Announcing A Winner of The Cointest

[Scottishmoney]

Okay this contest is going to get going, I have procrastinated enough, tortured these young numismatists thoroughly, so laissez les bontemps rouler, let the good times roll...

 

Your first task at hand is to write an authouritative essay on whom most influenced your personal collecting habits, ie what you collect, what you look for in coins etc. That is the first part of the essay, maybe the easiest.

 

The second part is to pick a figure, political or financial in the history of your country that probably had the greatest influence on the money you use today. This could have been enacted through legislation, arm twisting, persistent persuasion etc. For US'sians this applies to American figures, for Canadians, then people in Canada etc. If you live in Brasil, then I would like to read about someone in Brasil.

 

The third part is to write about a numismatic item; medal, token, paper money, coin etc. which you value most, and why. Punctuation, capitalisation and spelling convention of course are paramount, but as I do spell British/Canadian myself, I do not penalise on regional variants like I have been in some of my college courses, only to have to explain that I was taught to spell things differently

 

As the cointest sponsor, I expect that the essays will be thorough, and authoritative, and concise. Since I myself have a big paper due on the 12th of December, and am up to the task(I hope ) I expect also that our nascent numismatists are similarly afforded the ability to produce a wonder worthy of publication.

 

The prize will be worthy of your effort, but I will not disclose the properties of said prize until you have received it as due reward for your effort.

 

Entrants herein must be under said age of 21 to enter. Immaturity doesn't count, even if your wife, husband, significant other, or even parent or fellow collectors in our fair board attest to said debility. Otherwise, I myself could participate, at least according to my Master-Wife.

 

Bon Chance - Good Luck

[thedeadpoint]

Good luck, guys. I think most will be weeded out by the sheer volume he expects you to write.

[gxseries]

So Scottishmoney, would it be easier to win if it is actually your mad taste that influenced in what I collect such as the massive Swedish copper plates and Portguese coins? Well scratch that, I'm definately over 21

[moneydog]

Boy I'm glad I'm over 21 or else I would have to embarrass myself at my writing skill which I don't have.

[TreasureGirl]

Ah...

 

First, by authoritative, do you mean "having an air of authority" or "substantiated or supported by documentary evidence and accepted by most authorities in a field?"

 

Second, is there a minimum page requirement?

 

Third, are we allowed to write in first person at any time throughout this essay?

 

Fourth, are you looking for figures like TR when it comes to influencing currency? And would he count since we no longer use those particular pieces?

 

I think that's all for now...

[TreasureGirl]

Fifth, will this essay be informative, persuasive, narrative?

[LostDutchman]

ohhhh man-o-man.... some real homework this time.... i cant wait to read some of them

[Scottishmoney]

Ah...

 

First, by authoritative, do you mean "having an air of authority" or "substantiated or supported by documentary evidence and accepted by most authorities in a field?"

 

The latter

 

Second, is there a minimum page requirement?

Depends on how well you support your testament with facts

Third, are we allowed to write in first person at any time throughout this essay?

If you can do it.

Fourth, are you looking for figures like TR when it comes to influencing currency? And would he count since we no longer use those particular pieces?

Doesn't have to be present day money, but something that is inspired, or monumental.

Fifth, will this essay be informative, persuasive, narrative?

The former two.

I think that's all for now...

 

Okay, now catch your breath and start strategically planning.

[TreasureGirl]

Sixth, is the numismatic item you speak of a specific one which I may own or hope to own, or a certain type (ex. IHC's or Type I IHC's) or series (Barber)?

[Scottishmoney]

Sixth, is the numismatic item you speak of a specific one which I may own or hope to own, or a certain type (ex. IHC's or Type I IHC's) or series (Barber)?

 

Well I want to own an Athenian Dekadrachm someday.

[BigCanadianM]

Damn, I was hoping this would coincide with a essay I'm going to have to write for my English class... (Or at least after it )

By value most, do you mean that you currently have in your collection, or that you would love to have...?

I have a feeling I am about to be semi-figuratively run over by TG in this :S

[Scottishmoney]

It doesn't have to be one you own, wish to own etc. It might even be one you hate with a passion. Just write well.

[TreasureGirl]

Don't worry, M, I'm a little befuddled by the second part.

 

EDIT:

 

Seventh, are we allowed to use mint engravers for the second part?

