Rocco visit’s the US Mint and it’s closed…for something!

When I was in eighth grade I went on a trip to Washington, DC, our nation’s capital. When we were there we toured every monument, landmark and government building that we learned about in American history.

One of my favorite tours when I was there was the US Mint. It was fascinating to see how money was printed, cut and distributed. When I got home I decided that I wanted to collect American coins. I engulfed myself in knowledge of the different Mints. The heritage of coins, especially “wheatback” pennies and “Morgan Silver Dollars”. I had a neighbor lady give me three buffalo nickels and I thought she was the greatest person in the world. I took out her trash everyday until just before she died.

I had those coins until I was a little more than 16 years old, (over $12,000.00 dollars worth) until my younger (middle) brother thought it was a good idea to steal them and trade’em in for some cash…he got less than $100.00. Not to air my family’s past dirty laundry but I still had that yearning for collecting American coins and the respect for our nations currency. I always think people take the actual currency for granted because it is just a means to an eventual end… products they want.

I like to believe in and honor the history of our nation and it’s money. I had a Liberty Head Dollar that was minted in Denver that was supposedly worth $3500.00 that I always will remember as being so beautiful. So armed with that memory I thought it was a good idea to visit the U.S. Mint in Downtown Denver while I was staying there…

The video below shows you what happened when I got there:

Here’s a bunch of facts about the U.S. Mint you might not have known:

1. David Rittenhouse was appointed by George Washington as the first Director of the Mint.
2. The first Mint building was the first Federal building erected by the U.S. Government under the Constitution.
3. Past Mints have included Dahlonega, GA; Charlotte, NC; New Orleans, LA; and Carson City, NV.
4. The first Philadelphia Mint used harnessed horses to drive the machinery that produced coinage.
5. A two-cent coin was minted between 1864 and 1873 and was the first coin to bear the motto “In God We Trust”.
6. Legend holds that George Washington donated some of his personal silver to the Mint for manufacturing early coinage.
7. The Mint’s first delivery of coins occurred in 1793 and consisted of 11,178 copper cents.
8. Mint marks, “S”, “D”, “P”, or “W” designate the Mint facility,which produced the coin.
9. Thomas Jefferson first proposed the decimal currency system,which we use today.
10. By provision of the Coinage Act of 1965, Mint marks were not carried on coins made in 1965, 1966, or 1967.
11. The first U.S. commemorative coin was produced in 1892 and featured Christopher Columbus.
12. The Mint’s original coins were made of gold, silver, and copper.
13. In 1943, the content of the cent coins was changed to zinc-coated steel due to copper shortage during World War II.
14. According to the artist, the Indian head on the buffalo nickel (1913-1938) is a composite picture.
15. The Philadelphia Mint mark appears on each of its coins except the Lincoln cent.
16. Sacagawea, Susan B. Anthony, and Helen Keller are the only women honored on a circulating coin. Sacagawea appeared on the obverse of the golden Dollar, Susan B. Anthony appeared on the obverse of the dollar coin, and Helen Keller appeared on the reverse of the Alabama quarter.
17. The Philadelphia Mint covers five acres of land.
18. The first coin to feature an African-American was the Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar.
19. Calvin Coolidge was the first President to have his portrait appear on a coin struck during his lifetime.
20. George Washington first appeared on a commemorative dollar, with the Marquis de Lafayette, in 1899.
21. In 1893, Queen Isabella of Spain became the first woman to be featured on a U.S. commemorative coin.
22. All commemorative coins legislated by the U.S. Mint are legal tender.
23. Original gold coinage included $10, $5, and $2.50 denominations.
24. The Act of April 2, 1792, which created the Mint, required coins to have “…an impression emblematic of liberty.”
25. The Roosevelt dime torch, olive branch, and oak branch portray liberty, peace, and strength and independence.
26. The donation of $508,316 in gold to create the Smithsonian Institution was assayed in the [Philadelphia] U.S. Mint.
27. The first Lincoln cent was produced in 1909 and carried wheat ears patterns on the reverse side.
28. From 1799 to 1873, the Mint was an independent agency reporting directly to the President.
29. The Lincoln cent is the only circulating coin currently produced in which the portrait faces to the right.
30. The United States has two mottos that appear on each circulating coin, “In God We Trust” and “E Pluribus Unum.”
31. Designers’ initials can be found on each circulating coin.
32. The design on the back of the Kennedy Half Dollar is the presidential coat of arms.
33. The San Francisco Mint, established in 1854, survived the great earthquake of April 18, 1906.
34. Before creation of a national Mint, “currency” included foreign and colonial currency, livestock, produce, and wampum.
35. The Denver Mint opened in 1863 as a U.S. Assay Office.
36. The present Philadelphia Mint opened in 1969 and is the fourth facility which has been located in that city.

