IN THIS ISSUE ARTICLES REGULAR FEATURES METALS INDEX. Established in 1954 February A Yen for Big Silver Coins

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1 R a l e i g h C o i n C l u b Established in 1954 February 2009 IN THIS ISSUE ARTICLES A Yen for Big Silver Coins New Variety Discovery on Guatemala Peso US Mint Releases Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Canada Celebrates 100 th Anniversary of Flight in Canada 2009 RCC Numismatist of the Year Program REGULAR FEATURES President s Message Meeting Minutes Show Calendar METALS INDEX Spot Prices as of 5 February 2009 Platinum: $971 (+31.00) Gold: $ (+$36.30) Silver: $12.83 (+$1.30) A Yen for Big Silver Coins By Dave Provost As I ve mentioned before, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby for me is the search for the perfect coin to add to my collection. Some coin shows yield such treasures, but many do not. A close second on my personal enjoyment scale is coming across a beautiful example of something I wasn t necessarily looking for but welcome into my collection just the same. I enjoyed such an experience at the January Carolina Coin and Stamp Show in the Holshouser Building on the NC State Fairgrounds. After taking an initial pass through the bourse, I realized that the show would not be offering me the chance to upgrade any of the pieces in my US commemorative coin collection (traditional series). So, I broadened my scope as I walked the floor a second time and kept my eye out for interesting. As many of you know, in addition to my various collections of commemorative coins and medals, I am also a collector of silver crowns from around the world. I wouldn t say that I actively pursue these pieces, but if I happen to come across one that I find particularly attractive (for a reasonable price!) I often add it to my cabinet. During my second lap of the bourse, I stopped at a dealer with a few cases of world coins. I was immediately drawn to several 19 th century Japanese silver yen that he had displayed. The silver yen of Japan are a series of coins that have always caught my eye the unusual dragon design on their obverse and the mysterious Kanji characters used on both sides of the coins make them seem especially exotic and attractive to this Westerner. Oriental dragons, whether of China, Korea, Indonesia or Japan, are noticeably different from Western dragons. The Oriental dragon A Yen for Big Silver continued on Page 4 Page 1

2 Raleigh Coin Club PO Box Raleigh NC http// Established 1954 Club Officers President David Boitnott Vice President Jim Jones Secretary Richard Brown Treasurer Steve Pladna Sergeant-at-Arms Benji Harrell Directors (Term Ending) Roger Beckner (2009) Kent Woodson (2010) Paul Livingston (2011) Newsletter Editor Dave Provost Club Affiliations American Numismatic Association Member #C Blue Ridge Numismatic Association Member #C3383 Eastern States Numismatic Association Member #0026 (Life) North Carolina Numismatic Association Member #C14 (Life) Contents Copyright Raleigh Coin Club 2009 The RCC grants permission to reprint for non-profit educational purposes only any articles not individually copyrighted by the author provided the RCC Newsletter is cited as the source. January Meeting Minutes The January meeting of the RCC was called to order by new club president David B. who wished a successful year to all members. Business In the December 2008 newsletter David B proposed a "Stimulus Plan," to encourage members to participate more in club activities. David summarized the plan and then opened the topic for discussion. A lively discussion ensured with multiple members sharing their thoughts and suggestions. After hearing no serious opposition to the plan, David called for a motion which was put forth by Halbert C and seconded by Gene F. The motion passed unanimously. The club member with the highest point total at the end of the year will be named the RCC Numismatist of the Year and will be awarded gold coin worth about $250. David clarified that the NOTY program would not replace the annual "attendance" lottery. The attendance prize will be a tenth-ounce gold piece. In another new idea, to help make a smooth transition between the show-and-tell and the social periods, David B suggested that one member a month have a "mini" program. The member would bring items of interest to talk about while the regular show-and-tell items were making their rounds through the attendees. This mini program would end when the regular show and tell items had been seen by all members. David B provided the January mini program. He shared his set of inaugural medals beginning with Herbert Hoover and continuing through George W. Bush. David said his most valuable medal was found on ebay advertised as a coaster. David B also encouraged members to submit articles for the newsletter. David P will continue as RCC Newsletter editor and offered to help members develop their article ideas and edit their drafts. A suggestion by Dave P that members wear a name tag at meetings was approved. The name tags will begin with the February meeting with the club supplying the tags. The club has a new member, Cliff S, who was voted in as the first new member for Roger B offered to bring refreshments for the Feb meeting. Show and Tell Richard B had a piece of arrow head money, which is a cast bronze piece with the appearance of an arrow head used in the 6th-5th century BC as barter by the eastern Celts in Istros in Thrace. Meeting Minutes continued on page 5 Page 2

