| 2001
| ScrapBook
Subjects
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Page
Index
Links
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Link:
Struck With Misaligned Obverse Die!
Link:
Pièce De Caprice Begging For A Good Home
Link:
The Brasher Set That Got Away
Link:
What Happened To The COPY Stamp?
Link:
Another Unexpected Surprise!
Link:
Kinda Special To My Dad And Me!
Link:
"Reproducing History" - Originals, Replicas and Restrikes
Link:
"New Coins From An Old Cargo"
Link:
[ Progress You Can Actually See! ]
Link:
Pittsburgh Numismatic Society Medals
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Enlargement scans available on WWW and ScrapBook CD-ROM.
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| 12/15
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A Clifford Bolling photograph.
1796 Liberty Cap with pole Half
Cent
struck with misaligned obverse die.
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Click for
Obverse
or
Reverse
enlargement
on
CD-ROM
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Struck With Misaligned Obverse Die!
The following description of a misaligned
obverse die 1796 half cent with pole is from the Mike Ellis auction
of GMM goodies in April, 1999:
"1796 CH BU Half Cent, with pole variety.
Struck with misaligned obverse die! The obverse looks about 5%
off center while the reverse is centered normally. This is a
legitimate error that occurred on 7/28/97 while Chuck Wishon and
myself were discussing the various 1796 Half Cent varieties with
Adam Hardcastle and Ron Landis right there! Copy stamp on reverse.
Total Mintage: Approx 5 pieces." Mike Ellis
Pretty cool stuff. That piece sold for
$27.50 in Mike's auction. It is interesting that he should mention
Adam Hardcastle being there and that the piece shown above is from
the Hardcastle collection, sold by Classic Coins. It's good to know
the mintage, also. Chuck Wishon is an expert in doubled dies.
Clifford D. Bolling...Fri, 14 Dec 2001 17:03:57
Thanks Cliff! I really appreciate both the original scan and, even
more, the descriptive information to go with it. Building SBsubjects
takes a lot out of me and it is great to get help from other folks!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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| 12/14
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1796 GMM "Type Set"
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Pièce De Caprice Begging For A Good Home
As I sit here writing this SBsubject, the interesting custom struck
specimen shown above is being offered on eBay for the third or perhaps
even the fourth time. So far those of us who like unusual GMM creations
have not valued this specimen as highly as the current owner does.
We all want to be appreciated! I suspect that this may be one of those
pieces that need to be seen and held to be appreciated. Since it is
struck on a dollar planchet it has some weight to it and probably
"feels" good when hefted. It just doesn't look too appealing from the
scan posted on eBay... I'd guess this might be because it is so "busy"
and mostly just shows the legend on each successive die strike; Dollar,
HalfDollar, Quarter, Dime and finally the HalfDime.
We all know that not everybody is "turned on" by the same things so
this just may be right up your alley. If it is then "go for it" as
it is available on eBay for a couple days yet. The Seller tells us
that it is one of four pieces struck and it clearly took a lot of
effort at GMM to create. They may not be inclined to go to this much
work again.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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| 12/13
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Click for
Doubloon Obv.,
Doubloon Rev. or
Half Doubloon Rev.
MCGC slab views on CD-ROM
1787 Brasher Doubloon and
Half Doubloon
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The Brasher Set That Got Away
Bidding on these golden beauties on eBay was going along just great
this week when a new bidder entered the fray. I checked the bidding
and feedback histories of the new arrival and found they only bid on
the Seller's items. A bit more checking of other frequent bidders on
the Seller's previous items revealed another Bidder who not only bid
only on the Seller's items but also had feedback only from the Seller.
The bidding history of many items showed that those two Bidders often
"competed" with each other pushing the bidding to higher and higher
levels.
I EMailed my concern about the possibility of "Shill Bidding" to the
Seller and the other apparently legitimate Bidder and went to bed.
The next day... POOF! ...both gold pieces had disappeared from my
eBay searches and the Seller was no longer a registered eBay user.
