50 YEARS OF DOUBLOONS

A half-century ago, when H. Alvin Sharpe told his family that he was going to design coins for riders to throw from Carnival floats, the reaction was hardly supportive.

"We thought he was nuts," said John E. Celestin Jr., Sharpe's son-in-law.

But Sharpe persevered. He made aluminum models that he took to the office of Darwin Fenner, the captain of the Rex organization who also was a partner in the august investment firm of Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith.

In a scene that has become part of Carnival lore, , Sharpe flung the coins in Fenner's face to show that they would be safe. Fenner ordered 80,000 aluminum coins for Rex's 1960 parade -- and tossed the models to his family that night when he got home.

Today, Twelfth Night, marks the start of the 50th season in which the coins will be tossed from floats, as well as the official start of king cake season in many New Orleans homes and offices.

Tonight will also mark the 28th year in which the Phunny Phorty Phellows will board a streetcar for a noisy 7 p.m. ride to proclaim that Carnival has arrived.

Farther downtown, the French Quarter tonight will be the site of the first-ever parade honoring Joan of Arc on her birthday.

--- Phellows ride tonight ---

The emphasis on Twelfth Night is "all good" because it reminds everyone that Carnival is tied to the day when, according to Christian tradition, the three wise men brought gifts to the infant Jesus, said Dr. Stephen Hales, an unofficial Carnival chronicler.

"This is not just Mardi Gras itself," he said. "It connects back to a calendar that is way older than this city."

--- $5,000 collectibles ---

Doubloons, which spread to other krewes, have become not just accepted but prized. One of the 30 or so silver 1960 Rex doubloons, which were struck for krewe members to give to family members and favored friends, can fetch as much as $5,000, said Herbert LeBlanc, who describes himself as a collector of "anything and everything Mardi Gras."...