March 2026 Newsletter
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Tuesday, March 17, 7:30pm, YN Program 6:30pm
Presentation:
History of the US Cent - Chris J
Display Case:
Colonial Coins - Danny S
Refreshments:
Angela R
Future:
May Presentation: Canadian Dollar Commems 1935-1967 - Don F
May Display Case: Utah Goldback Series - Brian S
President's Message
I went to my first large national show in February in Savannah. It was the ANA Money Show, and it was quite an experience. I expected just another typical coin show, only larger, but it was better than that. Attendees got to meet the new US Mint Director and the ANA president and governors. I spoke to the ANA president about having an ANA show here in Raleigh. I learned a lot about the process and found out it is just as important that the town (Raleigh) wants ANA here as us wanting the ANA here. I have contacted the Raleigh Convention Center people to see how we get them going on something like that. I spoke to a Mint staff person and learned how we can invite the Mint to our show. I have emailed them to see if we can make it happen in 2027. As the Mint usually releases something new at a show that would help draw attendees to our show.
Speaking of new releases, the Mint had the 2026 Proof Eagle and the “Congratulatory” Eagle for sale and there was a constant line of people buying them for $175 each. So, I got in line and got one of each. I have since sold the Proof to a club member. But the word on the floor was dealers were buying the Congratulatory version for $300 since only 60,000 were being produced. So, I sold that one and made a nice profit for about 15 minutes of work. The Mint also had the Mayflower quarter and the 2026 dime for sale at face value. I got some of each including enough dimes so that we can have ANACS slab them for souvenirs at our show. Exhibitors and Speakers will each get one for free. Remainder will be for sale. The dimes look really nice!
We also have managed to sign up the Goldback company as a dealer. They will be releasing a new issue of those at our show, but I do not recall from what state it will be.
Thank you to Paul L who found some nice Walking Liberty Half Dollars to use as a thank you to those giving the presentation at club meetings. Another thank you to Chris J and Don F for attending the Mebane Auction on 28 Feb to represent the club and sell raffle tickets. Tim and Russ are doing a great job with our show, we are almost sold out. Please be sure to thank them for their efforts and offer to help in some capacity.
Last call for dues before we start purging the roster. Dues were due in January for 2026. Please bring your $7.00 (exact change appreciated) with you (or $3 for YNs and $10 for families) and check in with our treasurer, Steve. The board has approved dues being increased for 2027 to $10 ($5 for YNs and $15 for families). This is still one of the best bargains around considering it includes snacks at meetings and the Holiday dinner for two.
-Jeff M
Krupp Gun Love Token
Russ F
I purchased this love token on eBay last year. The host coin is an 1877 quarter that has been hand-engraved with the words “Krupp Gun 1893” on the obverse and “445,000 lbs” on the reverse. It is elongated, but unlike the die-produced elongated coins made on the fairgrounds.
After receiving it, I began researching whether it might somehow be connected to the World’s Columbian Exposition.
I knew that the Krupp Company of Germany presented a major exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Housed in its own castle-like building (see photo), constructed at a cost of more than $50,000, the pavilion occupied a prominent location on the fairgrounds.
Friedrich Alfred Krupp, known as the “Cannon King,” led the Krupp family and company, which specialized in steel production and artillery manufacturing. The exhibit not only showcased technological advancements in weaponry but also symbolized German industrial strength during that era.
The pavilion featured numerous massive guns and armor plates, demonstrating the scale and sophistication of Krupp’s manufacturing capabilities. The total weight of the items on display approached 2,000,000 pounds and was valued at approximately $1,000,000.
The pavilion’s star attraction was “The Thunderer” (see photo), reputed to be the largest gun in the world at the time. The 47-foot-long cannon had a 16½-inch bore and weighed 270,000 pounds. It required nearly 1,000 pounds of gunpowder per firing—at a cost of $1,250 per charge—and was capable of launching 2,300-pound shells up to 15 miles.
Could the love token be referring to this specific Krupp artillery cannon? The reverse is engraved “445,000 lbs.” How could that relate to the same gun?
After reviewing newspaper accounts from the period, I was able to confirm that it does indeed correspond to the same cannon. While the gun itself weighed 270,000 pounds, that figure reflects only the barrel. After arriving from Germany at Sparrows Point, Maryland in early April 1893, it had to be transported by rail to Chicago for the World’s Columbian Exposition.
To move it, the cannon was secured in a massive cradle (or bridge) weighing 47,000 pounds. This assembly was then mounted on two specially designed railcars, each weighing 64,000 pounds. When combined—the 270,000-pound cannon, the 47,000-pound cradle, and the two 64,000-pound railcars—the total transport weight came to exactly 445,000 pounds.
This precise total strongly suggests that the engraved “445,000 lbs” on the reverse of the love token was not a coincidence, but rather a deliberate reference to the fully assembled transport weight of the cannon. (See the newspaper rendering of the cannon and railcar configuration.)
