A look back at 55 years of Numismatic News
This special issue of Numismatic News celebrates 55 years of publishing the hobby news. It seems, therefore, appropriate to take a look back at some of the top stories from each of the decades.
Due to time constraints (and because many more trees would have to have been sacrificed to tell the full story), I have limited this review to stories appearing on the front page of the News. In each case, the stories that follow represent one story in Numismatic News on a given topic, they are not necessarily the only time this topic made the front page or was picked up in the paper's interior. As a story unfolded, the News continued to cover important developments. Thus, in some cases, the pieces presented here are, by necessity, incomplete. In other words, there's more to each story than could be covered in a synopsis format such as this.
Still, these snippets present some of the flavor of each decade. For instance, in the 1960s you had the "roll craze," coin shortages and the temporary removal of mintmarks from U.S. coins. In the 1970s, you find the release of a major Lincoln cent variety and the "loss" of the 1974 aluminum cent patterns. Other decades had equally important hobby stories, many of which are presented here under the banner "In the News." I hope you enjoy this little trip into the hobby's past.
In the News: 1950s
"New Reverse for 1959 Lincoln Cent - Lincoln Memorial is Featured" reads a headline on the front page of the Jan. 5, 1959, issue of the News. The story announced that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had just approved the new reverse for the cent, replacing the wheat ears design in use since 1909.
"Henceforth the reverse of our one cent coin shall bear the likeness of [the] Lincoln Memorial built in 1922 as a tribute to the great emancipator," the News wrote. The change, it noted, was in time for the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.
"It is a fitting tribute that the Lincoln Memorial be added to the coin," the article continued, "in that the structure was built since the Lincoln cent was originally designed and that it is a living symbol of leadership that has held our great nation as one."
Production of the new cent was set to begin on Jan. 2, 1959, with sufficient quantity available by Feb. 12, Lincoln's birthday, so that the coins could be released into circulation.
In the News: 1950s
"Old Wartime Pennies Melted At Steel Plant," reads a headline in May 4, 1959, issue of the News.
According to the front page article, the Alan Wood Steel Co., of Conshohocken, Penn., the day prior had melted down 13,500 pounds of the old wartime zinc cents, dating from 1943.
"The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia shipped the pennies, which are actually made of low carbon steel and coated with zinc, to the steel company in 500-pound cans," the News wrote. "It amounted to about 1,250,000 pennies. The company will keep the steel in payment for disposing of them
"The government is engaged in doing away with the pennies, all made in 1943 to save copper for the war effort. They are now worn and faded memories of another era."
In the News: 1950s
"As most collectors and dealers are aware of, the uncirculated Jefferson nickel has skyrocketed to almost unheard of prices," starts an article titled "The Fantastic Price Rise of the Jefferson Nickel" in the Dec. 21, 1959, issue of the News. The article, which originated during the "roll craze," observed:
"There are various reasons for the great demand for these coins. Almost every collector of U.S. coins starts out with the minor denominations. The Jefferson type is a natural collection for the beginner to start with. Most of those coins can be found in circulation with a little effort. The next step after completion of a set is usually to improve on the condition of these coins. The ultimate goal is to obtain a brilliant uncirculated set and this is where the scarcity comes in and thus the demand. Also the investors have jumped on the bandwagon and along with the dealers, do a brisk business in buying and selling rolls of uncirculated Jeffersons." The article noted the average roll price for the 1950-D was $130 (as compared to $5 in 1955), while the 1939-D was trading at $1,400 (up from $125 in 1955), the 1939-S was selling for $450 (as compared to $100 in 1955), and the 1942-D was $400 (up from $42 in 1955).
"It must be kept in mind that these prices are the dealers' selling prices for uncirculated rolls," the News reported, adding, "One must realize that the high prices on these coins is due in a large degree to the investors and speculators which have entered the field. It is difficult to see how a roll of coins can be included in the collection of a numismatist, either as a thing of beauty or an educational piece."
In the News: 1960s
"Newspaper Error Contributes to Large Club Attendance," reads a headline in the Nov. 19, 1960, issue of the News. According to the News, an error in the local Binghamton Sun newspaper led to a normally quiet Triple Cities Coin Club August meeting enjoying an overflow crowd.
"It all started when Q. David Bowers wrote an article entitled 'Rarity One Factor Determining Value of Coins to Collectors,'" the News reported.
"The article appeared in the newspaper [the Binghamton Sun] the day before the regular meeting of the Triple Cities club. Bowers first mentioned the 1960 small date cents which was enough to kindle the fire.
