Letters to the Editor (March 21, 2017)

Mint gets A+ on two Obama Presidential medals

I recently received the two new Presidential medals from the Mint. They are both long overdue additions to my collection. I must admit that I was not a big fan of our last president, but I was very impressed with both of these new medals. They show how the pressure of the day-by-day decision-making demands can take a toll on our highest elected leader. The people involved from the Mint did a great service to our country and President Obama with their two fine pieces of work. I have found that many school age children have become more familiar with our past presidents from our coins. Maybe some type of Vice Presidential coins could be a future series from the Mint? Enjoy the hobby and share it with others.

Leo Darmstadter
Vineland, N.J.

2017-P cents show up in North Carolina gas station

I received four 2017-P cents in change at a Sheetz gas station in Thomasville, N.C., on Friday, Feb. 24. I kept the two best and sent the other ones off into circulation. I don’t remember ever seeing any new coins this early.

Bob Klippstein
Greensboro, N.C.

Kansas Menards yields reader’s first 2017 cent

Received first 2017 cent today, Feb. 19, in change from Menards in Wichita, Kan.

Bill Randall
Wichita, Kan.

2017-D cents turn up at two Colorado establishments

On Feb. 18 I received my first 2017-D Lincoln cents at McDonald’s. Today, Feb. 22, I got two 2017-D Effigy Mounds quarters in change at the marijuana store! I was exhilarated!

Jim Chudd
Fort Collins, Colo.

Entire collection was overpriced by coin firm

I am a collector and have been since I was 8 years old, which was a long time ago. I purchase collections from time to time. A little over a week ago I purchased a group of coins from a gentleman. He met with me and unpacked his collection. While doing so, I noticed that almost all of his coins were from a well-known coin company. As I perused his coins, a sinking feeling overcame me. The seller had carefully labeled each coin he had bought from this dealer with the price he had paid.

Before I even started inventorying his collection, I asked him if he was aware of the fact that he had grossly overpaid for each and every coin he had. Sadly, he acknowledged that he was aware. Each and every coin was ridiculously overpriced.

For example: a 1935 Washington quarter in Good condition sold for $24.75. Another 1955-P quarter in Very Fine was sold to him for $22.25. I sell the same coins to my wholesaler for melt! Another example: he paid $96 for an 1882-O Morgan dollar in Extra Fine condition. I get $23.75 from my wholesaler. Needless to say, by the time I finished pricing his coins I figured the guy had lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $5,000. And not one of these coins had any numismatic value to them. They all were common coins. That same day I wanted to confirm the values he placed on the coins so I went to the company’s website. Sure enough, there were these overinflated prices.

Each month my coin club meets and discusses how we as members can encourage new people to join us in our hobby. I think we all recognize that many segments of our hobby are aging out. It is very difficult to find new members. And yet here is a large coin dealer ripping off (in my opinion) his unsuspecting customers. Taking advantage of the coin collecting public impacts membership recruitment for our club and clubs around the country.

Harold Skripsky
Arizona

Deals to be had at shows, depending on the coin

Seems lately NN has been receiving a lot of critics. I have stopped receipt of all coin periodicals except the NN. I really enjoy the articles, news, updates and references. I believe that you are doing it right!

In reading about the Ft. Lauderdale, FUN show in the letters section, I noticed the writer did not specify what coins they were looking for deals on. I attend several shows a year and when asked about deals from club members, I always have the same answer. Yes ... depends on what you are looking for.

At shows where I set up a table, at a personal cost of $100 and up per table, profit is not what I see all the time. I may make $5 to $10 a coin (on U.S. coins) if it’s a popular mintage. Hopefully I’ll make enough to pay for my table. But when buying, if I purchase a coin within 10-15 percent of the price outlined by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, then I am happy. Coins rarely go down in value.

I loved Wayne’s letter about the $100 note. And, in my humble opinion, if you publish articles about acid coin cleaning, you will receive hate mail when things, don’t quite work out.

Name withheld
Fruita, Colo.

Is current trend in ATB packaging here to stay?

Please advise me on the correct explanation for the packaging errors on the America the Beautiful proof and silver proof packages. I thought last year’s problems were only temporary, and I did not inquire then about the errors. When I called the Mint to ask why the pictures on the 2017 box do not represent the pictures on the coins, the representative said “the Mint just wanted to show a variety of different pictures for the buyer.” He insisted this practice will continue.

When going back through my collection, this difference in the packaging only started within the last year or two. Will we never get packaging that represents the pictures depicted on the coins? Or was the Mint representative just trying to end my call quickly?

Thanks for your help in straightening this out for me.

George H. Kwiatek
Pittsburgh, Pa.

More Collecting Resources

• If you enjoy reading about what inspires coin designs, you'll want to check out Fascinating Facts, Mysteries & Myths about U.S. Coins.

• The 1800s were a time of change for many, including in coin production. See how coin designs grew during the time period in the Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900 .