Contest - Win Morgan $ - Ancient - Bag Of Tokens - Bag Of World - US Commem

Thanks for the contest! I may not have time, but if I remember I may try to come up with something!

I dabble a little in varieties, here is a little ditty;

Cherry-Picking Coin Varieties

"Why settle for ordinary, when you can have extraordinary". I have used this phrase in my ebay listings on numerous occasions to bring to light the differences that coinage may possess. Coin "varieties" are defined by NGC as "coins that differ from their basic design type in some distinctive way and are thus differentiated by collectors".

With just about every series of coinage, there are varieties to be found by "cherry-picking". Most collectors that have been in a coin shop, may have recognized a dealers "junk (bargain) bin", which is fertile ground for finding varieties! Cherry-picking is looking a little deeper at the details of a coin and finding something "different". It could be an over-punched letter or numeral, over mintmarks, die clashes, cracks extra fingers, feathers, eyes, nostrils, die gouges, chips or any detail that exists on the obverse or reverse of a coin which is different than the original design.

Some varieties are not only well-known within the numismatic community but by the general public as well. The famous 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent which is obviously "different" from ordinary cents of the design. Jamie Hernandez (Oct 2009) from PCGS stated that ".a pack of cigarettes would cost 23 cents each but the vending machines would only take a quarter and no other change. Therefore, the cigarette companies would need to place Two Cents inside each pack of cigarettes to be given back as change. Anyone who inserted a quarter in the vending machine would then receive a pack of cigarettes with two Lincoln cents inside a cellophane packaging. This cellophane packaging was then wrapped around the cigarette packs with the two Lincoln cents inside it, and this is where many of the 1955 Doubled Dies surfaced."



https://www.PCGS.com/cert/24015196


One of my recent cherry-picks was this 1887-S 10C F-119 MPD.



What helped me to find this variety is knowing "where to look".



Do you see the "flag" of the "1" of the date within the vertical lines of the shield under the "R" of LIBERTY? This is known as a "Misplaced Digit". There are some variety reference sites for some of the more popular type denominations, and there are numerous books as well.

Another location to pay attention to is the "denticles" of the coin, primarily the obverse. Here is another variety that I "picked"; 1908 Indian Head cent MPD FS-301 S-4;



Do you see the top loop of a "8" within the denticles under the "8" in the date?

"Back in the day" the die setters used to punch certain details, the stars and date digits, in the die by hand, and perhaps it was early on a Monday morning or late on a Friday night and the setter got a little carried away (carless) and punched a character where it did not belong which resulted in an opportunity for a variety collector to discover. The coin dies of today, the details are all set into the single hub, so the likelihood of such "mistakes" don't happen...there are always exceptions. PCGS's Jaime Hernandez states "The 1995 Doubled Die is the last of its kind. Late in the 1990's the Philadelphia and Denver Mint began using a single hub technique. The single hub technique would only strike all dies once, therefore, eliminating the possibility of striking major doubled die coins."

A modern Doubled Die Obverse 1995 Lincoln Cent;


(image by robec)

Here are the "Pick Up Points" to look for;


http://www.PCGScoinfacts.com/Coin/Detail/3125

A popular series are the Morgan and Peace dollar VAM varieties. VAM is an acronym for "Van Allen & Mallis" who ignited the search for variety attribution with their book (this book is huge) "The Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace dollars by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis. Affectionately known as "the big VAM book" by collectors, this is currently in its fourth edition. First published in 1971, it was updated and reprinted in 1998. It contains a detailed listing of all known (at the time) die varieties listed date-by-date and is loaded with pictures. At more than 500 pages, it contains a wealth of mainstream information dealing with the history of Morgan dollars, grading, Counterfeit Detection, photography instruction and more. Leroy Van Allen has also put out supplements and detailed attribution guides since this work was published." http://www.vamworld.com/VAM+Books. Interestingly, every Morgan or Peace dollar should be able to be identified by a VAM number.eventually.

I cherry-picked this 1921-D Morgan VAM 3A Wing Dot a few years ago;



Here is one of the Pick-Up Points;



Of course the "name sake" is the "dot" under the viewers left wing, but the die cracks at the wing tip are more prominent.


There are new varieties found practically on a daily basis, mostly "minor" varieties in which a die-hard collector may pay extra for. A recent, March 2015, dramatic variety discovery was the 1919 Mercury dime Doubled Die Obverse. Ron Guth of PCGS stated in CoinFacts "This significant Doubled Die Obverse was first reported in the March 17, 2015 issue of Numismatic News Express. It was discovered by Scott Kerr and publicized by Jeffrey Sam. The doubling is most evident on the Motto "IN GOD WE TRUST" but can also be seen on the L and the I of "LIBERTY". As of October 2017, the finest example certified by PCGS was an XF45, a coin which was reportedly sold to John Potts for $10,000 by Eagle Eye Rare Coins."



...and of course the Pick-Up Point;


http://www.PCGScoinfacts.com/Coin/Detail/545047/

Is every variety worth $10,000? No, but you never know what you may find unless you are not looking for it. Arnold Schwarzenegger stated at his commencement speech at the University of Southern California in 2009 "You can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets."...but you never know what you may find in your pocket change.

Can I post an article that I wrote in the summertime?

First, Oih82-- you've helped me tremendously with your article, in two respects - first because ill always remember your slathered wolf as the variety guy. Second because I learned a great deal myself. Knowing one another through this contact is fun and I thank you.

