The first article was by half dollar enthusiast Edgar Souders on the dots seen on many Capped Bust Half Dollars. This is part of an ongoing series of articles that Edgar has written for the society on his observations of the coins. Edgars trusty microscope was put to good use viewing the minuscule marks found on the surface of the halves. He has categorized the dots found on the halves into several different categories including; Center Dots, Unusual Center Dots, Marking Dots, Overdate and Date Remnant Dots, Working Die Rust Pit Dot(s), and Miscellaneous Dots. His in-depth research on the subject is unequaled. Collectors of other series of bust coins can use the basic information in looking at coins from their specialty. Collectors of the Capped Bust Halves will have fun comparing their coins to the photos and descriptions given by Edgar. 

The next article, The Collar Dies of our First Mint by Russell J. Logan is the first in a series of three appearing in this issue on the edges of the coins from our Federal Mint. The edge collars used to create the reeding on the edges of our early coins have been mostly ignored by most collectors. This third edge of the coin can, however, tell an interesting story about the coins. The difference between the open and closed collar minting processes is discussed. Error coins are used to help prove that the reeding was applied during the strike of the open collar coin, not by a Castaing Machine, as some had previously thought. 

Mike Sherrill presents the next submission, A Closer Look at 1827 JR10. This article details the minting of one of the rarest dime marriages in the Capped Bust series. He speculates that this marriage may have been the first use of the closed collar for minting US dimes. He illustrates many of the known specimens of this rare marriage. Mike also discusses the population of this coin using Breens Proof Encyclopedia information and other listings from auction catalogs of proof 1827 dimes. 

The third edge article is by Louis A. Scuderi; The Broken Edge Die on 1832 Reverse B Dimes: What Can It Tell Us About the Minting Process? He documents his observations of differing die states of the 1832 dimes using Reverse B. The edge die used to strike the reeding for these coins comes with an edge cud. His study concludes that the edge die was independent from the obverse and reverse dies used to strike the coins. 

One of our regular authors, W. David Perkins, follows with Early Dollar Notes. He reports the discovery of three new specimens of 1795 B10 dollars. This is in response to his article in the last issue of the Journal, The 1795 B10 Silver Dollar- Much Rarer Than Thought? One of the new discoveries Was counterstamped (the subject of our next article), one was a VF35 from The Fairfield Family Trust Collection by Ira and Larry Goldberg, and the third From The Cabinet of Lucien M. Lariviere, Part III by Bowers and Merena. These additions now brings the total known to 10 or 11 coins. 

Tim Toy, a new author, follows with his article Found: The Elusive 1793 Flowing Hair Dollar. He tells us of his good fortune of finding, and buying, the counterstamped 1795 B10 Dollar. The coin appeared on e-Bay and Tim was the lucky high bidder. The coin now occupies a special place in his collection. 

Louis Scuderi authors his second article for this journal, 1833 Rusted Die Quarters: A Possible Link to Climate. Louis tells us of his career as a climatologist and his acquisition of the precipitation records from many cities on the east coast from 1820 to the present. This information allowed him to formulate a hypothesis on the rusted dies used to strike the quarters in 1833. Based on these records we see that the precipitation for 1833 was almost twice that of normal. Louis goes on to hypothesize that most of the 1833 rusted state quarters were actually produced in 1834 (not an unusual occurrence at that time). 

W. David Perkins again writes about another of his new acquisitions, a counterstamped 1796 Bust Dollar. His article On the Santa Fe Trail in 1870 tells what he has found out about the subject of the counterstamp; John Q. Houts. His research into the city, Las Vegas, New Mexico gives interesting background to the travels of this fascinating coin turned token. 

Dr. Glenn Peterson then documents the discovery of a new die marriage for the Capped Bust Quarter series. Brian Greer, in August 2000, discovered this new variety of 1837 quarter. It has been designated Browning 6. Photos and diagnostics are provided for identification. 

Finally, Stephen Crain, the clubs secretary submits the minutes to the annual meeting which was held at last years ANA convention in Philadelphia. That concludes the current issue. 

Collectors interested in obtaining more information about The John Reich Collectors Society are encouraged to contact us via the link provided on this page, or by writing to us at JRCS, PO Box 135 Harrison, OH 45030.