JR Newsletter: 19 June 2011 (41)

Bob Stark wrote:

Fifteen Early Dollar Collections

     

        Fifteen Early Dollar collections, inventoried in David Perkins’ John Reich Journal   article of February, 2011, have 917 coins; each collection of distinct die marriages.        Of course, no account is taken of duplications such as die states, upgrades, etc. The collections vary from 5 to 118 coins; 121 is the number of known die marriages.

        The surviving 1794-1803 dollars are scarce and valuable. Only 5 of the die marriages have a rarity assignment of R-1 while some 40% have values of R-1, R-2,      or R-3 and about 15% have rarities of R-7 or R-8. R-4 and R-5 each account for just    over 25% of the die marriages. There are just five R-6 marriages.

        More than one-half of the collections, with one exception, consist of R-1 to R-6 coins with about equal frequency. That is, dividing the number of coins held of a given R-value by the total number of die marriages having the same R-value is about the same (8+) for each R-1 through R-6.

       Rarity values of R-5 and R-6 are scarce coins in any series; including the Early Dollars. Still two thirds of the fifteen collections have all of the R-5s and R-6s. Early Dollar collectors apparently recognize the opportunity to acquire those coins. Of course,

premiums vary with both the variety and condition rarity.

        However, the situation changes sharply for R-7 and R-8. For an R-7, the ratio of their numbers in the fifteen collections (24) to the number of R-7 die marriages (5) is nearly 5. For an R-8, the ratio is about 1.5 (13/8). A consequence of their limited availability is the much higher premiums they command when offered.  

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Bob Hammond wrote:

My Bride and I attended the Baltimore Coin Show yesterday (Friday 17 June 2011). It truly was an all day affair for us, which began at 0400, the time we left the house for the show (about two and a half hours' drive).

After attending the LSCC meeting and enjoying show/tell for an hour or so, we began our tour of the bourse.

Attendance on the bourse floor appeared to be usual for the 'Summer' show, which is less full than either the Spring or the Fall shows. Still, there was a small buzz, especially with such dealers as Dick Osburn and Gene Bruder, dealers in 'earlier' Federal coinage.

A high-light for me is the Dick Osburn Liberty Half-Dollar collection which was displayed at the Stack's/Bowers table.  All UNC pieces; some in wonderfully high grades! 

TeaParty had a nice Half-Dime, 1801, in Fine. Since mine is a bit better, I passed the opportunity to buy.  If someone needs this dated half dime, you may wish to contact them.

We enjoyed the show and the inter-change of information from the many dealers.

On another note...

My Bride and I attended a local antique show in down-town Oley, Pa. this afternoon. We were a bit late in arriving there, so we had to rush around the show in order to redeem our full eight dollars worth of admission fare, $16.00 for the two of us.

We were nearing the last booths of dealers when I stopped to view some old books. 

The dealer asked how he may help me, and I replied that I already have such books as he has on display.  He then showed me a book that I do not have in my library: an original Thomas Jefferson book on Weights and Measures for $15K! Apparently one of 10 or so in existence!

I guffawed and indicated that I expended all I had at yesterday's coin show.

He inquired as to what I collect?  Early Half-Dimes, Dimes and Quarters and some Half-Dollars was my reply.

He says, "I am a co-author of a Dime book."

"You and Ahwash?" inquires I.

"No" says he.

"Davis, et al?" queries I

"Yes. Five of us. I am Bill Subjack."

My jaw drops to the ground in absolute disbelief!  I never met the man, and assumed he is gone from this earthly presence!

We chatted about the early preparations of the book, the meetings, and the coins. The time spent was exhilarating for me.

I've known Dave Davis and John McCloskey, and exchanged letters with Russ Logan.  I have Allen Lovejoy's splendid Dime catalog.  As for Bill Subjack...Well, he was totally unknown to me.

I did purchase a letter from him dated 1835, and received his 'autograph' as signature of payment, as well as his address for future exchanges.

