| Probably everyone at one time or another has | | | | Joesph W. Barr " dollar bills. Now as I wipe the tears |
| collected coins. Some people save old wheat pennies | | | | from my eyes, yes I am sad to say dad has been |
| they find in change and throw them in a jar. Other | | | | gone a few years now, and I still miss him very |
| people collect state quarters, and some others collect | | | | much, especially when I sit here alone and think |
| certain coins like nickles or dimes, and try to build a | | | | about the times we spent together in the years |
| complete collection over time. A lot of folks think coin | | | | gone by, oh well, at least it's always great memories |
| collecting is the hobby of king's and truthfully, it's | | | | when it comes to you, dad.Now as I regain my |
| often called that. A king may be able to build a giant | | | | mental composure, if I ever had one, I want to say |
| collection of coins, but I promise you, that the small | | | | that I never lost the desire to collect coins. And as I |
| collection a young boy has that may only be worth a | | | | got old enough to work full time, and live on my own |
| couple of dollars, is worth just as much to that boy | | | | I started and built a fairly large coin collection. I didn't |
| as a King's coins are worth to him.I can tell you right | | | | have much money as I never went to college or |
| now, anyone can collect coins and you don't have to | | | | trade school, and I have always had a job working as |
| be rich. In fact I have quite a large coin collection, and | | | | a laborer, so I had to fine ways that I could build up |
| I have had a very low paying job all my life. There | | | | my coin collection cheaply.One day, I was looking in |
| are a lot of ways someone can build a great coin | | | | the back of a Coin collecting magazine that I had |
| collection over time, while still paying the bills.Coins are | | | | purchased at a local news stand, and I found an ad |
| so neat looking, I remember when I was a young | | | | where you could join a coin collecting approval |
| boy, my grandad would go upstairs and open a safe | | | | service. They would send you certain coins once a |
| we had, inside was a metal drawer containing some | | | | month, and you could select the ones you wanted to |
| old Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars. My grandad | | | | buy and keep, and if you didn't want them all, just |
| would let me sit and play with the coins often. I | | | | mail the others back to them, and the next month |
| would hold one by the edge on the table top and flip | | | | they would send some other coins for you to |
| it on the side with my finger and the coin would spin | | | | examine. What made this program better than the |
| wildly around on the table like a toy top. The coins | | | | other approval services I had often seen was, you |
| were frosty silver or whitish colored and were | | | | could tell them what type of coins you were |
| beautiful to look at, they were large and heavy, not | | | | interested in, and what price you were willing to |
| like the little coins we have today. I often wondered | | | | spend monthly. I selected miscellaneous U.S. coins, |
| how many folks actually carried these things around | | | | everything from old large cents from the 1800's to |
| in their pockets everyday, it only took a few of | | | | silver mercury dimes and buffalo nickels etc. And I |
| them to weigh quite a lot.After my grandad passed | | | | chose to only spend $20 a month, for me this was |
| away back in 1969, my dad sold the old silver dollars, | | | | perfect and for about a year or more I stayed in the |
| I don't think he really wanted to, but my grandad had | | | | program and over time I got a nice bunch of coins |
| left the family farm pretty deep indebt, so dad had | | | | from them, then something happened and the |
| an auction and sold about everything except our | | | | company folded or went out of business, as I never |
| house and the barn, to pay off the huge bills. It | | | | received any more coins from them and I no longer |
| wasn't too long after that when dad got bitten by | | | | saw their ad in the magazines.Overtime I discovered |
| the coin collecting bug. At first it wasn't coins but | | | | other cheap methods to aquire some nice coins, one |
| paper money that got dad started. I remember dad | | | | of the methods I still use, is something that anyone |
| saw an ad in the back of some magazine, where a | | | | can do to start building a nice coin collection. Just |
| guy was offering to pay $2 for every dollar bill you | | | | start searching and examining your pocket change, I |
| sent him that had a certain treasurer's name on it, | | | | still find wheat pennies and silver war nickels, and |
| that name was: " Joesph W. Barr ". My dad looked in | | | | many pre 1960 nickels, and sometimes a silver coin in |