This discovery raised several new questions. Why was the total weight given as 445,000 pounds instead of 270,000 pounds—the weight of the cannon alone? And why was the quarter elongated?
The answers to these final questions came from an article I located in a Pittsburgh newspaper describing the gun’s journey across the country. An April 16, 1893 article in the Pittsburgh Post, titled “Krupp Gun Coins” (p. 4), recounts the scene at the railroad depot on Wednesday, April 12:
“It is quite the thing now, and a really select thing too, to have a coin that the big 120-ton Krupp gun ran over. The coins do not resemble the everyday piece very much after the operation, but they are quite a curiosity among the people who live near the line of the Pennsylvania railroad from the Union depot in Pittsburgh over into the Fort Wayne yards in Allegheny. As soon as the big train hauling the gun started slowly out of the Union depot last Wednesday morning a big, heavy-set man stooped down in front of the engine and put a 25-cent piece on the rail. A lot of people saw him, and made a rush to get in front of the train to do likewise with pennies, 5 and 10 cent pieces. The train went slowly over the coins, and the way they did smash was wonderful. The pennies flattened out almost as thin as paper when the big gun bridge-car passed over them. The 25-cent pieces were flattened out so that they looked like half dollars. All along the line from the depot to the railroad bridge, crowds of people put coins and pins on the tracks. The pins could not be found after the big gun passed. There was many a scramble to get the coins, and many persons couldn’t tell their own pieces from some other fellow’s. As high as 50-cent pieces were used as relics. Often the money stuck to the wheels, and one young man got a long stick and poked a lot of them from the 16-wheel trucks, and was at once besieged by schoolgirls and boys who wanted a flattened penny to keep to remember the great gun by.”
When the massive gun passed through Pittsburgh enroute to the World’s Columbian Exposition, resourceful spectators created a distinctive World’s Fair souvenir—and a numismatic curiosity—by placing coins on the track to be flattened by the passing Krupp gun train.
This particular example was later further enhanced with hand engraving. Now we know the whole story.
Jeff's Fine Time in Savannah
Jeff M
One of the reasons I wanted to attend the ANA Show was to see what National level exhibits looked like. Maybe I hit a bad show, because there were only about a dozen exhibits, but I didn’t think the exhibits were significantly better or different than what club members have done at our shows over the years. Maybe more unusual topics but not necessarily better presentation. Some photos are included below. This will be the first year of the Boitnott People’s Choice Award at our show. There is only one chance to be the first winner. There are too many club members with interesting and unique collections to not show them off. I am asking you to get off your duff and show your stuff 😊. You can do this! If you need help with labels, graphics or other documentation, ask and ye shall receive. The application form from our website is here - https://www.raleighcoinclub.org/s/RCC_exhibit_application.pdf. Below are some examples of exhibits at the Savannah ANA National Money Show.
Paul Hollis, the 41st Director of the Mint, stayed for hours Thursday and Friday talking to people, taking photos, signing coins, cards, etc. Mark Lighterman, the ANA President, is very pleasant to speak with and quite the jokester. Both seemed very down to earth and approachable people which, frankly, pleasantly surprised me. Below, Hollis is on the left and Lighterman on the right.
Coin Hawks Young Numismatist Program
Last Month… a look at the Oklahoma Goldback series. Goldbacks are a series of small gold notes issued by individual states as an alternative voluntary currency. I’ve been collecting them for a few years, and Oklahoma is the seventh state in this growing movement. The Goldback uses new technology to divide gold into small enough amounts that can be used to buy, say, a loaf of bread or a dozen eggs. A single Goldback contains 1/1000 of a troy ounce of 24K gold. Each Goldback denomination has unique artwork celebrating its state’s history, culture, achievements, plant and animal life. As an example, my favorite Oklahoma Goldback is the 50, which features a lady storm chaser photographing a tornado. Oklahoma sees a lot of tornadoes every year, but is also the most prepared state to track and respond to tornadoes. At the time of this writing, Arizona and Idaho are the newest Goldback states, with still more on the way. Utah was the first Goldback state and its Goldbacks will receive an update later this year. So yeah, Goldbacks are still busy.
This month… stacking! We are in a very strange place in history in regards to, well, a lot of things, but I’m just going to talk about stacking metals. This is something that goes hand-in-hand with coin collecting. Stacking is the act of buying and storing maximum value based on how much precious metal is in the coin, not by the value of a coin through its condition and scarcity. Many just stack solid bars and bricks instead of coins. However people stack, right now there are a lot of unique properties in the metals markets that are worth reviewing. We’ll talk about the best and worst things to stack.
I like to do this at the start of each new year, feel free to provide topics of interest you would like me to cover throughout this year.
Take care Coin Hawks,
Brian S
