Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-16
RARE AMERICAN COINS
MANY CENTS HIGHLY VALUED
BY COLLECTORS.
Private Gold Issues That Bring Big
Prices-Three-Cent and Five
Cent Nickels.
From the New York Sun.

~ faIr
years. said an old coin dealer. Any mum.
Der of coins that could have b.en n,croJ,
up tor small sum a short time ago now
bring sums up to s75 and 500.
fhis Is due to the tremendous revival ~
interest that has taken place Ia coin coli
4ecuhs. There are now in this country
more than 4,ooo coin collectors who sys-
,e"natlcaiiy buy old coins and are ALWAYS
III search of new specimens
1hey make trips abroad to Europa ana
o'ner countries in quest OF desired raritiex
some OF them make trips of this charac,er
o'ery year for no other purpose tha, m
Is1sack The shops of dealers in odds ana
ehds on the other side OF tha ocaa,, 4. 80
rope of finding a treasure vvrJcs a -
"i tt6 OF fact, they very often do
VI course, there are thousands OF nor
CIV, no casually gather old coins indis-
cLHsihaieIy, but don't take such college,
cts INTO account. So great is the demand
Tor ola coins nowadays that the suppjy
ooes not begin to meet It.
Most American collectors go n, FOR co,,.
OF United States ISSUE Not much Interest,"
= taken here In foreign and in the ancfens
creek and Roman coins although they ara
Inc rage abroad.
A good many collectors mako q s-a,,o,,,.
OF gathering colonial coins and the rrIya-o
gold Issues of North Carolina Georgia ap6
,Sailfornia, but the large old copper cent
leads them all in point OF interest Stiu
other collectors go in for die varieties ana
mint marks. That small letter on q COIN
wnich SHOWS the place of its mintaSs
makes all the difference In the world ia a
collector and also in the price
For instance, "a Lwenty-cent piece OF
1910 OF the Philadelphia mint is worth tust
20 Genus: and yet coin of the same de.
nomination of 1877 or 1873 bearing the two
tiny letters C c. for Carson City. viii
bring between SO and SIS
Dime Of 1894.
The dime of 1894 is another examn,~
The one made in San Francisco. with the
letter s. Is worth anywhere from IS 10
$40 whereas those made in other mInts ara
worth Just their face value or a trifte oven
There were only twenty four of the former
ten-cent pieces minted
would you believe a dollar OF 1904 was
worth 1870? 1t is, just the same and that
sum was paid at a recent auction sale
Yet, such is the Inconsistency of coin
collecting that dollar of 1898 in good con.
GLtlon, can be bought for $3.50. The rea.
son Tor this Is that all 1904 dollars were
struck in proof sets, and We're limited
froof coins are made by furnishing the
sheet or metal before the coins are stamped
ana they come forth with a high polish
The low figure of the 1913 dollar is due 10
the enormous number preserved in good
condition.
MANY of the coins mtnted since IS50
bring premiums that greatly exceed those
for coins issued during the latter part OF
the eighteenth century and the beginning Of
the nineteenth century
ga gold dollar of 1873 In proof condition
will bring SO. The three-doIlar gold piece
Of 1873 is worth 500. All three-dolIar gold
pieces, in fact, with the exception of those
minted at the Philadelphia mint in 1855 and
1874. are worth premiums ranging up TO SO,
The four-dollar gold piece of 1879 ana
1880 is worth SO. The silver dollar Of 1863
Is rated at $50. The flying eagle cent OF
1876 brings 49, and Is hard to get at that
price,
"All the silver thres-oent pieces command
premiums that range as high as 81. The
nickel three-cent piece of 1877 is worth ~,
and the five-cent piece of the same year "a
valued at $500
And. what will seem strangest OF all 70
the general public, the common bronze cent
of 1877, in proof condition. is quoted ut
$3.50 and even those which have been Ia
circulation fetch an advanced price
'Die varieties mean more than one would
suppose. OF the 1874 cents alone there are
flfty-hve die varieties each one OF which
is held at high premium, and Of all the
big copper cents there are SIT die varietlea
known at the present time, with other
counties to hear from.
And this just refers to coins OF one
denomination 1t Is easy to imagine the
work ahead Of the collector who goes IN
for the collection OF die varieties of coins q
all denominations.
Gold Coins.
'0rhe majority of the collectors OF gold
coins confine themselves to denominations
under IS. This by no means limits theiy
field greatly, as there are hundreds of va
rletles OF the private gold issues OF the
western states, North Carolina and Georgia.
not to mention the varieties of regular
United States issue.
Just take the Brasher douhloon. This
was a gold piece issued In New York city
in 1887. On the reverse Ii bears the motto
'Unum e Pluribus, and an eagle with
spread wings; upon its breast a shield,
with a bundle of arrows in the right talon
nd o1i braY IN
head is surmounted by thirteen stars.
This coin was struck from dies WHOM
had been made for a cent. which the maker
had submitted to the authorities FOR ap.
prevail but It was rejected. The coin Is
now worth more than $500 and Is seldom
offered for sale.
"Of the California gold issues alone there
are several hundred varieties, and some OF
them command enormous premiums.
''There are only three collectors in this
country who make specially of accounts.
latfng gold pieces of the value of $40 ana
upward. There are not only the eagle
and double eagle Of United states issue.
but the many ten, twenty ana hIty-doIas
gold pieces of private firms In the West
and the SIG and S40W gold slugs.
'"This branch of numismatics Is only rof
millionaIres. All of the hfty-dollar gold
pieces of which there were seven varleuss,
are octagonal in shape except one. and now
fetch from $50 to $500 that is, when they
are offered for sale, which IS not often.
'~rhese fifty-dollar pieces were made OF
tbe purest gold, which cannot always Do
said of many of the minor denomlnations,
such as the % and 50-cent pieces of So
called gold.
But there IS one gold piece Of United
States issue which is beyond the reach OF
all collectors, no matter how wealthy. This
coin is above price. 1t is the first twenty
dollar gold piece minted by this govern
ment. in 1S4e..
"'The piece was submitted for approval.
mt before action was taken the new year
came, so that the dies had to be destroyed
and new ones made for 1850 rms com.
&c only one of its kind now rests in The
coin cabinet at the Philadelphia mint.
AFTER all, the real factor In the value on
a coin of rare date Is It's CONDITION. On Tins
A Woman's Beautiful Memorial.
From LeslIe's Weekly.