Coin Collecting

Many readers of this blog have undoubtedly been to Disney World in Orlando, Florida and taken a course at the Imagination Institute sponsored by Eastman Kodak. Figment, a cute and colorful dragon accompanies the visitor on a “people-mover” journey through the land of dreams. The whole experience is accompanied by a captivating musical composition in which the theme IMAGINATION spools repeatedly. That tune becomes so deeply imbedded in the subconscious that one finds themselves humming it for the rest of the day and truthfully for years after.

When I read a recent press release on Cyprus Mail, I couldn’t shake that Disney tune. But, instead of IMAGINATION ringing in my ears it was EXAGGERATION! The Cyprus mail article, titled “US collectors to regain right to trade ancient Cyprus coins” was a tiny bit of an exaggeration, unless the author knows something that I don’t know. The ACCG has merely begun the long and tedious challenge that will ultimately ensue. Even though it would be the prudent, honorable and decent thing to do, I don’t see Cyprus or the U.S. State Department folding their cards on this issue. But the Cyprus Mail article contains an interesting quote nonetheless. Maria Hadjicosti, Director of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus Museum Nicosia, said about the coins imported by ACCG for the subject test case:
“There is not much financial value in antiquities, but the coins are not just money….They are important archaeological items, because they can be accurately dated and used for historical study.” This is basically a true statement as it pertains to coins. While even archaeologists debate the utility of coins for dating strata, they obviously are of some value to anybody who finds them, including archaeologists. The most striking portion of the quote is however the admission that, relatively speaking, there is not much value in them—either financially or in terms of national heritage. Certainly not when compared to unique objects like the Rosetta Stone or the Euphronios Krater.

That revelation by Ms. Hadjicosti flies directly in the face of sensationalizing statements (exaggerations) by nationalist advocates who claim that the antiquities trade is third only in size to the illegal drug and weapons trades. These same nationalist gurus, mainly archaeologists, promote themselves and their “colleagues” as brighter, morally superior and specially ordained to promulgate their dogma. I highlight the word colleague because in their elitist rhetoric they always have colleagues where collectors have “cronies”. They view all antiquities in the same light, whether they be ancient safety pins, broken parts of pottery, stone arrowheads, postage stamps (yes they are included in the UNESCO resolution), coins (which exist in countless numbers - many millions) and a laundry list of other utilitarian objects that are exceedingly common. The loss to the world’s cultural heritage is a gripping hook for a news story, but the exaggeration and rhetorical hype that goes along with most of these stories is nothing short of criminal. If lies pave the path to Hell, it’s clearly going to be overpopulated.

The most audacious exaggeration is the claim that there is no difference between the “licit” trade in antiquities and the “illicit” trade. In other words, anyone who owns anything described by the UNESCO resolution as cultural property is in the mind of a cultural nationalist a law breaker. This is absurd, but it is a theme that nationalist archaeologists beat on without respite. They talk very loudly about ethics, but aside from the ethics that they proclaim for their ideology, they themselves have few ethical bones in their bodies. If they did, they would not be attacking a “licit” market to condemn an “illicit” market. Of course the licit market is open and visible, the illicit market is not. It would be hard to attack something you can’t see. How would you even prove it exists? Easier just to paint them all with the same brush. I suppose that approach is not uncommon for ideological fanatics, who value only their own egocentric view, and there have been plenty of them in world history to compare the present against.

The whole point that the anti-collector coterie evades is that the coins in question are NOT in an archaeological context and CANNOT provide contextual information. How will eliminating the licit market for coins serve their ideological agenda? Well it obviously won’t, so there must be another reason behind this fervor. Is it because eliminating the licit market will dry up the demand and put looters out of business? Come on, nobody with half a brain, not even our dear dragon Figment, believes that. Why aren’t the cultural nationalists lobbying host governments for more protection at the sites? Well, maybe because if they get too vocal they won’t get their permits renewed next year. Oops, too much fervor.

AP: Today is Sunday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2010. There are 306 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 28, 1960, a day after defeating the Soviets at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif., the United States won its first Olympic hockey gold medal by defeating Czechoslovakia’s team, 9-4.

On this date:

In 1844, a 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.

In 1849, the California gold rush began in earnest as regular steamship service started bringing gold-seekers to San Francisco.

