Stone Mountain Half Web Site

A very beautiful and politically incorrect coin depicting KKK dominance in America. I have one example which I can show and explain to children the shame it represents in US history.

 

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Well there were some definite KKK connections, but it was a different time with different sentiments. The monument was built to honor the south's soldiers and war dead, who were numerous. Please keep in mind that Congress later passed a bill including all CSA soldiers to be US veterans. Also note that Lincoln offered the command of the Northern army to Lee before he went back to Virginia to lead the Army of Northern Virginia. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20150630051837AAd7hGa&guccounter=1 Remember that Gutzon Borglum was a KKK sympathizer and went on to carve Mount Rushmore.

A difficult time in our history for sure, but just about every nation on earth has been through this cycle. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...e_there_any_countries_that_never_had_slavery/

Please get a coin from Rome, Greece, England, France, Spain, Cuba, Ireland, Wales, South Africa, etc. and explain the same to your children. There are at least 10 countries with slavery today https://www.wonderslist.com/10-countries-with-most-slaves/ all shameful of course. Most of these we send foreign aid to and have for decades, so Congress needs to look in the mirror. Include in that group China and India, places many travel to and seem to have no problem with. Countries we outsource to and whose low cost of production no one seems to have a problems with.

It was a difficult time in our past, but a cycle that every nation has gone through in history. We need to be proud of our accomplishments since the war given the opportunities we all enjoy, and celebrate how we all came back together.

Let's keep politics out of coin collecting, they are different things and there will be no coins to collect if we put historical qualifiers on our collecting interest! Coins are a great way to study history and connect with it, not a lever to criticize it.

 

@HawkeEye, glad this thread was resurrected, since I apparently missed it when it started.

Your 2 sites are absolutely fabulous!!!!…& I will continue to refer to them. great work!

 

Thanks for the note. I plan to do an in depth die study on the Stone Mountain half and I think it will be interesting. There is a lot of die doubling, and a lot of rotated dies, poorly polished dies, die cracks, die breaks, and on and on.

 

A fabulous design it is...There's a lot of neg. sentiment about the mountain, some want it destroyed, but we can't go around trying to bury our history. I believe the placement of a new historical marker on such sites which explains the importance of understanding our heritage will solve the problem without unwanted destruction of such historic heritage, and there's a lot of such sites in jeopardy.

 

Park closed today due to a possible rally of protestors...crazy stuff here...Virginia Gov. and all...everyone just go home and watch the Super Bowl and get drunk and try and be nice! Oh.. and smoke some weed too!

 

This week's acquisition

A nice coin with a little bit of color on the obverse. We think this one might have a shot at the DDO classification. It is a DDO but might not fit the exact description that PCGS looks for, which is somewhat of a mystery.

There is also some doubling on the reverse but PCGS does not certify any DDR coins other than as a minor variety.

 

I found this one and thought it a little unusual that it had retained so much color at the AU55 grade.



Then I got it in hand and discovered that it is a double die obverse, but not the full doubling to be the die that is in the Cherry Picker's Guide.



But a nice double die none the less.

 

I cannot remember if I have posted this one before, but it is a good example of what I think is NOT a toned coin. When I purchased it I had only the pictures to go on and it had a lot of appeal. But I have now had it under a microscope and determined that this probably does not fit the real definition of toning, so it is a good teaching tool.

True toning is supposed to come from thin film interference with light reflecting from a coin's surface. This film is only microns thick and should not be visible as a substance.


But what is here is thick and almost like the coin was stored with or next to something that spilled onto it and stuck like glue. The Stone Mountain coins were turned over to the association for storage and sale and storage conditions were obviously less than desirable, thus the large number of discolored coins on the market.

I am surprised that PCGS gave this one an MS64 grade and not an N grade, but I am glad they didn't because it is still a neat coin. This is an example of a DDR coin with some doubling of the two A's at the bottom of the reverse, and a good study coin.

All colored coins are not toned coins! http://www.stonemountainhalf.com/04141349_64.html

 

This coin is the opposite of the one above and is toned in the normal use of the term. This is an MS65 and unlike many or most in the series does not show signs of significant die cracks.

 

This coin speaks to even "ugly ducklings" having a life.


The color is toning and not a foreign substance and believe it or not it graded out as an MS66+.

 

Uff da. I just can't see MS66+. I have trouble seeing 65. The lack of clarity in the reins, especially crossing the holster; lack of sharpness in the glove; poor details in the faces. I've seen more breast feathers in MS 65 coins. I don't get it. And the finger prints on the obv really turn me off.

The TPGs were supposed to allow "sight unseen" purchasing. I would have been severely disappointed if I had purchased this one sight unseen.

Or am I missing something?

Steve

 

Well keep in mind that I said "ugly duckling" and I had some problems with the grade. I should have included this link http://www.stonemountainhalf.com/33089073_66-.html which helps.

After looking at the lines on the obverse I convinced myself that they are from a bag and not a fingerprint. They seem too parallel and too long to be a fingerprint. But either way they are a distraction and I would have knocked this one down for lack of eye appeal.

I also used Photoshop to drop out the color and the detail shows a little better there. I was able with a little help to identify 31 of the 35 stars on the reverse which can indicate a more complete strike.

I find the grading on these to be difficult at best because of Borglum's design and the poor strikes. I also think the TPG's spend little time on commemoratives because there are fewer collectors compared to something like Morgans. I have an AU 58 http://www.stonemountainhalf.com/34170707_58.html With better detail, so I get the frustration.

I am working on a complete grading set and to then try to describe the actual detail needed for each grade. I have isolated 21 grades so far, but a lot to go and the low-middle grades are tough because of a lack of standards and none exist for acquisition.

I also want to identify as many dies as possible but that requires a great deal of inventory and I only have about 120 coins up on the site right now. If my experience with dies on Morgans holds true then I will need something in the range of 500+ to draw conclusions on dies and grading.

So there is a lot of work remaining, but fun!

 

Steve

I should have added that when doing a study like this I will at times buy coins that I find somewhat off as to grade or detail as a learning tool. This one falls into that category as would this one http://www.stonemountainhalf.com/84340057_64.html

 

I admire your dedication Hawk!

 

thanks, just plodding along in the slow lane these days

 

Yes, thanks for all your work. The classic commemorative community appreciates your work, I'm sure. I sure do!

Steve

 

In the April issue of The Numismatist the ANA reported that there is a known counterfeit SMH that has been around since the 1980s. It seems that this coin may have reared its head again. I would be very interested in corresponding with anyone who has either seen one or who has one for study.

 

Any information about the range of condition of these counterfeits? Are they typically high MS? Any "tells" on these? Sorry for all these questions; I'm not an ANA member....yet.

Steve

 

The article talked about two or three tells. One is a softened or weak rump on Traveler together with some tooling marks down where the horse's legs meet the rim (actually out on the rim). On the reverse there should be two nicks or depressions below the eagle's left foot on the rocky outcrop.

I am trying to determine if these were from a die or were they created using some other method. But so far I have not been able to locate one of the coins. I have asked the ANA to provide high res images of the coins for study but I have not heard back from them yet.

I don't think I can provide more from their article without copyright issues. Also, I would recommend joining the ANA to support the hobby if for no other reason. They may be the key to the next generation of collectors.