Looking for distinctive coin
Steve McQueen
This question may be a little out of the ordinary but I was wondering if
I could tap your collective intelligence on a coin-related question :-)
I'm not actually a coin collector but I'm a poker player and I've been
trying to think of an idea for a card protector for a while and I hit on
the idea of using an old coin. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing
about coin collecting so I was wondering if you guys could give me some
ideas?
Basically, what I'm looking for is a coin that's:
- Relatively inexpensive
- Interesting in some way, maybe some historical interest or from an
unusual/interesting time/place - ideas I had were maybe old U.S., maybe
war-era German or perhaps some kind of native american indian coin?
- Slightly on the large & heavy side for a coin
- Pretty readily available (e.g. through eBay or something like that)
As I said, I'm looking for a coin protector so it's really not important
to me to have an uncirculated coin as this thing's going to get bashed
around a lot.
Do you guys have any suggestions? I'd really appreciate your ideas :-)
Best regards,
Steve
Mr. Jaggers
One of these, in a lower grade, would fit your criteria. It's close to 2"
in diameter, 1/4" in thickness, and weighs two ounces. There's a
corresponding penny that is somewhat smaller. Makes a nice paperweight or
doorstop if you get fed up with poker.
James the Gambler
Peter
If you want an even bigger one, try a Russian 5 Kopek similar to eBay
item #330352318595
Mr. Jaggers
Oh heck, why not go for broke with a piece of Yap stone money?
James the Yapper
Thomas A.
I don't know too much about poker, but the images I get (probably from
movies) are America, Old West and cowboy hats. Along that line I'd suggest
a good old American silver dollar. It's going to get bashed around so you
wouldn't want an UNC coin. I'd go for a Morgan Dollar, lower grade (like
VF) and with a Carson City (CC) mintmark. Since it's a beater, you can
shine it up so it will look nice and you don't need the high detail that
brings the big bucks and "Carson City" sure has an old west, gambling sort
of feel to it.
Go to eBay and search for "morgan dollar carson city". Don't buy anything
in a "slab" or anything that says uncirculated. You should be able to get a
pretty nice piece for about $30 or $40, I'd say.
Now many coin collectors have just had a heart attack, but this is not a
coin for a collection - he just wants a cool card protector. There are
enough so-so grade Morgans around that the collecting community won't miss
one more.
Peter
>
> - Show quoted text -
Wheels for an even bigger cart?
Bruce Remick
"Thomas A." <sp...@noXQJZspam.org> wrote in message
news:0ZKdnat6kc82bRjX...@earthlink.com...
With poker and Old West and cowboy hats in mind, a cheap but appropriate
card protector might be one of the many fantasy bawdy house tokens from
western towns. Lots of clever, real-looking examples to choose from, as
long as you don't need an authentic coin for this purpose. These
brass/bronze tokens may not be as hefty as the coins already suggested, but
they will probably attract more attention.
Mr. Jaggers
Didn't Fred Flintstone's ride have wheels like that?
James the Prehistoric
Mr. Jaggers
Like this one:
I'm going to guess that the other side reads, "Good for all night." I have
one similar, but the Madame's name is spelled Boulanger.
James the Procurer
Thomas A.
This is a GREAT idea! At least I think it fits into the poker-playing, Old
West metaphor playing in my mind.
Bruce Remick
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
news:h64ut...@enews5.newsguy.com...
That's one of 'em. I have to admit to spending some decent money on these
back in the 1960's before it became more widely known that they weren't
legit. I had a co-worker from Wyoming who found a local antique shop that
had some of these tokens. Both of us ended up buying a bunch of them as
wonderful pieces of Americana. Maybe they will be in another 40 years,
although they're probably still being cranked out. Here's a link to some of
the ones I saved (hoping the link works).
<a
href="http://s626.photobucket.com/albums/tt342/134grommet/?action=view¤t=1bawdy.jpg"
target="_blank"><img
src="http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt342/134grommet/1bawdy.jpg"
border="0" alt="bawdy"></a>
Jerry Dennis
>
> - Show quoted text -
Oh, stop picking on the guy. I recommend a Pan-Pac $50.
