Eric P. Newman Young Numismatist Scholarships Program Provides Support for 30 Young Numismatists
Young Numismatists will continue to receive support from the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society (EPNNES). Last year, the organization generously donated $50,000 to support the American Numismatic Association’s Summer Seminar. The money has provided for the establishment of all-expense-paid scholarships for Young Numismatists to attend the week-long program, many of whom might not otherwise be able to participate. In all, 30 Young Numismatists are able to attend the event this year with scholarship support.
The donation also will make a lasting impact during the annual Summer Seminar Young Numismatist Benefit Auctions. Coordinated and led entirely by young collectors, the money from the EPNNES will double the amount raised this year by matching auction revenue dollar for dollar, up to $50,000.
Last year, the auctions raised $30,539.85. Anyone is allowed to bid on items and proceeds support Young Numismatists scholarships and other seminar events.
The late Eric P. Newman, who became a member of the ANA in 1935, is widely remembered and respected for his work as an author, researcher and speaker. In 1958, he and his wife, Evelyn, established the EPNNES, which is dedicated to helping fellow numismatists realize their own potential.
Newman served as an ANA Summer Seminar instructor and was an advocate for the program, which seeks to equip numismatists with the knowledge and skills necessary to become successful in the numismatic community.
Held annually on the campus of Colorado College in Colorado Springs (adjacent to the ANA), the Summer Seminar is a once-a-year opportunity for numismatic learning and camaraderie that offers students a varied selection of weeklong courses designed for discovery or continued study. For many students, the Summer Seminar is a life-changing event. It has catapulted the careers of several of the nation’s most respected collectors, authors and dealers.
Andy Newman, son of Eric Newman and president of the EPNNES, noted that his father was a huge supporter of young collectors. “Dad cared deeply about building knowledge and involvement in young numismatists. He loved giving numismatic badges to Boy Scouts and instructing at the ANA Summer Seminar,” he said. “He would be greatly honored by the association of his name with this fine program.”
The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging the study and collection of coins and related items. The ANA helps its 25,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of instructional and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications and conventions. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or visit www.money.org.
FDIC Backs Down on “High-Risk” Merchant List
The FDIC has fully reversed its position on a list of merchant categories thought to present a high risk for payment fraud. In a May 29 article, the Wall Street Journal reports that a suit brought by payday lenders against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been settled, and that banks must no longer rely on the FDIC’s “high-risk” list, which included coin dealers.
ICTA alerted our members in June 2014 that the Department of Justice had launched Operation Choke Point to crack down on fraud in the payments system by investigating banks and payment processors. The FDIC’s article “Managing Risks in Third-Party Payment Processor Relationships” presented a list of “high-risk” industries (including coin dealers), which was used in the DOJ operation.
In July 2014 American Banker reported that the FDIC had withdrawn its list of merchant categories that had been misinterpreted, resulting in banks’ severing ties with legitimate businesses. Despite this withdrawal, however, banks may have still been using it to assess their risk from third-party payment processors. As predicted by Jimmy Hayes (who was ICTA’s legislative consultant at the time), our members experienced little if any effect from this overreaching initiative by the DOJ.
Payday lenders, meanwhile, sued the FDIC for closing their bank accounts or denying them service. The Wall Street Journal’s May 29 article states, “The parties finally settled last week, and the FDIC’s letter says its policies have since been overhauled. The ‘high risk’ merchant list is no more. If the FDIC wants a bank to kill an account, the recommendation cannot come ‘through informal suggestions.’ It must be written in an official report that includes ‘any specific laws or regulations the examiner believes are being violated.’” In other words, simply being in a category on the (now-defunct) list is not sufficient to cause to close a merchant’s bank account.
We recommend that dealers save this information for future reference if needed.
About ICTA
ICTA is a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt trade association that represents the rare-coin, currency, and precious-metals communities. ICTA is supported solely by dues and donations. To join and/or learn more about ICTA, please visit our website, ictaonline.org.
Rare 2019 West Point Quarters Are Valuable Treasure in Your Pocket Change
(Pelham, AL) — The United States Mint is randomly issuing rare and valuable quarter dollars into circulation this year. The coins are found in regular pocket change and can be worth hundreds of dollars each, according to the senior editor of the Guide Book of United States Coins, the best-selling price guide on American coinage.
