How do you like to display your coins?� I have many coins on display in my ManCorner.� Some of them are framed, like my set of 1967 Coins and Currency.� Some are in Capital Holders like my set of Morgan Mintmark Types, some are placed raw on a stand like my Laura Gardin Fraser medal, and some are in special floating holders like my irradiated dimes and my first spouse medals.� If you decide to display your coins in a similar manner, here are some tips:

So, I was at my local coin shop about two months ago, waiting to make a purchase when I noticed the pictured book, Hawaiian Money: Standard Catalog, 2nd Edition, sitting on the book rack.� I leafed through it briefly but put it back, made my purchase and left the shop.� About a week later, after thinking about the book quite incessantly, I went back to the coin shop, plunked down 25 bucks and walked away with my treasure.� It sat on the bookshelf for a few weeks until I took it out and started reading it about two weeks ago.� Bottom line, this is a fascinating book about all manner of Hawaiian money from the actual minted Cent through Dollar, to the patterns, to the medals, transportation tokens, plantation tokens, store tokens, and lots of other stuff too numerous to mention.� A fun addition to your library whether you have a real interest or not.��

I started collecting coins in 1968 at the age of ten.� At that time, my interest was kindled by friends in my neighborhood, who were in Scouting and had started collecting to earn their merit badges.� I have stayed in the hobby due to several factors that hold true to this day.

When we see our flag today, we see a blue field with 50 stars and 13 alternating red and white stripes representing the 13 original colonies.� But as you're all aware, our flag has evolved over the decades and has added stars along the way as new States are added to the Union.� But did you know that the Stripes also increased in number too?�� The flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 when the British attacked had 15 Stars and 15 Stripes representing the 13 original colonies and the two new states of Vermont and Kentucky.�� Of course the practicality of adding stars AND stripes to the flag was soon in question and all our subsequent flags have 13 stripes.� Oddly enough, by 1814, when Fort McHenry was attacked by the British, we actually had 18 States so our flag was already outdated.� A new flag with 20 Stars and 13 Stripes (the current stripe standard) did not appear until 1818.� But this is a blog about a particular coin issued in 2012 to commemorate the writing of the Star Spangled Banner.� According to legend, Francis Scott Key was observing the bombarding of Fort McHenry in September of 1814 when through a clearing of the smoke, he spied our flag flying proudly over the Fort and wrote the words to the Star Spangled Banner, this became our National Anthem in 1931 and has bedeviled famous singers ever since.� In my humble opinion, the design of this coin is one of the best in the modern era with its obverse portraying Liberty proudly holding the Flag with Fort McHenry in the background along with Liberty,� In God We Trust, and 2012 P.� The Reverse shows a view of the star filled field billowing in the breeze with One Dollar, E Pluribus Unum, and United States of America.� The obverse was designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, the reverse was designed by William C. Burgard III and sculpted by Don Everhart.� Two oddities about this coin, the date 2012 does not correspond to the actual event pictured which occurred in 1814.� Unlike the vast majority of U.S. coin, the design itself does not feature the date at the center bottom (even though it is slabbed incorrectly) the body of Liberty should be at the center bottom to make the design work properly.�

Along with the Coins in your Collection, it is vitally important that you have tools to augment and enhance your collecting experience.� We all have Flips, 2X2s, Loupes, Rubber Gloves, Magnets,� special tongs to pick up our coins, and folders or albums to store our coins.� But many of us, and I include myself until very recently, forget a very essential tool in verifying the authenticity of our coins. � This essential item is the electronic scale. � Let me give you an example from my own collection of its vital importance to the novice or advanced collector.� The Japanese Silver Yen was minted from 1870 to 1914 and had the same size and weight as the standard U.S. Dollar.� The 1876 Silver Yen I tested was originally attached to� a metal clip on a Bolo-Style tie, my Cousin picked it up for me in Singapore.� I had it for several years but never wore it, I finally decided to remove it from the clip and found it was just glued on with some kind of cheap clear glue, easily removed with no apparent damage.� Having liberated it, I immediately noticed it felt a little light and under magnification seemed to have mushy details, particularly in the beading around the dragon.�� So I weighed it and it came out to 25.81 Grams, which is short of the 26.96 Grams required of a genuine specimen.� Of course, the weight on any coin, even uncirculated can vary a bit but a weight variance of over a Gram on a coin that seems dirty but detailed is too much.� Given the mushy details, the low weight, and the country where it was obtained, I believe this coin to be a fake.�� If you don't have an electronic scale in your numismatic toolbox, you should get one as soon as possible, mine was under $20.00 and came with a 50 Gram weight to maintain its calibration.��