Okay bizarre question but i think most people would love the opportunity.

Lets say a time machine had been invented and thoroughly tested and the scientists had just approached the members of CP to offer the first trips in this time machine.

The scientists have examples of fairly high denominated coins from all the periods and all the places in history on hand, and you're allowed to go back to whatever period you choose and spend three hours there, and you get to take a coin of that period with you (so you have something to spend and get change for), the change you get you get to keep. So what would be your ideal cherry picking time period? Specifically which year and why? (In fact make that you're top three choices!)


Over to you.

Okay i'll get the ball rolling;

1) Winchester, England 1137. I'd be able to Cherrypick some real nice pennies out of Circulation, better to go there when there's a fair on so that money is freely flowing. Also take a sword for defence, alot of thieves would be around.

2) London, England January 1649. Execution of Charles I, finished off with a spot of shopping.

3) New York, USA 1924. I'd hit the banks and get some rolls of Mercs or SLQ's or something.


Although i suppose if i really was given the opportunity i'd probably pick;

Southampton, 10th April 1912, 11.00am. I buy a camera and get snapping photos like no one's business. A good hour to get plenty of photos...

1895 in the United States. I could pick up almost every coin I want and nearly all would be in circulation. A complete set of Carson City coins would be great

I would pick the US around 1800 and then around 1900 and then around 1940. I could probably be able fill out most of my collections with coins from change or bank rolls. If not, I can exchange them when I get back.

1588, Tillbury UK - Purely to see Elizabeth addressing the troops there before the Armada came along.

1665, London UK - I'd feign/contract scrofula and gain entry to the Touching ceremony, pocketing a token on the way.

1826, London UK - I'd be there for the Maundy ceremony.

I had considered London 1553, to watch Queen Mary I ride in to popular applause and her sister Elizabeth with her. Some nice Edward VI stuff in change.

With touching ceremonies i think i'd rather go to a James II one.

My first choice would be to go to 1932 with a bunch of old federal reserve notes and trade them in for branch mind Saints, If I could bring back $100 I would get a 1921, 1927-D, 1931, 1932, 1930-S.

My second choice would be to go back to 1804 with a gold eagle and bring back a set of silver dollars from 1795-1804!

My third choice would be to take a double eagle back to 1895 and buy the following Morgan dollars: 1895, 1895-O, 1894, 1894-O, 1894-S, 1893, 1893-O, 1893-S, 1893-CC, 1889-CC, 1885-CC, 1879-CC and a Gobrecht dollar with the $8 I had left over.

My first choice would be Philadelphia US in 1877. I'd be looking to acquire a few rolls of 1877 Indian Head Cents. Not the best investment but WOW! I'd also stop by the mint and purchase some restrikes of earlier coins like the 1804 Dollar quite popular and readily available to those who knew enough to ask..(read that pay the right person the right money).

Second choice would have been Philly in 1794 - I'd be looking to gather some Half and Large Cents - both 1793 and 1794.

Third choice -- 1913 US East Coast - Phila, NY, Boston, etc. I'd be gathering rolls of Unc Buffalo Nickels.

I would say the U.S. in 1921

I would break a 100 Litrae gold coin into lots and lots of Syracusan silver and bronze in 289 BCE Syracuse.

I would take a $20 gold peice back to 1893 in San Fransisco...and get 20 unc 1893 S Morgans

I would hoard all the early "Flowing hair" dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

March 15-April 4, 1933, Philadelphia PA - This was the timeframe that you could (allegedly) legally purchase a 1933 Saint and NOT have it confiscated by the Feds. I'd pick up as many as I could and get official receipts for all of them.

1856-1858, USA - Anywhere, just to pick up as many FE cents as I could.

1916, Philadelphia PA - For the SLQs and Walkers.

Jerry

I would go to the Platagenet Kings era (say Edward 1) and get a job at the Bury St Edmunds mint.
I would become a moneyer and Peter would be hammered into history.
I would bury a few to be found by detectorists and wrap up the market nicely in 2005:D

From a historical point of view I would like to see the horrors of trench warfare,
(not partake though)

I reckon a lot of you people would land up in a poky somewhere! Fancy arriving from nowhere with money to burn! How suspicious is that!

Geordie i have my excuse lined up for my 1137 visit, i'm a Scandinavian (hence the funny accent) who has been sent from Rome by the Pope to seek an audience with the Bishop of Winchester.

An if there's a fair on there'll be alot of travellers and merchants in town with lots of money anyone and a few foreigners t'boot. If i were to dress like a monk no one would suspect.

Nice one! If it happens - Good Luck!!

California in the gold rush days, I would trade some silver bullion for raw gold and get the gold minted into non us mint coins.

Or, 1794 Philly PA, you can guess the rest!

Or, travel through a pre treasury dept America and assemble a type set of the coins used at that time.

It depends, do you have to travel naked like in the Terminator movies?

I would just travel in my Anoconda skin posing pouch...as usual

If I could, I would have been choosing some silly times in Russia.

