Bad Scene at the National Numismatic Collection Today

ms70

OUCH!! Double Eagle crash scene!


Now onto the good scenes!

A pair of 1933 Double Eagles!


And an 1804!


Unfortunately I couldn't get a good pic of the 1792 Half Disme (my favorite). It was amazing to see these along with all the other incredible
rarities in mint state condition. Absolutely fabulous gold from every year, in every denomination, from every mint (as far as I could tell). The
items on exhibit were spectacular but the displays could use some upgrading- instead of removal. I was really shocked to see that some of
the coins were attached to the backboard by glue or silicon of some sort. It's a shame this is all over on Monday.

After this I took in the WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War Memorials as well as the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Then onto the
National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. I couldn't believe I was looking at the actual documents with
my own eyes! They were recently returned from conservation upgrades. Finally I watched the sunset from the steps of the Capitol.

An awesome day.

Myqqy

Cool post!!! They actually GLUED a double eagle onto particle board?? What the hell is that all about???

atarian

ya know since that coin just crashed like that. ill take it and nurse it back to full health in my collection .. oh yes itll be my little gift to the coin world ( or myself hehe)sweet 1933

ARCO

Looks like they used glue to stick the gold coin to the backing material? Why not be a little more efficient and just hammer a nail through the coin to make sure it stays up nice and tight? LOL

Tyler

ms70

That pic is actually two different double eagles, both 1933. They have one up & one down. (Hmmmmm... Is it really a 1933 on the right???)

And yup- most of the U.S. silver & copper is glued!!! Yikes!

solid

One would think that the National Numismatic Collection would employ more
sophisticated display methods!

Great pics!

lordmarcovan

OW!!! (Both for the glue and for the result!)



They actually let you take pictures in there?

I tried to take a picture of our own Dead King Aethelred, standing outside the doors of The Money Museum in Richmond, when a security guard very huffily told me that was a no-no!

Hey- that wasn't the 1849, was it? I forget who has the 1849.

relayer

That's what happens when you don't use super glue on your gold coins

ms70

<< <i>Hey- that wasn't the 1849, was it? I forget who has the 1849. >>



The downed double eagle? I'm not sure of the date but I want to say it's 1850-something I think?

I took all the pics with no flash except for the coin that fell. There were no signs saying no photos and nobody told me not to take pics
when they checked my camera bag at the entrance. The only big photo-no-no was the Star Spangled Banner in the conservation room.

SPEEDracer

lordmarcovan

Pretty damned sloppy presentation, even considering they've probably been there like that since before I was born.

Look at the gold dollar(s). Not only are they stuck off to the left of the caption, they're also catty-wampus to each other- one's higher.

As I recall, at Dahlonega and Charlotte, where I've seen the collections, they have the complete sets there, in a big case that you can walk around, so you can see both sides of each coin. (Basically, their collections are housed in the grandaddy of all Capital Plastic holders).

boiler78

I believe the coins are mounted using wax and not glue but I agree the displays, particularly the lighting leave something to be desired.

nwcs

You're right, they should upgrade the display and not remove it.

Nap

Ack! I was at the Smithsonian two weeks ago and saw the fallen double eagle. That they haven't fixed it, or it fell again (!) is a travesty indeed.
Or perhaps it's a different coin than the one I saw, but I definitely remember seeing such a sight.

Well, at least it won't have to stay at the bottom of the case for long


Nap

FC57Coins

<< <i>OUCH!! Double Eagle crash scene! >>



I hope that's not the specimen of their unique 1849 double eagle that's sitting at the bottom of that case!

jacktheknife

Incredibly third rate display. It's like they got one of the high school interns to put it together as a summer project. "Say Billy, here's some of the greatest numismatic treasures of our country. Could you make a nice display for these coins?" Then to top it off, he pulled an "all nighter" to get the project done the night before it was due. Way to go Billy....

Ace

I agree, the presentation was pretty sloppy. I was there 2 weeks ago, and couldn't find the 1913 nickel. I even asked the
guard that was there, but he didn't know. The 1933 $20 was actually laying flat and not "glued" to the board like most of the other coins.

