Trip to the BEP and Gallery of Numismatics at the Smithsonian

I may have fainted just being that close to a 1913 V-nickel.

 

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Oh man! You shoulda made it to Baltimore in '03. All five in one display.

 

It took me a second to realize what it was. When I showed my son at first I was like "hey look at this steel cent and this V-Nickel." He loves steel wheats. Then I was like "Oh **** that's not what that is!" haha.

 

At Chicago in I think it was 2013, I was trying to photograph the one the ANA owns and I nearly toppled the display case that it and an 1804 dollar were in.

 

Kurt!!! That is not a good way to influence friends!.... However I could see exactly that same scenario happening to me.

 

I now have NINE years since my stroke damaged my balance skills. At that time it was only FOUR. Nine years ago this week I returned to work after a cerebral hemorrhage that occurred the last week of June. I nearly died and officially missed eight days of work.

I was in a four-guy carpool at the time, and in exchange for NOT taking my turn driving for several months, I paid WAAAAY over my share of gas costs.

 

Never been a fellow that was into errors and varieties. I am sure I could educate myself via Google. But since I like it here....... What's the story behind the aluminum cent?

 

Blessings to ya. I have had two friends that have suffered strokes. That is a danged difficult recovery.

 

It's a 1974 non-mintmarked aluminum cent. There are a few out there. It was a sample produced as one option when the costs of copper started to climb in the 1970's. The samples were distributed to Congresscritters on the Banking Committees. They were intended to be returned to the Mint, but not all were.

The 1974-D example is a whole level more nefarious. There never were ANY of those supposed to be created.

 

A trial run as an option to replace expensive copper then. And since it wasn't put into circulation, they belong to the US Mint I take it.

 

Still to be determined. Since that would involve getting real aggressive with Congresscritters and/or staff, the Mint backed off. They SEEM to be legal to own under the Langbord precedent due to failure to continually pursue.

 

The aluminum 1974-D is a whole different matter. STRICTLY illegal to own privately.

 

Boooo hisssss!!

 

They have made the normal pronouncements that they are government property and not legal to own. But although the Toven specimen has been graded by two services and has been publicly displayed they have never made any attempt to actively go after the coin. (Of course now they say they know where another 1933 double eagle is and they have made no effort, that we know of, to go after it either. And have even said they don't plan to actively go after it.)

 

That's because it's overseas.

 

I thought they said they knew where one was here in the US. And the Toven 1974 aluminum cent is here in the US as well.

 

It is my understanding that the one "in the loose" domestically was voluntarily surrendered after the Langbord case was final. It is quite recent. When the fellow from the Mint spoke at the PAN show, even he did not realize it was safely sitting in Fort Knox.

 

Interesting, I haven't heard anything about one being turned in. Of course you probably have better contacts than I do.

 

It was in a major coin publication.

 

Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing!