Entries have poured in since April from kids all over northern Nevada for Southgate's 200-year-old coin giveaway. Our newest staff members, Crystal and Emma, captured the excitement of this event on the final Saturday before the entry deadline. Read on to learn more about it....
Deadline for Coin Giveaway Entries is Friday July 25, 2008
We've received hundreds of entries from kids 12 and under from all over northern Nevada for the 200-year-old coin giveaway we've been sponsoring since April. Parents and educators have sent messages of appreciation for how this event has sparked an interest in their kids for history. One parent wrote, "This is a great idea, my children and I have enjoyed searching for the answers to the questions." And, a teacher in the Reno area wrote, "My entire class participated in this history-inspiring project, thanks for launching it."
Following are the details of this special event:
Southgate Coins, in Reno, Nevada, is giving away a 200-year-old U.S. half dollar to one lucky kid who answers correctly six questions related to the year 1808. According to Southgate spokesperson Marie Goe, her company designed this giveaway as a means of introducing a younger generation to coin collecting and to spark an interest in history.
"The younger generation is very familiar with popular video games like, Iron Man and Grand Theft Auto," declares Goe, and "just about every kid knows all about Hannah Montana and Harry Potter." But, “How many of them know what happened in 1808,” asks Goe, and "how many of them know what our nation's coinage looked like 100 years ago, or 200 years ago?" And I wonder, “How many of their families own an artifact from the year 1808?”
The lucky child whose entry is chosen in a random drawing will receive what numismatists call an 1808 “Capped Bust” half dollar, minted in Philadelphia nine years after George Washington died. “Coins are surviving witnesses of the past,” says Goe, and “Southgate Coins is proud to promote the hobby of coin collecting, as well as the history surrounding the coins to the youth in our area.”
Southgate Coins will award the free 1808 half dollar, valued at $150, to the child (twelve years and under) whose entry, with the correct answers, is selected in the drawing on August 5, 2008
The prize for the 200 Year Old Coin Giveaway at Southgate Coins is an 1808 Bust half dollar
Rules of the giveaway are:
A. Entrants must be twelve years of age or under and live in the Reno/Carson City area.
B. Entries must be mailed or dropped off to Southgate Coins no later than July 25, 2008, at Southgate Coins, 5032 S.Virginia St., Reno, NV 89502.
C. No purchase necessary to enter.
D. The following six questions must be answered correctly:
Who was the president of the United States in 1808?
Who won the presidential election in 1808?
How many states were in the Union in 1808?
Which well-known leader of the Confederate States of America was born in 1808?
Who was the emperor of France in 1808?
Which famous German-born Austrian-school-of-music composer premiered his Fifth Symphony in 1808?
E. Each entry must include the child’s name, age, address, and telephone number (only one entry per child, please).
F. The winning entry will be selected on August 5, 2008, and the winning entrant will be called to come in and pick-up the 200-year-old half dollar at Southgate Coins, located in Reno, Nevada.
"We're hoping that this giveaway promotion generates lots of interest in the hobby among our area's youth," states Goe, and "that many of them discover that coin collecting can be as fun (or even more fun) than skateboarding and Xbox 360s."
Questions regarding this special community service event should be directed to Marie Goe at Southgate Coins (775) 322-4455, or email at mariesgate@sbcglobal.net.