It was good to get out of the house and away from work to meet up with like-minded hobbyists.  May be more coming to me in the future.

        Bob Hammond (RJH) JRCS, LSCC, EAC member

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A final word from the editor...


I am also a member of EAC (Early American Coppers).  I encourage all readers to consider joining EAC.  I recently received the May 2011 issue of the EAC journal, "Penny-Wise."  In there I read some exciting news, which I will quote:  "Beginning with the EAC 2012 sale, there will be early silver lots included in the annual sale, which should increase the associated fees and help JRCS take a role in the financial health of the [EAC] convention."  I view this as great news and as an excellent opportunity for the financial well-being of both organizations and the benefit of their respective memberships.  I'm sure more details will be forthcoming, but I thought I would share this good news now.

JR Newsletter: 12 June 2011 (40)

Bob Stark provides this week's sole contribution:

Thank you for another JR Newsletter.  Perhaps people who speak at meetings, such as the recent one at Portland, could be encouraged to publish their remarks in the JR Newsletter.



Best wishes
Bob Stark
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Editor's input for the week:  Please remember to submit nominations for the JRCS Hall of Fame.  Send them to me or to any other officer of the JRCS.

JR Newsletter: 5 June 2011 (39)

Ken Rubin wrote:

Do you know the reason for the low mintage of 1796-1797 Half Dollars? I am the Corresponding Secretary for the Massapequa Coin Club and wanted to add this fact to my newsletter.

Thanks,
Ken
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Jim Matthews wrote:

A note of apology to all those who attended the EAC/JRCS Convention in Portland. I had my tickets and speech all ready to go. However, once again cataloging deadlines crept into my life, and the June Baltimore auction just refused to wrap up in time. An unexpectedly large crush of great coins required considerable days to catalog for the Stack's-Bowers auction, so I had to stay in Irvine for an additional week, which happened to preclude my attendance.

I truly missed the opportunity to see everyone at this show, and in the past have greatly enjoyed the entire format, displays and most of all the friendships old and new. I particularly like the "cross metal" combination where consistent minting issues are seen in copper, silver and gold coins issued of the same period. With the high price of collecting any series today, it is quite difficult to specialize in more than one denomination, so these types of similarities are a field ripe for study. Bringing together knowledgeable people and wonderful collection coins to view-as well as to purchase, provides a level of scholarship unmatched for numismatists of American coinage.

As my own personal corporate demands settle down in the next year, I expect to be able to make it to all the future EAC/JRCS conventions. With the complexities of the merger of Stack's and Bowers and Merena being worked through, there are times when one must simply perform the work required to get the job done.

To say the least, I am looking forward to next years convention and attending the ANA sale in Chicago!

Jim

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David Perkins wrote:

Commentary on the Goldberg's The Pre-Long Beach Auction of United States
Coins and Currency Featuring the Dr. Hesselgesser Collection of Bust
Dollars, Part I

It has been a while since a specialized collection of early dollars was
offered for sale at public auction. Perhaps the last major offering of early
dollars was in the April 2008 Heritage sale of the Queller early dollar
collection, over three years ago.

The May 29-30, 2011 Ira and Larry Goldberg's The Pre-Long Beach Auction of
United States Coins and Currency Featuring the Dr. Hesselgesser Collection
of Bust Dollars, Part I was not what could be considered the offering of an
extensive collection, but did include 47 Lots and over 40 different die
marriages of early silver dollars.  Lots included a high grade 1794 silver
dollar, 1795 Flowing Hair Dollars with and without silver plug centers,
Flowing Hair and Draped Bust dollars in grades from Very Fine to MS64 and a
handful of better die marriages for the specialist. 

