| 2002
| ScrapBook
Subjects
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Page
Index
Links
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Link:
Two Heads Are Better Than One
Link:
[ For The Precious Metal Bugs Among Us! ]
Link:
Ron Landis Signed Concept Dollar
Link:
At A Loss For Words
Link:
[ Scruffy: Storyteller, Carver And Fisherman ]
Link:
Whoops... Oh Well!
Link:
Definitely 'COPY' Banged On The Dies
Link:
Time For Summer Reruns?
Link:
"Here They Are!"
Link:
[ An Emmett Kelly Masterpiece By Steve Adams ]
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Enlargement scans available on WWW and ScrapBook CD-ROM.
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| 5/31
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A Clifford Bolling photograph.
1796/1793 HalfCent MULE
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Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
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A Randy Conway photograph.
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
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Two Heads Are Better Than One
I just received a really great GMM 'mule' today
from Randy Conway (top$paid) of Lake Elsinore Coins in California. One
side is the 1796 with pole half cent obverse and the other side is the
1793 half cent obverse. Both are the regular production dies. The insert
is dated June 97. Production of the 1793 half cents ended in August of
1997, and production of the 1796 pieces began in June of 1997. Someone
must have thought it would be fun to pair these two obverses. I wonder
if there are any more like this out there? Pretty
neat piece! - Clifford Bolling...Tue, 28 May 2002
15:06:30
I watched this COOL specimen sell on eBay and I certainly would like to
have had it but I decided to save my money for fishing and sunrooms. Sure
glad it went to a good appreciative home!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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For The Precious Metal Bugs Among Us!
I think this continually updated chart is interesting.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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| 5/27
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| 5/26
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A Ron Landis photograph.
1799 Draped Bust Cent
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At A Loss For Words
I can't decide if I've been struck dumb by my admiration for Ron Landis'
wonderful talent or if I'm just displaying my usual lack of grace under
fire. Public speaking/writing has never been my long suit. I have asked
Ron to write a few words to introduce this newest creation in GMM's stable
of products but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. If he does I'll be certain
to share it with you here.
If you want to see his original scans, and are using a ScrapBook CD-ROM,
then here ya go! ..... Ron Landis original
Link:obverse and
Link:reverse scans.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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"Guido"
by Clifford L. Kraft
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Scruffy: Storyteller, Carver And Fisherman
sto·ry·tell·er n. 1.a. One who tells or writes stories.
b. One who relates anecdotes. 2. Informal. One who tells lies. ;-)
This is "GUIDO" (L-31). When I carved this coin,
I thought it was Jamie Farr (Klinger) proving there is life after M.A.S.H.
(I love that hat.) I have now been informed, by a reliable source, that
it is his brother who had his name changed to Guido Farrinelli when he
moved to Italy to drive for the Ferrari racing team... where he would
still be, but for the fact that they always gave him a helmet that was
two sizes too small, (he wears a 7 1/2) and you thought a tight shoe hurt.
Since coming to our area "GUIDO" has made his living selling used womens
clothing, which he receives from his brother Jamie, twice a week. He has
been appointed director of both our local homeland security, and our all
male Audubon Society Choir (the hairy chested nut scratchers.) He got both
positions after promising everyone in town a ride in his little red Italian
sports car. "GUIDO" says he is tired of subsidizing his income by picking
night crawlers all night, and guiding mushroom hunters on his days off. He
is looking for a new position, possibly driving, maybe even a golf cart?
Something where he can get more sleep, and fewer headaches. He is willing
to give discounts on his remaining inventory (both clothes and crawlers),
if he can find something where he would not have to rely on them. "GUIDO"
is hand carved on a full date, liberty, and horn 1935 XF+ buffalo nickel,
with some great modifications, great details, and a great hat. Do you have
a place for "GUIDO"? - Clifford Kraft...May-19-02 17:09:51
"Jessie"
by Clifford L. Kraft
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This is "JESSIE" (L-38). The nude photographer who
couldn't find anyone who wanted their picture taken by a guy with no
clothes on, so he shaved his head and ran for public office. (Smooth
move Jessie!) Well, he was elected, and has sold his camera, but is still
causing quite a bit of controversy. Will he run again, only "JESSIE" knows.
He is hand carved on a beautiful 1938D BU coin with nice modifications and
details. He is now thinking about an alternate vocation that would be
permanent, and befitting the life style he has become accustomed to. -
Clifford Kraft...Monday, May-13-02 18:03:36
"Kipper Gramps"
by Bill Zach
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Here we have another LI... whoops... YARN spun by our resident tale
spinner Scruffy for Nickel Carver Bill (Jameson) Zach!
