E-Gobrecht, vol. 9, no. 3

2013·3.9 MB·English

Liberty Seated
The E-Gobrecht Collectors Club
2013 Volume9,Issue3
TheElectronicNewsletteroftheLIBERTYSEATEDCOLLECTORSCLUB
March2013(Whole#98)
AuctionNews 2
byJimGray
Bill Cowburn
UpcomingLSCC 2
Events
1955 – 2013, RIP
BillCowburn 3
RIP
Withsadness,seepage3. 40thAnniversary 4
MedalUpdate
byDennisFortier
CallforLSCCHallof 4
FameNominations
RegionalNews 5
40th Anniversary Medals byGerryFortin
GobrechtJournal 5
Minted!! ArticlesWanted
TheCurious 6,
And on the way! Collector 8-9
byLenAugsburger
QuarteroftheMonth 7
byGregJohnson
Seedetails on page4. ASmallFamily 10-
Hoard 11
byDennisFortier
AUnique1840New 12
Orleans
F-104aDime
byGerryFortin
Perspectivefrom 13-
BothSidesofthe 15
CoinCase
byGerryFortin
Reminder! 15
LibertySeatedQuar-
terTop25Variety
Survey
FreeAdvertisements 16
LSCCInformation 17
TheE-GobrechtisanawardwinninginformalelectronicpublicationoftheLibertySeatedCollectorsClub(LSCC).
TheLSCCisanon-profitorganizationdedicatedtotheattributionsoftheLibertySeatedCoinseries. TheLSCCpro-
videstheinformationcontainedinthisemailnewsletterfromvarioussourcesfreeofchargeasageneralserviceto
themembershipandotherswiththisnumismaticinterest. YoudonothavetobeaLSCCmembertobenefitfromthis
newsletter;subscriptiontotheE-Gobrechtisavailabletoanyone. Alldisclaimersareineffectasthecompleteness
and/oraccuracyoftheinformationcontainedhereincannotbecompletelyverified. Contactinformationisincludedat
onthelastpage.
Page2 The E-Gobrecht
Auction News
by Jim Gray, LSCC #664
TheGoldberg Gerriesalecon- $7,050. An1874-CC withVFdetails, but numerous
tainedeight nicecoins but only scratches ontheupperobverse,realized$8,813.
twosold. Thecoins that didnot Aniceoriginal AU53 1849-Oquartersoldfor
sell were an1842-Ohalf dime $7,638andan1854-Ohuge Owent for$4,994in
gradedMS65withnicetoning, XF45. AG3 andG41870-CC specimens impressed
a brilliant MS63CAC 1856-S withbids of$9,400and$8,818respectively.An
dime,a1867-S quarter gradedMS62CAC,an1839 AU501872-S was worth $9,400.
NDhalf gradedMS67andabeauty,anMS621866- An1844-Odoubledatehalfsoldfor$6,463and
S NoMottohalfdollarandan1872-S dollar graded VF30CAC andXF451872-CC pieces realized
AU55. An1871-CC dollar gradedAU58witha few $1,528and$2,115.
darkspots went for$28,865andan1878-CC Trade PR30and40Gobrecht dollars from theissue of
dollarinXF45CAC hit $4,198. December1836soaredto$11,750and$15,275.
TheAU551871-CC from mycollectionmade yet
The Heritage LongBeachSale featuredan1840- anotherattempt tosell but onlyrealized$16,450,less
Odraperyhalfdimethat went for$969inXF45. thanthe$17,250it soldin2004. Ascrapebetween
An1838-Odimewent for$1,293inAU55and a star5and6appears tobe theculprit. An1872-CC
niceAU501846soldfor $6,463. AnXF45CAC VF30withaweak BEdidnot sell but was offered
original 1860-Odidnot sell but was offeredfor for$6815.
Upcoming LSCC Events
March15,2013,Baltimore,MD,WhitmanCoin&Collectibles BaltimoreExpo,LSCC Re-
gional meeting,9AM, room TBD(most likely301).
