coin exhibit at the Museum of American History in DC

[JKK]

Simple description: shock and awe.

 

3 1804 silver dollars, nice ones in fact (as if there's an 1804 silver dollar any of us would reject).

 

1 1913 LHN, looks like the nicest of the five.

 

1 1787 Brasher Doubloon.

 

1 MCMVII Ultra-Hi relief Saint.

 

1 1933 Saint, one of two known.

 

The 1854-S $20 gold.

 

Couple of $50 gold patterns.

 

And numerous others. Never before and probably never again will I see such a concentration of numismatic value. I just stood there like a *spoon* for about twenty minutes on two separate visits. Most people looking at this had not the faintest idea of the value of what they were seeing.

[MunkyMan95]

1 1933 Saint, one of two known.

 

Pretty sure there's more than two known...

 

[JKK]

1 1933 Saint, one of two known.

 

Pretty sure there's more than two known...

 

Pretty sure that's true as well. Rephrase: one of two officially admitted to in public.

[Bugmann1974]

I am pretty sure that the government admits that more than two exist.

[RWB]

Interesting thing is that until the Philadelphia Mint collection was transferred to the Smithsonian, the Mint Director could have had the whole thing melted into a big lump.

[JKK]

Interesting thing is that until the Philadelphia Mint collection was transferred to the Smithsonian, the Mint Director could have had the whole thing melted into a big lump.

I would support lynching.

[bartlesvilleok]

Interesting thing is that until the Philadelphia Mint collection was transferred to the Smithsonian, the Mint Director could have had the whole thing melted into a big lump.

I would support lynching.

 

I think he might of been worried about that. Well that and the fact that even having the legal right to do so he knew he would never have a job dealing with coins again.

[RWB]

Director Andrew had all the mint's hubs and dies for pattern and obsolete coins destroyed in 1910....he could have done the same with the coin collection.

 

Director's Ross, Adams and Hackle had hundreds of volumes of mint documents destroyed....

 

The Mint has consistently been a poor custodian of it's own history and our national heritage.

 

[physics-fan3.14]

It's not the dedicated numismatic museum I'm hoping for, but its a start. At least they aren't in a box somewhere in a vault.

[BOILER78]

physics-fan3.14- The collection is actually stored in drawers inside locked cabinets which are inside a very large vault. The whole business is very secure with the only danger to the coins being the occasional clueless VIP mishandling these priceless treasures with their bare hands!!

 

I would love to see at least the top 100 rarities in some sort of slab that is removable for detailed study and imaging. A non numismatist could then safely handle the coins without fear of damage.

 

Kudos to the SI for varying the display presentation and the traveling exhibits that make their way to various coin shows around the country. Hopefully one day we will see a more substantial permanent display? I would love to see the lesser duplicates sold off in a series of auctions and the proceeds used to fund a permanent display as well as upgrading the collection.

 

Seems simple enough but then again nothing the government does is ever simple.

[PerryHall]

1 1933 Saint, one of two known.

 

Pretty sure there's more than two known...

 

Pretty sure that's true as well. Rephrase: one of two officially admitted to in public.

 

One of two legal specimens.

[BillJones]

Director Andrew had all the mint's hubs and dies for pattern and obsolete coins destroyed in 1910....he could have done the same with the coin collection.

 

Director's Ross, Adams and Hackle had hundreds of volumes of mint documents destroyed....

 

The Mint has consistently been a poor custodian of it's own history and our national heritage.

 

I guess I'll be the skunk in the room and say I'm not totally outraged that the dies were destroyed. Given the U.S. Mint’s 19th century practice of making restrikes and fantasy coins, on demand for certain customers, the potential for abuse using these tools was always there until they were destroyed. A few of the items that “appeared” during the 19th century included the “second restrike” 1804 dollars, many Gobrecht restrike dollars and worst of all the “midnight special,” Class II, “first restrike” 1804 dollars. This last group of coins were made by U.S. mint employees after hours and wholesaled to Philadelphia area coin dealers. All but one example, the piece in the Smithsonian collection with the plain edge that was struck over Swiss coin, were seized and destroyed.

 

The destruction of the hubs was indeed unfortunate given the fact that making mischief coins from them would have required further steps. Those coinage tools were of historic significance and were far enough removed from the coinage stage that they could have been preserved under strict supervision.

 

[Conder101]

I am pretty sure that the government admits that more than two exist.

I'm sure they do too considering there are two of them in the Smithsonian collection. They used to have both of them on display showing front and back. (Stuck to the display with wax.)

 

The whole business is very secure with the only danger to the coins being the occasional clueless VIP mishandling these priceless treasures with their bare hands!!

Like the President (I forget which one.) who was showing off the collections Uncirculated Birch cent by holding it up squezed between his thumb and forefinger. Not by the edge but obv and rev. (And no the coin was not in a holder. They had the picture of him doing it on the front page of Coin World.)

 

Or the 19th century museum CURATOR who decided to clean the tarnish off all the proofs by rubbing them with a paste of baking soda.