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The Presidents Column

A reminder that all guesses for the Dec. 31 2015 spot price of silver needs to be in by the February meeting.

Rules:

1. You must be a current member of the A.C.C.

2. You get one guess.

3. ALL entries must be received by Feb. 3rd 2015.

4. The winner will be determined by closest guess above or below closing spot price as determined by the posted closing spot price on Dec. 31 2015 on coinflation.com.

Good luck, and I hope to see you at the meeting on February 3^rd!

Allen Nichols / President

Recap of the January 6^th Anchorage Coin Club Membership Meeting

Recap of the January 21^st
Anchorage Coin Club Board Meeting

Board meeting was held at the Yamato Ya Japanese Restaurant located near the University Center in Anchorage. Meeting called to order at 6:30 PM by President Allen Nichols.

First order of business was discussion on change of location for the Fur Rondy Coin Show from the University Center to the Sears Mall. Board agreed to change of location. Change to be announced in club's upcoming newsletter.

Dan Barnhart was present at the Board meeting and agreed to administer the Anchorage Coin Club's Facebook.

Dean Sawyer was also present at the Board meeting and will be putting together and administrate the Anchorage Coin Club's new webpage. Discussed and approved was the club having its own domain name for the new webpage. Dean will work on getting the webpage on the Internet in the next few weeks.

Vice President Stewart Smith will be contacting all of the people advertising in our club's newsletter. Over the past few years, our club has not charged any yearly fees for such advertising. With the club now moving to its own webpage, we should be able to use links for advertising as well. The club needs coins and numismatic items for door prizes and for our various club events. The time has come to get back to yearly advertising fees to offset some of these club costs.

Treasurer Stan Mead has arranged for our club's Summer picnic to be held at the Abbott Community Park on Saturday, July 25th. Board approved cost of $130 to secure the location.

Stan also brought up the Girl Scout Jamboree Event which is held every 2 years at the Alaska State Fair Grounds in Palmer. This event is coming up again this year. Over the years, the club has sponsored coin seminars (headed up by Stan and his wife, Ruth) at the Girl Scout Jamboree. These seminars provide for merit badge certifications in the area of coin collecting (Numismatics). Board approved $325 for the purchase of coins and numismatic supplies in support of this year's efforts. Note: Club members are encouraged to also donate items since these are popular seminars attended by lots of Girl Scouts.

Upcoming Club Raffle Coins:

• For Feb 3rd Membership meeting: 1937 D/D Buffalo 5c RPM (repunched mintmark) graded MS65.

• For March 3rd Membership meeting: 1927-P Peace $1 graded AU50.

• For Summer Picnic Event on July 25th: U.S. $2 & 1/2 Indian Gold graded PCGS AU58.

• Raffle tickets are $5/each, 5 tickets for $20, or 11 tickets for $40. You can buy tickets for any one of these coins (in advance).

For our club's February 3rd membership meeting:

• Members are asked to bring in potluck items to the meeting...such as side dishes, salads, desserts.

• Presentation will be by Stewart Smith on the subject of "Carson City Dollars".

As there was no further business to discuss, the Board meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.....

Larry Nakata/Secretary

Prior to the introduction of U.S. Nickel coinage, the U.S. Silver 3 Cent and Silver Half Dime prevailed as the coinage of the time. With the coming of the U.S. Civil War, silver coinage was being hoarded by the American public resulting in a coin shortage.

By 1862, the situation was such that something had to be done. In response to the problem, the U.S. federal government (in the North) allowed for Fractional currency in its place.

At that point in the civil war, there was an industrialist named Joseph Wharton who had a near-monopoly of nickel mining in the U.S. Using his political influence in Congress, he advocated and was successful in getting legislation passed for mintage of Nickel coinage.

Because of the American public's distaste for paper currency, the U.S. Congress took steps in 1865 with the introduction of the U.S. 3 Cent Nickel (1865-1889) and the U.S. Shield Nickel (1866-1883). Both coins had a metallic composition of 75% Copper/ 25% Nickel. The only difference was that the 5 Cent Denomination was larger and weighed 5 grams.

Although the introduction of these coins has less metallic value than the prior Silver version coins, the American public readily accepted these new coins over fractional currency.

The 3 Cent Nickel would be discontinued in 1889 as the 3 Cent denomination coin was never that popular with the American public. This coin was developed because of the U.S. 3 Cent stamp. When the cost of U.S. postage increased past the 3 cent point, the need for this denomination went away.... thus causing its eventual demise.

What then prevailed was the 5 Cent denomination coin which came to be known as the U.S. "Nickel". From 1866 to present there have been 4 basic designs of the U.S. Nickel:

• 1866-1889: Shield Nickel

Note 1: No Shield Nickels were struck in 1877 or 1878 except for Proof specimens that were minted for collectors.

• 1883-1913: Liberty or "V" Nickel

Note 2: The first Liberty or "V" Nickels minted lacked the word "CENTS" and were close in size to the U.S. $5 Gold coin. This allowed counterfeiters to gold plated this Nickel coin and pass it off as a $5 Gold coin. Shortly after, the U.S. Mint added the word "CENTS" to the coin.