I did not view the lots in person nor did I attend the sale.  I have seen
most of the Lots in the past when they were displayed at ANA Conventions.  I
have also viewed and studied the Hesselgesser early dollar collection on the
PCGS Registry (most of the specimens in the collection are photographed).
Here is a link to the Hesselgesser Registry Set:
http://www.pcgs.com/SETREGISTRY/alltimeset.aspx?s=24633

For those of you who did not receive the sale catalog the catalog and prices
realized can be viewed online on the Goldberg website or by clicking on this
link:

http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/toc_auc.php?site=1&sale=63&lang=1

First, some general comments regarding the sale.  Most of the Lots offered
(but not all of them) were duplicates from the extensive Hesselgesser
Collection.  This information can be determined by viewing the collection on
the PCGS Registry.  The early dollar Lots were all offered with no reserves.
Most of the dollars were graded by PCGS and a number also had CAC stickers.
Some of the coins were in the new PCGS secure plus holders.  Pedigrees
beyond the Hesselgesser Collection were only occasionally noted by the
cataloger.

The 1794 Dollar, ex. Connecticut Historical Society sold for $575,000 on an
estimate of $500-600,000.  Interestingly, $575,000 was exactly the most
recent Coin World Coin Values price for a 1794 Dollar. 

A 1795 B-9, BB-13 Dollar in PCGS AU55 CAC realized $46,000.  From the photo
it appeared to be a very nice example of this die marriage.  This appears to
me to be a very strong price, especially given the obverse die clashing
(which is visible on most examples of B-9) which might not appeal to a Date
/ Major Type / Redbook collector.  Was this Lot acquired by a die variety
specialist? 

A 1795 B-7, BB-18 Flowing Hair Dollar with silver plug center hammered for
$120,000 (!)  It was graded PCGS AU58 CAC and was housed in a secure plus
holder.  It was described by the cataloger as displaying "tremendous eye
appeal." 

Lot 874 is a coin I used to own, a 1795 B-10, BB-22 Dollar graded VF30, CAC
approved and in a secure plus holder.  This coin has an extensive and
wonderful pedigree - if the new owner would like to learn the pedigree feel
free to contact me at wdperki(at)attglobal.net  If only all 1795 Dollars in
VF looked like this specimen!  It was called R-7 in the catalog but the
cataloger erroneously added that "probably no more than 25 to 50 are known."
I know of 12, maybe 13 specimens (depending upon if one of the known
examples is the same as the specimen Haseltine owned and sold in this 1881
Type Table Sale.  This specimen realized $34,500.  For comparison, two
examples of 1795 B-10 were last sold at public auctions in 2007 and 2008 and
realized in the $22-26K range (one was NGC VF-35 and the other NGC EF-40),
both strong prices at the time. 

Lot 883 was a 1798 Small Eagle 13 Obverse Stars B-1, BB-82 Dollar in PCGS
AU58 CAC and secure plus holder.  This Lot may be the highlight of the sale.
It was estimated at $70-80,000.  Coin World Coin Values shows a price of
$25,000 in AU-50, with no prices listed beyond this grade.  This Lot
hammered for $310,000, thus realized a whopping $365,500!  Needless to say
at least two well healed bidders wanted this coin badly....

A 1798 B-19, BB-106 (R-5) Dollar cleaned with AU Details, PGCS Genuine
hammered for $2,100, or about the value of VF-20.  In my book a nice AU50
should sell for at least $7-10K, thus you can see an example of the severe
discounting for problem coins in today's market.  In contrast, a 1798 B-10,
BB-109, also R-5 in a PCGS AU50 secure plus holder realized a little over
$11,000. 

What appears from the photo to be a very nice example the 1800 B-12, BB-184
Dollar in a PCGS AU55 secure plus holder hammered for $12,500. 

Lastly, a nice circulated example of 1803 B-3, BB-256, a Rarity-6 in a PCGS
VF20 secure holder realized $6,900, approximately a 2 ½ - 3X premium over a
common 1803 dollar in VF-20. 

In summary, it appears that choice and rare (including condition rarity)
coins with eye appeal did very well in this sale.  What are your thoughts?

W. David Perkins
Centennial, CO
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Brad Karoleff wrote:

A belated report on the EAC/JRCS convention in Portland.

