RWB

The 1962 difference was between a trace to comply with law, and no trace to comply with new law. "Shell case" cents are the same alloy as after May 1942 and until 1962. They cannot be distinguished from any other traced of tin alloy. (The traced of tin was usually added by tossing in a handful of mutilated and damaged old cents from before 1942. Some assays snowed no tin, but the melts were not condemned.) One other note -- Large copper cents and half cents were not really "pure" copper. They always had about 2% contaminants such as lead, antimony, tin, and silver.

When a coin is removed from its original packaging it is exposed to contamination and possible damage. Think of that before you waste $50 on pointless "grading."

Ahhhhh....I knew they could not resist the suggestion for a milk chocolate coated edition. Perfect for those auction catalogers trapped between Boredom, Nebraska and Ennui, Iowa.

Did anyone find out?

Removal of tin from the cent began in May 1942. The direction was "a detectable trace of tin to comply with law." I've forgotten exactly when this was changed to 95-5 copper zinc brass.

A next edition has been part of the plan from the beginning. But there have to be enough meaningful updates/corrections/additions (AKA "CRUDs") to make the edition worthwhile -- not just minor changes in populations or prices

...and after the banking acts were passed, banks were required to act responsibly, the failures dripped to 1 or 2 per year -- from a 20-year prior average of around 450 per year. The limited data on non-bank savings (mattress) suggests that money was kept mostly in paper and small change. Treasury examined gold coin flow in and out of the country with immigrants and travelers. Immigrants carried everything they had in material or money - There were small proportions of gold coin, but mostly paper and silver coin from their native country. Most immigrants had very little of anything except a desire for opportunity that was missing back home.

This is a link to a PCGS thread about one of the goofy attempts to have a standard bi-metallic "coin." (See my book Fads, Fakes & Foibles for a bunch of others.) I thought it would be of interest to a wider audience than found on the other site. https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1041746/a-look-at-the-eutopia-dollar (The Bickford pattern coin is covered in the book, and dispels most of what was once believed about the pieces.)

Are you referring the the black mark? Cant' tell much from your photo -- it's sharp and clear, but doesn't show if the black mark is damage or a minting error. For this coin, it would likely grade since older coins are not held to the standard of modern pieces. Likely VF-EF.

If this is the first identification, that is top the OP's advantage. Now he has to do some research among FDR dime collectors. If it turns out to a desirable variety, then it should be independently evaluated.

Never met him. Never met Elmer Gantry, either. Check? What check? (The book was a prop, just like the plastic flower and the rented set furniture.)

Possibly a gouge from a die dressing tool. Very unusual and prominent die variety.

Algae bloom. [It means the TPG did not bother to verify that the plastics they were using were stable. Lucky it's not green slime by now.]

Depends on what the "T" stands for.

Gold was not in the hands of most people in any country -- it was simply too valuable. One had to be middle class or above to ever be exposed to it. For most of the gold coin era the middle class was small -- most people were lower class or poor.

Thanks! That book and the other two companion volumes are almost 20 years old now. I remember sitting in the parents' waiting room at gymnastics working on copies of archive documents and piecing together events and people. (With occasional breaks to make sure my girls had not fallen or koncked their noodles.)

The open market price of gold exceeded $20.67 by 1914. There was notable agitation to raise the official price. It fluctuated over time and by 1932 was consistently above $20.67 - mostly pushed by growing commercial demand and speculators. Would you have a similar "problem" if a few months later gold was worth $16.00 per ounce? People who turned in gold or gold equivalents got exactly the same as if they had deposited it in a bank, or bought a barrel of gherkins with it. No American lost money.

No, not like that drugged, emasculated mule on the Ike dollar or Anthony dollar !

The government did not confiscate gold. A few people got caught trying to hoard it, but even they were paid the full legal tender value. Many pwople used the "coin collection" exemption - the fellow who bought 50 DE from Treasury could have done that, but did not....probably didnt know. Whatever "sources" you are using a either ignorant, or biased, or maybe just grabbing emotionally-charged words with intent to distort or confuse.

A neighbor of Poland.

Any model is subject to revision and/or updating as better data become available. So far as I am currently aware, no new verifiable data has come forth that would alter the estimates. Anecdotes about "newly imported" coins are exactly that: anecdotes and unsubstantiated comments. Further different models give different results since they will use different initial quantities, assumptions and calculations. Much like the various weather prediction models, the test is how accurately does a model predict an outcome when compared to reality. For DE, that is impossible to determine except for patterns and things like 1927-D and the possibly the 1930s dates.

This is a false statement. No gold was confiscated. All who surrendered gold coin or gold notes (the overwhelming majority of $$$) were paid the full legal tender value. They had no loss or gain. Speculation about "could have" or "was worth" is analogous to unrealized profit or loss on anything one owns. I.e., I bought Google stock at $80 in the IPO, until it is sold it is still "worth" $80/share but carries an unrealized gain or loss.

Notice also, that the coils have legs and feet, as shown in EagleRJO's photo, above. By attaching legs and feet to the large coils, the Mint is able to move them faster and guide them more accurately than by using hoists, fork lifts, and other means. When small but very precise movements are required, the coils are placed on a quantity of trained ants who respond to verbal commands.

When time a NCLT coin or bullion piece is removed from it's original holder it is exposed to unnecessary risk of damage and surface contamination (spots). The best approach to coin conservation is to leave it in the capsule in which it came. (Yes -- I realize many enjoy paying extra money for no meaningful value.)

No. Look to the left on the truncation of the bust -- between the field and his shoulder. They are often faint or indistinct. They were added in 1918.