[Scottishmoney]

Holey Cowabunga - how the heck do you deal with your professors ? This is not your Doctoral paper, your career is not going to suffer, just ease up, relax etc. And watch over your shoulders for those young guns like BigM, and Zach.

[TreasureGirl]

Professors I suck up to in advance And this isn't an A or B we're talking about, this is something concrete! I'll quit pestering you now.

[Scottishmoney]

The prize is really really cute.

[Scottishmoney]

Don't worry, M, I'm a little befuddled by the second part.

 

EDIT:

 

Seventh, are we allowed to use mint engravers for the second part?

 

Your poor husband.

[Dave]

The prize is really really cute.

 

Like this?

 

 

Haha

[thedeadpoint]

Like this?

 

 

Haha

 

EWWW!!! Burn those!

[Scottishmoney]

Like this?

 

 

Haha

 

 

Dustin or BigM might have wanted those, but I had to find something that appealed to all, and not just them.

[YeOldeCollector]

I might be able to fit another essay into my schedule...

[Scottishmoney]

You would think, if only they knew what the prize is, that they would be busy on this project and not playing their Wii's or PS3's.

 

Now less than eight days, and there is now currently a second place prize, and I will work on finding a third place too.

[sbvenman]

I might have to pull an all-niter to get this done. It falls between a couple of my exams and it's probably the last YN contest I can compete in.

[BigCanadianM]

I don't have a Wii!

And I don't want a PS3.

However I do seem to be slacking...maybe all these superbrains are dishearting me.

[TreasureGirl]

Kathryn i.e. TreasureGirl

YN Cointest

December 2007

 

The first time I took an interest in coins as art rather than chocolate bars and gumball machine prizes was when I found a shiny Kennedy half from the tooth fairy under my pillow one morning. I had never seen one before, and I was curious to see what else I could find. My dad had inherited a collection from his grandfather and I constantly begged to see it; when he finally gave in I was entranced by the beauty of the Liberty Winged Cap, or Mercury, dimes and the graceful image of the Liberty Walking piece. These two pieces fed my love for the silver coins of roughly the same time period, but they remain my favorites of the group. As a result, I would like to name Adolph A. Weinman as the person who most influenced my coin collecting interests.

I had gotten a guidebook of United States coins for Christmas that year and couldn’t find any 19th or 18th century pieces which caught my interest quite as much as the ones from the early 1900’s. In fact, I had to be informed that the images used were depictions of a feminine Liberty, whereas I was convinced they portrayed a much more masculine figure (take the Barber series for example). Even the (second variation) Standing Liberty Quarter was mistaken by me to be George Washington! Weinman’s designs are beautiful, almost uniquely feminine in contrast to nearly all of the United States pieces so far in history. From here I had become fascinated by the image of Liberty and quickly decided to begin putting together several different sets including a U.S. Type set containing at least one AU-50 or better specimen of each design (for example, I could have an AU-50 Draped Bust dime whereas the rest of the Draped Bust series could have grades around G), a Mercury Dime set, and a Walking Liberty Half set; I also started accumulating Silver Eagles here and there. This feminine beauty was absolutely riveting, so much so that it carried over to pieces from other countries. Now I have begun collections from Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, Laos, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Portugal (one of my favorites), Spain, and Switzerland so far. Once I do my research and learn more about paper money, I imagine I will be accumulating many of these pieces also graced with the image of some feminine figure or another.

However, I cannot discount the importance of the person who got me collecting in the first place. The “tooth fairy,” my father, was the one who snuck into my room to give me the Kennedys, Eisenhowers, and Susan B. Anthonys which found their way into a shoebox and eventually into the tattered album sitting in the desk drawer next to me. It was he who introduced me to Whitman folders and from whom I received my first buffalo nickel and Mercury dime; he was also the one who had to explain that the Barber dime was not a design of Barber himself, but of Lady Liberty! I still take my new pieces back to St. Louis to show them off to him.

 

Many people would argue that Theodore Roosevelt had the biggest impact on the coins we use in the United States today. Indeed, he and Augustus Saint-Gaudens collaborated to give us such beautiful pieces as the latest eagle and double eagle, and it was he and Victor David Brenner who introduced the first U.S. circulating coin to feature a president, namely Abraham Lincoln. And of course, from this U.S. coins began the trend of featuring presidents, as is evident on our current issues. However, I would like instead to explore the influence of Adolph Weinman. I believe that his talents went a long way towards bringing coins back to true works of art from their simply being a form of money.

