"Regarding the overprinted mint bag shown in The E-Sylum, it looks more like a 1948 to me rather than a 1918."

Readers agree! -Editor

"Let's apply the same tools we use for overdate coins to the overdate mint bag.

"The overdate appears to me to be 1950 over 1948. I think I see the cross-bar of the "4", and the serif of the "1" or "4" doesn't match the slant of the 1s at the start of the two date -- it is steeper and longer.

"Also, 1948 would be more likely. Thirty year old bags would be more likely to be disposed of.

"There is also a font change between the dates. The serifs are wider and the 9 is thicker. Does the 1950 font match the font of other 1950 bags or is it only used for overdates?"

"I am happy to see continued interest in U. S. Mint coin bags. A 1950 overdate of a 1918 bag would be intriguing, but that is not what was shown this week. It is clear to me that the underdate in 1948.

"I have not seen a 1918 Nickel bag, but it would be a different type. The early bags held a thousand nickels with a value of $50. These $50 bags were used as late as 1943 and probably through the end of the warnicks.

"Overprinted dates on U. S. Mint coin bags are quite common. Bags were sent to the Federal Reserve and returned for reuse in a closed loop. Used bags were redated. I have seen as many as three cancelled dates on the same bag,

"I have also seen a bag originally issued in Philadelphia and renamed for Denver. I have seen a couple of bags with the original text cancelled on one side and the other side issued for a different denomination and date.

"My attempt to catalog Mint bags has made good progress in the past month. I currently have photos of 86 different types and have recorded 178 date varieties. I would love to hear from E- Sylum readers who have any bags from the 1930's or earlier."