Greetings NCC Members and Guests-
Here we are on the heels of another new year, it seems like 2011 went by in a flash. As I think about the past year a few memorable things come to mind. Gold and silver continued their historic rise (more so for gold) only to see things take a turn over the past few months. Gold was close to $1,900 and silver heading towards $50 in early September before cooling off over the last few months. What do you think 2012 will bring for the precious metals?
In July, the family of the last Israel Switt lost a battle over the ownership of ten 1933 Gold Double Eagles ($20). The family had found the gold coins in a safe deposit box. They turned them over to the government, who kept the coins due to their belief that they were stolen from the government. Although many 1933 Gold Double Eagles were minted, they were all to be melted and none were to be legally let into circulation. Obviously some were, including one that ended up in the hands of King Farouk of Egypt that is in the hands of a private collector as part of a legal battle close to ten years ago which resulted i that coin being auctioned with a split of the profits. This legal battle ended up in favor of the government, who now maintains possession of the ten Double Eagles. Doesn't seem to make much sense to me either. There are actually a couple of great books on the subject.
Another more recent event is the sale of the 25th Anniversary 5 coin Silver Eagle Set. This sale left a lot of dissatisfied Mint customers. The 5 set limit did allow more people to take advantage of what was likely to be an easy "flip" for profit (as it was). I read of some people being so frustrated that they say they will leave the hobby for good. Although clearly frustrating, the hobby has so many avenues for collecting that have so much more potential for long term profit and sheer pleasure I hope none of you will choose that route. I know that nothing could ever derail my passion for the hobby, certainly not being left out of a Mint Product sale.
As for our upcoming January meeting, we have a great "Coin of the Month." It is the "Ugly and Unwanted" coins. So what makes for an ugly coin? One person's ugly coin may be another person's beauty. And who wouldn't want an original 1793 Chain Cent, the first year of issue, even though the representation of Liberty was not much to behold. How about Morgan Dollars. When released in 1878, the Journal of Numismatics commented “The long line of monstrosities issued from the United States Mint certainly received its crown in the new dollar." This is one of the most collected series and one which I believe most people find very attractive. For contemporary coins, Presedential Dollars are frequently compared to car wash tokens, but my guess is there are people who find the coins attractive and collect them with passion. Unwanted coins may also be considered ugly but may also fall into the category of being just plain unpopular. Probably tops on the list for United States coins is the 20 cent piece, which had mintages for circulation of only two years, 1875 and 1876 (coins were minted in 1877 and 1878 but were only struck in Proof for collectors). Other unwanted coins include all of the dollar coins of the last forty years, although unwanted by the general public this does not mean it was or is unwanted by collectors. The subjectiveness of this area makes for a truly interesting Coin of the Month.
Hope to see you in January. It is sure to be another great meeting. Our members always come through to provide an educational, interesting and entertaining evening.
Brian
One website that I highly recommend for the beginning collector is the Numismaster "Collect Coins" articles. There are a series of topics covered including coin storage, how to buy/sell coins, grading coins and articles on different series such as Modern Commemoratives, Lincoln Memorials and American Eagle coins. The link is: http://www.numismaster.com/ta/inside_numis.jsp?page=CollectCoins
