off-metal Liberian proof (ANACS slab)

mrfred

I mentioned in another thread yesterday that I'd sent ANACS a Liberian proof (sometimes called a pattern) from the 19th century. The reason to send it in was to confirm the metal -- it came back copper-nickel, not silver (too bad ). Anyway, here are pics of the ANACS slab, and for comparison, I include pics of a raw bronze coin - same denomination and date, but a different reverse. These are scans -- to the digital camera afficionados, I am planning to teach myself how to do that this summer, when I have some spare time!! I am afraid that the machine doubling on the reverse of the slabbed coin does not quite show up. And, I was afraid that it would come back "cleaned" -- you can see some hairline cleaning marks under a loupe. The raw bronze coin is in better shape, I think. Enjoy.

cosmicdebris

I like it too bad someone cleaned it.

mrfred

Yes, the cleaning is regrettable.

Now if it had ONLY been SILVER....

CoinAddict

Those are very cool. I really like the obverse design but the reverse desgn with the palm tree is also very cool.

rhound1977

I like them both, haven't seen them B4, neat.......

lordmarcovan

Man, that second one ROCKS!

The first one is still super sweet!

I like 'em both a lot!

ccrdragon

The copper one really rocks!!!

mrfred

Thanks everybody!

There are a lot of cool 19th century Liberian coins. Check out the 1833 token from the ACS (the group that organized the first transit of returned slaves to Liberia):

1833 token

Krause lists (if I recall rightly) six varieties of that. I have three. It is often cited as an anti-slavery token along with the famous:

Am I Not A Man and a Brother

that has appeared on coins, as has the 'Am I Not a Woman and a Sister', see:

Am I Not a Woman and a Sister

Liberia has been through real h*ll in the last twenty years or so -- see my 'small hopes' link in the signature, below. A coup d'etat in 1980 unseated the government founded by returned slaves (in 1847), and since then -- one way or another -- anarchy has been the primary order of the day. Only now, I think and hope, are there signals that a stable and peaceful existence is on its way. A good site to follow current happenings in Liberia is the allafrica.com Liberia page:

allafrica.com Liberia page

And here you can listen to some modern Liberian music -- the national anthem (still in force) has lyrics that credit the founding of the country by returned slaves. I can't locate anybody singing it on the web. Perhaps -- because of its message -- it is going out of favor. But then, the founding of the country is unique. Here is a printed version of the lyrics:

Printed lyrics, Liberian national anthem

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia from 1976-78. I lived in Zia(h) Town, which is very near the border with the Ivory Coast, where I taught junior high school language arts and science. You can see Zia Town on this map -- over at the right side not far from Tai in the Ivory Coast and just southeast of Zwedru.

Zia Town is at the right

Zwedru was the nearby seat of Grand Gedeh County, and it was also my special weekend trip: cold beer, imported goods, lots of other PCVs (note -- that is PCV not PVC )

Wrapping up... Some more images of Liberian children, to add to the 'small hopes' in my sig line; obtained by a google image search on 'Liberia':

Liberian children on crutches]

check out the black-and-white picture in the middle of this page

makes you think

a good old-time one

let's DANCE

makes you think, #2

mrfred

p.s., if you wish to learn more and get involved, visit

Friends of Liberia

PuddlePirate

The problem with Africa is that life is too cheap there.

My middle daughter spent almost six months in Burkino Faso - THE POOREST bar none Country in the world. I sent my daughter a small sewing kit (a dozen assorted needles and a dozen spools of thread) she gave them to a young man there who wanted to be a tailor. It was such a small thing here in the USA, total cost of maybe four dollars. The young man was able to set up a small shop, soon got married and now is a successful businessman with a wife and children of his own and his own tailor shop. Most people have no idea what true poverty is. The closest I can come to that experience is dealing with the Haitians and that was bad enough that I don't keep any Haitian coinage at all and never will.

mrfred

Hello PP:

I sympathize with the situation your daughter encountered. And yet I remain optimistic.

Poverty was and is a dire circumstance in Liberia, as well. And still, among the Liberian people, there continues to be a sense of renewed hope and optimism for a better future.

Recently, George Weah returned to Liberia, his homeland. He is a world-class soccer star, and a recent winner of the Arthur Ashe courage award for humanitarian deeds. Weah announced an interest in running for President of Liberia in their first forthcoming elections after the ouster of Charles Taylor. News reports of both his award and his return gave me a feeling that he is something like a Mandela to the Liberians. I hope so; that's what is needed. People are working and hoping very hard there, these days, and a galvanizing leader like Weah might do the trick.

Of course, at the same time there are reports of corruption and of the re-surfacing of clashes. It's hard to put down weapons, when the weapons have been up for so many years.

I collect Liberian coinage to remind myself of the good times and the rich experiences that I had there. I collect them to remind myself also of the difficulties that country has experienced. And I collect them so that I can tell others about Liberia and its potential. When I die, this part of my collection is going to Liberian-related charity.

syraq

I like almost all coins with a tree on the reverse,especially a palm tree.