Surveyresponses due,LibertySeated QuarterDollarTop 25Varieties,April 5,2013,see
LSCC Wintermailings andpage14ofthis issuefordetails.
April 15,2013,Nominations dueforthe LSCC Hall ofFame. Seepage4ofthis issuefor
details.
April 26,2013,Schaumberg,IL,Central States Convention, LSCC Regional meeting,9AM,
checkshowschedule for room number.
July2013,40thAnniversaryspecial issueoftheGobrecht Journal printedandmailed.
2013 Volume 9,Issue 3 (March 2013) Page3
Bill Cowburn
1955 – 2013, RIP
"Thefact that Icanplant aseedandit becomes a flower, shareabit of knowledge
andit becomes another's, smileat someoneandreceiveasmileinreturn, aretome
continual spiritual exercises."
~ LeoBuscaglia.
It is withdeepsadness wereport thepassingofBill phy, Bill was acollector forover30 years andhas a
Cowburn,age58 years, who,after alengthyand great deal ofknowledge oftheBust and Liberty
courageous battleagainst cancerandsurroundedby Seatedseries, especiallyBust and LibertySeated half
familyand friends, expiredonFebruary24thinhis dollars andTradedollars. Hehas hadnumismatic
York,PAhome. Amongotherthings, Bill was a articles publishedinTheNumismatist,TheGobrecht
longtimeproud LSCC andANAmember, andTrade Journal,TheCentinel,andTheJournal of theBarber
DollarSpecialist. Manyofus will remember Bill for CoinCollectors' Society.HewontheWagnerAward
his extremelyfriendly,heartylaughand great sense as well as several awards forhis articles includinga
ofhumor. Heis survived byhis wifeof12 years, Heath LiteraryAwardfrom theANAforhis article
Laura, andmanyfamilymembers andfriends. "HowRareis Rare." He exhibitedandjudgedexhib-
its forseveral years. His exhibit "ATransitional
Accordingtohis obituarypublishedin York 1876ProofTrade Dollar"won1st placeintheU.S.
DailyRecord &YorkDispatch,upongraduation Coincategoryandwas 1st runner-upinthe Best-of-
from William PennHighSchool in1972,Bill Showjudging at the2006ANAConvention. He was
workedforashort timeat YorkBorg-WarnerCo. aspeakerat theANAConvention,FUN,CSNS,and
andthenservedYorkCityas aPoliceCadet.Hethen PANas well as at local clubs. Hewas VicePresi-
workedas anarmoredcardriverwith Loomis Ar- dent oftheYorkCoinClub,andsupervised educa-
moredCarwhilepursuingan accountingdegree tional programs forthat clubandtheRedRoseCoin
from YorkCollege.Upongraduatingin1992,Bill Club. Heserved as president oftheRedRoseCoin
entered employment with thePennsylvaniaState Clubandwas theMembershipChairperson forsev-
Comptroller's Office and was most recentlyem- eral years. Bill was amemberofANA, LSCC,
ployedwiththePennsylvaniaSchool Employees Re- JRCS,BHNC,EAC,ANS,theCivilWarTokens
tirement System. Bill enjoyedplayingandwatching Society,andseveral regional andlocal coin clubs.
tennis, enjoyed growingfresh vegetables inthe gar- Bill also was atable assistant toRichUhrich.
den,and lovedtheirdog, Rusty, whodiedlast sum-
mer. Bill enjoyedthemusicofBobDylanand Frank Agatheringof friends andfamilytocelebrate
Sinatraandtravelingand learningabout thehistory Bill's lifewill beheldat KuhnerAssociates Funeral
ofourstates andourcountry.His latest tripwas Directors, Inc.,863SouthGeorgeSt.,York (thefor-
whalewatchinginHawaii withhis wifetocelebrate merHahnHome),Saturday,March2,2013 from
aweddinganniversary. His books ofchoicewere 9:30to11a.m.withamemorial servicebeginningat
biographies ofourPresidents andnoteworthyhistori- 11a.m. Inlieuofflowers,thefamilyrequests that
cal events. Hewas highlyrespectedforhis knowl- donations bemadetothe YorkCountySPCA,3159
edgeinnumismatics and has given countless semi- SusquehannaTrail North,York,PA17406,ortothe
nars onthehobby,publishedvarious articles andhas YorkCountyAmerican CancerSociety,3886Ridge-
receivednumerous awards forhis achievements in woodRoad,York,PA17406.
this field.Bill's lifecanbebest summarizedbythe
abovequote. Wewill all miss you,Bill. Rest inPeace.
