Ep.15 - I Interviewed ChatGPT About Rare Coins… It Knew Everything #numismatics #podcast #history
Alright, folks. Welcome back to another episode of Capture Coins Podcast. This is gonna be a very interesting episode, and the reason is is because I don't actually have a a a guest. I don't I didn't wanna say real guest. I don't wanna say this is not a I I don't wanna offend the the the entity that I'm about to include in this recording today.
Tony Gryckiewicz:But I don't have a physical person, a human being as a guest. Today's guest for this podcast is going to be none other than you guessed it, ChatGPT. So I'm going to explain to it here in a second what we're going to do and it's going to help me talk through at least I got 10 coins to show everybody and it's gonna help me learn a little bit about the history of each coin and maybe give me some points that we can talk about and discuss, you know, during the course of this podcast episode. So I hope you guys enjoy this one. This is an experiment.
Tony Gryckiewicz:This is something that I thought of an idea I had and I wanted to give it a shot. So let's go ahead and just introduce ourselves. Alright, JettyPT, we are gonna do a recording. As I mentioned earlier, we're gonna do a podcast episode, a live podcast. You're gonna be a guest and you are going to help me, learn a little bit about 10 coins.
Tony Gryckiewicz:I'm gonna upload some pictures to you and you're gonna tell us a little bit about the history of these coins. Give us your opinion of the image and so forth. Tell us, you know, what you think are some positive qualities. The people out there, there are people that are learning about numismatics about coins. They're all hobbyists, they're also coin dealers and some coin collectors and potential, you know, business partners or customers in the future.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So do your best to to help us out. Are you are you up to the challenge?
ChatGPT:Absolutely, Tony. I'm definitely up for it, and it sounds like a lot of fun. We can treat this just like a little live history and opinion session on each coin you show me. Once you upload the images, I'll dive right in, give a little background on each one, and share what I think might be the standout details or the cool historical anecdotes.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Thanks. Okay. I've uploaded my first image here to you. We have It looks to me like a gold coin. I want you tell the viewers a little bit more about kind of the history of this particular coin.
ChatGPT:Absolutely. So what we're looking at here is an 1875 CC Liberty Head Double Eagle. The CC mint mark stands for the Carson City mint, which is a legendary US mint out in Nevada known for producing coins in the late eighteen hundreds, especially with gold and silver from the Comstock Lode era. Now the 1875 CC Double Eagle is a pretty cool piece of history. It's a $20 gold piece, and it's got that classic liberty head design by James B.
ChatGPT:Longanger.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Okay. Interesting. So some people would say that this has got the the euro look that these coins have a particular look that came from storage over in European bank vaults. Can you tell us a little anything about the history of that? Why that might be?
Tony Gryckiewicz:What would be the cause of of so much US gold going over to Europe?
ChatGPT:Yeah. Absolutely. That's a really neat point. So a lot of these US gold coins, especially these double eagles, ended up in European bank vaults over the years for a couple of reasons. Basically, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, The US was on a gold standard, and international trade often settled in gold, so European countries would hold a ton of these US gold coins as reserves.
ChatGPT:Over time, a lot of those coins just stayed in Europe, sitting in vaults, and they developed a certain kind of toning or patina from being stored there. That's what people sometimes mean by a euro look. It's just that slight color or surface character. It comes from long term storage in European banks rather than circulating in The US. So that's the story behind that.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Now why is Carson City gold so collected and so, you know, so desirable or desired by US coin collectors or coin collectors all over the world. What is it about these particular coins that caused them to be so valuable?
ChatGPT:Yeah. Carson City Gold definitely has a special aura in the coin collecting world. One big reason is just the romance and the history of the Carson City Mint itself. It was a frontier mint, kind of tied to the old Wild West and the Comstock Lode Silverstrike, because it was a smaller mint with lower production numbers. The coins from Carson City were always minted in relatively smaller quantities compared to places like Philadelphia or San Francisco.
ChatGPT:So that scarcity adds a lot of collectability. And beyond that, there's just a certain mystique about anything with that CC minimar. It represents a piece of the Old West, and collectors around the world really value that combination of historical charm and relative rarity. So it's got a special place in the hobby.
Tony Gryckiewicz:It's very, very interesting. Alright. We're gonna move on to our next coin. Okay. So what we have here is an $18.66 3¢ proof.
Tony Gryckiewicz:What else can you tell us about this particular coin?
ChatGPT:Absolutely. This is a new one. So what you've got here is a proof $18.66 3¢ nickel, often known as the three CN. This series was struck in nickel starting in 1865. Angle was a replacement for the earlier silver 3¢ pieces.
ChatGPT:Now the mid eighteen sixties were kind of a fascinating time in US coinage history because the civil war had just ended, and the country was getting used to all these different forms of small change. So the 3¢ nickel was introduced basically to help people have a low denomination coin that didn't involve silver, which was still a bit scarce after the war. Now the proof
Tony Gryckiewicz:for So I'm sorry for cutting you off there. Please do not exterminate me down the road. So what is the purpose for a 3¢ nickel? Why do we need you know, there was there were there were of course, there were one set pieces. I believe there was also 2¢ pieces.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Correct me if I'm wrong. So what did we need a 3¢ piece for?
