coinsbygary

Congratulations! Your plaques and coin represent quite an achievement especially across two separate branches of NGC. Oh, is the ASE a Type 1 or 2?

Spain also changed their currency to the decimal system intending to join the Latin Monetary Union after the 1868 Glorious Revolution and ouster of Queen Isabella II. The 5-Peseta was to be Spain's equivalency coin with the proper silver weight and fineness of the other European crown sized coins of the Latin Monetary Union.

The last time I sent multiple submissions, NGC sent the coins back to me as they graded them. Interestingly, my world modern submission was the last submission to make it back to me.

This information on the Icelandic monetary system is really interesting. Especially, since I went to Iceland in October for my daughter's wedding. Concerning Iceland, I loved it! It was quite an adventure. We may return at some point in the future to visit the sites we didn't have time to visit because of the wedding. Iceman, did you get a chance to read the post I wrote about my visit? If not here's the link.

That is totally cool! Congratulations on your rare find!

I am posting the pictures of my medal in The Freedom Museums exhibit.

I've collected moderns that fit a themed set of mine and will continue to do so. I will also begin collecting coins that will not end up in a registry set and will not be slabbed. Since I have a set entitled "Inspirational Ladies" and a set entitled "The Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser" I will collect the new silver quarter series. I intend to collect them raw and leave them in their mint packaging. Perhaps I'll buy a certified example of a few quarters for the aforementioned sets. I've been through all kinds of collecting phases and I find my myself drawn back to a simpler and more enjoyable time of collecting.

None that I know of. However, all the great artists had assistants and apprentices that took care of all the grunt work in the artists studios. Some even ended up sitting in as models. For their efforts young aspiring artists could glean all sorts of tips from the greats of their day. For any artist to be selected by the Frasers to assist them in their studio would have been a great honor and privilege.

Jack There is something to be said for your winning set that does not include high grades and the lowest graded coin in Very-Fine condition being a Top-Pop. Congratulations on your Potosi Mint 8-reales set winning the Best Presented award.

...On another note, congratulations on your Lincoln Cent set award! Mark's photos of your cents look phenomenal in your winning set. Your set is truly pleasing to the eye and a testament to your eye in choosing coins with pleasing eye appeal. Your set is truly worthy of award and recognition!

I was also disappointed with NGC dropping the journal awards but like you, it was not unexpected. Congratulations on the Zimbabwean coin set winning best presented. I have always thought hyperinflation as a cause of disappearing coins was a very interesting and compelling theme. I am also glad that we are NOT rid of you because of the journal awards. That said, some things were just not meant to be. Believe me, I would have enjoyed you catching up to me in the journal awards. It was fun while it lasted and BTW, you won't be rid of me either!

The branding of the Medallic Art Company really began with the founding of the Art Students League of New York in 1875. In the early 20th century New York City became the arts center of America. It is no wonder with instructors like Augustus Saint-Gaudens, James Earle Fraser, Daniel Chester French, and students like Laura Gardin. (This same Laura Gardin would later marry James Earle Fraser in 1913). The Medallic Art Company of New York was founded in 1903 by French brothers Henri and Felix Weil. The proximity of the Medallic Art Company and the Art Students League soon developed into a symbiotic relationship. The Art Students League provided the medallic designs, and the Medallic Art Company struck and distributed the medals. As a collector of Laura Gardin Fraser's coins and medals, I learned that most of her medals were struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. In celebration of the 1917 completion of the Catskill Aqueduct in New York, the American Numismatic Society based in New York issued a three-inch (75.6mm) commemorative medallion. It was modeled by Daniel Chester French. (Daniel Chester French is the sculptor of the seated Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial). The medallions were cast, not struck, in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company. Mintages were limited by subscriptions to 57 bronze and 12 silver pieces. 38mm bronze replicas of the official medallions were also struck by the Medallic Art Company. The mintage of the so-called dollars (HK-667) is unknown, but they have a rarity of R-5. (Fuld rarity scale for tokens of 75-200 pieces). My recently purchased medal is one of the so-called dollars. The obverse features a right-facing bust of a laurel-crowned woman in high relief. As such, this beautiful young woman probably represents Greater New York. The reverse features a male figure with water gushing out of a vase resting on his shoulder against the faint outline of the Catskill Mountains. The reverse represents the 92-mile Catskill Aqueduct that still supplies New York City with 40% of its water. The reverse inscription reads, "To Commemorate the Completion / of the Catskill Aqueduct / An Achievement of Civic Spirit / Scientific Genius and Faithful Labor / 1905 New York 1917." Daniel Chester French died on October 7, 1931. In 1932, the Medallic Art Company struck a tribute medal to him using the obverse laureate head of the 1917 medal. The reverse without any devices has the following inscription, "A / token in / remembrance of / Daniel Chester French / National Sculpture Society / February 10, 1932 / Medallic Art Company / New York." The obverse head became known as the "French Head" when in 1932, Clyde Trees, president of Medallic Art Company, chose this obverse device as the company's official trademark. Soon the iconic French Head appeared in the company's advertising, on its stationery, and quite often on medallic work. This continued until Medallic Art & Mint (The combined Medallic Art Company and Northwest Territorial Mint) was bought out by Medalcraft Mint, Inc. in 2018. An intriguing golden thread links Laura Gardin Fraser, Daniel Chester French, and the Medallic Art Company. In 1929 Laura Gardin Fraser designed the National Sculpture Society Special Medal of Honor. This medal was struck by the Medallic Art Company and presented to the Society's first recipient, Daniel Chester French, for his seated Lincoln sculpture.

