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HomeCollecting StrategiesCoin Board News - Number 35

Coin Board News – Number 35

By David W. Lange – www.coincollectingboards.com …..
 

For Collectors of Antique Coin Boards

Number 35 — Summer 2015

COIN BOARDS FOR SALE

I recently made a sizable purchase of nice coin boards. This, combined with a few scattered buys in previous months, has resulted in a pretty good list to accompany this newsletter. There are some scarce and high grade boards to be found, and I expect to have few left by the next newsletter.

MARKET ACTIVITY

There were several eBay listings of coin boards in the past quarter, none of them for rare items. Most featured common Whitman boards from the Second, Fourth and Y Editions. Some failed to sell, but the slightly scarce Whitman Second Edition board for Liberty Standing Half Dollars brought a good price for the venue. Another nice entry was an Oberwise board for Liberty Head Dimes that included a clean vendor stamp that was new to me: University Stamp & Coin Shop in Seattle. The shipping charge was on the high side, and I ended up as the underbidder. I hope one of you snagged this prize. Several boards were nearly complete with coins, and the prices realized give no clue as the values of the boards alone. I sold seven such boards myself, all of them in lower grades. This has helped me clear out some of the unwanted coins I’ve acquired buying partially filled boards, and I plan to offer a few more. I will not use high grade boards, since removing the coins could damage them.

NEW COIN BOARD PUBLISHER IN TOWN

The excitement of the 1930s lives again, as a new publisher of coin boards is offering several titles at reasonable prices. Board collector Mark Mally has produced his own line which includes entirely new titles, such as that for Franklin Halves. I’m attaching a photo of this board. Also available now are ones for Indian Head Cents and the complete Lincoln Cent series (three pieces). Other titles will be released soon. Contact Mark at [email protected].

SHOW YOUR COIN BOARD PRIDE!

In CBN #34 I made an appeal to all readers to exhibit their coin boards at shows or other venues, and longtime reader Donald Kocken stepped up to meet this challenge. His extensive coin board display at the recent Numismatists of Wisconsin (NOW) show in Iola drew high praise and made many persons aware of this hobby for the first time. I’m including a couple photos of Donald and wife Marie at the show with their exhibit. Let’s hope that others can answer the call, too.

PATENT GRANTED

This is not big news, since its approval came in 1937. Reader Chris Buck sent me a link to a patent granted to Frank Koehler (of Earl & Koehler coin board fame) for a new type of pinball machine. He was in the game and arcade business before partnering with Ben Earl, and this is a nice historical tie-in item. I’m attaching a .pdf of the patent to this newsletter.

BOOK UPDATES

For the first time since this newsletter began more than seven years ago the past quarter has produced not a single new or revised entry. That’s not to say that more won’t be found, but the pace has certainly slowed down recently. As a consolation, I’m including with this newsletter a photo of an Oberwise board on which his change of address from 1308 South Vermont Street to 1317 across the street was noted by hand.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN?

I’m not currently committed to working any upcoming coin shows, but I may yet be at the ANA Convention in Rosemont, Illinois. Check with me when we get closer, and I should have an answer.

–Dave

David Lange
David Lange
The author of several books on United States numismatics, David W. Lange received numerous awards and accolades from both the ANA and the NLG. David was the former President of the Pacific Coast Numismatic Society, the California State Numismatic Association, and the New Jersey Numismatic Society. He also had memberships in the ANA, the NLG, the ANS, the LSCC, the EAC, the BCCS, and the Rittenhouse Society. Career highlights included the launching of NGC's Photo Proof and writing historical copy for the United States Mint's website and H.I.P. Pocket Change program for kids. His specialties have included Seated Liberty silver, Philippine coinage under U.S. administration, and British coinage from 1816-1970. In 2007, David published the first comprehensive reference to Coin Collecting Boards of the 1930s and '40s, and for over a decade published Coin Board News four times a year. David Lange died on January 16, 2023. He is missed.

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