No comments about Planning Your Rare Coin Retirement.

No comments about Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins, Vol. 2: Gold, Silver, Nickel and Aluminum (Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins).

5 comments about Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle.

1. I'm not a coin collector. There are one or two coins I'd love to own. And I do own a few lovely ones. I say this so you'll know I'm not a member of the society of coin collectors --- that closed society of people who have their own vocabulary and ways of doing business.
   
   But I wanted to read this book because I became interested in why Roosevelt the second opted to steal gold from the American public, making it illegal. I also was enchanted with this coin that Roosevelt the First wanted so badly. He wanted it to not contain the motto, "In God We Trust" because he believed in separation of church and state. So the story begins in 1907.
   
   Well, I got much more from this book than I bargained for. To begin with, it's written wonderfully well. If you remember the old Dragnet radio and television shows, you'll recall how Joe Friday always said, "It was Tuesday, March 1 in Los Angeles. It was raining. ETC." It drew you in. You could picture it, get a feel for it. Well, Tripp does that in this book. He accurately tells the reader when the action takes place --- sometimes including the exact time. He often tells what the weather was like that day.
   
   The book is exceedingly well documented. It is a true historical drama and mystery that, even today, is not really solved. All but one of these lovely coins are illegal. Yet we have reason to believe others exist --- somewhere.
   
   You'll enter the rather mysterious world of the true coin collector and dealer. You'll be thrilled at what you find. You'll meet people of greed. Just to hold this illegal coin, this beautiful, magnificent piece of history, must be the thrill of a lifetime. Yet few people have done so or ever will.
   
   You'll follow the coin from the mint to the final auction that makes this one coin legal (the others, if there are others, are illegal.)
   
   This is a fascinating book and I recommend it highly.
   
   -Susanna K. Hutcheson



2. As with any thriller, the book opens with the background and history of the our protagonist, in this case, the Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle. Tripp repeats the well known history of how President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to extend the gilded age and update the design of US coinage. Roosevelt thought the design of the Mint's Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber's were bland and not fitting of a great nation. Tripp reproduces reports of conversations and letters from Roosevelt to Barber and other US Mint officials demanding they follow the instructions of sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, as to how the coin would be minted. If you have not heard the details of this history, the first chapter is a must read.
   
   From the history of the rise of the Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle, Tripp then talks about its demise. With the country in the throes of the Great Depression and the country revolting against President Herbert Hoover at the polls, Tripp discusses the tension between Hoover and the transition team of Franklin D. Roosevelt. While the country was experience a near total economic collapse, Tripp writes how FDR did not want to do anything that would give Hoover credit for doing anything before the March, 1933 inauguration.
   
   Hours after FDR's inauguration, the Senate approved the appointment of William H. Woodin as the Secretary of the Treasury. Woodin worked tirelessly with the Hoover administration to try to stop the damage. Tripp paints a great word picture as to how Woodin and FDR created a policy that helped the country pull out of the depression.
   
   One of the problem was the amount of gold leaving the United States and being used for overseas trade. More gold was leaving the Treasury than they were taking in. At Woodin's urging, FDR signed an executive order recalling all privately held gold. As this executive order goes through many updates, Tripp brings us inside the Philadelphia Mint facilities as they continue to mint 1933 $20 Double Eagles. Tripp puts us right in the Mint and traces the path of these gold beauties.
   
   With the order to melt these coins in 1934, the mystery begins. Tripp weaves the story in true mystery novel style following the trail of several of these coins as they leave the Mint. This includes the one coin with a legal export receipt that was shipped to King Farouk of Egypt. Tripp' coverage of the "Palace Collections of Egypt" or King Farouk's by the Egyptian government (website in English) is a classic twist of capitalism and greed meeting politics.
   
   The book bogs down a bit starting in the late 1950s as the trail for all of the Double Eagles gets cold and the various law suits are settled. The story picks up again with the discovery of the Farouk coin. Tripp follows the trail from its consignment in England through the seizure in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City by the United States Secret Service. From there, the book reads like an episode of Law and Order leading up to the settlement and auction of this one-of-a-kind coin.
   
   The only thing that makes this only a four-star book is that Tripp's prosaic tome makes this composition a somewhat arduous read. One may require a dictionary close at hand to fully understand the lexicon he uses. If nothing else, the book did help improve my vocabulary. Otherwise, Illegal Tender is a wonderful book to read and better than most mystery novels because it is true!
   
   Illegal Tender won the 2005 Book of the Year award from the Numismatic Literary Guild.



