln cent is available in my custom type set, linked in my signature below...

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  14. Lastufka Collection
    My new 3-legged buffalo nickel!
    One of the most popular variety or error coins in history, the three-legged buffalo is most commonly attributed to a mint employee overpolishing a very worn die and completely erasing the buffalo's front-most leg in the process.
    The error was discovered in 1939 and eventually added to the Red Book, making it an instant key date as exact mintages are unknown, but relatively very low, especially in relation to demand.
    A high grade 4-legged 1937-D nickel will sell for under $100, whereas a high grade 3-legged error coin will sell for a couple thousand dollars or more depending on condition.
    This was one of the first "famous" coins I was aware of as a kid, before I even started collecting I knew there were elusive 3-legged buffalo nickels. I'm very happy to have this high grade example in my collection now.
    I also included some wooden nickels in the presentation picture. Wooden nickels (most based on the buffalo nickel design), were popular in the 1930s. These wooden nickels were made by banks and local merchants as advertising pieces, or as redeemable tokens during the Great Depression when businesses had trouble making change. I own a few classic examples from various towns and merchants to add a bit of additional history and context to my buffalo nickels.
    Local businesses, casinos, and coin clubs still have wooden nickels made today, usually as promotional items including their website and logos.
    This particular coin will serve as the Type 2 example in my type set project (the type set is listed under my Custom Sets if you'd like to see the other coins).

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  15. Lastufka Collection
    A beautiful new piece.
    About three years ago I bought an MS 63 gold Sesquicentennial commemorative. I love the design of this coin, both the obverse and the reverse are intriguing. On the obverse you have Liberty holding the Declaration of Independence in one hand, and the Torch of Freedom in the other. The reverse is Independence Hall in Philadelphia with a faint sun rising behind the building.
    You can read much more about the history behind this coin in my gold commemorative registry set, if you'd like.
    Pictured below is my new upgraded MS 65+ coin, my Sesquicentennial button and bell, and my sheet of four USPS two cent Sesquicentennial commemorative stamps that were released in 1926. The button features dual dates, same as the coin, and a replica of the Liberty Bell hangs from the button and actually rings when worn. The stamps feature the Liberty Bell and the dual dates as well.
    All together a beautiful set of ephemera from almost 90 years ago.

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  16. Lastufka Collection
    The cat is out of the bag now.
    I noticed the registry set for the 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins about two weeks ago, and was quietly building my set all alone as the only registered set in the category. I already owned a few of the coins on the list, as they intrigued me, so it was fun starting with a few slots already knocked out.
    But two days ago, NGC announced the registry listing, and as I type this there are 17 sets, and I've been bumped from 1st to 7th place. No biggie, competition is good, and will drive me to find only the best examples of each coin on the list.
    My only fear is that now that the set is being promoted, the prices on some of these coins will go up dramatically as sellers know we need them for the set, and other set builders drive up auction biddings.
    Maybe there's enough to go around and I shouldn't be concerned. But usually, collecting what's "hot" at the moment is a sure fire way to lose money.
    Perhaps I should pause on collecting the 100 Greatest Moderns and find a less active set where some steals might still be found. Either way, it's an exciting set.
    The only aspect of the 100 Greatest Moderns list that bugs me is that at least four or five coins on the list are so rare, few, if anyone, will be able to complete this set. The 2000 Sacagawea/Washington mule is on the list. There are less than ten examples of this coin known, and one person owns the majority of them. Anyone want to give me a quarter million dollars so I can make him an offer? And one of the coins, the misdated Taylor dollar, there's only ONE known example of. Le sigh.
    Anyway, it's a fun set, and some of the Collectors Society members have fantastic coins in it already. If you haven't yet, you should stop by and browse a few image galleries.
    ...oh, those were the days:

