Council votes no on KI tax
Men's chorus sings for homeless
Madison vs. Waynesville
Appraisal event turns up valuable coins
Coin necklace from 1881 and a 1903 Silver Dollar among notable finds.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
FRANKLIN — Liz Buchanan thought a $5 gold coin necklace she inherited from her great-grandmother might be worth a pretty penny.
In fact, the coin from 1881 is now worth more than $200 and even more in its weight in gold.
Joe Barrett of Main Street Coin in Fairfield appraises coins for Leda Deaton, left, and her mother, Myrtle Ross, both of Franklin, at the Deardoff Senior Center in Franklin on Saturday, April 26. Submitted photo.Buchanan and others brought coins and paper money to a coin appraisal event Saturday, April 26, which was a fundraiser for the Franklin Area Historical Society.
The appraisal turned up some valuable finds, said expert Joe Barrett, including a 1907 $5 Legal Tender Note now worth a few hundred dollars and a 1903 U.S. Silver Dollar minted at the New Orleans Mint worth close to $500.
Barrett gave a presentation on currency, also speaking on the variety of coins produced by the U.S. Mint in recent years.
"Those quarters that the mint began issuing several years ago commemorating the various states are an example of people saving coins," Barrett said. "They'll probably never be worth any more than their face value because there are so many, but people are fascinated by them, and they're keeping them in jars or in special booklets made for them."
He also spoke about local history, describing how individual banks used to issue their own money, as he passed around a $200 bank note issued by a Hamilton bank in the 1800s.
"If you acquired this bank note, which is now worth about $9,000, it could lead to you studying why banks used to print their own money, how they did it and why they had to stop," he said. "In the process, you learn an awful lot about American history."
