Lost Cents, Dead Owners Book

I have treated myself to a new book. But I had to write it.
   I have often wondered why we do not have a numismatic literature akin to other realms of antique collecting. That is to say, a literature that explores the secret lives of objects (in this case coins) and our emotional attachment to them. With all the time, effort, and money that folks pour into their collections, I am surprised that we have not developed an introspective perspective.
   Sometimes we get snippets. William Sheldon comes to mind: He wrote about the joy of fingering through a box of large cents on the kitchen table. He described an idyllic scene of "making out the big cents." Sheldon also waxed poetic about the charm and beauty of an aged cent. It appears that he once appreciated the encrustations of corrosion with a childlike wonderment. Others have followed with reflective remembrances of their own, but few have explored the topic in any depth.
   Instead, the collecting literature has been dominated by guidebooks filled with rarity ratings and valuations. Sometimes we get heroic tales of folks seeking, finding, and eventually selling great numismatic rarities: so-called adventures with rare coins. This is fine; I enjoy these snapshots too. But why is there no literature on the intrigue that we all must have felt when we first held a worn and battered coin that was older than us, older than our fathers, older than our grandfathers?

Here is the proof for the cover. LCDO is examines our reactions to relic
coins and explores the corrosion processes that make these coins evocative.
Also provided are some guidelines for collecting them, but no grading or pricing.

 
   This was the book I wanted to read. I have found solace in other places however. For example, archeological studies -- if you can find a great writer like Ivor Hume -- can enliven any coin dug from historic dirt. Also, there is a generic collecting literature -- most quite dated -- that ventures into the limbic system of the devoted collector; here, I am thinking of Maurice Rheims and the Rigbys. So too, the museum studies group has produced some insightful gems about how old objects speak to us, many of them penned by Susan Pearce. All good stuff.
   But what about the collector who enjoys a common coin that looks its age and comes from the hands of regular folks who toiled long and hard to make a living? This is a coin whose only significance is that it survived. This, too, is history in your hand. Yet, few books are devoted to the complex mix of emotions that a battered coin evokes.
   Sometimes I find myself reading books about ruins and dug relics to get my fix on the remarkable charms of battered, old coins. Many of us can explore a ruined farmstead all day long. After all, a collapsing roof is evocative. So too, is the rusty nail that might be found on the ground whereat nature squeezed it out of the planking. And, a coin -- perhaps the only one from this site -- is just cause for celebration. It is a find! Unique. And, way cool!
   Where is the book about these coins?
   Well, I wrote it. It has been burning in me for several winters.
   This book explores the impact of relic coins on our psyche. It is a slim volume of 80 pages that will provide a nice weekend read by the fire. The coins are presented in full color on broad 8.5x11 pages with many provocative pieces that come from years of honing an aesthetic for relics.
   You cannot read this book without it changing how you view collecting. Non-collectors are likely to find it interesting too. I gave it a provocative title to separate it from all the guidebooks that dominate the numismatic landscape. It is called: Lost Cents, Dead Owner: Appreciating Coins in Decay. 
   Yes, it is time to change your perspective. The book will be available soon.
 

Collecting Coins is NOT Rational: Part 1.

Collecting coins is not rational. Never was. And, this is not just for necromancers, either.
   We like to think of ourselves as guided by rationality. Not true. Psychological science has weighed in on this long ago: we make irrational judgments and decisions every day. Yet, we believe that we carefully consider data before making important decisions. And, sometimes we do. But most of the time, NOT!
   Coin collecting -- all collecting, really -- is (was) never rational. In this series, I will tell you why.
   Of course rational pleas surround us. CDN publishing tries to sell us "the most important numismatic investment you can make" by hawking its greysheets and bluesheets. Bowers and other (pro-market) luminaries emphasize the "good buys" that can be discovered in a few minute details (extra feather anyone?). Plus, there are commentators who envision an "all-seeing, all-knowing" rational collector (see the "Market Whimsy" column in The Numismatist).
   I do enjoy reading all of this. But all this talk is wrong-headed.
   They confuse market-minded, investment-oriented attitudes with those of the true collector. Yes, coin collecting for most folks is about supply and demand -- the smart buyer is king (or as Heritage titles their magazine, The Intelligent Collector). So sad.
   I must be kind and allow that there is nothing wrong with being a collector-investor. No one wants to feel like they are throwing their money away. And, no one wants to feel duped by a wheeler-dealer (who really is in it for the dollars). It is true that many "collectors" enjoy the marketplace and revel in telling how they nabbed a rare coin for a pittance.
   Let's be clear however, pure collecting is antithetical of investing. They do not go hand-in-hand like new lovers looking for a secluded space. It might be the case that pure collecting is an ideal never truly achieved, for who has not stumbled on, and purchased, a rare item for the sole purpose of trading it later. This is the apple that sends us out into the cold.
   Why are we shivering? Why do so many folks get mad when the U.S. Mint does not sell them ready-made rare coins for which a profit can be turned before they arrive in the post? Yes, this anger is the latest perversion of coin collectors who have lost their way! Poor souls.
   The necromancer has no sorrow for those folks whose frontal lobes have been scrubbed with promises of investment bliss. Numismatic heroism is not what it used to be. Instead, it is about "beating" the Redbook and gyrating in the end zone. Is this rational? Probably not, but it pretends to be.

