Which 3-5 Coins Would You Pick To Use To Make A Presentation To...
BLUEJAYWAY
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... a group to promote interest in collecting coins? And which 2 books would you suggest? My #1 pick for a coin would be the 1955 DD Cent. Why? For it's uniqueness in appearance. Displayed in large photos next to a regular 1955 cent it has to promote a discussion as to how it was created. Thus, providing a gateway to a discussion about the minting process, and error coinage in general. #2- Any gold coin. Everyone loves the yellow metal. This can lead to all the discovery hoards. #3- Is actually a group of 4 coins, all silver. Can't leave the silver out. Classic coins: Merc. Dime, Standing Lib.Quarter (with the bare breast controversy, again more history),Walker Half, and one of my favorites, the Peace Dollar. And as an extra some stunning toners. Okay what are yours and why?
Comments
Just a starting point...
Love design.
And swimming.
I would throw some very attractive toners in the group and contrast them with some blazing white coins too, but I like your idea.
Years ago a well known dealer paid me to speak for his firm to a local civic group. He even printed up business cards with my name and his firm’s logo on them. I spoke about a little bit of everything from the Pine Tree Shilling to their links to early American defiance toward Great Britain to modern Proof sets. It was well received and generated a number of questions.
I like your idea of using the 1955 double die. I would probably start with the ubiquitous Lincoln also, but start with 1909 discuss the VDB, the S mint, the other mints and mintage figures, and rarity. Maybe explain transition from Indian 1c to Lincoln design and reason, ( 100th anniversary of Lincolns Birth) showing the flux and fluidity of design changes, which ties in to your Standing quarter bare breast, mailed breast talking points. Where and when are you giving the talk?
Your selection of coins is good....a nice cross section with good conversational points. As far as books, I would start with the Redbook, a great all around resource for beginners right through the veteran collector. Then perhaps '100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins' to peak interest in coin oddities. Also the Cherry Pickers Guide, so they understand that unique finds are 'out there' for those who search for them. Cheers, RickO
Hmmm, I think my 1st choice would be the odd denominations, 2C,Both 3C, and a 20C.
5 coins, I feel you would need 6 as this would cover such a wide range of our coinage history:
Indian Head Cent
Buffalo Nickel
Mercury Dime
Standing Liberty Quarter
Walking Liberty Half
Morgan Dollar
Book 1: Red Book to give a guide toward a coins pertinent info, suchas, mintage, value vs grade and facts as to the coins creation and why.
Book 2: CherryPicker's Guide to build interest in varieties that may still be gained from pocket change
Free resource: PCGS Photograde online free to help understand grading differences along with attending all coin shows possible to actually see coins in various grades.
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
1816 large cent: only denomination that year, hoard coin, produced before steam-powered presses appeared at the U. S. Mint
Dahlonega quarter eagle: gold rush history, branch mint opening and closure
1883 NC Liberty nickel: reeded, partial gold wash remaining (to illustrate counterfeiting)
Chopmarked Trade dollar: international uses
Error coin (quarter struck on a cent planchet or something else that is dramatic): to illustrate what can go wrong at a mint
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Absolutely! Odd captures interest. Add a Morgan for size. Size matters too.
Oops. A gold coin belongs in the mix.
Morgan dollar
Buffalo nickel
Large cent
Pre-33 gold coin
Ancient Roman or Greek coin
People like big coins, Morgans are easily accessible, Buffalo nickels are loved by everyone, large cents aren’t so hard to find and seem so very distant, gold always generates interest, and the fact that ordinary people can own something from antiquity blew me away.
You want to cover lots of bases and arouse some curiosity. I’d also bring a cheap roll of 43 cents, Buffalo nickels, or something to give away. Maybe give away a few nicer coins for correct answers or for door prizes.
As for books, the Redbook is the place to start. I’d also throw in some Facebook or internet groups.
Bringing along a 7070 they could look at would also generate some curiosity.
If the audience is at most mildly interested (given they are listening to this anyway) I’d select sure winners that would tie into things people are interested in today or are dramatic.
As for books:
The first lesson I learned when doing classes is make everything a story people can relate to. Most people won’t stay engaged on a discussion unless there is a personal element they can relate to.
Instead of talking about how the Roosevelt dime has full bands or not and when it was manufactured, you can talk about how people thought the JS initials stood for Stalin or the unresolved controversy that he plagiarized the design from Selma Burke. It becomes less a dry lecture about coins and more about people involved with coins. The key is to get people to look at coins as telling the nation’s history and not just lumps of metal.
Neat question - I suspect you will receive widely varying opinions on this one. Mine are geared toward what I would think might capture younger generations’ interest, not my numismatic bent.
My fallbacks: #6 xf 1804 dollar, #7 a Morgan.
Book - the deluxe Red Book
No 2nd book, instead two websites : pcgs.com and ngccoin.com
Of course, just my five cents worth.
If we were all the same, the world would be an incredibly boring place.
Tommy
I'd go right to my standard list of 5:
Pillar 8 Reales
Fugio Cent
CC Morgan Dollar
$20 Saint
Buffalo Nickel
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Having done this ....ONCE.... to glazed eyeballs, do NOT go into any "numismatic" ....history.
The public is more interested in economic phases.
Small coin
Big coin
Gold coin
Some transitionals where they debased metal content.
Would depend on the audience, but I tend to gravitate to ancients and colonials as starting the discussion. But, when I did some local TV to promote a show years ago I showcased a nice $3 gold piece. Odd denomination and gold, seemed to pique the public's interest.
I think you could do it with just one coin, the Jefferson nickel...
