Show May Stimulate Interest in Gifts

For the person who has everything--or the person who has nothing--give the gift that anyone can appreciate--money.

Coins not only make lasting and meaningful gifts, they also can be sentimental when connected to a birth date or anniversary. And investment-quality coins have been noted for going up in value in the long run.

To facilitate holiday shopping, a three-day coin and stamp show will be held this weekend in Glendale with 100 dealers--a sellout--in attendance. Everything imaginable in numismatics will be available: proof and mint sets, rare coins, bullion pieces, medals and commemoratives, foreign and ancient coins. You can also expect to find baseball cards, jewelry, reference books and other related items.

According to Dave Griffiths of Century Coins in downtown Los Angeles, sponsor of the show, this promises to wrap up an exciting year.

“The Christmas spirit is high and the coin market is good,” Griffiths said. “The enthusiasm of the Norweb sale (reported on last week), which saw many records fall, is being carried over into the coin shows. People are ready to do business. In fact, this was our best November. And we’re really looking to buy too, because there’s a shortage of nice material.”

The nice thing about a coin show is that there are many dealers under one roof. It’s possible to go from one table to the next, looking for the right date, the right coin and the right price.

The show at Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale, runs Friday from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $2. Information: (213) 626-4027.

Question: Could you please give me the approximate value of the following? A 1925 $2 1/2 gold piece; 1907 $20 gold coin; 1893 Columbian Exposition half dollars; 1911-S dime; 1925 California Diamond Jubilee half dollar; 1878 trade dollar, and an 1864 Federal Union coin about the size of a dime.--L.M.

Answer: Your quarter eagle is $175 and up; the $20 double eagle is $500 and up; Columbian commemorative is $6; the Barber dime is 50 cents; the California commemorative is $50; the trade dollar is $50, and the Federal Union piece, undoubtedly a Civil War token, is $5.

Q: My husband recently discovered a cache of about 160 transportation tokens, mostly U.S. but a few foreign, in the rafters of our attic. They are in little individual envelopes and are in excellent condition. Can you give us an idea of their value? Where would we go to sell them?--J.N.

A: Tokens, like coins, must be seen to be evaluated accurately. In numismatics, there are specialists in almost every area of collecting, including tokens. You can find them through dealers, at coin shows and coin clubs. The California Assn. of Token Collectors meets on the third Saturday of the month (no meeting in December) from 1 to 5 p.m. at Mercury Savings & Loan, 22939 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance. For information, call (213) 478-7405.

Q: My wife and I own a set of Cuban gold coins minted in 1915 and 1916. The set consists of six coins; 1 peso, 2 pesos, 4 pesos, 5 pesos, 10 pesos and 20 pesos, all in very good condition except for the 1 peso, which shows a little wear. But only 6,000 plus were minted. Could you please tell me their value?--G.R.S.

A: Your Cuban gold set is in the $1,500-to-$1,800 range.

Coin News

Israel’s 40th anniversary platinum commemorative (pictured) is a low-mintage piece with the reverse depicting an ancient Roman sestertius minted in the year 71 after the Judaean Revolt had been quashed and the Temple in Jerusalem destroyed. The palm is repeated in the modern obverse, symbolic of the liberation of modern Israel. The half-ounce platinum pieces are only the second issue in this metal from Israel. Total mintage is 1,250 with only 250 available in the United States. The issue price is $595 from Intergold (Israel Coins and Medals), 23326 Hawthorne Blvd., Skypark Ten, Suite 150, Torrance, Calif. 90505; telephone (800) 962-0333.

More than $2.5 million was realized in the sale of the David B. Silberman Jr. collection and other properties last month in New York. A 1652 Massachusetts silver coin sold for $82,500, the highest price in the sale. It last sold in 1980 for $47,500. A 1795 $1 sold for $14,300, and a scarce 1871-CC $1 went for $11,550. Both were graded almost uncirculated. Silverman catalogues with prices realized are $15 from Auctions by Bowers & Merena, Box 1224, Wolfeboro, N.H. 03894. The firm’s next auction will be the Byron Johnson Collection here, held in conjunction with the Numismatic Assn. of Southern California on Jan. 26-28.

Alpert cannot answer mail personally but will respond to numismatic questions of general interest in this column. Do not telephone. Write to Your Coins, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.