| 2004
| ScrapBook Subjects
|
Page
Index
Links
|
Link:
Taking A "Cutout Hobo" To A Whole New Level
Link:
[ Active Nickel Carvers Abound At FUN2004 ]
Link:
A Striking Enterprise At FUN2004
Link:
December 2003 Collector's Update Correction
Link:
Treasure Troves Come In All Sizes
Link:
[ If My Dad Can Do It I Figure Anyone Can! ]
Link:
To Be Esteemed Be Useful
Link:
[ Being "Hoe Boys" Is Hard Work ]
Link:
[ Watching A Griffiths Carving Develop ]
Link:
Errorscope and CONECA
Link:
[ Howard Fogg's Favorite Painting ]
Link:
[ Steven G. Adams' First Steam Locomotive ]
Link:
A Sunny Day In Colorado Springs
|
|
Enlargement scans available on WWW and ScrapBook CD-ROM.
|
|
1/23
2004
|
Bill Fivaz photographs.
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
|
Taking A "Cutout Hobo" To A Whole New Level
In 1996 when Ron struck his first pair of GMM Hobo Tokens over Jefferson
nickels Bill Fivaz had him strike a few through one dollar bills.
What you ended up with was a rather weakly struck token that showed a lot
of the original Jefferson nickel under-type, a one dollar bill with a
"hobo hole" in it and a "cutout hobo bust" shaped one dollar bill fragment.
I find it odd that the dollar bill was laid across the Jefferson nickel
with George upside down. I would have wanted the "hobo hole" to be right
side up in the dollar bill if I'd been in charge.
Bill kindly captured pictures for us of his last example of this
interesting experimental strike. He took photos of the struck through
token and the bill fragment. But... the dollar bill with a hole in it
escaped without being recorded and the new owner has no ready method
of obtaining a photograph of the bill for us... maybe someday!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
A Joe Paonessa photograph.
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Paonessa Sheehan Jameson Landis
Alpert Shireman Fivaz
Active Nickel Carvers Abound At FUN2004
The camaraderie overflowed in Florida this year when folks interested
in nickel carving gathered in Orlando in January. Joining Steve Alpert,
Newell Shireman (an oldtime hobo) and Bill Fivaz we find Joe Paonessa,
Dick Sheehan, Bill Jameson, and Ron Landis... all acomplished nickel
carvers!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
1/16
2004
|
A Striking Enterprise At FUN2004
Here we have a rather typical example of what happens when you provide
access to equipment like TheGuy's MiniMint to the sort of folks that attend
coin conventions. None-the-less it is a pretty little pièce de caprice
even though the multiple strikes obscured much of Ron's typically superb
die work. I would like it better if it were accompanied by a perfectly
struck token so I could luxuriate in the glow from Ron's peerless die work.
The next time I looked at Gallery Mint items on eBay there were two more
2004 FUN GMM tokens from the same Seller, including a perfectly struck
specimen. Now this group of three pieces make a much more interesting
group to show Ron's dies.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
|
1/15
2004
|
December 2003 Collector's Update Correction
ScrapBook reader Edwin Johnston pointed out today that TheGuys have a
typographical error in their latest Collector's Update. He got
this information straight from the horse's mouth... the fine folks at
the Newark Museum. I contacted my corresponding friend at the museum
and he confirmed that he had given TheGuys the wrong price for the silver
tokens.
So here's the straight scoop...
Pewter Tokens are $2.95,
Silver Tokens are $9.95,
Postage and Handling is $5.50, and Send To: Newark Museum,
Attn: Gift Shop, 49 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102-3109.
Tell 'em V-Dubya sent you... that'll really confuse them
since they have no clue who I am.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
|
1/14
2004
|
Treasure Troves Come In All Sizes
Mike Ellis dug around in his valise and came up with this nice variety of
GMM creations. He just posted them on eBay so here is your chance to add
some super pieces to your collections. Personally I just think he is trying
to get a jump on the upcoming big auction from GMM. At least with these
eBay offerings there is no "vig" added.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
As a special bonus to all who purchase ScrapBook CD-ROMs...