Accordingto Bill’s numismaticautobiogra-
Page4 The E-Gobrecht
40th Anniversary Medal Update
by Dennis Fortier, LSCC #2016
The40thAnniversaryMedal goldandsilvermedals Lange got things straightenedout forus. Werecom-
werestruckduringtheweekof February25th. The mendifat all possibletosubmit yourmedals toNGC
final medal totals are: at Baltimoretoavoidanyproblems. Theyareexpect-
 130SilverSatin ingtoreceivethem at the show.
 180SilverProofs
 23GoldProofs David Langesays: “Pleaseput intothenext
LSCC E-Gobrecht that eachperson submittinghis
Thegoldmedals weresent viaregistered medal will needtohave anaccount withNGC. The
postal mail tothemembers that orderedone.We feewill be$7.50plus shippingbyregisteredmail.
shouldhavethesilvermedals formembers whopur- Thelabel will read"LSCC 40thAnniversary" or
chasedthem at the Baltimoreshow. words tothat effect.”
NGC will beat Baltimoreandhas agreedto
encapsulatethemedals forthe LSCC.Therewas
someconfusionwithemployees at NGC but David
Call for LSCC Hall of Fame Nominations
The HallofFame Committee composed of club membersBillBugert,Len Augsburger, GerryFortin,
Mark Sheldon, and TomDeLorey wishesto informthe membership that we areaccepting nominations
for the LibertySeated CollectorsClub’s 2012 HallofFame (HoF). Please consider honoring
noteworthy individuals tothisprestigiousdistinction fortheir contributionstothe cluband/orto the
advancement ofcollecting LibertySeated coinage.
Basic qualifications for club member nomineesaresignificant advances inor contributionsto at
least one ofthe following four criteria:
 Numismatic ResearchonLibertySeated coinage
 Numismatic Literaturerelated to LibertySeated coinage
 Collection(s)ofLibertySeated coinage
 LSCCClubofficer (for at least five years).
Previousinducteestothe HoFinclude KamalM. Ahwash (deceased), John W. McCloskey, Alfred E.
Blythe (deceased),RandallE. Wiley, and BrianGreer.
The Committee isaccepting nominations intwo categories: anactive club member and a veteran(pre-
foundingofthe LSCC [1973]);anannouncement ofthe new inductee(s) willbe made at theLSCC’s
annual meeting. The nominations must be receivedno laterthan April15, 2013andare dueto the HoF
Chairman, BillBugert, via emailat [email protected] or via postalmailat BillBugert, 1230Red
Rock Road, Gettysburg, PA17325 or to Bill via telephone at [phone].
2013 Volume 9,Issue 3 (March 2013) Page5
Regional News
by Gerry Fortin, LSCC #1054
Ourregional directors were members andthought it was averypleasant collegial
most busyin Februarywithre- evening.Fortheforeseeablefuture,wehavedecided
gional meetings ontheEast tocontinuethis brewingtraditionat thesametime
Coast oneweekthenonthe andplace: 7:00PM Thursdayeveningat theRock
West Coast thefollowingweek. Bottom Breweryduringthenext LongBeachExpo.
