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May 07 2024

Newman Portal Search Hints

Newman Portal searches from the home page are exact text only. If you enter multiple words, it will search for that entire phrase.

If you wish to search for multiple terms all one page, but not in exact order, use the search form at https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/powersearchform. For example, if you wish to locate pages containing the words "Washington," "medal," "birth," and "centennial," enter the search:

ItemContent:Washington AND ItemContent:medal AND ItemContent:birth AND ItemContent:centennial

You can also use Google to search the Newman Portal site. From Google, enter, for example:

"washington medals" site:nnp.wustl.edu

Finally, you can search the Newman Portal document repository directly (https://archive.org/details/newmannumismatic), which, in some cases, will deliver additional results. On this page, check the box "Select text contents" before searching.

For additional assistance, please email us at NNPCurator@wustl.edu.

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May 17 2025

Newman Portal Adds Half Crazy

Recently added to Newman Portal is the latest issue of Half Crazy, the electronic publication of the Seated Half Society. The Bill Bugert volumes on the Liberty Seated Half Dollar (1839-1891) die varieties, first appearing in 2010, have spurred interest in this long running 19th century American series. Although the set consists of over a thousand die marriages, these coins were produced in large quantities, and many varieties are available at accessible prices. 


The current issue of Half Crazy includes an interview with John Dannreuther on proof coinage, a call for census information on the 1849 Doubled Date and 1873 No Arrows Open 3 varieties, and an overview of the 1841-O “baseball crack” reverse. Half Crazy is edited by Dennis Fortier and is issued quarterly. To subscribe, contact Dennis at ricajun@msn.com.


Link to Half Crazy on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/548913
Link to Bill Bugert publications on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/booksbyauthor/361
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May 02 2025

U.S. Mint Marketing Material on Newman Portal

At the recent Central States convention, Bruce Bartelt made available to Newman Portal a large collection of U.S. Mint marketing materials covering the period 1966-2023. There are hundreds of advertising pieces here, reflecting the prodigious production of U.S. Mint collector issues over the past couple generations. One of the more spectacular Mint emissions during this period is the 1976 National Bicentennial Medal in .900 fine gold, a massive, 3-inch diameter medal that weighs in at 15 ounces, representing 13.5 ounces of pure gold. By comparison, the Washington Before Boston medal in gold, held by the Boston Public Library, weighs “only” 8 ounces. 


Market appearances of the National Bicentennial medal in gold include an example sold by Heritage on March February 27, 2025, for $44,400, while another piece at Heritage sold for $54,000 on April 30, reflecting the rising value of gold. This medal is cataloged as Swoger 52IAa, in his National Commemorative Medals of the United States of America (2008). Swoger notes a mintage of 424 pieces. The original issue price was $4,000, representing a significant premium over the 1976 melt value of about $1,685. By comparison, at today’s (May 2) gold price of $3,249, the bullion value of the medal is $43,861, which is more consistent with recent auction results. 


Among the Bartelt U.S. Mint promotional material is a 1976 solicitation for the National Bicentennial medal in gold. While not valuable, we have to wonder if these solicitations are as rare as the medal itself. For those not inclined to acquire an example of the large gold medal, Swoger notes seven variants in all, including a 3” silver piece and two smaller pieces in gold. A quick search of ebay reveals a good selection of most formats, with the exception of the “mega Liberty” 15-ounce gold behemoth. Given the upcoming Semiquincentennial, it is not hard to imagine increased collector interest in these pieces.


Link to U.S. Mint fixed price lists on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/512757
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