Sunday, April 30, 2017

JR Newsletter: 30 April 2017 (342)


We start off this week's JR Newsletter with some long-anticipated news.  From Steve Herrman:

The JRCS has a new website with a more modern look!
As of April 28, when you bring up the jrcs.org website, you should see the new JRCS Home page displayed with a video by JRCS President, Brad Karoleff.
A new feature on the Home page is Latest News. This section will cover breaking club news. Normal news and commentary should be submitted to the JR Newsletter Editor.
The new menu item, Calendar of Events, directs you to a new page where upcoming events of interest to the JRCS membership are displayed.
The last menu item on the main menu, Contact, directs you to a contacts page to get assistance with membership status, submissions to the JR Journal, submissions and sign up for the JR Newsletter, and submissions/requests for the Website Administrator.
Where are the other menu items, you ask? Click on the icon in the upper-left-hand corner, and you will see headings for Membership, Publications, Resources (new), and About.
New pages under Resources include Online Resources, Educational Presentations, Recordings of Meetings, Late Die State Showcase, and R7 and R8 Gallery.
The new website should also work smoother and display better on portable devices.
Thanks,
Steve Herrman
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Next, a note of thanks from Winston Zack after his request for information that was in last week's JR Newsletter:

I have received overwhelming support on my question/request. About 5-6 people contacted me about this, and two were able to provide images. I still do not know the current owner/buyer, but that's ok.

One of those who contacted me also provided me with photos of an example I had not seen yet (different variety) making the total number of cataloged examples among the four varieties somewhere between 14 and 16 - exciting!

Cheers,
Winston
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Jim Matthews wrote to share his recent experiences at a variety of coin shows:



Jim Matthews here, reporting on the last few weeks of activity. Thursday morning of April 20th found the blitz of coin shows beginning.  I drove into town with The Agitator riding shotgun. No trouble at all, and were soon parked inside the splendid Double Tree hotel. Setup was seamless. Early American Coppers was opening in Philadelphia. I set up with mostly silver but had just acquired a group of mint state late date half cents. Those are mostly gone after a few days. I sold some of my more interesting dime cuds from the 1830s to collectors who share that love. I stumbled through a talk on broken dies on Friday that was well received. 

I heard the EAC auction did quite well and was pleased with the results of the  coins I placed there. Kevin Vinton did an excellent job along with the many volunteers whose dedication makes these shows so enjoyable. It is always fascinating how many similarities exist between copper, silver and gold coinage, but collecting tunnel vision often precludes individual collectors from linking these issues. More discoveries are constantly coming to light.

I returned home late Saturday to prepare for the Westminster show on Sunday the 23rd. 

Monday was a tad busy as I needed to wrap up cataloging for the Goldberg's June sale, then polished up an article on the famed AMERI 1793 cents. Packed at 1 am for the Central States show in Chicago. The 70 coins I needed to send to PCGS did not get processed that night, they would have to wait for Chicago. I bolted up at 5 am Tuesday, off to The Agitator's house, tossed coins, clothes and checkbook into his vehicle and off we rolled. We slid into Pittsburgh to fetch Jim McGuigan along for the ride and pointed west for Central States. We arrived intact despite a few interstate challenges from an incompetent driver who had the misfortune of looking like Homer Simpson. He sparred with The Agitator but the ditches and guardrail remained free of wreckage. We continued on, arriving at 6 pm. Dinner in the hotel where my zombie eyes stayed glazed over despite excited talk with close friends long unseen.

Wednesday saw setup and I completed my submissions to PCGS, into the flow they go, when they appear nobody knows. 

One of the more interesting coins is an 1832 LM-9.2 half dime. The coin has some issues, but with so few known its bound to find a happy home. I asked for PCGS to put the variety attribution on the insert and should have it back in a month or so. Another group of nice Capped Bust half dimes are awaiting grading there, some from the Herman Halpern Collection of the last generation from that famed Stack's sale.

Central States was quite active, all the dealers I talked with noted higher sales and firmer prices. It appears the market is picking up quickly. A number of my best pieces found new homes and most of the coins I bought there have already been sold.

Suddenly, it was over, and after feasting at the Weber Grill in Schaumburg twice in two days I rolled back into the vehicle and we swam home through torrents of rain and wind, which continued through Indiana. My turn at the helm arrived as we crossed into Ohio, highlighted by a stop for gas and a Dilly Bar at the Dairy Queen. Stopping by Pittsburgh to let off Jim McGuigan we continued to The Agitator's house arriving after 11 pm. 

6 AM and now I sit at the Clarksburg coin show in West Virginia.  Come on down if you're in the area, we're here until 3 or so.

Next week we'll be watching to see what grades get posted and we start it all over again. As always, you just never know what will happen!