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 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,737 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1082 Posts |
Here's a different topic. Have you ever spotted an error in a movie or TV show concerning coins or currency? I spotted one over the weekend in a first-season episode of Bones called "The Man in the Fallout Shelter". It concerned the finding of a skeleton in -- well, no points for guessing where. Turned out the man was a coin collector who was killed for his collection and then closed in a -- you guessed it -- fallout shelter in 1959. In one scene, they're flipping through a written inventory of his collection, and quite clearly, one can read " Ike dollar" and " Kennedy half" -- so clearly, in fact, that I didn't need to rewind to check it out, but I did to make sure I hadn't been seeing things! Of course, neither coin was yet produced in 1959; in fact, as you know, Ike was still President, and Kennedy was president-elect. One other blooper like this I remember was in the first scene of The People vs. Larry Flynt when young Larry is making and selling moonshine. The buyer of one of his bottles hands over $2 in Federal Reserve Notes, which can be identified by both their green seal and different frameworks around the 1's in the top corners. At the time this would have occurred, Silver Certificates were in use. Anyone notice anything else in other movies/TV shows? |
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Moderator
 United States
188130 Posts |
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Of course, neither coin was yet produced in 1959; in fact, as you know, Ike was still President, and Kennedy was president-elect. One blooper in your blooper. Kennedy was not elected until November 1960.  Not really a blooper, but this made me cringe. In last weeks episode of Rescue Me there was mention of a "coin collection" and "polishing" in the same sentence.  |
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
1082 Posts |
You're totally right, jbuck. My goof.
Coin collection and polishing in the same sentence? Argh. I'll have to watch for that one. I think we're one season behind you in Rescue Me. Last night's episode here had to do with Shawn in the hospital after his liver cancer operation.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
632 Posts |
Wow, it is so funny that you mentioned that because I have what I think may be a coin blooper that I recently saw in a movie. I was watching "Hearts in Atlantis" and there where a few scenes in there that I could spot some coins whenever the kid is betting at cards or emptying his piggy bank or anything like that. There where three scenes where I could just briefly make out three different coins. A walking liberty half-dollar, a Standing Liberty quarter, and a Mercury dime. Even though I thought it was kind of cool that there were coins in the movie that I recognized, the movie was set in 1962 and those had all been obsolete coinage designs for decades by then. Would they really have still be so common floating around in circulation that the kid had them in his piggy bank? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
Well, a kid would might be likely to hold on unusual coins he would find, and I don't think they would have been rare.
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Moderator
United States
188130 Posts |
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I think we're one season behind you in Rescue Me. No, you are on the same season as us. The Showcase schedule must be behind the FX schedule by a week since that was the previous episode to the one I was talking about. The scene in question was Candy talking to Lou (Ken) after cleaning up his apartment. Watch for it! Edited by jbuck
07/06/2009 12:49 pm
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Moderator
United States
188130 Posts |
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...the movie was set in 1962 and those had all been obsolete coinage designs for decades by then But think of how many "decades old" old nickels you find on a regular basis. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1082 Posts |
Yeah, you're right -- it appears we're two episodes behind you.
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Moderator
United States
188130 Posts |
You are right. Since our new episodes are on Tuesdays, I guess it is actually a two episode difference!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
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I remember was in the first scene of The People vs. Larry Flynt when young Larry is making and selling moonshine. Larry Flynt is an error all by himself. Misaligned, off center, flipped over and double clipped.
Also damaged, he's holed and repaired and impaired.  I always try to look at the money in movies. Sometimes the money is obviously play money, like when it is falling from the sky. Little house on the prairie used to use old coins. One I can think of is when Captain Ahab nails that gold doubloon to the ship for the one who spots the Great White Whale. I cringe every time I see it getting nailed. I don't know if it is dated correct or a fake or not. Did they show any coins when Dennis the menace messed with Good Ol Mister Wilson's collection? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2540 Posts |
Quote:I was watching "Hearts in Atlantis" and there where a few scenes in there that I could spot some coins whenever the kid is betting at cards or emptying his piggy bank or anything like that. There where three scenes where I could just briefly make out three different coins. A walking liberty half-dollar, a Standing Liberty quarter, and a Mercury dime. Even though I thought it was kind of cool that there were coins in the movie that I recognized, the movie was set in 1962 and those had all been obsolete coinage designs for decades by then. Would they really have still be so common floating around in circulation that the kid had them in his piggy bank? Yes, they were commonly circulating back in 1962, in fact we used to watch for things like key days and spend the rest. I remember saving up about a 1/2 roll of 1909 P and 1909 VDB's. They were so common that we only saved the best condition and spent the rest. Remember, this is when 5 cents bought a candy bar. And Buffalo nickels were common. So common that we'd look thru them and spend the rest. |
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Moderator
Australia
16817 Posts |
There have been a few threads on this topic before; do a forum search for "movie" and you'll find them.
My favourite is still the funeral scene in "Troy" where they place two coins on the eyes of the deceased hero, to "pay the ferryman". They get plus 10 points for knowledge of Greek mythology, but minus 50 points for the anachronism: the Trojan Wars allegedly happened well before 1000 BC; they hadn't actually invented coins way back then!
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
This is a very interesting topic.
It is very true that coinage depicted is usually inaccurate for a period being presented, but once in a while there are some notable exceptions.
For instance, in the beginning of Interview with the Vampire, which is set in late 18th century New Orleans, one sees Lois playing poker in a shady gambling house just before he is bitten by Lestat and is turned into a vampire. It made me very happy to see a historically accurate Spanish portrait 8 Reales on the poker table.
Also, at the end of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, when Tuco pulls the bags of money out of the unmarked grave next to that of Arch Stanton, you can see that the coins are all gold and of varying sizes. While the director was smart and made the coins look too dirty to identify (maybe he knew that he would get gripes from numismatists haha), but the size varieties struck me as not being that of standard US gold coins. It is true that at that point in the old west that all foreign gold coins would have circulated freely despite their official demonetization in the US in 1857.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
There has been a lot of reruns of Perry Mason on TV. If you watch those there is one where the detective, Paul Drake, is walkiing around with a coin worth thousands of dollars in his pocket and actually spends it. Another is where a coin collector has a bunch of valuable coins in a cloth bag. Then they show him dumping them out.
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Valued Member
United States
183 Posts |
The show "Bones" had something with coins, something about a 1901 IHC being "rare". Perhaps I should open a shop in Hollywood....  Bruce |
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Replies: 14 / Views: 1,737 |
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Posted 07/06/2009 12:38 pm