3 President s Message Where did the past month go? I swear I went to work Friday after our last meeting, blinked twice and it was a month later time flies even when you are not having fun! It might be age as well as they tell me time goes faster as you get older. However, all joking aside this phenomenon brings us to an urgent matter the 86th annual National Coin Week coming April While April seems a long way off, if we are not careful that time will fly by as well leaving us wondering how we missed this excellent opportunity to promote the hobby and our organization. The ANA has chosen Lincoln s Legacy: A Nation United as the theme for this year s National Coin Week. This seems only fitting as our nation looks to commemorate the bicentennial of our sixteenth President s birth with no less than four commemorative reverses for the Lincoln Cent and a new silver dollar. So, the challenge I make to the club is: How can the Raleigh Coin Club leverage the national efforts of the ANA locally to promote not only the hobby but our club as well? There are some suggested activities on the ANA website that include putting out promotional flyers or posters. I remember we had some success with this strategy back in 2001 linked with the introduction of the North Carolina State Quarter. We placed informational posters about the quarter in local libraries and did get a few membership inquires while performing a public service in promoting our state s quarter. A second idea from the ANA website is an exhibit but this has lots of logistical problems, not the least of which are Where we would display it? and How would we secure it? But if someone is up to challenge of managing it, this could be an option. Put your thinking caps on and see if you can come up with an idea the club (or at least a February Meeting Notice DATE 12 February 2009 TIME 7:30pm WHERE Pullen Community Center PROGRAM Christian Themes on Ancient Coins Tom Wood significant subset) can participate in. Or, if you like one of the ANA suggestions and would like to champion the effort just let me know. Heck, there is nothing that says we can t do multiple activities should we have multiple ideas backed with willing participants. I will do my best to be at the meeting place a half hour before the meeting should anyone want to come early and discuss their ideas. You can also me through the club website (just click on the button and I ll get it). Don t forget to bring show-and-tell items to share at the meeting. Love tokens would be an interesting theme seeing how we meet two days before Valentines Day. Do we have any love token collectors? I ll try to find my Charlotte Mint Half Eagle love token. Yes, I have it bad and will collect anything and darn near everything. See ya Thursday at the meeting until then take care! David W. Boitnott Page 3

4 A Yen for Big Silver (cont.) is more serpentine or snake-like in its depiction, and it lacks the wings that are central to Western depictions. F. Hadland Davis, in Myths & Legends of Japan, describes the Japanese dragon as having the head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a hare, scales of a carp, paws of a tiger and claws resembling those of an eagle. In addition, it has whiskers, a bright jewel under its chin, and a measure on the top of its head which enables it to ascend to Heaven at will. Quite a creature! In addition to the coiled dragon, the silver yen feature two sets of Kanji characters on the obverse. Those between the 9 o clock and 11 o clock positions translate to Empire of Japan (the official name of Japan under the Meiji government). The five characters that run from the 12 o clock position to just past the 3 o clock position represent the Imperial year in which the coin was struck. The characters on the piece illustrated here, struck in 1897, indicate the Imperial year Meiji 30 (the 30 th year of the Meiji government). The denomination One Yen is also presented in English, along with the weight and fineness. The coin s reverse is dominated by a wreath of paulownia leaves and flower buds (left side) and chrysanthemum leaves and flower buds (right side). The Imperial Seal of Japan is seen at the top in the opening of the wreath. The Seal consists of a 16-petal chrysanthemum with the tips of another 16 petals offset in relation to the front petals such that only their tips are seen. Within the wreath, the coin s denomination is expressed in Kanji characters with the horizontal line representing one and the other symbol yen. Obverse of the 1897 One Yen The silver yen was part of the modernization (and westernization) of Japanese coinage that was begun in They were first struck for circulation in 1870 (Meiji 3) and were struck in most years up through Approximately 2.45 million of the coins were struck in 1897, eighth fewest in the series; most years featured mintages of between 3 and 10 million, with more than 10 million coins struck six times. Obverse of the 1897 One Yen A Yen for Big Silver continued on Page 5 Page 4

