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Struck in 99.9% Fine Silver! For the First Time EVER!

First Legal-Tender Morgans in a Century! Morgans in a Century! VERY LIMITED! Sold Out at the Mint!

O PRIVY MARK

Actual size is 38.1 mm is 38.1 mm

The U.S. Mint Just Struck Morgan Silver Dollars for the First Time in 100 Years!

It’s been more than 100 years since the last Morgan Silver Dollar was struck for circulation. Morgans were the preferred currency of cowboys, ranchers and outlaws and earned a reputation as the coin that helped build the Wild West. Struck in 90% silver from 1878 to 1904, then again in 1921, these silver dollars came to be known by the name of their designer, George T. Morgan. They are one of the most revered, most-collected, vintage U.S. Silver Dollars ever.

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary with Legal-Tender Morgans

Honoring the 100th anniversary of the last year they were minted, the U.S. Mint struck fi ve different versions of the Morgan in 2021, paying tribute to each of the mints that struck the coin. The coins here honor the historic New Orleans Mint, a U.S. Mint branch from 1838–1861 and again from 1879–1909. These coins, featuring an “O” privy mark, a small differentiating mark, were struck in Philadelphia since the New Orleans Mint no longer exists. These beautiful coins are different than the originals because they’re struck in 99.9% fi ne silver instead of 90% silver/10% copper, and they were struck using modern technology, serving to enhance the details of the iconic design.

Very Limited. Sold Out at the Mint!

The U.S. Mint limited the production of these gorgeous coins to just 175,000, a ridiculously low number. Not surprisingly, they sold out almost instantly! That means you need to hurry to add these bright, shiny, new legal-tender Morgan Silver Dollars with the New Orleans privy mark, struck in 99.9% PURE Silver, to your collection. Call 1-888-395-3219 to secure yours now. PLUS, you’ll receive a BONUS American Collectors Pack, valued at $25, FREE with your order. Call Collectors Pack, valued at $25, FREE with your order. Call now. These will not last! FREE SHIPPING! Limited time only. Standard domestic shipping only. Not valid on previous purchases. Limited time only. To learn more, call now. First call, fi rst served!

1-888-395-3219 Offer Code NSD194-02 Please mention this code when you call. GovMint.com • 1300 Corporate Center Curve, Dept. NSD194-02, Eagan, MN 55121

An Island Frozen in Time

Portsmouth Island Village delivers scenes from yesteryear

Story and photos by Leah Chester-Davis

Step onto the lone, narrow dock at Portsmouth Island, and you are greeted by a quiet peace and a small village from yesteryear that beckons you. The island has appeal for history buffs, surf fishers, and for those who simply want to revel in miles of white sandy beaches known for their shells and incredible views of the Pamlico Sound and Atlantic Ocean.

As you head from the dock and walk along a small road through scenic marshland, you’ll have the chance to wander through the village and view about 17 structures from the late 1800s and early 1900s. On any given visit, about six are open to visitors.

Treasured town North Carolina’s colonial legislature chartered Portsmouth in 1753 as a planned town. It became a bustling seaport and one of the most important on the East Coast. By the late 1700s, Portsmouth was the largest town on the Outer Banks, and it would reach its peak of nearly 700 residents by 1860. The Civil War brought changes, though, and so did shifting sands that changed the inlet to make it less accessible for large ships. As a result, other inlets gained more importance.

With the last residents leaving Portsmouth in 1971, Portsmouth Village is now part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore and under the auspices of the National Park Service. It is a treasure to both North Carolina and the Nation.

Historical sights The first stop is at the Theodore and Annie Salter House, which is now the visitor center. The park service has several interpretive displays about life on the island. The General Store, with a small post office in the corner, welcomes you into a circa 1900 store and the island’s gathering place. Visit the one-room schoolhouse and imagine one teacher for eight grades. Climb the ladder in the lifesaving station to a perch with stunning views. Picture island residents gathering at the Methodist church as church bells peal. Today, visitors ring the church bells, which are about the only sounds on the island other than the whisper of the wind and birdsong.

The village is open to visitors during the spring through fall, depending on the weather. Much of that time, two park service volunteers reside on Portsmouth, most signing up for three-week stints. In late May and early June, Kathi and Glenn Dunn, of Marshallberg, make Portsmouth their home. During their temporary stays over the past seven years, they greeted day visitors, answered questions, kept the buildings swept and cleaned, mowed, and handled emergencies.

