Coins We Love: Visit the ANA Museum!
Interestingly, I had a lot of feedback from readers this past week regarding my horse-riding experience. I never realized that there was such a cross-over between coin collectors and horses, but apparently it’s quite prevalent. Another amusing cross-over that is more specific to coin dealers, is the prominence of southpaws! For some reason there is a rather huge number of left-handed folks in the industry. Unfortunately I’m not one of them, otherwise I’d probably still be trying to find a way to be a left-handed pitcher.
I hope that everyone has had a pleasant week and that you’re finding some normalcy around you. I have to admit that I enjoyed the opening weekend of SEC football and the beginnings of the Major League Baseball Playoffs. As the Braves ended up with day games, I’ve been at my desk sorting raw coins while keeping my eye on the television. Thankfully the game ended before I ran out of coins on Wednesday. If you want the secret to getting even better prices from us, you’ll certainly find our weak spot after a Braves win or if Tennessee is able to take down Missouri this Saturday afternoon.
Enough outside noise, I know if you’ve read this far, you probably don’t need to know more about my sports-watching this week, so I want to mention one last thing from my brief trip out west last month. I had the pleasure of visiting the ANA Headquarters Money Museum with my family. It was a bit different from when I last visited over a decade ago and not just because of the masks. The renovations and expansions that they have put up there were very nice! It’s not the largest museum in the world, but with the stories that they tell (the History of England as told by its coinage was the newest exhibit), and the display of the highlights of the Harry Bass Gold Collection, I left quite impressed. While I had to resist trying to negotiate for the 1870-S $3 for Mr. Hansen, I loved being able to check out each of the coins and explain to my wife and kids the importance of these pieces. Another highlight in the basement was an interactive exhibit that shows how coins are made, using technology that is similar to today’s at the mint. It was a fantastic display and I saw a little spark in my kids’ eyes as they saw something that actually applies to their lives.
Now, I know not everyone can get to Colorado Springs to enjoy the full experience, but if you’re ever in the area, please support this amazing place. It truly is a special treasure for our hobby. My wife told me that I had to leave out the fact that it was our anniversary when we toured the museum but she doesn’t read what I write, so I figure I'll get away with it! I wouldn’t suggest it as an anniversary trip for most wives, but if you’re lucky and you plan a nice dinner afterwards, she might just forgive you. Alas, we got to see 5 inches of snow that evening (in early September!), so maybe that was the present that was needed?!
As for this week’s offerings, we have fantastic trio of early gold coins in Old Green Label Holders, an impressive collection of over 100 So-Called Dollars, and various other hand-selected highlights that we hope you enjoy seeing. Of course, if you have any other questions, we’d love to hear from you. Just shoot us an email or give us a call! We’d love to chat with you, and until we speak or see each other again, we hope that you enjoy this week’s Coins We Love!
Numismatically Yours,
John Brush and Your Friends at DLRC
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