#4668512 - 03/15/1109:49 AMCoin sighting in old movie
DWLangeDWLange
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From time to time there have been discussions here about views of contemporary coins in old movies, and here's the latest one for me.
Last night I watched the Harold Lloyd comedy For Heaven's Sake, which was filmed in the summer of 1925 and released the following year. Early in the movie Harold puts a nickel into a countertop slot machine. Though the nickel isn't identifiable, the machine pays out two quarters. These are shown in close-up, tails side up. One is a Barber in AG, and the other is a Type 2 Standing Liberty grading F-VF.
Whenever I see old coins in movies, I wonder whether those same coins are still with us. The odds are against it, as the attrition rate of coins was very high during the silver era, but it's fun to speculate that they may have survived in the same or lower grades.
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#4668588 - 03/15/1110:37 AMRe: Coin sighting in old movie
[Re: DWLange]
cpm9ballcpm9ball At this point, I feel I should interject something of little importance in the midst of this very educational Q&A.
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Originally Posted By: DWLange
From time to time there have been discussions here about views of contemporary coins in old movies, and here's the latest one for me.
Last night I watched the Harold Lloyd comedy For Heaven's Sake, which was filmed in the summer of 1925 and released the following year. Early in the movie Harold puts a nickel into a countertop slot machine. Though the nickel isn't identifiable, the machine pays out two quarters. These are shown in close-up, tails side up. One is a Barber in AG, and the other is a Type 2 Standing Liberty grading F-VF.
Whenever I see old coins in movies, I wonder whether those same coins are still with us. The odds are against it, as the attrition rate of coins was very high during the silver era, but it's fun to speculate that they may have survived in the same or lower grades.
One episode of "American Picker" showed them visiting the warehouse of a woman who buys all sorts of stage props from the production companies, and she is regularly visited by those production companies for props for new movies. It's very possible that coins like these are stored away somewhere in a warehouse like that.
Chris
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I just watched "Dear John" a few days ago, having heard that coin collecting plays a prominent role in the movie. I'm glad to report... it does! However, the movie is kinda dumb - a chick-flick I guess.
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Funny movie DWLange. The man had a lot of bad luck but enough money to not worry about it. What are the odds of buying a brand new car for $9,000. and getting it shot up by mobsters.....LOL
I too always pay very close attention when I see coins in older movies as such. Can't say I could grade the coins on there but good eye buddy.
#4675244 - 03/17/1110:06 PMRe: Coin sighting in old movie
[Re: Rigo]
CaptHenwayCaptHenway
Collector is an understatement.
Registered: 01/12/08
Posts: 125
ATS the other day, there was a thread about the John Wayne movie "Rio Grande," set circa 1880, where the female lead throws some coins on the counter and you can identify them as Peace Dollars and Walking Liberty Halves.
Of course, when they made movies back then, nobody had a freeze-frame button other than the film editor.
