These two go together. The gold coin mintage was high in 1836 because the French reimbursed America for damages to American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was the second American to fly into space. He took some dimes with him on his flight. His capsule was named Liberty Bell 7, and flew 7/21/61. After landing in the ocean the exit hatch blew open, and his capsule sank. There are some scenes in the movie, "The Right Stuff", about this.
On his second flight, Gemini 3, named Molly Brown, as of in, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", he only took one dime. GT-3 flew on 3/23/65. After the flight, Grissom scratched GT 3 into the obverse of the dime, using the emergency knife that had flown into space with him on that flight. He gifted the dime to Guenter Wendt (nicknamed the "Pad Fuhrer"). Wendt sold it decades later. Thus I have the only possible flown pair of Gus Grissom dimes.
@SkyMan said:
Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was the second American to fly into space. He took some dimes with him on his flight. His capsule was named Liberty Bell 7, and flew 7/21/61. After landing in the ocean the exit hatch blew open, and his capsule sank. There are some scenes in the movie, "The Right Stuff", about this.
On his second flight, Gemini 3, named Molly Brown, as of in, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", he only took one dime. GT-3 flew on 3/23/65. After the flight, Grissom scratched GT 3 into the obverse of the dime, using the emergency knife that had flown into space with him on that flight. He gifted the dime to Guenter Wendt (nicknamed the "Pad Fuhrer"). Wendt sold it decades later. Thus I have the only possible flown pair of Gus Grissom dimes.
How does one price items like this? A unique pair. Unique. It's like maybe the pair has a price whatever the owner wants because there's no guide to refer to.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, KJV)
@SkyMan said:
Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was the second American to fly into space. He took some dimes with him on his flight. His capsule was named Liberty Bell 7, and flew 7/21/61. After landing in the ocean the exit hatch blew open, and his capsule sank. There are some scenes in the movie, "The Right Stuff", about this.
On his second flight, Gemini 3, named Molly Brown, as of in, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", he only took one dime. GT-3 flew on 3/23/65. After the flight, Grissom scratched GT 3 into the obverse of the dime, using the emergency knife that had flown into space with him on that flight. He gifted the dime to Guenter Wendt (nicknamed the "Pad Fuhrer"). Wendt sold it decades later. Thus I have the only possible flown pair of Gus Grissom dimes.
@SkyMan said:
Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was the second American to fly into space. He took some dimes with him on his flight. His capsule was named Liberty Bell 7, and flew 7/21/61. After landing in the ocean the exit hatch blew open, and his capsule sank. There are some scenes in the movie, "The Right Stuff", about this.
On his second flight, Gemini 3, named Molly Brown, as of in, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", he only took one dime. GT-3 flew on 3/23/65. After the flight, Grissom scratched GT 3 into the obverse of the dime, using the emergency knife that had flown into space with him on that flight. He gifted the dime to Guenter Wendt (nicknamed the "Pad Fuhrer"). Wendt sold it decades later. Thus I have the only possible flown pair of Gus Grissom dimes.
How does one price items like this?
Red Book.
You promised me that you were done following me around the forum.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, KJV)
@SkyMan said:
Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was the second American to fly into space. He took some dimes with him on his flight. His capsule was named Liberty Bell 7, and flew 7/21/61. After landing in the ocean the exit hatch blew open, and his capsule sank. There are some scenes in the movie, "The Right Stuff", about this.
On his second flight, Gemini 3, named Molly Brown, as of in, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", he only took one dime. GT-3 flew on 3/23/65. After the flight, Grissom scratched GT 3 into the obverse of the dime, using the emergency knife that had flown into space with him on that flight. He gifted the dime to Guenter Wendt (nicknamed the "Pad Fuhrer"). Wendt sold it decades later. Thus I have the only possible flown pair of Gus Grissom dimes.
How does one price items like this?
Red Book.
You promised me that you were done following me around the forum.
This is the pair that means the most to me in my collection. My grandpa was born in 1919, and my grandma was born a year and change later in 1920. Grandpa loved woodworking, and did it as long as he could. The house my grandpa built still stands in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. Grandma was small and colorful. She stayed active until the day she died.
Modest people, made the most of their lives while providing the best they could for their children like many did in that generation.