These particular GMM pieces are my favorite gold creations from the
GMM artisans. It sure hurt my feelings to miss the chance to add
another set to my midden heap.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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| 12/12
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What Happened To The COPY Stamp?
Alright... alright... don't get your pantyhose in a knot! I'm just
messin' with your mind. The beautiful proof Fugio Cent shown above
is actually a stunning RevCOPY and ObvCOPY pair that I just won on
eBay. I've seen pairs of GMM creations mounted in Capital Plastic
holders so that only the non-COPY faces show which surely makes a
superlative display item.
One additional point... this pair of proofs came from Adam Kelley's
personal collection. He selected these two pieces for himself out
of all the proof fugios he struck. Yes, he even paid for them! So...
to me ...that makes this pair "the best of the best!"
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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FIRST
Official 1794 Liberty Cap/Starred Reverse Cent Strike
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Click for
Obverse
or
Reverse
enlargement
on
CD-ROM
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Another Unexpected Surprise!
This sort of experience is what makes collecting GMM creations such
a tremendously exciting avocation. Unexpectedly, along with the pair
of Fugio proof cents, came the above 1794 cent.
Now then... I have several 1794 cents and they are readily available
from GMM still. So... having one more wouldn't normally be a BIG
DEAL at all. It is the provenance of the piece, documented by the
hand written coinflip insert shown above, that makes this specimen
special to me.
Adam Kelley seemed to me to be a very serious GMM worker and I
never saw any indication that he had any particular interest or
predilection for making custom creations. All of which means he
had little opportunity to document pieces like the one shown above.
When I asked him about the rarity of "AK" documented specimens he
responded; "Very few, if in fact any, other such inserts exist."
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
1794 Liberty Cap Cent with
Starred Reverse XF45 $68,000
( Current Auction
Price ... closes December 25, 2001. )
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Click for
Obverse
or
Reverse
enlargement
on
CD-ROM
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| 12/10
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Click for
Obverse or
Reverse enlargement on
CD-ROM
Barry Beavers' Strawberry
Leaf Wreath Cent
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Kinda Special To My Dad And Me!
I am the owner of GMM Strawberry Leaf cent
#1. My father entered me in the contest without my knowledge. It's
an interesting story! I received the certificate in the mail and,
being totally unfamiliar with GMM, I thought someone was trying to
sell me something. So I tossed it in my study trash.
I received three notices in my mailbox that I had a package from
GMM. Again thinking it was a sales pitch, I picked it up on the
3rd notice when they said they were sending it back. I opened the
package and tossed the penny in my wife's glove compartment,
thinking again, it was a "free sample" to get me to buy something.
A month later I was having dinner with my dad and he casually
mentioned the Strawberry Leaf cent. I told him; "Yeah, somebody
sent me one of those." His jaw dropped, he explained, and we
recovered the cent and certificate unharmed thank goodness.
I would never sell it,
kinda special to my dad and me.
Barry W. Beavers...Mon, 10 Dec 2001 22:59:29
I sent out letters via SnailMail attempting to contact those
folks who received the four Strawberry Leaf Wreath Cents from
"The Guys" several years ago. Barry was kind enough to EMail
me back immediately to share the above narration with all of
us. I wonder how many of the remaining three specimens made
it safely into the hands of collectors for future generations
to enjoy?
