Coin Presentations

[Prosit]

Sept 11, 2013 (next Wednesday) I am giving a presentation on Numismatics to the local Rotary club.

While I have given many presentations I have never given one on Numismatics.

I really would appreciate any advice you can give me.

Dale

[Prosit]

What I have in mind is maybe:

1 Short intro to Numismatics

2 Famous Coin Collectors

3. Hand out literature

4 Myth Busting

5 Hand out a free coins package (small group...maybe 20 people)

[Figleaf]

I did a presentation to a history group once, so I concentrated on the history of coins. For rotary guys, I would suspect that money and its value is interesting for them. Some loose thoughts, not in logical order.

• A dollar does not have a the same value for a beggar and for a millionaire.
• Money is an efficient go-between for traders, allowing them to go from "I have what you want; you have what I want" to "I know what you want and I know what they want".
• Producing coins and banknotes costs only a fraction of what they are worth in trade.
• Anything people trust can hold value (Yap grindstones, New Guinea dog teeth, Cambodian tea tablets etc.)
• Collecting coins is an investment in yourself.
• Collecting can be adapted to highly personal interests and all budgets. It's not necessarily about money (archeology, design, heraldry, symbolism, coin production and its errors, financial history, geography etc.) Tell them about your own interests, especially the Austrian new year tokens.
• Nothing you can say about coins is true for all coins (metal, round, struck, means of payment, etc.)
• What is different in US coins? Standardised texts e.g. E Pluribus Unum, no denomination in numbers on the coin, denomination 25, only 4 denominations, low value banknotes, coins produced at a loss.
• Not everything called a coin is a coin, e.g. challenge coins, mess coins, chocolate coins.
• Trading and hard to identify coins will give you friends all over the world you'd otherwise never have met. A spectacular case: a blind coin collector.
• Production checks: mintmark, date, essayer mark, mintmaster mark, trial of the pyx.
• Consumer checks: coins of the same value look the same, metal colour, size, denomination. Weight and metal content may be indicated on the coin.

I am sure you can think of more and much more detail. Drop me a PM if you need more info.

Peter

[Prosit]

All excellent ideas and good information! I will definitely use some. Thanks for that!

This will be between 10 and 15 minutes but maybe 20 minutes tops. So the scope has to be very limited.
It will be to US citizens and non-collectors.

I was considering ending with famous US coins, 1933 Double Eagle, 1955 double die cent, 1913 Nickel.
A quick history of the 33 double eagle might be interesting.

I have been a member of Rotary for over a year and I note they have a strong curiosity about everything.
History is important as is money and finance as we help fund many local and international projects.

I guess the one thing I want to stress over others are the international friendships and good will and good fun Numismatics can promote and I have experienced. Rotary is international.

Dale

[chrisild]

Even though your audience will be Americans, this coin may be of interest.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Australien-1-Dollar-2005-100-Jahre-Rotary-international-Silber-PP-Farbmunze-/370610201623

Perth Mint NCLT, yes. But they may recognize something ... Anyway, all the best for your presentation!

Christian

[Prosit]

OOOOOhhhhhh  That is excellent!
Thanks

Dale

Even though your audience will be Americans, this coin may be of interest.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Australien-1-Dollar-2005-100-Jahre-Rotary-international-Silber-PP-Farbmunze-/370610201623

Perth Mint NCLT, yes. But they may recognize something ... Anyway, all the best for your presentation!

Christian

[Prosit]

Welll the Numismatic presentation was a smashing success. So much so that I was asked for an encore schelded for next Wednesday.

Dale

[Figleaf]

Coingratulations. Good for you, good for them.

Peter

[chrisild]

Kudos! Maybe you did not turn any of them into coin collectors, but if you got some of your enthusiasm - why you are interested in coins, and what they can tell - across, that alone is great.

Christian

[Prosit]

I may not have turned any into coin collectors but I did pass out small bags of random coins with instructions that if they had no interest in them after a while to give them to any kids they knew. I gave quite a few bags to the Pastor. It was worth doing whatever ripples it might create.

Dale