These two pieces remind me of them.
Phil Arnold Director of Photography, GreatCollections
greatcollections.com
What a great thread with lots of beautiful coins and fun stories!
Here’s my favorite pair, that I got from a forum member. I don’t know why I only have the obverse photo, since the difference is in the mint mark on the reverse
The Peace Dollar is one of my favorite series, and I think it’s cool that you can identify both of these die pairs without magnification, because of the doubling on the obverse and differences in the mint mark on the reverse.
So many beautiful coins in pairs I hesitate to post my pocket change.
I first posted my 1944-S cent here the Forum in 2010. A member posted an image of his well circulated 44-S. When I asked if he'd part with it so I'd have a pair he said he wanted to hold on to it.
Three years later he contacted me asking for my address and then he sent it along to me. Wish I could remember his handle.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
A Chalmers 3 Pence followed by a Chalmers 6 Pence (Small Date). The 3 Pence is graded 53+ and the 6 Pence 12. Unfortunately I do not (yet, I hope) have either of the Chalmers short- or long-worm Shillings.
@USSID18 said:
When the salvage teams recovered the Liberty Bell 7 in 1999, they found dozens of the original dimes still inside the waterlogged wreckage.
Actually, those dimes had nothing to do with Grissom, except for the fact that they flew aboard Liberty Bell 7. The workers who built and serviced the capsule placed dimes directly into the capsule in various hidden spaces, behind bulkheads etc. The workers were planning on getting the dimes back when the capsule was brought into "the hangar" after the flight. Given that the flight was in 1961 all of the workers were well aware of Mercury dimes, so they placed Mercury dimes (often heavily worn ones) into the Mercury spacecraft. While there may have been some Roosevelts stashed that way, I have not seen any. Grissom brought two rolls of 1961-D Roosevelts with him on the flight. I guess he wanted coins with a date that matched up with his launch year. He kept the coins in a pouch in/on his spacesuit, hence they were retrieved with him.
@SkyMan said:
Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was the second American to fly into space. He took some dimes with him on his flight. His capsule was named Liberty Bell 7, and flew 7/21/61. After landing in the ocean the exit hatch blew open, and his capsule sank. There are some scenes in the movie, "The Right Stuff", about this.
On his second flight, Gemini 3, named Molly Brown, as of in, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", he only took one dime. GT-3 flew on 3/23/65. After the flight, Grissom scratched GT 3 into the obverse of the dime, using the emergency knife that had flown into space with him on that flight. He gifted the dime to Guenter Wendt (nicknamed the "Pad Fuhrer"). Wendt sold it decades later. Thus I have the only possible flown pair of Gus Grissom dimes.
How does one price items like this? A unique pair. Unique. It's like maybe the pair has a price whatever the owner wants because there's no guide to refer to.
As you might imagine, space flown coins/currency are not priced like normal coins/currency. In general, assuming they both flew on the same flight, coins cost more than currency. While rarity certainly places a value on a piece, who took the coin(s) with them, and on what specific flight they flew on, are larger factors in the coin(s) value.
Grissom Liberty Bell 7 (LB7) flown dimes are far and away the most common coin flown on a flight (after all, there are 100 of them), but because they flew on the second USA manned spaceflight (and Grissom died a hero in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967) they always have a ready collectors audience. Provenance also plays a roll for the LB7 dimes. Grissom gifted many of these dimes to specific people, which can increase the value of the dimes. For example the LB7 dime I have came from a honcho quite high up in the Mercury food chain. FWIW, (unprovenanced) LB7 dimes will typically cost somewhere in the $2,500 - $4,500 range, with most of them being right in the middle. As for the GT3 dime, given that it is unique, flown on the first Gemini mission, Gus Grissom owned and then gifted to Guenter Wendt (a well known person from the Golden Era of US spaceflight) it is worth significantly more.
A pair of half eagles minted in San Francisco during the two most significant years in the history of my home state, 1849 and 1906:
The former was minted at the Moffat & Co. operation on the southwest corner of Clay and DuPont (Now occupied by the Jing Ying Gift Shop @ Clay and Grant):
The latter was minted at the Old Mint on 5th and Mission:
I visited each on an early morning jog through the city.
