My latest acquisition is this undated nickel, struck on a clad dime planchet. Coin collecting is about the collectors as much as it is about coins, so I thought I would also say something about Lonesome John Devine (1933-2013). Lonesome John was a founding member of the Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors Of America (CONECA). He was the first inductee into the CONECA Hall of Fame. The error coin I purchased is on a card that reads: "Authenticated by Lonesome John." I have not seen this Lonesome John attribution before so I did not hesitate to buy the coin. The coin shop dealer asked $90. I think I did okay on price. Feel free to post your Lonesome John coins. P.S. One day I will invest in photography equipment so I can take better pictures.
I meant to put in the original post that according to Duane Spellman,* the nickname "Lonesome John" was given to John Devine because John was the first and only full-time error coin dealer at that time. I understand Spellman and Devine knew each other. My guess is Newbury Park, CA and Canoga Park, CA must be geographically close to each other. Not my part of the country but certainly it was "error coin" country in those years - the 1960s and 1970s. ______ *Duane Spellman, RIP, ran The Mint coin shop in Canoga Park, California.