Rocky Ford enterprise., 1896-05-07

the notes peluS OI tie edihcos AeoAS ',''.
signed by General Spinner's own hand.
Such curiosities are sometimes picked
out and preserved by shrewd clerks. but
this Is not supposed to be permitted,
and the bulk Of them find their way TO
the melting-pot or the macerator.
Strange to say, the most precious speci-
mems are old-style copper cents.
OF these big copper pennies 119,oOo.-
900 are unaccounted for. having never
been returned to the treasury for re-
demption. 1t is very rarely that one OF
them is seen in circulation, and nearly
all Of them have been lost SO completely
as to have passed In effect out OF exist
ence. Some OF them are exceedingly
rare and command high prices. The
rarest of all is the cent OF 1893. Any
body who has one Of that date, In first
class condition. can sell 1t for $3.50.
Some of the old-fashioned half-cents
are valuable also. Not long ago b. II.
Collins, dealer In this city. bought at
a sale In London 12S copper cents and
A half-cents for $500. Since then he
has sold part Of the lot for $2.10o and
has $500 worth left.
This dealer could have furnished to
any purchaser the same coins In poor
condition for one-tenth Of the price he
paid. For 1t is an odd fact that the
market value Of piece Of metal money
from the collectors point Of view Is de-
termined chiefly by its state Of preser-
walton. A coin may be ever SO rare
and yet be nearly worthless II worn TO
any extent. The precious cent OF 1893
can be got for 81 or even less. II In poor
condition, but its value is multiplied a
hundred fold II 1t retains the gloss Of
the minting. The copper pennies one
sees occasionally In circulation are
black with age, but the uncirculated
cent half century old. which has been
put away and carefully kept from in
jury by the collector, still retains some
what of the yellow sheen of the new
ly-stamped piece. This. with Its cameo
design uurubbed and unworn. Is what
Is called perfect" coin.
All United States coins Of dates prior
to 1859 are worth a premium. II In per-
feet condition To such point is this
matter carried that piece in good
state Of preservation is actually dam
aged by cleaning, from the collectors
point Of view. From the standpoint Of
the numismatist an uncirculated coin
Is something sacred. to be wrapped in
chamois skin and to be kept even from
exposure to the air. The most common
Of the pennies OF early dates is that OF
1898, which may be purchased for as
little as cents. yet perfect specimen
will fetch $50. A perfect cent OF 1898
can be sold for 800. 1t was the first
penny issued by this government.
Plenty Of 1908 cents can be bought for
ten cents each, but a perfect and un-
circulated example will fetch $50. Only
half dozen perfect coins of 1898 are
known. A perfect cent Of 1904 has
brought $500. One may buy an 1906
penny for ten cents, but a perfect one
is worth 500.
In the year 1894 no fewer than fifty
four dies were used for minting pennies.
At that time all the coins were struck
by hand. and not as now, by machinery.
The method being defective, the dies
were broken now and then and had 10
be replaced by others. Variations in
the cutting Of the dies gave rise to reg
ognizable differences in the minted
pieces. At present no complete collec-
ton Of the cents Of that year exists.
The original idea was that each penny
should contain exactly one cents worth
OF copper, hence the inconvenient size
OF the piece. All cents from 1908 10
IA. with the head OF the Indian are rare
uyh nnrfn tel
and 1911, which are worth $50 each.
No pennies were coined In 1915, be-
cause OF the burning of the mint. That
is the only break In the continuity of
the coinage OF cents.
The cents OF 1917, 1878, 1919 and 1870
used to be rare, but bags full of them
were found in an old bank and flooded
the market. Prices of coins are con-
trolled by the law OF supply and de-
mand. Many pieces which ten years
ago were scarce are now plentiful. Per-
haps tomorrow the newspapers may
chronicle the sale of a certain penny at
auction for s67. The people who read
1t go down into their stockings and look
for pennies OF that date. Maybe lot Of
them will be found, the result being
lowering Of the price of that coin. As
for the folly OF paying out good money
In the purchase of such n fad. n chronic
collector said to the writer the other
day that 1t was all the same whether a
man found pleasure in whisky, or
women, or dogs. or bicycles. II he
found enjoyment in the study Of old
coins and had the necessary means.
there was Just as much fun in 1t as
there was in collecting books, pictures
or diamonds.
The temptation to counterfeit coins
with view to selling them to collectors
might be supposed to be considerable.
1t ought to be easy to reproduce with
accuracy rare penny worth 500, the
material requisite being trining. But
even the amateur numismatist Is not
going to pay big price for coin with
out referring It to an expert. and that is
inst where the difficulty comes in. Be-
sides, the throwing of few rare pieces
on the market will reduce their selling
value enormously. Nevertheless, coun-
terfeits produced by electrotyping have
made some trouble at times. The most
notable fraud in this line has been ac-
complished by altering the date Of the
silver dollar of 1901, which is worth
hardly more than face value IN 1904