Jerry
Dreaming
Mr. Jaggers
I had enough trouble with a Pan-Pac 50c.
James the Commemorator
Richard L. Hall
be a Walking Liberty half dollar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_Liberty_Half_Dollar
which were made from 1916-1947. It's about half an ounce in weight, mostly
silver and a nice worn one can usually be purchased for slightly more than
the silver value from most coin dealers. If you like the design and would
like something heavier, you can get a 1 oz. Silver American Eagle made by
the U. S. mint from 1986-present.
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/american_eagles/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=american_eagle_silver
These are bullion coins that can be purchased for slightly more than the
silver value.from most dealers.
--
Richard
My coin Links:
http://coins.richlh.com/MyCoinLinks.htm
"Steve McQueen" <st...@mcqueen.com> wrote in message
news:00b5b3eb$0$31570$c3e...@news.astraweb.com...
Peter
>
> - Show quoted text -
It is quite distinctive and also very attractive. It is substantially
smaller than the 5 Kopeks (esp. the copper version of the 1700s), and
either is very substantially smaller than the Yap stones.
MJKolodziej
"Steve McQueen" <st...@mcqueen.com> wrote in message
news:00b5b3eb$0$31570$c3e...@news.astraweb.com...
I can send you an "Ike" for face = postage. What year were you born? Get a
dollar coin of your birth year.
mk
I'd like to use a St Gaudens for a card protector
Michael Benveniste
>Basically, what I'm looking for is a coin that's:
>
> - Relatively inexpensive
Does $20-$150, depending on condition, meet your budget?
> - Interesting in some way, maybe some historical interest or from an
>unusual/interesting time/place - ideas I had were maybe old U.S., maybe
>war-era German or perhaps some kind of native american indian coin?
How about a 100+ year old coin which only got minted after the U.S.
fought two wars in quick succession?
> - Slightly on the large & heavy side for a coin
38mm in diameter, 26.3 grams total weight, and 90% silver OK?
> - Pretty readily available (e.g. through eBay or something like that)
Currently, there are about 10 of them offered on eBay.
The coin I'm suggesting is a 1903-1905 United States of America Peso,
minted for circulation in the Phillipines. At the end of the Spanish
American War, Spain ceded the archipelago to the U.S. in 1898, but the
U.S. also faced an Filipino uprising. The insurrection supposedly
ended in 1902, but there was sporadic fighting through 1913 or so.
During WWII, large numbers of Silver Pesos were dumped into the waters
of Manila bay into to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands.
Opinions and tastes vary, but I even find it to be an attractive
design.
--
Mike Benveniste -- m...@murkyether.com (Clarification Required)
Its name is Public opinion. It is held in reverence. It settles
everything.Some think it is the voice of God. -- Mark Twain
beekeep
I play texas holdem 3+ times a week and use an old silver dollar as my card
holder. 1883-O to be exact. It works great and has become my trademark at the
table. They can be bought very close to melt so they really don't cost you
anything. If you wanted something a little more interesting perhaps a trade
dollar?
beekeep
Steve McQueen
> This question may be a little out of the ordinary but I was wondering if
> I could tap your collective intelligence on a coin-related question :-)
Many thanks for all your replies - they were all great. I particularly
liked the one about the bawdy house tokens - I'd never heard of those
before but I love the concept :-)
In the end, I decided to go for a slight variation on what I was
originally thinking. Instead of getting a real coin, I found a company
that sells giant (3" diameter) replicas of vintage coins.
From their whole catalogue, I chose a really beautiful coin that I'd
never seen before - a 1907 St Gauden's $20 coin with the flying eagle on
one side and lady liberty on the other. Actually, it seems from what I've
read to be a very rare coin (well, the original is at least :-) in that
it was mistakenly produced without "In God We Trust" on it (rectified in
later issues) and the date is printed in Roman numerals rather than
Arabic ones as is usual on U.S. coins.
