coinsbygary

Hmm, I'm intrigued Definite possibilities here. I may have to get one of these depending on how well it works for you. I like that you got one for you (excuse me, spare) so that you don't get the blame if your wife's light is broken! Good idea, absolve yourself of any possible blame!

I'm still sitting on my latest submission. It's time for me to get with the plan. I hope you will be happy with all your grades! Gary

So... if I have the self discipline of a domestic cat, then I'm not alone. I posted this journal concurrently on the ANA's member blog and most of the responses weren't about the pictures but about submissions! Still, if I don't want to do something, I usually wait until the last minute and "get-er" done anyway after 5 or 6 complaints from my wife like, "When are you going to get this done." If you want me to get something done, give me a deadline and it will be done weeks in advance. When I worked in the cell phone industry, I worked five new build sites at once that some spreadsheet-wonk engineer decided should be finished by a certain date. My reasoning here was this, get it done now so that when things go wrong like they inevitably do I'll have lots of time to work through the unforeseen technical problems. Ahh, retirement has been a great stress reliever, no more spreadsheet wonks! In the end though, I think I'm a typical guy. I am including a link to the other blog https://www.money.org/my-ana/viewpost/7828

There are some things I don’t particularly care to do. When it comes to those things, I usually procrastinate getting them done. Preparing submission forms to send coins and medals to NGC for grading is something I always procrastinate. I just don’t like itemizing the submission form, looking up the market value, separating my medals from my coins, modern vs. classic, etc. Then packing them up and running to the post office is such a pain in the neck. Well, today I finally said, “This is the day” and I grabbed the first item to be submitted. The first item in my submission is a 55mm 1876 William Barber classic, Centennial Medal struck in white metal. Since I just recently finished experimenting with my lighting, I thought, “Why not try a few of those new techniques on this medal.” Well, that’s all it took to successfully kick the submission can down the road a little farther! The first set of pictures was so-so in that they did not significantly improve on the pictures I already had. Then I had the hair-brained idea to try something that I typically have a hard time getting just right to see if I might get lucky. Why not? After all, the alternative was to get back to work on that submission. Besides, the best time to take pictures of coins is in their raw state and this would be my last crack at it. This medal though not classified as a proof has mirrored fields. Why not try to see if I could get the full effect of those mirrors in my picture? The best possible placement for lighting is perpendicular to the object you are photographing. As you can see with my set-up, that is kind of hard to do given that the camera is in the way. There are two workarounds that are quite effective in redirecting the light to simulate a perpendicular lighting source. The first is axial lighting as described in Mark Goodman’s excellent book on coin photography entitled, “Numismatic Photography.” The second is to tilt the coin towards the lighting source. I chose the second as the easiest thing to do. The tricky part in this is to minimize the reflections and there WILL be reflections. Now I used a soft cloth to tilt this medal toward the lighting source about four degrees. Then I tried my best to position the reflections to a place on the medal where they are not distracting. On the obverse, the reflection was under the date 1876. On the reverse, it was in the middle of the 13 radiating stars! Perfect, I thought, because the reflection made the center of the stars look like the sun! Now when you tilt a coin relative to the camera you will run into issues with focusing the camera and distorting the shape of the medal. Because of the tilt, the camera will see the round medal as slightly oval. To improve the focus, I moved the camera farther away from the subject effectively making the image smaller relative to the frame. Then I corrected the oval camera distortion using Photoshop Elements 2019. Please notice the picture on the back cover of Mark Goodman’s book showing the coin tilted towards the light to see that his set-up is similar to mine. Now I use lights on both sides of the medal but since the medal is tilted towards the one, it is tilted away from the other. Thus, the lamp tilted away has little or no effect on the picture. I am posting two pictures of my medal. The one that has darker fields is a picture showing the medal perpendicular to the camera. The other one with the lit-up fields is a picture showing the medal perpendicular to the lighting source. I just had to post this! Now back to my submission? Nah, but I will get to it soon unless I run into more distractions! Gary

That's a really neat error coin, congratulations on winning it. I'm glad to see you are doing well with your collection. I have always enjoyed perusing it on NGC and your displays at coin shows. Gary

I know that it would be enough to get me interested. In fact I'd be interested even if the money museum wasn't there. There's a gold mine there that you can tour. They give you a hand pick and let you chip out a piece of gold ore for yourself. Denver has an interactive history museum that is pretty neat also, Ben would love that. I saw this on an education program entitled, "Destination Colorado." I asked my wife a few minutes ago what ANA stood for. She stumbled through it and mispronounced the word numismatic but got it right. In that respect she is one up on your wife. That said she only even cares about coins because I do. I even got her an associate membership in the ANA that I just renewed a few days ago. She only has it so that she can get free admission with me to the ANA's Worlds Fair of Money! She's mostly bored at the show but is kind of interested in the displays. Oh well, this year the only thing I'm doing is saving money for my daughter's wedding in Iceland this October! Next year the ANA will be in Chicago which is less than a three hour drive.

