Posted 06/09/2021 6:59 pm
Nice piece! Thanks for posting!
Let me begin by telling you what I do know for certain:
1) The counterstamp was sponsored by Myron Xenos and Ken Lowe, partners in the numismatic literature firm The Money Tree. The firm was active with auctions from 1987 through 1999.
2) Ron Landis of The Gallery Mint created the counterstamp and used the dies to stamp the coins it was sent.
3) The Money Tree sent the Gallery Mint 50 1982 Washington half dollars (all Proof versions) to add the counterstamps.
4) The pieces were created to be souvenirs of the 1997 ANA Money Show (aka Spring Convention) that was held that year in Cleveland. They did not sell out at the Convention; The Money Tree advertised them later for $23 (including postage); limit two per customer.
5) The obverse counterstamp features the logo of The Money Tree with "The Money Tree" along the edge. The reverse counterstamp was specific to the Convention, with " ANA" at its center, "Cleveland" above it and "March 20-22, 1997" below. This appears to be the same pair of counterstamp dies that were used on your coin.
And now for a bit of conjecture:
Being collectors themselves, I'm thinking that Myron and Ken sent a pair of 1936 Cleveland half dollars to The Gallery Mint, along with the 50 1982 Washington half dollars, that were specifically made for them and destined to be part of the personal collection of each.
Ken died in 1998 (to my knowledge, Myron is still with us) and a good part of his numismatic literature library/collection was sold at auction in November, 1999 - it was the last auction under the name The Money Tree. I was curious, so I checked the auction's catalog - the coin was not included. Still, I wonder if your coin was once part of Ken's collection. That's pure conjecture on my part, however, so please don't take it as fact.
I also checked the NGC database and found only your coin. That said, based on the style of holder it is in, the coin was not submitted back in 1997/1998 - it is a more recent submission as NGC didn't switch to the tabbed holders with the type of insert label this piece has until 2016. So, Ken was not the one who sent it on to NGC for grading and encapsulation.
In any case, I think it is safe to say that it is a scarce to rare piece. Not many collectors are aware of the piece, so there might not be a large demand for it, but it's a cool piece to have in a collection! Congrats!
Let me begin by telling you what I do know for certain:
1) The counterstamp was sponsored by Myron Xenos and Ken Lowe, partners in the numismatic literature firm The Money Tree. The firm was active with auctions from 1987 through 1999.
2) Ron Landis of The Gallery Mint created the counterstamp and used the dies to stamp the coins it was sent.
3) The Money Tree sent the Gallery Mint 50 1982 Washington half dollars (all Proof versions) to add the counterstamps.
4) The pieces were created to be souvenirs of the 1997 ANA Money Show (aka Spring Convention) that was held that year in Cleveland. They did not sell out at the Convention; The Money Tree advertised them later for $23 (including postage); limit two per customer.
5) The obverse counterstamp features the logo of The Money Tree with "The Money Tree" along the edge. The reverse counterstamp was specific to the Convention, with " ANA" at its center, "Cleveland" above it and "March 20-22, 1997" below. This appears to be the same pair of counterstamp dies that were used on your coin.
And now for a bit of conjecture:
Being collectors themselves, I'm thinking that Myron and Ken sent a pair of 1936 Cleveland half dollars to The Gallery Mint, along with the 50 1982 Washington half dollars, that were specifically made for them and destined to be part of the personal collection of each.
Ken died in 1998 (to my knowledge, Myron is still with us) and a good part of his numismatic literature library/collection was sold at auction in November, 1999 - it was the last auction under the name The Money Tree. I was curious, so I checked the auction's catalog - the coin was not included. Still, I wonder if your coin was once part of Ken's collection. That's pure conjecture on my part, however, so please don't take it as fact.
I also checked the NGC database and found only your coin. That said, based on the style of holder it is in, the coin was not submitted back in 1997/1998 - it is a more recent submission as NGC didn't switch to the tabbed holders with the type of insert label this piece has until 2016. So, Ken was not the one who sent it on to NGC for grading and encapsulation.
In any case, I think it is safe to say that it is a scarce to rare piece. Not many collectors are aware of the piece, so there might not be a large demand for it, but it's a cool piece to have in a collection! Congrats!
Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