Northeast Regional Director, Thanks goto BrianCushingand Lynn Ourso (his
Dennis Fortier,will discuss theManchesterNH first LongBeach) forbuyingliquidrounds at the
event separatelyinthisE-Gobrechtissue.Wehave clubmeeting!”
great news from Western Regional Director,Craig
Eberhart, concerningthe LongBeachregional meet- Marchbrings the LSCC backtoits home
ing. Theideatoholdthis event aftershowhours at a baseat theSpringWhitmanBaltimoreshow. Len
local barand eateryresultedinimprovedturnout. Augsburger, LSCC Treasurer/Secretary, will host a
Craigreports, “Thewesternregional LSCC meeting regional meetingonMarch15at 9:00am.Most im-
was heldonThursdayeveningFebruary7 at the portantly,the LSCC 40thAnniversarysilvermedals
RockBottom Brewery. About tenpeopleattended will beavailableat themeetingfordistributionto
themeeting(seeimagebelow)andall appearedto thosewhosubmittedorders. This will beadistribu-
tionevent onlywithnoadditional medals beingof-
fered forsale.
Pleasejoinmeinexpressingasincerethank
youtotheclub’s regional directors fortheirongoing
commitment andpersistence. Our club’s healthy
membershiplevels area functionoftheprogram
leadershipbyour elected andvolunteerofficers.
havea goodtimewithenoughprivacytodiscuss
coins andcollecting. Icertainlylearned from other
GobrechtJournalArticles Wanted:
40th Anniversary Edition This Summer
Perarequest from LSCC President andGo- numerous short articles. Heis lookingforarticles
brecht Journal editor,JohnMcCloskey,pleasecon- relatedto LibertySeated coinagewithapersonal
siderauthoringandsubmittinganarticle fortheup- touch; perhaps astoryof how you found yourfavor-
coming40thAnniversaryissueoftheGobrecht ite LibertySeatedcoinor discussionof your favorite
Journal. Scheduledforpublicationthis summer, variety.
Johnplans aspecial issuetocommemoratethe Lookformoreinformationinfutureissues of
foundingofthe LibertySeatedCollectors Clubwith theE-Gobrecht.
Page6 The E-Gobrecht
The Curious Collector
by Len Augsburger, LSCC #1271
A Visit to the Mint in 1919
Lots ofnumismaticin- knownonearth.
formationcrosses my Theassistant assayer,afteralast lingering
desk, andwhilethis lookat his littleblueflasks—hewas testingthe
month’s missiveisn’t directlyrelatedtotheperiod amount ofsilverin deposits oforebrought intothe
of LibertySeated coinage(1837-1891), Ifoundthis Mint from all overthecountry—if you find
outsider’s viewoftheMint fascinating. Christopher anyinyourback yardthe Mint will payyou adollar
Morleywrote aseries of articles forthePhiladel- anounceforit—was gracious enoughtogiveme
phiaEveningPublicLedger,c.1919,which com- somefleetingglances at thefascinatingwork going
prised“snapshots ofvivacious places ofthelifeof oninthebuilding.Thefirst thingonerealizes is the
today.” Oneofthoseplaces was theMint,andhere presenceofthebenign andsilent goddess ofSci-
Morleyrecollects his Mint touras conductedbythe ence. Thoseupper floors,wherethe assayers
assistant assayer,Homer L.Pound. workin large,quiet chambers, arelikethework-
rooms ofsomegreat university,someuniversity
At TheMint happilyexempt from the turbulent andirritating
….Ifoundmyfriend,the assistant as- presenceofstudents, wheretheprofessors are able
sayer,inhis laboratorymakingmysterious chalk tolosethemselves intheworshipoftheirownre-
marks onalongblackboardand gazingwithkeen searches. Great delicate scales—onlyyoumustn't
grayeyes at acircleoflittlebottles containingpale call them "scales,"but "balances"—that tremblelike
bluish fluids. At thebottom ofeachvessel was a alover's heart if youlayahairononeplatform,
whitesediment that lookedlikeamixtureofcream sheltertheir gossamerworkings behind glass cases.
