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The Hardy Boys #23

The Melted Coins (Hardy Boys, No. 23) by Dixon, Franklin W. (1944) Hardcover

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Dixon, Franklin W., Melted Coins, The Hardy Boys

215 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1944

77 people are currently reading
909 people want to read

About the author

Franklin W. Dixon

736 books992 followers
Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the Ted Scott Flying Stories series, published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s.
The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.

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5 stars
668 (28%)
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698 (30%)
3 stars
773 (33%)
2 stars
148 (6%)
1 star
24 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
Profile Image for John Yelverton.
4,432 reviews38 followers
February 4, 2012
I didn't really enjoy this one as much as I normally enjoy the Hardy Boys.
Profile Image for Monica Willyard Moen.
1,381 reviews31 followers
July 21, 2022
As a child, the Hardy boys books were what really got me excited. Everyone told me that as a girl, I should prefer Nancy Drew. I didn’t, so what! 😂 these wonderful books helped me grow into the effective, confident, and positive woman I am today.
Profile Image for Patrick.
423 reviews2 followers
October 29, 2017
The plot of this 1944 Hardy Boys mystery (ignore the rewrite) is as complicated and difficult to summarize as Dickens's Little Dorrit, and like that great novel, lends itself readily to a Marxist interpretation, since everything in it revolves around the theme of money - old coins, rare coins, counterfeit coins, buried coins, stolen coins, hidden coins, and of course the melted coins of the title. Freudians could also have a fun time with such episodes as the revelation of Aunt Gertrude's (clearly fetishistic) secret, and the homoerotic scene in which a maniac sailor captures Joe Hardy and starts to tattoo him on the chest.

In fact, the latter bizarre quasi-rape scene is worth quoting at length. A 1944 children's book, remember.

...Blackbeard was strong and powerful.

"I'll tattoo you if it's the last thing I do!..."

...Joe tried to shout, but the pirate's heavy hand was across his mouth, stifling any outcry...In a few minutes he was bound, gagged, and thrust onto a table.

"Get the needle, Lopez!" ordered Blackbeard.

...The pirate, his heavy arms folded, looked at Joe with a satisfied air. Then he reached down and ripped open the boy's shirt.

"Give me the needle, Lopez!" he shouted.

Joe was utterly helpless, yet he struggled grimly against the ropes that bound him. Lopez stood by, handed Blackbeard a long, sharp needle in a holder. Joe felt a stab of pain as the tattoo artist crouched over him and the needle pricked the skin on his chest.

"You'll get a design you maybe never heard of before," grunted Blackbeard. "First, I prick the design. Then comes the dye."

The sharp needle stabbed Joe's skin once more....

"The mark will stay with you for life," cried the pirate.
Profile Image for ✨ Gramy ✨ .
1,382 reviews
September 5, 2017
.
Really enjoyed this teenage mystery, lead by Frank and Joe.

Would recommend!.
Frank and Joe Hardy and their chums never fail to provide an entertaining and mysterious escapade. These teenagers are very intelligent, resourceful, and mature for their ages.

My grandsons and I enjoyed sharing them together and would recommend them to others. This was a very good read.

Each book is a clean read and can stand on its own.
252 reviews2 followers
August 29, 2016
The Hardy boys will have to help end a feud going on in a town with residents that are blaming neighboring Indians without getting any real evidence. At the same time there is a scam going around that the Hardy's have to solve. You will have to read this book to see how it all goes down!

I thought this was a good book to read. I liked how the story kept going in different directions to keep readers guessing about what the final outcome would be.
Profile Image for Tommy Verhaegen.
2,984 reviews5 followers
December 30, 2022
Ergens in het boek zegt de auteur dat de Hardy's bij te veel zaken betrokken zijn en als lezer kan je het daar enkel mee eens zijn. Ze zijn niet enkel betrokken bij 1 enkele zaak van gestolen of vervalste munten maar meteen met bijna 10 verschillende geheimen met munten.
Maar achteraf gezien zit het goed in mekaar. En alle draden komen samen en dan blijkt het minder ingewikkeld te zijn dan wat het eerst leek.
Het geheim van tante Gertrude blijkt enerzijds bewondering af te dwingen en anderzijds een grappige noot in het geheel. Chet krijgt weer eens klappen maar volgt zijn eigen spoor.
Ook de broers sluipen en worden beslopen en gevangen genomen.
Inbraken legio, enkele oude bekenden duiken weer eens op en dit keer wordt en goed samengewerkt met de politie.
Het verhaal leest als vanouds als een trein en zit tjokvol aktie en spanning. Een geheimzinnige man met geheugenverlies lijkt de spil waarrond alles draait maar hijzelf speelt een eerder ondergeschikte rol.
Profile Image for Kevin Findley.
Author 14 books12 followers
January 10, 2022
A solid entry in the Hardy Boys series. Frank and Joe solve two, related mysteries, and help (long distance) their Dad on a related case. Chet is present throughout most of the tale, with Biff and Tony making cameo appearances at exactly the right moment. The brothers were also assisted by Paul Jimerson, a Seneca Indian who helps them track down the title macguffin.

