Maurer/Timm Quail Ridge UCD Student Endowment Order Books here Original Poems and Thoughts website Email Frank here: frankmaurer41@gmail.com

Poems and Thoughts by Frank Maurer

Search for:   All Poems   Topics   Titles   Help

Numismatics

Immutable Species opus 49

One Morgan silver dollar was the daily remuneration for a man's travail.
The obverse was the Lady Liberty, renounced at first by receivers of that dollar.
"She is depicted as an unattractive female."
But so much for the obverse; it is the reverse we wish to consider.

Both Linnaeus and Darwin, and of course many others,
Struggling against the concept of the Scala Naturae and the immutability of species,
Realized the great variation within species viewed, resulting from their studies,
And which did cause the perennial rift between Creation and Evolution.
"Species are immutable as created by god."

Now look at a particular specie (a piece of money; a coin),
And compare this to the biological question.
On the reverse of the Morgan is an eagle with a tail, of course.
The mint in 1878 pressed out eagles with a tail of eight feathers.
"Impossible!" cried out the ornithologists of the day--
"Raptors have only an odd number of tail feathers;
One in the center and the remaining on each side to make the odd total."
So, immutability comes to the enlightened fore,
With the mint (Philadelphia--we had four others!)
Reusing the remaining 8 tailed coins by striking over with the seven,
Resulting in a 7 over 8, with four feather tips still showing beneath,
And proceeded on with the 'proper' created (evolved?) odd number.
So, in 1878, the Morgan eagle had 8, 7 over 8, and 7 tail feathers, all in one year!
Now, today, does this manifest the conflict of the 'immutability' of our 'sacred coins',
As well as the 'god created, fixed morphology' of the living creatures around us?

Mercury Dimes, Remaining opus 62

Four Mercury dimes--1941 to 1945--lie packeted together.
Ready to give as a little Christmas gift to my grandson.
I had originally thought he would have enjoyed
Exchanging numismatic thoughts about coins together--
A subject to possibly bind our friendship.
But sadly, he will not talk nor visit.

My days, at my age, are running out.
Perhaps I shall never have such fantasized joy.
A decade or more of pending possibility:
One can only wait and savour those things that do remain.

The Enigma of the Eight-tailed Eagle! opus 181

1878 was the inauguration of the Morgan Silver Dollar.
The Philadelphia Mint started it off with an Eight-tailed reverse eagle.
HORROR! (At least for ornithologists)--
Raptors have only an odd number of tail feathers.
Eight is even! Raptors have one central tail feather,
Thus resulting in the consequential odd number.

So contemplate the Mint's rebuttal action.
Eight was minted, then as Seven, with an interesting caveat--
Leftover Eights were 'recapped' with a new Seven.
The result was four 'Eight tips' protruding out from under the Seven new feathers.
Thus, then, the unintentional creation of yet a new Morgan Error Coin!
1878 P Morgans now and forever shall always have 8, 7/8, and 7 tail feathers.

All these changes, by recognizing ornithologist's credence in their knowledge,
And that although communication was slow,
The world, even with its seeming lethargy, could reach out in detail,
Confusing us all with basic, hardcore, intriguing trivia!

The Position of the Eagles' Wings opus 268

You have heard, perhaps from me, about the debate
Between Jefferson and Franklin concerning the eagle vs the turkey?
Well, since Jefferson won, many of our coins have eagles!
If you have 'numismatically' studied our US coins,
Upon which are several eagles--
Have you noticed the position of these eagles' wings?

1858: Morgan dollars--wings outstretched to show strength?--
Even though the first minted number of tail feathers
Were even and not odd?
Civil War pending. Perhaps hopeful defiance?

1887:  'Flying Eagle' one cent--wings beautifully outstretched--
Hopeful for a peaceful thought after the Civil War? But, did not last long.

1921+:  The Peace Dollar, minted for only six days in that year--
Wings beautifully folded in hope of no further wars?
Then continued on for an abbreviated amount of time.

1932+:  Or our quarter with George Washington on the obverse
And the unimaginative eagle on the reverse.
Was this because of the devastating Great Depression
Or had we just lost the excitement surrounding our founding fathers
And created only a stereotyped eagle?
The mood of a country may be depicted through its coins.
There are so many more. Susse or ferret them out!
{Know the derivation of those two words? Just wondering.}

History is everywhere for the astute to behold!

