RWB

I refuse to assist in any way that person or others of its ilk. Anyone else is OK.

From the description, there is probably little market for any of the coins you mention, These are all minor errors, and worth minor money. Your description of a Wyoming quarter suggests an interesting piece stuck from clashed dies.... or it could be simply your coin placed between two normal coins and then pressed in a sturdy bench vise. You should be very wary of claims made by anyone selling this kind of item. (If buying a complete set of this series or any other modern series, the coins must ALWAYS be absolutely uncirculated. Even then, the collector premium is very small.)

There does not seem to be any clear evidence of tampering. Long wave UV is only useful for detecting a material that fluoresces in UV. Short wave UV might show a different range of materials, but special precautions are needed to protect vision, skin and many ordinary materials from damage. Nice coin with a little above average detail.

Complete or nearly complete Barber half (and others) sets have been showing up with greater frequency now that older collectors are shuffling off. Some of these sets were from their parents or from circulation. Most of the really nice circulation sets (AU or better) have already been dispersed. Current small dealers like to break up these sets to squeeze the most money out of high value coins, and sell the rest at current melt prices.

The only "laughable" part is not learning and not asking questions. We see that even with parking lot coins when the submitter asks sensible quest8ios, rather than making absurd claims. Common sense, and clear questions almost always get meaningful results.

Casual observation suggests that almost all of the kinds of "interesting threads" that the OP mentions, receive only a few responses and then drop out of sight. Much the same is noted on PCGS and other boards. The number of members with sufficient knowledge or experience to respond might be limited, or viewers might be absorbing information but not feeling confident to participate. The "numismatics" of United States Colonial and Federal coinage is very young, and does not have the tight connection to archeology as in other parts of the world. "Presidential" terms are not identifiable by portraits on coins or specific "old" events commemorated on the pieces. American archeologists almost never use in-situ coins for dating except to confirm other dating techniques. Also, so little is actually known and documented about America's commercial monetary instruments, that we don't actually know much about what and how coins were really used. Further, there is no space or audience on message boards for more than brief comments and explanations. It would be really nice to see forums increase in collector value.

Might be called a "cent zit."

The only things going on are "Excessive imagination" and "truck tires." Rhetorical question -- What happened to common sense?

On 6/15/2024 at 9:00 PM, dcarr said: "Do you have any references to substantiate the claim that shipping to Carson City was more costly than shipping to San Francisco ? The Virginia & Truckee railroad weaved its way down the hill from Virginia City, and then across the relatively flatter land to Carson City first. Anything shipped via railroad from Virginia City mines would literally have to pass right through Carson City before continuing on to San Francisco." Search for yourself. You'll get no help from me.

From Sunday's E-sylum publication. Making the Peace Dollar, Part One Over on CoinWeek, Roger Burdette published the first of a series of articles on the making of the Peace Dollar, adapted and updated from his book, Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921. Here's a short excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor An American silver dollar commemorating peace was a nice idea, but it was also mired in post-war complexity. 1920 ANA Convention members discussed the subject and decided to appoint a committee “…to cooperate with government officials to secure the issue of a Peace-Victory coin, and to aid in the selection of a design and size of the coin.” The “Peace-Victory Commemorative Committee” consisted of Judson Brenner, chairman; J.M. Henderson, MD; Howland Wood (American Numismatic Society curator); Farran Zerbe (coin dealer); and William A. Ashbrook (United States House of Representatives, D-OH17). Representative Ashbrook was a coin collector, a six-time member of the United States Mint’s Assay Commission, and a former chairman of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. He should have brought considerable clout to the ANA’s efforts. But when the Party gained control of the House in 1918, Representative Albert Henry Vestal (R-IN8) replaced him as committee chairman; Ashbrook was defeated for reelection in November 1920. Nevertheless, Vestal and Ashbrook were friends, and Ashbrook was well-regarded by committee members from both parties. He used his waning influence to persuade Vestal to call an informal committee meeting on December 14, 1920, to hear the ANA’s suggestions for a peace commemorative. Of the ANA members appointed to the committee, only Brenner, Henderson, and Ashbrook attended the House Coinage Committee meeting. To read the complete article, see: Making the Peace Dollar, Part One: Stuck in Committee (https://coinweek.com/a-victory-peace-dollar-part-one-stuck-in-committee/)

A member asked, "How many die varieties are there of the 1- pound and 4-pound discs?" At present, I've identified 6 (six) die varieties for the 4-sovereign discs. After additional examination, this might be reduced to 5 varieties; plus the one cracked die which is only a few of the #1 Variety. The 1-sovereign pieces have yet to be separated by die varieties. I want to acquire good images of a larger universe of these pieces. That will improve the chances of identifying all the varieties. For those who might wonder about relative values, I suspect there will be little difference from one variety to another. The real market adjustment will come when more collectors ignore the slab labels and seek discs with the best detail, and fewest marks on prominent areas....a lot like many other coin types. Right now the 4-sovereign pieces sell for about 1.7 times gold bullion. These discs did not circulate as money so all the "wear" is from shipping and counting house abrasion.