Crazyb0 I cannot believe you did that. The frog got whipped last time. Truth be told I darn near named the unnamable myself today. Ask the mods if it's okay for you to PM me to put your article up. I'm sure it would be a great piece we would all enjoy.

Coinlover - as long as it hasn't been published anywhere it's fine if you wrote it a few months ago. I just want to insure no problems with copyright. I edit a couple mags and it always boils my bubble if authors are used without permission.

I'm in, here's my entry
Finally done after a whole day of thinking

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's (Guybrush) subjective opinion which may or may not offend someone about something. The writer apologizes in advance, in case that someone feels offended as it is NOT the writer's intention at all.

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"Young People Vs. Old Coins"



Just like everyone, sometimes I want to talk about my hobby to my friends. But when I tell them that I collect antique coins, I only got funny responses like "You do? What for?" or "Why did you spend so much money on this thingy?!". As everyone here does know, there aren't many young numismatists. This got me thinking: Why? Why are not they interested in it? Unlike other articles, this one offers a unique perspective: "A young numismatist trying to answer why there aren't many young numismatists".

Now, we are going to stray a bit from the field of numismatics and discuss more about young people and daily life. Embrace yourself.

From my experience, there are 2 reasons why most young people are disinterested in numismatics:
They prefer more popular ways to satisfy their ego
They prefer utility over novelty

Let's start with the first one. Young people really crave to satisfy their ego. Usually, they do that by doing their hobby. They rather spend a lot of money for, say, sport motorcycle, expensive shoes, or the newest gadgets rather than for a coin. Why? Because those items are considered to be the "normal" ones, so it's easier to show them off to others. By doing so, they satisfy their ego. The more "normal" or widely accepted their hobby is, the more it will satisfy their ego since more people would also appreciate it.

High school students, for example, will get quite popular if they go to school riding a nice motorcycle, wearing expensive shoes, or using cutting edge gadgets. I still remember Yahya, a student who had the best bike in school; and Enggar, my classmate who bought an iPhone6 just after it was officially released (I even remember my classmates fighting to get their turns trying that phone). In this aspect, coin collecting won't get any young folk anywhere. Talking to friends of my age (15-18) about collecting coins only got me known as a weirdo .

Apart from the financial aspect and showing off, there are many more things that satisfy young people's ego rather than coin collecting.

Playing online games? Of course, being the top-ranked player above tens or even hundreds of thousands others sure feels great!

Getting a million subscribers? Who doesn't want that, your videos being watched by millions, and even knowing that your next move is being awaited by millions?

Joining the school's sports team? With such popularity, school life is a piece of cake! Girlfriend? No problemo. A day off? Just say it's a practice for the next competition and the teachers will take care of the rest. Easy.

Being active in messenger apps? Well, with that many contacts in your phone messenger, seems like there's always something fun to talk about, 24/7.

Surely there are so many other ways how young people satisfy their ego (including some other ones I don't understand). But for most young people, coin collecting isn't suitable for that purpose. This also relates to the second idea: utility over novelty.

Let's compare watches as timekeeper and as works of art (or novelties), with coins as currency and as collectables, respectively.

There are expensive mechanical watches, with precious metals, plus ingenious, intricate design and mechanisms. On the other hand, there are cheaper quartz or electronic watches, which are simple and does its job much, much better (accurate) than the mechanical ones.

There are expensive collectable coins, whose value would be ruined if they really circulate. On the other hand, there are cheaper base metal coins that are more practical for daily usage, and are more durable.

Many people wear watches, but most of them only care about timekeeping, instead of the art and mechanisms, etc. So it is only a small fraction of them who do care about the artistic value of expensive watches.

Almost everyone use coins on a daily basis, but most of them only care about the monetary value, not the collectability or the grades, etc. So it is only a small fraction of them who do care about their collectability.

But there are also mechanical watches on the lower end, why are they not that popular? While they may be affordable, not everyone may enjoy the maintenance (winding the watch, regularly sending them for cleaning, etc.), nor the fragility that they have. So the more practical watches, which are very accurate but require pretty much zero maintenance, become more prevalent.

Coin collecting is not always expensive, why is it not that popular? While there are cheaper collectible coins, not everyone may enjoy the hassle of numismatics (learning about the coins, grading, sorting, putting them into 2x2's, etc), nor the risk of damage which will reduce the value. At the end, almost everyone only cares about the monetary function of coins.

So, not everyone is interested in coin collecting. But what does this have to do with the younger age group? Older people, who have experienced a rather conventional and manual way of life, may find the fun of coin collecting worth the effort. Younger people, on the other hand, are used to more modern and instant way of life, where almost everything is digital and instant - even if they come across coin collecting somehow, it is very likely that they consider coin collecting just as an unnecessary hassle.

To put everything short: Young people are addicted to please their ego. For most of them, this can be easily and successfully achieved by doing something considered "normal" or widely accepted. Since they usually only consider the utility over the collectability of coins, they usually don't consider coin collecting as their hobby.

I hope everyone enjoyed reading this - the first ever numismatic article that I wrote, Guybrush.

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Edit:
Added this list.
Aligned title and illustration to center.
Deleted two dash symbols that were double-typed.

We only have four entries so far so at this point everyone who has submitted is a winner. I'm surprised that my prizes haven't garnered more submissions.

Hopefully we get at least two more and then everyone wins a prize choice.

I am sure by the end of the time window you gave there will be far more submissions.

I like what I have read so far from each person. The Linus cartoon aboveh captures a comment I hear quite often from my family!