Then he mentioned that several coins are worth a very high premium, giving as examples the 1894-S dime and the 1822 five dollar gold piece. However, the Linotype operator left the 'S' off the 1894 and changed the date of the half eagle to 1882, and, quoting Triple Cities president Fred Hunter, 'the riot was on.'
"Switchboards were jammed and Bowers and almost every member of the coin club answered phone calls well into the night.
"The final result was an overflow crowd at the coin club meeting to here Q. David talk on the '60 small date cents."
In the News: 1960s
"Former MANA President Killed in Collision" announced a headline on the front page of the April 2, 1962, issue of the News. George Walton, former president of the Middle Atlantic Numismatic Association, "acknowledged owner of one of the country's outstanding collections of Charlotte-minted and Bechtlers gold coins," was killed instantly in a head-on collision in Middlesex, N.C., while "en route to the Eastern North Carolina Coin Show at Wilson to exhibit his collection valued at over a quarter of a million dollars," according to the News.
Besides rare early gold coins, Walton was noted at the time of his death for possessing a subsequently long-missing fifth example of the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. Some speculated the coin was lost in the accident. A freelance real estate appraiser, Walton obtained the nickel in 1945, in a trade with a Winston-Salem collector. "He said he paid $3,750 for the nickel," wrote the News. "In 1959, he valued it at $35,000 and in the last year he raised the value to $65,000."
In the News: 1960s
In a stunning blow to the silver dollar market, the Dec. 17, 1962, issue of the News reported: "Federal Reserve Releases Drop Silver Dollar Values: New Orleans Silver Dollars Tumble in Price." The News reported that, at least for a while, the appearance of large quantities of formerly scarce silver dollars by the Fed cause some "wild dreams" of striking it rich for some collectors.
"So far some 33 million dollars have been shipped by the Mint," the News wrote. "A fraction of the shipment reached a Flint, Michigan Bank, where two collector employees found 500 1904-O's. Cataloging at $375 each, the men were dreaming how they would spend their $175,000 bonanza. The price has plummeted however. They were not the only ones to find the rare dollars. Thousands must have reached dealer hands. The price s fell to $100 each, to $50 each to $10 each." The 1903-O Morgan was another casualty of the government holiday coin release.
At the time, the Treasury still held 102 million of the old silver dollars in inventory.
In the News: 1960s
Beloved President John F. Kennedy having been assassinated in late 1963, the government moved quickly to honor his memory. On Jan. 6, 1964, the News announced: "Johnson Signs Bill For Kennedy Half-Dollar." "The Treasury supported bill to provide a coin with the likeness of President Kennedy passed both the House and the Senate by record vote," the News reported. "The House had voted 352 to 6 in favor of the measure. The bill, HR 9413 read:
"'Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled that in lieu of the coinage of the 50-cent piece known as the Franklin half-dollar, there shall be coined a silver 50-cent piece which shall bear on one side the likeness of the late President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and on the other side an appropriate design to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.'"
The Kennedy half would be struck in 90-percent silver for circulation for only that one year. It was minted in 40-percent silver clad from 1965-1970 and today continues in a copper-nickel clad composition.
In the News: 1960s
With the coin shortage raging, and the need to convert coinage presses to production of circulation coins, the July 20, 1964, issue of the News reported there would be "No 1965 Proof Sets" coming from the Mint.
"In a series of moves to help stem the ever-increasing coin shortage," the News wrote, "Treasury Department Officials have taken a number of steps that directly affect the coin collectors.
"Perhaps foremost of these steps is the discontinuance, at least temporarily, of proof sets. The proof set equipment will be converted to higher speeds for production of regular coins, after present commitments are met for proof set coin orders which have been accepted. Some two million sets remain to be stamped."
In an effort to discourage hoarding of 1964 coins for "their possible speculative numismatic value," the News wrote, the Treasury was also proposing to continue with the 1964 date indefinitely on all new coins.
It was also announced that the U.S. Assay Office, which was formerly the San Francisco Mint, would be put back into partial coin production, being used as a facility for annealing blanks for nickels and cents.
"New coin presses have been ordered and some stamping equipment located in government surplus is going to be converted to coin use."
In the News: 1960s
"President Signs Bill to Mint 45 Million New Silver Dollars" reads a headline in the Aug. 17, 1964, issue of the News announcing government plans to mint new silver dollars bearing the Peace dollar design last used in 1935.
Included in a Treasury appropriations bill was one small provision that "will make numismatic history," the News reported. The provision set aside $600,000 for the minting of 45 million new silver dollars.
