100 coins, 100 ceremonies

The U.S. Mint continues to do its part by holding events that help coin collecting grow.

Yesterday, it joined the National Park Service to unveil the Cumberland Island National Seashore quarter in Kingsland, Ga.

This is the fourth design of five America the Beautiful quarters that will be released in 2018.

The event was livestreamed by the Camden County High School.

That should have increased the number of people who could see the introduction of the coin beyond those who were present at the event.

Attending the ceremony were 1,500 people, which included 1,200 schoolchildren.

The lucky kids each got a free quarter.

Adult collectors were not deprived. They were able to buy the new quarter by the roll.

Southeastern bank supplied 1,600 rolls sold for face value, or $10 each.

That works out to be 64,000 quarters sold.

All of them were from the Philadelphia Mint and carried the “P” mintmark.

Speaking at the event was U.S. Mint Acting Deputy Director David Croft.

There was a coin forum held by the Mint the night before that attracted 89 persons.

That is an impressive turnout.

Imagine 89 people attending a coin club meeting.

Such is the appeal of the Mint and its new coins, even as we have reached the 44th coin in the ATB series.

Before that, there were ceremonies for 50 state quarters and six territories and the District of Columbia.

Keeping a ceremony fresh the 100th time it is done is a challenge. But it does help that all the children present were not even born when the first state quarter arrived in 1999.

We can never give up our sense of wonder at these new releases, even if we remember each and every one since the Delaware quarter showed up depicting Caesar Rodney on his horse.

For many people, this is the first time.

Encourage their enjoyment of it.

Let’s hope livestreaming becomes the norm for all ceremonies going forward.

There are not many people like my retired boss, Clifford Mishler, who drove to attend three consecutive ceremonies.

They were in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota earlier this year.

He did not drive from home in Wisconsin to Georgia to see yesterday’s event.

Most collectors are not as dedicated as Mishler, and wouldn’t even drive to one, let alone three.

The responsibilities of life do interfere with collecting, don’t they?

That is why I hope livestreaming coin ceremonies is the wave of the future.

Of course, you can’t buy quarter rolls for face value if you are not there.

There’s always a catch, isn’t there?

Buzz blogger Dave Harper won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog for the third time in 2017 . He is editor of the weekly newspaper “Numismatic News.”

 

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