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The E-Sylum: Volume 10, Number 23, June 10, 2007, Article 25 1867 PATTERN COINS MISSING FROM IOWA MUSEUM COLLECTION The Des Moines Register reported on June 1 that "Twenty-seven rare 1867 coins worth more than $150,000 are missing from their designated storage spot at the Iowa State Historical Building. "The coins are copper trial strikes made from dies used some 140 years ago by the U.S. Mint. Trial strikes were often made in lighter metals as presentation pieces; the process let the U.S. Mint show what the coins for the next year were going to look like. The collection included two examples of each coin so both sides could be displayed at one time. "Four of the original 34 copper trial strike coins are still in the museum's permanent collection of 110,000 artifacts. "The coins apparently came to Iowa through John Kasson, a U.S. representative from Iowa who was chairman of the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures. He also was first assistant postmaster general in President Abraham Lincoln's administration in 1861. "John Holden of Garwin made a special display case for the coins in the shape of the state of Iowa. The collection included pennies, 2-cent pieces, 3-cent pieces, half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, and "gold coins" (made of copper) in all denominations. The $20 trial strike pieces are worth about $11,000 each today, according to Steve Contursi, president of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, Calif. He estimated the value of a complete collection of cleaned trial strikes from 1867 at $176,000." To read the complete article, see: Full Story Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum | |
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