/1/ & /2/ are 1938 and 2003 - the same design used for66 years! The coin of your parents, grandparents, even great-s
/3/ a war nickel - same value, same weight, but different metal
/4/ The 2004/2005 designs - here's how we use a coin to commemorate an event
/5/ The current Jefferson portrait - the same basic coin, but with a new fresh modern look on the obverse and the traditional reverse
If there is any numismatic topic you can't spin out of this, you just aren't trying.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
You can always start a conversation with a 1916 Type 1 but really depends on the audience
It’s not commonly known but the bare breast “issue” is a myth. MacNeil hated how the mint rendered his design and insisted upon it being changed. The mint refused until there was another need to modify the design (dates) and they decided to go with his revisions.
If you can, I’d add a pre-1933 gold coin.
I like the two cent piece for talking with people who might be interested in collecting. Most don't know we made one, it's the first coin with "In God We Trust" on it, it's an interesting size. The two cent and the twenty cent pieces always seem to get people a little excited, even if just for the novelty these days.
I would include a Fugio given the Ben Franklin message and the adjoining rings for the colonies.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Thanks for all the input. Glad to see the 1955DD was a choice by some. As well as gold. Have no specific plans at this moment, but would like to have a plan in place if/when the opportunity arises.
What is your audience? This is all important. If you're presenting to a handful of old, white, male retirees that's one thing, but if you're presenting to a group of 40 elementary school aged Cub Scouts, that is quite another.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
My answer is simple: The oldest coin you can get your hands on. (If you are focused on US coins, the oldest US coin you can get your hands on).
People are drawn to old dates, old designs.
Added: Then relate it to something they know: "XXXX was president at the time....(famous American) was still alive....it was minted xx years before/after the lightbulb was perfected....etc."
First... Define the scope of the presentation.
Are we dealing with coins in general? Coins in the New World? Or possibly just coins minted on US soil?
Seems you can this in different directions depending on your scope and what you plan to accomplish.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Maybe too obvious but there's a fascinating history lesson to go with each: 1913 Lib Nickel; 1943 Bronze Lincoln cent; 1933 St Gaudens $20
Commems and Early Type
I would say it really depends on the group of people. For a generic presentation on American coins to a group of adults you nailed it. You want to generate questions and can possibly lead to immediate collecting. To a group of children I would go in a completely different direction based on giving presentations to them for years. For them I would go with a cob, 8 Reale/Escudo. This is pirate money and something that will interest and thrill them. They will remember it years later. An ancient coin. I go with a sestertius of Hostillian. He was emperor when he was very young and a sestertius is a big copper coin. Something 2000 years old is cool. The third coin would be any major US error. It is something they recognize but all messed up. A $5 Indian, $2.5 is ok but the 5 is bigger. It opens up the discussion of gold as money. A state quarter because that is a collection they can complete and a great starting point. Lastly would be a Morgan Dollar. Big impressive and something they might have heard of.
The wonderful part of what you are doing is that these is really no wrong way to do it. The more people that are exposed to coins the better it will be for collecting.
As I noted above no specific plans as yet. I would stay with US Coinage though at the outset. Curious, the few suggestions for a dollar coin are for the Morgan. I always felt the Peace had a more artistic look and with it's message of Peace, served as a dual attribute.
I'd go along with some of the suggestions stated-a large cent, odd denominations, a major, easy to see doubled die, of which the 1955 doubled die cent is by far the best example and an explanation of how it occurred, and a set of the "classic" designs of the early 20th century, the Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, Walking Liberty half, and Peace dollar.
This is a great thread. I have had the opportunity to teach classes on coins from elementary students to retirees so those that have mentioned that it depends on the audience are correct. But in general, the 5 coins that I like to use are:
1. 1943 cent
2. Two-cent piece
3. Racketeer nickel
4. Bridgeport Centennial
5. Widow's Mite
The books that I would recommend are;
Whitman's Guide to Coin Collecting by Ken Bressett and Coins: Questions & Answers by Cliff Mishler
Depends on the audience. For example, I'd pick very different coins for YNs vs. Wall Street execs.
I would take three coins as follows:
1. A coin with George Washington on it
2. A coin with Booker T. Washington on it
3. A coin with a native Indian on it.
I would speak to the history and diversity of this country and the coinage that we use in commerce or that we mint to pay homage to someone or an event. Olympic coins are just one example and there are dozens of others.
I would emphasize that our country is made up of immigrants and it shows in our coins.
bob
It ALL depends on your audience.
I'd throw in a large cent as you could go in so many directions with it, for example inflation. You could ask people to look in their pockets and compare their cent(s) to the large cent.
With regards to the Morgan dollar, if you are talking to a younger crowd you could mention that the model for Liberty was a school teacher who got fired because she was the model.
U.S. Type Set
From a history perspective, I would probably use:
It's kind of interesting that the first and last coins aren't issued by the US Mint.
Not to worry on my budget. I'm going to borrow Mr. D.L. Hansen coins.
Id throw in a 1943 steel cent
If I get to a point of a presentation I would not like to overwhelm or bore a group in an initial presentation. Would like to make it interesting, but not too long. Would not want to lose an audience after one, long winded talk. To discourage after one talk would possibly result in losing a future audience. Also need to leave a "hook" at the end to leave an audience curious. Of course I could always pass out No Doz.
I think, or have seen it firsthand, that 1/2 cents, Large cents, 2 centers (the first to carry "In God We Trust"), and 3 cent pieces always surprise and interest people. Any coin from the 1700's also grabs their attention.
Louis Armstrong
Seated dollar, capped bust half dime, $10 Indian, 1883 ‘No Cents’ V nickel and 1955 DDO.
Random mix of beautiful and interesting coins.