Missing 1913 Liberty Head Nickel Found!

"A million-dollar mystery was solved early Wednesday.

In a clandestine meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center, coin
experts certified that a coin that had been kept in a closet for
decades is the fifth 1913 Liberty Head nickel.

The American Numismatic Association brought six coin experts from
around the country to meeting late Tuesday in an otherwise deserted
convention center in Baltimore. They declared the coin to be authentic
after comparing it to the four documented coins.

"It's been missing for so long," said John Dannreuther, a
representative of Collectors Universe. "People would say there are
only four, but we knew there were five. And there it is."

Full Article: http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news...nic_2003.shtml

For news articles on this coin discovery and daily news coverage on
numismatics and coin collecting visit Coin Today online at
http://www.CoinToday.com , the most comprehensive daily numismatic
news portal and resource center on the internet today.

On 30 Jul 2003 06:30:42 -0700, (ctgold) is alleged to have
written:

"A million-dollar mystery was solved early Wednesday.

In a clandestine meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center, coin
experts certified that a coin that had been kept in a closet for
decades is the fifth 1913 Liberty Head nickel.

The American Numismatic Association brought six coin experts from
around the country to meeting late Tuesday in an otherwise deserted
convention center in Baltimore. They declared the coin to be authentic
after comparing it to the four documented coins.

"It's been missing for so long," said John Dannreuther, a
representative of Collectors Universe. "People would say there are
only four, but we knew there were five. And there it is."

Full Article: http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news...nic_2003.shtml

For news articles on this coin discovery and daily news coverage on
numismatics and coin collecting visit Coin Today online at
http://www.CoinToday.com , the most comprehensive daily numismatic
news portal and resource center on the internet today.


As i suspected, the owner of the coin knew what he had. I wonder what the
pedigree was after Dr. Bolt. Did Walton really have it?

Bruce

(Bruce Hickmott) wrote in message news:3f27cc23.6368817@newshost...
On 30 Jul 2003 06:30:42 -0700, (ctgold) is alleged to have
written:

"A million-dollar mystery was solved early Wednesday.

In a clandestine meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center, coin
experts certified that a coin that had been kept in a closet for
decades is the fifth 1913 Liberty Head nickel.

The American Numismatic Association brought six coin experts from
around the country to meeting late Tuesday in an otherwise deserted
convention center in Baltimore. They declared the coin to be authentic
after comparing it to the four documented coins.

"It's been missing for so long," said John Dannreuther, a
representative of Collectors Universe. "People would say there are
only four, but we knew there were five. And there it is."

Full Article: http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news...nic_2003.shtml

For news articles on this coin discovery and daily news coverage on
numismatics and coin collecting visit Coin Today online at
http://www.CoinToday.com , the most comprehensive daily numismatic
news portal and resource center on the internet today.


As i suspected, the owner of the coin knew what he had. I wonder what the
pedigree was after Dr. Bolt. Did Walton really have it?

Bruce



I speculated a few months ago when B&M made the $1 million offer that they
knew all along where the 5th coin was and that the coin would show up at
the ANA convention. Whether that was the exact sequence of events I don't
know but it will get a mention on the national news at least.

Max Mehl would be proud (smile face here).

In article , John
Stone spoke thusly...

I speculated a few months ago when B&M made the $1 million offer that they
knew all along where the 5th coin was and that the coin would show up at
the ANA convention. Whether that was the exact sequence of events I don't
know but it will get a mention on the national news at least.

Max Mehl would be proud (smile face here).

No kidding!

The publicity that has been garnered out of this is probably
priceless for B&M, the show and coin collecting in general.

When the reward was announced, the news services were filled with the
story and my website traffic doubled and trippled for days. Now that
it has been found, right at the convention time, all the search
engines I use to dig up coin stories are saturated with the story
again. It is being picked up everywhere.

--
Stu Miller
Read about Coins in the News:
http://www.TheStujoeCollection.com/news.htm
Director, RCC Mint
http://www.TheStujoeCollection.com/rccmint

On 30 Jul 2003 10:31:19 -0700, (John Stone) wrote:

I speculated a few months ago when B&M made the $1 million offer that they
knew all along where the 5th coin was and that the coin would show up at
the ANA convention. Whether that was the exact sequence of events I don't
know but it will get a mention on the national news at least.

