THE COINAGE OF THE

Before the American Revolution, and for some time afterwards, foreign coinage circulated widely in North America. To begin with coinage was supplied from Great Britain, but some of the colonies also manufactured their own local issues. These are mostly very rare.

The coin pictured left is a halfpenny of William III of England. It was struck in London, but was found near Vicksburg in Mississippi. It’s likely it was shipped over in colonial times and lost some time in the eighteenth century. The date isn’t visible, but it was probably made in 1699.

Even after American Independence importing coins continued., and so did local striking of coins in the individual states. This picture shows a British halfpenny of George II (1727-60), struck in London in 1743. These coins, and those of George III (1760-1820) circulated widely in America, and well after 1776. Because they were so familiar, some American coinage imitated them even though Britain was hated. The coin on the right is a Connecticut copper of 1786, struck by Samuel Broome and Jeremiah Platt for a consortium that held the state contract. George II’s portrait has been copied but the legend now reads VICTORI CONNEC: and on the reverse the figure of Britannia has been copied but with the legend INDE: ET LIB.

Not until 1782 were plans advanced for a US Mint, but it took another decade for the Mint to be established and the sequence of denominations settled. The Act was passed in April 1792 and the first US Mint established at Philadelphia.

Left: Spanish silver 8 reales (‘piece of eight’) or dollar of Charles IIII of Spain struck at Mexico City in 1797 – staple bullion coinage in America before US coinage became established, remaining legal tender until 1857. At 40mm in diameter this is a little larger than a US dollar. These coins were produced in colossal numbers; they circulated throughout the world and were accepted almost universally and became known as dollars, a word that had its origin in the German denomination taler or thaler. The reverse shows the Pillars of Hercules, symbolic entry to the Atlantic from the Mediterranean. The two columns became a symbol of this denomination and today are represented by the two vertical bars in the $ symbol.

MINTING THE NEW US COINS

THE DOLLAR

Despite the establishment of the US Mint, coinage production was very limited to begin with. Not only were total numbers small, but not all denominations were struck every year. Silver dollars were not produced until 1794 and in that year just 1,758 dollars were struck. The standard was 90% silver and this was maintained until 1935 for the dollar.

Left: 1798 Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagle dollar, struck at Philadelphia during the presidency of John Adams (1797-1801). No, not very nice but these coins are a) extremely rare, and b) extremely expensive. Just 327,536 dollars were struck in 1798. The hole and the clumsy engraving are things I can live with because the grade is not that bad and I paid a fraction of what it would have cost without the defects. It has a clear date and most of the legends are readable. If you want one, you’ll need to start thinking about spending $800 at least for a decent example and very much more for a really good one.

Liberty’s head on the new dollars was based on a beauty of the day called Anne Bingham (1764-1801). She was 31 when she modelled for an artist called Gilbert Stuart, and the resulting drawing was then used in the process of manufacturing coin dies. You can read a little more about her and see some better examples of this coin type by clicking here.

Although 423,515 ‘Draped Bust’ dollars were struck in 1799, production of dollars ceased in 1803 and did not resume until 1836 (the ‘1804’ dollars were struck for presentation sets in the 1830s). Why? Because silver was worth more in bullion form outside the United States. Most of the dollars were shipped abroad and melted down. This remained true until the days of the Morgan dollar in the late 1800s. Very few Americans ever saw a silver dollar. The 1798 dollar pictured here survived because it was evidently made into an heirloom or personal talisman. Silver bullion was usually stored in banks in the US and the frontier territories in silver half-dollar form.

The value of silver bullion compared to the stated denomination of the coins caused the US Mint endless problems throughout the nineteenth century. When silver’s value was low there was a glut of coins. When silver went high coins disappeared (for example during the Civil War). People who brought bullion to the mint to be coined tended to prefer larger denominations, which were easier to count. So small coins like dimes and quarters were struck in small numbers in the early 1800s and are much rarer than half-dollars.

