The JR Newsletter has an excellent variety of interesting
contributions this week!
First, H Craig Hamling wrote with an opportunity for those
planning to attend EAC:
Greetings Silver collectors!
I will be coordinating the silver happening on Thursday evening at the EAC convention in Dallas this year.
If you have any particular item you would like to be included please let me know. My email is hcraig@hcraig.com
I don't know of any specific varieties that have been shown in the past so I am starting from scratch. Bust quarters with E and L counterstamps intrigue me so lets put them out there for starters.
Maybe someone has (another) new theory about why they exist.
I hope to hear from you.
H Craig Hamling
I will be coordinating the silver happening on Thursday evening at the EAC convention in Dallas this year.
If you have any particular item you would like to be included please let me know. My email is hcraig@hcraig.com
I don't know of any specific varieties that have been shown in the past so I am starting from scratch. Bust quarters with E and L counterstamps intrigue me so lets put them out there for starters.
Maybe someone has (another) new theory about why they exist.
I hope to hear from you.
H Craig Hamling
------
For collectors of early dollars, here is your chance to
contribute to the census:
Input for 2015 Early Silver Dollar Census
I am working on the 2015 JRCS Early Dollar
Census which will be published in the next issue of the John Reich Journal.
If you have not sent in your information please do as soon as possible to me at
wdperki(at)attglobal.net
In particular, members # 893 and # 716 had
early dollar collections included in the last Census but have not yet sent in
their current collection information to me. I would like to get this
information if you are still collecting the early silver dollars.
Thanks.
W. David Perkins
Centennial, CO
------
Centennial, CO
------
New (to us) contributor Lance Boiselle wrote
with some thoughts about collecting and a picture of a cast counterfeit bust
dime that he recently acquired (an image of the dime is below):
There has to be more collectors that have an
interest in the area. I started a few years ago with bust coin die marriages,
now hooked on them. The hunt is what its all about. In my mind's eye I can
almost imagine the die sinkers at work. The tedium of art and conditions they
were under while accomplishing such is fascinating. A wonderful book on this
that I highly recommend is "From Mine to Mint" by Robert W.
Burdette.
Lance
------
John Okerson wrote with an inquiry:
I am hoping that someone may have started down a path
towards gathering early and bust dime rarity for those issues with cuds like
Richard Meaney’s work on half dimes in 2011, Volume 21, Issue 1 pp 12-14. Hopefully, as David Quint or other authors
prepare the next Draped Bust and Bust Dime census, there will be a provision to
include the cud coins as separate entries.
Since it appears that such a listing has not been done for dimes yet, it
might take several iterations of the census before an accurate estimate of
rarity can be made.
David Kahn wrote about the upcoming Baltimore Coin Expo:
I will be offering the next portion of “selections from an
Eastern Collection” of Capped Bust half dollars on my website and at the
upcoming Whitman Baltimore Coin Expo, March 26th through 29th. The
Eastern Collection has been formed over a long period by a serious collector
who started buying Bust halves in the 1980’s. Recently, he has asked me
to help thin the herd, something that is not unusual…generally. In this
case however, the process has real meaning, since this collector has never,
until now, sold a coin! There are duplicates, triplicates and more!
His focus has always been on early dates. And, virtually every coin
is or has been slabbed. The quality of this first group (yes, it is likely
there will be more in the future) is mixed, with wonderfully choice, high end
coins sharing company with those resting in Genuine holders. But all are
priced to sell! Please visit my website when you can, at www.DavidKahnRareCoins.com.
You will find the Eastern Collection coins, noted as such, listed among
the Bust Half dollars. There are many other new items
listed for sale as well, including great coins and a small but high quality
group of Library of Coins albums. Plus, please check my Numismatic
Literature section for new as well as used books and catalogs.
A couple of other items to note as well - the first being a major change in the
Baltimore show mentioned above.
This show is normally held in Halls A, B and C, but this time around, it
will be in Halls F and G. Thus, the floor plan will be different and
dealer’s table locations will be changing. My table number will be 1030.
At the table, Richard W. Irons will be signing copies of his two recently
published books, one on Contemporary Counterfeit Bust half dollars (the 2nd edition
of “Davignon”) and - though it doesn’t fit in with the subject matter of JRCS -
a completely revised and expanded 2nd edition of David Schenkman’s Civil War
Sutler Token book. Please stop by on Friday March 27, when Rick will be at my
table. You can buy a copy of either book there or bring your own…either
way Rick will be pleased to sign.
