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RWB

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Everything posted by RWB

  1. Publishing remains active, merely in a different format. The real problem is preservation in that (those) new format(s).
  2. As for the current book -- the design is simple, direct and emphasizes a subject of vast confusion to coin collectors here and in Europe. The green text is part of that and is the same color as in the Saudi flag. It is all intended to catch the eye of someone looking at a book display at a coin show or a dealer's store.
  3. To me, roadbike asked a reasonable question to which I gave a reasonable and truthful answer. It's a useful kind of question because it's part of design and color which are important factors in attracting attention and in presenting the author's attitude and approach to the subject. Several years ago, while working on the CD-book, Silver Dollars Struck Under the Pittman Act of 1918, I was trying out different cover designs. The first was of a Colorado silver mine, albeit, abandoned. It was a stark but eye catching image....,much as melted silver dollars were a reminder of a era past. Yet, as I looked more closely, the design was cluttered -- too many parts and shapes. It was also ominous in rust and gray. Colors and triangular image were excellent, but.....it was not "right" for the subject. So I went back to WW 1 designs and looked for stronger symbolism. I found that in a poster showing an American eagle placing a crown of laurel ("victory") on the British lion's brow....wasn't our Pittman Act part of that victory, part of supporting our allies, part of rewarding freedom over totalitarianism? (Will America be able to crown a free Ukrainian tryzub with laurel in the same manner?) The original was black and beige - no other color. I recolored the laurel and mimicked the eagle's head color with a darker shade background. The composition is direct, simple and evocative of respect and shared responsibility. Here, roadbike's suggestion made perfect sense emphasizing a tight vertical column ending with broad eagle wings. Roadbike and Quintus each make valid points, and it's nice for me to have an opportunity to delve into how and why I choose certain cover designs.
  4. Authors usually make nothing, and even when they get a small commission, it is far less than the value of time and work put into research and writing. Several have tried POD "print on demand" but the quality is low and individual copies are not as inexpensive as promoters claim. Others have tried the subscription approach popular in the 19th century -- people buy before printing, and the author prints only to prepaid orders. Both of these options result in books that are more costly than expected and are very difficult to locate after initial publicity.
  5. The book has already been printed. More detail is on the Coin Marketplace forum. I specifically wanted a bright white on the cover to make the green text "pop out" a little. Beige-range colors tend to indicate bland or generic -- that's why home builders use beige carpet and paint.
  6. Strange. Mine originally had a 2018 date. Now it's normal and currently says 17 hrs ago. The alloy is more-or-less typical raw copper. 18% lead is a little high. It might be one of the Latin "aurichalcum"-type of golden colored alloys used for Roman sestertius and dupondius denominations, but the absence of zinc is puzzling but the tin might compensate in producing the "golden" color; as is the absence of trace elements such as silver, arsenic and bismuth.
  7. JPM: I am not going to say any more until I see the whole coin if it is BU. There's a bug someplace -- I did not write the quoted section.
  8. Your first step is to prepare a carefully written, clear, illustrated article and submit it for publication to one of the major hobby publications. After that you'll have to follow the trail of responses, possibly give several public presentations, and see if any of the variety websites decide what you see is significant for a variety listing.
  9. Fraser's Washington portrait is so superior to the Flanagan version -- difficult to understand why it was rejected -- same for the reverse.
  10. Your 1943 cent is an entirely normal, rusted zinc coated steel piece. It has a realistic fair market value of between one and two cents, Please stop watching those stupid U-tube videos. Please...?
  11. Eichstätt - Bishopric. Sede Vacante 2 Taler 1790-W, Nürnberg mint, KM95, Dav-2212, Gebert-106. 55.98gm. By Johann Peter Werner. The final Sede Vacante issue produced prior to the secularization of the bishopric.. Not actually a circulating coin but a commemorative medal 2 Thaleren weright. Your piece is EF.
