February 21, 2015

How Coins become Marvelous (Part 2)

Coins become marvelous the moment they are collected.
     Beforehand, they were used. They were money. But once the decision is made by a collector (any collector, not just a leading authority in numismatics), the coin becomes special -- it become symbolic, as it plays a specific role in a collection. And, we all know that collecting is a personal endeavor, steeped in the aspirations and hopes of the collector. In short, the  collected coin is possessed, not used.
     There are several attributes to marvelous coins. In this post, I will explore the first attribute. These attributes (all four of them) are attached to a specific coin once it is placed in the collection. After all, the decision to add a coin to a collection is not a random decision: a certain amount of contemplation (on the part of the collector) comes first.
     The first attribute: The coin is Singular. This means that is has been judged to have some superlative quality that makes the coin desirable beyond its utility-value as money. Beauty, rarity, or survivorship are typical qualities that contribute to its unique status. Once collected, a coin is revered for its unique role in the collection.
This CC dollar is singular. Of course the mint mark is on
the reverse, but sharp-eyed collectors can tell this one from
the obverse. Hint: check-out the second 8.
     It is easy to consider that a silver dollar from the Carson City mint is special. It is more than just bullion, and it is certainly more than a dollar. It is a survivor of the Wild West. In this regard, it conjures up images of late-night poker games in the saloon where heaps of cartwheels are contested by Kings, Queens, and Jacks. Or, perhaps you prefer to imagine a strongbox of CC dollars rattling on the top of a stagecoach making its way north to the Dakotas -- with bandits in hot pursuit (you gotta have bandits!).
     Either way, the Carson City dollar is a touchstone for history. It is a survivor from a past that we only know through fantasy. Such a coin is obviously singular, as it plays a unique role in the collector's pursuit of history. Sure, there are many other CC dollars out there, but each plays a supporting role in the context of a particular collection.
     As you can surmise, any coin -- even a lowly cent darkened by soot and corrosion -- can be singular in the context of a specific collection. Singularity is defined by the collector. It is not defined by a numismatic guidebook, mintage figures, condition grading, and so on. This is also true for other objects. A die-cast toy car, a wooden clothespin, an unusually shaped river stone -- all of these objects become singular in the collector's hand.
     Singularity is the first attribute of The Marvelous Object. I will explore the other attributes in future postings.

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