| 2003
| ScrapBook Subjects
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Page
Index
Links
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Link:
"Girl With Braids" And "Griffin"
Link:
The Slot Machine Boxcar
Link:
[ Sonny's "Baker's Dozen" - 5 carved Jeffs ]
Link:
Michael Demling, Numismatist, EAC-781
Link:
Rust-Alexander Marriage
 500
Link:
An Athenian Didrachm In Solid GOLD
Link:
[ Sonny's "Baker's Dozen" - 2 carved JFK proofs ]
Link:
Medusa And Perseus
Link:
Do You Want That Frosty Or Bright?
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Enlargement scans available on WWW and ScrapBook CD-ROM.
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Click on individual scans for
Obverse & Reverse
enlargements on CD-ROM
1997 Ron Landis #145
1937D Nickel 5.0g 21.2mm
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1995 Ron Landis #086
1936S Nickel 4.5g 21.2mm
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"Girl With Braids" And "Griffin"
Ron's 1997 nickel carving #145 of a girl in braids is the fourth of a
set of five carvings; Cowboy, Cameo Hobo, Bald Hobo "HOUSTON", Girl With
Braids, and Clown. These were done as a demonstration in nickel carving
at a numismatic convention in Houston, Texas in 1997. When you look at
the enlarged scan one can tell it isn't as "finished" as he is famous
for doing. Being carved as a demonstration in public and not in his
private workshop certainly explains that. It is still a super neat
carving with a wonderful provenance.
Ron's 1995 nickel carving #086 of a griffin is a much more "finished"
carving and has extremely high relief having been carved exceptionally
deeply into the host nickel. Notice that he removed roughly a half a
gram of metal while carving. This SUPERIOR carving is also COOL because
it brings us back to his roots in the RenFest circuit where he got
his start and for which we can be thankful since it put him on the road
to where he and Joe are today... a premier private U.S. mint with a
national reputation for excellence.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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Click for
Obverse & Reverse
enlargement on CD-ROM
c.1994 Ron Landis (unnumbered)
1994D Nickel 4.9g 21.2mm
The Slot Machine Boxcar
The TreasureTrove owner had purchased an old broken-down nickel slot machine
years ago and had asked Joe Rust to restore it for them. Joe did his usual
fantasmagorical work and while the machine was in the custody of TheGuys Ron
decided to play a small joke. He carved the ES&NA boxcar shown above on a
host Jefferson nickel and played the slot machine with it without telling
anyone. Imagine the TTowner's surprise when their daughter won this unusual
nickel while playing the slot machine.
The Eureka Springs & North Arkansas railroad exists today as a small steam engine with about a mile and a half track at the north end of town. The station is the original train station built in the late 19th or early 20th century. They have dining cars and serve meals at supper time. During the day, they take tourists down the track and back in old passenger cars. The owner died about a year ago, and I believe his family still owns it and is keeping it open. I think it's still for sale for about a million dollars.
We may be doing a project with them at some point. Remember how we used
to place pennies on the track when we were kids? I want to supply them with
an engraved section of track where folks can create elongated cents in this
manner. We've been toying with the idea for some time, and their mechanic
is all for it. It would be a unique way of producing a numismatic item.
Instead of destroying a cent, it would transform it into an elongate.
Ron Landis... Monday, November 24, 2003 10:24AM
This was just a "quickie" carving but Ron's natural talent clearly shows
regardless. It isn't immediately apparent from this relatively small scan
but Ron did "sign" this TTcarving by modifying the "RI" in
"PLURIBUS" to a crude "RL." I love this TTcarving because
it has both a "story" and direct ties to Eureka Springs', and thus GMM's,
locality. The fact there actually is an ES&NA railway is definitely COOL!
