Staff Picks
Each of the 5 of us (Dan, Greg, Liz, Clark & Bob) who work at our shop has a specific area of responsibility that entails different interactions with the coins, products and customers that give us our reason for being here. We also each have our own unique interests that draw our attention to particular pieces. Below you will find what each of us has found most striking or curious in the past week.
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Dan Lewis: Owner, Diplomate of Numismatics Cook Is - Seeds of Love with Swarovski Ruby Proof Silver Coin & Unique Display Box
 "Truly a unique legal tender five dollar coin issued by authority of the Government of the Cook Islands. When the wood display box is opened, the reflection of the coin in the mirror image creates the other half of the coin and a perfect Swarovski element heart! Comes as shown in its original mint packaging with a Certificate of Authenticity. Total mintage on this coin was limited to 2,500 pieces worldwide. Ingenious!"
Price: $124.99
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Greg Capps:
Shop Numismatist
U.S. - Panama-Pacific Commemorative - $1 Gold - 1915 S - NGC - MS 65
 "Early Gold Commemoratives are impossibly rare and this one is no exception. Special presses were brought from Philadelphia to San Francisco by rail to accommodate the minting of the larger $50 Octagonal and Round slugs but these $1 Gold Commemoratives, also from the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, are an affordable alternative (the $50 variety has been known to reach close to 6 figures!)"
Price: $1,399.99
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Clark Chapin:
Numismatic Photographer Palau's Troy Bayliss & Casey Stoner Ducati Motorcycles - $1 - 2009 - Proof Silver-Plated Crowns
 "When I dropped off my bike at our most excellent motorcycle mechanic last week I noticed, admired & drooled over a pristine Ducati 1098 RR. This is the bike my wife wants. She REALLY wants it! My pick - just so."
Price: $59.99
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Bob Manis:
Customer Service
Scripophily at Black Mountain Coins
 "This a collection at our shop that I've long admired. I'm not a collector of scripophily but I find many of these old stocks and bonds fascinating for the artistry. The size of the canvas makes for a lot of bold designs."
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Liz Duncan:
Shipping
Mongolia - Ural Owl Strix uralensis - Proof Silver Crown with Swarovski Eyes
 "I don't much like things that stare back at me but this Owl coin from Mongolia gave me nice surprise when I first saw it looking back at me."
Price: $149.99
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Greetings!
I've now learned that Greg is a romantic, not because he wrote a piece on Love Tokens, but because they really don't sell for all that much. It's for that fact that we've posted few on our site. If you're interested in any of the many Love Tokens we do have that aren't posted then do, PLEASE email or call Greg! (828) 669-0200. In honor of Greg's romanticism I'm running my favorite pick of the week as the same one as the last 2 weeks, the Cook Islands' "Seeds of Love" Ruby-inset Silver coin. That's romantic and efficient and it really is a marvelous token in itself. My best wishes to all you romantics, pragmatists, scoundrels and saints! Stay healthy, happy and free!  |
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By Greg Capps
Love Tokens are coins that are modified, usually with ornate initials or a pictorial scene, and given to another person as a display of affection. In the U.S. we have evidence of this practice as far back as the 1790's althought they reached peak popularity in the 1870's through the 1880's. More often than not, the coin of choice was a Seated Liberty Dime and it was almost always the reverse of the coin that was planed off and customized. This is a very good thing for exonumia collectors today because the date, located on the obverse, was salvaged.
While the lion's share of these tokens were silver dimes, a collector will sometimes happen upon a host coin of special note. I have seen gold dollars and gold quarter eagles fashioned into love tokens, a definate clue that this was a significant relationship presumably between two persons of wealth or influence. Today's collector will pay a dear premium for such a token as well as any bearing a nicely engraved pictorial or period theme.
A popular venue for having these made were Victorian fairs and expositions of the day. A gentleman could commission an artisan to engrave one of these sublime pieces while he and his lady enjoyed the exhibits. What could be nicer! In many instances a pinback was adhered to produce a brooch for wearing on the lapel. One modern day lament for the collector is all of the broken pinback and soldered former jewelry pieces that have not withstood the ages. By the early 20th century the fad of crafting love tokens had come to a halt and it is for this reason that the artform is rarely found on post-Barber coinage. Afficianados today appreciate the unique quality of each love token and speaking from my own experience, many purchases are made on impulse because the piece 'spoke to them.'
Interested individuals should consider joining the Love Token Society or finding a copy of Lloyd Entenmann's Love Tokens as Engraved Coins, published in 1991; (ISBN 0962932604).
We offer a selection of love tokens on our website and if you have any to sell, we are eager buyers. We also have a much wider selection which are not posted on our site. If you are interested in locating a love token with a given set of initials or a particular motif engraved upon it then please email me and I'll see if we have anything to match your desires. greg@blackmountaincoins.com
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Longines Symphonette's America Wildlife Silver Series
Ever popular, we're thrilled to have recently purchased many of the beautiful medals in this series of Proof Silver American Wildlife Medals minted by Wittnauer Mint and marketed by the Longines Symphonette in the 1970's's. These 1.2 ounce Sterling Silver, high-relief Art Rounds are wonderful examples of unique and skilled design from a premier U.S. mint.
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Minted in 1975 by the Fanklin Mint these medals from American Experience are striking, inexpensive and cover a wide range of subjects from throughout the history of the United States. If these are of interest to you then, great! We've got them! If not then you should still have a look at our collection to see the skill of their design and minting. 
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USA - 50th Anniversary of World War II - (9) Piece Proof Set - 1991 - .999 Fine Silver - Mint Box - Great set of World War II medallic art. Each one of these nine pieces was struck to a proof finish from one ounce of .999 fine silver and measures 38.6 millimeters in diameter. The set depicts the following themes: Pearl Harbor, B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber, B-29 Superfortress Heavy Bomber, North American P-51 Mustang Fighter, Battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64), Battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) "Mighty Mo", the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, a depiction of the Raising of the Flag at Iwo Jima and V-E Day, May 7, 1945 and V-J Day September 2nd, 1945. Great set for the World War II enthusiast!
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