THE NUMISMATIC SIDE OF HURRICANE IAN

As the storm moved closer, the trajectory began to change. Soon it appeared Tampa would be spared, and that the likely point of landfall would be the Bradenton-Sarasota area, south of Tampa. Preparations ramped up in that region. Certified Collectibles Group, which includes Numismatic Guaranty Co. and Paper Money Guaranty among others, based in Lakewood Ranch, announced closure on Tuesday afternoon with precautions in place.

Still, the storm drifted eastward, striking Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at Cayo Costa Island as a Category 4 hurricane, tied for the fourth-largest storm to strike the United States. Packing winds of greater than 150 miles per hour, it blew onto the coast of Florida, through Fort Myers and Cape Coral, sweeping up the spine of the peninsula and dumping dozens of inches of rain on the land, ominously arriving at high tide.

It got nasty, the water was like a tsunami, said Mike Joyce of Gulfcoast Coin & Jewelry in Fort Myers and Bonita Springs, among the businesses directly hit by the storm. It was so fast and violent when it arrived. There are areas where the roofs are torn off. The store may have 15 holes in the roof. It's a bad situation, but we're all OK. Many people were not. It's going to take a long time to be done and get things back into shape.

People are working together. When you approach a major intersection, there's no power, the traffic signals aren't working, but people are courteous to each other and being patient and kind.

North of the scene in Bradenton, John Maben said his shop, Pegasus Coin and Jewelry, was spared. At my home, there were a dozen 50- to 60-foot trees that fell. We had closed the business for a day and a half because of the storm, but were able to open back up, with the worst of it on Wednesday.

Certified Collectibles Group was able to reopen for business as usual on Monday, Oct. 3.

Bob Merchant is an E-Sylum reader and regular eBay seller of merchant counterstamps that are often featured here. Last Sunday he reported "I am in the middle of a hurricane recovery zone at the moment (near Fort Myers, Florida). No power, water, etc. I will ship all coins as soon as the power is restored and the USPS post offices reopen. " -Editor

"Still no power, but we now have water. Nearly all of the vehicles in my development were underwater and declared totaled by the insurance companies, including mine. Several condos had water flowing in from outside. It's a real mess. Port Charlotte also got flooded. The water was 8 feet deep where I was staying. Thick mud everywhere now. I've installed several generators, pressure-sprayed all day today. The cleanup will continue for quite a while."

"We had power restored late yesterday (10/8, after 10 days). 100+ vehicles in the development where I am staying were flooded, towed (or soon will be), and declared totaled by the insurance companies. I'm guessing at least several thousand vehicles were flooded area-wide. Most of the first floor condos in this low-lying area have flood damage. There are a lot of people whose residences are now unlivable (they are homeless). The new big item --> Lower priced used cars are in HUGE demand. They are getting very hard to find.

"The below picture was taken at my front door looking down at the garage my van was in. The water was already 4 feet deep at that point. That's when I knew it was too late to escape..."

"It is coincidental that the collapse (September 2022) of the Sanibel Causeway during Hurricane Ian occurred just 35 years since the issue in 1987 of the Sanibel Causeway token.

"Sanibel & its connecting island of Captiva (accessed by the Blind Pass Bridge), home & vacation spot of the famous, such as: NBA Legend Larry Bird, Eric Clapton, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Stephen King, Steve Martin, Mike Pence, Joe Perry of Aerosmith etc) is serviced by a single conduit to the mainland of Ft. Myers (via Punta Rassa near Smuggler's Cove) called a causeway (a raised roadway over water).

"As early as 1912 a car ferry serviced Sanibel, but the idea of establishing a bridge was controversial in that the locals feared the onslaught of tourism. In due course there was too much pressure on the ferry service and after several hurricanes and the wildfire of 1955 an easier way to get on and off the island was needed. It took about a year and a half to complete the Causeway (and the original 3 bridges) which was opened in 1963. Interestingly, these tokens, which are highly oxidized with the front & back the same, were dated 1987, but never used."