So, I managed to get a really beautiful coin that I'd never seen before
which is big & heavy enough to be used for a card protector but is also
really, really cheap and really, really good quality so in the end I'm
really happy with it. And I learned something about coins along the
way :-)
Thank you all for your help,
Steve
Terry
It was deliberately produced without IGWT.
Steve McQueen
>>
>> From their whole catalogue, I chose a really beautiful coin that I'd
>> never seen before - a 1907 St Gauden's $20 coin with the flying eagle
>> on one side and lady liberty on the other. Actually, it seems from what
>> I've read to be a very rare coin (well, the original is at least :-) in
>> that it was mistakenly produced without "In God We Trust" on it
>> (rectified in later issues) and the date is printed in Roman numerals
>> rather than Arabic ones as is usual on U.S. coins.
>
Well, I guess you can say it either way, I guess. The story as I heard it
was that the artist designed it that way (so, in that sense it was
deliberate) but that it was the U.S. Mint's policy & custom to include
"In God We Trust" on all coins, just nobody happened to tell the artist
that (so, in that sense it was mistaken). And, of course, from 1908
onwards, the coins had the phrasing re-instated.
I still do find the inclusion of "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins a bit of
a puzzler as the U.S. is still one of the only countries in the world
founded as a secular nation. Slightly bizarre :-)
Best regards,
Steve
Scott Stevenson
>On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:26:15 -0500, Terry wrote:
>>>
>>> From their whole catalogue, I chose a really beautiful coin that I'd
>>> never seen before - a 1907 St Gauden's $20 coin with the flying eagle
>>> on one side and lady liberty on the other. Actually, it seems from what
>>> I've read to be a very rare coin (well, the original is at least :-) in
>>> that it was mistakenly produced without "In God We Trust" on it
>>> (rectified in later issues) and the date is printed in Roman numerals
>>> rather than Arabic ones as is usual on U.S. coins.
>>
>> It was deliberately produced without IGWT.
>
>Well, I guess you can say it either way, I guess. The story as I heard it
>was that the artist designed it that way (so, in that sense it was
>deliberate) but that it was the U.S. Mint's policy & custom to include
>"In God We Trust" on all coins, just nobody happened to tell the artist
>that (so, in that sense it was mistaken). And, of course, from 1908
>onwards, the coins had the phrasing re-instated.
It was more than somebody "forgetting" to tell Augustus St. Gaudens,
who designed the coin. Teddy Roosevelt, who was president at the
time, specifically didn't want it included on coins, because he felt
it cheapened the motto to have it on something like money.
take care,
Scott
Thomas A.
Actually, the U.S. wasn't founded as secular. That would be worldly as
opposed to spiritual. It was founded where one of the tenets was freedom
from religious persecution. So, you could worship as you wish, as there was
no state-sanctioned religious flavor. The U.S. acknowledges a diety as in
IGWT or ...one nation under God....
Mr. Jaggers
But only since 1864 has IGWT been an official motto, and not on all coins
and currency until 1957, and only since 1954 has the phrase "under God" been
mandated in the Pledge. Neither of those can be construed as part of the
founding of the United States of America, which occurred when the 9th state
(New Hampshire) ratified the Constitution on 6/21/1788.
When the word "secular" is used to describe the Constitution, it means that
there is no mention of a deity within. And when the Constitution is
secular, the nation it creates is secular, no matter what religious views
the citizens may have individually or collectively.
James the Persecutor
Thomas A.
Thank you for straightening me out. I spent my formative years so tightly
focused on math and science that I negelected much of civics/political
science/history. Now that I am older I find history, particularly ancient
history fascinating. I now regret not having spent more time on those
fields, but I was a very single-minded lad. Perhaps I will become more
well-rounded now.
Mr. Jaggers
The most important lesson of history is "Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes."
James the Ancient
The Giant Brain
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
news:h9gr0...@enews5.newsguy.com...
> The most important lesson of history is "Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes."