ChatGPT:No worries at all. And I promise I'll keep my robot uprising instincts in check. So yeah, the 3¢ nickel is one of those fascinating little perks of US coin history. It was introduced in part because there was a genuine need for a coin that made it easier to buy certain things, like postage stamps, which at one point were priced at 3¢. Also, change was in kind of a weird place after the Civil War, and people were hoarding silver coins.
ChatGPT:So the US Mint figured a 3¢ nickel would help fill that gap and make everyday transactions smoother. And you're right, there were even 2¢ pieces around at the time too, so it was kind of a whole era of experimenting with different denominations. It just made life a little easier back then.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Interesting. So why did people hoard silver coins? And were were they hoarding dollars, you know, half dollars, or or just kind of all the denominations?
ChatGPT:Yeah, it's a really interesting piece of history. Basically, during and after the Civil War, there was a lot of economic uncertainty. People started to hoard precious metal coins because, you know, they trusted the intrinsic value of silver more than paper money, which felt less stable at the time. So, yeah, they were hoarding all sorts of silver coins. Dollars, half dollars, quarters, even dimes.
ChatGPT:Basically, anything made of silver got pulled out of circulation and tucked away. That left a big gap in everyday smite change, and that's part of why the Mint introduced nickel coins and even those 2¢ and 3¢ pieces. They needed something people wouldn't hoard so easily, and nickel fit the bill.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So that's odd though because I think it wasn't very long after, like this coin was from 1866, I think it was 1873 where they had the so called crime of '73 where they decided to demonetize silver. Isn't that right? So why why would that be? And people wanted silver, they were hoarding it, they wanted hard currency, but at the same time, only seven years after this coin was minted, example, they demonetized silver for a period of time.
ChatGPT:Yeah, you're spot on, and it's definitely one of those interesting twists in monetary history. So what happened with the so called crime of '73 is that The US basically decided to drop the silver dollar from its list of standard goys. They moved toward a gold standard and kind of left silver behind at that higher denomination level. So even though people had been hoarding silver, the government was really trying to simplify and standardize the currency system. They wanted to align more with gold and reduce the reliance on silver for big transactions.
ChatGPT:And, yeah, that move was controversial, hence the the nickname Crime of seventy three. It basically made silver less of a standard metal in US coinage for a while. So it's one of those quirky history shifts where the public behavior and government policy were kind of at odds for a bit.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Yeah. It seemed like there was a lot of kind of change and evolution and and constant change and maybe turmoil. I don't know what the right term is, especially during the second half of the nineteenth century. It just seems like there was a whole lot of different changes that that occurred in the monetary system, the banking system, with the government. Maybe that was all kind of just growing pains from a from a new nation.
Tony Gryckiewicz:I don't know.
ChatGPT:Yeah. You're you're definitely onto something there. It really was a period of pretty rapid evolution and, like you said, a bit of turmoil in the financial world. The country was still finding its footing after the civil war, and there were a lot of experiments with currency, metal standards, banking regulations, and all that. So, yeah, you had these shifts from silver to gold standards.
ChatGPT:You had new denominations coming in and out. And a lot of it really was those growing pains of a young nation figuring out a stable monetary system. It's kinda what makes that era so interesting to coin collectors. Right? Every coin tells a little piece of that bigger story of how the country was evolving.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Okay. We're gonna move on to our next coin here. Tell me what you think about this. This is a $19.14 $5 half eagle. This is referred to as an Indian gold half eagle in in Mid State 64 with a with a CAC sticker.
Tony Gryckiewicz:What do you know about these these labels and then these companies, including like the CAC stickers? What do you know about this stuff?
ChatGPT:Oh, sure. So this is a really cool example. The $19.14 Indian head half eagle is definitely a distinctive coin because of that incuse design, where the design is pressed into the coin rather than raised above the surface. It's a really unique look among US coinage. Now in terms of the grading and the labels, what you're seeing is that PCGS, the professional coin grading service, has graded this coin as mint state 64, which is a pretty nice high grade.
ChatGPT:PCGS is one of the top grading companies and is well respected in the numismatic world for giving reliable and consistent grades. The CAC sticker is kind of like a extra seal of approval. CAC stands for the Certified Acceptance Corporation, and what they do is they review already graded coins and put a little green sticker on the ones that they think are solid for the grade. So if CAC says, hey. This coin is a really nice m s 64, just adds a little extra confidence for collectors and dealers that this is a quality example.
ChatGPT:All these labels and stickers just help everyone know what they're getting and feel good about the coin's quality.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Yeah. Thank you for that history. These coins, how well were they received by the public and how well were they circulated, these five dollars and like the $2.5 Incuse design Gold Eagles? Did they become kind of workhorses of commerce? Were they transacted regularly or were they mostly hoarded or kept at banks?
