Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-10-16
HIGH PRICED COINS.
Great Rarity and of Still Greater
Value.
.sas-- .H,s-7-a-=a
UNCLE SANS CENTS AND HALFCENTS
Six Thousand Dollars Is About What
These Coins Would Cost-Never
Been Circulated.
JNCLE SANS CENTS AND HALFCENTS

Washington has half dozen coin
collectors who in their especial lines
have collections that are unrivaled in
the world. Among these are Mr.. A.
G. Heaton, better known in Washing.
ton as an artist than as numismatist.
He is now the President of the Ma
tional Association and will preside over
the coming meetings.
His collection of what is known to
the cult as "mintages" is one of the
finest in the world. Mintaeos are
coins bearing the initial of some par
ticular mint. San Francisco, for in
stance, is represented by tiny IS"
just above the date, and the Carson
City mint uses a small sc" in the
same place, while New Orleans is dis
tinguished by an 60" Philadelphia
has no mint mark at all. The number
of coins of any one issue that are struck
in the different mints vary greatly, SO
that a date and denomination from
three out of four mints may be COM
mon, while the presence of the distinc-
tive letter of mint from which only a
few score or few hundred such coins
were struck may add hundreds of dol
lars to the value. 1t is in this series
of rare mintages that Mr.. Heaton's
collection excels.
Mr.. J. M. Clapp, of the Washington
Loan aud Trust Company, is another
wealthy collector, and the face value
of his coins is probably greater than
that of any other collection in the
United States, for he makes a specially
of the gold series and has remarkably
perfect collection of everything from
the tiny gold quarters, very few of
which have been issued, up to the big
luscious double eagles that are reason
ably valuable in themselves without
the unearned increment of rarity. Mr..
Clapp has also very fine general col
lection. Silver coins are another of
his long suits.
One of the most unique collections,
however, is that of Mr.. Benjamin H.
Collins, formerly chief of division
in the Treasury, but who for more than
IL year duu d-udll las DCCh III
the coin and antiquity business at 110S
g street, where the meetings of the asso-
citation will be held.
Mr. Collins has turned his attention
particularly to copper pennies and half
pennies of this country, and has one
set-126 of the former and forty y-seven
of the latter-that stood him just
$500 at auction. Sin 20 then he has
been offered So, 900 for the set and re-
fused it, and says he will continue to
refuse any price so long as he is able
to afford the luxury of refusing.
The coins themselves are marvel of
preservation, scarcely one of them
ever having been in circulation, and
they still show the original gloss of
the mint through the slight tarnish
that years have put upon them, for
the coins in connoisseur's collection
are never cleaned no matter what their
age. One or two of these beauties OF
100 years or more ago are worth 5000
apiece and many run over $50. A
duplicate from this collection has quite
a story attaching to it.
81 swapped it off TO another dealer
for diamond ring" said Mr.. Collins,
showing a vacant place in leather
coin-case where some of his prize
duplicates reposed. II would not part
with one of the originals out of the
collection at any price" he continued
"but Mr.. Steigerwait. dealer up in
Lancaster, Pa, who had seen the coin
and wanted it, wrote to me that he had
come across good diamond that he
would swap me for it, We were both
of us dealers. and both knew our busi-
ness so there was no skindealing on
either side. ] told him to send on the
ring, which was nearly carat stone,
and a very good one at that. Ordinar-
lily it would have brought $40 in the
market He sent me ON the stone,
and / have since sold it to young
lady in the city, and have it locked up
in my safe there now, waiting for her
to call for it. There is case of a
good diamond selling for cent.
Continuing on the subject of the
coming convention, Mr.. Collins said
"We will be able to show the members
a pretty fine local collection as it is,
but from the nature of Washington's
population we are losing enthusiastic
collectors in the departments, many OF
whom have made life work of coins.
and have five collections of their own.
Among such may be mentioned W. w.
Hayes, formerly of the Pension Office,
who had made speciality of the var
ious classes of 1894 cents, of which
there are great variety. He has left
the city for his old home in Bellefonte.
Pa. Harry Phillips, formerly disburs-
ing clerk of the Agricultural Depart
ment, was another who had fine gen.
eral collection of United States coins.
He has gone back to Worcester, Mass.
Colonel j. L. Hodge, General Sheri-
dan, Mr.. Roessel of the Arlington. Mr..
Titcumb and lot of others l could