Only 2 million of each of the five 2019 quarter dollars will feature the “W” mintmark of the famous West Point Mint, known as the “Fort Knox of Silver” because of its precious-metal vaults. Although this might seem like a lot of coins, it represents only 1 out of every 200 or so 2019 quarters. They are being distributed to banks and financial institutions through the Federal Reserve system, mixed in with their more common Philadelphia Mint and Denver Mint counterparts.
“If the Guide Book went to press today, we would list the coins around $25 each in average Mint State condition, based on feedback from coin dealers around the country,” said Jeff Garrett, senior editor of the Guide Book of United States Coins. “Higher-grade ‘gem’ examples have sold for hundreds of dollars.” Garrett estimates that demand for the coins will rise as more and more collectors need them to complete their collections.
The 2019-W quarters will be featured in next year’s edition of the Guide Book. By that time their market prices should be well established, according to Garrett.
“These are the first and only modern rarities deliberately placed into circulation by the Mint,” said Q. David Bowers, the Guide Book’s research editor. “Most 2019 quarters struck for day-to-day commerce will be made at the Philadelphia and Denver mints. Last year nearly 2 billion quarters were struck in total. The West Point mintages are truly small in comparison.”
In total, a maximum of only 10 million West Point Mint quarters will reach circulation, or about 1 coin for every 33 U.S. citizens. They include 2 million each of the Lowell National Historical Park quarter, the American Memorial Park quarter, the War in the Pacific National Historical Park quarter, the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park quarter, and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness quarter. All are dated 2019, and the rare West Point coins have a distinct “W” mintmark below the legend IN GOD WE TRUST.
The Guide Book of United States Coins, popularly known as the “Red Book” for its cover color, has been published since 1946, with more than 24 million copies in print. Coin collectors consider it “the Bible of the hobby.” The 73rd edition is available now, online and at booksellers and hobby shops nationwide, in formats including hardcover, softcover, spiralbound, and Large Print.
About the Guide Book of United States Coins
A Guide Book of United States Coins is the world’s most popular annual retail price guide for U.S. coins, tokens, and other numismatic items. 24 million copies have been purchased since 1946, making it one of the best-selling nonfiction titles in the history of U.S. publishing.
For the 73rd edition, more than 100 professional coin dealers, scholars, and other numismatic experts contributed their knowledge under the direction of Senior Editor Jeff Garrett, Research Editor Q. David Bowers, and Editor Emeritus Kenneth Bressett.
The 73rd edition of the Red Book is available online and at bookstores and hobby shops nationwide. Whitman Publishing offers a Large Print Edition and several formats of the regular edition (hardcover; spiralbound softcover; and spiralbound hardcover). For more information and to order, visit Whitman Publishing at www.Whitman.com.
A Guide Book of United States Coins, 73rd edition
464 pages
Full color
By R.S. Yeoman; senior editor Jeff Garrett; research editor Q. David Bowers;
editor emeritus Kenneth Bressett.
$15.95 convenient lay-flat spiralbound
$17.95 classic red hardcover
$19.95 spiralbound hardcover
$29.95 Large Print Edition
$49.95 expanded Deluxe Edition (1,504 pages)
Marbles Were Just One Category in Holabird Western Americana Collections’ Five-Day Don’t Lose Your Marbles Auction, May 16-20
The auction was held online and live in Reno, Nevada, grossing around a half million dollars.
Hawaiian Baseball Association stock certificate issued to baseball inventor A.J. Cartwright on June 12th, 1890, for five shares, signed by Cartwright on the reverse side ($4,500).
Marbles was just one of many collecting categories included in the five-day auction, which also featured Western Americana, mining, stock certificates, railroadiana, Native Americana, art, bottles, postcards, postal history, baseball sports memorabilia, coins, medals and tokens. The sale was held online and in Holabird’s gallery, located at 3555 Airway Drive (Suite #308) in Reno.
The sale overall contained a staggering 4,134 lots and grossed around a half million dollars, to include buyer’s premium. For those unable to attend in person, Internet bidding was facilitated by iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, AuctionMobility.com and Auctionzip. More than 4,600 people registered to bid online. Telephone and absentee bids were also taken.