The purpose of sending your 1853 gold dollar to NGC is authentication. The coin, in my view, is a rather scruffy EF with no claim of any kind to "About Uncirculated" grade.

Well, the first ones are closing in on 20 years old! But, there's almost nothing to be updated. (Now, maybe I should send you one of the early drafts --- those are out of date, but no nice photos.) It's fun to look through old books and price catalogs, plus there remain nuggets of good info - it's just difficult to separate obsolete from accurate. We also have to remember that a 1960 Red Book price of $100 for a coin is a "back then" value, not a "present value." Also that "EF" was once a really nice coin, not what is being passed around in today's slab-world products.

A replica has "COPY" stamped on it in compliance with the Hobby Protection Act

It is so badly out of date, that what you have is a "picture book" not a reliable numismatic resource. Enjoy it for what it is.

The best chance of finding satisfying coins in circulation is by searching half dollar rolls. 90% and 40% silver halves can still be found, with a little patience. These have added value due to the silver they contain, and not as collector's pieces. There are very, very few coins in circulation that are of interest to collectors or have anything more than a slight premium above face value. The doubled die cents and other denominations with naked-eye doubling are the ones to look for, but the odds are very much against you. The places VKurtBS mentioned are almost entirely packed with liars and frauds.

There is a difference, it's merely not well stated. 1. Coins made with a specific die pair might or might not have been placed into general circulation. 2. Someone might or might not have identified one of these pieces, depending on multiple circumstances. 3. If pieces placed into circulation were not withdrawn soon after entering circulation, ordinary abrasion and near-look-alike coins would render it unlikely any might be found. PS: No "Special Mint Sets" were produced in 1964. These began only with the 1965-date coinage. Hence, no "1964 SMS" coins can exist by definition. Anything contrary, is a lie and a misrepresentation.

PS: I would have searched back further, but image quality was too poor to make reliable and consistent measurements across all die varieties.

Recently acquired this research piece to go with the 1-sovereign version. In the current draft die list, this one is -- Variety 1. Diagonal Lines in “D” The letter “D” in Philadelphia has four prominent diagonal lines in the letter’s center. Several of these appear to be extension of lines outside of the letter. The textured field is the highest part of a working die, so the lines did not extend into the tops of letters. This variety represents about 30% of pieces offered by Stacks-Bowers and Heritage over the past 20 years. Blanks for the four sovereign pieces were prepared in the New York Assay Office. These were shipped in two batches: 30,300 on May 24, 1945 and 60,780 on October 2, 1945. Here's a detail of the D in Philadelphia with arrows indicating some of the diagnostic points. This piece was graded "AU," however, it has well defined obverse detail and minimal contact damage to the reverse lettering. This combination is uncommon on these discs. This variety is also known from a cracked die (reverse, left of cartouche).

Thanks. That helps a little but without more details on original sources it's anonymous anecdotes. None of the 3 illustrated types are germane to Nevada mining. Conaway's 2nd sentence, "Silver bars or ingots were produced at the U.S. Assay Office at New York, the Philadelphia Mint and the San Francisco Mint, collectively, for almost 100 years, 1892 to 1984," places the three "types" well out of Comstock range, and likely the same for his research.. Also, the small weights of the silver bars remains suspicious. Standard US Mint bars were approx 400 oz for gold and 2,000 oz for silver. What are your sources, Mike?

Only "off" by a few years -- close enough for modern TPG work !

Little bars, like the one illustrated, were usually silver remaining from refining a native California gold deposit. The so-called Comstock Lode had a much lower gold proportion than California or other gold producing regions. That makes a little bar of silver a suspicious commodity. It would be nice to see the authentication evidence for such a small silver bar. Merely asking.

In checking my database, bar numbers were usually assigned in numerical order at the beginning of a month, quarter, specific deposit or other event for the purpose of matching the bar number to its source. There was never a master number system. The number stamped on this bar is not significant except for tracking the metal's source in an inventory and bookkeeping system. Thus "low number" has no particulate meaning except within and unknown production context. [I find no explicit instructions on numbering bars, but will remember that as something to be aware of.]

It's an "appellation" or "nickname," not pedigree. "Lucky Irish Penny" is meaningless.

The improper alloy mix is bologna. The so-called 'black beauty' is nothing but a heat damaged coin. The surface copper was oxidized to the point that it was nearly black. The only way this would happen to a planchet at the mint is for the annealing system to be contaminated by oxygen during heat treatment. That would also damage thousands of other planchets and the batch would be condemned. After coinage, a nickel could be heated in the air with a gas flame until it reached the desired oxidation color. In simple terms, it is just a cute name for damaged junk.