The New York University Hall of Fame for Great Americans is a 630 foot outdoor colonnade featuring the sculpted busts of 98 out of the 102 honorees elected into it. The Hall of Fame was conceived by Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken, (Chancellor of New York University from 1891 to 1910) and was formally dedicated on May 30, 1901. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans currently stands on the campus of the Bronx Community College. (New York University closed due to financial difficulties in 1973). [1] [2] The first of its kind in America, the inspiration for the hall is explained by the following paragraph copied directly from the Mary Lyon Medal COA: The spirit of The Hall of Fame is reflected in the following lines from the Old Testament: "Let us now praise famous men, by whom the Lord hath wrought great glory....All these were honored in their generations, and were the glory of their times..." Carved in stone on the pediments of The Hall of Fame are the words: "By wealth of thought, or else by mighty deed, They served mankind in noble character. In worldwide good they live forevermore." Mary Lyon (1797-1849) served as an educator and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1905. A pioneer in higher education for women, Mary Lyon opened the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now College). The original curriculum included mathematics, English, science, philosophy and Latin. Under her guidance and with her constant labor, the school gained a national reputation for its enlightened curriculum and high academic standards, a reputation maintained to this day. [3] The practice of issuing accompanying medals for the Hall of Fame honorees came about through a coalition between New York University, the National Sculpture Society to oversee and approve the designs, the Medallic Art Company to manufacture the medals, and the Coin and Currency Institute to market them. A full page add in the October 1962 issue of "The Numismatist" introduced the 1 3/4 inch medals for sale in either silver or bronze. Issued at a rate of about one or two per month, the issue price of the silver medal was $14 while the bronze medal sold for $3. The program which began in 1962 ended in 1974 with 96 medals created by 42 sculptors. In addition to the smaller silver and bronze medals, there were also larger 3 inch bronze medals available for purchase. The success of the Hall of Fame medal program was due in part to the art director at the Medallic Art Company, Julius Lauth. Julius knew which sculptors identified with the theme of each medal and as a result the commission for the medals was first offered to the sculptor who had completed the bronze bust on the colonnade. Therefore, since Laura Gardin Fraser did the bust of Mary Lyon in 1927, she got the commission for the accompanying medal. Mrs. Fraser completed the sketches for the Mary Lyon Medal and had them approved by the by the art committee before her death on August 14, 1966. [3] [4] [5] At Mrs. Fraser's death, Julius Lauth assigned sculptor Karl Gruppe to finish the models for the Mary Lyon medal based on the sketches done by Mrs. Fraser. Karl Gruppe, an associate of Laura Gardin Fraser in her Art Students League days was chosen to complete the medal because his artistic style was similar to that of Mrs. Fraser's. [4] The following is a description taken from the 1967 dated Mary Lyon Medal COA: "The obverse is a fine classical profile portrait of Miss Lyon; the reverse is a typical scene depicting her continuing role as an educator, and is a capsule story of her dedicated life". Over her long career as a sculptor, I find it interesting that Laura Gardin Fraser was equally capable of designing medals that were feminine in nature as is the Mary Lyon medal and masculine as is the obverse of the Oregon Trail commemorative. Of certainty, Laura Gardin Fraser was a truly remarkable sculptor. 1 Bronx Community College, http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/halloffame/ 2 Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_of_Fame_for_Great_Americans 3 Mary Lyon Medal COA 4 Medalblog, Hall of Fame Series - The Most Successful Medal Program by D. Wayne Johnson, December 3, 2012 5 Hall of Fame at New York University Medal Series by D. Wayne Johnson 2004, Medal Collectors of America; http://www.medalcollectors.org/Guides/HFGA/HFGA.html To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Featured in this months edition (Volume 2 Number 10) of The Coin of the Month is an NGC MS-65, 1903 Danish 2 Kroner coin (KM-802) commemorating the 40th anniversary of the reign of Christian outside-affiliatelinksnotallowed This coin is 31 mm in diameter and weighs 15 grams with a mintage of 103,392. It has a silver fineness of .8000 and an actual silver weight of .3858 oz. The obverse of this coin features a right facing bust of Christian IX, King of Denmark. The dates of his reign, 15 November 1863 to 1903 appear around the inner circumference of the coin. Underneath the left portion of Christian IXs bust is the coins date of 1903 and a heart signifying that it was minted in Copenhagen. The initial P to the right of the date represents mint master Vilhelm Buchard Poulsen and the initials GJ underneath the right portion of Christian IXs bust represent this coins engraver, Knud