The annual convention of the Early American Coppers recently concluded in Portland Oregon.  JRCS has, once again, been invited to join the copper collectors at their annual numismatic event.  We would, again, like to thank our hosts for including us in their convention.  As has been the case for the last few years, we had a great time interacting with our copper "cousins". 

I arrived in Portland Thursday afternoon and took the train from the airport to the hotel.  It was a wonderful sunny day and very efficient and safe.  A real contrast to many convention cities I have attended.  Check in at the hotel was equally efficient.  That was followed by renewing some old friendships before setting up my table at the convention center located across the entrance to the hotel. 

The official reception for the show began at 5:00 that afternoon.  A buffet was provided by sponsors donations.  The setup for the happening rooms soon followed.  If you have not attended any of these conventions in the past, this is the one CAN'T MISS event for the entire weekend.  There are rooms set aside for Colonial coins, Half Cents, Large Cents, and JRCS silver issues.  Each group of collectors has pre-decided on a group of die marriages to be studied during the happenings.  Collectors then bring their coins to the convention to be studied.  You can count on seeing some unbelievable coins on display representing some condition census pieces as well as rare and interesting die states.  If you do not collect coins from some of the series, you should still visit the rooms to get an idea of what is available in the other series.  It is always nice to see neat coins whether they fit into your collection or not!

The JRCS room had decided to study the following coins.  1831 LM1 half dime, 1827 JR1 dime, 1806 B5 and B6 quarters, 1808 O110 and 1817 O105 half dollars and the 1798 B14 dollar.  The quarters were represented with two die marriages as they share a common reverse and we always have two half dollars due to the large number of die marriages in the series and their collecting popularity.

The turnout of coins for the silver room was less than in previous years, but still impressive.  Many of our regular displaying collectors are from the east and did not make the trip to Portland.  We look forward to seeing them, and their coins, next year in Buffalo!  The half dimes were dominated by one collector who displayed three wonderful condition pieces in differing die states.  Many visitors wanted to go home with a couple of his coins.  The dime die marriage was selected due to the discovery of the 1827 JR14 earlier this year which shares the obverse with the JR1.  Only one dime made the trip to Oregon and it did not prove to be the new discovery!  The quarters may have been the highlight of the silver happening.  Two advanced collectors of the quarters are from the Pacific Northwest and came loaded for bear.  Another devoted collector/dealer from the east also brought his coins for inspection.  Many choice specimens were on display for everyone to compare.  The half dollars also had a number of coins available for inspection.  The 1808 O110 is a R5- and were represented by about a half dozen coins.  One was clearly the best on display which belonged to a advanced collector from the west.  He doesn't always get to attend these conventions but made quite an impression with his coin at this one.  The other die marriage, the 1817 O105 a R4 marriage, was chosen due to the number of die states in which it is known.  The table was full of many coins in differing die states and grades.  Many collectors had a good time experiencing the different looks of the coin from early to late state.  Even though there were numerous coins there, we were still missing a couple of the scarcest die states from our study.  It just goes to prove how challenging it is to collect some of the scarce die states of these interesting coins.

The schedule listed the happenings as closing at 10PM, yea right!  We always exceed the limits when looking at these many nice coins.  The happenings were followed by a quick trip to the hotel watering hole and then a much needed night in bed.

The following morning began with our breakfast at the hotel and the quick walk across the entryway to the bourse floor.  The floor was one of the largest in memory for an EAC.  The isles were wide and there was ample room for the educational displays.  The only drawback to the room were the large "picture windows" lining two walls of the hall.  Passersby could look into the bourse floor which made some of us a little uncomfortable.  Thankfully there was to be armed guards on the floor 24 hours a day for security.  The collecting public was admitted soon after setup and the show was on it's way.  The local coin clubs were well represented and some even bussed in a few members from longer distances.  The hosts are to be commended for their efforts in promoting the show to non EAC members.  I'm sure some were welcomed into the fold as a result of their efforts. 

