The Washington critic., 1886-02-04

might be supposed It would be very
difficult 90 swindlc dealer in ancient
coins, though, of course. people who
purchased OF whomsocvcr might Offer
were apt TO be taken In. lie then in
formed nc that silver half dollars
coined in The year 1894 found ready
sale at from $3.50 TO 81 600 each The
value depends upon the preservation of
the coin. The dealers have ascertaiucd
that there are but seven pieces of this
denomination that were circulated little
If any. 1t is these seven which com.
mand the highest figure. Those whose
appearance is not too much disligured
sell readily al $500, while any Of the
remainder, without regard to conli.
tion, arc sold Mt $3.50. IL is n little sin
gular that while coins of 1903 and 1905
are worth only few cents more than
their face value, those of 1904 should be
rated 50 eXpensively. The reason for
this lies in the fact that in
1901 the number of half.dol.
lars coined was comparatively small,
and as these gradually disappeared
from circulation their value accord.
ingly increased Another coin for
which there is great demand is the
half dimes of 1902. These are quoted
at from $3.50 to S400 each, according
TO their state of preservation, aud for
the same reasons given above. The
sums of money Withdrawn from cir
culation and locked up in these collcc.
tions is said TO be very large. The
number of collectors has greatly In.
creased Of late years, and many rich
men, like Senator Stanford of Cali
fornia and Harrison Garrett of Balti
more, make 1t their special hobby
The most complete collection in
America, embracing coins of every de
scription from the old colonial days
down to the present time, is in the pos.
session of Mr.. Loring G.. parmalcc OF
Boston. lis intrinsic value Is trinc
less than 81 200. The sum which Mr.
Parmalcc has refused for II is $6j 900.
~"s
Miss Anthony is growing perceptibly
older in her life work, says the Times
stars Washington correspondent,
Every year you can see as she comes
up TO the fight that her hair is a little
graycr, and the lines in her plain, rcso-
lute face little deeper. She is not the
sort of person you would picture to
yourself as "strong minded" woman
She is tall, slender womanly woman,
not at all handsome. but quite the re-
verse, her iron-gray hair combed down
by the side of her face, her good black
silk dress made plainly and in perfect
order, her jewelry little old fashioned
She Is not at all ''manish" in her man.
ners, neither is she "old maidish," al
though she must be classed as u spin
ster. She has clear head, plain,
rcsolute, motherly sort of person, the
last one you would select as q leader of
women sulfragists,
Wv
Speaking of the descendants of pub
lie men of note, the Washington cor.
respondent of the Kansas City Times
says he met one day recently on the
Avenue, in front of the White House,
between Fifteenth and Seventeenth
streets, DR.. George b, Harrison, the
son of Mrs. Harrison alluded to in con.
nection with the Randolph family.
Senator Harrison of Indiana, the grand
son Of President Harrison; George Fill
more, the nephew of President Fill
more; John Tyler, jr., and DIR. Lach.
Ian Tyler, the sons by the first and
second marriages of President Tyler,
and none of them held their heads as
high as the son of retired soap boiler
who was dudishly promenading the
same squares. Any day at Willard 5
hn fhn al lpnuarlv Iphn
son, Mr.. Lewis Johnson, the very i'm
age of his father, quiet, unobtrusive
and self-composed The grandson of
the famous Chancellor Livingston of
New York is an enlisted man in the
Signal Corps, on duty in Washington
and scattered throughout the several
Departments are both male and female
descendants of the men famous in
American history.
~
Says a Washington special to the
Atlanta Constitutions: The rapid
growth and increasing splendor Of the
Capital have naturally inspired mag
niicont plans for the future A mil
lion dollars is asked for the improve
ment of its streets this year, though
they are already the finest in the
world. Fully five millions will go into
the library building, which will prob
| ably be voted at the present session. A
| demand has arisen for new home for
the President. 1t is found in many
ways disagrecable TO have the business
| of the executive Office transacted at the
| Dpaci1.ptiu pnci1nnpn Nhn White
House is crowded every day with a
| promiscuous crowd who could not in
trude on home, even IL it were the
dwelling place of the President. When
preparation for n social event is in pro.
gress the White House is scene of
disorder and confusion and the public
business is more or less interferred
with The plan vaguely pro
posed is to keep the executive of
fees at the White House and to
build mansion elsewhere in the city
for the use of the President This may
not be done soon, but it will come al
no distant day. The reclamation OF
the marshes near the Washington Mon.
ument, known as the Potomac flats
will add several hundred acres to the
beautiful Government reservation that
stretches from the Capitol to the river
a distance of more than a mile. This
IL now traversed by winding drives and
graveled walks through groves and
gardens of rare beauty, but the arti
fetal river front will eventually be
come its most attractive feature. The
river at that point is wide and majestic
and from the new embanliment will be
given superb view up and down the
Potomac and over TO the mighty slope
that rise up to the crest of the Virgins
hills IL will cost n great deal to fill il
these marshes, but the possible value
of the improvement is so great tina
private enterprise has often sought tC