The appearance of Jimerson and others in mysteries away from Bayport were never followed up with additional tales. At least I've never read one. That might make for a good series where old cases come back to haunt all of the Hardys.

Not the best book in the series, but certainly worth your time, effort, and money.

Find it. Buy it. Read it.
Profile Image for Josiah.
225 reviews
November 23, 2018
This was an okay book. Pros: Good style of writing, good illustrations, interesting story Cons: Ridaus don't seem to fit in the story, too much "tribal worshipping" too much of the story focussed on it, Hardy's don't really do much thinking, they only hope for luck. Overall it's a good story and I recommend it, but I wouldn't like to read it again. 3 stars.
Profile Image for Alyssa Bond.
70 reviews2 followers
October 23, 2024
I got busy with life and read several books without logging them in 🤦🏻‍♀️ but this one wasn’t near as good as the other Hardy Boys that I’ve read. I’m still enjoying the series but they all aren’t created equal.
Profile Image for Randy Russell.
90 reviews2 followers
December 31, 2022
This may not be my favorite Hardy Boy book, but it’s one of the strangest, and the strange stuff is funny, so it’s one of most goofy, by far. I’m talking about the original version, of course, which was written by Leslie McFarlane, according to sources. He wrote the first 16 or so, which are pretty much the best—and then other writer took over—but he came back for a few more titles, including this one, which is number 23. (The re-write of this book, by the way, from 1970, bears almost no resemblance to the original.) The “melted coins” part of the plot is almost total nonsense, in that it’s about counterfeiters who steal rare coins, melt them down, then press them into small denomination US currency. Was McFarlane messing with us? The story also centers on the Hardys meeting a man whose head injury, due to an attack, has given him amnesia. They sense he’s probably from a Spanish speaking nation and thus call him “Mr. Spanish” through most of the book, even to him. They take him in to reside at their home until he is able to recover, which he does, finally, assisted by Fenton Hardy whispering phrases in Spanish to the man while he sleeps, and Joe yapping like a Chihuahua. It works! The man turns out to be a rich guy from Mexico. The other highpoint of the book is when, while investigating low-lifes near the waterfront, Joe is captured by a deranged tattoo artist who thinks he is a descendant of the Pirate, Blackbeard, and is determined to tattoo Joe, at no charge, in order to pass on the “Curse of the Caribbees.” He even gets Joe’s shirt off and the needle in him a few times before he’s rescued by dumb luck. I think it would have been cool if he actually did get the tattoo.
Profile Image for Chrisanne.
2,893 reviews63 followers
March 22, 2022
I always felt embarrassed as a pre-teen because I liked the Hardy boys better than Nancy. As I aged, I put it down to hormones because they certainly weren't in the awkward stage that most of the guys around me were floundering through.

But, upon this recent rereading, I honestly think it's probably because the writing is better and they're more relatable. They run the range of emotions while Nancy seems a little shallow. This doesn't mean that this is great writing. But it's a solid 3.

The PC stuff that I thought I would find wasn't that bad. To be sure, they use "Indian" over "Native American" but I couldn't find any emotional or mental evidences of racism ---within the main characters, at least. The villains were a different story.

All in all I was pleasantly surprised.
Profile Image for Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws.
1,617 reviews258 followers
May 6, 2019
When I first read Hardy Boys, I think I was in class 5, I had such a crush on Frank Hardy. I liked the brainy one over the brawny one and that sums up my first impression of Hardy Boys.
In their late teens, Frank and Joe Hardy take after their detective father Fenton Hardy. Frank is the older of the two and has more breakthroughs in the cases because he is the brainy one. Joe is the younger brother who more often than not is useful when things get hot and they need to fight their way out.
Like Nancy Drew, the books in the The Hardy Boys series re written by ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. And yes, the earlier books were better than the latter ones.
32 reviews
October 7, 2011
I think this was one of my favorite Hardy Boy books. It's the first time we've read one of the original books (all of the original HB books were re-written in the fifties and sixties), this one was written in 1944.
Profile Image for Ron.
33 reviews2 followers
August 24, 2013
Excellent series for young readers - highly recommended.
I read these books when I was 10 - 15 years of age.
Profile Image for Preetam Chatterjee.
6,833 reviews361 followers
September 9, 2025
#Binge Reviewing My Past Reads:

Hardy Boys (Read between 1990 and 1996 in the M.P. Birla School library and punctiliously collected and read thereafter.)