RYK

I hope that's not the specimen of their unique 1849 double eagle that's sitting at the bottom of that case!

I was wondering the same. I certainly can imagine a display of the new gold denominations of 1849 including the 1849 G$1 and the 1849 $20. Please, someone, tell me the 1849 $20 is presented somewhere else.

flaminio

<< <i>I was wondering the same. I certainly can imagine a display of the new gold denominations of 1849 including the 1849 G$1 and the 1849 $20. Please, someone, tell me the 1849 $20 is presented somewhere else. >>

When I was there, the 1849 was in the same display case as the 1933s -- so The Fallen One would not be the 1849.

I wonder if NCS can get the glue remnants off?

MyWorldCoinTypeSet

they're also catty-wampus to each other- one's higher

catty-wampus? what on earth does that mean? is that some southern talk???

Sphinx357

Such a sad looking display in the top pic. Looks like that double eagle was scotch taped to the tagboard.... sad.

GoYankees

That double eagle would be better preserved and taken care of if it was privately owned. Just another example of the private sector doing a better job than the government.

jhar

<< <i>catty-wampus? what on earth does that mean? is that some southern talk??? >>


catty-wampus -- Def. crooked, not straight, not level, etc.

to answer your second question...


YES!!!

ER

<< <i>OUCH!! Double Eagle crash scene!
. >>


Now, THIS is unconscionable!

Rob790

I've seen worse there, one of the three 1804 dollars has fallen off it's stand and was laying there like a limp brick- no telling how much it was damaged. Wish I had my camera!

The three 1804 dollars, the 1849 Double Eagle and the two 1933 Double Eagles are all in the same display case. The 1974 aluminum cent and the 1913 Liberty Nickel are not on display, guess they just aren't worthy (probably better for them seeing how the other display items are treated!).

Didn't a Mr. Mudd, the person in charge of the Smithsonian Numismatic section move to the ANA staff to work on their display (thought I read that somewhere)? I hope I'm wrong on this.

MrEureka

The 1974 aluminum cent and the 1913 Liberty Nickel are not on display

Correct. Hey, it's a big collection. What did you think of the stuff that's on display?

airplanenut

<< <i>Didn't a Mr. Mudd, the person in charge of the Smithsonian Numismatic section move to the ANA staff to work on their display (thought I read that somewhere)? I hope I'm wrong on this. >>

Doug is the curator of the ANA museum now. I met him in CO earlier this month and he's a wonderful person--incredibly knowledgeable and very friendly. The display well predates him, and as he said, he wasn't able to get them to change it... it wasn't his choice that the display continued to look as it does now.

Jeremy

Rob790

<< <i>The 1974 aluminum cent and the 1913 Liberty Nickel are not on display

Correct. Hey, it's a big collection. What did you think of the stuff that's on display? >>



Well, it's hard to find fault with such a nice collection. They had a "wall of gold" that was basically filled with proof and mint state gold coins. Obviously, it was made to impress the public, but if you've seen 10 proof Double Eagles, what is the value of seeing a 100 more when display space is limited? The variety on display was very disappointing. It could have been easily improved with various type sets from various eras and those dream coins often talked about like the 1974 and 1975 (if they have one there) aluminum cents and the 1913 Lib 5c. A display of early coppers and silver would have been nice also (they had a few dispersed about here and there). There should have been more text there for people to read also, so that they could appreciate what they were looking at.

I'm sure Doug is a great guy, but come on! Couldn't he fork out a few bucks for better glue at least?? Even if you are 'stuck' with a display, at least make it safe for the coins! There are no excuses for endangering our national numismatic treasure, especially if you are an acknowledged expert in the field. A little more thought can outweigh the benefits of more funds in many situations. The display is secondary to the manner in which the coins are protected from damage, and this is where the display fails. I was not impressed.

ms70

I thought the huge gold display was really cool from one aspect- I was able to see the mint state "sisters" to the circulated coins
that I have. Seeing high end MS's compared to my VF's or XF's of the same dates & mints was pretty neat.