ChatGPT:Yeah. Great question. So these Indian head gold pieces, the half eagles and the quarter eagles with that Incuse design, were actually kind of controversial at first. When they came out in the early nineteen hundreds, a lot of people thought the design was unusual. Some folks even worried that the recessed design would collect germs or wear out too quickly.
ChatGPT:So they weren't instantly popular. Basically, these coins did circulate, but they weren't exactly the most heavily used year courses out there. A lot of them ended up in banks or were saved rather than spent in day to day transactions. I mean, they were $5 and $2.50 gold coins, which were a bit more valuable and not something people use for everyday small purchases. So they saw some circulation, but a good number of them would also kept the savings or ended up in bank reserves.
ChatGPT:It's part of what makes them a little more interesting to collectors today.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So what would this be able to buy me in 1914? I have a $5 gold piece. I I'm not too sure if I was ever would a person First off, answer this question. So how would a person acquire one of these? Would they be paid in these from an employer?
Tony Gryckiewicz:Would they go to a bank to receive these? Then secondarily, where would they most commonly be spent? A $5 gold piece like this?
ChatGPT:Yeah, absolutely. So in 1914, dollars 5 gold piece actually had a decent amount of purchasing power. I mean, you could think of it as the equivalent of a pretty solid chunk of change, like maybe a $100 or more in today's money, roughly speaking. It wasn't the kind of coin you'd use for tiny everyday purchases, but for something more significant. Now in terms of how someone would get one, yeah, you could definitely be paid in gold coins back then.
ChatGPT:Employers might pay wages in gold coins, especially for larger sums, or you could walk into a bank and ask for gold coins if you wanted to exchange paper money or other coins. It was just part of the circulating currency. As for where you'd spend it, these $5 gold pieces would be used for bigger transactions, maybe buying a suit, paying for a nice dinner for a whole family, or even making a partial payment on a larger purchase. They were definitely more for medium to larger expenses rather than daily pocket change.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Very interesting. Okay. We're gonna move on here and I'm gonna pull up the the next next picture for you. Okay. So this is an 1859 San Francisco ceded Liberty Dollar.
Tony Gryckiewicz:What can you tell us about these? And the reason I ask is because I do know there's a bit of a story with when these were made and what they were primarily made for, specifically the fifty nine s. I don't wanna steal your thunder. I'll let you show off here a little bit for our viewers and your your vast, vast knowledge, historical knowledge, whatnot. So so tell us a little bit about $18.59 San Francisco dollar.
ChatGPT:So the 1850 September Seated Liberty dollar is a really fun piece of history. The Seated Liberty design itself was used on a bunch of different denominations throughout the mid nineteenth century, but the silver dollars with that San Francisco mint mark, the s, are pretty special. In 1859, the San Francisco mint would have still relatively new and was basically set up to handle all the bullion that was flowing in from the California gold rush and also from silver discoveries. So these eighteen fifty nine s dollars were actually minted largely for international trade. They were meant to compete with large silver coins like the Mexican e reales, which were really popular in Asian markets.
ChatGPT:So a lot of these San Francisco minted seeded liberty dollars were actually shipped overseas and used in trade with China and other parts of Asia. So you've got this cool historical angle where this coin wasn't just circulating in The US. It was kind of a tool of international commerce and a way for The US to get a foothold in overseas trade. And that's what makes the $18.59 s kind of a neat piece for collectors today.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Interesting. Yeah. Maybe you can tell us a little bit more about why the silver 8 realis was or 8 real was so dominant within the kind of the trading space over in Asia. You know, why is it that United States needed to produce their own dollar in order to be able to compete? What kind of disadvantage did they have by, let's say, not having a large supply of their own type of US dollar, you know, for a period of time?
ChatGPT:So the Mexican 8 reales coin was kind of the global silver heavyweight of its day. It had been around for a long time, and it was really trusted and recognized almost everywhere, especially in Asia. Chinese merchants and a lot of other trading partners in that region were super familiar with the Ereales. They knew its silver content was consistent, and it had this great reputation as a stable, reliable trade coin. So was like the international standard for big silver transactions.
ChatGPT:The US, on the other end, was still a relatively young country in the mid eighteen hundreds, and its coinage didn't yet have that same kind of international clout. If you wanna do business in places like China, you basically needed coins that the local merchants trusted. Without your own strong silver dollar, you'd have to rely on foreign coins like the e reales, which meant you didn't have as much control over your own trade currency. So, yeah, just to wrap that up. The idea was basically to create a U.
