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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,662 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3843 Posts |
One of the more common Television Tropes that you will see is confederate money is worthless. Often times the protagonist will go to great effort, expense, and through great danger to locate a vast fortunate that ends up being a large amount of "worthless" Confederate States of America notes. I remember "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Episode 16: A Night of Fright is No Delight" from childhood where Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma had to stay in a haunted house for an entire night for Scooby to be entitled to a portion of a Million $ inheritance from the deceased Colonel Beauregard Sanders. The gang eventually unmask the crooks trying to scare Scooby and the others out of their inheritance but in the end they find out the treasure chest will all the money is filled with worthless CSA dollars and that the joke is on them. This Television Trope was never entirely based in fact, CSA notes have always had novelty value and are not totally worthless. Although a vast majority of Confederate money was indeed worth very little since the South had printed it in such large sums in the last few desperate years of the American Civil War and it wasn't backed by anything since the south had lost and couldn't repay any of its debts. In more recent years CSA notes have gained substantial interest from coin and currency collectors and have a sizable base of collectors that collect them. The more common notes produced in huge quantities in decent condition may only be worth $25 or so and possibly less if heavily worn or damaged but that is not WORTHLESS as television would have you believe and many of the more desirable and less common notes can be worth in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars per note. That chest of CSA notes that Scooby-Doo inherited may not be all that worthless if he had done some research and had a ebay store to reach collectors! He and Shaggy might have been sitting pretty with plenty of cash to fund all the excursions to the local burger and malt they could have wanted! Your Thoughts? Do you have any examples on how Films and Television get Numismatics wrong? Joe2007 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17890 Posts |
I remember in the early 2000s watching a British detective programme (an episode of "The Bill") where the whole plot revolved around an ex-con who had been released from prison and dug up a fortune in £5 notes that he'd stolen and buried in 1990. There was a close-up of a pile of the notes, and the top one was signed by Merlyn Lowther, who had only been Chief Cashier since 1999! I assumed this was part of the plot, and that the banknotes would be discovered not to have been those buried in 1990 - but no, it was just an example of poor research.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2868 Posts |
Edited by Bacchus2
03/22/2020 3:40 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
Your Thoughts? Do you have any examples on how Films and Television get Numismatics wrong? Yes. Those coin guy programs on TV selling over priced, common, junk called coins.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1026 Posts |
When I was much younger, I remember that one of the Hardy Boys books tied the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel into one of the mysteries. Don't remember much more.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
In the last scene of "UHF" (1989, "Weird Al" Yankovic), one of the characters shows off the things he bought after selling a "1955 double die Denver Mint penny".
The well-known 1955 doubled die cent didn't have a mint mark. If he really had one from the Denver Mint, it would have been worth a fortune indeed.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
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When I was much younger, I remember that one of the Hardy Boys books tied the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel into one of the mysteries. "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" Mystery on the Avalanche Express -- February 26, 1978 Season 2, Episode 19 "...a woman named Gina Bartelli (Deborah Walley) is running away from a couple of thugs whom are after her luggage which carries something they want but tries to cover up by making out like she was a friend of the Hardy's. ... Nancy and the boys find out what the thugs want from Gina which is a 1913 nickel coin she has that's worth alot of money. Dangerous situations ensue" |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
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The well-known 1955 doubled die cent didn't have a mint mark. If he really had one from the Denver Mint, it would have been worth a fortune indeed.
There ARE 1955 D doubled die cents. But the doubling is minor and they aren't of a lot of value. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
Dennis The Menace
A Quiet Evening (1962)  Mr. Wilson is babysitting and shows his coin collection to Dennis and two other children. They look over 1919-D (Mercury) dime worth $100. The dime shown is actually a 1913 Barber dime upon closer view. I did find a source of prices dating back to 1950 and in 1960 to 1965 the value of an uncirculated 1919 D dime was indeed worth possibly $100.00. Margaret shows us how to properly hold a coin.  https://www.us-coin-values-advisor.....html#1919-D
Edited by TNG
03/23/2020 5:17 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
524 Posts |
In this film set in England two Edward VII pennies figure in a story about a woman who infiltrates the house of a prominent banker and his family.  Britain Edward VII pennies  Edited by willieboyd2
03/23/2020 4:47 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
My favorite movie numismatic goof is in the Elvis Movie "Easy Come, Easy Go" where Navy frogman Elvis finds a chest of sunken treasure but when they go to sell the coins the coin dealer informs him that "copper pieces of Eight" are only worth 30 cents apiece. Pieces of eight refers to a Spanish Colonial 8 Reales coin, always silver.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,662 |
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Posted 03/22/2020 3:39 pm
