Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-09-02
ROMANCE OF AZ COIN
Spurned by . Bartender, Bo4ght Il
$1o0 by q NumismatfSt.

Spurned by Bartender, Bought for
SIo0 by Num1smatfst.
From being turned down yvhea Of
fered in payment for a bfztle of beer
to being purchased by a numismatis
for 500 is in brief the recent history
o. an ancient coin found by some labor
ers the other day. The details be-
tween the time of the finding of the
coin and the disposition of it are in
teresting, as showing how, after chang
ing hands several times and being the
subject of several proposed bargains,
but not consummated, the coin sprang
rom the depths of ignominy-spurned
by bartender-to its proper place as
n recognized treasure
1t was discovered by laborers who
we're making an excavation at Broad
and Catherine streets. 1t was dis
reputable thing to be called a coin.
being so long covered with dirt that
the image and superscription were no:
recognizable. The man who picked it
up looked at it doubtfully.
81 don't know what it is" he said,
''or how much it's worth, but 1 guess
IT'S good for a kettle of beer, any
way"
And so the long buried coin started
N its journey to prominence. 1t was
thrown on the bar of a nearby saloon,
offered in exchange for cold, froth-
ing kettle of lager. The bartender eyed
it suspiciously.
NO good" was his verdict, uttered in
the cold and unsympathetic tone which
only a bartender can use, as he sees
coins and apologies for coins of all sorts
thrown before him by thirsty NOR
tails.
The finder of the coin was disappoint-
ed. He wanted the beer. He began to
argue the case and attracted the atten-
ton of another man in the saloon, who
took up the coin and examined it.
I'll give you so cents for it," and
the next moment it was in his pocket,
the finder of the coin paid for his beer,
disappeared, came back and had the
kettle refilled, disappeared again, and
so on until the half dollar was gone
He and his friends thought it was a
great piece of luck to find coin worth
half a dollar.
Then came a rapid exchanging of
hands, so far as the coin was concerned
The man who paid so cents for it showed
It to a friend, who offered him dol
lar for it. The deal was promptly
closed. Then the man who had paid
the dollar found a man who was will
ing to give five dollars for it, and again
the coin changed owners.
But here the locust-story phase OF
the coins history ceases. The next
chapter was one of bidding and the re-
fusal of bids. The five-dollar man took
it to a coin dealer, who offered him $50
for it. The five-dollar man said he'd
think it over, and went to another
dealer.
twenty-five dollars" was the figure
.offerd by dealer No. ?, but he ive-dollar
man still held on to the coin. ''If one
man offers $50, and you are willing to
pay $25,'' he said to the coin. dealer,
1.-The next one / strike may make it
$780,
The dealer thereupon offered to taks
the coin-an find a buyer at once, get
ting the most he could for it, and de
Quoting per cent. commission. The
owner agreed, and the coin was taken
to a well-known numismatist, who saw
it was no everyday find. 1t was an
old English coin, containing about $1a
worth of gold, but valued at many times
that much money, because there are, IL
is said, only four of the kind in exist.
ence
The coin was purchased for $100. and
the buyer is not expected to lose money,
even at that figure. Indeed, the other
three coins of the kind are said to havs
sold for as high as $500 apiece.-Phila'
delphia Inquirer.