The sun., 1910-05-08
SEVEN KINDS OF 1908 CENTS
A PREMIUM o. S3.1S ram EOR
ONE VARIETY.

rms was nn Hnwie mea9 ~ EFo'W Nunl-
dition-I.mcoln llrnd Csnta Wn,eh Are
Kapeeially PriNed by tho CoilusssEs--
lsSue 90 tha Flylng EAgln Cent ne-
ealied-WhrR Gents were q NuASancc.
The interest," aroused among ooin col
leCtOrs by tho change IN the design q ne
cent b shown by Inc fact that alrnidy
two varieties oR the ig09 cont oomuiaHt
premium Of over e.. Thars are no iess
/ than ssvUn varisties u the cent % ioos
First among these varieties arc Ne
Indian head and the Lincoln cent In proof
condition. These constitute distinct
varieties In the eyes of collectors. and they
arc the most valuable Of aH the cents of
the year. A proof specimen Of tho Indian
had cent brought s3.2s snd one Of the
lincoln cent - az = reQent auction Gala
In this city. Ths proof ,ouihs WGr9 mads
especially for collectors at tho mint. and
sh0w a superior finish to,that On the coins
made for circulation. -
The third varioty u the Inglan head
cent struck Tor general uss, rbis held a.
a slight premium. q lot OF ave pleOss IN
uncirculated oohdilion bringing II cents
oachat the sazus iAls. Whils q brilliant rod
spocimsn was bid in at y cent?.
The fourth variety q the Lincoln cent
made at the Phlladslphia mint for general
oirUulAtiOn. and bsArlng the initials
v. d. b. A lot Of nfty pisoas IN bright
rod condition brought three Conts each
at the sale. te
The nth varsity ID the Lincoln csnt,
made at Philadelphia, IN which the
initials oR the designer are omitted. Il
h held at no prsmium. 49,
No Indian head osnis were mad At The
San Francisco mint in i0O9. AntAe oants
made thore bear tho mint letter 3 on the
reverse and are Of tho Linooln deA;gn.
tho sixth and seventh varieties heing Tho
cents Of this mint, with and without the
initials V.,p. n ~
In ntheeyes of the colsotoFa. ipdging from
the most recsnt auctions of esins. the last
two varisties are Of about equal value.
A specimen Of tho san Francisco cent
with the lnitials. In bright red condition.
brought 10 csnts. while a lot oftWopiscoa
In the sane condition brought - oents
each.
Coin collectors and dealers are Of the
opinion that the Lincoln cent will make
many new coln collectors. just as To
advent Of the 1850 atinGsaglo Osnt arouned
such interest that coin colleCtiag wAs
placed on a permanent basis in thlsoo
try. Prior 20 1855 thsro were very few
collectors Of oolns IN the Unitad Saaeas
and very low prices were paid for colnH
which were conceded % BE- Of axtr6ma
rarity.
The change Of design IN isss frosn ne
old fashioned large copper csat. whlch
Of tho mint n fTgs. 10 the small csnt OF
ooppsr-nickol attracted 20 maoh attention
that host Of persons joined the rueks
Of the collectors and oAussd a sudden
advance In the price of coin raritiss.
Although the 1853 cent IL actually q
pattern cent. the law aufh0rizing the Issue
Of the design not having been passed
until February q. 1867. nevertheless II
was Of the same design and Of the sams
metal 40 the regular 1881 iying eagle
cent In 1859 these pattern cents we're
made in considerable numbers No one
knows Just how many were made. cut
certainly there we're hundreds and p4r-
haps thousands OF them Indeed thF
statement was made a few years RRo thaa
fully 1900 OF the 1855 flying eagle osnaA
had been made. II is also a fact thAa
for q time the 1850 cents cOald be bought
at the mint for exactly one cent each
Notwithstanding that az present an mns
circulated speoimen - W0FtAs about 81
and q proof specimen has an auotiOn
/ record Of Nl9
The fving eagle CENTS were issued FOR
the purpose OF rcdeeming tho old copecr
cents. which had been discontinued and
also the fractional parts Of the Spanish
dollar. which for a long time had bssn
passing current throughout the United
and mutilhted and caused much an
noyance. 20 that they began 20 dspreniate
In value, and the act Of COngress Of 1881
sought 20 Ret rid Of them by having them
received at the miuts ana paid for with
flying eagle cents.
In 1881 s.SOO.OOO u hying eagle cunts
were struck at the mint. and pFcpeFn-
tons were made az Philadelphia Tor The
redemption under the new act. In antic-
ipation Of the scramble that would come
with the announcement that the mint
authorities were ready 10 redeem the coins
specified, a temporary building was
erected In tho yard Of the mint Over
two cashiers windows were placed the
signs Gents for Cents and Gents for
silver The redemption plan oailed
| for packages % the silver COIN containing
S.. The cents 90 be- used In payment
we're placed in canvas bags containing
500 each. On the day the redemption
began the crowd at the mint vas 20 great
that Il was necessary 10 form two separate
lines leading 10 the windows.
From the passage Of ths act Of redemp-
! ton 20 June - 1854 there had been re-
ceived Spanish and Mexican coins g. The
amount Of e.OT3.t3f. of which So1.1ts
was taken In at tho PhiledelphiA mint
and paid for In flying eaglo cent?, rhs
report Of the Director o. the Mint on
November 8. 1859, said that the mint
had resolved these coins 20 the amount
Of 81. .82O. .eg7. Of which s54a.9O5 was DE-
posted In exchange for the centa.a Or
/ 10 this time tnare aleo had been paid
out sos .2tl In fying eagle cents Ia re6enlp-
ton Of the Old largo copper GENTS AZ
this time the director said that the objec-
tiOnable coins had Ceased % circulate
In most Of the States % 1be Union. and
we're gradually disappearing from the
distant Strtea.
At the expiration oT the two yenrN the
/ redamption Of the Spanish and MgNieMn
silver coins ceased. and In their Wako liRd
come such . food 0f ths' dying eaEle
csnts that they became almost q EhuCh
/ Of q nuisance a. had the depreciatsd eiieer
1 currency. Many persons through che