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
Barry Beavers' Ownership Certificate
Click for
Enlargement on CD-ROM
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Wax Impression Of CANCELLED
Strawberry
Leaf Wreath Obverse Die
Click for
Enlargement on CD-ROM
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| 12/8
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"Reproducing History" - Originals, Replicas and Restrikes
The January 2002 issue of
Link:COINage just landed
in my mailbox and "The Guys" made it to publication AGAIN starting
on page 52. Richard Giedroyc wrote an interesting article that is
definitely worth picking up on your newsstand if you don't already
subscribe. I particularly liked the picture of Ron wearing his
headgear of choice as usual. I think that every time he sees a
camera he grabs for his headband magnifiers.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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"New Coins From An Old Cargo"
The November 2001 issue of
Link:COINage was given to
me by Ron Landis. "The Guys" made it to publication in it starting on
page 104. David L. Ganz wrote an interesting article on the Kellogg
Restrikes from the SS Central America's gold. There is
also a full page advertisement on page 23 by Bowers and Merena
Galleries which has a greatly detailed map of "The Treasure
Voyage", August 20 - September 12, 1857.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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Click for
Left,
Center or
Right carving enlargement on
CD-ROM
Bill (Jameson) Zach's most recent
nickel carving
Progress You Can Actually See!
Bill sent me scans as his carving progressed and I think they are so
neat I just had to share them with you.
Viking carvings have been really popular... particularly over the
last few years. Steven Adams has done a couple, Arthur Hutchison
has done several, Bill Jameson has carved the one shown above for
me and Joe Paonessa just weighed in with one also. There most
likely are a number of other Viking carvings done fairly recently
but these are just the ones that come to mind as I write this.
Shown below are Adams#1, Adams#2, Hutchison and Paonessa carvings
for your education and enjoyment.
I had sent a scan of the Hutchison carving to Bill Jameson so he
would know what I was looking for and you can imagine my surprise
when Steven Adams posted a piece right after that and then Joe
Paonessa showed me his excellent carving all in the same week. If
I recall correctly Joe told me his carving wasn't finished yet. I
know the scan he sent me still had it glued to a piece of plywood.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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| 12/4
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Pittsburgh Numismatic Society Medals
Following is text excerpted from the
Link:Pittsburgh
Numismatic Society webpage:
PITTSBURGH NUMISMATIC SOCIETY (PNS) will be
celebrating its 50th anniversary in June, 2000. As part of the
celebrations, the club will be issuing gold and silver medals. The
medal was designed by one of PNS' members and will be engraved and
struck by Ron Landis at the GALLERY MINT. This is the first time
that the Gallery Mint has ever muled any of their dies with an
outside design.
The gold obverse will be a replica of the 1796 Eagle and the silver
obverse will be your choice of either the 1794 or 1796 Half Dollar.
(This should make the medals roughly 30.6-31.8mm in diameter.-vrw)
The reverse will feature a design commemorating PNS's anniversary.
It will have as its central theme a triangle representing Pittsburgh's
most notable icon... The Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle
(Pittsburgh's business district) is bounded on the north by the
Allegheny River and the south by the Monongahela River. These 2 rivers
come together at the point to form the mighty Ohio. Surrounding the
triangle on the medal is PITTSBURGH NUMISMATIC SOCIETY 1950-2000. In
the center of the triangle will be the stylized logo of the club's
initials.
Mintages will be limited to the exact number of pre-booked orders.
The prices are $350 for the gold and $25 for the silver. Shipping
and handling charges are as follows: $2.00 for the 1st silver and
$1.00 for each additional, and $7.00 for each gold. Shipment is
expected to be by the end of June, 2000.
I removed a bit of the contact information because the ordering
information is no longer useful since the order deadline is long
past. My reason for quoting so much of their original text here is
because the subject matter is growing stale and I fully expect the
webpage to be modified any moment to reflect some subject of more
current interest to PNS's membership.
Today I was able to locate a pair of the silver medals from a private
individual and my check is written and ready to go out in tomorrow's
SnailMail. The medals struck were; 6 gold with the $10 Eagle die,
46 silver with the 1794 Half Dollar die and 45 silver with the
16star 1796 Half Dollar die.
One can find information in the most obscure places! Today I found a
posting to a Yahoo Group, Pgh-NS, "PNS Posting Request for cost of
Minting medals information", Tue Nov 6, 2001, in which Nancy Ambrass
informed us that it cost $300 to have this PNS reverse die created.
Now I wonder where this die has gotten to... did it get sent to PNS
or is it still at GMM? Questions... always questions!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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