... here are enlargments of the coins shown above:
1794 GMM Proof Lib Cap Large Cent Repro.
eBay#2217789303
1964D Peace Dollar, Gallery Mint, Proof.
eBay#2217789482
Pair 2000 GMM Golden Dollar Patterns.
eBay#2217789725
1995 GMM Copper Elect J. T. Stanton Token.
eBay#2218134969
1996 GMM OHNS Hobo Nickel Token.
eBay#2218135055
1999 GMM Pewter ANA Chicago Token.
eBay#2218135125
2000 GMM Pewter FUN Show Token.
eBay#2218135218
GMM Copper Doe Dough Cent.
eBay#2218135341
1995 GMM Copper Elect J. T. Stanton Token.
eBay#2218140182
1999 GMM Pewter ANA Chicago Token.
eBay#2218140326
Enlargements are of just the side used in the collage...
not both obverse and reverse.
|
|
|
Lee Griffiths photographs.
Click for
Carving
or
Luci
enlargement on CD-ROM
If My Dad Can Do It I Figure Anyone Can!
I hope you like my first nickel carving. There was really no particular
reason for carving that exact face. I simply thought that is was a fun
face, and a good starter. The more I carved, the more my techniques and
the nickel's character developed.
My reasons for venturing into the world of nickel carving are very simple.
I'm a sixteen year old High School student with not a penny. Plus, if my
Dad can do it I figure anyone can! It's a lot of fun, and I'm looking
forward to my next nickel carving, because my skills have improved so
much! Luci Griffiths... Monday, 1/12/2004 7:21PM
The apple never falls far from the tree. Lucinda is definitely a
Wunderzicklein as well as both her father's daughter and a lovely
young woman. I about choked myself laughing so hard when I read her
observation about Lee's fantastic talent; "If my Dad can do it..."
V-Dubya's observation is that familarity sure can alter
your view of genius.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
1/9
2004
|
Two
Headed 1729-1739 George II HalfPenny
|
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
|
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Two
Headed 1792 Birch Cent -
Copper -
34.7mm - 17.4g
|
To Be Esteemed Be Useful
There is a well known New Jersey Cent with two shields (reverses)
and the other day a two headed 1729-1739 George II HalfPenny was
sold on eBay. It turns out... as usually is the case ...that the
HalfPenny piece was fabricated from two genuine specimens. None-the-less,
it got me to thinking of how one could create a "real" two headed
coin with a single set of dies.
I got Tim to create the COOL piece shown above in the following manner.
First place two blank planchets in the press and strike them. Then place
the resulting uniface bust piece face down on another blank planchet and
strike that pair.
It only took two strikes to create the three specimens shown here. The
Uniface Reverse specimen is the leftover piece from the first
strike. The Incuse Obverse specimen is the leftover piece from
the second strike. Observe that the three specimens came out noticably
different in size. The uniface piece was struck as part of a very
thick sandwich of two new planchets. The two headed piece was struck
twice and expanded the most. The incuse piece was struck as part of a
lesser thickness sandwich of a previously struck and a new planchet and
expanded the least. When you think about it the various sizes are
quite logical. For the record these pieces have "medal/book" and
not "coin" die alignments.
Uniface
Reverse -
Copper -
33.5mm - 17.3g
|
Incuse
Obverse -
Copper -
32.5mm - 17.0g
|
In case you are wondering about the title of this SBsubject... "TO
BE ESTEEMED BE USEFUL" is the lettering on the edge of Ron's Birch
Cent recreations. Ron is always a stickler for detail which is what
makes collecting GMM products so exciting. THANKS RON!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
Lee Griffiths photographs.
Click for
Napper
or
Sleeper
enlargement on CD-ROM
Being "Hoe Boys" Is Hard Work
Lee Griffiths' expert engraving and astounding imagination never fails
to impress me. The "Hoe Boy" on the left just sold at the annual OHNS
auction at FUN2004... I don't have the price realized for it at this
writing. The "Hoe Boy" on the right is in my personal collection and
I couldn't be happier. Lee has used gold trim... sparingly and elegantly
...to create spectacles, an ear ring, buttons and a pinky ring on these
two carvings.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
Lee Griffiths photographs.
Click for
First,
Second,
Third
or
Fourth
enlargement on CD-ROM
Watching A Griffiths Carving Develop
Lee Griffiths is not only talented but patient with V-Dubya. I'm
always pestering him for scans as his carving's progress and he provides
them without complaint even though it is additional work and obviously
slows his progress. I selected the four scans shown here from seven
Lee provided me. Thanks Lee!
A bit of news about this superlative carving... that isn't obvious when
viewing these relatively small scans ...Lee used gold to create the
"twinkle" in Santa's eyes. Exceptionally small and expertly crafted
pupil inserts make a dramatic impact all out of proportion to their
physical size. Lee is creating nickel carvings for future generations
of collectors!
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
1/7
2004
|
James Wiles photographs.
