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Simply irresistable!
Haven't been doing much with Trade Dollars lately as the Seated Dollar project soaked up all my funds. But upon reading the description of this lot, the following snippet caught my eye:
a July 11, 1873 letter that Mint Superintendent James Pollock wrote to Mint Director Henry Linderman: "I send you specimen of trade dollar in tin struck today. We will commence the regular coinage of trade $ in a few hours. The enclosed will give you a tolerably correct idea of the silver dollar
Why, you might ask, was this of interest? Because about 5 years ago I bought a rather unique lot with a similar letter from Linderman to a friend presenting 4 of the first 5 trade dollars minted. Each coin had its number hand scratched above the eagle's head. The opportunity to reunite these specimens, coined within hours of each other, was irresistable!

a July 11, 1873 letter that Mint Superintendent James Pollock wrote to Mint Director Henry Linderman: "I send you specimen of trade dollar in tin struck today. We will commence the regular coinage of trade $ in a few hours. The enclosed will give you a tolerably correct idea of the silver dollar
Why, you might ask, was this of interest? Because about 5 years ago I bought a rather unique lot with a similar letter from Linderman to a friend presenting 4 of the first 5 trade dollars minted. Each coin had its number hand scratched above the eagle's head. The opportunity to reunite these specimens, coined within hours of each other, was irresistable!

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Russ, NCNE
TorinoCobra71
You did good. That is really neat. You really are TDN!
I honestly don't think I've ever seen one before.
Jonathan
Cool Coin....
Ken
<< <i>Forgot to ask, TDN. Wghat kind of luster does a tin coin posess??
I honestly don't think I've ever seen one before. >>
If you have not seen one, why are you saying the one in the picture is one?
Still confused...
Jonathan
Take a look here for the JUDD 1329
If I only had a dollar for every VAM I have...err...nevermind...I do!!
My "Fun With 21D" Die State Collection - QX5 Pics Attached
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TDN- Is there a number scratched above the eagle's head on this example? I can't tell from the pic. What's the number on the other one?
VERY cool!
"The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD GOD Almighty."
Actually, the other 'one' is four coins, with the numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5 marked on them. This specimen doesn't have a number as it's not one of the first 5 silver coins struck - it's a tin die trial piece.
FWIW, the coin in TDN's post is not numbered. It is the example that sold for $34.5k on Wednesday evening. Here is the larger photo of the reverse:
Worth every cent that you paid IMO!!
If I only had a dollar for every VAM I have...err...nevermind...I do!!
My "Fun With 21D" Die State Collection - QX5 Pics Attached
-----
Proud Owner of
2 –DAMMIT BOY!!! ® Awards
For real?
Cool pattern!
Let's hope that this doesn't initiate a rash of 3rd party numbers being scratched into coins and slabbed by a 3rd world TPG.
roadrunner
That I don't know. I'd sure like to find that silver one out there with the #1 scratched above the head [and some provenance to support it]
How many of those serialized silver #1-5 do you currently have?
2, 3, 4, and 5
You have all five patterns in Tin?
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
Looking for alot of crap.
How can I say no to that!
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It does not appear to, which makes sense as this example was [presumably] created from a working die and not the proof die.
Do you have pics of the serialized coins? I am sure everyone would love to see them
I'll see what I can do.
TDN, bro-man if I may, you rock. I can't even imagine how cool it must be to be you. I would love to wake up anyday of the week and look at your collection. Time after time you've shown us some rockin' coinage. If I ever hit the megaball we have to talk.
Shucks!
<< <i>I don't get it. PCGS missed that this was a tinstruck piece? It doesn't say so on the slab. >>
The designation of J-1329 identifies it as such.
Russ - there is no mention of silver on the coin - it's .900 tin.
I prefer Pollock over Judd. They're combined as P-1474 in that book. They must be one and the same.
<< <i>Ok, I'm a bit confused (what else is new...) This is Judd 1329 which CoinFacts lists as "White Metal" and 1330 as "Tin". Therefore, the letter must have been for another coin, not this one. Can anyone set me straight on this?
I prefer Pollock over Judd. They're combined as P-1474 in that book. They must be one and the same. >>
Do you know or are you assuming? I did notice that the Pollock numbers were the same on CoinFacts. I didn't know if there was a difference in "White Metal" vs. "Tin". I suppose density would determine that, though. Crack that baby outta' there and let's put it into a bath to determine the density.
I don't know - good question. Perhaps MrEureka can answer.
As far as I know, all of the 73 Trade Dollars - whether called "white metal" or "tin" - are the same. Based on their appearance, I believe them to be tin.
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