In a letter supporting the reintroduction of the silver dollar, Treasury Secretary Dillon wrote:
"'I want you to know that the administration feels it important to continue the use of the silver dollar, as it is one of the six standard coins prescribed by law, and is particularly used as an ordinary and traditional medium of exchange in many Far Western States. Also, use of the silver dollar will, to a great extend in the West at least, alleviate the heavy demands we have had on the quarter and 50-cent pieces. This eventually will about balance out the use of silver, as the minting of enough halves and quarters to substitute for the 45 million silver dollars will take almost as much metal for the same end use.'"
The Treasury secretary's letter continued, "'Present plans call for the minting of the dollars, if approved, at the Denver Mint only, using an old design, and the 1964 date.'"
Ultimately, 316,076 1964-dated silver dollars were struck but not released. The coins were all to have been melted, though rumors persist to this day that a few specimens survived.
In the News: 1960s
"Coin Shortage Is At End-Bankers" announced the Jan. 3, 1966, issue of the News, reporting on a News' national survey that showed few pockets where it remained a problem.
"Recent weeks have witnessed cautious utterances from within the Treasury Department and Bureau of the Mint indicating they feel the worst of the once severe coin shortage has passed, that the country will shortly be on the road to full recovery," the News recorded. Perhaps the most encouraging signs of this, according to the article, was a recent speech by Mint Director Eva Adams before the National Association for Bank Audit Control and Operation in Chicago in which she noted, "We think we have the coin shortage under control and will have the facilities in the near future to prevent one from ever recurring."
Encouraged by these signs, the News said it undertook a survey of bankers to obtain their thoughts on the matter.
"Chosen on a geographical basis as representatives of their geographical areas, the banks stretched from Bangor, Maine, to Walla Walla, Washington," the News wrote of the scope of its survey. "The consensus of the opinions expressed by the various bankers questioned indicates that in general the coin shortage is over, though a few isolated shortages do exist," but with it being the Christmas season when the survey was taken, these seemed seasonal in nature.
In the News: 1960s
"San Francisco Mint to Strike Special Sets for Coin Collectors" read the headline in the March 28, 1966, issue of the News announcing that the Treasury was beginning to accept orders for the 1965-dated Special Mint Sets. As a result of the coin shortage, mintmarks were dropped from U.S. coins in an attempt to prevent hoarding. Coinage of proofs had also been suspended as the Mint focused on production of circulation coinage. "The Treasury Department has announced that the Bureau of the Mint would begin immediately accepting orders for 'Special Mint Sets' composed of the new half-dollar, the new quarter, the new dime and the five cent and one cent pieces," the News reported. "The sets are to sell for $4, including postage and handling.
"Coins in the new sets will be struck one at a time from specially prepared blanks, on high tonnage presses and handled individually after striking. They will have a higher relief than regular coins and be better in appearance than any of the regular uncirculated sets heretofore issued. All coins in the new sets will be dated 1965 and they will carry no mint marks."
"In advising collectors of the new SMS sets," the News wrote, "Miss Eva Adams, director of the Mint, noted, 'they (SMS sets) will be of a higher quality and have a different type surface than the uncirculated sets released by us in the past and yet they will not be of proof quality.' The director noted that it was because of the progress made in overcoming the coin shortage that permits the mint to resume operations in preparing special sets of United States coins for collectors."
In the News: 1960s
Following a two-year campaign to restore mintmarks, which had been dropped from U.S. coins in an effort to stem coinage shortages, the July 17, 1967, issue of the News reported: "President Signs Mint Mark Bill." "A two-year campaign by coin collectors and hobby luminaries ended in sweet victory June 24 when President Johnson affixed his signature to S.1352, the bill calling for demonetization of silver and (of prime hobby interest) including an amendment repealing the prohibition against mint marks on coinage," the News wrote. "The complete legislation - now Public Law 90-29 - is a composite of identical bills submitted by both House and S enate. Referred to as the 'mint mark' bill by hobbyists, the designation as such is a misnomer, as the meat of the law concerns virtual abandonment of silver backing in the nation's currency. The mint mark was a piggyback hobby bonus."
Signing of the bill, the News related, "represents a signal triumph for members of the United Coin Collectors' Alliance. The group of numismatists, including publisher Chet Krause, was formed in May of 1965 in Philadelphia for the express purpose of fighting S. 2012, the notorious 'Bible Bill.'
"Named for its author, Nevada Sen. Alan Bible, the proposal imposed penalties for such 'violations' as accumulating coins 'in excess of the reasonable demands of business or personal use,' exporting coins from the United States or its possessions, and using coins as 'collateral.' The bill also called for publication in the Federal Register of a list of coins 'deemed' to be of numismatic value. Most of the provisions - though innocent enough on the surface - would, according to concerned numismatists, have sounded the death knell for the hobby in the United States. Never enacted into law, some of S. 2012's provisions were incorporated into the Coinage Act of 1965."
