The Opelousas courier., 1886-06-26
RARE COINS.
Big Prices that are Paid for
Some Specimens.
An American $40 Gold Piece that
Brought $4,000. q

o Soil0etiHS is nOG q matter OF
fashion or STYLE" said a Chicago dealer
to a News reporter. ''It is not a transient
craze. Rare coins cannot become plenty,
and as they find place in collections, one
ny one, the increased difficulty of secur-
ing them enhances their value. Then the
supposed scarcity of some coins causes
industrious searching and they become a
less exclusive article. For instance.
United States half-dollars of 1869 and
1886 have decreased 25 per cent. in price
because CT the number which have been
brought to light and the Macmillan dol
lar has declined from $3.50 to ST. 5.
The decline in silver has resulted in a re-
duction of about rs per cent. in all for
elgn coins of that metal and in many of
the United States pieces"
What is most wanted now in collect
ing2"
"Pieces of different dates to fill out
the series of large United States coppers,
from 1898 to 1857 Inclusive. The few
pattern pieces of the 1856 nickel cent
gave the cumbersome copper its death
blow. While these cents were of limited
issue in the year of their experimental
Introduction, they are not worth as much
as many people believe. I buy them at
81 in good condition.
"What is the rarest and most valuable
coin extant?" asked the Neus.
"The $40 United States gold piece of
1849. There are understood to be but
two OF them-one in the possession of the
United States, and the other owned by
the King of Sweden, who is an enthusi-
asst. He paid So, 900 for this specimen.
The $5 gold piece of 1901 is quoted at
$25, and that of 1922 is about as valua-
BILE. The 1878 2-cent piece-the last of
the series-is worth 81.
"some very old coins come far from
bringing fancy prices, even when in good
condition" and the ~cein-dealer DISPLAYED
a lot of Roman coins Of the early centu-
ries, which were green from the corosion
of time, several of which could be had at
from so cents to 81. About the oldest
coin was that of M~etapontum, belonging
to a period between four and five hun
dred years B. c. It sells for So. : The
more rare United States coins are the dol
lars of 1886 and 1889. which sell. at from
$40 to $50; the half-dollars of 1867,
selling at from $50 to $75; the quarters
of 1928 and 1927 bring the same price,;
the dime of 1904 worth SO to $12; the
half-cents of 1886 to 1S49 inclusive, each
selling at $13 to So, and the colonial
coins of 1867, worth from $50 to $50.
"Here are some women's coins,n con-
tinued the n~umismatist, as he threw down
n bearing the bust of Faustina, wife of
Marcus Aurelius, whose reign began in
161 A. D., and of Agrippina, wife of
Cesar Germanicus, reigning in 80 A. ID.
To the unappreciative critic devoid of
veneration for the relics of other peoples,
hallowed by tradition and smelling of the
must of centuries, there was one leading
feature which stood out on the embossed
surfaces of those old coins-one opportu-
nifty for modern comparison. 1t was the
graceful disposition of the back hair of
Faustina and Agrippina-these royal vo-
men fresh from the boudoirs of the first
and second centuries-in contrast with
the twists and s@narls, punches and braids
exhibited by the womankind of to-day.
It cannot be seen that fashion has
Wrought any improvement in back hair
durin,. sixteen or seventeen hundred
years. Faustina's smooth tresses reach
gracefully to the neck, where they are
gathered in a simple, bewitching knot.
Divine must have been the era when
crimp and bang, paper and puffs, waves
and switches were not.
"Agrippina's hair falls lower before it
is gathered, but is not less attractive in
appearance. No matted masses mar her
chiseled ~forehead--no twists of paper
ever decorated her Uranium. She was a
best girl of whom the risky Caesar in his
early day might well be proud, as side
by side they mingled with the elite in the
old Roman skating-rinks, or in the gaily
lit saloon she scooped in the vanilla ice
cream