The following was written by Brian.

Here's a pretty good trivia question with which you can stump your friends and family:

Q: What and where is the longest parade in the world?

A: The Schützenfest Parade in Hanover, Germany.

This "Marksmen's Parade" has more than 10,000 participants from all over the world, including over 100 bands. Even more impressive? It's 7.5 miles long!

But what is the Schützenfest? I'm glad you asked.

A 'Schützenfest' or marksmen's festival is a traditional fair which features target shooting competitions in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. This is a wildly popular yearly event that draws thousands of spectators in addition to the 5,000+ marksmen. There are over 250 rides and inns as well as give enormous beer tents (many festival goers are just in it for the beer).The landmark of the festival is one of the highest transportable ferris wheels in the world; soaring to over 200 feet high and seating up to 420 people.

So, basically, it’s a place to get high, get drunk and watch people shoot a bunch of stuff. I’m in!

In Switzerland, the first national Swiss Federal Shooting Festival (Eidgenössisches Schützenfest) was held in 1824, but the local festivals date back centuries earlier. Here is the 1458 Schützenfest in Konstanz as depicted in the Luzerner Chronik of 1513.

And a much more recent photograph from the festival in Winterthur, Switzerland 1895. This is the main entrance.

Originally an event for bow & arrow/crossbow types only, weapon technology would ensure that later events would include rifle and pistol. These are still used in the modern shooting competitions.

The winner of the competition becomes the Schützenkönig* or "king of marksmen" until the next year's competition. Everyone else gets a medal and the medals are spectacular. We will talk about these medals soon…when I write to you next.

*I have secretly always wanted to be called this.

Except for Tom Brady.

With six championships trophies in under 20 years, including three in the last six years, I don’t think anyone in their right mind would not consider the New England Patriots a dynasty. And with so much parity in the league these days (and professional sports in general…well, except for the New York Jets), one could even argue that they may be the last dynasty. I recall after the Pats won their 3^rd Super Bowl, that many people were telling me “It’ll all come to an end soon.” Fast forward 15 years and three more Super Bowls, and it seems that perhaps this fairy tale story has finally come to an end.

Except for Tom Brady.

Brady is still perched near the top of his division (just a half game behind as I write this), albeit this time as quarterback for the Tampa Bay Bucs in the NFC South. Meanwhile in New England, our new QB is none other than Cam Newton – the overwhelming choice for MVP in 2015. While Newton still shows flashes of his dazzling athletic ability, it now seems like a lifetime ago as Newton does not look like the player he was then. Like I said, all good things come to an end.

Except for Tom Brady.

Recently a box was put on my desk. Tom from our office had purchased something pretty cool and fun, especially for us Pats fans - The Tom Brady Super Bowl Commemorative Coin Collection. Five images from five different Super Bowls embossed on American Silver Eagles that correspond with the dates New England won. In the drawer are cards for each year detailing the Pats run to the title. There are actually two more spots for additional coins, so hopefully we’ll come across the Silver Eagle celebrating his sixth title. (And perhaps the final spot for a Bucs coin if he wins it all with them?)

Not for sale, but I thought it was worthwhile sharing. Particularly since there’s not much worthwhile to write or say about the Patriots anymore.

This post was written by Brian.

The following was written by Brian.

Is luster on proof coins a good or bad thing? Or is it neither? I recently had a customer ask me about a few proof coins. He asked how the luster was on these coins and I said (trying not to sound like a jerk), “well, there really isn’t any because they are proof coins”. He proceeded to ask me again on the next few proofs he had chosen and one of them indeed had a good deal of luster.

Personally, when I look at proofs, I’m looking for clear reflective mirrors (which are obtained by the use of highly polished dies). That to me is what gives proof issues their eye appeal. And isn’t that what we’re all looking for in our coins? 

Perhaps not and maybe it just comes down to semantics. Some people say that the well-mirrored proof coins do exhibit a type of luster, which is called proof luster (not to be confused with business strike cartwheel luster). Yet others seek earlier struck examples with clear, watery mirrors and little to no proof luster. So, is our customer right or wrong for wanting what he wants and liking what he likes? Well, that isn’t my call, but I do know this: As the die for a proof issue starts to wear, it creates flow lines in the metal which is in turn responsible for luster on proof coins. Many Three Cents Nickels like the one here exhibits this luster quite nicely.

Normally, die erosion (or in this case the lack of die re-polishing) is viewed as a negative when it comes to coin production, but maybe not so in all cases.

We’ll let you decide, but we also would like to hear your thoughts on the matter so please feel free to comment!

No, of course he doesn't. But James Earl Jones, the acclaimed actor and the voice of Darth Vader, does. And so a few years ago, the PNG and ANA produced a couple of videos promoting coin collecting with Mr. Jones as the narrator. We encourage you to check them out!

The following was written by Brian.

One of my favorite bands when I was growing up was Aerosmith. They were (and technically still are) “The Bad Boys From Boston.” One of my favorites of theirs was a little ditty called “Back in the Saddle.” In the song, they wanted the sound effect of a bullwhip being cracked so they went out and bought a real one. Reportedly all four members were cut up and injured several times trying to use it but still couldn’t get it to work. So, they improvised (pun intended) by swinging a 30-foot cable that was in the recording studio and using a cap gun to emulate the crack of the whip.

These days, I’m feeling like we are back in the saddle at Northeast (minus attending the usual coin shows). It was a very strange (and dare I say challenging) few months prior to getting back in the groove. We had to improvise quite a bit ourselves, but we all came together to make it work. And we’re still making it work. Lots of safety protocols are in place, and everyone has been doing a stellar job with boundary considerations, mask wearing, sanitizing, etc. With a good bit of improvising, we have been able to come back to full speed ahead from the operations standpoint.

That said, we’d like you to know that none of this would have been possible without you, our customers. Without your support, we, like many other businesses, would have been in very rough shape. So, we thank you for your loyalty, your business, and your patience! Many of you have expressed over the phone that you understand things take a little longer during a pandemic and though we have not slowed down, we certainly appreciate the sentiment.

Thank you again for allowing us to get back in the saddle once more!