We got another volunteer, this time for the Franklin Half. Keep them coming! Here's what remains: 1972 S Lincoln Memorial Cent 1877 Shield Nickel 1885 Liberty Head Nickel 1985 Jefferson Nickel 1916 D Mercury Dime 1927Standing Liberty 1972 Washington Quarter 1976 Bicentennial Quarter 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar 1976 Bicentennial Half Dollar 1884 Morgan Dollar 1922 Peace Dollar 1971 Eisenhower Dollar 1976 Bicentennial Dollar 1882 Liberty $20.00 Gold 2000 Sacagawea "Golden" Dollar
Jim, absolutely and great question! Just please give me a heads up so I know how much is coming and can account for and divert it accordingly. I would like to also know who sent it and if you are okay with me telling the group who the money came from (if no, I will put anonymous).
Please feel free to report my last message and ask them to remove that last paragraph. Putting my email address on an open forum wasn't the smartest of ideas... i just got very motivated!
Maybe Carr would be willing to help out in producing replicas cost effectively. Our differences aside, he is very good at emulating details of U.S. coinage.
I'm not sure what NGC could do here other than perhaps contribute expertise to the descriptions. If it is helpful though, send via PM - please do not post contact information.
Thanks, I'll reach out to NGC soon. Might want to take her email off the page though, don't want her getting spammed!
Interesting idea. I can't imagine that @dcarr would have equipment suitable for producing large-sized replicas, but I wonder if he has CAD files that could be modified to drive equipment working at a larger scale...?
Buy an unslabbed "hockey puck" with the quarter design. That should make for a good touch. The puck in one hand and matching quarter in he other. Sorry, but I'm living pay-check-to-pay-check and ideas for you cost me nothing. However, I'll bet companies like the ANA, Heritage, Stacks, and TPGS would be glad to help at this time of year for such a good idea you came up with.
Hey guys, I've gotten some awesome drafts already; thank you so much! Here's a great format that I think we are going to try to adopt for all of them. Even if you only want to do a portion of the write-ups, every little bit helps. Basically, whatever doesn't get done by the end of January becomes something I will have to do myself. Thank you to all who have volunteered time and/or money and I hope to be thanking more of you future volunteers Here's a great example from @Dougmeister I'm not going to post what coin it is (though it should be obvious) because I want you to go into it "blind" and have to imagine the coin as you read along, the way a blind person would have to. Obverse Lady Liberty is facing to the left in profile, so you only notice her left eye below a heavy eyebrow. Her nose is somewhat broad and her lips are full. She has a strong, proud, and resolute demeanor. The top of her left ear is hidden by her wavy, shoulder-length hair. Her slender neck is adorned with a simple, yet elegant, necklace consisting of seven (7) beads. Her headdress consists of nine (9) feathers, the word "LIBERTY" emblazoned on the band in capital letters, and a ribbon draped gently over her hair. There are four (4) diamonds on the ribbon that fastens the headdress to Lady Liberty's head. There are 125 "denticles" that outline the coin in a circular fashion. There is also a "rim" outside the denticles. The edge of the coin is smooth; there are no words (like the modern Presidential dollars) or ridges ("reeded edge", like a modern quarter or dime) on the coin. The legend "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and the year surround Liberty. "UNITED STATES" starts at about 8 o'clock, moving clockwise until it ends just before 12 o'clock and above and the front-most feather in Liberty's headdress. "OF AMERICA" starts at about 2 o'clock, ending around 5 o'clock. The date ("1877", on this replica) is centered at the 6 o'clock position. Reverse A wreath consisting of twelve (12) clusters of Laurel, fourteen (14) berries, tied together with a bow at the bottom (6 o'clock position). Centered in the middle of the wreath in bold capital letters is the word "ONE" on top of the word "CENT". As on the obverse, there are denticles, but now there are 129 that outline the main design in a circular fashion with a raised "rim" outside the denticles. History of the coin Varieties - A very small letter "L" (the first initial of the designer's last name) was added to the lower ribbon of the headdress in 1864. It remained on all Indian for the duration of the design, but 1864's with the "L" are worth more because the "L" was not added until almost the end of 1864. - 1877 is the second lowest minted Indian Head cent next to the 1909-S but is considered to be the "key date" of the series and highly sought after by collectors. - The Indian head was minted in Philadelphia every year and had no mint mark except from 1908-1909. It was also minted in San Francisco during those years with an "S" mint mark beneath the ribbon of the wreath on the reverse. Why was it minted? - It was minted to replace the "Flying Eagle cent" which was only minted for circulation for two years (1857-1858) due to difficulties in production. The design was not "brought out fully" in the tough copper-nickel alloy (not all details came through after it was struck). Metrics & Other Physical Characteristics Mass (1859–1864) 4.67 g (1864–1909) 3.11 g Diameter 19.05 mm (0.750 in) Edge: Plain Composition (1859–1864) 88% copper, 12% nickel ("cupro-nickel") (1864–1909) 95% copper, 5% tin or zinc ("bronze") Years minted: 1859–1909 Mint Marks San Francisco Mint ("S") - Located below the wreath on the reverse (1908-1909 only) Philadelphia Mint - no mint mark Obverse Design: Liberty with head dress Designer: James B. Longacre (Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint) Design date: 1859 Reverse Design: Laurel wreath Designer: James B. Longacre Design date: 1859 Design: Oak wreath and shield Designer: James B. Longacre Design date: 1860 Fun Facts It is not actually an "Indian" (Native American) depicted on the coin at all... it is Lady Liberty wearing a Native American headdress. Legend has it that the face of Lady Liberty on this coin was based on the features of Longacre's daughter Sarah. According to the story, Sarah was visiting her father at the Philadelphia Mint one day and tried on the headdress of a visiting Native American. Her father then sketched her. This was denied by Mint officials several times throughout the years. In addition, Sarah Longacre was 30 years old and married in 1858 and not 12 as in the story. Lastly, Longacre himself stated that the face was based on a statue of Venus he saw in Philadelphia that was on loan from the Vatican. Having said that, Longacre *did* often sketch his elder daughter, and there is an uncanny resemblance between Sarah and the various representations of Liberty on his coins of the 1850s.