Click for Page
18,
19
or
20
enlargements on CD-ROM
Errorscope,
November/December 2003
|
Errorscope and CONECA
Mike Ellis came up with the Errorscope November/December
2003 article for us. The "article" was actually a Photo layout
of a selection of James Wiles' 2003 ANA Summer Seminar photographs
so there was no descriptive text with it other than the photograph
captions. If you are viewing this using a ScrapBook CD-ROM the you
can click on the camera icons
()
to see nice color enlargements of James' photographs. Everything
shown here belongs to Mr. Wiles and CONECA so I am indebted to
those fine folks for making these photographs available to the
collecting public.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
As a special bonus to all who purchase ScrapBook CD-ROMs...
... here are color enlargments of the Errorscope article's photos:
Close-up of Pike's Peak.
The Cafeteria, where students and teachers meet
three times a day to eat and discuss coins.
Ron Landis preparing for Creative Errors Session.
Melting the pewter into ingot bars.
The rolling mill in the Mini Mint.
Making blanks on the blanking press.
The upset mill in the Mini Mint.
The screw press in the Mini Mint.
Error coins made during the Creative Errors Session.
Display of creative errors made by the 2003 class.
(no caption)
|
|
|
|
PhotoSource:www.KatyRailroad.org
|
Howard Fogg's Favorite Painting
The 2-6-0 Mogul Type engine in the Howard Fogg painting represents the
period of the mid-to-late 1890's. That particular painting was Howard
Fogg's favorite painting among the group that he did for M-K-T President
John W. Barriger in about 1967. Unfortunately, it is not entirely
accurate. The yellow and black paint scheme of the depot and water tank
is not at all accurate, as well as the later 20th century train order
semaphore that would not appear on the Katy until the 1920's. It is
still a beautiful picture, done by the greatest of railroad painters.
Raymond B. George, Jr. (Ray)... Wednesday, 1/7/2004 6:09AM
|
A Steve Adams photograph.
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
Steven G. Adams' First Steam Locomotive
The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, MKT or Katy as it
was known by, went right by my childhood home. Our property backed
up against the RR right-of-way and I got my pants dusted off if I
played on the west end of our property paralleling the RR and don't
even think of crossing the fence onto RR property... that was a big
"No-No!" I remember sitting and watching the trains whiz by and
wishing I could hop aboard and be someplace else, anyplace else,
than where I was. Little did I know how good I had it... safe and
protected from the harsh realities of life.
The fact that Steve Adams was willing to carve a MKT steam locomotive
as his first locomotive carving ...and... that I had the resources and
the opportunity to purchase it from him ...is a real highpoint in
V-Dubya's life. I have my parents to thank for all they have given
me that makes my life both comfortable and pleasurable.
When I look at the final scan of my Katy Locomotive I see three
Bobwhite Quail sitting on the grassy knoll and watching the locomotive
roar past. Steve says I have lost my marbles and that all he carved
on the grassy knoll is... yup! GRASS. So we have conflicting reports
on what is on the grassy knoll. I think this conspiracy deserves
further investigation. Don't you?
Here is one of many links in hyperspace that give MKT information:
Link:www.katyrailroad.org/steam.htm,
KatyRailroad.org / M-K-T / Katy Steam Engines. There is a
great deal of information available about the MKT and there is even
an organization, The Katy Railroad Historical Society, that
publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Katy Flyer. Their
official website is:
Link:www.KatyRailroad.org.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
Steve Adams photographs.
Click for
Artwork,
Left,
Center
or
Right
enlargement on CD-ROM
|
|
1/1
2004
|
James Wiles photographs.
Click for
Enlargement
on CD-ROM
|
A Sunny Day In Colorado Springs
Mike Wallace told me there was an article published in CONECA's
"Errorscope" about Ron Landis' Creative Errors Summer Seminar
course at Colorado Springs in 2003. While I haven't tracked down
the actual article yet I did contact James Wiles, CONECA's President,
and he sent me a superb PowerPoint presentation containing over 50
photographs taken during the week of June29-July3,2003. There are way
too many to include here in the ScrapBook for you but I felt you'd
enjoy these two shots of the Steam Press that Joe restored for ANA.
The bright Colorado sunshine makes the press difficult to see. Maybe
I'll get some shots eventually taken at night with the display cases'
overhead lights on... bet that would make for some really nice photos.
Regardless, I appreciate Mr. Wiles making the effort to share his set
of photographs with us and I trust I can show you a few more as the
opportunity presents itself.
EMail:Verne R. Walrafen
|
|
