The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-02-14
COIN DEALERS WAYS.

'eiSas tnAt nvstou nru wa Wiling -
pay 1920 for 4 cent bearing the date Of
1904. arc raking over the old pieces in the
nope that one OF the vaiuabie coins may
be found. says the New York Tribune. II
they md tho cent they will meet with moro
disappointment than II their collection hsa
contained no red cent Of that date. for ie
they offered 1t for sale It would bring only
about 50. Reports Of similar nature and
their way into the papers every few
months" said John W. Scott, and they
always give the coin dealers vast trouble.
People bring the coins Of supposed great
value TO the doalcr and when they are told
mat they have been fooled they will not
believe It and In proof OF their position
frequently show clipping from a newspa-
Fer. II this story had been told about 4
SILVER dollar OF the year 1904 there might
nave been y little foundation for tho yarn.
no added. because have paid 5000 for QUO
OF them But they can now BIO bought for
about $500"
In answer to tho question why II was
that dollar OF 1904 should be worth only
VOW now, when IL was worth $1,000 several
years ago, MIR. Scott said: AS a matter OF
iaot there was probably no coin made In
me me lsVa dollar die until about 1855. and the
few coins which were produced were quickly
secured by collectors. The business at tho
United States mint was not always con-
Quoted ON business principles and We know
that old dies were sold for nominal
amounts. II is supposed that tho die for
the lSOi dollar ia now In Germany and that
an occasional 1904 silver dollar slips into
tho country. That ia why the coin is lens
Vniuabic now than II WAS years ago. For
tho last twenty years, however. all dies
have been destroyed ut tho end of tho year,
Whilo they are In use any person may re.
40 nj h., ,tok
by sending FOR them and paying a nominal
amount in addition TO their face value.
But after the end OF the year no coins Of
that year can be obtained at the mint at
any price
Tho collection OF coins in tho United
States has been displaced to n large extent
Ivy the stamp collection. There arc still
many collections said n dealer. and tho
demand Tor rare pieces at fair prices Is
good. but the collectors are rich men for
the most part. Specimens must ba first
class before they become desirable and
poor pieces nre almost worthless. Formerly
coins for witch we received and 10 cents
apiece were good property. That was when
hoys were collectors. hut nowadays tho
hoy collects stamps nnd does not feel inter-
osied even In his fathers collection OF war
money with Its Individual coppers. postage
stamps hNod IN button like frames which
were legal tender IN war times. nhinplas-
tiers and other queer contrivances which
took the place OF money. But during tho
presidential campaign" he continued. I'VE
had now class of customers, We received
ordcrs daily from people who wanted sets
Of Chinese. Mexican aud South American
coinR with which to illustrate Bryana
theory, and the coin dealer Is a more Inn
por,Gnt factor In the cause OF sound money
than most people ara aware Of"
TIE com DEALERS TROUBLES
hut the coin dealer has his troubles, al
counter for short time HiB place OF
business "a visited by buyers and sellers.
Tho buyer usually knows what h0 wants,
the seller rarely has an idea of what he
VIII receive for his w0ros. Whenever
man has Al coin for sale he speaks of It as
q most rare and valuable specimen" said
Mr. Scott, and they are usually perfectly
sincere about ~, In most cases tho pieces
are of llttlo value II genuine, or they AFRO
commercials because Dioat coins. unless
they have been bought from collectors. are
not In the rare claae. But l have had
this coin for forty years.. tho owner will
say, or I had this given TO me years ago AZ
n valuable piece And then whom the man
is told that there were rasoals forty years
ago and before then. he goB away angry"
To illustrate the point that the average
layman does not understand thS mysteries
of tho business and tho conditions which
establish Values MIR. Scott told OF a circun-
had offered n copper cent OF the year 1893
for anle and was surprised to know that II
was worth only 10 centn. why, tho 1893
Is worth So is II notf' he asked. Yes
was the reply. I'VE pay $40 for $780, but
n 1893 although 1t Is a year older. is worth
only 10 cents and about half an much a. .
copper cent OF 1871"
The collection OF continental paper money
In Btill fad with many people, but tho
price Of tho ancient bills IN comparatively
m .l,afN -xx
may be bought at 20 cents apiece. and this.
one collector said, was an object lesson in
population. During tho early days Of
the Republic" he said. "all the States Is
sued paper money and all but one State re-
pudiatcd It. The consequence is that you
may buy continental motto with au $50
face value for 25 cents, while Vermont
rhinplaster Of % cents face value IN worth
$25 Vermont redeemed Its currency ana
most of It went back into It's treasury. and
that Is tho reason why tho few remaining
bills bring large price"
STAPLE ARTICLEs WITH COIN DEAL
ERS.
Confederate bills and United States frac-
tional paper currency are staple articles
with the coin dealers. II is estimated that
there In stu about 81 900 900 In fractional
currency unredeemcd. or this amount much
has been destroyed and what remains IL
In the hands OF collectors and dealers. The
amount may be larger than tho figures
given and It probably Is. l.. p. Chttcnden,
who was register OF tho treasury during
Lincoln's administration, says that the rec
ords as to the fractional currency wore in
some respects imperfect and that II 10
probable that the Issue was larger than the
figures indicated. Confederate States money
was printed In such vast quantities and
was thrown upon the market at such . low
figure that there are still Millions OF dol-
lars worth in tho hands OF curiosity DEAL
crs. who are willing TO sell It at low rates.
Extreme care is taken by dealers In selling
the Confederate money, as TO the pur-
chasers because 1t has frequently been
used by sharpers to swindle unsuspecting
immigrants.
That there is much interest taken in the
collection OF coins and stamps In shown BY
the increase In the number OF organizations
composed OF collectors and OF publications
which are designed only for people inter-
ested in that field. The Collectors club u
the largest organization OF tho kind IN