Howland Wood in 1910 published an article in the Numismatist entitled "The Canadian Blacksmith Coppers."

Blacksmith Coppers are contemporary counterfeits of evasion tokens. Comedic in their own right, this means the Blacksmith coppers were actually counterfeits of British-made private coppers - near counterfeits themselves with meaningless legends - struck so as to avoid counterfeiting laws on both sides of the Atlantic. ...

- Written November 2010

Dr. Samuel Phillips Eady was an infamous physician in early-to-mid 19th century London. Most historical accounts of Dr. Eady were less than complimentary. In The British Medical Journal, March 19, 1955, a writer in London submits an enquiry concerning a token which he has in his possession, namely, a Dr. Eady farthing. In the April 30th edition of the same publication and year, another writer in London identifies the token and the doctor’s full name. According to the writer, Dr. Eady lived at 38 Dean Street, SOHO, from about 1820 until 1825. The responder was less than kind in the words he used to describe the doctor.

Many people around London considered him a ‘quack’, and it is theorized that he was never actually trained to be an actual physician. The man ...

Walter Breen had this to say of the liberty head dime series by Charles Barber: “…Barber must have been feeling exceptionally lazy [when designing the coin]…The series is most notable for stereotypical… “ in ...

The price of Gold is SOOOO high, silver is at a 30 year high. I do think both metals will go higher in the next few months, maybe even for the next year. No one knows for sure, at least no one I know. silver seems low under $30 but who knows?

What I have seen and what I hear often at my store and at shows from many (not all) people is that they feel gold and silver will just keep going up and up. And they like this. They are buying metals because they just keep going up. But remember "What goes up, must come down!"

I have been writing articles for MSNS (Michigan State Numismatic Soc.) for a few years now. I gear these articles towards COLLECTORS, not investors. I would rather deal with collectors buying $10 coins than the "high rollers". Below is an article I wrote for the MichMatist in the fall of 2009. READ it, and think about taking my advice, you will have fun and enjoy the HOBBY, leave gold and silver investing to the high rollers for now.
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We are all used to hammered and milled coins, major European powers went from hammered to milled, however its not strictly the role, as for cast coins themselves, some have a very nice crude appeal about them, and bring thier own set of errors with them, and like hammered have a history going back into ...

'So-Called Dollars'
By Harold E. Hibbler and Charles V. Kappen

Frank Colletti

In 1963 a new study of medals of historical significance was published to little fan fare. The reference called simply "So-Called Dollars" by Harold E. Hibbler and Charles ...

The US Two Cent piece was first suggested in 1806, then again in 1807. The objections of Mint Director Robert Patterson resulted in those attempts failing. In 1816 it was again suggested to no avail. Another attempt was mounted in 1836 with likewise negative results. This effort was accompanied by a several pattern coins struck in billon (90% copper/10% silver), and in copper. Surviving examples are identified as Judd 52 and Judd 54.

In ...

The first year of issue for the Two Cent piece is known for a major variety. Anyone can quickly pick up the skills to easily identify the differences of the large versus small mottos. The pictures shown here are marked to help direct your examination of these coins.


The IN GOD WE TRUST motto letters are the first indication of this variety. The small motto letters are shorter ...

COLLECTING RED BOOKS, Continued
　
Frank J. Colletti
　
The last time we discussed trying to assemble a collection of "A Guide Book of United States Coins". As you saw, there are some very valuable editions that an astute collector may be able to acquire, ...