Coin Values Spotlight: Three 1909 quarters

Of the four Barber quarter dollars struck in 1909, the ones struck at the New Orleans Mint are the rarest and most expensive today. Chris Bulfinch in the July 15 “Coin Values Spotlight” compares the three coins struck at the New Orleans, Denver and San Francisco Mint.

The New Orleans Mint closed in 1909, made redundant by the new Denver Mint, which opened in 1906. The mintage of the 1909-O Barber quarter dollar was well below that for the other quarters of that year, and among the lowest for the Mint in the series.

Chris examines the three coins and tracks market changes for them for the past three years. Read his article in the July 15 issue of Coin World and no where else.

Numismatic Bookie: Great collection, horrible catalog

Joel J. Orosz in his “Numismatic Bookie” column explores Sotheby’s 1954 catalog for the King Farouk Collection, which is sometimes called the worst catalog ever created for a major collection.

The blame, Joel writes, should not be directed at the collector, who worked under very difficult circumstances in Egypt after the king was overthrown by military forces (the cataloger had little access to resources and worked under the gaze of gun-toting soldiers).

To learn more about the cataloging process for this great collection, read his column, found only in the print and digital editions of the July 15 issue.

Collectors' Clearinghouse: Dubious proposition

In his “Collectors’ Clearinghouse” column in the July 15 issue, columnist Mike Diamond asks whether a flexing die face can contribute to extra-heavy clash marks on a coin.

He writes, “Usually only the field area and the shallowest recesses are able to pick up impressions from the opposite die. However, one occasionally comes across a heavy die clash in which even relatively deep die recesses show contact from the opposing die.”

After examining several coins with clash marks, he concludes, “Resilience under compression remains a dubious proposition, at least at the scale required here.”

For more, read Mike’s column, found only in the print and digital issues of Coin World.

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