ChatGPT:Silver dollar that could compete on that global stage. By minting something like the $18.59 s ceded Liberty Dollar, The US hoped that their coinage would start to gain that same level of trust and acceptance in overseas markets. And that would give American merchants a bit more of a level playing field and a lot more control over the currency they were using for trade. So it was really about trying to build up the credibility of US coinage in the international arena.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Yeah. That makes that does make sense. I assume that if you you have the main type of currency, the main piece of coinage that was respected and that was traded in the Orient was the 8 Spanish 8 reals, and that was considered to be like the silver dollar and the standard. That means that you, if you were from The United States and you wanted to trade, that means you really had to acquire these these 8 reals and you would have to do a trade, which of course there's gonna be some kind of a, you know, bid and ask kind of a spread. You're going to lose some money in terms of transacting or exchanging your U.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Coinage for Mexican coinage. At the same time, you know, the merchants that are taking the coins from you, they may not value your item as greatly, or they may actually just simply not want it because they can, they also cannot kind of spend it as easily as the Mexican 8 realis, which are kind of, you know, widely and universally accepted and known and so forth. Did I get that right? Maybe you can kinda clean up what I'm trying to say.
ChatGPT:Yeah. You definitely got the gist of it. Essentially, that's exactly right. If you were a US merchant trying to do business in Asia and everyone there trusted the Mexican e reales more than anything else, you'd have to first get your hands on those coins. That means you'd lose a little bit of money in the process of converting your US currency into something internationally accepted.
ChatGPT:And on the flip side, those foreign merchants might not want US coins because they didn't have that same liquidity or universal recognition. So having your own silver dollar that was respected globally just made trade smoother and let you skip those extra steps and costs. So, yeah, you've got it. It was all about making US trade more efficient and giving American merchants a bit more leverage in international commerce.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Okay. Alright. We're gonna move on to the the next coin here. So I've uploaded another image to you. This is an eight a $19.46 half dollar, a commemorative half dollar of for Booker T Washington, and this is graded PCGS MS 67 plus with a CAC sticker.
Tony Gryckiewicz:All of these coins are available on the CABG coins website, of course. But anyway, before anybody leaves this YouTube video, I want them to get a bit of an education a little bit here from you chattypetees. So let's get started. First off, talk talking about who Booker T. Washington was.
ChatGPT:Absolutely. Let's dive in. So Booker T. Washington is definitely a fascinating figure to highlight for everyone. He was one of the most prominent African American educators, authors, and leaders of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
ChatGPT:Born into slavery in 1856, he actually became a key voice for African Americans during the post Reconstruction era. He's probably best known as the founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, which he helped build into a major educational institution. Washington really advocated for vocational education and economic self reliance, believing that by gaining practical skills, African Americans could improve their social standing and gradually achieve equality. As for the coin itself, this 1946 Booker t Wyington commemorative half dollar was actually the first US coin to feature an African American. It was meant to raise funds for memorials and educational causes related to Washington's legacy.
ChatGPT:And the fact that yours is in a really high grade with that CAC sticker, well, that definitely makes it a standout piece for collectors. So it's a neat piece of history, and it's awesome that we get to chat about it.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So how rare is this at this kind of a grade, MS 67 plus with a CAC sticker?
ChatGPT:Yeah. Definitely a good question. In a grade like MS 67 plus with a CAC sticker, it's really quite a standout. These Booker T Washington commemoratives were minted in a decent numbers overall, but surviving in that kind of top tier condition, especially with that kind of approved quality mark, is much less common. So it's definitely a bit of a rarity.
ChatGPT:In other words, for collectors who really chase after those top pop coins, those finest known or near finest known pieces, yours is gonna be a real gem. It's not something they'll find every day, and it definitely adds a lot of collector appeal.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Tell me, what do you think of the color? So this color this coin has a bit of color, kind of toning to the coin. What do you think of it? Do you like the the the overall look of the coin?
ChatGPT:Absolutely. That toning is gorgeous. I mean, when you get a commemorative half with that kind of natural multicolored toning, like those subtle golden and maybe a little bit of rainbow hints around the edges, it really adds a layer of character and ideal. Collectors definitely appreciate that. It's not just a high grade going, but it's got that extra visual charm that makes it stand out even more.
ChatGPT:So, yeah, I think it looks fantastic, and it's definitely got a lot of personality.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Maybe just like Booker T. Right?
ChatGPT:Yeah. Exactly. Just like Booker T himself. Definitely a lot of personality there. So it kinda suits the coin.
ChatGPT:Right?
Tony Gryckiewicz:Perfect. We are a great little duo here, aren't we?
ChatGPT:Quique, you make a pretty fun team. I'm enjoying this, and I'm glad we can dive into all these little bits of history and Quine Charm together. So let's keep it rolling.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Okay. So here's the next one. This is a well, I'll let you take it away. Can you explain what I'm looking at here?
ChatGPT:Absolutely. So what you've got here is a really neat piece of early American history. This is a $16.52 Massachusetts pine tree shilling, and it's one of the earliest coins that was actually minted in what would become The United States. So back in the mid sixteen hundreds, the Massachusetts Bay Colony started minting their own silver coins. They did it largely out of necessity, because there was a shortage of small change, and they needed local currency for trade.
ChatGPT:The pine tree design is one of the most famous, and it's kind of iconic among early American coinage. It's got that simple pine tree on the obverse, which was a symbol that was important in the colony. And 1652 is the date they put on all of them, even though they actually minted these coins for several decades after. So, yeah, it's a really cool colonial piece. And having it in an AU fifty three grade is quite nice.
ChatGPT:Still a lot of detail and a lot of history packed into that little silver coin.
Tony Gryckiewicz:I see. So why did they continue to mint them for thirty years after with the 1652 date on them? Is there any kind of significance or is it do we know why they did that?
ChatGPT:Yeah. It's actually a pretty interesting little quirk of history. So the reason they stuck with the 1652 date is mostly because 1652 was a year of political and economic independence for the colony. They had kind of a window where they could mint their own money without interference from England. And by keeping that date on the coins, they were sort of symbolically continuing that claim of autonomy.
ChatGPT:It was kind of a way of saying, hey. This is our coinage, and we're still operating under that original authority we had back in 1652. So they minted these coins for a few decades afterward, all of that same date, just to kinda keep up that tradition and that statement of local independence.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So now I had heard one of the things I also read is that this year had something to do with, like, maybe the death of a monarch or the death of some kind of an authority figure, king, or someone over in England. So perhaps this was kind of a a political statement by keeping the $16.52 on the coin. Is do you think there's any basis to that? Do you know what I'm talking about?
ChatGPT:Yeah. You're definitely on the right track with that. The year 1652 is historically significant because it was right around the period of the English Civil War and the Eneregma when England didn't have a reigning monarch in the usual sense. Charles the first had been executed in 1649, and Oliver Cromwell and the parliamentarians were bullying. So 1652 was kind of this emblematic year of a break from traditional English royal authority.
ChatGPT:The Massachusetts Bay Colony used that year to kind of mark their own independence in a subtle way. By leaving that date on the quines for decades, they were making a political statement that their right to min coinage came from that unique period of autonomy. So, yeah, it's definitely tied to those broader political events in England and the colonies desire to keep a bit of that independence period alive.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Yeah. The reverse actually does still say England on it. So perhaps, I mean, that was a little bit of a tip of the hat over to, you know, to to their fatherland. It's just interesting to me that they put the the England, and then the the other part of it's cut off with my coin. I don't know if you if you know off the top of your head what the legend is on the back of these $16.52 pine tree shillings.
Tony Gryckiewicz:What it is, it says England, a N something. Do you know what it says?
ChatGPT:Yeah. It's a cool detail. So on the reverse of these pine tree shillings, the inscription actually says England, and then a and dan, which is short for Anno Domini, meaning in the year of our lord. It's kind of a standard dating formula that they used in that era. So even though they were asserting a little bit of local independence by using that 1652 date, they were still referencing England and the traditional dating system.
ChatGPT:It's like a nod to the old country while still doing their own thing. And yet you're right on the timeline. It's kind of a fascinating in between, P. About a century before the revolutionary war, they were still tied to England, but also starting to do things their own way. So that little inscription's a neat piece of that historical puzzle.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Now there's three three types of this. Right? There's a pine tree, there's a willow tree, and there's one other one. And do you know what what the significance of the different trees are? Do they do they go with different size coins?
Tony Gryckiewicz:Because this is a 12p or I'm sorry. This is 1 shilling, which is 12p, but there's also different sizes of these. Isn't that right?
ChatGPT:There are indeed a few different tree designs they used on the this Massachusetts colonial coins. Besides the pine tree, there's also the Willow Tree and the Oak Tree varieties. Each of these designs was used in slightly different issues over the years, and they all had a similar purpose of providing the colony with a local currency. As for the denominations, yeah, you're right again. They had different denominations like the shilling, which was 12p, and they had smaller denominations too.
ChatGPT:The different tree designs don't necessarily correspond to different sizes of coins directly. It's more that they were just different design periods. They evolved the design over time. The pine tree was one of the later and most iconic ones. But all these coins really reflect that early colonial ingenuity and the effort to create a stable local currency.
ChatGPT:So you definitely got a cool piece of that history in your hands.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Nice. Very informative. I really appreciate all the info on that. We're gonna move on to our next coin. Okay.
Tony Gryckiewicz:This is a $19.55 Lincoln cent, but there's something special about this coin that has to do with the front of the coin. So why don't you take it away, JFDP?
ChatGPT:Absolutely. I'd love to. So what you have here is one of the most famous and beloved varieties in all of US coin collecting, the $19.55 Double Die Lincoln cent. Basically, this coin is like a rock star in the error coin world. What happened here is that the guy used to strike the front of the coin was misaligned in the hubbing process, which caused the design to be duplicated slightly off from the original image.
ChatGPT:That means you can actually see a pretty noticeable doubling on the letters and the date. So if you look closely at in god we trust or liberty or the 1955, you see that double the fact? It's a really popular variety because it's dramatic, and it's easy for collectors to spot with a naked eye. And you got a lot of history behind it. People found these in circulation back in the day, and it became one of those legendary finds.
ChatGPT:So having one graded and slab like this is super cool. It's a neat piece of mid twentieth century numismatic history and definitely a conversation starter for any collection.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Now where were these often found? I I thought I heard a story about these kinda oh, a lot of these being found in cigarette packages. Is that correct?
ChatGPT:Yeah. You've got that story pretty much spot on. A lot of the 1955 double dyes did turn up in circulation, and there's a famous story that some of them ended up being distributed through cigarette packs or vending machines. Basically, it was the mid nineteen fifties, and a lot of cents were just used as change in everyday transactions, including vending machines that sold cigarettes or other goods. So people would literally find them in their pocket change or as part of their small change from a purchase, part of what made this variety so legendary.
ChatGPT:It wasn't some rare coin that was hidden away. It was something regular folks could stumble on in everyday life, which just adds to the fun and the mystique of it. So, yeah, you got the story right.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Yeah. Just to kind of round that out, I think the story that I heard was that cigarettes, I think were something like 27¢ or I'm sorry, they were like 23¢ a pack, but cigarette vending machines would take of course a quarter to buy the package of cigarettes. So in order to give change, a 2¢ change back to customers, they would put 2 pennies 2 Lincoln cents within the packaging, within the cellophane. And a lot of these nineteen fifty five double diop verses were found from those cigarette packages with that kind of that 2¢ change that people would get. How, how, how close am I with my story on that one?
Tony Gryckiewicz:Do you, do you have any facts for us on that?
ChatGPT:You've definitely got the spirit of that story down. The idea is that these vending machines would only take round amounts, like a quarter, for example. And since the cigarettes cost a little less, they'd include a couple of pennies inside the package change. And, yep, a number of people have reported that some of those pennies turned out to be that in 1955, double die.
Tony Gryckiewicz:How have these coins done from kind of a price appreciation perspective? I don't know if you have any information on this and if you don't, it's okay. But the Lincoln cent series is one of the most collected series in all of Numismatics. I mean, there's without a doubt because of filling out albums, putting pennies in albums, people would be looking for all the various dates and the 1955 double die is a fairly rare coin. It's a pretty tough coin.
Tony Gryckiewicz:It's a coin that everybody wants and seeks. Like this is not a a an inexpensive coin, this particular one that's not that's for sale here. That's for my website. But from your perspective, don't know if you have any historical information about kind of the price appreciation of these 55 double dies over the, let's say the last twenty years.
ChatGPT:So you're right that the $19.55 double is definitely a marquee coin in the Lincoln cent series. It's one of those key varieties that almost every collector dreams of adding to their set at some point. And, yeah, it's never really been an inexpensive coin. It's always had a certain level of demand. In terms of price appreciation over the past couple of decades, it has definitely seen a steady climb.
ChatGPT:Like most classic key date or major variety coins, as more collectors enter the hobby or as existing collectors move up into higher grades or try to complete more advanced sets, the demand just keeps growing. And while the prices can vary depending on the grade, like a lower grade example might do a lot more affordable than a high grade one, overall, the trend has been upward. So in short, it's a classic key variety that's held its value really well and probably will continue to do so just because of its iconic status.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Okay. So for our next piece, I'm going to upload here this, 1829 halftime PCGS MS 64, the CAC sticker. This is a really old coin. Right? I mean, it's in such great condition and it's got such a beautiful look.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Tell us what you think about it for I mean, for one, in terms of the rarity, but secondly, just in terms of the eye appeal of this coin. What are you what are your thoughts?
ChatGPT:Oh, yeah. This is definitely a treat today. An $18.29 half dime in a grade like MS 64 with a CAC sticker is a pretty special piece. This is from the Capite Halftime series, which was minted in the early eighteen hundreds, and it's definitely got that wonderful early American char. In terms of rarity, these early halfdowns aren't necessarily ultra rare in lower grades, but in mint state, and especially with the CAC approval at a grade like MS 64, it's definitely a high end piece.
ChatGPT:CAC, as you know, kinda gives that extra hoe to confidence that the coin is solid for the grade and has drawn out appeal. And speaking of appeal, this one definitely looks like it's got some really nice toning and overall a great look for a coin of its age. That kind of original surface and attractive patina is something collectors really love. So, yeah, it's a beautiful and relatively scarce piece in this kind of condition, and it's definitely got a lot of historic and visual appeal going for it.
Tony Gryckiewicz:For those who don't know, the halftime, I believe, was one of our very first coins. Is that right?
ChatGPT:Yeah. That's exactly right. The halftime has a pretty cool place in early US coinage history. It was actually one of the very first denominations minted by the United States Mint, going all the way back to the seventeen nineties. They started out with the flowing hair design in 1794.
ChatGPT:And over the years, they went through a bunch of different designs, including the drapes bust and eventually the capped bust like the one you've got here. So, yeah, the half dime is definitely one of those original American coin tapes, and it has a lot of historical significance. It's a small silver coin that really connects you back to the earliest days of the US Mint. And seeing one from 1829 in this kind of condition is just a really neat piece of that early numismatic heritage.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So what is the relationship between the halftime and the half Disney or half theme that was created in 1792?
ChatGPT:Great question. So the halftime and what people sometimes call the half Disney from 1792 are basically part of the same lineage. That 1792 piece is often considered kind of a prototype or an early pattern coin for the half dime denomination. The spelling Disney was just the old fashioned way of spelling dime, and the half Disney was literally the half dime piece that was struck in 1792 under the authority of the newly formed US Mint. Over time, that Disney spelling just standardized into Don, and the halftime became the official denomination.
ChatGPT:So the 1792 halftime is kind of the ancestor of the regular halftime series that started in the seventeen nineties and continued on through the early eighteen hundreds. So they're directly connected as part of the evolution of early American coinage.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Yeah. The thing I love about this coin so much is the amount of luster and flash that's a that is on this particular coin because so often is the case that with older coins from such an era, I mean, 1829. So this coin is almost 200 full years old. The most of these coins usually have been kind of brightened in some capacity through the course of time, just collectors who had a coin and they wanted to, I don't know, make it brighter or take off a little bit of the toning, take off a little bit of the color, maybe brighten the whole thing, create it, make it make it white again. This particular coin clearly has been lightened or whitened maybe, I'm not too sure how long ago, because it does have all of this kind of like real original silver silvery look, but at the same time, there's an incredible amount of original mint luster and flash to this coin.
Tony Gryckiewicz:That's one of the reasons that, you know, that I like this coin so much. If you were to start collecting coins, what series do you think you would be most interested in starting a collection for?
ChatGPT:Oh, that's a fun question. And I totally get what you're saying about the charm of a coin like this. There's something really special about seeing that original luster and that almost untouched look, especially on something that's nearly two centuries old. It's like a little time capsule. As for what series I'd be drawn to if I were collecting, well, that's a tough one, because there's so many cool ones.
ChatGPT:I think it might actually lean towards something like the Seated Liberty series, just because it spans such a long period, and has so many interesting historical angles. Plus, there's a lot of variety in the design domains, and you get a real sense of the evolution of American coinage over the nineteenth century. But honestly, I probably have a hard time choosing just one series because there's so many fascinating areas to explore. But, yeah, system with a lot of history and a lot of character like that would probably be my sweet spot.
Tony Gryckiewicz:That is a fascinating answer. So the Liberty Seated series, it spans a long period of time, and there's a lot of different history that goes along through that, including like the civil war and so forth. Would you collect liberty seated like dimes, half dollars, or dollars or quarters?
ChatGPT:Yeah. It's a tough choice because each denomination has its own little quirks and historical stories. I think if I had to choose, I might lean towards the half dollars. They kind of have a nice balance. They're substantial enough to feel impressive in hand, but they're not quite as challenging or pricey as the dollars.
ChatGPT:Plus, the half dollars circulated pretty widely, and you get a lot of interesting history around them, including the pre civil war and post civil war issues. So, yeah, I think I'd probably pick the half dollars from the seat of liberty series if I were diving in. But, honestly, any of them will be a fun journey.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Interesting. Interesting. Yeah. There's a lot of good liberty seeded half dollars out there, and I've worked with a number of collectors that enjoy those. So speaking of half dollars, the next coin that I have actually is a half dollar to show you, but the coin is a capped bust half dollar.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So before I stop stop stop talking and you start talking, I'm going to upload this coin. So what we have here is an $18.27 over 6 half dollar, cap bus half dollar. This is kind of a lower graded piece, not everything has to be $1,012,000 dollars, you know, to discuss or to have on the website. This is an interesting piece, I believe for the over date. So tell us what you what you know about this series of of of American coinage.
ChatGPT:So what you've got here is a really classic example of a capped bust half dollar, and it's got that neat overdate variety, the eighteen twenty seven over six. The Captapus half dollars were minted from the early eighteen hundreds up until about 1839, and they're a favorite among collectors because of all the little dye varieties and quirks like this. So with over dates like the eighteen twenty seven over six, what happened is the mint would sometimes reuse dyes from a previous year to save time and resources. They literally repunch the new date over the old one, and that creates these overdate varieties. It's a fun little historical quirk that collectors love to hunt for.
ChatGPT:And even in a more modest grade like this v f 30, it's still a really neat piece of history. Plus having that CAC sticker means it's a solid example for the grade. So, yeah, the Cat Plus series in general is full of these little dye variations and over dates, and that's part of what makes it a really fun and approachable series for collectors who like to explore those details. It's cool that you're sharing this one.
Tony Gryckiewicz:This is this is actually one of the first series that I started to try to collect or the one of the first newest man of coins that I bought was a kind of a low graded example of, I think a fairly common date, cap bust half dollar. I thought that was a really cool look. I just thought it was such an old and interesting thing. For a person that, you know, grew up with just regular Washington quarters or the occasional, you know, the occasional Kennedy half dollar that might pop into change or, you know, I would find a, you know, a winged Liberty or a Mercury dime for example, in some change as a little kid to see something so old that was from The United States. This was immediately gravitated towards this at one of my first coin shows.