Gunnar Jensen. Often in order to understand a coins design, you need to understand the times of its issuance. Therefore, to understand this period in Denmarks history, its people, and its ruler is to understand the allegory of the 1903 2 Kroner 40th anniversary of reign commemorative coin. For illustrative and comparison purposes I will contrast this coin with the gold 20 Kroner pictured as an inset in this months photo collage. I find it fascinating that two coins with similar designs have such diverse interpretations. The 20 Kroner gold coin came into existence as an international trade coin at the founding of the Scandinavian Monetary Union with Sweden in 1873 and Norway two years later. The Danish 20 Kroner circulated at par with the gold coins of the other member nations. Both the 20 Kroner and my 2 Kroner feature the feminine allegorical figure Dania who represents the spirit of Denmark. Coins with seated feminine personifications can signify several things, and first among them is that Dania, as portrayed on the 2 Kroner, is at rest representing peace. Next, the seated position generally represents a person of authority much like that of a monarch seated on a throne, a god or goddess, or perhaps some other high government official. Oftentimes a shield accompanies the seated personification signifying either a national value, as is the case of Lady Liberty for the United States or a coat of arms representing the nation issuing the coin. The shield as a piece of defensive armor represents preparedness and protection from all potential foes, domestic and foreign. The Danish coat of arms emblazoned on the shield of the 2 and 20 Kroner coins, feature three crowned blue lions and nine hearts. Historians believe that the hearts at one time were the petals of the white lotus, which is a type of water lily. However, this was lost over the years and became the hearts of today due to worn and crudely made signets during the Middle Ages. The sheaf of wheat on the 2 Kroner and corn on the 20 Kroner represent the agrarian nature of Danish society and Denmark's agricultural exports. While other European nations were fueling the industrial revolution of the 19th Century, Denmark was leading the way in the agricultural revolution. Universal education and other political reforms of the late 18th to middle 19th Century eventually lead to new agricultural technologies, innovations, and co-ops. It is at this point that the allegories of the 2 Kroner and the 20 Kroner become dissimilar and take on different meanings. Dania, as illustrated on the 20 Kroner is seen holding a scepter in her right hand signifying Danish sovereignty. At her feet is a dolphin, the dolphin is an ancient omen of good luck and fair weather symbolizing Danish naval prowess. Since this coin was meant for circulation outside of Denmark, the allegory of the coin was directed towards foreigners. The 40th anniversary of reign 2 Kroner, however, was meant to remind Danish citizens of the benefits of living in Denmark under the reign of Christian outside-affiliatelinksnotallowed The legend on the reverse delimited by flowers and translated, With God for Honor and Justice reveals the true intent of this coin and defines the allegory. Rather than holding a scepter as on the 20 Kroner, Dania is extending her right arm. Extending the arm, especially for someone in authority can signify power and leadership. A person may also extend their arm to give someone directions or to show them the way. It can also signify things like acceptance, welcome, vulnerability, transparency, and compassion. Seizing upon these definitions, I believe the purpose of this allegory was to remind the people of the benevolence of their government. Interestingly, it was during the reign of Christian IX that the following social programs were introduced * 1891--Old age pension law; means-tested pensions for persons 60 years or older, financed by the state and communes through general taxation. * 1892--Sickness insurance law; public subsidies to recognized voluntary insurance funds. * 1898--Employers liability act; in order to ensure workers compensation in case of industrial accidents. (THE DEVELOPMENTAL WELFARE STATE IN SCANDINAVIA: LESSONS FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD, STEIN KUHNLE AND SVEN E.O. HORT) Tensions between Denmark and Germany were high when Christian IX ascended to the throne in November of 1863. Consequently, Denmark found themselves at war with Prussia and Austria in 1864 over the disputed duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. After about eight months, Denmark was soundly defeated. The bitterness of this war caused a shift in national priorities from colonialism to domestic development. The effect of this shift brought peace and prosperity to Denmark, and hence the dove as the international symbol of peace on the 40th anniversary of reign, 2 Kroner. In summary, while Christian IX resisted many of the reforms of the late 19th Century, he no doubt enjoyed the political dividends of peace and prosperity in Denmark during his reign. Coins are historical artifacts. For my part, I am simply researching the historical context of the coin and connecting the dots as I see them. Thats it for now, so until next month, happy collecting! Gary To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.