CHRISTMAS TURKEY COINS

Christmas Turkeys or bad things good people do to collectable coins.

Piercing
I do not understand what comes over people who, no doubt at other times are perfectly sensible sane level headed etc. What enters their head and makes them drill a hole through a coin? If they want jewellery go to jeweller. Presumably they do not think about drilling a hole through a watch and hang it round their necks. What is even worse is when the piercing breaks leaving a gap. Piercings are fashion accessories and are not for coins.

Plugs
A few rare coins have plugs as part of the design which is just about acceptable. But why fill a hole. It never looks good. It is obvious that it has been done.

Mounting
“Traces of being mounted” is a phrase seen frequently. Someone has tried to convert a golden guinea or angel into a broach and changed their mind and tried to remove the evidence. Coins are coins not broaches.

Bending
I am not sure how they do it. Did they try to feed a coin into a slot machine or remove one that is stuck? Or perhaps they wanted to see what happened if they let a train run over a coin. There are coins that have been deliberately bent to be used as votive objects but this is not an idea to be tried at home.

Cutting
I suppose in Middle Ages if you wanted to buy a loaf that cost a farthing you handed over a penny. The shopkeeper might then cut the penny into four pieces and give you three in change. Obviously the idea did not catch on because halfpennies and farthings were invented. I have heard of bank notes being cut in half. When a house was being purchased one clerk would be given half the banknotes and the other would have the rest. They went by different routes and that way there was no risk in one clerk being robbed or dishonest. (However clearly if they got together there could be a problem). Do not try this at home!

Colouring
Sorry, coins are meant to be coloured the colour of the metal. Yes I know it is skilled job to enamel a coin, but really?

Graffiti
Collecting really took off in the Eighteenth Century. Educated people went on the Grand Tour and got interested in the classics. Many started collecting Greek and Roman coins which they called “large brass medallions” just to confuse later generations as they were not made of brass or medallions. The proud owners sometimes wrote on the coin their name and a few details. Well why not? It saved buying coin tickets that could get lost. No! Do not write or scratch your name on a coin.

Wrong material
People have experimented with all sorts of materials including plastic, porcelain or even cardboard. Coins should be made of metal.

Junk boxes
I love junk boxes/rummage tins but object to dealers that either do not price them or overprice. You find something rare at bottom of box and the dealer says that will be £10.00. No! You are doing the work for him by finding the elusive rare item. I have seen junk boxes marked at £40 each. This is not a junk box

A real turkey
I will end this list of dislikes with a very positive and definite like. This is the only coin I know of with a turkey bird on it. It is an excellent design as it is not easy to make a flying turkey look good. It is the 2015 Kisatchie National Forest quarter featuring the National Forest of Louisiana and is the second national site to be honoured from the United State Mint’s program of America the Beautiful quarters.

The coin was designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Joseph Menna, it depicts a wild turkey in flight over blue stem grass, and a long leaf pine tree in the background. Sadly, the designer Susan Gamble died at a young age in 2015. Gamble also won the international Coin of the Year Award for Historical Significance for the United States of America for her 2007 Jamestown silver dollar design.

THE BOOK BAZARRE

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