Day 1, on Thursday, May 16th (lots 1000-1839) featured numismatics, to include books and checks, coins, currency, ingots, medals and scales; Part I of the mining category, to include mining artifacts and books, stocks and ephemera, mostly from Alaska and California; and general Americana, to include assorted books, fire, postal history, geographic sort and more.
The Hawaiian Baseball Association stock certificate issued to baseball inventor A.J. Cartwright on June 12th, 1890, for five shares, was the day’s top lot. Cartwright signed the reverse. Also, a stock certificate for the Pacific Pearl Company (N.Y.) for 25 shares, from 1867, achieved $2,525. The company was a venture to harvest pearls and pearl shells in the Pacific Ocean. The Chief Engineer, Julius Kroehl, invented a submarine able to dive and re-surface on its own, in 1866.
Other Day 1 top earners included an 1831 gold ducat coin from the Netherlands, showing a helmeted figure with a sword on the obverse and words in all capitals on the reverse ($1,000); and three quicksilver (mercury) flasks from New Almaden, Calif., made of iron and rusted from exposure ($812). The tallest bottle of the three was 14 ½ inches; a 12-inch one was marked “N ALMADEN”, a reference to the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine in Santa Clara, Calif. ($812).
Day 2 was dedicated to Part II of the mining collectibles, which included stocks and ephemera from Colorado and Wyoming. Star lots included a Bill Young Mining Company (San Juan County, Colo.) stock certificate, issued for 50 shares to C.P. Cogwell on May 1st, 1888 ($2,562); and a rare Leadville (Colo.) Mining & Stock Exchange Association stock certificate, issued for two shares to Clinton Bennett on May 13th, 1881, signed by H.A.W. Tabor as president ($1,688).
Day 3, Saturday, May 18th, featured transportation collectibles, to include airplane, automobile, steamer and railroad; Wells Fargo and Express; and tokens, which included tokens from brothels.
The Northern Pacific Railroad Company land grant bond that fetched $4,400 was the marquis lot of the day. The $100, 7.3 percent, 30-year land grant tax-free gold bearer bond, due in 1900, was issued July 1st, 1870 and featured an embossed seal and attractive vignettes. Also, an early Atlantic & Pacific Aerial Navigation Company (San Francisco, Calif.) stock certificate for three shares, issued June 30th, 1898 to Robert H. Mitchell, not canceled, with a vignette, hit $1,688.
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- Northern Pacific Railroad Company $100, 7.3 percent, 30-year land grant tax-free gold bearer bond, due in 1900, issued July 1st, 1870, with an embossed seal and attractive vignettes. ($4,400).
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- Gold nugget necklace with 24 small nuggets (1.11 ozt) and one large nugget (1.91 ozt), set with a .5 carat round cut diamond (est. $6,500-$8,500).
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- Giant onion skin marble with mica, circa 1860s-1880s, two inches in diameter, a beautiful specimen with multi-colored splotches and mica flakes scattered throughout the body ($1,475).
Day 4, on Sunday, May 19th, was perhaps the sexiest day of the auction, with categories that included sports collectibles, jewelry, furniture, art, Native Americana, textiles, bottles, cowboy collectibles, firearms and weaponry, entertainment, gaming, military, minerals and…marbles!
The sale’s overall top lot was the wire gold specimen from the Ibex Mine in Leadville, Colorado that garnered $11,250. It was uncovered by metal detector within the last 20 years and was most recently in the collection of Bryan Lees, owner of the Sweet Home Rhodochrosite Mine (Colo.). The gold nugget necklace with 24 small nuggets (1.11 ozt) and one large nugget (1.91 ozt), set with a .5 carat round cut diamond, sailed past its estimate of $6,500-$8,500 to finish at $9,375.
An oil painting by William A. Moore, titled Pelicans Going Home, showing Winnemucca Lake and Pyramid Lake in Nevada, truly massive at 16 feet in length and 30 inches tall and in a light wood frame, went for $7,500; while a vintage Victor Moses Begay (VMB) Navajo handmade silver, turquoise and coral concho black leather belt from the 1970s, signed, breezed to $2,000.
