Letters to the Editor (5/5/15)

Put Liberty back on our coins

This letter is in response to Bob Olekson’s letter, “Time for action on designs not words.”
I agree it is time we have a change of design on our coins. And we should be able to collect them from pocket change.

We also need to look at the past when our coins meant something because they carried designs of Liberty. Today they are all political and a popularity contest of who is considered the most important.

And the dollar Susan B. Anthony, now Sacagawea, has become a token dollar. Nothing against either Susan B. Anthony or Sacagawea, but you couldn’t get Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, Washington or JFK off of their coins with dynamite. But Ike, Supreme allied commander in WWII, was pushed away for political correctness to have a woman in Anthony. And 20 years later she wasn’t good enough so we got Sacagawea.

It is high time we said goodby to all six of them and replaced them with the concept of Liberty. Forget using various people, it will always be a contest of who is more important. We need to return to our roots. Our coins are supposed to carry designs emblematic to Liberty.

As people the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the name George Washington and they will tell you he was the first president, he led the American Revolution. Ask someone about the big green enlightened statue and the Statue of Liberty will be the first thing out of their mouths. These six people on our coins, if deemed God-like, and we can’t live without them, can go on permanent stamps of the same denominations. As for the half dollar, in order to allow it to work in a vending machine, we could make it smaller at 27.5 mm with a heptagon shape like they have in England.

Wayne Pearson
Union City, Ind.

Portrait of Kennedy on dollar coin falls short

I may be a “dollar late, dollar short,” so to speak. I just looked closely at the images of the four 2015 Presidential dollar coins, and I am quite upset.

I normally don’t care/comment on portraits on coins, but the image of John F. Kennedy is terrible. The only thing that even resembles him is the hair. When you look at the Truman and Eisenhower coins, and even the LBJ coin, you can see that the images look just as someone my age remembers them. But Kennedy, oh, no. Terrible. And why do they portray him looking down?

Dan Sowards
Austin, Texas

Put bullion content on edge of 2016 gold coins

I love the idea of coining the 1916 silver coins in gold in 2016.

One creative way to state the bullion content as 24-karat gold, without distracting from the original design, would be to use edge lettering.

The Mint may even give us a few errors when they screw up and miss a few in the edge lettering process.

Bill Nielsen
Address withheld

800 attend South Shore Coin Club Show

The South Shore Coin Club held their 51st Annual Show on March 19-21 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Milwaukee.

We want to thank President Steve Jendusa and Show Chairman Joe Bartoszewicz, along with the officers and members of the SSCC for giving the American Numismatic Association a free table at the show. We were able to sign up 14 members for the ANA and give out coin collecting information to visitors. Dealer Tom Reynolds from Omaha donated the money for the shipment of the ANA coin show kit.

Thursday and Saturday were very busy at the show. The dealers we spoke to said they had decent sales and made some good contacts. Seventy-five dealers were set-up at 55 tables. Volunteers from the SSCC registered early birds, public attendees, gave out wooden nickels and tickets for the hourly drawing(s) and sold raffle tickets. Eight hundred registered for the show. Several outstanding competitive and non-competitive exhibits were on display.

The Milwaukee Numismatic Society Boy Scout Coin Collecting Merit Badge Clinic was held in conjunction with the show on Saturday. The clinic was chaired by Dr. Leon Saryan who was assisted by coin club members. Speakers were: Roger Lick, Dave Hunsicker, Justin Perrault and Dr. Saryan. The 36 scouts who signed up passed all requirements and received their Coin Collecting Merit Badge. Justin Perrault is the President of the MNS and became involved in the club after he took this same scout clinic some years back. After the clinic most of the scouts visited the bourse.

The South Shore Coin Club will be hosting the Numismatists of Wisconsin show next year at this same location on March 31, April 2-3, 2016. It will be the club’s 52nd annual show.

John and Nancy Wilson
ANA National Volunteers
Ocala, Fla.

Orlando gets 2015 Philadelphia cents

2015 cents (Philadelphia) are turning up in Orlando, Fla.

Bill Mills
Orlando, Fla.

Good day for getting half dollars at local bank

Today I went to my local bank. Sometimes I get some nickel, dime or quarter rolls. In most cases they don’t have halves.

Today they had $250 worth of halves. I took home 10 rolls and the first roll I opened I couldn’t believe what I saw, two 1971 proof halves and five 40 percent silver halves. I went back right away and got the other $150 worth.

In all, I got five gem BU rolls, one 1980-D, one 1988-D, one 1989-D and two 1995-P.

Harry Kissinger
Sinking Spring, Pa.

Put uncirculated cents in tubes to stop oxidation

I recently purchased two $50 bags containing old bank wrapped uncirculated rolls of Lincoln pennies, including 1974-D, 1974-S, 1975-D, 1976-D, 1977-D and 1978. It is a great find of coins over 35 years old. I have been collecting pennies for a long time and began to remove the paper wrap and placed the uncirculated cents in coin tubes.

I have noticed that copper tends to oxidize when in contact with the paper used to wrap the pennies over a long period of time, so several of the rolls were badly damaged.

A few years ago, I purchased a roll of uncirculated 1980 Lincoln cents and broke the roll and discoverd that the majority of the cents were badly oxidized around the rim and the center. I’m sure other collectors have come across this same problem.

I would advise that any uncirculated roll of pennies be placed in tubes to avoid copper oxidation and damage over a long period of time. It could be the combination of air and acid in the paper that causes this problem.

C. Takasane
Honolulu, Hawaii

2015 coins showing up in California

I have received the 2015 cents, nickels and dimes in my change from various stores here in the San Gabriel Valley in these past two weeks. I have saved the first new cent I get every year since 1985. I have placed them in a Dansco folder and each one still looks brand new.
Your paper helps me learn more about the numismatic field. Keep up the great work.

Helena P. Desens
Covina, Calif.