RWB

Please send me a list of things you feel are gaps in FMTM as it relates to DE or other coinage. I can then add relevant new material to FMTM-2. PM is OK.

To give members here a "leg up" (as in horse talk) on the Saudi discs, the Philadelphia Mint produced the discs to specifications. But, it was the State Department that was in charge....And the oil concessions had nothing to do with the gold pieces.

A little about coin quality but more in line with the technical aspects that produce differences in appearance. His approach was less concentrated on the kinds of detail I use. Heck, maybe that's why he sells a lot more books than I could imagine.

Use single ply TP -- and just a reminder -- run the test before using the TP. Also look at the coin's edge (reeds). If there is any trace of copper color, it is a clad coin. Given the wear and damage, the edge will likely be dark gray if it's 90% silver.

My students used to call me "Mr. B" or "Mr. Burdette." Soccer team always used "Coach" as if i was a handbag brand...;) The late wife called me "%$#&*%^^&" or similar. My daughters call me "Dad." I guess we all have many "names" depending on context, familiarity, custom, etc. Respect, however, is not in a name or title but in an attitude, and an earned attribute. Well -- that's way off topic. Unless the 192X dollar can be connected to some family member or event, it's value is in the silver it contains.

Yes. A poor strike, filled mintmark and external damage. There might be many coins with a filled mintmark and/or weak detail as yours, but only one will have the diagonal mark. In that sense, your coin is unique...and in the same sense, every coin is unique, too.

Looks like a weakly struck coin with a filled mintmark. The diagonal line is damage to the coin. Poorly defined Morgan dollars from the New Orleans Mint were common for them. The Mint did not have sufficient planchet annealing (softening) capacity to meet production demand from Washington HQ. Hence, many planchets were too hard to take a full impression under normal operating conditions.

OK. Who's this "Mr. Burdette" you refer to ? No need for such formality. "Roger," or whatever spelling one prefers, if fine.

FYI - The ATS thread is: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1052361/u-s-mint-philadelphia-u-s-a The OP, Weiss, notes: "Love how mine has battle scars. I'd like to think that it saw use in the Souq Al-Zal, tossed back and forth between gold jewelers and rug sellers in the late 1940s like something from an Indiana Jones movie." While theatrically romantic, the marks on his illustrated gold disc were on the planchet when struck.Many marks end abruptly at the stamped designs.

A local coin collector club might be interested in a consignment arrangement. A club in me does this in order to get books into the hands of members and especially new collectors.

I'd mentioned this last August, but decided to hold printing pending some promised updated information. The "pending" has now become "hanging by a thread" and I plan to move forward with publication. There is a new thread ATS about the 4 Sovereign pieces, but as is typical, it is mostly out of date conjecture. The chapter in this book will take care of that. Here's the cover image.

FYI - A great deal of numismatic "information" on the web is incorrect, incomplete, obsolete or simply lies invented by perverted misanthropes. Sorry your local library is closed. Many across the country have remained open but with various operating differences and mask requirements. The ones where I live - Loudoun County, VA - have a wide range of active programs...and this is in an area with a lot of Covid limitations and restrictions.

Looked at a couple of the shows. Same old spiel, same old con. Seriously doubt these people bring anyone into coin collecting as a hobby. Once a buyer realizes they've been "taken" any slight hobby interest will vanish.

Both books include modern, factual research, and have won numerous awards. I let the data tell the story. You can borrow both books through your local, thawed-out, local library under standard "interlibrary loan" (ILL). Typical loan cost is $1 or $2. As to the source of the false statement, any organization that publishes such obvious bunk is unlikely to offer anything trustworthy.

Report the crooks.

You could consign to Kolbe or one of the other numismatic literature sellers.

Not sure where the above came from, but it is completely wrong. 1921-date Peace dollars were struck during the last few days of 1921. The 1922 low relief design did not begin production until February 1922. The reason: relief on the 1921 coins was too high and the design did not strike-up well. The sculptor, de Francisci, remodeled both sides in lower relief during Jan-Feb 1922. None of the coins for 1921 were destroyed. Some pattern and experimental pieces made in Jan 1922 from high relief dies were melted after tests proved them to be unsatisfactory.[See Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921 and A Guide Book of Peace Dollars for details.

