I saw the coin collection at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY today!

ms70

I had a very rare day today with nothing to do, so I decided to finally get over to the Federal Reserve Bank of NY and see the coin collection
on display. I got there around 1pm and I had the entire collection to myself! It was much smaller than the collection formerly at the Smithsonian
but what was on display was incredible.

The famous 1933 Double Eagle was in a big display centered in the room. It was housed in a black plastic holder (Capitol Plastic style). It's
one sweet coin! Very clean and super nice. Next to it was a 1907 St. Gaudens Double Eagle in Ultra High Relief. WOW! WOW! WOW! This
is a spectacular specimen! Liberty stands out so far off the fields and the fields are so deep, it actually looks almost as if Liberty is a little
statue placed in a concave circular frame. I never saw any coin like that or any so breathtaking. It's too bad the design was changed
(Apparently by Barber after St. Gaudens death as I understood it).

Also in the same case is one of the four known Confederate 1861-O Half Dollars with some dark toning but looking nice. Even nicer was the
1861-O Seated Liberty Half which was struck by the Confederacy with the same obverse die as the Confederate. It had great colorful toning
that was visible as you looked at it from different angles. It was really clean and just a super coin. I finally got to see the die crack that identifies
the coin as being struck by the Confederacy. I had to look pretty hard due to the lighting and the coin being about 8" deep in the case.

Additionally in the same case were specimens of other U.S. Gold coinage AND an 1804 Dollar! According to the notes there, it was believed
to have been once owned by a freed slave but this could not be confirmed. Another great coin, toned dark but very clean and well struck.
Did you know that the Indian $10 Eagle was inspired by the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike? And the Indian $5 Half Eagle design was inspired by
ancient incuse designs. (I think the display said Egyptian). I never knew these things.

On the other side of the room was mixed coinage. They had 2 of the first 60 1938 Jefferson Nickels struck, one heads up & the other tails.
They were both super well struck as you would imagine. The obverse coin looked almost somewhat matte (from what I could see) and the
reverse coin was proof-like. Other highlights included a 1918/7 Standing Liberty Quarter that looked as if it were made this morning. My
all time favorite 1792 Half Disme was there along with other 1700's coins. There were also many colonial coins as well. (Too much to list!)
There were non-conserved S.S. Central America Coins and also a Double Eagle fused with silver coins from the Great San Francisco Fire!

This visit would be very pleasing for you ancient lovers too. Many ancient coins were on display that I thought were exceptional.
Note- I don't know much about these coins but I never saw any that were this nice.

Lastly, hanging on a wall in a separate room next to the main collection was the original obverse plaster model of the Lincoln Cent by
Brenner. The notes stated it was the one used for the first 1909 Cents.

The bottom line of the visit is not only were the coins on display rare, they were exceptional. So were the displays. At the bottom of each
case was a legend of each coin with it's history in a nutshell. Right to the point and educational. I learned a lot and I wish I took notes for
future reference but I didn't think ahead that far.

If you think you might want to visit, here's the website: Federal Reserve Bank of NY
Walk-in visitors are welcome from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday (except bank holidays). They are closed on weekends and they
do NOT allow cameras in the building.

One last thing- They are working on expanding the collection. There was a number of empty display cases soon to be filled and the floor
area is going to be expanded as well according to one of the Fed Police Officers there.

A special thanks to MrEureka who provided me with the website & some info back in July of '04. I finally got there!

wam98

Thanks for sharing your experience today, very interesting.

In 1979 I spent almost an entire day in the Philadelphia Mint. Took the tour, which was real interesting watching them go through all the processes of making our coins.

If memory serves me right, I just walked in the mint and signed a voucher and waited for the tour to start. Not like that today, from what I understand.

Anyway, at the end of the tour they left me at a coin gallery or museum. I'm thinking they had one of every gold coin ever minted by the Philly mint and then some.

One thing I'll never forget was the gold bar displayed at the entrance with a mint guard standing beside it.

What a day to remember.

KentuckyJ

ms70 and wam98, great reports! Thanks much for sharing

KJ

Peetie

Cool report. I assume it is Manhattan, but where? And did you get to see the Gold Vault?

ms70

<< <i>Cool report. I assume it is Manhattan, but where? And did you get to see the Gold Vault? >>



Yes- 33 Liberty Street in Manhattan. Didn't see the vaults. To take the tour of the vaults you have to make advance reservations.
(See website). It would have been cool to see that but I was mainly interested in the coins.

skydivdav

Thanks for sharing that awesome experience ms70!
I hope to someday make that trip after reading your report.
blue skies
david

FullStepJeffs

I just wonder what ever happened to the other 58 Jeffersons... and where I can find them.

Steve

Bear

Great report. Thank you for taking the effort

to share with us all that you observed. Most

interesting.

coinkat

Great report. I think I will try to go there next time I am in NYC

nederveit

How long will it be on display, and do you have any idea about the hours?

I plan to be in NY in a few weeks, would love to see it as well!

Pdlpsher

ms70

<< <i>How long will it be on display, and do you have any idea about the hours?

I plan to be in NY in a few weeks, would love to see it as well! >>



I believe it's a permanent display. It's open to walk-in visitors from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday (except bank holidays).
They are closed on weekends and they do NOT allow cameras in the building. Check out the link in my first post for the website. It's
a pretty good website with lots of info.

The address is 33 Liberty St. which is about 2 blocks from the Ground Zero Trade Center Site.

Pdlpsher

Too bad I'm nowhere near NY. Is there a place in So. Cal. to see museum quality coins?

Barry

Taking the tour is worthwhile (reservations required, but free). They give a nice history of how the Fed works, and you also get a sample "brick" of destroyed currency.
Here are a couple of pics from the gold vault: