By Marie Goe
On Saturday July 20, Rusty and I were happy and honored to be a part of the Nevada State Museum’s MINT150 celebration commemorating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Carson City Mint, which will be ongoing into next year. Back in March the museum’s curator of history Bob Nylen invited Rusty to give a presentation about Carson City coins at a special event scheduled in July. Rusty spent the next four months preparing to take his place in front of an audience and share from his heart what he has learned about the topic.
Rusty titled his presentation "Carson City Coins: Their Collector Appeal, Their Celebrity Status, Their Climbing Costs." After spending practically all of the past two and a half years in the writing room working on his next book, The Confident Carson City Coin Collector, Rusty felt delighted to carry over a portion of what he has learned into the lecture room. Approximately 45 people came eager to hear (and see) what he had to share. Among those in the audience were a nice mix of advanced collectors, novice collectors, and non-collectors who are interested in anything related to Carson City’s history. It blessed us that friends came (some from out of state) to support (and learn from) Rusty.
After a warm welcome and a complimentary introduction from the museum’s director Myron Freedman, Rusty stood behind the lectern and for the next hour kept the crowd’s attention every minute. His PowerPoint presentation integrated four basic themes, which he believes are the building blocks necessary for a person to get the most out of collecting Carson City coins: Stories, Souvenirs (or heirlooms), Statistics, and Synthesis. And he spiced up his lecture with stories about the earliest days of the Carson City Mint’s operations, stories about people who through their writings through the years have helped to preserve the mint’s legacy and keep the coins in the spotlight, and stories about people who have owned the coins. Many images of old newspaper articles, people, and of course the coins supplemented his program.
In the first half of his talk Rusty presented a concise summary of how (and why) Carson City coins have increased in popularity over the past fourteen or so decades, and he illustrated how their prices have continued to climb. In the second half of his presentation he concentrated on what he calls “The Royal Quartet,” which consists of the four rarest “CC” coins: the 1870-CC $20 gold piece, the 1876-CC 20-cent piece, the 1873-CC Without Arrows quarter dollar, and the 1873-CC Without Arrows dime (only one in existence!). By any measure, these are noteworthy coins and, as Rusty emphasized, they receive much publicity whenever they come to market. Gasps were heard in the audience when they were shown price comparisons for these coins over the last 140 or so years.. Rusty told how these rarest pieces (which he calls “celebrity” coins) once sold for such small amounts of money and how they have brought hundreds of thousands (and even over a million) dollars in recent years.
Rusty wanted to make it clear, however, that prices were not astronomical for all “CC” coins, and he pointed out that the range of costs for the coins is vast, from approximately $25 all the way up to $2.5 million.
After he ended his talk with the following heartfelt wish, “May the coins continually delight collectors,” and a call for “Three cheers for the Carson City Mint’s 150th birthday!!” a robust round of applause ensued.
Immediately following Rusty’s presentation the museum’s facilities manager and gift shop administrator, Charm Phillips, sold copies of Rusty’s book James Crawford: Master of the Mint at Carson City, which Rusty signed for anyone who so requested. All and all, Rusty and I enjoyed a great Saturday afternoon sharing the Carson City Mint’s rich heritage and celebrating the coins stamped at it, in the fellowship of friends and new acquaintances.
Rusty displayed the two following tables during his presentation showing price histories for significant complete (or nearly complete) sets of “CC” coins and one very special coin.