In 1861, the Territory of Colorado was organized.

In 1940, the first televised college basketball games were broadcast, by New York City station W2XBS, as Pittsburgh defeated Fordham, 57-37, and New York University beat Georgetown, 50-27, at Madison Square Garden.

In 1953, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon’s historic visit to China.

In 1975, more than 40 people were killed in London’s Underground when a subway train smashed into the end of a tunnel.

In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme (PAHL’-meh) was shot to death in central Stockholm.

In 1993, a gun battle erupted at a compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to serve warrants on the Branch Davidians; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began.

In 1997, in North Hollywood, Calif., two heavily armed and armored robbers bungled a bank heist and came out firing, unleashing their arsenal on police, bystanders, cars and TV choppers before they were killed.

Ten years ago: Right-wing Austrian leader Joerg Haider (yorg HY’-dur) resigned as head of the Freedom Party in an apparent bid to end Austria’s international ostracism following his party’s rise to power.

Five years ago: In Santa Maria, Calif., the prosecution and defense gave opening statements in the sexual molestation trial of Michael Jackson, who was later acquitted. A U.S. District Judge, Joan Humphrey Lefkow, discovered the bodies of her husband and mother inside her Chicago home. (An unemployed electrician confessed to the murders in a suicide note.) A suicide car bombing targeted at security recruits killed 125 people in Hillah, Iraq. Lebanon’s pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigned amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.

One year ago: Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation’s most familiar voices, died in Phoenix at age 90. Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley died when their boat overturned in rough seas off the coast of Florida.

(Stations: “Bobb’e J. Thompson” is correct)

Today’s Birthdays: Producer Saul Zaentz is 89. Actor Charles Durning is 87. Svetlana Alliluyeva (ah-lee-loo-YAY’-vah), daughter of Josef Stalin, is 84. Architect Frank Gehry is 81. Actor Gavin MacLeod is 79. Actor Don Francks is 78. Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 71. Hall of Fame auto racer Mario Andretti is 70. Singer Joe South is 70. Actor Frank Bonner is 68. Actress Kelly Bishop is 66. College Football Hall of Famer and retired NFL player Bubba Smith is 65. Actress Stephanie Beacham is 63. Actress Mercedes Ruehl is 62. Actress Bernadette Peters is 62. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is 62. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman is 57. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is 55. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Adrian Dantley is 54. Actor John Turturro is 53. Rock singer Cindy Wilson is 53. Actress Rae Dawn Chong is 49. Actor Robert Sean Leonard is 41. Rock singer Pat Monahan is 41. Author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) is 40. Actress Maxine Bahns is 39. Actress Ali Larter is 34. Country singer Jason Aldean is 33. Actor Bobb’e J. Thompson is 14.

Thought for Today: “In science, all facts, no matter how trivial or banal, enjoy democratic equality.” — Mary McCarthy, American author and critic (1912-1989).

Wikipedia:
202 BC – coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty’s rule over China
870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
1700 – Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
1710 – In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock.
1784 – John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.
1787 – The charter establishing the institution now known as the University of Pittsburgh is granted.
1827 – The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
1838 – Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec)
1844 – A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing eight people, including two United States Cabinet members.
1849 – Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 21 days after leaving New York Harbor.
1854 – The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin.
1861 – Colorado is organized as a United States territory.
1870 – The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire.
1883 – The first vaudeville theater opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
1885 – The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone. (American Bell would later merge with its subsidiary.)
1897 – Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
1900 – The Second Boer War: The 118-day “Siege of Ladysmith” is lifted.
1914 – The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus is proclaimed in Gjirokastër, by the Greeks living in southern Albania.
1922 – The United Kingdom accepts the independence of Egypt.
1928 – C.V. Raman discovered Raman effect.
1933 – Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents Nylon.
1939 – The first issue of Serbian weekly magazine Politikin zabavnik is published.
1939 – The erroneous word “Dord” is discovered in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
1940 – Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed.
1947 – 228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives.
1953 – James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2).
1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork River. The driver and 26 children die in what remains the worst school bus accident in U.S. history.
1972 – Sino-American relations: The United States and People’s Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
1974 – After seven years, the United States and Egypt re-establish diplomatic relations.
1975 – A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.
1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
1986 – Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
1993 – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group’s leader David Koresh. Four BATF agents and five Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
1995 – Denver International Airport officially opens in Denver, Colorado to replace Stapleton International Airport
1997 – The North Hollywood shootout takes place.
1998 – First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
1998 – Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
2001 – The Nisqually Earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley and the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia area of the U.S. state of Washington.
2001 – Six passengers and four railway staff are killed and a further 82 people suffer serious injuries in the Selby rail crash.
2004 – Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947
2005 – Lebanon’s pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigns amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.
2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
2007 – Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft.