What you seem to have here, is a case of
"Lutefisk-dystrophy" a malody brought on when a person has lied, telling
people he is Norwegian, and tries to swallow his first mouthfull of this
lye soaked delicacy. This is especially evident if the person is trying
to smile at the same time or doesn't think anyone is watching. This is
very easily recognized by someone from the upper midwest, with the proper
ancestry. It is very seldom fatal, as properly cooked lutefisk has the
consistancy of jellied snot, and is spit up rather easily. Needless to
say, in front of this person is not the place to be.
While "Kipper-dystrophy" is a little more serious, it is a little harder
to recognize, as the person must drop their drawers, and bend over, to
the rear of this person is not the place to be. Basically, if you can
remember where to stand, you should have no problems. If you have a problem
remembering, it probably isn't a bad idea to carry a small umbrella, and stay
ALERT!... or carry a large one and have an "I don't give a damn" attitude.
I really like the eyes on Kipper Gramps, you got just the right squint! -
Clifford Kraft...Tuesday, May 14, 2002 22:32
The position of Chronicler for Clifford "Scruffy" Kraft is available
to any interested party with appropriate qualifying experience and/or
educational credentials. There is a desperate need for somebody to capture
the wanderings of Scruffy's fertile mind and imagination. If Will Rogers
hadn't been published then he would have faded into obscurity. Don't let
this happen to Scruffy! This would be a non-paid position naturally. Perhaps
we need to contact NPR... some Minnesota boys get paid to tell their tales
over the radio waves.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
Click on any carving's photograph for enlargement on CD-ROM
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| 5/20
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Closeup photographs of scratch by Clifford Bolling.
Click for
FULL Reverse
enlargement on CD-ROM
Die Scratch On 1794 Dollar Reverse
Die
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Whoops... Oh Well!
I always thought the reverse die used for the
pattern 1794 dollar was retired along with the obverse after striking,
but it was obviously used again to strike regular issue pieces. There
is a die scratch in the field on the inside of the wreath that runs
from a berry to a pair of leaves below ST of STATES, and that die scratch
shows on my pattern dollars and the strip dollar! So far, there only
seems to be a single reverse die with no berry below A of STATES. -
Clifford D. Bolling...Tue, 30 Apr 2002 18:21:01
Good catch Cliff! I hadn't noticed the die scratch (the
red arrow.) Obviously Ron had too much
work invested in this die when his graver slipped... Whoops! ...so
he went ahead and used the die. I had noticed that this original "no berry
below A of STATES" reverse die developed a crack (the
yellow arrow) during the striking of
the terminal die state strikes that I showed you in
Link:Watching A Die Come Apart. I recall
that the 1794 "no stars" obverse die was used for the original issue of 794
strikes and then had 15 new stars added to it. So it makes sense that the
reworked die then continued to be used with the original "no berry" reverse
die. Neither die was retired until they broke up just recently. Ron created
new 1794 dollar dies when he got his new microscope because he wanted to
improve on his creations not because the original pair of dies had worn out.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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| 5/19
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An Adam Kelley Collection Specimen.
Uniface 1794 Half Cent
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Click for
Obverse
or
Reverse
enlargement
on
CD-ROM
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Definitely 'COPY' Banged On The Dies
I received the two pieces with the multiple copy
stamps on the reverse. Enclosed are some pictures showing the obverse and
a mirror image reverse. Everywhere there is a reverse copy stamp, there
is strong obverse detail. Also, there is evidence that the blanks bounced
around during this abuse, as they both show significant strike doubling.
Pretty weird to think that someone somehow propped up the obverse dies for
the small head 1793 Liberty Cap cent and the 1794 Liberty Cap half cent,
then took some blank planchets with the appropriate edge lettering, placed
them on the up-ended dies, then pounded them with a COPY stamp, thereby
imparting partial design transfer from the dies.
I believe these two obverse dies were not contemporaries, which would mean
either this was done a couple times over a period of years, OR someone dug
out the old 1793 cent die and the 1794 half cent die at the same time and
created these both at the same time. Actually, the 1793 cent piece looks
older than the half cent piece, so it looks like someone there is in the
habit(?) of doing this. Are there more out there??
Another consideration, when was the 1794 half cent die first created/available
to do this? Must have been fairly recently, the last year or so, implying
that it is something that might occur in the future?? and maybe more are
already floating around?? IT BOGGLES THE MIND! I have to rest, now. -
Clifford D. Bolling...Tue, 7 May 2002 19:31:34
If you want to see Cliff's original scans, and are
using a ScrapBook CD-ROM, then here ya go! ..... Cliff Bolling original
1794 HalfCent
Links:
profile,
date,
copy,
mirror scans and
1793 Cent
Links:
profile,
date,
copy,
mirror scans.
Click for
Enlargement on CD-ROM
These are the two specimens we showed you in previous SBsubject
Link:A Small Hoard Of Adam Kelley Creations.