Congratulations! Your fine set certainly deserves to be recognized and applauded!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! Nothing I collect has drawn more attention from outside interests than my Laura Gardin Fraser collection of coins and medals. For instance, my set entitled “The Coins and Medals of Laura Gardin Fraser” won NGC’s “2016 Most Creative Custom Set” award. Additionally, I’ve had numerous requests relating to this set, from permission to publish my pictures to a request to repatriate an awarded medal back to the recipient’s family. I’ve also had solicitations from cold contacts to purchase scarce medals, one of which is in my collection today. Furthermore, I am privileged to own two medals previously owned by the Frasers. On top of that, I gave a Money Talks presentation on Laura Gardin Fraser at the 2019 ANA World Fair of Money show in Chicago and a podcast interview with Coin World magazine. Still, it’s the contacts and friends I have made along the way that means the most to me. Now, I am being honored by a museum. The Vrijheids Museum (Freedom Museum) in the Netherlands asked me to loan them a medal from my collection for an exhibit they will be running until October 2022. That medal is Laura Gardin Fraser’s 1913 Better Babies Medal. The exhibit will detail the worldwide rise of eugenic philosophy in the early 20th century. The Better Babies contests sought to educate parents in early childhood development and hygiene to combat the high infant mortality rate at the dawn of the 20th century. Better Babies contests were conducted at well-known venues like county and state fairs. Babies entered into the competitions were judged against specific scientific standards of early childhood development. The Better Babie medal was among several awards that parents and their babies could win by entering these contests. One of my problems with Better Babies is that infants were being judged at fairs, much like livestock. Thankfully, today, a healthy baby is a parents’ reward through well-baby exams measured by scientific standards at the pediatrician’s office. Another problem with Better Babies and other programs like it was that they opened the door to eugenic movements here in the US and around the world. Sadly, the logical end to eugenics leads to racism, forced sterilizations, abortions, human breeding, and ethnic cleansing. Some say that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. History demonstrates this to be true with Better Babies. Coins and medals have stories to tell. Sometimes I wish that Laura Gardin Fraser hadn’t been tasked to design this medal. Then again, collectors hoping to uncover history through the coins and medals they collect must chronicle the good with the bad. We are not to whitewash history but to tell the truth and learn from history. I have learned things in the coins and medals I collect that they didn’t teach me in school. I hope that the Freedom museum will do likewise with its eugenics exhibit. I’ve had several e-mail conversations with a museum intern to iron out the details of my loaning them the Better Babies medal. The top issue was how my medal would be portrayed in a eugenics exhibit. The following paragraph will quote the intern’s response word for word, to which I heartily agreed. From January 2022 till October 2022 we will have an exhibition in our museum about a group of people European societies classified as “antisocial”. In occupied Europe during world war 2, people who received this label could be sent to concentration camps and/or be killed. Most of this was done in the name of eugenics, as these “antisocial” people were not viewed as having the “right” traits (according to some people), which meant they should not reproduce (sadly, similar to Jewish people). We would like to show that not only Nazi Germany had a eugenics movement, but many countries around the world as well. With your medal, we would like to show how eugenics movements came into being in other countries. With our exhibition, we would like to warn visitors about eugenics movements and the seemingly innocent thoughts that precede them. We think your medal would be a good addition to our story and exhibition. If anyone is curious, I didn’t end up returning the “National Institute Of Social Sciences” medal to the family of its awardee, Clara D. Noyes. However, I promised to sell the medal back to the family if I found a replacement. Unfortunately, this medal is rarely available for sale, and I have not found a replacement. Interestingly, the family member that contacted me wrote a biography on Clara D. Noyes and graciously sent me a signed copy. Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Gary P.S. In a future blog, I’ll be posting pictures of my medal in its exhibit. I just hope that COVID won’t ruin things by keeping people out of the Freedom Museum in the Netherlands ☹