  12. The addition of 43 1933-dated coins to the 1932 DE total is explicitly stated by the Coiner, William Bartholomew. This was a normal procedure but used only when necessary - for example if a delivery were condemned and could not be made up before the change of date.The documents are in a folder at NARA Philadelphia. Context was in relation to the Barnard case, but the information was never shared with defense attorneys and possibly not with the Treasury either. In the Langbord case, the Treasury "expert" came across it during his research, but did not understand any of the documents. He admitted at trial that I was the only person able to explain Bartholomew's signed memo and how this processes worked for gold coinage. I presented the info at trial, but was prohibited from explaining how all of this worked within the ACTUAL operations of the Mint. The Treasury "expert" did not know how the Mints operated in 1933 and presented wrong info. to the Court. I was not allowed to correct the errors. Facts were not very important on appeal. Thus, the fact that 43 DE dated "1933" were made in early March and counted with the 1932-date DE was likely not considered by the jury. The judge just wanted to start his summer vacation.
  13. Condition depends on abrasion/defects to the struck part of the planchet. That indicates personal inspection is desirable. The planchet is typical and likely "as not-struck."
  14. Please crop your photos before posting. Members enjoy looking at coins rather than dinner napkins.
  15. Early quarter eagles, $3, (no, the $4 stella is not a coin; it's a pattern piece). 1964 dollars are unknown in any collection and are therefore uncollectible.
  16. Yes. That's RG 104, Entry 328-F. There is nothing useful on-line - so you'll have to have someone go to College Park and copy the files. The finding aid does not have details of contents or page count for each folder in Box 10, but many have about 100 pages per folder. Pages are usually in reverse chronological order.
  17. Nice find! (I assume the dandruff is on the 2x2....)
  18. Part of the WW-1 era policy was to limit gold certificates, also. They were, in essence, warehouse receipts requiring physical delivery of gold coin or bars. I didn't go into much of that because the book was about DE. Chapters 1 and 2 of Saudi Gold and other Tales from the Mint explain more about gold certificates and their use.
  19. FINDING AID : A1 ENTRY #: 328-F SEC CLASS: Unclassified ARC ID#: 20014506 TITLE: Case Files on Foreign Coins [Central Files] 1874 1980 CONTEXT INFORMATION: Department of the Treasury. Bureau of the Mint. Office of the Director. A2 : 00450 : 067/006 /06 - 067/006 /07 6 FRC Carton, Standard (15 x 12.25 x 10 1/8) CONTAINER #s: 1 - 6 A2 : 00450 : 067/007 /01 - 067/007 /04 [this is the locator number for Entry 328-F] 11 FRC Carton, Standard (15 x 12.25 x 10 1/8) CONTAINER #s: 7 - 17 TOTAL CUBIC FEET: 18.308999999999997 TOTAL LINEAR FEET: 17.3541667 Transactions:NN3-104-91-002; 104-83-0020. Box 01 Has a lot of general information divided into about 20 folders. This includes authorization legislation, mint requirements for obtaining metal, etc. Box 02 and later have projects in alphabetical order by country name. Box 10 Jamaica Japan General 1933-1969 Japan General 1951-1969 Japanese Mint Officials' Visit-1969 Japanese Mint, Request, US Coins 1953-1954 Japanese Mint, Nickel-Silver Coins, Sale to Mints 1953 Jordan Kenya Kinshasa Korea (Proof Coins) Korea 1960-1963 Korea Mint~ Establishment of New Coinage System and Coinage Kuwait General 1971 Kuwait General 1948 Latvian Coinage 1967 Latvian Coinage 1922-1923 Lebanon General 1952 Lebanon General 1950-1952
  20. OK. The practice was to move from a full gold exchange standard, prevalent before WW-1, to a limited coinage standard. This not only avoided most of the government cost of coinage and shipping, but altered economic use to bars and non-coin forms. This, in turn, reduced hoarding and speculative demand. By returning to the pre-war approach, the US set itself up as a speculators target. Of course, this is opinion - since it didn't happen.
  21. To post photos, just open a window and drag the photos into the window. JPG, TIF, GIF work best.
  22. There was never an international monolithic "gold standard." (See the opening chapters of Saudi Gold and other Tales from the Mint.) I need the context of the quote to understand your question.