3. This book is about a 7.5 million dollar gold coin. Obviously, this cannot be a normal coin. The book explain how the 1933 gold double eagle came to be. It begins with Saint Guadens designing the design because Teddy Rosevelt wanted new and inspiring designs. From there heads into the depression and the recall of all gold. The book invesitigates the murky beginning of all the 1933 double eagles. From there, it gets interesting. The secret service has a major headache on their hands. The plot thickens as more people come into play with these rare coins. However, you will have to read the book to see how everything plays out!
   I would reccomend this book to any numismatic interested in the history of these coins. However, some parts of the book can be slow. Do not stop reading it; keep going because the action picks up. Just remember, 10 more 1933 double eagles were just (2005) recently found which would add a new chapter to the book. That development makes the story even more interesting.



4. Although hard core coin collectors will enjoy this book, those of us who enjoy reading non-fiction crime stories will be a little disappointed. The author does a good job in describing the history of the coin at stake but loses something in the translation. The sad fact is that this coin's history is checkered and unknown. Therefore, the reader is always left guessing and speculating about how it ended up at auction. There is very little that is "known" when it comes to how this coin escaped the melt-down. Perhaps this is not the author's fault as he is limited by his subject. The book is readable and grabs the reader at times with the description of the auction as well as the FBI investigation in the 1930's as they tried to track down where the coins came from and who had them. All in all, the author did a competent job but the subject, which could have been fascinating, is somewhat dull.



5. The author is a journalist. It is clear that he accustomed to writing shorter essays and getting paid by the word. He spared no words or overstatements. This book is about a federal investigation of a coin wanted by collectors. I am a federal investigator and a coin collector. The first eighty pages of the book are a good read and a nice discussion of U.S. coins and the double eagle. The book then drones on and on discussing an unlikely series of circular interviews described with pointless details. The author attempts to tell the story in a colorful fashion by including passages that are reminiscent of detective novels but falling far short - to the point of being trite. Face it, this investigation lagged for 60 years. Obviously, evidence discovery was slow.
   
   If you are getting on an airplane and want a pleasant read that will put you to sleep, go ahead and buy it. The price is cheap.

No comments about The Official Blackbook Price Guide to U.S. Paper Money 2005, 37th Edition (Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States Paper Money).

4 comments about Presidential Dollars 2007: Complete Philadelphia and Denver Mint Collection.

1. I had bought the Statehood Quarters book from this same company before, and was happy with it so I searched for one for the Presidential Dollars. I just wish that it had shown the inside of the book because I didn't know you have to have a dollar from each mint to fill the book. I do like how there is a plastic cover to go over the coins to protect them from fingerprints.



2. PAGES CAN BE RE-ARRANGED IN ANY ORDER. BLANK PAGES CAN BE PURCHASED AND ADDED (UP TO A TOTAL OF 7 PAGES) HOLDS BOTH P & D MINTS. COINS ARE EASY TO INSERT AND CAN VIEWED FROM BOTH SIDES.



3. I got this for my husband, and he is thrilled with it as he wanted both the Philadelpia and Denver mints. It's also a very attractive and easy-to-use album.



4. I am a coin collector and this brochure accomodates each year and mint until the end of this coinage. It is of good quality construction and includes clear sleaves to protect the coins. If you are a serious coin collector and wish to display and protect your uncirculated presidential dollar collection this is the album for you.

No comments about Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins, Vol. 3: Gold, Silver, Nickel and Aluminum (Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins).

1 comments about State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide.

1. Collaborative written by Benjamin and Barbara Shearer, and now available in an updated and expanded third edition, State Names, Seals, Flags, And Symbols: A Historical Guide is a comprehensive, authoritative, superbly presented reference on everything from American state legal holidays, fairs, and festivals to individual state capitols and mottoes. With a full-color section featuring illustrations of every state's seal, flag, flower, tree, bird, commemorative postage stamp and license plate, State Names, Seals, Flags, And Symbols is a first-rate, highly recommended reference for looking up anything state-related!

3 comments about Quarters: Plain (Official Whitman Coin Folder).

1. These coin folders make it an easy way to store your coins, they are easy to insert, and hold the coins securely. These booklets specifically are a good way to store the new state quarters.



2. The Plain Quarters folder is a good way to store the new 1999 State Quarters. However, I wish Whitman would publish a folder specifically for the new Quarters



3. What a great way to collect the new quarters with the states on the back. You can collect them as you go!

No comments about Lincoln Memorial Cents Number Two: Collection Starting 1999.

No comments about Lincoln Cents Folder Plain (Official Whitman Coin Folder).