BrianRxm Coins on Television 4/88
Amos 'n Andy - The Rare Coin (1951)
Lodge member "Kingfish" tries to cheat a fellow member out of rare 1877 nickel
Prev Back Next
This episode of the television program "Amos 'n Andy" program deals with a rare 1877 nickel.
 
The CBS television program "Amos 'n Andy" is about a group of men living in New York City who are all members of or connected to a fraternal lodge.
 
Amos 'n Andy was an American radio program created by Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden which ran from 1928 to 1960. In the early 1950's a number of television programs were created from radio programs, including Amos 'n Andy.
 
Amos Jones is a taxi cab driver and Andrew 'Andy' H. Brown is a simple-minded man. Both are members of the "Mystic Knights of the Sea", a fraternal lodge.
 
The other main character is George 'Kingfish' Stevens, a man who is always trying to cheat on his wife and running scams on fellow lodge members. His usual target is Andy. Kingfish's schemes always go bad for himself.
 
This episode is titled "The Rare Coin" and was first broadcast on July 19, 1951. Andy has a rare 1877 nickel which he wishes to sell to a coin dealer for $250. Kingfish attempts to cheat Andy out of his nickel or to get a share of the money.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
1. Program title
A window to a coin dealer's office is shown.
 
Andy and the Kingfish find an old nickel in a trunk which was dated 1877 and Andy wrote a letter to the coin dealer asking how much it is worth. (Nickel five-cent coins dated 1877 are rare, around 500 were minted, all proof coins for collectors)
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
2. Coin dealer's window
The dealer's sign reads:
John Wilton Rare Coins Bought & Sold
 
A tray of coins is shown in the window. Later the dealer's address is given as 137 East 47th Street in New York.
 
Inside the coin shop a man is examining a coin and the dealer, seated, is talking to a secretary.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
3. Coin dealer's office
The dealer John Wilton is then shown with a tray of coins.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
4. Coin dealer with tray
The coins in the tray can not be identifed.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
5. Coin dealer and secretary
The dealer dictates a letter to Andy that if Andy brings in the coin he will buy it for $250.
 
A few days later, at the lodge building, Kingfish intercepts the dealer's letter to Andy.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
6. Kingfish collect's Andy's letter
The building sign reads "Mystic Knights of the Sea." Kingfish takes the letter home and tells his wife Sapphire about it.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
7. Kingfish and Sapphire
Sapphire gets angry when Kingfish outlines his plan to get the nickel.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
8. Doctor Kingfish
Kingfish dresses himself as a doctor and tells a friend that he is going to perform a "nickelectomy" on Andy.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
9. Doctor examines Andy
'Doctor' Kingfish tells the gullible Andy that he has medical problems and to wear a blindfold. Kingfish then retrieves the coin from Andy's pocket.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
10. Kingfish calls the coin dealer
Kingfish uses a pay telephone to call the dealer and the dealer's business card is shown. Pay telephones then cost a nickel or five cents for a local call.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
11. Coin dealer's card
The coin dealer's business card is shown, it reads: JOHN WILTON Rare Coin Dealer 137 East 47th St. New York, N.Y. ELdorado 12341 (This was the old style of telephone numbers where one dialed the first two letters and then the number)
 
Kingfish realises that he has used the rare nickel to place the call.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
12. Kingfish realizes his mistake
Kingfish contacts Andy who uses a hammer and crowbar to get the nickel out of the telephone.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
13. Andy attempts to get the coin
A plainclothes policeman then arrests the two men for breaking into the telephone box.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
14. Kingfish and Andy busted
Andy and Kingfish are joined in court by Amos and the policeman.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
15. Andy, Amos, Kingfish, and policeman in court
The policeman explains that the men were trying to retrieve their own coin and the judge lets them off with a warning not to do it again.
 
Kingfish explains to Andy that he owns half of the coin.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
16. Kingfish explains
Andy calls the coin dealer to arrange the sale.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
17. Andy calls the coin dealer
Andy tells Kingfish that he accidently used the rare coin to make the call. Kingfish gets angry and leaves. Andy then tells the telephone operator not to place the call but to return the nickel.
 
Amos and Andy Rare Coin
18. Andy gets his nickel back
Cast, Directors, Writers:
 
Alvin Childress as Amos Jones
Spencer Williams Jr. as Andrew "Andy" H. Brown
Tim Moore as George "The Kingfish" Stevens
Johnny Lee as Algonquin J. Calhoun
Ernestine Wade as Sapphire Stevens
 
Director: Charles Barton
Writers: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher, Bob Ross
Creators: Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden from their radio program
Prev Back Next