cheese andheadachepowder. "Silver,"saidtheas- Myguideshowedmeone,afantasticdelicacyso
sistant assayer,in anoffhandway,and Iwas duly sensitivethat onefeels as clumsyas Gibraltarwhen
impressed. onelooks at it. Eachdivisiononits ivoryregister
Youmayexpect tobeimpressedwhen you indicates one-tenthof a milligram,which, Ishould
visit theMint onSpringGardenStreet [thethird say,is about as heavyas theeyelash of aflea.With
Mint inPhiladelphia,whichopenedin1901]. Most apairof calipers hedroppedatinymorsel ofpaper
ofus know,inavague way,that two-thirds ofour ononebalanceandtheneedleswungovertothe
coinagecomes from that dignifiedbuilding, which extremeendofthescale. Withhis eyes shiningwith
is probablythe finest mint buildingintheworld. enthusiasm heshowedhow,bymeans ofa counter-
Fewerofus knowthat most ofSouthAmerica's poisemadeofaplatinumwireas slenderas amos-
coins comefrom theretoo,andwhenthe citizens of quito's leg,hecouldswingtheneedlebacktoward
Limaor Buenos Aires payout theirbright centavos themiddleofthescale andget the exact reading. [In
foramovieshowor ablackcigartheirpockets jin- ordertokeepthis related to LibertySeatedcoinage,
glewithsmall changestampedinPhiladelphia. And wewill mentionJosephSaxton,whobrought impor-
noneofus can realize,without atriptothat marvel- tant advances totheMint inthelate1830s inthe
ous homeofwonders, thespirit ofdevotedanddeli- constructionofbalances. Saxtonis also credited
catesciencethat moves amongthemenwhohave withtheoldest survivingdaguerreotypeinAmerica,
spent self-effacinglives intestingprecious metals takeninthe1839from a windowofthesecondMint
andmoldingthem intothemost beautiful coinage
(Continuedonpage8)
2013 Volume 9,Issue 3 (March 2013) Page7
Quarter of the Month
by Greg Johnson, LSCC #1460
The LibertySeated Quarterse-
ries is well knownforhavinga
largenumberofrareand scarce
issues. That is undoubtedlyone
ofthekeyfeatures that attract
thosewhocollect theseries and
deterthosewhodonot. However,thereis arguably
somethingfor everyone withaninterest in Liberty
SeatedQuarters. Varietycollectors, inparticular,
will findmanyinterestingvarieties amongst the most
commondates intheseries; and,though certainly
gaininginpopularity,manyseatedquartervarieties
still “flyunderthe radar” ofmost dealers and collec-
tors andcanbepurchasedwithlittleornopremium.
Afterconsistentlylowmintages from thein-
ceptionoftheseries in1838until 1852,thePhiladel-
phiamint abruptlytransitionedintomass production
followingthesilver coinageweight changein1853. 1854cud reversequarterdollar
Duringthe6 years from 1853–1858atotal of
54,767,200 LibertySeatedQuarters wereproduced
bythePhiladelphiamint; anaverageofmorethan 9
millionpieces per year. It is thus not surprisingthat
theseissues represent a fertilegroundforthoseinter-
estedindieclashes, misplaceddigits, cuds andro-
tateddies. Manyofthesevarieties and“errors”are
not catalogedand await thepatient anddedicated
collectoror collectors whowish todocument theex-
istingvarieties. Until that happens, studyingcom-
mondateseatedquarters provides thecollector an
opportunitytofindthings he(orshe)has neverseen
before; orperhaps noone has seen,ornoticed.
ThePhiladelphiaANAshowduringAugust
2012providedjust suchanopportunity. Thecoin
picturedis araw1854quarter gradingVF. There-
versecud extends from about 2o’clockto5o’clock
andhasn’t beenpreviouslydocumented.
Page8 The E-Gobrecht
Iwas still tremulous showedmewafers of golddis-
(Continuedfrompage6)
solvinginaquaregia. Whencompletelydissolved
building.] theliquidlooks likeathinbut verysweet molasses.