6 June 1944 opus 383

So many gave their lives on that fateful day
In many various ways to stop the Nazi oppression.
I was a young child of three on that day,
My father being in the very midst of it all.
He, because of his educational background--
Physiologist and engineer--
Was absconded to work in secret
On high altitude breathing equipment.
Our planes, limited by freezing O2 masks,
Were pummelled by the high flying Germans.
First, he designed a mask with a double layer over the face
Which, when warmed by the cheeks,
Would allow continued flow of life giving O2.
Then he tested them in chambers and in the B-17s.
This effort was the beginning towards his early death,
For he carried a rheumatic fever, wounded heart from childhood--
He lasted until only 57 years of age, in spite of medical intervention.
Third, the government instructed that he form a production company
To produce for the war, all sizes of needed masks and goggles.
This he did with a 'partner' who was later revealed as dishonest.
So much confusion and turmoil for him at the war's conclusion.
I remember several trips to Cape Cod to visit a French-Canadian attorney,
Hired to protect my father, innocent on all counts.
While they worked on the case,
I met a glorious sand and beach grass habitat!
I never completely understood everything until years later.
I do remember the eight white plaster head models,
Placed under the cellar workbench,
Used to model for the many face variations, sized for a proper mask fit.
One thing I learned was that my father's beautiful coin collection,
Which he often showed us children, needed to be sold.
If he were still alive, what a joy to discuss with him today
All the wonderful coin sagas I now myself have learned.
So many memories like this linger in my 'historical mind'.

Friday Night! (An 83-year-old's Perspective) opus 409

A long day today with chores and calls.
Just finished shopping in town--all on electricity (plug-in hybrid!).
Now I am back home and spacing out.
Thinking about what Friday nights used to be--rushing here and there--
For pleasure or some sort of entertainment.
Now, at 83 this month (!), I am content to relax and think:
Of my children and grandchildren and our future--
Just picked up a book 'The Heat Will Kill You First' (Goodell).
My house is 82 degrees at 1800 Hours and AC is not on.
Ready tonight to do a letter or two--
More fundraising for my Quail Ridge Student Endowment.
Small tortoises ready to be brought back into the living room--
Raccoons out there at night!
Two hens guided into their little coop for protection.
TV news coming on--Kamala--a Boudican Celtic Queen!
Mail to sift through, sending out small donations here and there.
Had squid for lunch--perhaps now just an egg with a sip of Sake?
I am moderately content--wish for more family contact.
Oh, I just received in the mail a 'Sitting Liberty' 1860, 50 cent piece,
Retrieved from the famous SS Republic shipwreck (1865)--
I am enamoured with the history of our coins.
I used to put a tooth under my pillow, anticipating a dollar.
'Dollar' comes from our first using money from the Netherlands
Before our own mints produced 'homegrown' coins!
(Dutch 'Daalder' comes from the original German 'Thaler'.)

So much for thoughts--see how an experienced old man's mind works?

The Penny is Gone opus 692

In February of 2025, the president ordered the end of minting our penny.
Now, both businesses and customers calculate,
Whether or not the 'rounding up or down' to the nearest nickel,
Give them a miniscule profit or loss.
To mint a one cent piece, costs the government 3.7 cents.
It costs 14 cents to mint each nickel--when is their doomsday?
The latter's fate to come, may be a while;
The ceasing of the minting of the US one half cent was in 1857!
It may be a while until we witness the demise of the nickel:
We humans love to hold on to our beloved coins..
I do remember holding on to my pennies, though,
To push them into their appropriate date and space
In the collectors' 'book' my father provided for me.

The Additional Value of Postage Stamps opus 741

I have delved into the Numismatics of our coins,
And have discovered wonderful history as told by them.
The minting of coins throughout our history,
Portrays US history that might today otherwise be overlooked.
Tha loss of the Danish postal system
Manifests adumbrations of another loss of history.
More obviously than coins, stamps (philately)
Reflect pictorially what a nation holds valuable,  
In that this mini-art form speaks out for a nation's values.
This important minimal art portrays 
Human heroes and important landscapes.
If and when our postal system is modified or eliminated,
Yet another quiet depiction-recording of our civilization
Will be sadly halted, just as the Egyptian petroglyphs
Were finally and abruptly cut short 
With the loss of the utilization of the art of stone carving.
(Originally, before stamps, recipients paid for a letter,
But with so many ships sinking, the sender started paying.)