Customer Reviews

Melted Coins

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The great knock against this book was the plot itself. This review concerns the original 1944 story where a gang of criminals steals valueable coins and melts them down for sale. The metal is worth more if they are still coins and are not melted. Isn't this like "shooting one's self in the foot"? I suppose it could be argued that the purpose for melting the coins was to avoid detection. Well...."Big Sigh" In any event, I really liked this book for many reasons. The criminal Black Beard was perhaps the most memorable of any Hardy Boys villain. And in the end - he was not that bad. The scene in the tattoo parlor was a classic. The book moved along well and had a beautiful cover art for its 1944 edition. This was the second last edition to be completey revised chronology wise. The Short Wave Mystery was the highest volume to be drastically altered. The original Melted Coins is a great book. RATED A-

PS: The revised 1970 text was completely different and cannot hold a candle to the original.

This review concerns the revised 1970 edition. Frank and Joe are called upon by a member of the Seneca Indians to find a gold tribal relic that was stolen from them. Also they believe that their friend Chet was scammed by a summer school called Zoar College. I enjoyed this book; I thought that the mystery was quite interesting and not as predictable as some of the other books. There was a fair amount of action and the book moved along at a good pace. I liked this book and think that other fans of the series would as well.

The 1970 revision of this book is about the theft of a group of melted coins that appear to be a face. Apparently the Seneca believe that Dr. Rideau has the artifact, and is deliberately keeping if from them. On the other hand, Dr. Rideau seems to be having a good deal of problems with intruders and small acts of vandalism that his renters, a couple of professors from Zoar College, continually attribute to the Seneca.

The story begins when Frank and Joe Hardy convince their best friend, Chet Morton, to investigate Zoar College. Fenton Hardy, the boys' father, ask the boys to talk with Rod Jimerson, a Seneca who lives in Cleveland. The story begins to get complicated when the boys travel to Zoar Valley.

It turns out that Zoar College is an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere. Soon Chet's application fee is returned, evidence that the questions the boys asked about the college are troubling someone. The boys also have their doubts about the ethics and credentials of the professors boarding with the Rideaus. The boys also noticed the Rideaus have a substantial coin college in a vault in their house.

The Hardys and Chet soon receive warnings to leave Zoar Valley. Seneca masks are stolen, and before you can guess who the criminals are, the Rideaus' coin collection is stolen. Actually, by the time the coins are stolen you pretty much know who the criminals are.

In terms of a mystery, this story is one of the lesser books in the series. There is actually very little mystery, except for the location of the melted coins, and once you learn where they are there is little surprise. I did like reading the book, but this book is more for fans of the series than a casual reader, who may be somewhat disappointed.

Though the Hardy Boys series was written in a relatively archaic fashion, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are excellent. The stories were once recommended for children ages 10 to 14. As children are exposed to more violence and seem to require greater levels of stimulation, the recommended age range has move to 9 to 12. I think any child capable of reading some of the challenging words in these books will enjoy them, regardless of how tame most of the action may be. Once a child has reached age 12 or so the stories may be of less interest, but given the combination of mystery and action, these books remain good safe choices for parents who want to know what their children are reading.

This book has tons of action, and exciting events. Anybody can read this book and love it. If you haven't bought this book you should.[I suggest you get it the minute you read this review.]

This review concerns the original 1944 edition. A man with amnesia, a crazy pirate, a treasure buried on the Morton farm and a case of counterfeit coins all occupy Frank and Joe's time in this story. This book was fairly good. The mystery was interesting and there was a moderate amount of action. One thing that I liked about the book was that Chet Morton played a prominent role in the mystery after being just barely mentioned in many of the volumes immediately preceeding this one. This book isn't one of the best volumes, but it is still enjoyable reading.

This review pertains to the 1944 edition --

The premise of this book is completely lame. A group of counterfeiters are stealing rare coins that are worth a lot of money and melting them down, then recasting them into quarters and half dollars. Then they spend the money in order to receive dimes as change, and then a young guy disguised as an old guy turns the dimes into paper money at banks. ...Really? Possibly the worst plot of any of the original Hardy Boys books. The subplots are also not interesting.

However, the language in which it was written in is pretty cool as are some the exchanges between Frank and Joe & their friends... Still, this is a book (especially the new edition) that is worth skipping if you don't plan on reading all of them.

I just recently started reading Hardy Boys books to my son because I enjoyed them when I was young. This is the third one we read together (going out of order obviously) and probably the least enjoyable of the three. Had we read the book over a course of 2 days, it may have been easier to remember who was who. For the most part, the plot really lacked in surprise. We both had a good idea of who was guilty from the start. In addition, the two subplots were way too coincidental when the author tied them together. The best part about it was the involvement of Chet and the Hardy's other friends. This one is for serious fans only.

This book is great with lots of trouble and adventures. The Hardy's try to solve who stole from the Seneca's. They face kidnapping, little poison darts, hostile indians, and more. Recomended reading for kids form 3rd-6th grade.