An interview with my friend… The Profit and Poet Paul Thorn

It’s not everyday that you encounter someone who you literally feel is living a parallel in a different dimension. I know you must think I’m losing my mind but the reality is that I’m not getting metaphysical on you I’m just stating a fact. A little more than 12 years ago I met Paul Thorn. I was driving to my radio gig at the Gary Burbank Show like I did everyday listening to Gary’s show before i got there so I actually new what the hell was going on.

I happened to be a very successful Personal Trainer that went on Gary’s Show one day and step in shit. Gary loved my laugh and the energy I brought to the studio and I haven’t left radio since.

On this one day I heard a very distinct voice talk about a battle that he had with Roberto Duran, stone hands himself. I couldn’t really believe that a former professional boxer was going to be singing anything meaningful on my buddy Gary Burbank’s show.

It was just the opposite and it blew me away. Paul sung “Hammer and Nail” a song that refers to the beating he received for Roberto Duran as well as getting cheated on 151 times from an ex-girlfriend and working 12 years in a chair factory. His life was laid out in one song and it was hilarious and dead pan serious all in the same breath. I was hooked from the moment I met Paul and his business/songwriting partner Billy Maddox. We have been friends ever since.

I used to go Michigan, Tennesee, Louisville, Ky and always the Southgate House in Newport, KY whenever Paul and the band would come to town. I live in Albuquerque now and only get to see Paul when I travel to Mississippi, Memphis or when he comes west. I never interviewed Paul and I don’t know why but when he played the Soiled DOve Underground in Denver, Co…I decided it was about time for me to interview him and for you to get a glimpse of my good friend, Paul Thorn.

Here’s my interview:

If you want to know more about Paul Thorn go to: http://paulthorn.com

You’re a Chicken and…I’m a Chicken Hawk!

It’s always something either stupid or goofy that brings you back to something memorable from your childhood. To me it’s watching Looney Tunes cartoons. I would watch cartoons every Saturday morning and try to wake up extra early so I could watch Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig (whom I related to because I stuttered also) and my favorite, Foghorn Leghorn.

It wasn’t that I really liked the goofy rooster but his little known adversary used to kill me every time I saw a cartoon with him in it. This adversary was non other than Henery Chicken Hawk. He was a little “Chicken Hawk” in training that thought it was a good idea to try to eat Foghorn. It never worked but it was always a fun journey through cartoonland. Here’s one of my favorites:

Father Sky-Mother Earth…A place to begin your Santa Fe Day Trip

As you know I know live in Albuquerque, NM which is just 45 minutes from Santa Fe. If you haven’t noticed I love living in “God’s Country” and the drive to Santa Fe is always a welcomed experience. I keep telling myself I’m going to take the Rail Runner (the train system…that Cincinnati still can’t grasp) but I get in my car and drive.

I will take the train and write about it here…don’t you worry! Now that I have done my little rant… I’m good to go.

Every single time I arrive in Santa Fe, I have to start my shopping spree and cultural integration with a cup of espresso and conversation with my good friend D.L Valdes.

He will make your trip as memorable as every trip that I have made. I love his art, his music and his espresso.

Watch the video and meet D.L Valdes…artist, musician and barista.

Meet My Cousin Vinny…every Italian has one!

How much more of a cliche’ is this?  My cousin Vinny!

When I was a young kid running around tormenting my elders there was always a cousin that would save me from their wrath. Yes, it was my cousin Vinny.  We called him cousin Vincent.

It was funny because there was a huge gap between the older cousins, Cousin Vincent, Nora and Ricky and the rug rat cousins that I believed were a thorn in their side at social functions.  The older cousins were always cool…they had girlfriends or boyfriends, and they sat with the grown ups.  They just had that sense of coolness that only an eighteen year old or older could have as an 8 year old cousin looked on…wishing…he was cool.

No such luck!  My mother dressed me in plaid on f@#kin’ plaid and double knit slacks…f@#kin’ slacks…WTF.

If you tell anyone I will have to slap the shit out of you!

Watch this video and meet My Cousin Vinny.

Next Page »