LOOSE CHANGE: JANUARY 17, 2021

Cycles of the US Rare Coin Market

A coin market survey of the early 1900s showed that encased postage stamps and Hard Times tokens were high on the popularity list. At the same time, a Mint State 1893-S Morgan dollar would have attracted very little interest. It seems that fewer than a half dozen numismatists collected Morgan dollars by mintmark varieties, although collecting Philadelphia Mint Proofs was popular. This is certainly strange to contemplate today!

To read the complete article, see:
Q. David Bowers: Cycles of the US Rare Coin Market 1900 to Date (https://coinweek.com/us-coins/q-david-bowers-cycles-of-the-us-rare-coin-market-1900-to-date/)

Max von Bahrfeldt

The study of ancient coins is usually regarded as a quiet, scholarly pursuit. But one of the most eminent European classical numismatists of the early 20th century was a German general accused of atrocities in Belgium during the First World War.

Born in 1856 to an upper-middle-class family in Willmine, 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Berlin, Max Bahrfeldt entered a Prussian military academy in 1869. In 1871, the 15-year-old cadet purchased his first Roman coin, the beginning of a lifelong devotion to numismatics (Schaefer, 276). Bahrfeldt was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant in 1873, and his first published article appeared the following year. He was promoted to Colonel (Oberst in German) in 1904, Major General in 1908, and Lieutenant General in 1913. German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II elevated him to the Prussian hereditary nobility, which entitled him to add the honorific “von” to his family name.

To read the complete article, see:
A Numismatist at War: Max von Bahrfeldt (https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/a-numismatist-at-war-max-von-bahrfeldt/)

Dad Gives Kid Rare Coin; Kid Swallows It

A keen young coin-collector was rushed to hospital after swallowing a rare 1c coin he was given by his own dad.

An x-ray showed the coin lodged in the left-hand side of the toddler's stomach.

The relieved Sydney father, Scott, posted updates on Facebook in a coin-enthusiast group.

'So the son decided that his mouth was a good spot to stick a 1c coin I had found earlier and given to him to put with his coins.'

Later he posted again saying his boy hadn't suffered any adverse effects and was able to pass the coin within 24 hours.

To read the complete article, see:
Dad who proudly presented his coin-collecting son with a rare 1c piece winds up rushing the boy to hospital after he SWALLOWS it (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9132275/Sydney-dad-gave-coin-collecting-son-rare-1c-piece-rushes-hospital-swallowing-it.html)

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