Mitchell, Michael & Mark,
I told the director of the Nevada State Museum eight years ago that I would write a coffee-table-sized book about the Biltz "CC" coin collection. I would include descriptions, histories, mintages, survival estimates, value estimates, and images of each of the 109 coins in the collection. The book would also include biographical information about Norman H. Biltz.
I also offered to pay for the submission of the Biltz collection coins to PCGS or NGC, and have Nevada State Museum Collection printed on each coin's grading certificate.
There's more.
I offered to give a sizable cash donation to the museum to have special displays constructed to house the slabbed coins from the Biltz collection, and I offered to help create computer terminals that museum visitors could use to view blown-up images of the coins on monitors, that would also include pertinent information about each coin—Sort of like interactive tutorials to help visitors understand the significance of the coins in the collection.
On top of all of the abovementioned efforts, I told the museum director I would get the grading service that certified the museum's coins to launch a major advertizing campaign in numismatic periodicals to promote the museum's collection, which I assured the director would increase visitor traffic to the museum substantially.
I thought all of this would be an offer the museum could not refuse. Boy was I wrong. After over eight years of trying to get the museum to accept my offer, its director has stubbornly rejected it.
My goal has always been to promote the Nevada State Museum and the legacy of the Carson City Mint. I thought my offer would be a no-brainer for the museum to accept, but for unknown reasons, the men in charge don't share my vision.
So there you have it—the rest of the story.
Rusty
C4OA Lifer!