Two thoughts: 1. Doesn't the Mint itself possess detailed descriptions of the designs? If not them, then the designer's working notes and papers might. 2. With the proliferation of 3D scanners and printers it should be relative child's play to produce 8" or 10" reproductions of any coin (I would suggest extra high relief).
That scale of "child's play" requires some extremely pricey toys. Scanners with resolution fine enough to pick up small coin details aren't exactly common or cheap, and even if you use a "cheap" 3D printer, you're going to need quite a lot of raw material to make a plate-sized product. It could be done, but not cheaply, and this isn't a high-budget project.
1. I'm sure they do. A little googling would go a long ways, but none are written for a blind person to "see the coin". For that, I need a little human help. 2. I totally agree. I have access to the printer that can make such replicas, I don't have access to a 3D scanner or the 3D files required. If you have access to either a scanner or 3D files, please let me know! Thanks for your interest.
Great news! Another volunteer taking the 1916-D dime and 2000 sacagewea dollar. Keep them coming! Here's what's remaining: 1972 S Lincoln Memorial Cent 1877 Shield Nickel 1885 Liberty Head Nickel 1985 Jefferson Nickel 1927Standing Liberty 1972 Washington Quarter 1976 Bicentennial Quarter 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar 1976 Bicentennial Half Dollar 1884 Morgan Dollar 1922 Peace Dollar 1971 Eisenhower Dollar 1976 Bicentennial Dollar 1882 Liberty $20.00 Gold
The guys over at GigaMacro have the equipment and expertise to image coins and produce a 3D model. They have done this for at least the Lincoln Cent, and possibly others. Another option is to look at the coin plaques made by Thermo Art Plastics back in 1970. They made a series of these, from Dime up to Dollar size, scaled correctly vs original coin size.
Wow, many thanks for featuring this Thread! I've had a lot of volunteers already providing me their descriptions for the coins. Thank you to everyone involved; we really are moving along. I've already received 4 descriptions (IHC, FEC, $20 St Gaudens, and Walking Liberty Half). Keep them coming in!! Remember, we are still looking for the following things: - 3D files to print even larger versions of these coins - More volunteers to describe coins - Monetary donations to help purchase another set of 3" replicas. I will provide a tracker of any funds we receive for the project and where the funds are allocated. Happy New Year! Below is the template we are using to model our descriptions: Obverse Description Reverse Description Edge Description Varieties History, Why Minted, etc. Measurements: - Mass (g) - Diameter (mm) Edge: (Plain, Reeded, Text, etc.) Composition Years of minting Mint marks Obverse Design - Description: - Designer: - Design date: Reverse Design - Description: - Designer: - Design date: Fun Facts
Thanks for the bump. It reminded me to post this link -- I heard this report last week on Morning Edition, about a project at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and it immediately made me think of your project. Maybe a bit more inspiration for writing descriptions? Blind Art Lovers Make The Most Of Museum Visits With 'InSight' Tours
This may make a good GoFundMe or Kickstarter. Maybe it's too low cost of a project compared to most of the other ventures there (?), but on the plus side, it would get funded quickly (!). Though, the costs would add up quickly to scan and 3D print (or mill) larger diameter pieces, so maybe it's a good consideration, since there's still a few weeks left until the start of Feb (I don't mean to add more to your plate, as this is a huge project as-is). I'll contribute to that fund if you get it started. I was going to get you one of the large rounds, but the design was way off (e.g. 1922 Peace Dollar). And, why not use the PCGS/NGC site for each coin to extract the desired info from, at least for the raw data? The data is widely available all over the place, but it's interfaced nicely and easily navigable on those sites. The Fun Facts and history would be where CT members and numismatists would definitely shine in their contribution, and something that I like expertise on. EDIT: Also, maybe adding strike types would be good. I know of some folks who had no idea that proof strikes even existed. I'm sure that many visitors would love to see and learn about those. Anyway, here's an example from PCGS for the 1927 Standing Liberty Quarter:
Thanks for the input. I don't have time to write all the descriptions but hope that those who volunteer to write some will use the link you provided for the key info on the coin. As far as the funding, I don't think this project is that big, nor do I want it to get that big (unless I have help, I'm currently a one man show with a bunch of volunteers). The biggest hurdle is getting the 3D images of the coins. If I only get access to a 3D Scanner, then I have the problem of getting access to MS versions of the coins and that's a whole other can of worms I'm not ready to open. Someone out there on CoinTalk has access to a 3D scanner or 3D files, I just need that access. I have a couple of leads I'm chasing down but nothing definitive yet. Keep the ideas rolling in!