I think Caroline and I will take a ride in their dining car next year...
maybe we'll take my 85 year old Mother along as she would get a big kick
out of eating in a railway coach!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
Link:www.esnarailway.com
Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railway
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Click on individual scans for
Obverse & Reverse
enlargements on CD-ROM
1997
Beret/Mustache #016
1964D Nickel 4.8g 21.2mm
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1997
Balding/NoWig #018
1964D Nickel 4.8g 21.2mm
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1997
"Jeff" #023
1954D Nickel 4.7g 21.2mm
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Sonny's "Baker's Dozen" - 5 carved Jeffs
#026 Hallmark
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Whenever a nickel carver decides to "move away" from using Buffalo nickels
as hosts for his work he takes a risk. Some collectors have strong preferences
for carvings on Buffs and most of us at least tend to prefer Buffs over other
carvings.
I will readily admit that Sonny's Jeffs are noticeably better than most I
have encountered in the past. I would love to have one of Sonny's Jeffs for
my collection for the sake of diversity and completeness but I also admit
that I'd rather have a Buff carving myself.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
1997
"ShipMate" #026
1996D Nickel 4.8g 21.2mm
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1997
Beard/NoWig #028
1996D Nickel 4.9g 21.2mm
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As a special bonus to all who purchase ScrapBook CD-ROMs...
...the provenance materials provided by Sonny for his carvings:
A signed handwritten
Image:2x2 coinholder for "Jeff."
A signed handwritten
Image:2x2 coinholder for "ShipMate."
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Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Copper 7.0g 22-22.4mm
Michael Demling, Numismatist, EAC-781
Ron told me he recalled using both uncirculated and proof halfcent
obverse dies to strike the Demling tokens. The token in the TreasureTrove
definitely looked to me to have been struck with a proof obverse die.
So... I went to GMM DieExpert Cliff Bolling and here is what he had to
tell us.
I think there were only two different Proof obverse dies for the
1793 half cent. The die used on this token certainly appears to
be a proof die, but it is not either of the two dies used to strike
the Proof coins, it is a third die. It also does not match the
only Uncirculated obverse die, so it is something I have not seen
before. Neat! Shown below is a photo of the two Proof obverse dies
I know about. Notice how the point of the bust and the pole are
practically to the denticles on the Demling token.
Clifford D Bolling... Monday, November 24, 2003 7:37PM
A Clifford Bolling photograph.
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Earlier I made an effort to learn more about these interesting tokens
directly from Michael Demling himself and this is what he had to tell
us:
I looked for my tokens and it seems I've misplaced them. We've been
doing a lot of construction on the house and things have been put up
in boxes.......you know the drill.
I don't recall Ron using proof and non-proof dies but I do recall that
there were two different applications of the edge lettering. I also
had Ron strike my token in silver and brass. Unsure about quantities.
Does Ron have records of the amount he made for me? Also... I have the
reverse die he prepared for the token. They were made in 1997.
Michael Demling... Friday, November 14, 2003 11:18PM
I checked the edge of the TTtoken and it says TWO HUNDRED FOR A
DOLLAR which is the normal halfcent planchet edge. I have another
trip to Eureka Springs scheduled for early December so I will let all
y'all know if I can find out anything further from Timothy or Ron.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Pewter 4.1g 20.8-21.1mm
Rust-Alexander Marriage
Until I saw this nice bright pewter token in the TreasureTrove I was blithely
unaware of its existence. When I asked Ron about it I think he told me that
200 specimens were struck and distributed to the wedding guests. He told me
that Mr. Alexander is from Great Britain and that many of his family members
joined the happy couple in Colorado for the ceremony. So... not only were these
tokens scattered to the winds, generally among non-collectors, but the winds
blew a number of them across the Atlantic ocean to Europe. Good luck in ever
finding a specimen for your Landis/GMM collection!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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Click for
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on CD-ROM
Gold 15.6g(0.50oz t) 17.8-18mm
An Athenian Didrachm In Solid GOLD
This little button of gold feels very small when you handle it. It is
smaller than the small pewter tokens TheGuys strike on their MiniMint.