How many of yall like lamination errors?

Would you like to share some in your collection?

My husband unearthed some old coins that were stashed in a baby food jar in the basement. he’d forgotten about them. We went through them and found a 1910 s, 1917, 1924 and 1969 d, wheat pennies; 1905 indian head, several foreigns and one that’s dated 1256 but I can’t tell what it is because it’s oxidized. I’m thinking of taking it to a coin dealer and asking them to clean it. The foreign coins are some silver and one gold (Netherlands). Before that I went through tons of coins and found a 2004 nickel doubled die obverse, 1985 extra p behind the ear dime, and 1979 off center. Great day for coins. Have more to go through but my eyes are crossed. Been at it all day. My husband bought me a 10 x loop magnifier while he was out today. Makes it much easier. Anyone know the value of the wheaties?

This has been a interesting week in USCC with many new topics posted. The local weather has proven to me interesting across the nation as well. I was talking to a lady from Arizona who was telling me that it has been raining heavy there for quite awhile and there’s no place for the extra water to go. Up here in the north, I see a fresh batch of snow waiting to be addressed. I only wish I could address it and mail it to one of you! lol This weeks winner will hopefully get something better addressed to him, he just started what I hope will be a long and interesting thread on the board, called coin finds. Congrats Roy, now claim that prize!

Now, read this carefully: You now have 48 hours to claim your prize starting immediately. First, you must reply to this thread and then simply click
onto “send message” and email your mailing address so that I can get your prize
out to you. (do not post your address to the message board) These mystery prizes
can be anything from a nice coin to a zonk prize, just like “lets make a deal”
so let everyone know what you win, it’s all in fun. . All information received is kept
confidential. The clock starts now, good luck! ~ Jim

USCC member Walter S Reid was born this date.

AP: Today is Saturday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2010. There are 307 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 27, 1960, the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets, 3-2, at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.)

On this date:

In 1801, the District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress.

In 1807, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine.

In 1861, in Warsaw, Russian troops fired on a crowd protesting Russian rule over Poland; five marchers were killed.

In 1922, the Supreme Court, in Leser v. Garnett, unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the right of women to vote.

In 1933, Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag (RYKS’-tahg), was gutted by fire. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming the Communists, used the fire as justification for suspending civil liberties.

In 1939, the Supreme Court, in National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., outlawed sit-down strikes.

In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office, was ratified.

In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children. (The occupation lasted until May.)

In 1979, Jane M. Byrne confounded Chicago’s Democratic political machine as she upset Mayor Michael A. Bilandic to win their party’s mayoral primary. (Byrne went on to win the election.)

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush declared that “Kuwait is liberated, Iraq’s army is defeated,” and announced that the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight, Eastern time.

Ten years ago: Texas Governor George W. Bush’s campaign released a letter to New York Cardinal John O’Connor in which the Republican presidential candidate said he deeply regretted “causing needless offense” by making a campaign appearance at Bob Jones University, a South Carolina school whose leaders had espoused anti-Catholic views.

Five years ago: Pope John Paul II made a surprise first public appearance after surgery, appearing at his Rome hospital window. The Iraqi government announced the capture of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, Saddam Hussein’s half brother and former adviser. Academy Awards went to “Million Dollar Baby,” director Clint Eastwood, star Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman.

One year ago: President Barack Obama told Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. that he would end combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010 and open a new era of diplomacy in the Middle East. The Rocky Mountain News ceased publishing after nearly 150 years in business.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Joanne Woodward is 80. Actress Elizabeth Taylor is 78. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 76. Opera singer Mirella Freni is 75. Actress Barbara Babcock is 73. Actor Howard Hesseman is 70. Actress Debra Monk is 61. Rock singer-musician Neal Schon (Journey) is 56. Rock musician Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) is 53. Actor Timothy Spall is 53. Rock musician Paul Humphreys (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) is 50. Country singer Johnny Van Zant (Van Zant) is 50. Rock musician Leon Mobley (Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals) is 49. Basketball Hall-of-Famer James Worthy is 49. Actor Adam Baldwin is 48. Actor Grant Show is 48. Rock musician Mike Cross (Sponge) is 45. Actor Donal Logue (DOH’-nuhl LOHG) is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chilli (TLC) is 39. Rock musician Jeremy Dean (Nine Days) is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Roderick Clark is 37. Country-rock musician Shonna Tucker (Drive-By Truckers) is 32. Chelsea Clinton is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bobby Valentino is 30. Singer Josh Groban is 29. Actress Kate Mara is 27.

Thought for Today: “There is no inevitability in history except as men make it.” — Felix Frankfurter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1882-1965).

Wikipedia:
1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland.
1594 – Henry IV is crowned King of France.
1617 – Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea.
1626 – Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
1700 – The island of New Britain is discovered.
1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes.
1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
1812 – Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
1861 – Russian troops fire on a crowd in Warsaw protesting against Russian rule over Poland, killing five protesters.
1864 – American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
1900 – Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje at the Battle of Paardeberg.
1900 – The British Labour Party is founded.
1921 – The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
1922 – A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett.
1933 – Reichstag fire: Germany’s parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire.
1939 – United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes violate property owners’ rights and are therefore illegal.
1940 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14
1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Java Sea, an allied strike force is defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies
1943 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
1943 – The Rosenstrasse protest starts in Berlin
1951 – The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
1961 – The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
1963 – The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo.
1964 – The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
1967 – Dominica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1971 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform aborti provocati.
1973 – The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
1974 – People magazine is published for the first time.
1976 – The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
1986 – The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
1989 – Venezuela is rocked by the Caracazo riots.
1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated”.
1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Nigeria’s first elected president since mid-1983.
2002 – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair’s handling of the evacuation.
2002 – Godhra train burning: a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya;
2004 – A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines’ worst terrorist attack kills 116.
2007 – The Chinese Correction: the Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years.
2010 – Central Chile is shocked by a 8.8 earthquake.

The Lincoln Log Cabin penny was put into circulation during the late winter of 2009 and represents the first of 4 special 2009 Lincoln cent designs honoring the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.

The Lincoln Log Cabin penny is sought after by coin collectors and is especially treasured in uncirculated grades and proof condition.

The U.S. Mint struck the 2009 Lincoln Log Cabin penny (and the other 3 cent designs that year) in 2 different metal compositions:

• The usual copper-coated zinc Lincoln cents were made for circulation in 2009.
• 2009 Lincoln cents made for mint sets and proof sets were made from a 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc composition — the same metal combination originally used for Lincoln cents when they were first struck in 1909.

This dime has a couple of problems. the “8″ in 1968 is one of them but it doesn’t show up so well in the pic as it is in real life. The other is “In God We trust” and it looks off cente to me. Can you help me with this but telling me what you think? thanks.!

I am an avid reader of Coins magazine and the very first thing i read is …. the coin finds ,this always gets me motivated in roll searches and gives me a good reminder to keep my eyes open and to check my pocket change. A few of my minor finds as of recently were a set of ike dollars a 71 and a 72 on a recent visit to the bank..i know not a great find but something ya dont see everyday. Another find was on a trip and i stopped and got change from a change machine and low and behold there was a 2009 sac dollar D mint mark. not an especially great find but one that saved me from having to purchase one from a dealer to keep my set complete from the start.Id love to hear what everyone else has come across in searches and in just plain pocket change. cant wait to hear all the stories….. roy

I am an avid reader of Coins magazine and the very first thing i read is …. the coin finds ,this always gets me motivated in roll searches and gives me a good reminder to keep my eyes open and to check my pocket change. A few of my minor finds as of recently were a set of ike dollars a 71 and a 72 on a recent visit to the bank..i know not a great find but something ya dont see everyday. Another find was on a trip and i stopped and got change from a change machine and low and behold there was a 2009 sac dollar D mint mark. not an especially great find but one that saved me from having to purchase one from a dealer to keep my set complete from the start.Id love to hear what everyone else has come across in searches and in just plain pocket change. cant wait to hear all the stories….. roy