At anotherbalance ascientist was snipping Hethenperformedsimilarmagicuponsomesilver
shreds from alongribbonofgold. Iwas allowed to solutionbyunloadingapipetteofsalt wateronit and
holditinmyhand, andthoughits curatorexplained shakingit inalittlemachinecalledan "agitator."
deprecatinglythat it was only999.5thousandths Afterwhichhefelt Iwas sufficientlyhumbleto
pure,it seemedpureenoughforall mypurposes. It showmethefurnace room.
is wonderful stuff,soft enoughtotieinknots and yet If youhave anaffectionfortheniceoldsilver
so toughthat it is verydifficult tocut withheavy cartwheel dollars [at this point,silverdollars hadnot
shears. That stripof about sixtyounces was worth beenstrucksince1904–fifteen years previous],
well over$1200—andtheydidn't evensearchme keepawayfrom the furnaceroom oftheMint,for
when Ileft thebuilding. "Proof gold,"it seems, oneofthefirst things youwill seeis wholetruck-
whichis 1000pure,is worth$40anounce, andall loads ofthem movingsilentlytotheirdoom. Iwas
theproof goldusedforscientificpurposesinthis toldthat thereis ashortageofsilverinEuropethese
countryis refinedinthe PhiladelphiaMint [“proof” days, particularlysincetroublesin Mexicohavere-
inthis context has sometimes beenconfusedwith ducedthat country's output ofore,andinorderto
proofcoinage–see Bill Bugert’s comments onthis accommodate foreignfriends UncleSam has re-
withregardtothe1871-CC halfdollarintheBugert centlymelted200,000,000ofouroldfriends into
Encyclopedia]. Theassistant assayershowedmelots bars and50,000,000moreofthem areonthewayto
ofnicelittlenuggets ofit inadrawer.Almost every thefurnace. Nonehave beencoinedsince1904, as
drawerheopenedcontainedenoughroots of evil to apparentlytheyarenot popular.[Obviouslythey
makeanewspapermanhappyfora year. werenot all exportedto Europe,as millions more
In aneat littlerowof furnaces set intoatiled were releasedtothepublicbythebagful intheearly
wall Iwas shownsomequeerlittlecups heatingto 1960s.]
1700degreesin arosyswirl offire. Theselittle TheprideoftheMint centers just nowupon
"cupels," as theycall them,aremadeofcompressed thetwonewelectricfurnaces, thelargerofwhich has
bone-ash and are usedto absorbthebasermet- onlybeeninstalledafew weeks (aSwedish inven-
alsinanalloy. Theirpeculiarmerit is that at there- tion,bytheway),but the oldgas ovens aremore
quiredtemperaturetheyabsorball thecopper,lead spectaculartothevisitorbecausetheflames aremore
orwhateverotherbasemetal theremaybeand visible. Whentheheavydooris slidaside youcan
leaveinthecuponlythe goldandsilver. Thenthe seethecrucible(madeof graphitefrom Ceylon)with
goldandsilvermixtureis placedin boilingnitric its mass ofsilverdollars, standingpatientlyinthe
acid,whichtakes out all thesilverandleaves only furious glow. Then,if youarelucky, you will see
theglobuleofpure gold. Thematterthat puzzles the them ladlingout theliquidsilverintothemolds. One
layobserveris, howdo youfindthesethings oftheworkmenheldaslipofpapertotheboiling
outinthefirst place? But Iwouldbelieveanything metal: it burst intoflameandhecalmlylit his pipe
afteronemarvel myfriendshowedme. Hepicked withit [smokingintheMint–nodoubt against the
upaglass that lookedlikeaninnocent tumblerof regulationtoday!]. In otherfurnaces sheets ofnickel
springwater. "This,"he said,"is nitrateofsil- from whichArgentinecoins hadbeenpunchedwere
ver;in otherwords, dissolvedsilver. Don't spill iton beingmelted,surrounded byamarvelous radiance of
your clothes orit will eat them right off yourback." greenand goldenfire. All about youare great ingots
Ikept off,aghast. Intothetumblerhedroppedalittle ofcopper,silver,nickel andboxes ofqueerlittle
muriaticacid. Themixtureboiledandfumedand nickel nuggets, formedbydroppingthehot liquid
longstreamers ofsoft,cheesysubstancebeganto intoicewater. It is aplaceinwhichone wouldwill-
hastentowardthebottom oftheglass,wavinglike inglyspenda wholedaywatchingthewonders
treesin a gale."That's thesilver,"hesaid,and while
(Continuedonpage9)
2013 Volume 9,Issue 3 (March 2013) Page9
halfeagle, andthe1877 halfunion,whichenumera-
(Continuedfrompage8)
tiononlyscratches thesurface.] It isin perfect con-
whichthoseaccustomed tothem takeso ditionandwas bought bytheMint from a New York
calmly.In thevault just outsidethefurnaceroom I newspaperman. Abrand-newacquisition,onlyset
was shownbetweeneighteenandnineteenmillion upwithinthelast fewweeks, is acase ofFrench
dollars'worthof goldbars stackeduponshelves. militarydecorations presentedbytheFrench Gov-
Therewere also moretruckloads oftheold ernment—thefive grades ofthe LegionofHonor,
silverdollars ontheirwaytothefire. Someofthem, thefour grades oftheCroix deGuerreandthe
thoughdatedbackin the seventies, seemed as good MedailleMilitaire. Near thesearetheUnitedStates
as new; others werebadlyworn. Theywerepiled militaryandnaval medals, asadanduglycontrast to
upinlots of40,000,which,whennew,wouldweigh thedelicateart ofthe Frenchtrophies.