Ref: Kagin, D. 1981. Private gold coins and patterns of the United States. Arco Publishers.
@Plus00Vltra said:
A pair of half eagles minted in San Francisco during the two most significant years in the history of my home state, 1849 and 1906:
The former was minted at the Moffat & Co. operation on the southwest corner of Clay and DuPont (Now occupied by the Jing Ying Gift Shop @ Clay and Grant):
The latter was minted at the Old Mint on 5th and Mission:
I visited each on an early morning jog through the city.
Ref: Kagin, D. 1981. Private gold coins and patterns of the United States. Arco Publishers.
Cool Moffat and 1906-s 5's!
I love this song (and Linda Low) from Flower Drum Song: (I'm guessing its familiar!)
Grant Avenue, San Francisco,
California, U.S.A.
Looks down from Chinatown
Over a foggy bay..
@MWallace said:
The only two coins issued by Martin C. Harman in 1929 for the Island of Lundy - an Island that is off the coast of, and a part of, England. (There have been some modern restrikes struck), The denominations struck are 1/2 Puffin and 1 Puffin. Puffins are birds that lived on the island. The story of the island, its coins and stamps, are fascinating. The British Crown came down on Mr. Harman for issuing his own coins. The island is small and beautiful and the entire story is fascinating.
Looking forward to learning about it. It sounds somewhat like The Principality of Sealand.
Comments
A pair of my favorite dimes, one proof, one business strike; both dated 1941
"Another day, another Collectors Universe forum scrolling session."
- Someone, probably
I've had these since the early 2000's..............Bought them off of eBay.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
They look different to me in amount of shift in the date numerals when compared to each other.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, KJV)
These two go together. The gold coin mintage was high in 1836 because the French reimbursed America for damages to American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars.
I just had to add these two. NOT attractive, yet definitely a pair (?)
My collection of Chain Strikes.
You should send these to our host for evaluation of authenticity. Would be $100 well spent.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, KJV)
That’s a very fun set!
"Another day, another Collectors Universe forum scrolling session."
- Someone, probably
Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, was the second American to fly into space. He took some dimes with him on his flight. His capsule was named Liberty Bell 7, and flew 7/21/61. After landing in the ocean the exit hatch blew open, and his capsule sank. There are some scenes in the movie, "The Right Stuff", about this.
On his second flight, Gemini 3, named Molly Brown, as of in, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", he only took one dime. GT-3 flew on 3/23/65. After the flight, Grissom scratched GT 3 into the obverse of the dime, using the emergency knife that had flown into space with him on that flight. He gifted the dime to Guenter Wendt (nicknamed the "Pad Fuhrer"). Wendt sold it decades later. Thus I have the only possible flown pair of Gus Grissom dimes.
U.S. Type Set
How does one price items like this? A unique pair. Unique. It's like maybe the pair has a price whatever the owner wants because there's no guide to refer to.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, KJV)
Red Book.
When the salvage teams recovered the Liberty Bell 7 in 1999, they found dozens of the original dimes still inside the waterlogged wreckage.
You promised me that you were done following me around the forum.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, KJV)
Don't feel bad, he's following me also! ☹️
I know. . . I transgressed.
PCGS Coin Facts Population in all grades combined
1842 $5 Large Letters- 47 known
1842-O $5 -60 known
they certianly go together...
Both F12 CAC
This is the pair that means the most to me in my collection. My grandpa was born in 1919, and my grandma was born a year and change later in 1920. Grandpa loved woodworking, and did it as long as he could. The house my grandpa built still stands in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. Grandma was small and colorful. She stayed active until the day she died.
Modest people, made the most of their lives while providing the best they could for their children like many did in that generation.
These two pieces remind me of them.
Phil Arnold
Director of Photography, GreatCollections
greatcollections.com
Really love this pair… in some ways I prefer old gold to be well circulated with rich original color, just like these…. Outstanding.
Other passions include golf, Moto Guzzi motorcycles, and Euro motorcycles in general.
Chris
A pair of ‘21 Silver Dollars
What a great thread with lots of beautiful coins and fun stories!