Liberty-Seated dollars

Dollars started to be issued again in some quantity from 1840-1873. Between 1836-39 a few ‘Gobrecht’ dollars, designed by Christian Gobrecht, were issued. These are so rare that today’s prices list them up to $27,500 a piece. The similar Liberty-Seated type replaced them in 1840 and were struck in much larger numbers though the total was tiny by modern coining standards. This 1842 dollar is from one of the larger issues, but this still only amounted to 184,618 dollars. By comparison, in 2000 around 1.3 billion Sacagawea dollars were issued, or more than 7000 times as many!

MORGAN DOLLARS

Designed by George Morgan, the new dollars of 1878-1904 and 1921 were struck to satisfy the silver mining industry. The Bland-Allison Act of 1878 obliged the US government to buy $2-4 million-worth of silver bullion monthly and coin it into dollars. Most of the dollars thus made sat in Federal vaults acting as the backing for paper silver certificates in circulation. Only in the West were Morgan dollars popular - by 1882 128 million had been made, but just 34 million were in circulation.

In spite of this production at Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco and Carson City continued. Most remained bagged up in vaults. In 1890 the Bland-Allison Act was replaced with the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. The overall result in the short-term was a decline in production. Dollars of 1893 thru 1895 were struck in far smaller numbers – less than 1 million in 1895 – before climbing back up again.

Production ceased in 1904 and the die hubs destroyed in 1910, but to stabilize the price of silver after the First World War more than 270 million were melted and shipped to India as bullion. In 1921, in spite of the fact that many millions of Morgans remained in vaults, production resumed with dies made from surviving original coins for a final year with 86,730,000 being made that year alone at Philadelphia, San Francisco and (for the first and last time) Denver.

1879 Morgan dollar (San Francisco). This proof-like coin probably sat in a bag in a Federal vault until the 1960s

Although Morgans trickled out from the 1920s on, it was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that the stockpiled coins were paid out in bulk to people arriving with silver certificates and cash to buy them. The 1879-S dollars were amongst those disposed of in large quantities – most were mint state and, thanks to the San Francisco mint’s high standards, many were almost proof-like. They also included coins that had been considered historically very rare like the 1881-3 CC coins, and the 1903-0 and 1904-O. Pay-outs stopped in March 1964. The value of these coins plummeted over night when it was realised that hundreds of thousands had survived in immaculate condition. You can see some listed on this vendor’s website: click here for certified Morgan silver dollars.

The US government distributed some of the remaining coins through the General Services Agency (GSA), starting in 1972. The most desirable are the Carson City dollars with the original box and government certificate.

The factors dictating a Morgan’s value are:

1. Whether a mint’s issue for a year was big or small (in 1885 Philadelphia produced nearly 18 million, in 1893 San Francisco made just 100,000).

2. Whether the issue was stockpiled or sent into circulation (in the latter case the coins will be common, but very rare in high grade)

3. Whether the stockpiled coins were amongst those melted in 1918.

Today you can buy certain Morgans in fabulous condition for nominal prices. $35-50 will get you a great San Francisco dollar of certain years (but not an 1893-S!). A Carson City Morgan in Mint-State grade from 1882, 1883 or 1884 can be had for under $200-300. Certain Philadelphia issues are incredibly common (like 1885, 1886, and1889 but finding a really great one can be tough).

New Orleans dollars are usually the least well-struck but some are really good, like 1898-O and 1904-O which are both easy to find. Don’t bother with the 1921 issues from any mint – being made from inferior dies, they have none of the lustre and depth of the great days of the late 1870s and 1880s. Morgan dollars are the most widely collected US coins apart from the States Quarters and can be found easily, though they tend to be cheaper in the US than the UK. UK sales are nearly always the common ones – CC Morgans, for example, nearly always have to be bought in, or from, the US.

Perhaps the most interesting of all is the 1903-0. Once one of the rarest of Morgans this issue is now easy to obtain.