34,375ounces; onelot, Iwas told,hadlost 208 Iwas unfortunate innot beingluckyenough
ounces throughabrasion. [This equates toaloss of tomeet Superintendent Joyce,under whoseadmini-
about 0.6%,seeminglya triflebut significant when strationthePhiladelphiaMint has becomethemost
dealingwithlargequantities ofspecie. Readers may remarkableplaceofcoinagein theworld; orMr.
befamiliarwiththeconcept of“sweating” gold–a Eckfeldt,theassayerin chief,whohas servedthe
largeholdingof goldcoins wereput intoatumbler, Mint forfifty-four years andis theson oftheformer
andvoila,withsomerigorous shaking, acertain assayer and grandson oftheMint's first "coiner,"
amount ofgolddust couldbeextracted. The face Adam Eckfeldt.Thesethree generations ofEckfeldts
valueofthecoins was preserved whileourunscrupu- haveservedtheMint for 123 years [Eckfeldt retired
lous bankerhad createdadditional “value”.] in1929,recordingan astoundingsixty-four career at
Inthebigcoiningroom thepresses werebus- theMint].But myfriend Mr.Homer L.Pound,the
ilyat workstampingout newcoins, andwomenop- assistant assayer,whomodestlyspeaks ofhis own
erators were carefullyexaminingthe "blanks"for thirtyyears ofservice as ameretrifle,hadbythis
imperfections beforetheygounderthedies. Toone timeshownmeso muchthat mybrain reeled.He
whoexpectedtoseevast quantities ofshiningnew permittedmetochange mypocket moneyintobrand
American coinageit was oddtolearnthat almost all newcoinageof1919as a souvenir,andthen Ileft.
themachines werebusyturningout small changefor [Fourteen years later, “pocket money”is saidtohave
PeruandArgentina. Next week,theforemansaid, beensimilarlyexchanged foranumber of1933dou-
theystart onabigorder ofthequeercoins ofSiam, bleeagles.]
whichhave aholein the middleliketheChinese
money. But Isawonemachinebusyturningout
Lincolnpennies at therateof100aminute. The
one-cent piece requires a pressureoffortytons to
stampthedesignonthe metal; thelarger coins, of
course,needaheavierpressure,upto120tons.
TheMint's wonderful collectionofcoins and
medals ofall lands woulddeserve anarticleofits
own. Oneofthe rarities ofwhichthecuratoris most
proudis aterra-cottamedallionofFranklin,made by
Nini at Chaumontin1777.[This is remarkable–the
Nini is apleasant pieceofFrankliniana,but into-
day’s terms onlywortha fewthousanddollars. By
contrast,theMint Cabinet heldall mannerofdelica-
cies farsexiertomodern numismatists. The1914
Mint Cabinet cataloglists an1849(unique)double
eagle,two1804dollars, aBrasherdoubloon, an1822
Page 10 The E-Gobrecht
A Small Family Hoard
by Dennis Fortier, LSCC #2016
JohnFrost and Iweremanningthe LSCC-BCCS ta- nice. Infact,almost all thecoins wereverynice.