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  17. Lastufka Collection
    I started one of my first custom sets this past week. It's so liberating not focusing on "filling slots", but instead trying to build a unique, cohesive thematic set.
    I call it The Symphony Set.
    The Symphony Set consists of coins featuring musical designs, such as composers, musical instruments, performers, notation or lyrics, opera houses, and other related music topics.
    My "day job" is president of a successful indie record label, so I've always been drawn to the very few coins which focus on musical designs. This past week I added the first three coins, a 2002 two euro coin from Ireland featuring a harp, a 1985 Italian coin celebrating the European Year of Music with a pipe organ and the muse of music depicted, and finally, a 1956 Austrian proof 25 shillings coin celebrating the bicentennial of Mozart's birth. The 1956 Mozart proof has a super low mintage of only 1,000 proof coins.
    You can view all of these by visiting this custom set:
    http://outside-affiliatelinksnotallowed.com/7el53q6
    There are very few US coins featuring musical themes, I scanned every page of the Red Book and found three colonial issues, six regular US issues and I'm now making my way through the So-Called Dollars and Conder tokens, plastering my books with post-it notes on any page featuring a coin with a musical design.
    If you know of any music related coin designs, I would love for you to point me in their direction. I have a few Conder tokens on their way to NGC now for grading that will be added to this set once they find their way back.
    Thanks for looking. I'm super excited about this new set!

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  18. Lastufka Collection
    Check out the picture below!
    Since day one that I signed up for the Collector's Society here at NGC, I've had the 1926 Sesquicentennial Gold Commemorative at the top of my want list. I'm not really a commemorative collector, but I saw it one day while paging through the Red Book fell in love.
    The Coin
    The coin is gold, containing just over 1/10th of an ounce. It was designed by John R. Sinnock and was distributed at the 1926 Sesquicentennial fair in Philadelphia to help raise funds for the fair. The total mintage was relatively low, just over 46,000 with the remaining unsold coins being melted by the mint.
    This example was graded MS 63, but looks better. In fact its only major marks are two above the L in Liberty on the obverse, and as they mirror the flames from the torch above them, making the L look as if it were on fire, I actually really like them.
    The Bell
    As far as I can tell the copper bell attached to the 1" button was also sold at the same fair in Philadelphia in 1926, but my research hasn't been able to turn up a manufacturer. On the front of the bell is the engraving "Liberty Bell 1776 / 1926" and on the back of the bell is "150th Anniversary Signing the Declaration of Independence". The button also features the words "Sesqui-Centennial Philadelphia 1776-1926 150 Years of Independence".
    The Stamps
    I also picked up a plate block, MNH (mint, never hinged) of Sesquicentennial commemorative stamps. These are very affordable today as over 307,731,900 of them were issued, a high amount for commemorative stamps at that time. They were designed by Aubrey Huston, and are an incredibly beautiful way to mark the anniversary.
    I now plan to shadowbox this set to display to guests and other collectors. Thanks for taking a look. Happy collecting!

  19. Lastufka Collection
    Workin' my way backwards...
    I'm working on a First Year of Issue Type Set. I started with the most recent coin types and I'm quickly working my way backwards. Figured that'd allow me to pick up a few examples relatively quickly and cheaply before I start getting too buried in the past... and auction receipts.
    Picked up this very nice MS 67 RD example of a 1909 VDB Lincoln cent. Sure, it's not a San Fran example, but it sure is gorgeous. It currently has an NGC graded population of 78, with only one graded higher.
    My Grandpa was a collector, filling books and rolls. Last week's pick up of a Prototype Reverse Sacagawea dollar probably wouldn't have done much for him. But this one would have made him smile. Hope you enjoy the pictures below.
    Happy collecting!

  20. Lastufka Collection
    Fewer than 100 examples in the numismatic marketplace (both NGC and PCGS combined) make this one of the harder finds for the 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins set. And I think it's awesome.
    In 2000 the Mint wanted to show off their new "golden" dollar, so they minted 5,500 examples to be included in random Cheerios cereal boxes. These 5,500 examples used a different reverse from what ended up on all the other Sacagawea dollars minted in that and all future years.
    Note the tail feathers. They are super detailed compared to all the other strikes where the tail feathers are flat with no details. I included a close-up below, but you can see it better in my registry set.
    The dealer I bought this from had it listed on their website and eBay for over twice what I thought it was worth / wanted to pay for it. So I contacted the dealer directly and negotiated a price we could both be happy with, less than half of their original listed price, but fair based on previous realized auction prices.
    I've also included the Cheerios cent that was included in every Cheerios box while the promotion was running.
    Happy collecting!

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