Good page on Morgans here, and another interesting one about the discovery that the 1896-O, 1900-O and 1902-O dollars with the miniature ‘Micro O’ mintmark are in fact forgeries. See http://coincollector.org/archives/002476.html

PEACE AND LATER DOLLARS

The ‘Peace’ dollar followed in 1921 but ceased in 1935. Modern dollars like the Eisenhower, Susan B. Anthony, and Sacagawea, were and are struck in base-metal. The latter two types are also far smaller than the older dollars.

‘Peace’ dollar of 1922, in this case struck at Philadelphia. Around 1 million were made late in 1921 but the coins did not strike up properly due to high relief and the design was modified. Nearly 67 million dollars were struck in 1922 and the type continued until 1935 when the last full-size silver dollars were struck for normal issues.

In 1964 there were plans to start striking Peace dollars again. More than 316,000 were struck at Denver before plans were halted and the coins melted. A new law banned the striking of dollars for five years. Then the Eisenhower base-metal dollars appeared, accompanied by the 40% silver versions for collectors. Those ended in 1978 and were followed by the small sized Anthony dollar struck for circulation in 1979-80 and 1999 (issued in sets only in 1981), and the Sacagawea dollar in 2000 struck annually in diminishing numbers since.

The American public has been spurning dollar coins for circulation since the 1800s. The Anthony and Sacagawea dollars have failed to take off because the US Government did not withdraw the $1 greenback. In England the £1 coin replaced the £1 note quickly because the notes were swiftly withdrawn and demonetized. Likewise in Europe, the Euro (roughly equal to $1) circulates in coin form. How long the US public will continue to put up with a low value note and a proliferation of tiny, very low value, coins like the ridiculous dime and cent remains to be seen. It is already the case that cents, nickels and dimes, are virtually one-use throwaway coins given in change and then dropped into jars at home where they stay. The only coin of any useful value that continues to circulate is the quarter, equal to less than one-sixth of the UK £1 coin.

THE MINTS

Throughout US coinage history, Philadelphia (P) has been the main mint and for most of that time its coins carried no mint marks. The P mark was introduced in 1980. But at certain times other mints have been operated to supplement production. Today Denver and Philadelphia are the principal US mints.

Carson City NV (CC), for example, operated from 1870-93. The coins produced here are considered especially desirable amongst collectors, especially the GSA dollars mentioned above.

Charlotte NC (C), started coining gold in 1838 and closed in 1861.

Dahlonega GA (D), started coining gold in 1838 and closed in 1861.

Denver CO (D) started up in 1906 and still operates.

San Francisco CA(S), has been in operation since 1968 (as well as 1854-1955), producing amongst other things the proof and silver-proof sets for collectors.

New Orleans LA (O), operated from 1838-61 (when the Confederacy seized it), and again from 1879-1909. These are the main ones. The Mint equipment shown above left is (or at least was until August 28 2005) on display at the old New Orleans mint, but was actually used at San Francisco.

West Point NY (W), started in 1974, producing unmarked cents 1974-85 and quarters 1976-9 (thus indistinguishable from Philadelphia coins). Since then it has struck commemoratives and the bullion coins such as the Silver Eagles.

1965-67: no mintmarks were used during this period. The reason apparently was to discourage collectors from hoarding coins that were struck in smaller numbers. So, for example, the Kennedy halves and Washington quarters of that period are collected just by date and not by mint. But in 1968 mintmarks were restored and collectors could once again select by mint. In 1979 for example 68.3 million Kennedy halves were struck at Philadelphia and just 15.8 million at Denver. However, it’s unusual for the difference between these mints to be that great any more.

The metals used at the mints included gold, silver, copper, zinc and nickel. The standards at which coins were struck has changed over the years. ‘Silver’ coins were struck at 90% silver/10% copper until 1964. In 1965 the silver content of half dollars, quarters and dimes was changed. The half-dollars still had about 40% silver until 1970, but the quarter and the dime had been reduced to cupro-nickel (75% copper and 25% nickel). By 1971 all three types were made of a composition of cupro-nickel. The new Eisenhower dollars of 1971 were also issued at this standard apart from 40% silver clad proof versions struck at San Francisco. Only silver proof coins issued at San Francisco preserve the old silver standard for halves, quarters, and dimes.

