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Is there a "deader" US coin series than early gold commems?

I know that there have been a few posted here over the years, but I cannot think of a series that is less active. IIRC, BillJones might own a few. As a gold coin specialist, I have never met someone who collected these, as a series. They seem to linger for sale interminably. They are small, have mostly uninspiring designs, and are expensive.
Post your early gold commems here! (I have never owned one so have nothing to show
)
Post your early gold commems here! (I have never owned one so have nothing to show

0
Comments
MJ
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
And the $50 Pan Pacs are still strong. Most collectors dream about owning one.
edit: just checked the registry, and there are more gold commen collections than almost any
other gold type.
<< <i>no
MJ >>
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 was 4 when I started collecting, and I distinctly remember thinking that the Pan Pac guy was shouting
Love the design even more now, and I'm thrilled I own this Mark Feld piece:
--Severian the Lame
This one I think has a much better design.
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
That's a very weird-looking proof(?) LA Purchase. Just wrong, so wrong. Way too much cameo and the rev strike is suspect as a proof, obv looks polished and I have no idea what lighting phenomenon could create the "pie-chart" effect on the reverse. I'bve seen dozens but never one like that. Or a business strike appearing DMPL...
I'd love to hear njcc's take on the coin imaged. He knows the LA Purchase proofs better than anyone.
Did I mention lately that I'm partially blind?
The series ended before the mid-1930s commem craze. Because of this the coins do not have the often trivial themes, thought up for strictly marketing reasons, of many post 1935 commems.
<< <i>Just bought a 1926 Sesqui - now I feel like a dork.......
I don't
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
<< <i>I know that there have been a few posted here over the years, but I cannot think of a series that is less active. IIRC, BillJones might own a few. As a gold coin specialist, I have never met someone who collected these, as a series. They seem to linger for sale interminably. They are small, have mostly uninspiring designs, and are expensive. >>
I trust RYK's judgment, as I don't know much about early gold commems. Based on RYK's assessment, I'd venture to say that they are "as dead as Kelsey's nuts," which was a favorite expression of President John F. Kennedy. Now have some fun trying to determine the origin of the phrase.
<< <i>Only the Pan-Pac 50s have any panache. >>
pa·nache /pəˈnæʃ, -ˈnɑʃ/ Show Spelled[puh-nash, -nahsh]
noun
1. a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair: The actor who would play Cyrano must have panache.
2. an ornamental plume of feathers, tassels, or the like, especially one worn on a helmet or cap.
3. Architecture . the surface of a pendentive.
<< <i>Just bought a 1926 Sesqui - now I feel like a dork.......
A dork with a Sesqui
I think that was actually a line in Pulp Fiction
MJ
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
<< <i>I like the $1 coins. It's a denomination that otherwise hadn't been minted since 1889. I find them interesting for this reason alone. >>
Weren't dollar coins minted after 1889 in silver?
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>Only the Pan-Pac 50s have any panache. >>
pa·nache /pəˈnæʃ, -ˈnɑʃ/ Show Spelled[puh-nash, -nahsh]
noun
1. a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair: The actor who would play Cyrano must have panache.
2. an ornamental plume of feathers, tassels, or the like, especially one worn on a helmet or cap.
3. Architecture . the surface of a pendentive.
This post shows a great deal of elan
<< <i>I know that there have been a few posted here over the years, but I cannot think of a series that is less active. IIRC, BillJones might own a few. As a gold coin specialist, I have never met someone who collected these, as a series. They seem to linger for sale interminably. They are small, have mostly uninspiring designs, and are expensive.
Post your early gold commems here! (I have never owned one so have nothing to show
BillJones has one of each.
The gold commemoratives have been subject to a number of promotions which drove up the prices, but then when that market proved to be "astro-turf," the prices came back down, sometimes HARD.
The $50 slugs are still popular and bring strong prices. This is especially true because the supply has actually gone down in recent years. How can that be? Fears about pieces that have been puttied and repaired are a concern, and coins that show signs of such problems are basically out of the supply curve as desirable collectors' items.
As for the rest of the series, the small size of the gold dollars makes them less desirable as it does for all gold dollars. When I was a dealer I had a couple of collectors refuse to by any gold dollars because of the size issue. The before mentioned Philadelphia Sesqui does not have enough admirers to support a strong market, and the Pan-Pac $2.50 is a genuinely scarce coin which does not offer enough survivors to warrant any major marketing programs.
As for "dead" I'd say that the whole early commemorative series, including the silver, is in the doldrums and has been there for a long time. Aside from the coins that really commemorated important events, like the Antietam and Gettysburg 75th anniversary battlefield coins many of these coins were not that important from the historical perspective. Folks who collect the First Lady series should keep that in mind before they pay much over bullion for those coins..
To me this is the most interesting coin in the series because of its eight sided shape.
<<
From: Mark Feld <coinguy1@earthlink.net>
Subject: Dead gold commems
Date: October 18, 2012 2:36:52 PM CDT
Hi Robert,
I had bought one, here in Dallas, before reading your thread. However, based on your comments, I went ahead and melted it. And I feel much better and smarter now
Please feel free to post this if you wish.
Sincerely,
Mark
>>
I guess there is one fewer coin to worry about.
<< <i>Mark Feld just emailed me the following:
<<
From: Mark Feld <coinguy1@earthlink.net>
Subject: Dead gold commems
Date: October 18, 2012 2:36:52 PM CDT
Hi Robert,
I had bought one, here in Dallas, before reading your thread. However, based on your comments, I went ahead and melted it. And I feel much better and smarter now
Please feel free to post this if you wish.
Sincerely,
Mark
>>
I guess there is one fewer coin to worry about.
just making them even more rare, cool!
<< <i>They seem to linger for sale interminably. They are small, have mostly uninspiring designs, and are expensive. >>
It sounds to me like the market is trying to say that they overpriced.
While the Pan-Pac Expo may have have a small run, there are 50 of them on ebay at any given time. That doesn't make them scarce.
<< <i>The Pan Pac slugs are iconic US coins and do not fit in the overall thesis of my thread. I am mostly talking about the gold dollars. I do like the Grant design but would prefer it in the half dollar size. >>
Among the commemorative gold dollars, I think that the Grant pieces are the most attractive. I view the Pan-Pac with the laborer on the obverse and the two dolphins on the reverse (Symbolic of the meeting of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans) on the reverse the most interesting.
the part about "uninspiring designs" is sort of intriguing to me when i consider that the entire realm of Gold $2 1/2--$5--$10--$20 issues shared the same design for 60+ years.
<< <i>
Now that would be one of the few gold dollar commems I would appreciate. Was anyone enameling them at the exposition or is it a one of kind piece?
As far as the others in the series, I do like the two quarter eagle designs.
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
<< <i>HoledandCreative posted:
<< <i>
Now that would be one of the few gold dollar commems I would appreciate. Was anyone enameling them at the exposition or is it a one of kind piece?
As far as the others in the series, I do like the two quarter eagle designs. >>
Many of the gold commems were made into jewelry. I was offered an L & C dollar by a coin dealer that was lightly circulated and was in Capital holder. It had a nice look to it with light toning and had a reasonable price. Before buying it I took it out of the holder and discovered a trace of solder on the edge at 12:00. It was obviously an ex-jewelry coin. The coin dealer pretended that he never noticed that. Lesson learned---be careful buy any raw gold---especially the smaller coins.
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
Commems and Early Type
Maybe if I found a mechanical error I'd add one, but to date all I've seen is strike through errors.