In the News: 1960s
"Mint Assures Renewal of Proof Sets in 1968" read a headline on the Sept. 25, 1967, issue of the News announcing the return of the U.S. proof set, which had not been issued since 1964 because of a circulation coin shortage.
"In an announcement released on September 1st, the Bureau of the Mint officially confirmed what has been hinted for some months, that it will in fact renew the minting of proof sets in 1968," the News reported. "The announcement of these 1968-S sets did not come as a surprise, then, but with anticipation, although at least a couple of its details represent a sharp departure from tradition.
"The first of these is the confirmation that when shortly after January 1st, presses and pressmen begin the careful work involved in preparing these special sets they will be operating from facilities set up in the United States Assay Office in San Francisco, this being the old mint which was closed down in 1955, only to be reopened as a coinage production facility ten years later.
"This will be the first time that official United States proof coins have been produced outside the confines of the mother mint in Philadelphia. Since the first United States proof coins were produced in the early 1800's, their production has been considered a traditional assignment of the Philadelphia Mint."
The News also said the new proof coins would carry an "S" mintmark on the obverse of the five coins, the cent through half dollar. "This will represent the first instances where officially acknowledged proof coins of the United States have carried a mint mark, although a handful of unofficial 'branch mint proofs' do exist from the 1800's," the newspaper wrote.
In the News: 1970s
The first noteworthy coinage variety discovered in the 1970s was the report of large- and small-date 1970-S cents. Detailing the discovery, the March 17, 1970, issue of the News recorded under the headline, "New Jersey Dealer Reports Large and Small Date 1970-S Cents," that:
"Variation in the dates and mottos on the 1970 cent from San Francisco have been brought to the hobby's attention by John Sara, of New Jersey's Hackensack Coin Company, who reports that the cents are scattered in bags and not found in large amounts, as were the 1960 small dates."
On the more common large-date version, the "7" appears to rest just below the remaining three digits in the date. On the small-date cent, the tops of all four digits are in line.
By the following week's issue of the News, the publication was reporting that the small date could also be found on proofs.
In the News: 1970s
"De Francisci Widow Recalls Peace Dollar Presentation as 'Delightful Experience'" relates an interesting story on the front page of the Sept. 21, 1971, issue of the News. Approaching the 50th anniversary of the Peace dollar's first production, the News recorded that Gene Hessler, then curator of The Chase Manhattan Bank Money Museum, had recently conducted an interview with Teresa De Francisci, widow of Peace dollar designer Anthony De Francisci and model for the coin.
Anthony De Francisci had entered a competition late in 1921 to prepare the design for the new coin and "the sculptor chose to use his wife as the model for the Liberty, rather than employing a professional model, Hessler observed, to keep the design closely guarded."
According to the News article, the resulting coins were not released into circulation until Jan. 3, 1922.
"'Mrs. De Francisci recalled the presentation of the new coin to the public in 1921 as a 'delightful experience' for herself and Mr. De Francisci,'" the News article quotes Hessler. "'They [the De Franciscis] had received a personal invitation from President Harding to come to the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia for the occasion and were subjects of nationwide acclaim.'"
The De Franciscis were newlyweds when the design competition for the new dollar was announced on Nov. 19, 1921, with an allowance of just three weeks being made for submission of sketches to the Commission of Fine Arts.
"Now a 73 year old widow, Hessler notes that she recalls 'competing against prominent medallists such as Chester Beach and Adolph Weinman was a most exciting challenge for her husband,'" the article continued. Anthony De Francisci died on Oct. 20, 1964, at the age of 77.
"During the Hessler interview session with his widow, Mrs. De Francisci observed, "That one displeasing incident that subsequently marred her husband's personal triumph was a change in the original die's relief, enacted by George Morgan, chief engraver of the mint. Engraver Morgan had the relief lowered for the 1922 issue, prompting Mr. De Francisci to write to the Secretary of the Commission of Fine Arts in protest.'" The News article continued, "Today Teresa De Francisci (nee Cafarelli) resides in an apartment on the west side of Manhattan where she enjoys gardening and concerts, more than 70 years removed from her native village some 100 miles outside Naples, Italy. Her youthful enthusiasm for the American ideal of liberty remains undimmed, reports Hessler: 'She expressed to me her continuing hope for a universal peace that had been the inspiration for her husband's coin.'"