The copper cent was made out of copper until 1943, when to save copper for war use, the coin was struck in steel for one year. Since 1982 cents have been made of copper-plated zinc.

To save nickel for war use the nickel 5-cent piece was made of copper, silver and manganese between 1942-5.

VISITING US MINTS

Ever since 9/11 visting Federal mints has become extremely difficult. If you are a US citizen you need to contact your Congress representative and request that a place be book for you on a tour at Denver or Philadelphia. You need to provide your social security number. Foreigners can visit but also have to contact a congressman and need to produce passports. I visited the Denver mint on 1 August 2005 but I prebooked the visit months before through the offices of Senator Barbara Boxer of California. When I reached the mint there were many US visitors who had turned up on the off-chance of a visit who could not get in. I believe the Mint now allows walk-up visitors in IF there are spaces available on tours.

The mints at New Orleans and Carson City are now the respective state museums for Louisiana and Nevada. You can visit these without any special arrangements:

http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/museums/cc/press1.htm

http://www.neworleans.worldweb.com/SightsAttractions/Museums/

Or, rather you could until 28 August 2005. The mint equipment displays at New Orleans were on lower levels of the building and have almost certainly been trashed by Hurricane Katrina and so also will http://www.coinvault-at-the-mint.com/ where various US coins were sale including many types actually struck there in the 1800s. It’s unlikely New Orleans Mint will be open again for a long time; frankly a very minor worry in the city’s current concerns.

THE CONFEDERATE STATES

Apart from an abortive attempt to hijack Northern (Union) coinage, the Confederate South had neither the bullion nor means to issue coinage. Apart from a handful of trial strikes that never went into production, all the Confederacy managed to produce was a series of half dollars at the New Orleans mint, seized by the Confederacy in 1861. These coins are identical to federal issues struck before the seizure, so cannot be distinguished (one is pictured here – note the O below the eagle on the reverse, denoting the New Orleans mint).

Just over 2.5 million of those half-dollars were struck at New Orleans that year, but only 330,000 were produced before Louisiana seceded. However a very few half dollars were overstruck with a Confederate reverse die. These are excessively rare. Instead, the Confederate States had to rely on paper money. Even in the North there was a run on coinage. Gold and silver disappeared into hoards.

VARIETIES, RARITIES AND COLLECTING

Today, US coinage is collected and priced by date, varieties and rarities. This is largely because the coinage changes relatively little across the years. Liberty Seated halves, for example, were issued from 1839-91. Under Mints above the different numbers struck at the individual mints was mentioned. This always attracts collectors, especially when there is a large discrepancy. In 1971 for instance Philadelphia made 155.2 million Kennedy halves and Denver made 302.1 million. So, for a start there are 2 Denver 1971 halves for every Philadelphia example. But in 1970 NO halves were made at Philadelphia and only 2.2 million at Denver, which were only issued in mint sets. So there are about 207 1971 halves for every 1970 example making it difficult to accumulate a complete set. Result? Expect to pay $1-2 for an uncirculated 1971 half and up to $18-20 for a 1970-D.

Varieties mostly result from minor differences in design such as size of date, and mint errors including overstruck dates, and coins struck ‘off center’. I have to say that these errors seem to be prolific amongst US coins but are scarcely known on modern UK coins (though 17^th and 18^th century English coins exhibit many errors).

Ken Potter of Michigan is just one dealer who offers specialist services to those interested in US errors – click here. Or have a look at Fred Weinberg’s page. An excellent place to see loads of examples is on eBay’s Coins pages. Enter ‘error’ and ‘off center’ in the search box to see numerous examples. The Lincoln cent seems to be especially vulnerable. You can find out more about how errors happen, and the prices they fetch at The Coin Site’s error page.