“Portsmouth picks its people,” says Kathi. “The first time I ever set foot on the dock, there was a sense of peace. I loved it. There is something about this place that grabs people, and it grabbed me. I feel the history. I feel the presence of Portsmouth more than many other places. Come prepared to experience history that you can feel.”

Getting there Portsmouth is currently only accessible via private boat or by Portsmouth Island Tours out of Ocracoke (call 252-928-4361 or 252-928-5431 for details and reservations).

Rudy Austin, a Tideland EMC board member, and his brother Donald run the tours, along with Rudy’s son, Wade. The brothers, former ferry captains, grew up on Ocracoke and started helping their father with tours in the early 1980s. On the trip over and back they share a bit of island history and slow the tour boat for photographs whenever pods of dolphins are spotted.

If you visit the island, plan on about two hours exploring the village and two hours for beachcombing. Bring insect repellent, sunscreen, water, walking shoes, a bag for shells and a fully charged phone for photos.

Carolina Country Contributing Editor Leah Chester-Davis loves to explore North Carolina. Chester-Davis Communications (chester-davis.com) specializes in food, farm and lifestyle brands and organizations.

Building a Brand and Cutting-Edge Tackle

Kelly Barefoot’s Catch Outdoors is a local powerhouse

By Mike Zlotnicki. Photos courtesy of Kelly Barefoot

It’s been said necessity is the mother of invention. For Kelly Barefoot of Raleigh, it was a discontinued crankbait color. What evolved from that in the late 1990s is Catch Outdoors, a brand offering a wide range of tackle designed for fresh and saltwater fishing, as well as sun protection gear.

“The Custom Lures Unlimited website officially began in the summer of 2003,” Kelly says. “The idea of CLU actually began to come into focus several years prior to ’03 though. In the late ’90s, I was heavy into local and regional bass tournaments. One of my favorite crankbait colors became discontinued. I searched high and low for every one I could find, which were scarce at best — these were days when Google, eBay and Amazon didn’t exist as we know them today.”

“Having carved and hand painted lures in the ’80s as a kid, and having tied flies in college, I purchased a cheap airbrush and some cans of air,” he continues. “I began painting that one discontinued color, ol’ blue. I put some of those colors and others in the hands of my friend and pro angler Jeffrey Thomas. That simple move started the ball rolling.”

Kelly was employed by the state in those days, working eight hours a day and then going home and creating lures for hours at a time. In the summer of 2006, he decided to quit the reliable day job with support of his wife, Heidi, and go into lure making full time. Starting out, he would custom paint lures for anglers, but also for groomsmen gifts, holiday-themed lures, lures for anniversaries — just about anything. But what started as a one-man effort has blossomed into a full-fledged lure company.

“When I made the conversion and switch from an all-custom model with CLU and rebranded into Catch Outdoors in late 2014 and early 2015 to a production model, the business and logistics side changed everything almost instantly,” he says. “Switching from CLU to Catch Outdoors was, without doubt, the hardest decision I ever made as a business owner. Once again, I was going from comfort in the unknown. It has turned out to be by far the best business decision I have made to date.”

Kelly still runs the business and designs the products, but he has four to six local workers that he contracts with for services including packaging products, shipping, receiving and local warehousing, manufacturing, and management, as well as several others that earn commissions through retail sales.

Kelly recently reconnected with local angler Shannon Stewart, who started out doing injection work for him and is now doing lure design work.

“We bounce ideas, thoughts and concepts off each other weekly,” Kelly says. “I benefit from his enthusiasm, and I believe he gains from my 19 years business experience of both successes and failures. Can’t wait to see where it leads in the years to come.”

Kelly’s most popular lure lines are his Danny Joe’s Original Floating Worm, the Zero Gravity Jig and the new tungsten Jack Slap blade bait. Interestingly, the Floating Worm is very popular with salmon and steelhead anglers in the Pacific Northwest.

“It is without any question the most versatile and effective lure I have ever created,” he says of the Jack Slap. “If you have a fin and swim in water, it will catch you.”

Mike Zlotnicki is associate editor at Wildlife in North Carolina magazine. He lives in Garner with his wife, three daughters and two German shorthaired pointers.