Uncommon cents - Three Rivers, Michigan
Arizona Coin Collector
http://www.sturgisjournal.com/news/x512364375/Uncommon-cents
Uncommon cents
By Jef Rietsma
Sturgis Journal
Fri Dec 26, 2008, 12:13 AM EST
Three Rivers, Michigan
The current state of the economy may imply otherwise,
but David Binder said 2009 will be a good year for
money - at least for those who collect it.
Binder is a numismatist, a coin collector, whose
fondness ranges from rare pieces to complete and
uncirculated sets of coins.
While Binder, 46, isn't alone in his love for money,
his passion for collectible pieces puts him in a
class by itself.
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(Story Image Photo)
By Jef Rietsma/JournalDavid Binder, a member of the
Kalamazoo Numismatic Club and organizer of the
twice-a-year coin show in Three Rivers, inspects
rare coins offered for sale to him at a show
Dec. 6 at Three Rivers Middle School. Meanwhile,
Michael Salada of Galesburg, looking for unusual
currency, rummages through a box of foreign and
unique coins.
http://www.sturgisjournal.com/archive/x1647206906/g25825813651abba6030db860af5efd90f7bcbf5bb93e72.jpg
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When the Three Rivers resident was a kid and his
friends were collecting baseball cards and comic
books, Binder was sorting through rolls of pennies,
organizing them by date, mint or wheat-backs from
Lincoln Memorial-backs.
When the United States Mint during 1999 unveiled
the five quarters in the initial batch of its 50
State Quarters program, Binder correctly predicted
a new generation of numismatists would emerge.
2009 will see the release of six new quarter, four
new penny back designs, and four presidents featured
on new gold dollar coins. Binder said he expects the
appeal to younger prospective collectors will continue.
"There are varying opinions about so many designs
coming out in one year, but most collectors agree
if it introduces a new audience to the hobb, then
it's not a bad thing," Binder said, going out of
his way to note the U.S. Mint is marketing the gold
presidential dollars incorrectly.
Failing dollar
A member of the Kalamazoo Numismatic Club and
organizer of a twice-a-year coin show in Three
Rivers, Binder said until the U.S. Mint stops
making $1 bills, any type of dollar coin in the
United States will fail to gain mainstream
acceptance.
He said Canada eliminated the paper dollar in
1986 and its residents had no choice but to accept
$1 and $2 coins in the same manner they handle
quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies.
According to Binder, U.S. retailers oppose $1
coins because most cash register drawers don't
have a compartment for them, but taking pennies
out of circulation, he suggests, would eliminate
that problem.
"As long as we're given a choice, the $1 coin
will never catch on in the United States," he
said.
Mint fresh
The popular 50 State Quarters program concluded
this year with the release of the final five
states admitted to the United States.
In 2009, backs of six newly designed quarters
will feature the District of Columbia and five
U.S. territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
On deck for the third year of the presidential
gold dollar coins are the busts of William Henry
Harrison, John Tyler, James Polk and Zachary Taylor.
The back of the penny in 2009 will have four
different designs to commemorate the 100-year
anniversary of Abraham Lincoln appearing on the
one-cent piece and the 200th anniversary of his
birth. Binder said the reverse side of the penny
starting in 2010 will be redesigned again with a
new, permanent design.
Binder, who assembles industrial saws for a living, said
there's talk about continuing the commemorative quarter
concept for 11 years starting in 2010 by featuring U.S.
National Parks. He speculated that the appeal of the 50
State Quarters program to children stemmed in part from
the fact the quarters could be obtained at an even
exchange rate, contain information of a geographic nature
that most children are familiar with and they have been
collected just as enthusiastically by adults.
A penny saved
His introduction into coin collecting started as a
9-year-old, when a neighbor whose lawn he mowed
offered him a $20 bill or a 1931 penny featuring an
"S" for its San Francisco minting. The penny at the
time was worth about $30.
Binder said he remembered his neighbor putting both
currencies on the table and asking the young man to
make a choice. A price guide the neighbor shared with
Binder verified the value of the penny.
"I was 9 and didn't feel I needed the bill so I took
the penny," he said. "The old penny was something
that excited me . I don't know if the redesigned
pennies in 2009 will be received with the same
intrigue."
The highest-priced coin he had on display at the
Three Rivers show earlier this month was a 1914
Denver-minted penny, rare because 1914 was the
third-lowest year of mintage of the penny in Denver,
he said. The asking price: $695.
The next show Binder plans to organize in Three
Rivers will be the third Saturday in May at Three
Rivers Middle Schoool.
..
RWF
news:_oudne-08a3JfcnU...@earthlink.com...
> A member of the Kalamazoo Numismatic Club and
> organizer of a twice-a-year coin show in Three
> Rivers, Binder said until the U.S. Mint stops
> making $1 bills, any type of dollar coin in the
> United States will fail to gain mainstream
> acceptance.
>
> He said Canada eliminated the paper dollar in
> 1986 and its residents had no choice but to accept
> $1 and $2 coins in the same manner they handle
> quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies.
>
> According to Binder, U.S. retailers oppose $1
> coins because most cash register drawers don't
> have a compartment for them, but taking pennies
> out of circulation, he suggests, would eliminate
> that problem.
>
> "As long as we're given a choice, the $1 coin
> will never catch on in the United States," he
> said.
Imagine that, the government actually giving the people what they want
rather than instituting a paternalistic Big Brother policy of forcing
the public to accept those butt-ugly dollar coins.