Smithsonian

oldgoldlover

I am going to the Smithsonian this summer for a week and am making my list of museums to see. If there is anyone on this board that has been to the Smithsonian and gone through the portion of the museum that houses the numismatic exhibit I would appreciate your opinion of what you saw. Also are pictures allowed of the pieces on exhibit? What were the particular coins of interest you saw? My cousin is an exceptional photographer and will have his digital camera with him. If I am able to get a few very good pictures of very rare U.S. coins I will post them. I have googled up their Type One Double Eagle collection and most of the rare dates are EF but I think the Smithsonian has two of the 1913 V nickels. The $20 1933 is in New York and all the times I had to go there I never went to see it. I had not gotten back into collecting then. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Aerospace and Natural History are already on the list but we will have five days to fill.

bolivarshagnasty

They have a 1933 Saint on display in DC. Behind heavy glass so don't expect high quality pics.

airplanenut

There are two rooms with coins, and both have plenty of neat rarities (that said, they're not that large, so they won't take a lot of time to go through). That said, the lighting is particularly well suited for photography, so while you might get some pictures that will come out, I wouldn't go out of your way to bring significant photography equipment with the intention of getting a really good shot. The lighting is fine for seeing the coins on display, but with the glass in your way, I just don't think photos will come out.

airplanenut

@bolivarshagnasty said:
They have a 1933 Saint on display in DC. Behind heavy glass so don't expect high quality pics.

Yeah, you need to go upstairs to get a good shot of those

oldgoldlover

Airlplanenut. Thanks saw a documentary show one the 1933 and it was in NYC. Has it recently moved? Also are a you R/C and or full size pilot. I am both but my real love is the WW2 war birds. My wife and I were at an airshow in Houston, TX last October and I got a picture of my wife sitting with the last Doolittle Raider living. Will post if I can get her to upload the picture. He is 101 years old and was Doolittle's copilot! He was very nice, sharp as a pin and delighted to give me an overview of the bomb run over Tokyo. I had him sign a print of their B 25 for my wife, which he usually did not do but he seems to still like green eyed women.

MsMorrisine

Air &. Space has a few exonumia pieces scattered about

airplanenut

And to your other question, commercial/IFR.

ricko

If you plan on 'seeing' the Smithsonian, the coin rooms will not take long... but five days may not be enough for the rest of it.... It is extensive. Cheers, RickO

oldgoldlover

Thanks I would be very happy if the pictures turned out as well as yours.

airplanenut

Those photos were taken in the vault in 2004 when the previous exhibit was taken down--no glass to contend with. When I was there in November, I believe one of the 33's was on display.