It is the size of a U.S. dime although dramatically thicker than that
familiar coin. Because of that... it is a full half ounce of gold which
is a significant amount of value in the gold content alone. That is
why this beautiful creation is so RARE... few folks are willing to
invest the funds necessary to have it created. This is a fantastic
numismatic specimen and one the TreasureTrove owner is justifiably
proud of.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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Click on individual scans for
Obverse & Reverse
enlargements on CD-ROM
1998
"Young John" #032
1964P
Silver
PROOF 12.3g 30.6mm
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c.1998
"Soldier" #033
1984S Copper-nickel clad PROOF 11.2g 30.6mm
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Sonny's "Baker's Dozen" - 2 carved JFK proofs
#032 Hallmark
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Here Sonny has gone even further afield with his carving. The solid silver
host JFK resulted in a much nicer carving than the copper-nickel clad host
JFK did. The silver JFK has some sculpting going on which helps it of course.
The other JFK really is really just simple engraved lines and is... to my old
eyes ...the much less desirable of this pair of carvings.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
As a special bonus to all who purchase ScrapBook CD-ROMs...
...the provenance materials provided by Sonny for his carvings:
A signed handwritten
Image:coinflip insert for "Young John."
A signed handwritten
Image:2x2 coinholder front for "Soldier."
A handwritten
Image:2x2 coinholder back for "Soldier."
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Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Medusa Medal - Serial#40
Silver
158.2g(5.09oz t) 53.7-55.9mm(diameter) 6.4-8.6mm(thickness)
Medusa And Perseus
This huge 5oz. "Medusa" silver medal was struck in quite similar
numbers as was Ron's other... smaller but thicker ...5oz. "Numismatic
Arts" silver medal. For some reason I had never seen one in person
previous to this find in the TreasureTrove. I knew it existed because
Ron had included a picture of a specimen (shown here on the left) in
one of his early Collectors' Update publications.
When the TTowner made the mistake of telling me they had a Medusa
medal nothing would do until I wrangled an invite to their home to
see this elusive Landis medal. It was framed behind glass but on my
next trip to Eureka Springs it was graciously removed from that
secure housing so I could scan it and take its vital statistics for
all y'all. My hat is off to the most gracious TTowner... THANK
YOU from all Landis fans!
I had difficulty scanning this medal because the deeply sculpted
obverse reflected light much differently than the relatively flat
reverse. The medal is actually a nice frosty light silver color
but at least the scan I created shows you the wonderful detail
Ron was able to capture in this superfragiliciousexpiallidociuos
medal.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
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Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Winged Lady "Numismatic Arts" Medal - Serial#40
Silver
156.8g(5.04oz t) 46.7mm(diameter) 11.2mm(thickness)
Do You Want That Frosty Or Bright?
I have seen this 5oz. silver "Numismatic Arts" medal come up and sell
several times over the past few years. I feel it shows up fairly often
because it appealed mostly to numismatic collectors and thus appears
in dealer/seller hands more often than the "Medusa" medal. When
non-collectors acquire numismatic items those pieces rarely find their
way back into the numismatic collectors' community.
Ron had told me that they had to "process" these large medals in order
to "clean them up." I assume this was done by removing unwanted excess
metal by hand and then tumbling the medals to shine them up and smooth
out any material removal areas. My personal preference is for numismatic
specimens that have the natural luster that is generated by being struck
with the dies. Here in the TreasureTrove we are fortunate to encounter
examples of both medal surfaces... frosty and bright. These medals are
definitely scarce enough that finding two specimens together in a
collection is an unusual event. These medals have a significant amount
of value tied up in just the silver alone because of their massive size.
This substantial initial cost would naturally constrain sales considerably
and make them scarcer than smaller silver medals.
The TreasureTrove owner also had this pair of medals framed and hanging
on their wall alongside the "Medusa" medal. Again they graciously took
their display apart so I could document these TTmedals for all y'all.
A person meets the most fantastic people when pursuing numismatic
studies... what a great life!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Winged Lady "Numismatic Arts" Medal - Serial#38
Silver
155.1g(4.99oz t) 46.7mm(diameter) 11.2mm(thickness)
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