Letters to the Editor: June 11, 2019
Ads are useful In response to comments on the April 02 issue of Numismatic News. Personally, I enjoy looking over the advertisements. Many coin dealers offer their inventories and this…
Ads are useful
In response to comments on the April 02 issue of Numismatic News. Personally, I enjoy looking over the advertisements. Many coin dealers offer their inventories and this shows a good gauge of what individual coins are going for and what is in demand. Every once in a while, I find an advertised coin needed for my personal collection and enjoyment at a price that fits into my budget.I read Numismatic News to learn of exciting new issues, coin show activity, auctions, and about the history behind U.S. coins.
Name withheld
Duluth, Minn.
The Mayflower: Missing
the Boat?
Reading about the Mayflower commemorative coins in my latest copy of Numismatic News (May 14, 2019) makes me wonder: Has Congress missed the boat again?
The article on pages 14, and 16 -17 mention the coins are to minted in silver and gold.ONLY FOR INVESTORS???Congress will be missing the boat again if it does not approve a commemorative series for the “common collector” or the general public.
One of the roots of the US is the settling of Plymouth (aka Patuxet) Massachusetts by the Pilgrims of the Mayflower in 1620.One hundred years ago, a “Mayflower” commemorative coin was minted to celebrate the tercentenary of the landing.It was Half Dollar coin.But since Half Dollars don’t circulate anymore in this era, why not have a special commemorative quarter {sort of]mimicking the “Pilgrim Half” of 1920?(A Pilgrim and a Wampanoag Brave Obverse and The Mayflower with a row boat off to the sideReverse)?
Or create a new $2.50 (“Quarter Eagle”) coin?Like the Canadian $2.00 bimetallic coin to celebrate this event.The design could continue after 2020, but eliminating the dual date “1620-2020.”.
Bill Tuttle,
Cleveland, Ohio
Answer to Bill Tuttle
In the May 14, 2019 issue (vol 68, no 12), Bill Tuttle of Cleveland, Ohio, asked about his ten-centavos from Portuguese India.I offer the following. . . .
Bill - Based entirely on your description, your three ten-centavos from Portuguese India - 1958, 1959 and 1961 - are catalogued as KM# 30, AG# R 13, Schön# 18- see https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces11765.html.Your Standard Catalog of World Coins is a very fine catalog but, as it is over eighteen years old, somewhat dated.I’d love to get into what and where Portuguese India was but I’m sure the Editor would like me to keep it short.See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_India for a reasonable description and answer to your questions.
David Anderson
El Cerrito, Calif.
Online is just not the same
The article in Forbes magazine, dated March 11 of this year, on F+W Media’s filing for bankruptcy, notes that one reason for this is that “the market for subscription print periodicals of all kinds, including those published by F+W, has been in decline over the last decade” and the article cites some rather alarming statistics in this regard.
I do hope Numismatic News continues to be published in a print edition for the indefinite future. While like everyone I do a lot of reading online, for me, Numismatic News moving to an online-only publication would be a disaster. In my opinion there is no substitute for having the printed magazine to leaf through, make notes of interesting items, etc. In fact there’s a special experience in simply having it in one’s hands. Online is just not the same.
Name and address withheld
Colorado is a dud for GACH
A big dud in Cleveland, OH. Only one dealer in Cleveland left coins in the Cleveland area. Left them on Monday and was not going back to leave anymore coins. Called a few other dealers in the area and they were not participating. Does not seem to be a lot of interest in the area. Only one coin club in the area and it meets once a month. Still trying to find my first 2019 national park quarter of any kind this year and it is already middle of May. Cannot find any in banks or retail stores. Very frustrating.
Ralph A. Fuller
Cleveland, Ohio
Is there a market for this?
A few days ago I received an ad in the mail from a “collectibles” company that shall remain nameless offering a legal tender coin commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The coin is dated 2016.This is 2019, so where it has been for three years, who knows.What makes this coin legal tender is that it was issued by a real country, Tristan da Cunha. Never having heard of this country, I looked it up, and learned that it is a remote group of volcanic islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 1,511 miles off the coast of South Africa. The economy consists of farming, the export of rock lobsters, and the sales of the island’s postage stamps and coins.At this point I switched over to Ebay and searched for Tristan da Cunha and found over 150 listings for coins and over 8, 000 listings for postage stamps. I would be willing to bet that most of the stamps and coins commemorate people and events that have no connection to the country, and that most of the inhabitants of Tristan da Cunha have never seen or used the stamps and coins that are sold to collectors. Now I know that people are free to collect whatever they want to collect, but is there really a market for this?Who collects this and why?
Peter Glassman
Schaumburg, Ill.