I look forward to seeing or hearing from you!
David Kahn
David(at)DavidKahnRareCoins.com
------
------
JR Newsletter readers are getting spoiled by now, I'm sure of it, because David Finkelstein wrote another article for us! He wrote, "Coin Deliveries vs. Red Book Mintages."
Coin Deliveries vs.
Red Book Mintages
By David Finkelstein
By
reviewing the delivery warrant entries in the Bullion Journals, and entering
the number of coins, by denomination, delivered from the Chief Coiner to the
Treasurer of the Mint into a spreadsheet, yearly delivery warrant totals, by
denomination, can be calculated. Yearly
delivery warrant totals (see the Delivery
rows in Table 1) would be irrespective
of the date on the coins. Consider the
following:
· If the Mint struck coins in
December, but the delivery of the coins from the Chief Coiner to the Treasurer
of the Mint occurred in January, the delivery warrant totals for the year would
include coins dated with an earlier year.
· If the Mint struck coins with a head
(or obverse) die dated with an earlier year, the delivery warrant totals for
the year would also include coins dated with an earlier year.
Mintages
for United States coins first appeared in “A Guide Book Of United States Coins”
or The Red Book in the 16th edition dated 1963. The Red Book’s mintages are an attempt to
quantify the number of coins dated with a specific year, regardless as to when
they were delivered from the Chief Coiner to the Treasurer of the Mint. See the Mintage
rows in Table 1. If a specific quantity
of coins delivered in one year were believed to have been dated with an earlier
year, those coins were subtracted from the delivery totals for the current year
and added to the delivery totals for the earlier year. Consider the following:
· The Half Dollar delivery warrant
total for calendar year 1794 was 5,300 coins.
The Red Book’s 1794 Half Dollar mintage is 23,464 coins. The contributors to the Red Book assumed that
the 18,164 Half Dollars delivered from the Chief Coiner to the Treasurer of the
Mint per Delivery Warrant #3 on February 2, 1795 were all dated 1794. Were they?
We will never know.
· The $10 Gold Eagle delivery warrant
total for calendar year 1795 was 2,795 coins.
The Red Book’s 1795 $10 Gold Eagle mintage is 5,583 coins. The contributors to the Red Book assumed that
2,788 $10 Gold Eagles delivered from the Chief Coiner to the Treasurer of the
Mint in calendar year 1796 were dated 1795.
Were they? We will never know.
· There were no deliveries of Half
Dimes in 1794. 1794 dated Half Dimes
exist, so they were most likely delivered from the Chief Coiner to the
Treasurer of the Mint during calendar year 1795. The Red Book does not specify a 1794 Half
Dime mintage. Instead, it specifies a
combined 1794/1795 Half Dime mintage of 86,416 coins. Were the 7,756 Half Dimes delivered on March
30, 1795 per Delivery Warrant #5 all dated 1794? We will never know.
All delivery warrants in the Bullion Journals are dated,
therefore delivery warrant totals, by denomination, by year can be
calculated. Mintages were subjective
because best guesses were made to subtract coins from one year’s deliveries and
add them into the prior year’s deliveries.
Since we were not at the Mint to eyeball the dates on every coin
delivered from the Chief Coiner to the Treasurer of the Mint, we will never
know if the Mintage numbers are correct.
These are some of the issues that the contributors to the Red Book dealt
with in the early 1960s, and what I am dealing with 50+ years later.
