RWB

In making cents each year U.S. mints go through hundreds of hubs and great many master dies (used to make hubs). As a hub wears, the letters thicken to a point where the foreman of the Die Department condemns the hub. Just like dies, hubs wear, crack, develop defects or occasionally fall apart. If you compare1968 cents with 1969 you'll see the product of a completely new master die for Lincoln cents.

Do you mean the MS-68 1873-O Seated Liberty dollar? No. Didn't see it.

Was thinking more along the line of letting the OP do the sidebar move. Some threads seem to attract good messages, even when off-topic.

Here's an interesting NGC sample holder honoring the work of numismatist David W. Lange and his recognition by ANA. Very nice!

Good work! Just filling out the forms correctly is 95% of the task. (The other 5% is keeping mustard off the slabs.)

Many longer threads get sidetracked or hijacked by extraneous posts. What do members think of the idea of having a sidebar attached to each thread? The sidebar could hold posts not part of the main subject, and controlled by the moderators or the original poster? Example: Charlie Collector starts a thread about Civil War tokens. A few posts later member Milton Modular comments about his Civil War era seated Liberty dollars collection and others add to that subject. Charlie, noting that his original thread has been derailed, can tag the seated Liberty posts and drag them to a sidebar. This could put the original subject back on track without removing the possibly useful, but off-subject posts. Members would be able to toggle between seeing and hiding the sidebar.

If the ANA museum coins and medals are sold off, how should the money be used?

I normally use trained Zombies to do in-person coin submissions. This greatly improves communication with the clerks.

Gentlemen, thank you for your kind and gracious remarks. Please don't forget the co-authors at Heritage. They prepared all the variety numbering, price guides, featured coin sales, and prices - a huge amount of work.

Few wealthy collectors do more than give lip-service. For New Yorkers, "the Met" (museum or opera) is "home." Colorado Springs is not "home." The place was picked because it was cheap, and it effectively separated ANA from commercial and legislative centers. Hence, prairie dogs are the most numerous visitors.

Not wear, but more likely filling of the missing letters in the die with metal fragments and oil. Interesting but not valuable.

Breaking News! A massive enemy attack was repelled today by valiant efforts of the British Royal Expeditionary Force's Massed Scottish Bag Pipers, and French Réguliers et Bénévoles de la Deuxième Marseille Corps d'Accordéon. The enemy took many casualties and thousands reportedly surrendered under the combined British-French aural assault. Prisoners were impaled on two-day old baguettes to prevent their running away or attempting suicide from the horrible effects of noise and the prospect of being fed Scottish haggis during their captivity. Réguliers et Bénévoles de la Deuxième Marseille Corps d'Accordéon were especially effective. They caused many of the enemy to pause their attack and whip out white linen table cloths and champagne flutes. Others were compelled to drape the cloth over their forearm and stand alert next to the glassware. This made them easy targets for our valiant sappers from the 7th Croaghaun Irish Penny Whistle Brigade, who quickly rendered the enemy senseless through repetitive jigs and coordinated assault by the Mighty Celtic Step Dancers. Civilian casualties were kept to a minimum by free distribution of ear plugs and large quantities of Irish whiskey.

Several years ago the ANA was presented with a unique opportunity. They were offered space to set up their museum, plus a small office, on the first floor of the U.S. Mint building in Washington, DC. As some might be aware, the Mint Bureau is prohibited by law from having a public museum, but the ANA museum could have been a fine surrogate. Imagine the potential for museum visitors and US Mint product sales. Imagine the potential for borrowing specimens from the Smithsonian - part of which was originally the Philadelphia Mint Cabinet of Coins, Medals and Ores. Mint management thought this was a great opportunity. The deal failed largely because ANA would not take decisive action. Management felt removing the museum from Colorado Springs would "harm the organization." There are a host of other excuses for not carefully exploring this option. Maybe it was just ANA's inertia. (I was the instigator of this heresy.)

I agree with Physics-fan3.14's comment: "Influential people are people who've reshaped what we know or understand, how we think about a significant portion of the hobby, how we approach our knowledge." These are the innovators, change agents, fact finders whose contributions alter the course of coin collecting and/or numismatics in some identifiable way. Independent authentication and grading might be the largest short-term change. It has affected nearly all aspects of hobby and business. The innovators back at ANA, and those originating PCGS and NGC, are the ones who reshaped the hobby. Their successors, regardless of name recognition or wealth, are followers not the innovators. If we examine the Coin World list from this perspective many names fall away, and voters will have a much clearer idea of the substance. The take away is that name recognition, or wealth, or dealing in rare coins within the hobby does not equal innovation or true influence.

True. However, before the SBA dollars came out several experiments with colored alloys and matching electromagnetic signatures were tested. Those data were ignored when the Sacagawea coins were approved.

Yeah, I already tried Green Stamps and cereal box tops -- nobody wanted 'im.

Chemical stains and discoloration are very common on these manganese-brass alloy small dollars. The original color was intended to differentiate them from quarters, but they look awful after a couple of days in someone's pocket. Ordinary cheap brass might have done just as well.

The OPs quarter looks like one that has been heated.

I'll give you 50 cents to put it out of its misery!

The quality of your detail photo is amazing -- even more than Mr. Spock's "fascinating!" -- it's so great.... it's...its' ...well, "constipating!" It says "Snow cones - 2 for $2"

Here are some picks to choose from....

Would the hobby of coin collecting and collectors benefit if the ANA deaccessioned its museum holdings? Coins artifacts -- everything. Several large museums and art galleries are doing this for various reasons. The present facility is a small, pleasant spot, but seems sparsely attended. Located in the middle of prairie dog town, it's too far from anyplace for a meaningful family side trip - except for a few dedicated collectors. Can ANA continue to pour resources into the collection or should it be sold? The Board of Governors must, of course, have a meaningful long-term plan for fiscal growth and use of funds. (The alternative would be to liquidate ANA and send every member $400...approximate value of ANA's assets.)

That's a nice goal, but impossible to reach.

Made with a common knerling tool by someone not well trained in using it. Not a US Mint product.

I agree with Mark. If you include a little of the backstory with the coin in it's unusual holder, you have something that more people can relate to and understand than a mere "slabbed" silver dollar. These things might have been made in relative isolation, but their story is from the nation's background and should be told to future generations.