Saw these breathtaking rarities during my Smithsonian visit.
markelman1125
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Got to see these awesome numismatic specimens during my my trip to DC this week.
These pictures don’t compare to the magnificent luster you witness before your eyes when visiting the exhibit, highly recommend a visit to see for yourself.
1849 $20
1933 $20
1913 liberty head 5 c
1974 aluminum cent
1877 $50 gold
1878 Morgan dollar orginal copper pattern
1907 ultra high relief St Gaudens $20
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Thank you @markelman1125 for sharing
Some true American rarities many of us would be lucky to own.
Nice to see those coins. I'm sure that made it a good trip.
So cool!
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
This is 2023,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, can't they find a better way to mount these coins?
I can't believe they aren't in slabs.
Infamous 2008 visit thread by @saintguru, then reposted in 2019 with visible photos:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/12461136/#Comment_12461136
I was there in '88. The exhibit setup was different then. Still wished the mint did make those half unions.
Throw a coin enough times, and suppose one day it lands on its edge.
Some true American rarities that NONE of us will ever own.............
Pete
The technique for displaying those rarities rates about a two on a scale of ten.
I'm a bit surprised the museum didn't just drill a hole in the coin and use a single push pin to hold it (vs. the 3 used). The cost of all those push pins adds up.
Saw these coins a few years back when we were in DC too. My family not being coin people don’t remember much from that exhibition except for that giant rock with a hole in it!
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Unless it's the glass covering, many of those coins look like they would receive details grades if submitted today.
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Very true. I never looked at it like that.
Pete
I was there a few months ago, and found the exhibit extremely underwhelming. For the sheer amount of numismatic items the Smithsonian has, I was a bit disgruntled to see only a handful of coins. Those that were on display were generally not accompanied by a description. If I remember correctly, there were more random items of foreign/modern money than US coinage on display. There were I believe four or five patterns on display (including the 1907 UHRs), and one of those was cleaned into oblivion. The majority of the Smithsonian collection was locked away in a vault somewhere.
For example, take coin #10. That is an experimental UHR $20 pattern struck by the mint in the diameter of a $10 eagle, but with the same amount of metal as a standard $20. That makes them roughly triple the thickness of a normal $20 struck for circulation. There are 2 in existence, and they are much rarer than the standard 1907 MCMVII UHR patterns. There was very little, if any of this listed for anyone to see.
Coin Photographer.
Somewhere isn't very far away. You just have to get past the guy with a gun and through a lot of locked and reinforced doors. Or get permission and escort, which is the route I'd recommend.
In a vault somewhere?
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WOW! The rarest US coins of all time, worth tens of millions....hanging loose, some with metal looking prongs holding them against a Pin up board. LOL
it was my job to hammer in those push pins.
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My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
Thanks for the pics. 😊
But, I cringe when I see those beautiful, rare, priceless gems crimped onto boards with metal clamps/hooks. That has to be doing some damage.
I had no idea they were displayed that way at the Smithsonian.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
They are acrylic pins, not metal, I promise, the picture are just phone quality, I am sure the Smithsonian institute understands coin conservation very well and those coins are safely displayed and climate controlled.
After all these coins have been in the Smithsonian possession for years and they look excellent from my eyes, I am sure they are protected well enough to stay is excellent condition for another 50-100 years.
👍
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I think our host should offer to slab these national treasures for free to protect them for the future.
I’m fairly confident that they have at least once before. Most likely NGC too, what grading service wouldn’t want that type of advertising?
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What an amazing coin display!
Glad to see the Smithsonian sharing these treasures with everyone.
Now I know where my 1913 V nickel went. Please return.
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What are you complaining about!
They snagged my ‘49 Double Eagle!😳😂
The Smithsonian is a museum and the coins are on exhibit to help tell the story of our nation's history. In that context, and with all due respect to our hosts, I don't think slabs belong in the display case.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Agree. Maybe archival quality clear plastic capsules to at least give the coins some level of protection.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
When I saw the title of this thread I was sure someone had resurrected one from the past. Thanks for the link.
I remember visiting the Smithsonian to look at the Eli Lilly collection of gold coins in the 1960's. When Eli Lilly who had a giant pharmaceutical company died, special legislation was passed in congress to transfer his large collection of gold coins to the Smithsonian in exchange for credit toward a large estate tax bill. At the time, the gold coins were mounted on boards behind glass using archival wax. They took pieces of wax and stuck the coins to the boards by putting a small blob of wax on the back of each coin and then pressing the coins against the boards. I was shocked to see that one of the proof Liberty double eagles was laying at the bottom of the case. You could see the blob of wax stuck near the top of the board where it was originally attached before it broke loose. I was totally disgusted at the careless disregard for the preservation and protection of these coins. They later changed to mounting the coins using the pins which were an improvement and more secure but not completely satisfactory.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
As evidenced below museums with valuable rarities do not slab their coins.
Just for comparison, the Proof 1850 $20 presently in another country's national museum and my 1850 $20 (obviously not in a museum) that may well have been the next $20 minted after the Smithsonian's 1849 specimen:
And this is how the Nevada State Museum displays its representative $20 and how the multi million dollar Norm Biltz "CC" Collection's coins are displayed there. (That collection contains representatives of almost all of the Carson City Coins minted for each date.)
When I saw the collection in the 1970's, I >>think<< I saw an 1804 silver dollar. Did you happen to see that there?
Here are the 1804s from a 2017 visit thread:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/982577/we-visited-the-smithsonian-coin-exhibits
That’s ridiculous and disgusting. I read somewhere that NCS had to be commissioned to remove the wax residue on some of these rarities caused by the method that you describe. Even if those pins are ‘acrylic’; it’s still a stupid, careless way to handle ultra rare coins that are national treasures…IMHO.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
@markelman1125
Thank you for sharing.
Visiting the Smithsonian Coin Gallery is one of the items on my "Bucket List".
I also want to visit the Aerospace Museum.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
NGC and NCS were commissioned years ago to both remove the wax from each coin and slab them. NGC made a special resealable slab for the Smithsonian.
Needless to say, the slabs are clearly not used when the coins are on display.
Coin Photographer.
When is it my turn to bring them home for a while?
Very impressive to say the least.
Thank you for sharing 👍
Definitely worth the trip. Was there too and saw the Apollo 11 space capsule and space suit worn by Buzz Aldrin.
Also the Smithsonian gift shots are the best gift shops. You can buy meteorites at Air & Space, and I bought a rare Aquamarine crystal at the geology shop in the natural history museum. Also The Natural History museum has the moon rocks recovered by Apollo 11.
Wow. I plan on going next year with my wife. I have had a deep interest in coins and space since I was about 12.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...