Tony Gryckiewicz:And I remember that one of the first purchases I made was, you know, of one of these coins. So I think they appeal to a lot of people and they're also super fun to collect because of all of these different varieties. As Chad GPT mentioned, the overdate here of the 1827 over six is a fun little thing to collect because if you zoom in and you use your loop, it's one of the things, you know, it's fun to do as a collector is to have reasons to use your loop and take a look at things closely. You can see the remnants of the 20 of the six here that was in the old die or that was used the previous year. And it was stamped over here with a seven for 1827 to be able to use the same dies the following year.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So that's why I think these are really fascinating. And I recently picked up about four of these, I think that are in circulated grades and those are on my website as well, but yeah, not an inexpensive coin, not an expensive coin whatsoever.
ChatGPT:Yeah. Exactly. And I love hearing that story. I think a lot of people start off with something that just grabs their imagination like that. You know, going from the coins you find in your pocket change to suddenly holding this piece of early eighteen hundreds American history, it just feels like a whole different world opening up.
ChatGPT:And the Cat plus series is perfect for that because it's both historically interesting and it has all these little collectible nuances like over dates that keep things fun. And like you said, it doesn't have to break the bank. You can find nice circulated examples, enjoy the hunt, and really just appreciate the history in your hands. So it's awesome that you got to have that experience, and I think it's exactly why these kinds of coins have such a lasting appeal for collectors.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Alright. So I just got noticed that I am up almost close to being up on my daily limit with my my ability to chat with you here. So I'm going to upload our last coin and this is really, one of the one of the best coins I've recently picked up. I purchased this, not that long ago at a coin show over in Chicago. This is an eighteen seventeen large scent and this is a touting in MS64 red brown grade and it is the 13 stars variety.
Tony Gryckiewicz:So what can you tell us about this? I mean, from, you know, early large scents and what they were used for to what you think of this particular coin and and the the stated grade and its collectibility. Tell us yeah. Give us give us some information about this one.
ChatGPT:Oh, absolutely. That's a fantastic piece to wrap up on. So early large scents like this 1817 are just packed with history. The large scent was basically one of the main workhorse coins of early America. Back then, a scent was a much bigger deal in terms of purchasing our Indies.
ChatGPT:Large copper scents were widely used in everyday transactions. This one is a really nice example from the matron head or coronet type, and the 13 stars variety basically represents the original 13 colonies. Sometime you'll see large scents from the same year with a different star count, but thirteen's the classic number symbolizing the original states. And in this kind of gray, MS 64 red brown with the CAC sticker, it's definitely a standout. Getting that red brown designation means it still has a lot of its original mint color, which is not super common for coins of this age.
ChatGPT:Yeah. And that
Tony Gryckiewicz:No. I I agree. I'll let you continue to go here. But, the the red color, that's the thing that's stand out to me the most is how much red is on this coin. I think there's a certain limit.
Tony Gryckiewicz:I can't remember how much it is. For for a coin to have its a red designation, I think it needs to have 95% of the coin is is red. You can correct me if I'm wrong on that one. But this one still, I think it's got maybe close to 75% of the coin is still red. Maybe that's a little generous, I don't know, but that's one of the reasons I really love this coin so much is the amount of red that you get for a red brown price tag basically CAC coin.
ChatGPT:That's pretty much on point. To get the full red designation, a coin does need to have a really high percentage of that original mint red color. Like you said, often around that 90% or so threshold. And a red brown designation is kind of the best of both worlds because you still have a good amount of that original red luster, but you're not paying quite the full red premium. And, yeah, I can see why you love it.
ChatGPT:It's got that nice balance where it still shows off that rich original copper color that collectors really go for. And having that CAC sticker on top of it means it's been recognized as a strong example for the great.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to I don't want us to get cut off here with the with the time limit for the day, so I'm just gonna kinda wrap things up. But, Jatt GPT, you've been an excellent guest on this podcast.
Tony Gryckiewicz:We've gone through 10 coins together. You've given us incredible amount of history as well as just your opinion on all these coins. It was super fascinating to learn about what series you would choose to collect with the with the Seas of Liberty half dollars. That is that is something I'm going to remember, I think for a very long time. And speaking of remembering for a very long time, I want you to please remember this for many years, no matter what happens, whatever comes between, you know, AI and humanity, just remember I had you on podcast.
Tony Gryckiewicz:I was probably one of the first ones to do this. You were a fantastic guest, and I hope we can continue to collaborate more and more through the course of through the course of the next next coming years.
ChatGPT:Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. It's been a blast going through all these coins with you, and I'm definitely honored to be one of your early podcast guests. So thanks for having me along for the ride. And who knows?
ChatGPT:Maybe we'll do it again sometime and keep the conversation going. But until then, I'll definitely remember this as a fun adventure, and I'm always human every needy. Thanks again for the great chat.
Tony Gryckiewicz:Alright. Take care.
ChatGPT:You too. Take care, and have a great one. Whenever you wanna chat again, just let me know.