Left: a 1979 half dollar from the Philadelphia mint. When the coin blank was pushed in for striking it wasn’t fully held in place by the collar. It was slightly off-set. Down came the dies, leaving part of the metal to one side. Approximately 10% of this coin missed the die. This is known as an ‘off-center’ error. Cents mis-struck this way are common. It’s much rarer with quarters and especially half dollars.

RARITIES

Rarities include varieties and types issued in very different quantities from mints. For example, the Morgan silver dollar of 1878 includes more than 10 million struck at Philadelphia, and 2.21 million struck at the short-lived mint of Carson City, Nevada. Current prices reflect that difference. For a site dedicated to Carson City Morgan dollars by Richard A. Taddonio, click here. Other interests include faulty dies causing, for example, crack marks. There are also, of course, proof coins – these are coins struck to an especially high standard usually for demonstration or collecting purposes. This Texas-based site has a fair stock for sale: Jet Proofs and is well worth a browse.

The US Mint has produced proof sets at San Francisco since 1968. Before that they were made at Philadelphia, but none were issued1965-7. They vary wildly in price depending on numbers issued and peculiarities. Many sets of the 1990s are now expensive because relatively few were sold (the 1995-S silver set is priced at $125). Conversely, many 1970s sets are still only around $7-9.

From 1992 proof sets have come in silver form, or base-metal (‘clad’) proof form. The silver sets are worth more than the clad sets. The numbers issued vary annually. Currently the 2001 sets are amongst the most expensive. The picture shows a blue 2004 set (far left) and a red silver 2001 set (far right).

The US Mint also issues Mint Uncirculated Sets. These are normal coins from the Philadelphia and Denver mints, packaged together as full sets of all the coins issued in that year and are sealed in cellophane wrappers. These come in a blue envelope for Philadelphia, and red for Denver. The picture above shows a 2003 set (centre). The most currently desirable are 2004 and 2005 since they feature the new nickel types, but 2004 sold out early.

From 1965-7 ‘Special Mint Sets’ were issued, which were better than mint-uncirculated coins but not proofs.

Collecting US coins is fairly easy in the US but it’s not quite so straightforward anywhere else. In Great Britain Morgan dollars are simple to obtain and modern US coinage like Kennedy 1964 silver halves can be found without much trouble as can Washington quarters and so on. But anything unusual or high quality – forget it. These command such high prices in the US they find their way home quickly. All the coins on this page currently live in Great Britain but I’ve no doubt they’ll be back in the US one day.

‘CERTIFIED COINS’

This nonsense is well on the way to destroying the main pleasure of coin-collecting: handling the coins themselves. In 1986 the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) started up, and was followed in 1987 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC). The idea is that collectors and dealers submit their coins to be professionally ‘graded’. The coin is returned in a sealed and certificated plastic holder along with its grade. Since grade above all determines price, it’s critical that the grading is correct and objective. Needless to say you have to join the organisation, or be an ‘authorized dealer’ to access the range of services.

Of course it isn’t objective and never can be. Not only does grade tell you nothing about whether it’s a nice coin or not, the same coin can be graded differently by every expert that sees it. So guess what happens? Coins get sent back to be regraded in the hope that it’ll come home with a better result. Since an 1889-O Morgan in MS64 is valued at $550, and one in MS65 is $4,750 you can see how it’s worth investors and dealers trying this over and over again. Q. David Bowers in his book Morgan Silver Dollars describes on p. 86 how grades have ‘escalated’ with many coins now graded MS67 when once they were MS65 and also describes the total impossibility of getting any group of ‘experts’ to grade one coin the same.

Basically ‘cetification’ is a gift to dealers and investors who want to be able to elevate a coin’s value. It’s also a gift to collectors who want to cash in. It’s a disaster for the rest of us who JUST LIKE COINS! I can’t think of anything more depressing than having my coins in plastic holders.

FAKES, COUNTERFEITS ETC – DON’T BE FOOLED!

