From The Columbia Paper, July 17, 2025

Numismatist advises:

‘Never clean an old coin’

CANAAN—The Canaan

Historical Society presents

“Going, Going, Gone!

Bob Alexander’s Indian Head Penny Collection.

A history

of early American Coins.”

His talk will be at Canaan Town Hall, 1647 County Route 5, just south of the intersection with Route 295,Saturday, July 19 at 4 p.m.

Collecting since 1956 when he was 21, Mr. Alexander is numismatic, a coin collector hobbyist of rare proportions. “Of all the coin sets, I have been most interested in the Indian Head pennies. I can remember when my desire was so great to complete this Flying Eagle-Indian Head cent collection that I would trade gold coins for those small cents. If I only knew then what I have learned since, I would now have a nice gold coin collection of great value,” he said in a press release. Mr. Alexander will show pictures of the coins currently in his Flying Eagle-Indian Head cent collection, which starts in 1856 and ends in 1909. He has also researched American history and incorporates information about what was happening during each of those years. “Never clean an ‘old’ coin. You will reduce the numismatic value of the coin greatly, more than 50%,” he said in the release.