Letters to the Editor (February 28, 2017)

How should collectors handle relocation?

I have a few things, so please edit if needed, and I don’t mind.

1. I collect mostly old coins and notes, but some newer ones (silver Eagles and Kookaburra coins). I also buy the more affordable sleepers. Along with the coins, the notes are the ones that are more attractive than the new plain new ones. Why? Because they are more attractive and they both have a better history.

2. With Doug Thom’s Viewpoint, I do agree that I have been seeing the same thing. I have been slowing down due to me losing my better pay/hours job at the end of 2015. I have been very selective now as to what I want.

3. In the past, we have seen a write-up for designating collections or how to tell families how to deal with them at our passing. For the new subscribers, can a link be given, or continuously posted in NN? And something that may have never been thought of: relocation and how to go about transportation of our collection.

Scott Schable
Address withheld

NN should run more content for common collector

I just got around to reading the Jan. 3 issue of Numismatic News and I had to send a comment on Doug Thom’s Viewpoint article. I believe he really hit the nail on the head. I’ve held those same feelings for a long time and I totally agree with him. I know that your advertisers aren’t going to pay ad costs by offering common date or low grade coins, but why not put articles such as treating Buffalo nickels with acid on your front page along with other stories about the common collector and collector coins as he recommends? He states, “Is it any wonder that the hobby is losing people?” This is so, so true. Could I afford even the lowest-priced double eagle gold? Absolutely not. Not even close. Yet I as a collector, along with many others like me and Mr. Thom, make up the backbone of this hobby. I don’t care if you publish this email, but I would like Mr. Thom to know that I think he is spot-on right.

Curtis McKnight, Jr.
Address withheld

Mint hits home run with Lions Club silver dollar

I was very happy with my recent purchase of the 2017 Lions Club International centennial silver dollar. The ordering process went smoothly and the coin shipped quickly. I must say that many of my previous dealing with the Mint have not been happy ones. The Lions coin is a real keeper. Joel Iskowitz and Joseph Menna did a fantastic job with the obverse of Melvin Jones. The reverse work of Patricia Lucas-Morris and Don Everhart displaying a lion family is just as brilliant. It seems to me that the Mint is off to a great start. Enjoy the collecting.

Leo Darmstadter
Vineland, N.J.

Something not right about push to eliminate $100 note

A while back I was reading about how terrorist were using 500-euro notes and $100 U.S. currency. Europe has moved to eliminate the 500-euro note. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is all for eliminating the $100 bill. Something sounds fishy. And I found out the truth. In reading The Road to Ruin by James Rickards, on page 27 he talks about bank bail-ins. That is where a bank can take depositors’ money to settle their own debts. And the SEC in 2014 made some law that allows others to withhold your money, hedge funds – the only way to be safe is to have actual money. Coins and currency. Bullion coins and large denomination paper – like the $100 bills. I don’t want to lose my $100 bill due to some “National Security” scam. No one trusts Summers, anyway.

Wayne Pearson
Union City, Ind.

FUN show was big on crowds but small on deals

I wanted to take a moment and share some thoughts regarding the Florida United Numismatists show here in Ft. Lauderdale. Wow! I have never seen so many coin dealers and vendors under one roof. I spent about three hours there and only walked half the floor. Everyone was friendly and chatty, which took time walking table to table. If you couldn’t find a coin you were in search of there I guess the next best thing would be eBay.

To my point. I guess I went there with the expectation of finding some good deals. If I wanted to pay full boat I could have stayed home and let my fingers do the walking. I found overall that the dealers stuck to their prices without much room for negotiations.

The nicest booth was probably MCM, which gave me an opportunity to view the new 2017 Krugerrand. It really is a beauty! They did offer certain coins for a few dollars under their website prices, but marginal at best.

I was overwhelmed by the amount of silver that is circulating the markets and it made me feel like my collection was a flea on the behind of an elephant, and this was just one show. If anyone ever feels the hobby may be fading a bit, make an attempt to at least visit another FUN show. At the end of the day, I left with most of my budgeted dollars.

Name withheld