Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-08
co1N-coELEcr1Nc.
SEINE caIlee,iops 81 Cents when are Worth
$50.
Boston Timesi

Boston lines
Against en- iron fence IN busy par
OF New York stands a row Of boArdi
with coins and medals fastened TO them
The boards are covered with whit
paper, and the coins are held in place
by short ns1ls. three 10 each coin
pressed into the boards. and clasping
the bits Of metal with their heads.
Coin-stalls are common in European
cities, and on the coping Of the wall
that borders on tie Seine On
the Latin side Of Paris are placed
numerous glass cases. in which coins
are exposed to view but in this coun-
try coin-dealers are few. and the owner
OF this particular outfit is one Of two
who sell their goods in the open air in
New York. He is at his post at all
times, except in rainy or snowy weather.
for the coins would not stand exposure
to the elements. Tempting as the dis
play may be to thieves. they rarely At
tempt TO appropriate specimens.
- bad one batch Of coins stolen. -
said the dealer, but It was out OF a
safe IN that building across the street.
It was q collection that had stored
there while ! was making up cata-
logue. ! have no idea how the coins
were stolen. only know that one day
at noon they were gone, and none Of
them have turned up since. They
were worth l,200. | didn't feel very
good over it, you may be sure. Thieves
would take coins If they could get
them, Of course but there are so
many Of them that would be Of no use
to anybody but a collector that the
thieves prefer silyerware or something
Of that kind. A friend Of mine in Ohio
lost a collection Of American cents a
fortnight OF so ago, but the burglar
would never have touched them IL he
hadn't rolled them up and marked the
value 81 500 on them. 1t was one
Of the best collections Of cents in the
country"
Then a pretty complete collection
Of American cents is worth Sl,500g"
Easily. Good cents are getting
scaree-that is, the old cart wheel
cents-and some dates, ike 1922. are
worth from $50 to $50 in good condi-
ton. It's the condition Of the piece
that makes the worth Of it, though
young collectors don't understand thai.
Then complete collection Of cents
means more than just one cent Of each
date. There were some years when
there'd be. ! suppose. twenty varieties.
The differences would be too little
for you TO notice, maybe. but
a collector would know them as
quick as wink. There are lit
tie variations in the size Of the
letters or figures, or stars or shape Of
leaf or curl Of hair, made in repeating
the dies TO replace worn and broken
ones. Sometimes trihing thing. like
a large or small date. makes quite a
difference in the value Of a coin. Ever
hear Of the 'cow-lick five-franc piece
Of Napoleon H.: When he was Presi-
dent Of France. in 1851, new coins
were struck with his head on them,
and the first franc piece was taken
TO him for approval. lie said it was
all right. and told the mint-master
to go ahead with them; but a little |
later be noticed a stif-looking lock Of |
hair over the temple, such as we would |
call cow-lick. and he sent word to
have a new die made with more orderly /
hair. That was done, but in the mean /
time twenty-three Of the pieces had
gone out into circulation, and ! sup
pose thirty dollars would not buy one
Of them from any Of the men who own
them now"
lis there much counterfeiting Of
rare coins Z"
Well, not much nowadays. They
wouldn't be rare. you know, If they
were copied very much. and the exact
number and ownership Of some Of the
-arest are known to the collectors, 50
hat if one Of the same kind appears
n sale it can be spotted as bogus at
Jnce. The things that jewellers sell for (
I'D coins are so bad that nobody who
lnew anything at all about coins would
.ver mistake them for genuine
pieces. There was a factory Of bogus
jreek and Roman money in Padua
wo or three centuries ago, and the
work was mighty good, too but this
hing has been reduced TO a regular
.cience, so that an expert will take a
coin and in fifteen or twenty
minutes will tell YOU whether it is zen
line or bogus; whether it IS Roman,
'aduan, or modern; whether the pa
ina, or green coating, Is the result Of
&c or acid; whether it is Of the right
Material and proper weight or not. still.
here are some cOunterfeits made even
ow that are pretty clever.
" You know $. the coin-man up
be street: Well, a fellow went into
is place one day and asked to see
ONE Roman coins, rare ones. The
Arrest Of the lot he was a little uncer-
ain about, and SAID : think I've got
his in my collection, but III take it to
lake sure, providing that you Il return
" money if | find | have It, That
as agreed to, and some weeks later
be fellow showed up, and said Mr..
-. y5u'n have TO excuse me
u keeping that coin so long.
live in Philadelphia, and haven't
cen in New York since / bought
but / have the piece, and what's
.ore, mine is so much ike it that
got the two mixed up in my cabinet.
ID can't tell them apart. Now, if
quill pick ont the one that you think
yours, I'll take the other And he
nrolled two coins from some tissue
lper. Well, sir, $ was stumped:
e looked at them through a glass and
l sorts of ways, and finally put one
ide. Then the stranger said No,
pure wrong. This is the genuine.
ID that is forgery | made from it.
v name is -. ! reckon you've
ard Of me. Somebody told me that
L. -