In the News: 1970s
It didn't come to fruition, but at one time there were plans for a Susan B. Anthony $2 bill, as the Nov. 30, 1971, issue of the News reported under the headline, "Halpern Enlists Additional Backing For Susan Anthony $2 Proposal."
"Congressman Seymour Halpern of New York who on November 1 launched a legislative proposal aimed at resurrecting the $2 note to regular issue status, with the displacement of the face side portrait of Thomas Jefferson by a likeness of Susan B. Anthony, the best known 19th century champion of women's rights, has enlisted additional support for the measure," the News wrote.
With 27 new co-sponsors, including the backing of the governors of more than a third of the states and 25 women's organizations, things were going good for the Anthony proposal, which was bucking up against a pending proposal to place Mount Rushmore on the back of the $2 note.
"A move is underway, it is reported, to combine Halpern's $2 bill proposal with the pending call for the issue of a $2 bill which would project a likeness of Mount Rushmore National Memorial on its back side. Each of these proposals are written with only one side of the note mentioned.
"The Mount Rushmore $2 proposal was offered by Congressman James G. Abourezk - H.R. 4903 introduced February 23 - and is similar to earlier legislative introductions dating from a January 18, 1968, move by Senator Karl E. Mundt of South Dakota calling for the likeness to be placed on the back of the $1 note. Proponents of the joint Susan Anthony-Mount Rushmore idea feel that it would draw a stronger following because the displacement of Jefferson from the face side would be compensated for by the adoption of the likeness of the granite carving in which he is so prominently featured."
Of course, when the Series 1976 $2 note was released, neither Anthony nor Mount Rushmore were to be found on it. Instead, Anthony appeared on the 1979 minidollar. Mount Rushmore had to wait until 1991, when it graced a set of U.S. commemorative coins.
In the News: 1970s
For error collectors, 1972 had something special in store with the release of the now-famous 1972 doubled-die cent.
"'Double Die' Cents Discovered in the East" reported the July 25, 1972, issue of the News. Of course, we all know now, the correct term would be "doubled die," but the effect was the same, as the article's photo caption asked "Shades of 1955?"
"A 1972 'double die' cent, similar to the 1955 variety, is turning up in significant quantities along the East Coast, according to reports reaching Numismatic News," recorded the newspaper. "The reports indicate collectors in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut have been finding the error cents in Philadelphia Mint bags - and even in circulation - since about the first week in June. More recently, they have been reported in Ohio, too.
Accompanied by photographs of one of the prominently doubled cents supplied by dealer Harry Forman, the News explained, "It appears that the '72 'double die,' like the '55 variety, is a double hub error such errors occur during the operation in which the die receives the impression from the hub."
The article noted that the doubling, which could be seen in the obverse mottoes IN GOD WE TRUST and LIBERTY as well as the date, " is not as dramatic on the '72 cent as on the '55 variety, but it is plainly visible without the use of a magnify glass - particularly in the lettering."
At press time, the News said, one dealer was offering to pay $40 apiece, or $2,000 for a roll of the coins. Collectors were reporting finding up to 350 of the coins per bag of new Philadelphia cents. A nationwide hunt ensued.
In the News: 1970s
Numismatics went Hollywood with the following announcement in the Nov. 6, 1973, issue of the News: "Liberty Head 1913 Nickel To 'Star' in Hawaii '5-0.'"
"Reputedly worth $175,000, a 1913 Liberty Head nickel is a star attraction in a forthcoming episode of "Hawaii Five-0," the popular television series aired weekly by the CBS network," the News wrote. "Five-0, the name of an investigative branch of the Honolulu police force, becomes involved with the rare nickel, in an episode titled '$100,000 Nickel.' The coin is stolen and Five-0 is given the job of recovering it."
Actor Victor Buono examines the 1913 Liberty Head nickel used in shooting an episode of the television show, ?Hawaii Five-0.?
CBS filmed part of the show in Hawaii, however the sequence with the rare nickel was taped in Hollywood, with the coin being delivered from its owners via a Brink's truck. "'We filmed the whole show around the coin,' said CBS, 'and then contacted World-Wide Coin Investments the owners to ask them if we could use the coin for five closeups.'
"Robert W. Cornely of Worldwide told the News, 'I accompanied the coin each step of the way and the coin never left my hand, except when actor Victor Buono held it briefly.
'Even then, I placed the coin in his hand and told him to hold it only by the edge. When the sequence was over, I took the coin and had it returned by Brink's.'
"The Five-0 segment will be seen sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. World-Wide bought the coin last year for $100,000 from A. Kosoff, Inc."