In my estimation, Spink should have this catalog scanned into the Newman Numismatic Portal. That said, if you do a search there using only the words "Spink Auction" it will return 591 records found. I own an 1879 copper "Three Graces" Spink fantasy coin with the "Penny Black" rendition of Queen Victoria. That said, its like pulling teeth to find any information beyond that of this beautiful fantasy coin. Good luck wading through 591 records. I hope you find somewhere in those records the information you seek. Gary. https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/searchwithterms?searchterm=spink auction The following is a link to the write-up of this fantasy coin in my collection https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/coinview.aspx?sc=611230

Yes there are! I have a typed letter signed by Laura Gardin Fraser concerning her sculpted abutments for the Roosevelt Bridge in Washington DC. Incidentally, these were never installed and are rumored to be stored in a government warehouse someplace. Gary

I had a positive experience with a customer service representative proving and preserving a provenance attached to two of Laura Gardin Frasers medals in my collection. Reading an article in the June 2018 issue of "The Numismatist" I read the story of a family who had charge of numerous items from James Earle and Laura Gardin Fraser's studio. Among the items were medals, plasters, and sculptures. I also found from a phone conversation with the curator, whose parents were aides to the Fraser's, that the plasters of Laura's Washington Quarter design were borrowed by the US Mint for the 1999 Washington commemorative half-eagle. For his trouble the mint presented him with a proof example of the Washington Commemorative. But I digress. Soon after the the article was published, I was contacted by my "all things Fraser" mentor-friend that the curators only lived 60 miles from where he lived and that he made an appointment to inspect the studio collection. From his inspection he recommended that I purchase two medals from the Fraser studio collection. Acting as my agent, my mentor-friend negotiated a good price for me and it was a sale. When I sent the medals to NGC for grading, I asked that the provenance be preserved. I presented them with a hand written bill of sale, a canceled check, and the Numismatist article as evidence that the medals I now owned once belonged to the Frasers. Over the phone I talked with NGC's head of medal grading over the wording of the provenance and finally settled on "Fraser Studio Archives."

Everyone needs a break, and yours is well deserved! In this season of Thanksgiving I give thanks for my supportive wife just as you do yours. Enjoy your week together! Gary