5 New Variety Discovery on Guatemala Peso by Roger W Beckner An error coin that I am credited with discovering back in 2005 was recently featured in the January 2009 issue of W orld Coin News in the publication s "Visiting Varieties" column. The coin in question is an 1864-R Guatemala Peso with a major obverse double die. The hub doubled variety displays doubling and tripling on 10D, 20G, UN PESO, 18 (date) and other devices in the lower areas of the coin's obverse. Tripling is also quite evident south of the 1 and 8. (See the illustration of the coin s date; courtesy of the CONECA website New Page.) Strong hub doubling or tripling receives much higher collector interest when the host coin is silver dollar (peso) size as the larger features can enhance the magnitude of the spread between die impressions! The variety was listed by Ken Potter (world coin die variety attributer for CONECA} as VCR # 1 / DDO # 1 in the World Coin Die Variety Registry back in December Magnified view of doubled/tripled date A Yen for Big Silver (cont.) The silver yen began life as a standard currency alongside gold and base metal coins within Japan, but its use was soon shifted to that of payment for foreign goods in essence, a trade coin rather than circulation within Japan. In 1878, however, the coin was again approved for general circulation. In 1897, the coin was once again prohibited from internal circulation and its role transitioned to that of a silver trade coin. The coins are 38mm in diameter with a total weight of 26.96g. They were struck in fine silver and contain 0.78 ounces of silver. Happy Collecting! If you re interested in learning more about the history of Japanese coinage, Japanese Coinage by Norman Jacobs and Cornelius C. Vermeule, III is a good place to start. Meeting Minutes (cont.) Tom H had a Stone Mountain commemorative coin which was designed to raise money to construct the Stone Mountain Monument. Halbert C is collecting data about circulating quarters and found a 1949 (silver) quarter in circulation. Paul Liv and Roger B discussed and showed an 1893S Morgan silver dollar that had its mintmark added. (A caution to members to learn the diagnostics on any valuable coin you wish to purchase to avoid being fooled by fakes.) Dave P spoke on Special Edition Canadian Silver Dollars commemorating both the beginning and end of WWI. Paul Liv discussed anti counterfeiting measures shown on a 2004 "Bank of Madagasikara," note. The denomination was given in both Francs and Arivos Don F shared his first set of nickels he collected from pocket change. Program The January program presented by Jim J was on 17th Century American Colonial Numismatics. Jim's talk covered the Early Settlement of America including its economic, political and monetary environments, along with illustration of coins in use in the colonies at the time. Page 5

6 US Mint Releases Ultra High Relief Double Eagle WASHINGTON - The United States Mint announced the opening of sales for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin on January 22, 2009). Pricing for the 24-karat oneounce gold coin will be based on the United States Mint's new pricing structure -- implemented January 12 and may change weekly. Information about the most current pricing for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin will be posted on the US Mint's Web site, inscription IN GOD WE TRUST, which was not on the 1907 version, also was added, along with a small border to provide a more consistent edge. Featured in raised lettering on the edge of the coin is the inscription E PLURIBUS UNUM, with each letter separated by a star. Production of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin is subject to the availability of gold blanks. To ensure the broadest and most fair access to this coin, orders will be limited to one coin per household. The Mint will re-evaluate the order limit on a weekly basis and either extend, adjust or remove the limit as needed. The 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin is a digitally reproduced version of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens' original ultra high relief 1907 Double Eagle gold piece, never issued into circulation. On the coin's obverse, Saint-Gaudens shows Liberty, personified by a statuesque woman striding forward. A young eagle flying during a sunrise is depicted on the reverse. The original 1907 Double Eagle is considered by many to be the most beautiful coin ever produced in the United States. Despite Saint-Gaudens' artistic masterpiece, however, the minting process at the time did not allow for mass production of ultra high relief coins, and his artistic vision was never fully realized. Through 21st century design and technology, the original Saint-Gaudens coin plasters were digitally mapped, and the ultra high relief sculpture was updated to reflect the year "2009" in Roman numerals (MMIX). Four stars were added to the design to represent the last four states admitted to the Union. The The 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin is encased in a protective capsule mounted in a wood platform housed in a velvetlined, highly lacquered mahogany wood box. The box bears inscriptions in a font similar to those used in the early 1900s when the original coin was produced. Included with each coin is an official US Mint companion book that chronicles the story of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin by describing the technology and processes used to perfect this unique legal tender United States coin. (The book is not sold separately.) Orders will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis, and may take up to six to nine months to fulfill based on gold blank availability. Because of possible fluctuations in pricing, no mail orders will be accepted. Page 6

