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The price of silver was flagging in the early 1900s. To boost it, a silver miner named Joseph Lesher decided to mint silver coins. The octagonal currency was a hit, but investigators at the Secret Service were wary.
The story is told in the new book "Forgotten Colorado Silver: Joseph Lesher's Defiant Coins." Co-author Kenneth L. Hallenbeck, a former curator of the Money Museum in Colorado Springs, speaks with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner.