Excellent stuff... thanks for sharing! We were at the Hirshhorn and Natural History the other day... I may have to take off a day to get down to Am. History to see this exhibit.
L
Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;
<< <i>I like seeing the 06 Barber Double Eagle pattern since it's the only one known.
Here's a non pronged image showing the reverse...
>>
I didn't know this existed until today! That is very cool. But I have to chime in and agree with everyone else that the way these coins are displayed hanging on prongs makes me cringe!
Best regards, Dwayne F. Sessom Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
<< <i>I've had the Half Unions in hand and they are both gems. Yet they look awful in the photos. Strange. >>
Did you rotate and tilt them under a good light while examining them? If so, maybe they were shined up prior to being exhibited.
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
I took my kids to the Smithsonian's museums this past summer. The one area I wanted to see was the coin display. I was very disappointed with the display especially when compared to the gem collection. I think they used an old janitor closet for the display area.
<< I've had the Half Unions in hand and they are both gems. Yet they look awful in the photos. Strange. >>
Did you rotate and tilt them under a good light while examining them? If so, maybe they were shined up prior to being exhibited.
I got a pretty good look at the coins. I'm thinking that most of the hairlines we're seeing in these images are on the exhibit cases, not on the coins.
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Andy- My recollection is similar to yours. I've looked at the Half Unions in hand on more than one occasion and I sure don't remember all those hairlines? Hopefully your right and we are seeing scratches on the display case exagerated by the camera flash. Here are obverse images shot by Rick Kay on our last visit to the collection. Those orange peel fields are etched in my memory!!
<< <i>The prongs are coated with some sort of soft plastic (?) material. I've seen these before, and had no concerns about them scratching the coins. >>
We've heard that soft plastic contains PVC. Hopefully verdigris or whatever doesn't damage "our" coins.
<< <i>Can anyone explain the 1900 cent? Did the curator just pull it out of his pocket or what??
Awesome photos - thx for sharing. >>
LOL! I noticed that coin, and thought that it must have one heck of an inferiority complex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
Yes many of the coins in the National Collection were cleaned and polished before people realized they shouldn't do that sort of thing. But still a wonderful and one of a kind collection.
I think that the ANA museum used to use Kointains cut down so that just the back and about a quarter of the arc of the edge remained. These were glued to dowels cut at a bit of an angle, so that the coin could lean back on the Kointain and be supported by the arc of edge.
TD
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
Thanks again. I understand that there is a minor die difference between the two obverses shown, but I think that in this case I would show one obverse and one reverse. TD
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
<< <i>Andy- My recollection is similar to yours. I've looked at the Half Unions in hand on more than one occasion and I sure don't remember all those hairlines? Hopefully your right and we are seeing scratches on the display case exagerated by the camera flash. Here are obverse images shot by Rick Kay on our last visit to the collection. Those orange peel fields are etched in my memory!!
J1546
J1548 >>
HUBBA HUBBA!!!!!!!
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
Comments
Here's a non pronged image showing the reverse...
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
The battle scars of all the good times
L
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
<< <i>I like seeing the 06 Barber Double Eagle pattern since it's the only one known.
Here's a non pronged image showing the reverse...
I didn't know this existed until today! That is very cool. But I have to chime in and agree with everyone else that the way these coins are displayed hanging on prongs makes me cringe!
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
<< <i>I've had the Half Unions in hand and they are both gems. Yet they look awful in the photos. Strange. >>
Did you rotate and tilt them under a good light while examining them? If so, maybe they were shined up prior to being exhibited.
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
<< <i>I've had the Half Unions in hand and they are both gems. Yet they look awful in the photos. Strange. >>
Chumly buffs them up every day.
R.I.P. Bear
<< I've had the Half Unions in hand and they are both gems. Yet they look awful in the photos. Strange. >>
Did you rotate and tilt them under a good light while examining them? If so, maybe they were shined up prior to being exhibited.
I got a pretty good look at the coins. I'm thinking that most of the hairlines we're seeing in these images are on the exhibit cases, not on the coins.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
J1546
J1548
<< <i>The prongs are coated with some sort of soft plastic (?) material. I've seen these before, and had no concerns about them scratching the coins. >>
We've heard that soft plastic contains PVC. Hopefully verdigris or whatever doesn't damage "our" coins.
<< <i>
<< <i>BTW, in which Smithsonian bldg are they displayed? >>
They're located in the National Museum of American History (Kenneth E. Behring Center) on the 1st floor. >>
Cool! I live in VA and next time I'm up to DC, I'll go check it out!!!
Big Crumbs Link
Mr Rebates Link
EBates Link
Chucknra@yahoo.com
<< <i>Can anyone explain the 1900 cent? Did the curator just pull it out of his pocket or what??
Awesome photos - thx for sharing. >>
LOL!
I noticed that coin, and thought that it must have one heck of an inferiority complex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes many of the coins in the National Collection were cleaned and polished before people realized they shouldn't do that sort of thing. But still a wonderful and one of a kind collection.
<< <i>Cointains? >>
I think that the ANA museum used to use Kointains cut down so that just the back and about a quarter of the arc of the edge remained. These were glued to dowels cut at a bit of an angle, so that the coin could lean back on the Kointain and be supported by the arc of edge.
TD
<< <i>Here's one more pic I left out...
Thanks again.
I understand that there is a minor die difference between the two obverses shown, but I think that in this case I would show one obverse and one reverse.
TD
<< <i>Andy- My recollection is similar to yours. I've looked at the Half Unions in hand on more than one occasion and I sure don't remember all those hairlines? Hopefully your right and we are seeing scratches on the display case exagerated by the camera flash. Here are obverse images shot by Rick Kay on our last visit to the collection. Those orange peel fields are etched in my memory!!
J1546
J1548 >>
HUBBA HUBBA!!!!!!!
My Early Large Cents