7 Canada Celebrates 100 th Anniversary of Flight in Canada OTTAWA, ONTARIO Canadian history was made 100 years ago on the surface of a frozen Nova Scotia lake as the Silver Dart, Canada's first successful flying machine, celebrated its maiden flight on February 23, From its proving grounds in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Alexander Graham Bell's Aerial Experiment Association laid the groundwork for a century of Canadian distinction in the field of aeronautics. On January 9, 2009, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) announced the release of its annual commemorative silver dollar celebrating this historic event and the advances in flight since. The new coin showcases Canada's many flying icons, from the Silver Dart to Canada's Snowbirds. Designed by Ontario artist Jason Bouwman, the sterling silver dollar (0.925 fine silver) reverse features an image of a young person running with arms spread like an airplane's wings, symbolizing humanity's timeless dream of flight. In the background, the silhouettes of the Silver Dart, the Avro Arrow and a "Snowbird" Tutor Jet, illustrate Canada rich aeronautic engineering legacy. A close look at the overall design also reveals the ingeniously composed image of Canada s beloved maple leaf. selectively gold-plated proof dollar coin, which is exclusive to the Mint's 2009 Proof Set. Only 55,000 sets, with a suggested retail price of $99.95 CDN, are available world-wide. Obverse featuring Blunt s Queen Elizabeth II The obverse of the coin features Susanna Blunt s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The coin is available in proof and uncirculated versions. Limited to a mintage of 50,000, The proof silver dollar has a mintage limit of 50,000; it is available for $47.95 CDN. The brilliant uncirculated version of the coin retails for $39.95 CDN and is limited to a mintage of 30,000. The same design is reproduced on a Jason Bouwman s Commemorative Reverse Page 7

8 2009 RCC Numismatist of the Year Program Miscellaneous Club Notes The RCC Numismatist of the Year points system proposed by RCC President David Boitnott generated lots of good discussion at the January meeting. After the discussion, the proposal was motioned, seconded and passed by vote. As some in attendance didn t recall the specific point allocations of the program (as first outlined in the December 2008 RCC Newsletter), the activities and associated point values are reprinted here for the convenience of all members. Activity Mount an educational exhibit at our annual show Give an educational talk at a monthly meeting Write an original, full-length article for the monthly newsletter (min. 1 page, excluding illustrations) Prepare a brief article/ notice for newsletter Bring refreshments to the monthly meeting (actual cost reimbursed) Mount a show-and-tell one-case exhibit at our monthly meeting Show up for monthly meeting and sign the attendance roster Points Bring an item for show-and-tell 5 Participate in Friday set up at our annual show Sign-up and man the front table at our show (per hour) Sponsor a new RCC member If you have been tracking the quarters you receive in change for Halbert s circulating coinage project, please remember to bring your data sheet to the February meeting! 2. The club s nomination of Joe Boling for the ANA Board of Governors will be considered at the February meeting. 3. Remember to bring a show-and-tell item to the meeting share a bit of your collection with fellow RCC members! And remember to give Dave P a few written notes about what you bring so that you earn your NOTY points and get an accurate description in the RCC Newsletter. 4. Club projects for National Coin Week will be discussed at the February meeting come prepared with ideas and a willingness to get involved! 5. Dues for 2009 are due! If you didn t pay your dues at the January meeting, please see Steve P this month to get current. Feb Show Calendar Charlotte, NC 39 th Annual Charlotte Coin Club Show Charlotte Coin Club Merchandise Mart 800 Briar Creek Road Hours: Fri Sat Sun Dealers: ~125. Free 10:00am to 6:00pm 10:00am to 6:00pm 10:00am to 4:00pm Additional local show information can be found at: Page 8