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- Autographed Derek Jeter New York Yankees’ pinstripe jersey from 2000, beautifully framed and signed by Jeter in silver ink, also inscribed by him “00 WS MVP” ($1,500).
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- Wire gold specimen from the Ibex Mine in Leadville, Colorado, uncovered by metal detector within the last 20 years and was most recently in the collection of Bryan Lees (11,250).
In the sports collectibles category, a pair of Boston Red Sox stock certificates from 1916, both with ties to Babe Ruth, brought $2,000. One was signed by Joseph J. Lannin, the president of the Red Sox who brought Ruth to Boston; the other was signed by Harry Frazee, who sold Ruth to the Yankees, for $300,000. Also, an autographed Derek Jeter Yankees’ pinstripe jersey from 2000, beautifully framed and signed by Jeter in silver ink, with “00 WS MVP”, rose to $1,500.
And, lest we forget, a giant onion skin marble with mica, circa 1860s-1880s, two inches in diameter, a beautiful specimen with multi-colored splotches (mostly darker pink) and with mica flakes scattered throughout the body, in perfect condition and pontiled, rolled away for $1,475.
Oil painting by William A. Moore, titled Pelicans Going Home, showing Winnemucca Lake and Pyramid Lake in Nevada, truly massive at 16 feet in length and 30 inches tall, framed ($7,500).
Anyone owning a collection that might fit into an upcoming Holabird Western Americana Collections auction is encouraged to get in touch. The firm travels extensively throughout the U.S., to see and pick up collections. Last year it visited Boston, Florida, Seattle, and New York.
Holabird Western Americana is always seeking quality Americana and coin consignments, bottles, advertising and other fine collections for future auctions. To consign a single piece or an entire collection, you may call Fred Holabird at 775-851-1859 or 844-492-2766; or, you can e-mail him at fredholabird@gmail.com. To learn more about Holabird Western Americana, LLC, and the firm’s calendar of upcoming events, visit www.fhwac.com. Updates are posted frequently.
American Legion 100th Anniversary 2019 Proof Silver Dollar and Medal Set Released on May 20
WASHINGTON — The United States Mint (Mint) released the 2019 American Legion 100th Anniversary Proof Silver Dollar and American Veterans Silver Medal Set (product code 19CQ) on May 20 at noon EDT.
Priced at $99.95, this special set consists of one American Legion Proof Silver Dollar and one American Veterans Silver Medal, both of which contain 99.9 percent silver, and production is limited to 10,000 units. The medal will be struck in silver only for this set and will not be struck in silver again. A bronze version of the medal is expected to be available in the future. A Certificate of Authenticity is included with each set.
The obverse (heads) of the silver dollar depicts The American Legion emblem adorned by oak leaves and a lily, commemorating the founding of The American Legion in Paris, France. Inscriptions are “LIBERTY,” “2019,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The reverse (tails) design also represents the founding of The American Legion in Paris in 1919. Above the crossed American and American Legion flags is a fleur de lis and the inscription “100 YEARS OF SERVICE.” Additional inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “1919,” “2019,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
The obverse design of the silver medal portrays a bald eagle spreading its wings as it prepares for flight, suggesting the initiative, determination, and personal courage required by those who choose to serve in our Nation’s Armed Forces. The five stars represent the five branches of the U.S. Armed Services. The inscription “HONORING AMERICA’S VETERANS” encircles the design. The reverse design depicts a field of stars symbolizing all American veterans – past, present, and future. A lone incused star below the field represents the veteran who has made the ultimate sacrifice in defending our country. The absence of this star in the field conveys the supreme sense of loss to the Nation. The inscription “SERVICE AND SACRIFICE” is featured.
Public Law 115–65 authorized the American Legion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program. Coin prices include surcharges of $35 for each gold coin, $10 for each $1 silver coin, and $5 for each half-dollar coin. Surcharges collected from all coin sales are authorized to be paid to the American Legion to support the Legion’s programs for veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and other purposes specified by the authorizing legislation.
The Mint accepts orders at catalog.usmint.gov/ and 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order at 1-888-321-MINT. Visit catalog.usmint.gov/customer-service/shipping.html for information about shipping options.
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