Sales for the show were OK for me, but other copper specialists did much better.  After all, the show is geared to them, right?  There was a lack of JRCS dealers at the show again.  We will all  need to improve our efforts in selling the show to more of our member dealers for the future.  If you deal mainly in the silver issues start thinking about adding the show in Buffalo to your schedule.  You may be in for a nice surprise. 

The show always has hosts an impressive array of educational seminars.  This year was no exception.  Collectors had the opportunity to learn from some of the leading dealers and researchers in the early American series.  The educational displays setup by some of the attendees were also a treasure trove of information for those who took the time to view them. 

Another feature of the EAC conventions is the Friday evening dinner with a featured speakeer.  This year John Wright spoke on his lifelong involvement in the copper collecting community.  John is a noted author and collector of the middle date large cents.  He is one of the most amusing and interesting speakers available in numismatics. 

Saturday evening features the EAC auction.  I was the auctioneer again and had a wonderful time calling the sale.  The atmosphere is not as "stuffy" as a regular commercial auction and we all had a good time.  You do have to be a member of EAC to bid in this particular sale, so if you have interest in participating next year get your membership application in now.  The sale ended a little before 11PM and an obligatory trip to the watering hole to celebrate followed.

The show continues until Sunday at 2PM, but most of the dealers left after the closing on Saturday in order to catch early Sunday flights back home.  I had a great time again at the show.  Sales were a little better than expected but the social events were outstanding- as usual!  I strongly suggest that anyone who has not attended an EAC show before to make plans now to be part of the fun in an upcoming year.  As I said, the next show is in Buffalo NY to be followed by Columbus OH in 2013.  See you there!

Also:

We are accepting nominations for the JRCS Hall of Fame voting.

The membership is encouraged to send nominations for the hall.  You can nominate candidates for either the veteran (those who contributed before the advent of JRCS) or the modern (those who have been members of JRCS) categories.  Please include any pertinent information about the nominee that you feel necessary.  Nominees will then be voted on by the HOF committee and the inductees will be announced at the annual meeting at the ANA convention in Chicago this summer.  Nominations will be accepted until June 30th.  We look forward to seeing your nominations!

Please forward your nominations to me at bkaroleff(at)yahoo.com or to any of the members of the board.

Brad

Editor's note:  You may also reply to jrnewsletter(at)jrcs.org if you wish to submit a nominee.

JR Newsletter: 29 May 2011 (38)

No new contributions for the week, so I will share one of my half dimes.  Here's an image (click on it to enlarge it a bit):

This coin is remarkably similar to lot number 1837 of the Russell Logan auction (Bowers and Merena 2002), so I will paraphrase their description of that lot in describing my coin:

"Misaligned Dies and Partial Collar. This is a double error. The obverse die is slightly off center, while the reverse is properly centered. This coin was also struck with a partial collar. Half of the edge toward the reverse is reeded, with the other half plain. This type of error is sometimes called a railroad rim."

JR Newsletter: 22 May 2011 (37)

Nathan Markowitz wrote:

Whew! This year's Portland convention is history.  I actually had fun; even though as convention chair my time for numismatics was limited.  The 2011 show was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Portland, Oregon, a venue used for the annual northwest regional coin show.  Preliminary estimates are 330 attendees of which 155 registered on site.  There was a strong showing of local and first time EAC show attendees. Many copper and nice early silver coins changed hands at this event.  Reportedly record numbers of spouses attended especially given the vineyard tour on Thursday and the Columbia River Gorge waterfall tour on Saturday. 