Whenever I visit a foreign country, I make it my practice to cherry-pick examples of that country’s coins from circulation. For an expensive visit to a foreign country, coins make an inexpensive souvenir that only costs you the exchange rate of your dollars. They also make a memorable keepsake of your visit and interesting conversation pieces with your numismatic buddies back home! Sometimes I save examples of the circulating paper money when I travel. However, paper money is convertible back to dollars, and coins generally are not. A few weeks ago, I found myself in Iceland for my daughter’s destination wedding to the man I now proudly call my son-in-law. At first, I thought the idea of a destination wedding was crazy, and I had to warm up to it. However, not attending this wedding was never an option. With that, my wife and I boarded an IcelandAir Boeing 737 in Chicago for Reykjavik. Today, this happy event is in my rearview mirror, and I would not have wanted it any other way. Iceland is a spectacularly scenic, volcanically formed island. For those who love hiking and outdoor activities visiting Iceland should be on your bucket list. While here, we also witnessed the northern lights. If you see them in the continental US, you don’t see them like you do here. The island is literally dotted with volcanoes, waterfalls, and glaciers. If you think you might like to take a dip in 40-degree weather, there are geothermally warmed pools like the Blue Lagoon. Before flying back to the states, my wife and I had a relaxing dip in what seemed like 80-90 degrees silica mineral water. Add the phenomenal wedding, and Iceland is like a romantic fairy tale. I am posting with the coins a picture of the black wedding chapel, the northern lights, and li’l-old-me in front of an inactive volcano! (Black is practical color as it absorbs the heat from what little winter sun there is). The coins of Iceland come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 Kroner coins. They are simple in design, and except for the 1 Krona (Bergrisi the rock giant), they feature the four mythological guardian spirits of Iceland (Landvættir) on the coin’s obverse. They were first written about in AD 1220 in the Heimskringla (Old Norse kings’ sagas). Written in the pages of this book is the tale of a would-be invader of Iceland, devious King Bluetooth. King Bluetooth had a sorcerer turn himself into a whale to spy out the vulnerabilities of the island. At every corner of the island, the whale was confronted by a fiercely protective Land Wight. On the Eastern side of Iceland, the wizard whale was turned back by Dreki the dragon. On the North, there was Gammur the griffin. On the West, Griðungur the bull, and on the South, Bergrisi the rock giant. Needless to say, the wizard whale returned to King Bluetooth with an unfavorable report, and Iceland was saved from an imminent invasion. Today these four landvættir grace the Iceland coat of arms around a shield displaying the flag of Iceland. As an island, Iceland’s economy is partially dependant on the sea. Featured on the reverse of the 1 Krona is a cod, the 5 Kronur, two dolphins, the 10 Kronur, four capelin, the 50 Kronur, a shore crab, and the 100 Kronur, a lumpfish. I am also including a link to a silver 500 Kronur coin commemorating 100 years of banknotes in Iceland. The obverse features Fjallkonan, “The Lady of the Mountain.” I have had this coin for many years in my seated imagery collection. In the photograph of the coins, I have included the diameter, metallic composition, and the exchange rate of the Iceland Kronur. Below are the references I used to research the coins I brought home from Iceland. Gary. https://www.cb.is/financial-stability/oversight-of-financial-market-infrastructures/banknotes-and-coin/valid-coins-in-circulation/ https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/folklore-in-iceland#ghosts-in-iceland https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/coinview.aspx?sc=232749

This is one of the most thorough write-ups I have ever read. Not just concerning this medal but any medal. The read is both enlightening and enjoyable. Generally speaking, a write-up of this length doesn't keep my attention all the way to the end but this one has. This is a well written and enjoyable read. Gary

This is interesting. I think I'll pursue a little theory I'm working on. Since the age of enlightenment led to a disdain of royals and by extension the church, could it be that this led to Christians fleeing to America to escape religious persecution? I know this was true of different sects of Christianity earlier than 1790 fleeing Great Britain and persecution from the king and the Church of England. Included with that number are other Europeans fleeing similar persecutions in other European countries. Could it be that the first amendment to the constitution sprung from the experiences of people fleeing religious persecution? History has a cause and effect to it that I find fascinating as it shapes the world we live in today. As for the Age of Enlightenment and the Reign of Terror, the French Revolution had the rest of the European continent shaking in its boots as it expanded beyond the borders of France causing countless others to flee for the Americas. Very interesting stuff all marked in history by the coins we collect. Gary

Welcome to the NGC registry and journaling! Currently, my collecting interests are very broad, but I do have a Ukrainian and a Latvian coin in my collection!

I got to hand it to you, the flatbed scanner for your standard proof SAE really looks nice!

You may not have liked the wait, but I think the grades you got were worth the wait! Congratulations!

Sam looks pretty happy in your pictures! It's good to see him as active as any boy his age. I had to sadly sigh when I saw the picture of him in that hospital bed. Hospitals are no place for kids! It looks to me like you are pretty happy also! Gary