In the News: 1970s
"Observer Reports Examination Of 1964-Dated U.S. Peace Dollar" reads the headline above Alan Herbert's story in Feb. 15, 1975, issue of the News.
"Somewhere in the United States, six men sat down recently and passed from hand to hand a controversial coin that has reached the light of day for a few moments and now has slipped back into a safety-deposit box for another, and shorter, nap before it eventually is revealed to the coin collecting fraternity," Herbert wrote.
"One of the six was the owner of the 1964-D Peace dollar, which the Treasury Department has labeled contraband and 'not legally issued.' The other five were collectors or dealers who know of the past history of the coin. Several of them were undoubtedly startled to discover themselves to be part of that history as they participated in the first semi-public display of the Mint's most recent example of a coin that reached collectors' hands through what might be called 'unusual circumstances.'
"One of the five who saw the fabled coin for the first time at that meeting granted Numismatic News Weekly an exclusive interview and ultimately promised that pictures will be made available to the News readers at some future date.
"Our informant, who can only be described as the euphemistic 'usually reliable source,' answered one riddle with his description of the coin as bearing the 'D' for Denver mintmark, which was to be expected, although sources in the Mint had never confirmed that the coin bore a 'D.'
A clever mock-up helped News readers to visualize what a 1964 Peace dollar looks like.
"The 1964 Peace dollars have been shrouded in mystery ever since they were first authorized by the late President Lyndon Johnson. Orders to strike quantities of the first silver dollar since 1935 were issued, countermanded, issued and cancelled again before approval was finally given to make some 300,000 of them, only to have further orders issued canceling production and ordering those struck to be melted shortly after they were struck in May, 1965, due to the coin shortage."
There have been a number of reported sightings of 1964 Peace dollars over the years before and since this article, but none have been confirmed. As Herbert explained at the time:
"Rumors about the '64 Peace dollars have been rampant ever since they were first struck. In 1973, the News carried a series of articles on the coins, bringing the story up to date, including unconfirmed reports of sightings of the coins at various coin shows, or solicitations by supposed owners of some of the coins. None of the stories led to the actual viewing of one of the alleged specimens."
In the News: 1970s
"Aluminum Cent Patterns 'Lost' On Capitol Hill," reads the headline at the top of the May 3, 1975, issue of the News.
"Fourteen of the Mint's aluminum cent patterns are missing and it appears several congressmen or members of their staff made off with them," wrote the News of the errant patterns. "On April 22, a spokesman for the Bureau of the Mint verified that 16 of the 1974-dated patterns, which were struck in December, 1973, when the agency was considering a change in the Lincoln cent's alloy, had been sent to Capitol Hill for study by members of the House and Senate banking committees, but only two of them had been returned. The rest have mysteriously disappeared."
In the News: 1980s
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a run up in precious metals prices brought the following Jan. 26, 1980, News headline: "Precious Metals Records Result from Buyer Hysteria."
"Panic b uying pushed the price of gold bullion to a record $765 an ounce Jan. 16 in morning London trading, up $81 from that afternoon quotation of the day before," wrote David C. Harper. "Trading later in the day saw the precious metal decline to $760 by the time the five major London dealers who make the market agreed on their afternoon price."
Harper also reported that buyer hysteria spilled over into the silver markets, with the price of an ounce of silver posted at $48.01 Jan. 16 in London, a gain of $3.99 from the day before. In New York trading, he noted, silver changed hands in the spot market for $47 vs. $43.75 the day prior.
"The Russian occupation of Afghanistan and the fear that the war may spread throughout the Middle East were two factors motivating many recent purchasers of precious metals, according to Walter Perschke, president of Numisco, Inc., a Chicago, Ill., numismatic investment firm, in a telephone interview conducted Jan. 16," wrote Harper. "At Perschke's offices, he said, there was just 'standing room only' and that he did 'more business yesterday than in any month in 1976, 1977 or 1978.'"
In the News: 1980s
"First Morgan Dollar Struck Found in R.B. Hayes Museum" reads the headline on an important story by silver dollar specialist Leroy Van Allen in the Sept. 6, 1980, issue of the News.
"During the recent ANA convention at Cincinnati, the first Morgan dollar struck was rediscovered by myself and Pete Bishal in the nearby Ohio town of Fremont," Van Allen explained. "It is an impaired 1878-P proof and reposes in the Hayes Museum within the Hayes Library building on the Rutherford B. Hayes State Memorial. A separate certificate stating it was the first Morgan dollar struck was found in the Hayes Library. This certificate had been misplaced with the Hayes Library for many years and was finally, on Aug. 20, 1980, reunited with the first dollar struck.
