In 1989, when William Metcalf of the American Numismatic Society invited me to give a presentation on United States gold coins as part of the Coinage of the Americas Conference held in New York City, I desired to illustrate my talk with illustrations of famous American rarities. Elvira Clain-Stefanelli and Cory Gillilland of the Smithsonian Institution, and their staff, obliged by furnishing color transparencies of the rarest of the rare in the National Collection, including a prize 1933 $20 piece which they can legally hold, even if private collectors can't. Also shown were other treasures, including the unique pattern 1849 $20 and two varieties, each unique, of the famous 1877 gold $50 patterns. At one time it was proposed that coins of the latter denomination be produced for circulation, to be called the "half union," but the idea never progressed beyond pattern form. However, in California 1851 and 1852 $50 pieces were produced under the auspices of the United States government and circulated widely. Years later, in 1915, commemorative $50 pieces were produced in connection with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Budget Recommendations: No recommendations here, as low-grade Saint-Gaudens $20 pieces are apt to be quite unattractive. Consider what I have to say under the following listing.

Recommendations for the Connoisseur: Start with buying one of each major type, including the MCMVII (if you can afford it, I highly recommend owning a specimen of this gorgeous design), the 1907-1908 Arabic numerals without motto, and the 1908-1933 with motto. I like MS-63 and MS-64 grades. You might want to consider building a date and mintmark set, for most issues are inexpensive. You may never acquire the rarities of the 1920s, but still a very nice basic collection can be formed, and it is easy to complete a set of the early years 1907-1916.

Elite Recommendations: Aspire to build a set in MS-64 to MS-65 grade. You will be flying with the eagles, financially and otherwise, for the atmosphere is rarefied, especially when it comes to certain of the later-date issues!

COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Buying Recommendations

Commemorative Silver Coins

As noted earlier, the first official United States commemorative coin was really the 1848 CAL. gold quarter eagle, of which 1,389 were minted, but standard reference books do not recognize this, and it is "proper" to state that the first commemorative coin was the 1892 Columbian silver half dollar. The spectrum of American commemorative coinage is broad. Each design has its own story, and as there are dozens of different designs, a recitation of the background of each would make a book in its own right. Indeed, several authors have written such books, B. Max Mehl, David E. Bullowa, Anthony Swiatek, Don Taxay, and Walter Breen among them. The Swiatek-Breen work, The Encyclopedia of U.S. Silver and Gold Commemorative Coins 1892-1989 is a must for every library. My effort, Commemorative Coins of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, was published in 1991. An organization devoted to the study of the subject, the Society for U.S. Commemorative Coins, is one of the most enthusiastic groups in numismatics. Membership is highly recommended and will entitle you to a subscription to The Commemorative Trail.