As you can see from the missing letters in "_IBE_TY", that are opposite the
unstamped areas surrounding the COPY counterstamps, I agree with Cliff's
analysis of how these two specimens were created. I think that John Wright
also got a similar piece or two in his lot purchased from Adam Kelley.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
An Adam Kelley Collection Specimen.
Uniface 1793 Cent
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Click for
Obverse
or
Reverse
enlargement
on
CD-ROM
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| 5/18
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Click for
Obverse or
Reverse enlargement on CD-ROM
1787 New Jersey Cent - Terminal
Die State Strike
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Time For Summer Reruns?
I know I have shown all y'all this GMM creation in a previous SBsubject but
this specific specimen sold on eBay just recently for the BARGAIN price of
$16.16 plus shipping. Other than being a wonderful specimen showing some
great die deterioration, this specimen is also almost 10% wider than it is
tall (unless the Seller's camera has warped the picture.) Looking at the rim
details I think the picture accurately depicts the actual specimen because
there is a lot of extra material outside the dentils.
So... even if this is Summer and this SBsubject is a "rerun" I think it well
worth showing again. Tom was lucky to purchase it so inexpensively. I would
have bid higher on it myself except for the fact my wife has twisted my arm
until I agreed to add a SunRoom with a HotTub on the homestead this summer.
I gotta go fishing and forget the checks that I will be writing in August!
This isn't really an oval piece, right? Just a picture
taken at about a 30-40 degree angle from parallel. -
Clifford D. Bolling...Fri, 24 May 2002 15:59:04
Hard to say... I wondered about it. It seems to have extra metal at both
3:00 and 9:00 outside the dentils. Perhaps the way it was photographed is
the simplest answer... Occam's razor and all that!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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| 5/17
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A Ron Landis photograph.
1792 Silver Center Cent
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"Here They Are!"
It always seems to be a bit of a struggle to come up with something
interesting to say about certain GMM creations because I don't have the
background information on each piece that Ron has. As I recently told
him... sometimes all I can think of is "Here they are!" which seems
definitely uninteresting, particularly if repeated creation after
creation. In the case of the 1792 Silver Center Cent, "Here they
are!" really is appropriate because many of Ron's customers have been
asking for this creation from almost the beginning of GMM. I suspect it
was a bit of a technical challenge to create these pieces and thus the
long time in arriving. Perhaps Ron will share some of that detail with
us eventually. For the moment "Here They Are!" is what you are getting.
One small bit of news... this is the first time Ron has been able to
send me scans directly from GMM and I am tickled pink! I have definite
hopes that we will benefit from MORE Ron Landis scans in the future and
thus be kept up-to-date better on the activities at the mint. Ron's scans
were strong in both the red and yellow parts of the spectrum and I toned
them down just a hair. If you want to see his original scans, and are
using a ScrapBook CD-ROM, then here ya go! ..... Ron Landis original
Link:obverse and
Link:reverse scans.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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An Emmett Kelly Masterpiece By Steve Adams
OK... OK... I have wandered pretty far afield from Ron Landis and
the Gallery Mint Museum AGAIN! Perhaps I should change the
name of this eclectic collection of esoteric numismatic subjects to
Verne's Numismatic ScrapBook.
Steve told me this week about this wonderful carving that he created for
a customer. Glad you like the carving Verne. It
was inspired by an Emmett Kelly character. You could say I spent the
weekend clowning around. I would love to show the eBay crowd something
like this, but the market wouldn't support a carving that takes several
or more days. I don't know if the scan shows it, but this one is really
deep. He looks right back at you, as if he has something to say. There
may not be words, but the expression says it all. Hate to see this one
go, Heidi likes it too. She says it has a certain charm. I have some
more interesting work in process. Eventually it will all be on the
website:
Link:SGA
Sculpture Engraving,
Link:Steve's
Hobo Nickels and
Link:Hobo
Gallery... and, yes, there are several more portraits coming. -
Steven G. Adams...Mon, 29 Apr 2002 22:18:12
This is one of those times when I really wish I was independently
wealthy! I am totally blown away by the genius evident in this carving.
My corresponding friend and nickel carver Clifford Kraft is likewise
impressed as you can tell from his comments:
They do not get any nicer than this, the only way I would enjoy
it more, is if I had done it. I could sit and look at it all day.
I don't think people appreciate the workmanship that goes with
something like this. It is truly beautiful.
I am just sitting and looking at this coin. You can have the art
and engraving education. the experience, talent, and everything
that goes with it, but if you don't have pride in what you do,
you don't have a chance of even coming close to this. I guess
what I am trying to say is that even Steve couldn't do work like
this, without pride in what he does. Where can the man go from
here? Cliff has pretty much said it all. No need for me
to ramble on and on effervescing about this stunning carving.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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