Max Mehl would be proud (smile face here).

Yes, that was the general consensus. Why else would the schedule the
reunion. I suspect that now they will play up the 'fact' that their reward
flushed the coin out of hiding. B&M is now officially "Truly Pathetic" on
my list.

How nice of the ANA to accommodate the sham by bringing along theirs. I
don't suppose anyone at ANA suspected the coin had been found.

BLReed

Remove the "R_E_M_O_V_E" from the email address to reply directly.
Cool things: http://www.byronreed.com/byrons_collections/default.htm
Talk bust coins: http://www.byronreed.com/phpBB2/index.php

According to CNN the family of the last known (suspected) owner has had
it all along.
-------------------------------------------
Found: $2 million nickel

A rare coin, one of five illicitly minted early in the last
century, turns up at last.
July 30, 2003: 4:12 PM EDT
By Gordon T. Anderson, CNN/Money Contributing Writer



BALTIMORE (CNN/Money) - The biggest mystery of the
coin-collecting world has been solved.

Today, at the 2003 "World's Fair of Money," the 112th annual
meeting of the American Numismatic Association, the whereabouts of a rare
nickel that could be worth more than $2 million were revealed.


The nickel in question is one of five Liberty Head nickels
bearing the date 1913. The nickel was last in the possession of George
Walton, a North Carolina coin dealer who had it with him when he died in a
car crash in 1962.

After Walton's death, his family took the coin to a dealer who
pronounced it a fake. The family saved the coin in a closet.

Today -- four decades later -- coin experts examining the piece
said they believe that the dealer was wrong, and that Walton's descendents
own a nickel that may sell at auction for more than $2 million.

The family members wish to remain anonymous. The family has not
yet decided whether it will sell the coin.

A long history
Between 1883 and 1912, the U.S. nickel was the Liberty Head,
which was replaced in 1913 by the Indian/Buffalo piece. The 1913 Liberty
Head, in other words, was never official currency.

In fact, it was minted sometime between 1913 and 1920 by a
savvy, if unscrupulous, U.S. Mint employee, who created the coin explicitly
to trigger a collector's market.

Only five such coins were ever produced.

"His whole purpose was to create a market for a rare coin," says
Mark Borckardt, vice president of coin dealing firm Bowers and Merena.

The shady numismatist took out ads in magazines for coin
collectors, according to Ed Rochette, executive vice president emeritus of
the American Numismatic Association. (The dealer was even a member of the
ANA, Rochette notes.) Eventually, all five coins were sold.

For a number of years, the Liberties were held in private
collections, bought and sold by collectors. Today, two of them are in
private hands, one is in the Smithsonian, and one is in the ANA's museum.
Yesterday, one that sold in 2001 for $1.9 million changed hands in a private
transaction for approximately $3 million.



"Bruce Hickmott" wrote in message
news:3f27cc23.6368817@newshost...
On 30 Jul 2003 06:30:42 -0700, (ctgold) is alleged to
have
written:

"A million-dollar mystery was solved early Wednesday.

In a clandestine meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center, coin
experts certified that a coin that had been kept in a closet for
decades is the fifth 1913 Liberty Head nickel.

The American Numismatic Association brought six coin experts from
around the country to meeting late Tuesday in an otherwise deserted
convention center in Baltimore. They declared the coin to be authentic
after comparing it to the four documented coins.

"It's been missing for so long," said John Dannreuther, a
representative of Collectors Universe. "People would say there are
only four, but we knew there were five. And there it is."

Full Article:
http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news...larnic_2003.sh
tml

For news articles on this coin discovery and daily news coverage on
numismatics and coin collecting visit Coin Today online at
http://www.CoinToday.com , the most comprehensive daily numismatic
news portal and resource center on the internet today.


As i suspected, the owner of the coin knew what he had. I wonder what the
pedigree was after Dr. Bolt. Did Walton really have it?

Bruce