To be
continued…
Table 1 – 1794/1795 Silver & Gold
Coin Delivery Warrants / Totals
|
Year
|
Warrant Date
|
DW #
|
½ D
|
10C
|
25C
|
50C
|
$1
|
$2 ½
|
$5
|
$10
|
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1794
|
10/15/94
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
1,758
|
|
|
|
1,758.000
|
|
1794
|
12/01/94
|
2
|
|
|
|
5,300
|
|
|
|
|
2,650.000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1794
|
Delivery
|
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
5,300
|
1,758
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
1794
|
Mintage
|
|
*
|
0
|
0
|
23,464
|
1,758
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1795
|
02/04/95
|
3
|
|
|
|
18,164
|
|
|
|
|
9,082.000
|
|
1795
|
03/03/95
|
4
|
|
|
|
60,660
|
|
|
|
|
30,330.000
|
|
1795
|
03/30/95
|
5
|
7,756
|
|
|
46,808
|
|
|
|
|
23,791.800
|
|
1795
|
04/11/95
|
6
|
|
|
|
58,193
|
|
|
|
|
29,096.500
|
|
1795
|
04/30/95
|
7
|
|
|
|
35,640
|
|
|
|
|
17,820.000
|
|
1795
|
05/06/95
|
8
|
|
|
|
56,000
|
3,810
|
|
|
|
31,810.000
|
|
1795
|
05/16/95
|
9
|
|
|
|
39,312
|
15,268
|
|
|
|
34,924.000
|
|
1795
|
06/05/95
|
10
|
|
|
|
|
10,917
|
|
|
|
10,917.000
|
|
1795
|
06/05/95
|
11
|
|
|
|
3,067
|
10,430
|
|
|
|
11,963.500
|
|
1795
|
06/12/95
|
12
|
13,100
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
655.000
|
|
1795
|
06/17/95
|
13
|
|
|
|
|
10,000
|
|
|
|
10,000.000
|
|
1795
|
06/20/95
|
14
|
|
|
|
|
5,986
|
|
|
|
5,986.000
|
|
1795
|
06/26/95
|
15
|
|
|
|
|
6,000
|
|
|
|
6,000.000
|
|
1795
|
06/29/95
|
16
|
|
|
|
|
4,000
|
|
|
|
4,000.000
|
|
1795
|
07/02/95
|
17
|
|
|
|
|
5,243
|
|
|
|
5,243.000
|
|
1795
|
07/09/95
|
18
|
|
|
|
|
5,000
|
|
|
|
5,000.000
|
|
1795
|
07/13/95
|
19
|
|
|
|
|
7,000
|
|
|
|
7,000.000
|
|
1795
|
07/17/95
|
20
|
|
|
|
|
4,500
|
|
|
|
4,500.000
|
|
1795
|
07/21/95
|
21
|
|
|
|
|
6,000
|
|
|
|
6,000.000
|
|
1795
|
07/21/95
|
22
|
|
|
|
|
4,876
|
|
|
|
4,876.000
|
|
1795
|
07/30/95
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
1,184
|
|
|
|
1,184.000
|
|
1795
|
07/30/95
|
24
|
5,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
250.000
|
|
1795
|
07/31/95
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
744
|
|
3,720.000
|
|
1795
|
08/10/95
|
25
|
|
|
|
|
3,500
|
|
|
|
3,500.000
|
|
1795
|
08/11/95
|
26
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
520
|
|
2,600.000
|
|
1795
|
08/14/95
|
27
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,000
|
|
5,000.000
|
|
1795
|
08/18/95
|
28
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
105
|
|
525.000
|
|
1795
|
08/22/95
|
29
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
380
|
|
1,900.000
|
|
1795
|
08/22/95
|
30
|
|
|
|
|
4,385
|
|
|
|
4,385.000
|
|
1795
|
08/29/95
|
31
|
|
|
|
|
6,500
|
|
|
|
6,500.000
|
|
1795
|
08/31/95
|
32
|
|
|
|
|
1,106
|
|
|
|
1,106.000
|
|
1795
|
09/01/95
|
33
|
|
|
|
|
830
|
|
|
|
830.000
|
|
1795
|
09/01/95
|
34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,634
|
|
8,170.000
|
|
1795
|
09/03/95
|
35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,054
|
|
5,270.000
|
|
1795
|
09/12/95
|
36
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,400
|
|
12,000.000
|
|
1795
|
09/12/95
|
37
|
|
|
|
|
4,260
|
|
|
|
4,260.000
|
|
1795
|
09/16/95
|
38
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
870
|
|
4,350.000
|
|
1795
|
09/22/95
|
39
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,097
|
10,970.000
|
|
1795
|
09/24/95
|
40
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200
|
2,000.000
|
|
1795
|
09/24/95
|
41
|
|
|
|
|
4,000
|
|
|
|
4,000.000
|
|
1795
|
10/03/95
|
42
|
|
|
|
|
15,000
|
|
|
|
15,000.000
|
|
1795
|
10/07/95
|
43
|
|
|
|
|
6,000
|
|
|
|
6,000.000
|
|
1795
|
10/10/95
|
44
|
10,000
|
|
|
|
14,500
|
|
|
|
15,000.000
|
|
1795
|
10/10/95
|
45
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
387
|
3,870.000
|
|
1795
|
10/17/95
|
46
|
|
|
|
|
23,368
|
|
|
|
23,368.000
|
|
1795
|
10/22/95
|
47
|
16,660
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
833.000
|
|
1795
|
10/24/95
|
48
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200
|
2,000.000
|
|
1795
|
10/24/95
|
49
|
|
|
|
|
19,370
|
|
|
|
19,370.000
|
|
1795
|
11/26/95
|
50
|
33,900
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,695.000
|
|
1795
|
11/27/95
|
51
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
911
|
9,110.000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
½ D
|
10C
|
25C
|
50C
|
$1
|
$2 ½
|
$5
|
$10
|
|
|
1795
|
Delivery
|
|
86,416
|
0
|
0
|
317,844
|
203,033
|
0
|
8,707
|
2,795
|
|
|
1795
|
Mintage
|
|
86,416
|
0
|
0
|
299,680
|
203,033
|
0
|
8,707
|
5,583
|
|
------
Finally, from Richard Meaney:
I promised a report from the ANA
Show in Portland, OR
and almost was unable to deliver…some sort of nasty cold virus had a hold of me
until Saturday morning. Fortunately, I
have recovered enough to piece together my thoughts and recollections of the
show.
As many of you know, I live in a near-wasteland for numismatics: Alaska. I had heard from a friend that there is a
coin store in Anchorage in the mall, but that's too far away for me (an hour in
the Spring and Autumn, maybe an hour and fifteen minutes in the Summer when the
RVs are all over the roads, and maybe too far to even venture out of the house
in the Winter!). In fact, I checked the
Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC)
website to see where the nearest CAC-authorized
submitting dealer was and learned that there are zero in the nation's largest
state! So when I heard that the ANA
Spring Show was to be in Portland,
just a "short" flight away, I looked forward to getting back to some
in-person numismatics.
The highlight for me, as with most coin shows, is seeing old
friends, making new ones, and really "geeking out" by talking about
coins, coins, coins for hours every day, day after day. And that's pretty much what I got to do. Sure, we talk about family, life in general, the
Superbowl champion New England Patriots, and other topics, but the
conversations always work themselves back to coins, since that's what we are
all there for. I enjoyed talking with
folks like Bill Bugert. I would refer to
Bill's passion, Seated Liberty Coins, as "modern crap" and he would
refer to my Capped Bust Half Dimes as "ancients." We had good fun in doing so! I also finally got to meet other people who I
have only known through email and internet sources, sometimes for many
years! It is always good to finally put
a face with a name.
I had the opportunity to work a little bit behind Rich
Uhrich's table. I let Rich know I would
be at the show and available if he needed some help every now and then. I always enjoy taking some time "on the
other side of the table." I found
it interesting that on the first day of the show, very few collectors were
wandering the bourse floor, but sales at Rich's table seemed to be doing very
well…not very well for a slow day, but very well period. I recall one collector came and looked at
some sort of gold coin (I don't recall details), not something one normally
thinks of when considering Rich Uhrich's inventory, and flat out bought the
thing, saying something like, "where or when else am I ever going to get
this chance again?" Then the next
day, it seemed that sales slowed down, but some really cool coins came in over
the table from people who wanted to sell.
And if I recall correctly, the third day was a little bit of each. I don't know the dealer aspect of coins too
well, but it looked like things went as they should: sell a bunch of coins, buy a bunch of
coins.
I
searched the floor for half dimes for my set, but was unable to find any that I
liked. That is probably not a function
of lack of quality inventory on the floor, but more a function of where my set
is grade-wise and die marriage-wise.
There just aren't a lot of upgrades out there anywhere for my set. For example, I sat at the table of Mark
Emtman for 20 minutes or so and looked at stacks of quality half dimes. All of the coins were pretty nice, but none
would have been an upgrade to my set, which I think grades in the AU range, on
average. I thought for sure I was going
to find something nice there.
I
enjoyed the show, that's all that really mattered. Good people, good times, and surprisingly
good weather. I would have brought
shorts and t-shirts had I known it was going to be so warm!
Richard