Exhibits included 2 silver and 5 copper topics plus one best described as crossover.  The Portland Cent (flipped to determine the city's name) on loan from the historical society was attributed by Bob Grellman at the show. The educational seminar included about half copper topics and half silver or general interest topics.  All were recorded and can be previewed at http://www.coinweek.com  Keynote speaker John Wright entertained us with fifty years of early copper history and a magician was a delightful addition to the "educational program" Friday night (http://www.parlorofwonders.com/Portland_Magic/Portland_Magix.html)

An EAC convention can succeed only by a collaborative effort.  I am grateful to the many volunteers who made this event a success.  In particular I am indebted to Bim Gander, our bourse chair, whose prior experience running the San Diego EAC convention (yes, he was crazy enough to do it again) was invaluable.  Rob Norvich organized and executed the extracurricular events including the magician.  Jerry Bobbe created a restaurant guide and led a "leisurely" nine mile waterfall hike the day before the show.  Larry Gaye and fellow Willamette coin club members helped with arranging cases and lights and set up and tear down.  Cindy Murray, Jim Gallegos, and Randolf Farrar gave generously of their time to man the registration table when we needed help.  Jim Roecker organized lot viewing.  All in all, the best of volunteerism showed itself last week...my regrets for anyone I may have missed.

Finally, I am especially extremely pleased at the number of first time speakers and exhibitors.  It is critical to have these first timers share their expertise and passion with the group and they were well received.  I want to encourage anyone to exhibit or give a presentation in future years...you can contact myself or Steve Carr (exhibits).   You are the core of what drives this organization's educational efforts.  I turn the reins to the team for Buffalo, NY May 2-6, 2012 at the Adam's Mark Hotel

JR Newsletter: 15 May 2011 (36)

Bill Luebke provides this week's sole contribution:

I have started collecting Seated and Trade Dollars so I'm joining LSCC.  I have sent the following to Region 8, the EAC newsletter, and JR Journal, the JRCS newsletter and to the LSCC.

This week's issue of "Region 8", the e-newsletter of our sister organization
EAC, had an item by John Wright about his emailing a seller on eBay who listed a
fake 1799 Large Cent.  My response may be of interest to JRCS members as well so
here it is:

In response to John Wright's complaint in last week's issue regarding getting fakes off
eBay, I have found that contacting the seller directly often doesn't work.  Yes,
some are appreciative and remove the offending item promptly.  But eBay itself
often discourages this.  I had an hilarious episode a few weeks go when I asked
a seller to remove two obviously counterfeit Trade Dollars.  He went ballistic,
told me to "get out of my space" and even threatened to sue me for deformation
[sic] of character.  I politely informed him that his character was clearly
deformed long before I entered the picture.  He then complained to eBay about me
and I received an email from eBay warning me not to contact sellers about items
I have "no intention to bid on".  So...I guess you have to bid on the
counterfeit before you contact the seller!  At least eBay saw that I was
absolutely correct, removed the items and assessed no penalty against me.

This is what I do now.  Click on "Report this item", click on "Prohibited
(banned) items", click on "Other prohibited (banned) items" and click again
"Other prohibited (banned) items".  In the "Brief explanation" box type
"COUNTERFEIT rare US coin".  eBay is hit or miss on these.  I usually report
several items per week.  Some weeks they remove all offending items quickly,
other times few.  Perhaps it depends on the volume of complaints and whether
they have a knowledgeable numismatist available.

I have also discovered several counterfeit coins in counterfeit PCGS holders. 
These are easy.  Simply send a link to the item to info@pcgs.com and the 800
pound gorilla will get it removed faster than poop through a goose!

Bill Luebke EAC #724 

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Editor's Note:  To the JRCS members who attended the EAC Convention, how about a show report for next week's issue of the JR Newsletter? 

JR Newsletter: 8 May 2011 (35)

Jon Lusk wrote:

I am the EAC/JRCS Convention badge printer -- email:  Jon(at)Lusk.cc

Please email me TODAY if you are going to the convention and don't otherwise have your name on the EAC newsletter list as attending the convention.  If your spouse is coming too, please also include her name. This way we'll speed up the entire process at the registration desk.
Thanks

Jon Lusk

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John D. Wilson wrote:

To Ray Hale,

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the publisher to help your problem. What year was it published? If you value the book as much as you imply, I would get it to a restorer and spare no expense. Often University libraries can provide helpful direction.

 

John D. Wilson