Now back to my original point: If pure collecting is irrational, then what does this mean? Are pure collectors (i.e., those intrinsically motivated) as silly as the so-called rational folks looking for a deal?
   Here is the short answer. Pure collecting is irrational because it is all about the magic. And magic is not rational.
   Let's break it down. True collecting is about ascribing meaning to an object, moving it out of the realm of the useful and into the realm of the symbolic. As such, it is deeply personal. This transition from the useful to the symbolic is a creative act. It is about making (or finding) meaning in your life. There is nothing rational about that! Consider this: a chain cent means completely different things to different collectors -- ten collectors, ten different meanings! Each collector has a specific reason for wanting one of these wonderful cents.
   None of this is lost on the necromancer who tends to search for meaning in relics that were used -- heavily so -- and thereby hold the spirits of all who touched it. Any hint of acquisitiveness dampens the flame.
   Of course, we must learn to tolerate some dampening, as most relics have to be purchased nowadays. Not all of us have shovels at the ready. So money (and some assessment of value) has to be reckoned with. So be it.
   With this intro, I will list five irrational qualities of the true collector. Coming up.

Loving the Unloved: Woody Lincoln Cent Burns a Fiery Red

We often do not think about Lincoln cents when we search for evocative patterns of corrosion. Yet, the wheaties were in pockets, purses, and registers for half a century, and many were lost in the parking lot or beneath the hutch.
   Despite these large numbers, striking examples with original surfaces set afire by corrosion are hard to find. You can search dealer junk bins at a big show or browse hundreds of EBay listings on Saturday morning and not find one that grabs you.
   Where are they?
   Well, many are still in the parking lot. Folks don't pick up pennies anymore.
   Others are buried in rolls or bargain bags of wheaties. Most dealers will not waste a 2x2 holder for a "scudzy" coin. Of course, they are cheap when found -- unless you have to buy the whole roll or bag.
   One approach is to check the scarce dates -- like this 1914-S. These are set aside as fillers. Fillers? What are fillers anyway?
   I try not to buy a coin that I am already unhappy with. What's the point. I might fall out of love with a coin, but I do not add a coin that is just a place-holder. It is important to remember that necromancers do not fill penny boards -- instead, we look for magic.
   This one is not a filler. It has magic. It was lost, probably looked for, and then found (and saved from oblivion -- probably due to the "S" mint mark). The act of saving it made it special. We animate the coin.
   It was probably a woody cent when it first began to tone. I have seen this pattern before: first streaks, then blotches, and finally reds, browns, and blacks. The alloy mix was unfriendly at the start. The surfaces were charged up and unstable. But once the cent found its hiding place, moisture and soot pushed the issue.
   Now it is a piece to behold. It looks pained. And, there is complexity in the grimace. An artist could not have brushed it more expertly. This cent exhibits the awful beauty that jots us to pay attention -- of course, red tones never fail to excite.

Collecting Jamestown: Part 3. Irish Coppers Found.

I am having fun, as the new year comes in. I hope you are too.
   It has been a challenge exploring and collecting coins (plus tokens and jetons) similar to those unearthed at Jamestown. This is an endeavor that suits the necromancer -- namely, hunting for relics linked by a dug history.
   In this post, I share my latest discoveries: Two Irish pennies dated 1601 and 1602. These are thin pieces, the width of a thumbnail, meager and fragile. Yet, compared the ha'penny a few weeks ago, they are twice. Still, I find it amazing that these razors were found at all -- even more amazing is that these thin coppers survived the ravages of Mother Nature.
   And found they were. One hundred and thirty-eight Irish coins (17 of them half-pennies) have been excavated from the loamy soil within James Fort. This is more than anywhere else in the world, even Ireland (so says Beverly Straube, one of the chief archaeologists on the site). Why so many? This question has a complicated answer, and not everyone agrees that the answer has been discovered -- but what intrigue there is.

Two Irish pennies similar to those found throughout Jamestown.
Most of them were discovered in a well located in the center of the palisaded
fort where they were buried (tossed away?) during the clean-up in 1610.
These pieces represent some of the earliest coins in Virginia.

   Apparently, the Irish pieces were minted in order to pay occupying English troops in Ireland. It was an expedient coinage meant to be used in Ireland only and traded for British currency when the soldiers returned home. But these copper pieces were not popular, and most were quickly traded or went unused. Straube's conjecture is that these coins were sent to Jamestown to provide a medium of exchange with the same stipulations (as in Ireland) that would allow the coppers to be traded for British money later on.
   Consequently, the large number of Irish pieces -- all dated 1601-02, and authorized by Elizabeth I -- represents a failed experiment. One or two other pieces have been found along the James River in Virginia, but all the rest come from Jamestown.
   Quite a story!
   Most of the pieces (nearly three-quarters) were discovered in sealed contexts within the palisaded fort. Six were found among the soldiers' pits whereas larger groupings were dispersed within the cellars of a few primitive buildings dating before 1610.
   The majority, however, was found in John Smith's well, located in the center of the fort. It has been suggested that the pieces were dumped there after Lord De La Warr ordered that the fort be cleared of debris and rebuilt. Keep in mind that he arrived in June 1610 and discovered the fort to be in ruins. Most of the colonists had died of starvation the previous winter (1609-10) -- a period known as the "starving time."

In collecting them, I decided on one penny of each date. They are scarce but available with persistent hunting. I found one at the Baltimore Coin Expo; the second one came from an UK dealer via EBay. For the colonial collector, these pieces represent some of the first coins present the English colonies (even if they were not paid out or spent).
   I enjoy the ruggedness of these pennies. Battered coins such as these might be shunned by insensitive collectors -- but once you embrace the Jamestown connection, they begin to glow. They represent great relic coins that can be collected in any condition, as the ones from Jamestown ranged from scudzy to less so. I chose less so.
   I feel that the spirits of Jamestown reside within the dotted borders of these pennies even if these particular coins were not dug within the palisades. But, together with the silver ha'penny, I am getting closer to drawing them out.