"Robert Lemke had visited the Hayes Museum and Library several years ago and examined two proof 1878-P Morgan dollars. However, no accompanying certificate was found stating that this dollar was the first struck as reported by Lemke in the March 11, 1978, issue of Numismatic News. Thus, his article ended on the note that the only documented evidence as to the Hayes Museum dollars being among the first to come from the mint presses was a museum label accompanying the dollar."
Lemke's article further quoted contemporary coverage from the Chicago Tribune of the first striking of the Morgan dollars, which included the notation that the first dollar was enclosed in an envelope to go to Hayes.
Through die variety identification, Van Allen (who co-authored the standard reference on Morgan varieties) and Bishal were able to identify that the first dollar had to be a VAM-9 of the eight tail feather type, of which one of the two proofs at the Hayes Museum was. At the library, they also observed a special case, about two inches square with a hole in the middle. "Two attached flaps covered both sides of the dollar. One flap had a numeral 1 embossed on the outside."
A subsequent search of the library's card files led them to an entry under O.C. Bosbyshell, coiner at the Philadelphia Mint at the time of the coin's striking. The file having been pulled, they discovered inside an envelope, faded on one side, with the words: "His Excellency, Rutherford B. Hayes, President First Silver Dollar Coined, Phila., 1878."
"Next to it lay a folded card with the words: 'Mint US. Philadelphia Coiner's Department, March 11, 1878 I Hereby certify that the Silver Dollar enclosed in case No. 1, is the first one of the Dollar authorized by the Act of 1878, struck in the presses used for the regular coinage in the Mint of the United States.' The card was signed by O.C. Bosbyshell, coiner, and J.A. Pollock, superintendent."
In the News: 1980s
"No-mint-mark 1982 dime discovered" reported a major story by variety specialist Alan Herbert in the Jan. 29, 1983, issue of the News.
"The first known circulation strike U.S. coin that can be proved to be from a die that is supposed to have a mint mark has been discovered by an Ohio News reader," Herbert wrote. "Walter Placzankis spotted the coin in December and forwarded it to us for authentication. Detailed examination of the coin shows normal flow lines in the planchet metal in the area where the mint mark should be. This confirms that the die was placed in service without having a mint mark punched into it."
In the News: 1980s
"Victory! Annunzio Pulls It Off" celebrated the headline above News' Washington correspondent Burnett Anderson's lead story in the June 5, 1982 issue. The victory referred to was the defeat of a private marketing scheme for 33 Los Angeles Olympic coins. Many within the hobby opposed the release, as it would have deluged the hobby with commemoratives the sales of which would have been under the control of a private interest, the Occidental Petroleum-Lazard Freres Coin Group. The group first pushed for a massive 53-coin set and the chance for abuses looked ripe.
"David 302, Goliath 84," wrote Anderson of the final vote in the House of Representatives, which turned back the proposal that looked destined for victory. (Rep. Frank Annunzio, D-Ill., flashed the "V" for victory for the News' camera on the issue's front page.)
"Moments later, on a voice vote without a single audible 'No' the House adopted Annunzio's substitute measure providing six coins (three designs in proof and uncirculated versions) to be marketed directly by the U.S. Mint, without a middleman," Anderson wrote.
"Proponents of the 33-coin measure and most congressional observers had predicted an easy victory for their bill. It had been recommended by the House Banking Committee under the leadership of Fernand St. Germain (D.-R.I.) by a vote of 32 to 7. Annunzio himself had been less than optimistic about his chances up to the very time of the vote although, in an aside to this correspondent two days earlier, he had said, "The angels are on our side."
"Congressional experts searched in vain for a precedent, and could not find one. Not only did the House overrule one of its most prestigious committees and its chairman, and upset all predictions, it did so by a ratio of 4 to 1."
Krause Publications actively fought the 33-coin measure. Its editorial in the same issue noting that:
"Two days before the floor vote, Krause Publications sent to each member of the House a Mailgram urging them to vote against the Coin Group bill. The American Numismatic Association did the same. Here in the Krause offices we spent the last couple of days under the gun making calls to congressional offices and by calling dealers and collectors to enlist their aid."
Anderson related that supporters of Annunzio's version believed it would dissipate "fears of 'scandal' from abuses in marketing and a consequent interruption of commemorative coinage across the board, as happened 30 years ago." U.S. commemorative coinage had been stopped in the 1950s because of sales abuses by private marketers and did not resume until 1982.