| his wallet at some dollar bills he had, and sure enough | | | | pocket change. One time about two years back, I |
| he had one that had the signature " Joesph W. Barr " | | | | was at a local store and got some change back, I |
| on it. Dad took the dollar from his wallet and kept it | | | | noticed two of the quarters I received looked kinda |
| in an envelope in his old roll top desk, and after | | | | white in color, examining them closely after I got |
| checking his money for several days afterwards, dad | | | | back home, I discovered they were both pre 1964 |
| found some more of them. Sometime later dad | | | | silver Washington quarters. I figured somebody must |
| mailed the dollar bills to the address in the magazine | | | | of needed money to buy some cigarettes or milk or |
| ad, and sure enough he soon got a check for the | | | | something, and must of used some of their old coins, |
| dollars plus an extra dollar each. Dad continued | | | | I was just lucky enough to had been there at the |
| searching and sending in them " Joesph W. Barr " | | | | right time and place to get them in my change.One |
| dollar bills for awhile, then after a period of time, the | | | | place to find a lot of nice coins is to go to different |
| guy no longer was accepting them.Dad then started | | | | banks and buy rolls, search through them carefully, |
| buying a few Indian head cents and some buffalo | | | | and you will be surprised of the neat finds you may |
| nickels. Then as he got older and money seemed to | | | | come across, plus just add a few out of your pocket |
| get a lot more tighter, dad quit buying coins and | | | | change to replace the ones you want to keep from |
| turned to a new hobby, doing sweepstakes. But by | | | | the rolls, and you can turn them back into a different |
| this time, I was hooked, I just loved the look of the | | | | bank for some different rolls of coins to search |
| old coins, the silver ones and the old copper large | | | | through.Another place that is fairly good for finding |
| cents, they just seemed so neat compared to the | | | | some rare coins is at local flea markets, be careful |
| boring coins of everyday use. Now as I am writing | | | | though as many of the folks at these places are |
| this article, I stumbled across an interesting article | | | | very aware of a coins value, and they often ask for |
| about the " Joesph W. Barr " dollar bills from the | | | | much more then what the coins are worth. Read up |
| 'American Numismatic Association' it said, the | | | | on the coins you are interested in buying, or better |
| following: "At one time, it was speculated that the | | | | yet, take along a pocket coin price guide with you |
| notes signed by Treasurer Joseph W. Barr would | | | | when you go to buy coins, it's better to be thrifty |
| eventually hold a high numismatic value since he was | | | | then foolish.Anyway, now after collecting coins for |
| in office for only 23 days in 1968-69. However, during | | | | fun over the years, I have almost every Lincoln cent |
| that period, a total of 484 million notes were | | | | that was made from 1909 up to present, and I have |
| produced with his signature. The high quantity | | | | every Jefferson nickel from the first one that was |
| produced dictates that the notes will never be | | | | made in 1938 to present, and I have a nice sized |
| considered rare in our lifetime. Interestingly, in 1995, | | | | wooden chest full of miscellaneous U.S. coins, including |
| numismatic author Alan Herbert stated, "A $1 Barr | | | | silver dollars, mercury dimes, buffalo nickels, Large |
| note deposited in an interest-bearing account in 1969 | | | | Cents and many more unique and rare coins. I figure |
| would have been worth over $4.00, figuring 6% | | | | the coins will make a nice gift someday, something to |
| interest compounded annually. A circulated Barr note | | | | leave to my daughter and her children, and maybe I |
| kept in a safe-deposit box for 26 years is worth $1 | | | | can spark that fire in them, that my dad started in |
| today."So that explains why that guy probably quit | | | | me, the joy of coin collecting. So start checking your |
| buying the " Joesph W. Barr " dollar bills, it seemed | | | | pocket change today, you just never know what |
| they might of been collectible for a little while, but | | | | rare finds you may come across.There are several |
| they just never caught on. Today you can still buy | | | | different types of computer software that are made |
| them on eBay and other places, sometimes for | | | | for coin collecting. One program that stand's out is ' |
| slightly more than $1.00. Oh well, it is something that | | | | Coin Collector Professional ', it is made for any coin |
| has stuck in my mind every since I was a little boy, I | | | | collector, from novices to professionals, and it cost |
| will always remember dad checking his wallet for " | | | | under $20. |