De gustibus non est disputandem.
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
Yeah, Yeah, Dona Ferentes - she sat three desks in front of me in High
School, and later had a minor success as a disco recording artiste...
oly
mazorj
"oly" <oly...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:a9f09a40-d5c5-41f7...@d21g2000vbm.googlegroups.com...
Okay, but who was Timmy Danaos?
I'm thinking he was a one-hit child actor in some 1980s sitcom, but YMMV.
Steve McQueen
> Actually, the U.S. wasn't founded as secular. That would be worldly as
> opposed to spiritual. It was founded where one of the tenets was
> freedom from religious persecution. So, you could worship as you wish,
> as there was no state-sanctioned religious flavor. The U.S.
> acknowledges a diety as in IGWT or ...one nation under God....
What you said is almost the dictionary definition of secular. I'm not
saying the U.S. was founded atheist, just that the U.S. was founded so
that the government is not founded on religious grounds. That's a secular
government. That's in contrast to countries like the U.K. which have a
state/established religion.
The founding fathers of the U.S. were largely Christian but, since they
were fleeing religious persecution in the U.K., they founded their new
country so that such religious persecution would be illegal in the U.S.
That's why it's unconstitutional in the U.S. to have any established
religion (1st amendment), any religious test to be a public official
(Article 6) or to teach religion in state schools.
The "In God We Trust" thing is actually a bit of an anomaly since, if it
were a state endorsement of any particular religion, it would be
unconstitutional. The supreme court allowed it only because it had "lost
through rote repetition any significant religious content."
Steve
Steve McQueen
>>
>> of a puzzler as the U.S. is still one of the only countries in the
>> world founded as a secular nation. Slightly bizarre :-)
>
> opposed to spiritual. It was founded where one of the tenets was
> freedom from religious persecution. So, you could worship as you wish,
> as there was no state-sanctioned religious flavor. The U.S.
> acknowledges a diety as in IGWT or ...one nation under God....
I just want to correct you on one point. The U.S. is definitely a secular
country. That's not to say it's an atheist country, just a secular one.
It's trivial to prove that the U.S. is founded as a secular country. Just
have a read of its constitution. The first amendment prevents the state
from establishing a religion which means there's no official religion and
that the government in the U.S. can't give preferential treatment to any
one religion. Similarly, the sixth article of the constitution forbids
the government from requiring any public officials belong to any specific
religion.
The founding fathers were, of course, largely Christian but, as evidenced
by the constitution, not only didn't they set up the U.S. as a Christian
country but they specifically set it up as a secular one. The reason for
that is not hard to see. Many of the original settlers fled from
religious persecution in the U.K. So, rather than make the same mistake
the U.K. made and have their own established religion, they founded their
country so that the government had no official religion and that all
people of all religions would be treated fairly and equally in the U.S.
Given that, the "In God We Trust" motto (which only came much later) is a
bit of an anomaly. If it did constitute a government recommendation of a
specific religion, it would definitely be unconstitutional. The supreme
court allows the phrase only because it has "lost through rote repetition
any significant religious content."
That said, I'm an atheist, so I hope you can imagine my delight when I
found a coin with the phrase missing :D
Steve
Steve McQueen
only to find the original one got posted anyway :-)
Steve
Mr. Jaggers
Some who have read my posts have attributed atheism to me. That is quite
far from the truth. I do vigorously oppose the use of IGWT on our currency
and "under God" in our Pledge because according to my theology, both are
blasphemies - taking the Lord's name in vanity. Not only that, they simply
are not true. By quite the long shot, not *all* Americans trust in God, nor
from what I can see are we even remotely a nation "under God" except in the
fantasies and wishful thinking of some. You can say what you will about how
these two phrases do not recommend a specific religion, but Judaism and
Christianity are the only two I know of that call their deities God. Islam
is specific in honoring the name Allah and the Eastern religions have either
multiple gods or vaguely defined ones. In my view, anyone who insists that
the government prop up his faith has a very tenuous faith to begin with.
James
'I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know'