"In their eyes [the supporters of Annunzio's slimmed down government-controlled Olympics program] the only losers are the would-be marketers, most notably Occidental Petroleum and its venerable chief, Armand Hammer. His company and Lazard Freres stand to lose not only hoped-for profits from a world wide marketing monopoly of U.S. legal tender, but $2.5 million in advance payments and other costs Hammer told a congressional committee had already been paid."
In the News: 1980s
"New day dawns on gold coinage history" proclaimed the headline on a story in the Sept. 24, 1983, issue of the News announcing first-strike ceremonies for the gold $10 coin as part of the Olympic coinage program for the 1983 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.
"After a blackout of more than half a century, a new day dawned for U.S. gold coinage Sept. 13 at 11:07 a.m.," Ed Reiter reported. "The sun rose, fittingly, in the East - at the U.S. Bullion Depository at West Point, N.Y., where Treasury Secretary Donald T. Regan activated a coinage press and caused it to strike the first example of the 1984 Olympic gold piece.
"That simple ceremony, witnessed by more than 100 reporters, photographers, invited hobby leaders and government officials, gave the nation its first gold coin since 1933 when the U.S. Mint discontinued production of the St. Gaudens eagle, the last such coin officially released prior to cessation of regular-issue U.S. gold coinage."
The new coin would sport a "first" as well, as it would carry the "W" mintmark, representing the West Point facility where it was minted, the first U.S. coin to carry that designation.
In the News: 1980s
"Washington half dollar world's best for 1982" reads a headline in the April 7, 1984, issue of Numismatic News proclaiming the winner of the first-ever Krause Publications' Coin of the Year Award.
According the article, "The 1982 George Washington half dollar, designed by Mint Chief Engraver Elizabeth Jones, was selected by a 43-member panel of coinage experts from around the world as the world's best numismatic effort for the year 1982."
The highly respected program is sponsored by World Coin News, the News' sister publication and continues to this day.
In the News: 1980s
"House approves gold coins" reads the headline on the front page of the Dec. 17, 1985, issue of the News heralding what would become the American Eagle bullion coin program.
"A new issue of U.S. gold coins in four denominations, was approved by Congress Dec. 2 with a unanimous vote in the House of Representatives," wrote News Washington Bureau chief Burnett Anderson. Only the president's signature remained.
"The coinage bill, passed by the Senate Nov. 14, would authorize gold bullion coins of $50, $25, $10 and $5 denominations, containing one ounce, one-half, one-quarter and one-tenth of a troy ounce of fine gold, respectively. Only the design of the one-ounce piece is specified in the bill. It must carry an obverse emblematic of Liberty and a reverse depicting a 'family' of eagles."
Today the American Eagle program, which includes silver and platinum versions, is popular with investors and collectors alike.
In the News: 1980s
"Gold Rush overwhelms Mint" reads the lead on the Nov. 4, 1986, issue of the News, as "primary buyer" companies hurried to stock examples of the newly issued American Eagle gold coins.
"The gold rush of 1986 started early Oct. 20 and within 30 hours eager buyers had acquired the entire U.S. Mint inventory of American Eagle gold pieces: 845,000 gold coins containing 558,000 troy ounces," wrote News Washington Bureau chief Burnett Anderson. "The overwhelming rush was unexpected. The Mint, after consultation with the industry, had set a minimum figure of 500,000 ounces as sufficient for meeting early demand. "'We knew that demand would be great, but we didn't expect it to be like this in the first two days,' Mint Director Donna Pope said as the inventory vanished. "'I hate suffering from success,' she added."
The coins were sold to 25 companies that qualified as "primary buyer" companies. Of these 25, nine were domestic and 16 foreign.
All paid about $425 a troy ounce plus markup, "laying down close to a quarter of a billion dollars in two days." American Eagle bullion coins could then be purchased by the public through various distributors.
In the same issue of the News it was reported that the new silver American Eagle bullion coin would become available to Mint-approved distributors beginning Nov. 24.
Collectors could also opt for proofs, with the one-ounce gold Eagle costing $550 and the one-ounce silver Eagle at $21.
In the News: 1980s
No, the Clampetts hadn't fallen on hard times, but it is true that, in 1987, Buddy Ebsen, who played Jed Clampett in the "Beverly Hillbillies," was selling his coins. "Superior sets Ebsen auction" announced the lead on the Feb. 3, 1987, issue of News.
"The black gold of Jed Clampett the long-time lead character in the "Beverly Hillbillies" was oil," the News wrote. "The man who played the role, Buddy Ebsen, prefers the real thing, as will be evidenced when his gold coin collection is sold by Superior Galleries of Beverly Hills, Calif., in what is expected to be the major sale of 1987."