Re-organizing my safe & touching on some "security" methods...

Greetings Collectors,

I am feeling a little "lost" right now as my mad rush to finish taking my coin photos is, for the most part, complete. I am checking off items that I will not need at home so that I can make a "deposit" back into the boxes at the bank. I do not like to keep hardly anything of value at the house. I may be overly cautious as I live in a pretty nice area with my neighbors on two sides somewhat retired and "Richard" (on the one side) a retired police detective, gives me an added feeling of security. But as you all know, it matters not where you live, you can be hit at any time.

I have a very large safe, bolted to a concrete slab inside a room within a room and in a closet. The safe was installed by me before the walls and door were installed and in leau of sheetrock, 3/4 inch "marine plywood" was used on both sides of the 2x6 "pressure treated" stud framing, and then 1/2 inch re-bar steel criss-crossed in a "mesh" fasion within the walls. I then have a commercial metal "fire door" with two deadbolts & a Yale padlock that supposedly can not be cut. But even all of this including a fairly sofisticated alarm system with motion detectors does not make me feel secure enough to keep any quanity of coins or bullion on the premises. Being in construction, I have often thought how one would get around these features that to some would appear as "overkill". If I was a burgler and knew in advance what I was going to have to deal with, and had the proper tools with me, I could, in less than 15 minutes, be in this area. After that things get a little more difficult. Without some major tear out, the safe isn't leaving the enclosed room. That leaves only one option, drilling out the lock/dial/tumblers. Anyway if someone wants something bad enough, they are gonna get in it. As bad as the "violation" would be to be "broken into", on one hand I would love to see the look on the person or persons face/faces when that safe door was opened and they see what was inside. (this unfortunatly would not be captured on tape unless the alarm system had been disabled, because THEY would be captured already) I have this covered with a security camera that continuously records with a multi-day amount of tape. The way I have it done, even if one knew a camera existed, I doubt they would want to spend the time and try to find it along with the location of the taping system, if it is even on my property. I think the video would show (if they got that far) in this order, utter shock, followed by extreame dissapointment, then quickly followed by monumental anger. Then the last emotion picked up on tape would problaly be panic, to try and vacate the premises only to find the house surrounded by the police. Just about everything I do in life has a large degree of overkill. I guess I can blame it on my old "Boy Scout Motto days" BE PREPARED!

In my cleaning out and re-organizing of my safe, I came across this Bronze Medal?. I remember that I found it in a box of absolute junk while I was cleaning out a rental house getting it ready for new tennants. I have just done (for the first time) some research and see where each "Mint Director" has one of these medals made. The quantity made, I could not find but I am sure if I spent an hour or two I may be able to find out more. What puzzles me is the date 1922-? It seems to mean that this medal was made when F.E. Scobey was acting director of the mint and not made after his tenure, thus no retire date/year. I do not mean to sound lazy in not doing all the research needed to find this out. It's just I thought with the massive amount knowledge out there with all of you, someone may know something.

The medal is not a "mint state" item in that if I were to grade its condition, I would say "fine" but gosh, it doesn't even appear to be worthy of the term "fine". I remember that the only reason it ended up in my safe was that date 1922-? That's the part thats got me. I do think it a medal made in 1922.

When I look at a date on a coin or even this medal, I think back to what was going on at the time. In 1922 America was several years out of a major war, the railroads were booming, the stock market was starting to go way up. Times were good or so they appeared. It was a time of great excess which climaxed in the huge crash of 1929. "Flappers" and "Speakeasy" nightclubs were the "rage". Imagine all the great coins that were around. 1916-D Mercurys 1921 Walkers, all the great Lincoln cents (1922 "no D") and Buffalo nickels, Standing Liberty quarters, not to mention all the beautiful GOLD. Wow I don't know about you, but it really makes my mind go at a hundred miles an hour.

Anyway I give you Mr. "F. E. Scobey" Director of the U.S. Mint from 1922 to whenever. I put the Morgan dollar in for scale. Also will promptly give you the "flipside" of this medal in a couple of minutes.