A contest to redesign the dime, quarter, and half dollar was announced as the Barber series approached 25 years of mintage and circulation. Weinman, who had once served as Saint-Gaudens’ associate, produced the winning designs for the dime and the half dollar, whereas Hermon MacNeil’s sketches were chosen for the quarter. Unlike the public’s reception of the Lincoln cent seven years earlier, the new designs were met with almost universal delight. The Winged Liberty Cap Dime’s image of a cap symbolizing freedom of thought and reverse images of the Roman fasces, a battle ax, and olive branch coupled with the Walking Liberty Half’s depiction of Lady Liberty draped with the Star-Spangled Banner and embracing limbs of oak and laurel and a figure of a fearless, powerful eagle were emotionally charging at a time of mounting patriotism and impending war (http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=1932&universeid=313&type=1). Raymond Hanisco calls the Winged Liberty Cap Dime “a steadfast symbol of power and freedom idealized within America” (http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art31013.asp).

Weinman himself did not value his work as coins alone, but rather as intricate sculptures he ranked among his bigger achievements (www.pcgs.com) The beauty of his work is not completely lost in today’s world; as is Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ famous design for the double eagle, Weinman’s sculpture of Walking Liberty has been used by the United States Mint for rounds of silver bullion (whereas Saint-Gaudens’ is used on gold bullion) beginning in 1986 and continuing through present day (Bressett, 326). While I find it unfortunate that today the U.S. Mint is minting designs much more dated than was the Barber series and much less aesthetically or emotionally intriguing than Weinman’s pieces, I can still hope that history will repeat itself and that another Golden Age of American coinage will emerge.

***

I had some trouble trying to select one coin above all others that I value most; ever since I got my first guide to U.S. coins, I was obsessed with the Saint-Gaudens double eagle – I started a collection of magazine cutouts and searched out one of those souvenir pieces the size of a personal pizza. However, I have yet to purchase an original; I haven’t even been able to commit to purchasing a tenth-ounce bullion piece, partly because bullion is somewhat lacking in historical significance. Along with many other numismatists, I feel that one of the most exciting things about coins and paper money is the history behind them. Again, though, I was faced with a problem: should I pick a piece solely for the history behind the designer and the mintage and leave out the “Who in history spent this coin” aspect of its history? My 1929 Liberty Standing Quarter is a pristine example of its kind, lacking no minute detail and reveling in its blast-white glory. But no; my sense of imagination runs too wild to limit it to the story of an elderly bank teller moving a new roll of quarters from one box to the next. The coin I have picked is much less remarkable than, I expect, the favorite piece of almost any other numismatist today. Despite my constant claims of being a pirate as a result of my obsession with silver and gold, I have always had a peculiar fondness for my 1892 Indian Head Cent in Very Good condition and would like to name it my most appreciated piece.

Not only is this particular piece a beautifully detailed example of the series, but this couples with its potential for a remarkable story to make it truly fascinating. It is older, of course, than any of my living relatives; what is so interesting for me in this case is that there is no way I will ever hear all of the stories that my relatives could tell – so, how many more stories would this penny tell me? Was it ever hoarded in a jar and buried in the woods? What all was it used to purchase? Did it share a pocket, perhaps, with an ultra-high-relief Saint-Gaudens double eagle? And of course, who was in possession of this particular cent? The possibilities increase with the fact that the cent was much more often, and much more widely, circulated than a silver dollar or gold eagle. Perhaps Theodore Roosevelt had examined this coin in his change as he considered the redesign of the cent. Maybe one of my ancestors had bought some penny candy on his or her way to school. Here I enter the obligatory, “If coins could talk…” but then again, half the fun is inventing my own stories!

 

Bressett, Kenneth, ed. The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins: 2007, 60th edition Atlanta, Whitman Publishing, 2006.

 

I had a blast writing this; I wish I could have had more resources but then it would have taken me a month to finish! The Renaissance of American coinage is absolutely fascinating and it was a little frustrating that I was confined to the internet for sources, but that just encourages me to go to the library and get a ton of inter-library loans.