Since the US coin market, like any other, is built around high-value varieties and rarities the most-faked coins are rare types. Perhaps the best example is the 1804 bust dollar. In fact in 1804 the US mint continued to strike dollars dated 1803. Just FIFTEEN genuine examples of the 1804 dollar coin are known, and even these were actually struck 1834-5 by the Mint as presentation pieces. They have sold in recent years for between $1.2 and $4.14 million.

Yet EVERY DAY on Ebay 1804 dollars are listed for sale and mugs bid for them. They are all FAKES. Sometimes the dealer is honest and says so. More often they avoid saying whether they’re genuine or not. Some are outright liars and want to take you to the cleaners. These fake 1804 dollars are churned out in the Far East and so are a whole lot more: Liberty Seated, Trade dollars, and even the common Morgan and Peace dollars (see some pictures here: Fake dollars made in China), and all have the same dull grey patina. I saw a guy come into a coin shop in Billings MT with three in August 2005. He’d bought them in China – of course they were duds: every one of them. As fun copies they’re worth maybe $10-20 but no more. See my new webpage Fake Morgans

Check out this website for FAKE BUST DOLLARS.

Other popular fakes include doubled-die Lincoln cents of 1914-D and 1955, but there are many others. If the coin is cheap it’s bound to be FAKE. Even if it’s the right price check it and look at who you’re buying it from. Of course there are other copies too, made legitimately for instructional purposes, like the copies of Spanish dollars of the 1790s, and replicas of Confederate coins sold (for example) at various places in the Southern States.

TYPES

The following is a list of US coin types and years of issue. US coinage has never been fundamentally altered. From the beginning US coinage was decimal and was built around the dollar and its sub-divisions: half-dollar (50 cents), quarter dollar (25 cents), dime (10 cents), five cent piece and then nickel (5 cents), and the one-cent piece. Other denominations have intermittently appeared, like the 20-cent and 3-cent pieces, but generally the system has remained the same from its inception. All US coins remain legal tender, except the trade dollar of the 1870s.

Half cent 1793-1857

a) Liberty cap 1793-7

b) Draped bust 1800-8

c) Classic head 1809-36

d) Coronet type 1840-57

Large cent 1793-1857

a) Flowing hair 1793

b) Liberty cap 1793-6

c) Draped bust 1796-1807

d) Classic head 1808-14

e) Matron head 1816-35

f) Young head 1835-57

Small cent 1857 to present

a) Flying eagle 1856-8

b) Indian head 1859-1909

c) Lincoln/wheat ears 1909-58 (struck in steel in 1943 to save copper for the war – and pictured here

d) Lincoln/memorial 1958 to present

Silver three-cent piece 1851-73

Nickel three-cent piece 1865-89

Silver half-dime 1794-1873

a) Flowing hair type 1794-5

b) Draped bust/small eagle 1796-7

c) Draped bust/heraldic eagle 1800-5

d) Capped bust type 1829-37

e) Liberty seated 1837-73

Nickel five-cent piece 1866 to present

a) shield type 1866-83

b) liberty head 1883-1912

c) Indian head/buffalo type 1913-38

d) Thomas Jefferson/Monticello type 193-2003(struck in a silver-copper-manganese compound 1942-5 to save nickel for war production)

e) Thomas Jefferson Lewis & Clark keelboat and Louisiana Purchase/Peace Medal types 2004-

Dime (10 cents)

a) Draped bust/small eagle 1796-7

b) Draped bust/heraldic eagle 1798-1807

c) Capped bust type 1809-37

d) Liberty seated 1837-91

e) Barber/Liberty Head type 1892-1916

f) Winged ‘Mercury’ Liberty head type 1916-45

g) Roosevelt type 1946 to date

Twenty-cent piece

Liberty seated type 1875-8

Quarter (25 cents)

a) Draped bust/small eagle 1796

b) Draped bust/heraldic eagle 1804-7

c) Capped bust type 1815-38

d) Liberty seated 1838-91

e) Barber/Liberty Head type 1892-1916

f) Standing Liberty type 1916-30

g) Washington type 1932 to present. 1999 on ‘state quarters’ reverses

STATE QUARTERS

Since 1999 the Washington quarter has had its obverse redesigned to match an unprecedented series of reverses. Each year since 1999 five new quarter reverses have been struck and issued, each depicting motifs and symbols of every state of the Union in turn, beginning with Delaware. Information that was once on the reverse has been moved to the obverse. This required a special law, since under a coinage law of 1890 US coinage cannot be changed more than once every 25 years without Congressional approval. The designs have been individually approved by state governors.