Here’s my favorite pair, that I got from a forum member. I don’t know why I only have the obverse photo, since the difference is in the mint mark on the reverse
The Peace Dollar is one of my favorite series, and I think it’s cool that you can identify both of these die pairs without magnification, because of the doubling on the obverse and differences in the mint mark on the reverse.
and its Denver counterpart
Casual collector slowly building a collection....
So many beautiful coins in pairs I hesitate to post my pocket change.
I first posted my 1944-S cent here the Forum in 2010. A member posted an image of his well circulated 44-S. When I asked if he'd part with it so I'd have a pair he said he wanted to hold on to it.
Three years later he contacted me asking for my address and then he sent it along to me. Wish I could remember his handle.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
So original and attractive. Great color!
Nice coins. Cool year! Enjoyed the data size comparison.
Commems and Early Type
A Chalmers 3 Pence followed by a Chalmers 6 Pence (Small Date). The 3 Pence is graded 53+ and the 6 Pence 12. Unfortunately I do not (yet, I hope) have either of the Chalmers short- or long-worm Shillings.
Actually, those dimes had nothing to do with Grissom, except for the fact that they flew aboard Liberty Bell 7. The workers who built and serviced the capsule placed dimes directly into the capsule in various hidden spaces, behind bulkheads etc. The workers were planning on getting the dimes back when the capsule was brought into "the hangar" after the flight. Given that the flight was in 1961 all of the workers were well aware of Mercury dimes, so they placed Mercury dimes (often heavily worn ones) into the Mercury spacecraft. While there may have been some Roosevelts stashed that way, I have not seen any. Grissom brought two rolls of 1961-D Roosevelts with him on the flight. I guess he wanted coins with a date that matched up with his launch year. He kept the coins in a pouch in/on his spacesuit, hence they were retrieved with him.
U.S. Type Set
These two could could be considered a pair. 1806/4 and 1806/5 $2.5.
As you might imagine, space flown coins/currency are not priced like normal coins/currency. In general, assuming they both flew on the same flight, coins cost more than currency. While rarity certainly places a value on a piece, who took the coin(s) with them, and on what specific flight they flew on, are larger factors in the coin(s) value.
Grissom Liberty Bell 7 (LB7) flown dimes are far and away the most common coin flown on a flight (after all, there are 100 of them), but because they flew on the second USA manned spaceflight (and Grissom died a hero in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967) they always have a ready collectors audience. Provenance also plays a roll for the LB7 dimes. Grissom gifted many of these dimes to specific people, which can increase the value of the dimes. For example the LB7 dime I have came from a honcho quite high up in the Mercury food chain. FWIW, (unprovenanced) LB7 dimes will typically cost somewhere in the $2,500 - $4,500 range, with most of them being right in the middle. As for the GT3 dime, given that it is unique, flown on the first Gemini mission, Gus Grissom owned and then gifted to Guenter Wendt (a well known person from the Golden Era of US spaceflight) it is worth significantly more.
U.S. Type Set
My Favorite!
Siamese Coin Twin! Awesome!
Empty Nest Collection
A pair of half eagles minted in San Francisco during the two most significant years in the history of my home state, 1849 and 1906:
The former was minted at the Moffat & Co. operation on the southwest corner of Clay and DuPont (Now occupied by the Jing Ying Gift Shop @ Clay and Grant):
The latter was minted at the Old Mint on 5th and Mission:
I visited each on an early morning jog through the city.
Ref: Kagin, D. 1981. Private gold coins and patterns of the United States. Arco Publishers.
These two that I have come to mind:
64 & 65 respectively
My YouTube Channel
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
My 2 counterfeit 1797 draped bust dimes;
.
Well that's a "Harsche" thing to say............
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Two coins from the Columbian Exposition. Both are graded MS67.
Cool Moffat and 1906-s 5's!
I love this song (and Linda Low) from Flower Drum Song: (I'm guessing its familiar!)
Grant Avenue, San Francisco,
California, U.S.A.
Looks down from Chinatown
Over a foggy bay..
My two Civil War SF $5 Liberties 1862-s, 1865-s
Love the Moffat pair!
Looking forward to learning about it. It sounds somewhat like The Principality of Sealand.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.