bleat theManchester,NHcoinshow(seeimages on Thecommondenominatorforthis littlehoardwas
next page)that Ernie Botteso generouslydonated to originality. All ofthese coins hadbeenleft alone for
us. Wanderingthroughlookingveryoverwhelmed overonehundred years. Afewhadbeenholedback
was acoupleintheir60’s. Theymanagedbytheluck inthedaybut otherwisetheywereas fresh andorigi-
ofprovidencetomaketheirwayovertoourclubta- nal as anyone couldask for.
blewheretheyexplainedtheirmission. Theywere
hopingtofindsomeonetheycouldtrust totell them Someofthecoins brought inforourinspec-
moreabout asmall box ofveryoldcoins theyinher- tionwere: 1863(XF-the starofthehoard)and1874
ited. It seems a grandparent hadleft abox ofcoins (AU)ThreeDollar gold, 1845(VF) and1880-S Five
forthefamilythat was possiblyleft tothe grandpar- Dollargold,1861 (AU-58-MS-62)anda1909 (XF-
ent byalongdepartedparent or grandparent. How AU)Twoand aHalfDollargold as well as other
longthefamilychainextendedwas not exactlyclear. LibertyHeadTwoanda HalfDollar goldpieces,
several OneDollar gold pieces, about twelvetofif-
Whiletheydidnot havethebox withthem, teenHalfDimes (VFtoAU),an1877(VG) Indian
theytoldus ofsomeofthecontents, just enoughto HeadCent,and abeautifullyoriginal 1875-CC
wet ourwhistles as it were.Theyhadbought abook TwentyCent piece. Otherthanthe1909 Indian
oncoins totryand gainsomeideaofthevalueof HeadGoldeverycoininthegroup was dated1880
theirholdings but ofcoursehadverylittleidea about orearlier.
gradingandmintmarks. Theytoldus oftwoThree
DollarGoldpieces that theybelievedwereinbetter Webelievethehoard was put togethersome-
condition. This got us veryinterested. Wespent timeintheearlytomid1880’s withthe1909added
about ahalfhour explainingabout ourhobby, and later. Afewofthe Half Dimes andseveral ofthe
that thecoins neededtobeseenbysomeonethat OneDollarGoldwere “holed”andthe1877 Indian
couldevaluatethem. Theywerelocal so Isuggested HeadCent hadsomeinert corrosionthat wouldneed
that iftheywereinterestedinmakingtheeffort and tobecarefullyandexpertlyremoved. Thesilver
ifthecoins wereavailabletothem at this time,that prizeofthegroupwas a nicelytonedoriginal (XF)
theycouldcomebackandJohnand Icould give 1875-CC TwentyCent piecethat is therareroftwo
them abetterideaofwhat theirholdings wereworth. knowndiemarriages.
Ihopedratherthanbelievedthat theywould What wouldtheodds beofacoupleknowing
return. Iftheyhadnot,this storywouldnot beworth nothingabout coins comingintoacoinshow witha
theeffort ofthis writing. Awhilelatertheyreturned TwentyCent piecethat is adifficult andlittleknown
withsomeofthecoins andalist ofothers that were diemarriageandfindingtheoneperson onthe east
not withthem at this time. Theyknew enoughto coast that couldidentifythat diemarriage? John
separatethecoins intosmall plasticbags averaging Frost is currentlyauthoringabookontheTwenty
oftwoorthreecoins toa bag,betterthanloosein a Cent piece. Johninformedthem that thecoinwas
box but not goodenough. Igavethem someofthe thefinest at that gradelevel forits unquestioned
TwobyTwo’s that Ihad purchased at theshowand originalitythat hehad everseen forthat diemarriage
toldthem what todowhentheyreturnedhome. andaskedtophotograph thecoinforhis upcoming
book. Theywereverycourteous andagreedtolet
Thenwestartedinonthe coins themselves. thecoinbephotographed.
ThetwoThreeDollarGoldpieces wereindeedvery
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