Coins, like keys or maps, have always carried a mystique for young readers: small, tangible, yet brimming with stories of ownership, trade, and sometimes crime. The Melted Coins combined all of this into a classic Hardy Boys caper, where the disappearance of rare coins triggered a chase spanning towns, secrets, and ingenious deductions. For a 12-year-old reader, the very idea of money being “melted” into obscurity was a fascinating twist—an object physically altered but symbolically rich with intrigue.

The story felt grounded, more so than some of the boys’ overseas adventures. It revolved around ordinary human greed, clever tricks, and the Hardy Boys’ meticulous reasoning. I remember reading it in the quiet corners of the M.P. Birla School library, feeling both the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction of puzzle-solving. It taught me, at an early age, that mysteries aren’t always about exotic locales; sometimes they live in everyday objects, waiting for a sharp eye to spot the anomaly.

In hindsight, The Melted Coins also resonates as a subtle allegory for adolescence. Coins, small and portable, can be both precious and volatile—much like the early teen years, when friendships, ambitions, and moral choices begin to take shape but can be “melted” or transformed by circumstance. Frank and Joe, with their clarity of purpose and unflappable courage, offered a model for navigating such change with logic and calm.

The book also mirrors the 1930s–40s American context of its creation: financial concerns, industrial ingenuity, and the allure of rare objects. Even if I didn’t perceive that at the time, reading it decades later, I see the cultural imprint: pulp adventure reflecting both economic anxieties and the thrill of problem-solving in a modernizing world.

Ultimately, what lingered for me was the joy of detective work itself. Whether the coin was melted or the villain clever, the Hardy Boys’ methodical reasoning and courage made the mystery tangible, exciting, and endlessly replayable in memory.
1,795 reviews7 followers
November 3, 2020
In this Hardy Boys mystery the boys encounter counterfeit money. Aunt Gertrude comes to visit and has secrets she won't share about coins. Mr. Hardy is working on a case about coins in the west while Frank and Joe help their friend Chet look for buried treasure on his farm property. Chet was digging a ditch and found a strange coin which he believed to be part of a buried treasure so he went gung ho digging for more. A man who was mugged ends up in the hospital. When first admitted he was saying Hardy and Elm but then he fell unconscious. When he awoke he didn't remember anything. He had no identification. He had amnesia. The Hardy's were brought in because they had been mentioned but they didn't recognize the man. Having no where to go once he was better the man went to stay with the Hardy's. Another thing he said before falling unconscious was "the curse of the Caribbees", which made no sense to anyone.
Other people dig around where Chet is digging....during the night, evident by the new holes the boys find in the morning. Someone else is looking for the treasure. An odd man is seen around town going into banks with large quantities of dimes....the boys think he has something to do with the coins. When the Hardy home is burglarized while they're distracted out back....the boys know they're onto something....they warn all the local coin collectors.....and when trying to trace the coins the boys end up at the docks and Joe almost gets a tattoo!
A fun adventure with some people getting clunked on the head, a few robberies, an old sour pirate and Aunt Gertrude acting even stranger than usual.
307 reviews1 follower
Read
August 26, 2018
Well, this book is certainly a product of its time. XD

- There was an introduction of the Hardy boy's "spinster" aunt. She's introduced, the boys ask her to make them a sandwich... and then she disappears from the narrative completely.

- The introduction of their friend Chet, the "fat" character whose only characteristic is to be fat. Literally every other line of his is, "Boy, I'm hungry and I want to eat!" When he gets kidnapped, the boys are asked to describe him, and the only thing they describe is how fat he is.

White guy: *after being accused of thievery and should be arrested* Can I stay here at my house?
Officer: Okay.
(literally a few pages later)
Native American: Can my people have their stolen items back?
Officer: lol, no.

"Not only was he robbed, but he was BEATEN SEVERELY."
The Hardy boys gasped. "What was robbed?"
Me: You're more worried about stolen property than asking if your friend is okay?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
7 reviews
April 28, 2021
Recommended: Highly to those who love thrilling adventures.