Note 3: In 1913, the Liberty Nickel was supposed to be replaced in entirety with the Buffalo Nickel. However, in 1920, it turns out there were five 1913 Liberty Nickels showing up at the ANA Convention. Supposedly, these five nickels were accidentally minted. One coin is in the Smithsonian, one at the ANA Museum in Colorado Springs, and the remainder three coins in the hands of private collectors.

• 1913-1938 Buffalo or Indian Head Nickel

• 1938-Present Jefferson Nickel.

Note 4: World War II resulted in a need for nickel as a critical war material. So from 1942-1945, the composition of the Jefferson Nickel was changed to 56% Copper/35% Silver/ 9% Manganese. These came to be known as Wartime Silver Nickels. After World War II, production of the Jefferson Nickel resumed.

Note 5: To commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the U.S. Congress allowed the U.S Mint to change the design of the Nickel in Years 2004 and 2005. There were 4 different designs minted during those 2 years. By 2006, the Jefferson Nickel went back to the Monticello reverse design. This design prevails to the present.

So.... with this history of the U.S Nickel..... we come to the next issue: "Is the Nickel worth a Plug Nickel?"

Back at our November 2014 club meeting, I gave a presentation on the "Evolution of the U.S. Cent". In that presentation I brought up the point that economics dictated the metallic composition of the U.S. Cent as it evolved.

The U.S. Nickel has proven to be a contradiction in that its metallic content still remains 75% Copper/25% Nickel. As of fiscal Year 2013, the U.S. Mint's Annual Report showed it cost 10.09 cents to make and distribute one U.S. Nickel.

Here are some interesting statistics:

• Up to about 2011, the base metallic value of the U.S. Nickel stood at 7.33 Cents.

• It declined down to 4.57 cents as of Year 2013 due to global recession. It is predicted that the base metallic value of the U.S. Nickel will again rise above its face value of 5 cents.

• It is reported that the U.S. Mint is conducting experiments on cheaper metallic alloys to replace the present 75% Copper/25% Nickel composition. As of February 2014, it was reported that the U.S. Mint was conducting experiments using copper-plated zinc (the same composition used for the present U.S. Cent).

So I suppose the answer to the question is "YES!!". Our U.S. Nickel is worth more than a "Plug Nickel".

What does this mean for the coin collector? It means a good opportunity to build your U.S. Nickel collection while the prices are reasonable. Take a look at the price of U.S. Nickels... even in uncirculated grades.

I would predict that once the U.S. Mint changes the composition of our 5 Cent denomination coin, the nickel coinage will go the route of the U.S Cent. Ask yourself... How many U.S. Wheat Cents do you see in circulation today?....

Larry Nakata

List of Coins Submitted (as of Board Meeting) for February 3rd Membership Meeting

From Bill Fivaz:

1. 1872 Indian 1c AG No Minimum

2. 1894 Indian 1c MS-63 BN Minimum Bid (MB) $65

3. 1914-S Buffalo 5c AU-58 MB $110

4. 1931-S Buffalo 5c PCGS MS-64 MB $100

5. 1938- D/D Buffalo 5c MS-65 MB $20

6. 1938- D/S Buffalo 5c (OMM #4) MS-64 MB $25

7. 1950-D Jefferson 5c MS-64 No Minimum

8. 1875-S Liberty Seated 20c Good MB $75

9. 1938-D Liberty Walking 50c PCGS AU-50 MB $125

10. 1942-S Liberty Walking 50c MS-64+ MB $125

11. 1950-D Franklin 50c BU Near FBL MB $20

12. 1884-P Morgan $1 PCGS MS-64 MB $75

13. 1926-S Peace $1 MS-63 MB $50

14. Mercury Dime Comparative Grading Set MB $195

15. 1954 U.S. Proof Set MB $80

16. 1897 Guatemala 1/4 Reale BU MB $3

17. 1945 Mexico 50c Gem BU MB $10

18. Donation Coin: 1887-P Morgan $1 NGC MS-63

Donation Coins from Greg Allen:

19. Donation Coin: 1920 Anchorage Parking Meter Token

20. Donation Coin: Somaliland Silver 1000 Shillings

21. Donation Coin: 1885 Morgan $1 ANACS MS61

22. Donation Coin: 1969-S Washington Quarter PCGS Pr66

23. Donation Coin: 1989-S Roosevelt Dime PCGS Pr69 DCAM

24. Donation Coin: 1969-S Jefferson 5c PCGS Pr66

25. Donation Coin: 1999-S Jefferson 5c PCGS Pr69 DCAM

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ANCHORAGE COIN CLUB

February 3rd RAFFLE

Tickets $5 each, 5 tickets for $20, or 11 tickets for $40.

Purchase and Drawing at the February 3rd meeting.

1937 D/D Buffalo Nickel graded MS65 RPM (repunched mintmark)

          $25 / Year Regular Membership

          $10 / Year Youngsters & School Aged Kids up to Grade 12

          $10 / Year for Seniors, Handicapped Members,
                    and Associate Members Living Outside Anchorage

Send application and dues to :

ANCHORAGE COIN CLUB

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