Nice to see a new member - especially from the frozen land of Mississippi ! A couple of observations....The hole was likely not drilled - it is too irregular. Punched with an awl or nail...? (Nope, not a bullet hole.) The location of the hole is odd - in a necklace or bracelet the coin would not hang straight. That is, the portrait or eagle would always be tilted. Size of the hole is contrary to jewelry use, where perforations are intended to be hidden, not exposed. Raised rim to the hole is also not usually seen on jewelry. A jewelry coin will often have uneven wear, where as this coin seems to have uniform abrasion on both sides. If linked to other coins there should be two holes, and metal links usually wear the hole irregularly - oval, not nearly round. A possibility is that it was used as a substitute for a small machine part that was positioned with a pin through the hole. If the edge is smooth, that is more likely. If still reeded, then a little less likely. OK....just some thoughts. Hope you folks thaw out soon!

Only peripherally, and not while I was doing research. Most are dead, so they are hard to have a conversation with. The obvious living ones have nothing to say or "forgot." Ask Abe Kosoff why he burned all his papers....the answer is in the flames.

That was nice to do!

The Eckfeldt family has a long history of Mint employment in Senior positions and would be an excellent source of "what really happened" in 1804. Adam Eckfeldt was Assistant Coiner in1804 and later Chief Coiner. The Chief Coiner was the one who knew exactly what was done. His Dept made the working dies, made die repairs, struck coins, counted coins and delivered them to the Treasurer or the Government Department that ordered them. Nothing has been located to show any of them ever disclosed anything more than the material in the original letter (above).

Sales shows (coins, jewelry, etc.) and trade shows (occupations, product categories, ECS, etc.) sprout, grow, and fail with the flow of attendee interest, market trends, and innovating product presentation. Coin shows (the bourse) are almost entirely pure sales. (Summer ANA usually being a slight exception with foreign mint participation and BEP demos.) The present, or recent past, insinuations have change little from half a century ago - yet technology and buyer/seller expectations have increasingly evolved toward multiple modes of contact and sales. From what I see and hear some positive changes might include: Clearly identified subject groupings of sellers, utilizing non-standard pedestrian avenues and much, much better signage. Integration of education/information into the physical location of the bourse. Present and educate where the "students" are - not where organizers think they ought to be. Encourage open conversations between experts, authors and collectors - via video chat or in person at bourse tables. Incorporate auctions into the bourse with large interactive screens and permit viewing scheduling via 'smart' phone or large screen applications. Internally publicize with large visual displays, on-screen interviews, product tours and activities. Include ample conversation spaces where customers can "take a load off" their feet or grab lunch. We also must recognize that city Convention Centers were designed for trade shows - product display/demonstration - and not one-to-one sales. That of itself means we are constantly trying to squeeze a sales event into a non-sales space -- so we have to make the space work for us, not against us. [Suggest interested parties read some of the back issues of the numismatist from the mid-1950s, then 1962-64 to better understand how coin shows developed, then froze like a Texas electric plant.]

Not at all.. you recall falsely. ATS did not like being called out when they egregiously and falsely authenticated a 1942 experimental piece as "high relief" when it was proven to be from the same hub as ordinary circulation pieces. This was at the time of the last ANA show and the perpetrators had a big inaccurate display of their "expertise." Very embarrassing for them, more so when it was learned they did not bother to consult the author of the standard reference on those WW-II Experimental and Pattern pieces. That, Coinbuf, is not about wasting money on unnecessary grading fees or the widespread ignorance of collectors about basic coin grading. Rather than spouting off about things you do not understand, how about helping collectors get control of their hobby skills and use them to everyone's advantage.

"Experimental Rinse" is rinsed bologna. Can you explain what that is supposed to be and why it is of importance?

Modern industrial use (and waste) of gold would have amazed them all!