I have never read the previous books of this author. This is my first ever book. Everything from start to end was really curious. The boys went through a number of unsolved mysteries which they cracked in an easier way and even helped their dad through their techniques. The interesting part is that all the mysteries were interconnected with one another which they found at last. I loved the way the author carried the story in different paths and connected all the ends of the path at the end. I would recommend this book to everyone cause this book was one of the finest books which give an urge to the readers to complete another chapter right away to know what is going to happen. It increases the reader's curiosity in every chapter. Though I have given four stars cause even though the boys are born to prominent detective it's kind of exaggerating the ability of the boys in solving those mysteries.
625 reviews2 followers
March 7, 2023
Another older edition, this one has many of the same language issues as other books.

Also, I was still unhappy with the way that Aunt Gertrude is portrayed. I'm really noticing a difference from book to book. Another noticeable difference was in previous books, the boys were quite self-sufficient, in that they had a convertible to drive around in. In this book, they didn't seem quite so mobile.

Another thing that was noticeable was in earlier books, the boys handled themselves quite well in fights with adults. In these more recent (later) books, they don't fare anywhere near as well and seem to be easily overcome.

Ironically, the picture on the cover shows Joe going down to get the coins, but it was Frank who went down to get the coins. This is a huge editing mistake.

Overall, the story wasn't a bad one. The part about Joe and Frank almost getting tattooed may be a bit much for younger children.
Profile Image for Rex Libris.
1,333 reviews4 followers
August 23, 2020
Frank, Joe and Chet tangle with a gang of con men trying to score some Native American artifacts. Of course the stop them.

The "best" of the story is when the boys are battling some of the gang members by Niagara Falls. One of the baddies is about to toss Frank into the river. But all of sudden Biff Hooper and Tony Prito show up to save the day! They just happen to be on their way to the U.P. and are able to stop and help even the odds in the fight.

This is the THIRD book in a row where neither Frank nor Joe get concussed. People do not escape unscathed; others get knocked out, and Frank gets shot with a poison dart. Nevertheless, the bonk-a-rama still stands at 27 total KOs.


Book: 0
Series: 27
Profile Image for The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo.
2,942 reviews387 followers
March 28, 2018
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew are the first series that I remember reading. I was still in elementary school, but I remember thinking I was reading more grown up books because these were long (more than 20 pages, lol) and there was more than one book you could read with the same main characters! The innocence of these mysteries and recalling my own innocence just makes me happy. All parents should give their kids Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew when they're young - only good things can come of it.
Profile Image for Jackson Compton.
79 reviews
July 9, 2018
This review is for the original version! (I don’t know if there’s a different one but my cover has the boys in a hole on it)

The boys rely on luck far too much in this book and happen to stumble on clues and answers rather than find them by skill. There’s too much wandering around looking for coins for me to call this book a good one.

I read this book aloud to kids, however, and we still had a blast. It was very fun creating an extremely strong accent for Mr. Spanish.
Profile Image for Saffron Mavros.
553 reviews2 followers
February 12, 2024
This is one of the more interesting mysteries in the Hardy boy series. The imagery of the Native Indians, outlining their beliefs, their traditions, made the whole thing fun and exciting.

The mystery was evident very early on that the professors 🙄 were the main culprits. However, the story stretched on. The ending was a nice little bow on the entire mystery. Spoilt brats coming to senses, and Hardy boys getting the criminals!
1 review
January 24, 2019
How did this all start the book I have of the hardy right come in my room. When my mom read this book I wanted to hear more and more of the story and this is one of the best of the hardy because this was the first one I had read out of all the book I have of the hardy boys that I think have the most important things that it says and it have so much active for the boys with there friends
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jack.
410 reviews14 followers
June 5, 2018
Ate these up as a kid and usually got them as gifts for birthdays, Christmas and other events. This edition would be quite dated now and I believe they have updated the books. The author was a pseudonym for a plethora of writers who contributed to this series.
Profile Image for Kris Kizer.
743 reviews4 followers
October 24, 2019
By page 14 Joe had almost died twice, but don't worry - he's okay. Who I'm really worried about is their "fat friend" Chet. For a guy who can pound down sandwiches, he oddly only ate half of one in roughly a 48 hour span so the other half could be left as a clue. Seems fishy to me.
Profile Image for Joe Stevens.
Author 3 books5 followers
August 12, 2022
Original edition.
A fairly average Hardy Boys but the premise makes zero sense. The crooks are reducing the value of something significantly and producing something that has almost no value compared to the work they are putting into it and the risks they are taking.
Profile Image for Carie Lawrence.
119 reviews3 followers
December 1, 2022
I’ve never read a Hardy Boys book. The neighbor let my son borrow it. We read it together and enjoyed it. Fun book. It worked well as a homeschool reading project because we could incorporate Native American elements from the story into art and history lessons.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews

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