1771: Sestroretsk Mint - Better known as the Sestroretsk Ruble minted in Sestroretsk mint, one of the idiotic coins that made Russia famous for it's total madness. As copper was minted by it's weight, and 5kopeks was around 50 grams or so, Catherine II the Great decided to declare something insane - which is to make 1 ruble coin worth of it's copper weight content, i.e. kilo copper coin!!! This soon proved to be a lot more difficult than expected and the project soon came to an end. Example of the Sestroretsk Ruble: http://www.goldbergauctions.com/cgi-bin/vi...ale=31&lot=1868

1828: Saint Petersburg Mint - The very first time Russia issued coins in platinum legally. Although Russia wasn't really the first country to mint coins in platinum, as the Spainards and Frenchs had the upperhand and did mint coins in platinum "illegally", Russia was the only first and last country that managed to do so. The whole idea of minting coins in platinum ended soon because it was thought that platinum was a cheap metal... who knew that it would be so expensive right now... a 12 ruble coin has more than 1 ounce of platinum in it - can you believe it? Link example: http://www.goldbergauctions.com/cgi-bin/vi...ale=32&lot=3696

And this one is slightly off-topic but, the goldsmith at Japan around 1800s.

During that period of time, gold was minted as some interesting thin pieces of "slabs", better known as koban and oban. One must not forget that these gold had to be imported from China as Japan has almost no natural resources. Considering this factor, the genuine older kobans were made with almost pure gold and oban in general are in pure gold. To mint such "coins" in such shapes is in my opinion interesting and the sound that a pile of them makes you feel miserable about modern coinage

Some examples could be found at here: http://www.coinvault.com/japan.htm

1. Colonial United States with, say, 100 Spanish Milled Dollars for which I would by Continentals signed by the Signers of the Declaration and the ones whom I knew would become signers of the Articles and the Constitution. ... keeping an eye out for uncirculateds of all kinds... might get the guys to print me a few radars...

2. Syracusan and South Italian Greek in general. Taking back a roll or two of US Silver Dollars and $5 golds of both types (Libs and Indians), just for the fun of it, to bring back so much of that nice handiwork.

3. Say, 100 US $1 gold coins back to, say, 1868, and get CHECKS and DRAFTS and STOCK CERTIFICATES signed by Edison, Fisk, Gould, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, James J. Hill, E. E. Harriman, and others.

I'd want to go to pre-WWI St.Petersburg and exchange a huge pile of russian banknotes to gold coins

Hmmm.. What a fantastic question. I feel the need to ressurect the thread.

My first choice would be to travel back in time to June 30th, 1894 in San Francisco and buy an ice cream cart. I would park it outside the house of the Mint's superintendent. I would wait patiently until a young girl would come out and give me two shiny new dimes in change. I would tell her that I needed dimes to make change for other customers.

Afterwards, I would travel to Capitol Hill in 1973 and give some representatives my two cent's worth opinion on the proposed aluminum cents. I'd ask for a few examples of my own because I doubt they'd care.

I'd also go to the Calgary 1988 Olympics and repair the Jamaican bobsled. Though of course that may be interfering with history too much - best movie ever.


So, by the time I've arrived back in the future, I'd be able to complete a barber dime set with a spare dime or two to pay off school loans (and then some). As for the Al cents, well, I'd have just enough as evidence that they are authentic then I'd sell all but one or two.

Yes, a very good question, that I apparently missed in my quest for softball immortality.

Anyway I would:
1. Head back to Carson City Mint 1876, and buy a few rolls of 20 cent pieces.
Scrounge around for some seated and trade dollars too. I'd be packing heat as I boarded a train to San Francisco, thru the Sierra's to the Mint there and see what I could find.

Next stop would be Philidelphia around 1799 to get some early U.S. gems, maybe drop the idea of the cheesesteak sandwich a few decades early.

Than to Lisbon, Portugal around 1700 to grab some gold and silver.

I dream to go back in the 1930's to see live the night life in Bucharest and to grab some restaurant tokens - great rarities today. Meantime, a short trip to France, for buying some paintings...

Philadelpia, 1793. Trade some Spanish Milled Dollars for a few rolls of shiny red, freshly minted Chain & Wreath Large Cents.

bump... because i had a reason to bring back this thread but can't remember why now.

1) 1792 in Paris: all the revolutionary issues.... and some neat spectator action at the guillotine.

2) 1560 in Paris: the young, sickly François II takes the throne and dies within the year. I grab every bit of coin or jeton that has his name or likeness on it.

3) 1550 in London: I see Lady Jane Grey before she dies and try to get a contemporary portrait before Mary comes to power and destroys them all.

Nov 22nd, 1963 - I'd be in Dealey plaza taking photos of the grassy knoll, the trainyard, and the 6th floor windows of the Book Depository building. Just so that the events can be recorded accurately. Of course, I would make as many copies as possible and mail them out anonymously to news and media outlets. I wouldn't want to be just another "coincidence" in the cover-up.

Here's another one in line at the San Fransisco mint in 1893. "I'd like a roll or two of those new dollars please!". Being there in 1909 would be cool as well!

I would want to go back to early 1917. i would start by grabbing a one of each of the following...
1856 Flying Eagle cent
1877 IHC
1909s IHC
1909s VDB cent
1909s cent
1914-D cent
1916 DDO Buffalo nickel
1916-D merc
1916 SLQ
1911-D Quarter Eagle
1909-O Half Eagle
1907 Eagle a set of both rims--wire and rolled
1907 double Eagle a set of both rims

That should do me just fine

First before I would head back I would get an loan then visit my friend to sell me his 1934 10,000 dollar bill. Then I would go back to Aug 27th 1937 New York city. Find the best rare coin shop and Buy them out of their stock or close to it. But before I head back to the good old 21st century I would find a drug store with comics and use my last 5 dollars ( 10 cents each 10X50 = 5.00) to buy all the Action Comics Number #1 in mint shape (An 300,000+ dollar comic now)