The December Greater Atlanta Coin Show in the Lyon and Sanford rooms downstairs closed out the 26th year of monthly coin shows.
The show enjoyed off-and-on busy times throughout the morning and early afternoon with people visiting the coin dealers in each room to view the treasures on display.
Thank you to all of the people who helped make the December show a fun end to this year's coin shows - the hotel personnel, the coin dealers, the security and the biggest thank you to the many visitors to the show.
The day's weather, rainy with temperatures in the 40s, made it a great day to visit a coin show.
Of course, the hotel had their holiday decorations in place and even had two decorated Christmas trees in one of our rooms. They were certainly pretty, but the trees did make that room's bourse set up just a wee bit challenging. No worries, we made it work.
On a trip to the front desk as the day wound to a close, we saw a large event arrangement in the Joe Mack Wilson ballroom with manned food stations around the ballroom's lobby area. Looked interesting.
As for the coin show, the coin dealers once again brought a wide variety of items.
This first example may make some numismatic purists cringe, but others do like this type of collectible. What? It was a love token based on a Dahlonega gold $5 coin.
Now, is the love token as valuable as an unblemished Dahlonega gold $5 for the same year? Well, it really depends on your interest. For coin purists, no. For people of the Love Token Society, it depends on how they associate value to the various types of tokens.
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Coin Show - Monthly Notes from December 2013
These were just a few of the coins among the many numismatic and collectible treasures on the December coin show's bourse.
Each month, the dealers at the Greater Atlanta Coin Show's bourse offer a wide variety of numismatic and investment items along with related collectibles for the visitors to the show.
Now for a challenge, take a look at a sample of the additions to the Greater Atlanta Coin Show's facebook page for the Coins Tell Stories... entries between the November and December. Can you guess the coins related to each story?
...this story is reminiscent of Running Bear and Little White Dove.
"...he has already proved himself the most acceptable of Mayors."
Is it a semantics problem or was the coin's design illegal?
"Curiosity is natural to the soul of man..."
"My eye was caught by something shining in the bottom of the ditch..."
"Go to Dallas for education; come to Fort Worth for entertainment."
...meaning "tribe of superior men."
"…for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him."
...and other Coins Tell Stories entries as well...
"Like" our facebook page to be alerted when we add new stories and their related coins.
Here's wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday season - a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all!
Make plans to visit the next Greater Atlanta Coin Show on Sunday, January 5, 2014 to see what the coin dealers have on display and to buy, sell and browse their many examples of coins and currency, jewelry and other collectibles.
For our next example, let's go back in time. This coin, a 1798 bust dollar, provides a glimpse into the talents of the artists in the early days of the US Mint.
There are different versions of the 1798 dollar. The reverse could be a small eagle or the heraldic eagle. On the heraldic eagle reverse, versions exist with different number of vertical lines in the shield, a pointed "9" versus a knob "9," a close date versus a wide date, plus arrow and berry counts.
This coin existed in a VF-35 holder. In their definitions, the ANA considers coins graded VF (Very Fine) to have light to moderate wear with all major features sharp.
In particular, they define VF-35 to be "Surfaces show light overall wear with minor blemishes. May have one or two small rim nicks. All details show clearly."
At 215 years old, that 1798 bust dollar in VF-35 condition was a great example from the early mint days.
Let's move forward a few years - but not too many.
The next coin is a gold quarter eagle ($2.50) from 1836 in an AU-58 holder. The 1836 quarter eagle could be a "Script 8" or a "block 8." This one was a script 8.
Per the ANA standards, an AU-58 grade is defined as "the barest trace of wear may be seen on one or more of the high points of the design. No major detracting contact marks will be present and the coin will have attractive eye appeal and nearly full luster, often with the appearance of a higher grade."
Jumping forward twenty years, the next example from the bourse is a Dahlonega gold $5 coin graded as XF-45 or EF-45 (Extremely Fine).
An EF-45 grade is shown as "has light overall wear on the coin's highest points. All design details are very sharp. Mint luster is usually seen only in protected areas of the coin's surface such as between the star points and in the letter spaces."
Now at the beginning of the 20th century, our next bourse treasure is a 1904 Barber or Liberty Head half dollar in an AU-53 holder.
Per the ANA, the AU-53 grade is "noticeable spots of wear on several high point. Very few contact marks or blemishes, and generally good eye appeal. Luster is diminished."
Next, let's go international.
One is a 1916 MS-61 dollar from China with a portrait of Hung Hsien on one side and a winged dragon on the other.
Another Chinese dollar coin, called an Auto Dollar, from 1928, shows a vehicle similar to a panel truck from that era.
The total value of those two early 20th century Chinese coins is into the five-digit range.
Staying in China, the next shiny treasure is a 2012 five-ounce panda coin - a beautiful way to purchase silver.
Our last example from the bourse is a 2013 five-piece gold Libertad proof set from Mexico. One resource claims a mintage of 500 - total - for this set. Another claims only 250 were minted.
A CoinWeek article from early in the year explains why 2013 Gold Libertads are a Great Choice for Buyers. Not only do they have low mintages, but their release prices are not much higher than spot. Yet, as time passes, the Libertad coins increase in value faster than their more numerous gold coin cousins.