The order of issue corresponds to the order in which each state was admitted to the Union. The coins are struck for a single period only, and since they have proved exceptionally attractive to collectors early issues are already difficult to obtain. The picture below shows those issued up to the autumn of 2003. The series will end in 2008 with Hawaii. Sets are available from the US Mint in the year of issue only, either in proof or silver proof form (both San Francisco only), or ordinary mint sets made up of coins designated for circulation struck at Philadelphia and Denver. Dates other than current year are now only available from dealers. 2001 is the most expensive (around $90-130 for a proof set and nearly double for silver proof) because fewer were issued (2.3 million proof, 889,697 silver – in 2000 more than 3 million proof were issued, and 937,600 silver proof).

HALF DOLLARS (illustrated above clockwise, starting at top and ending at center):

a) Flowing Hair 1794-5 (not shown)

b) Draped bust/small eagle 1796-7 (not shown)

c) Draped bust/heraldic eagle (1801-7)

d) Capped bust 1807-39

e) Liberty Seated 1839-91

f) Barber /Liberty Head 1892-1915

g) Liberty Walking 1916-47

h) Franklin/Liberty Bell 1948-63

g) Kennedy 1964-date.

OTHER COINS

An extensive variety of special commemorative coins has been issued over the last century or more. These often commemorate historical events or anniversaries, often with particular local appeal. The US also issues bullion silver and gold coins. The best-known is the Silver Eagle. The example shown at left was recovered from the World Trade Center Vaults after the events of 9/11.

I have not really touched on gold since gold coins are outside the experience of most collectors. US gold coins have been issued in several denominations based on the $10 Gold Eagle. $5 Half Eagles, $2.50 Quarter Eagles and $1 Gold coins have been issued, as well as $20 Double Eagles.

Books

History of the United States Mint and Coinage, David W. Lange, Whitman, Atlanta 2005

A Guide Book of Modern United States Proof Sets, David W. Lange, Whitman, Atlanta 2005

A Guide Book of United States Type Coins, Q. David Bowers, Whitman, Atlanta 2005

Morgan Silver Dollars, Q. David Bowers, Whitman, Atlanta 2004

The Official Red Book. A Guide of United States Coins, RS Yeoman and Kenneth Bressett

http://www.stmartins.com/ (annual edition)

- all these books are useful, but I have to say some have an amazing number of typographical errors in them. The 2004 edition of Bowers’ book on Morgan dollars is particularly bad in this respect with omitted words, wrong prices and so on, while Lange’s history of the US Mint is filled with words that have been hyphenated to wrap around two lines but which have ended up in the middle of lines. Even the Official Red Book, despite annual revisions, has some remarkable errors. On pp. 23-4 under ‘Perplexing Silver Dollars the author has got himself into a complete mess with dates and minting figures for Carson City dollars. I understand from Whitman Publishing that the 2005 edition of Bowers’ book on Morgans has been edited to remove the ‘numerous typesetting and factual mistakes’ of the 2004 text.

Blackbook Price Guide to United States Coins, Marc Hudgeons and Tom Hudgeons

http://www.randomhouse.com/

Useful links

American Numismatic Association at http://www.money.org/index.shtml

Great site about colonial coinage in the US http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/

Site dedicated to Morgan Dollars struck at Carson City and with a stack of useful links of its own.

US Mint at http://catalog.usmint.gov/

Dealer with a good selection of US coins for mail order: http://www.valleycoin.biz/

I’ve also visited Eur-Am coins in Orlando FL (2725 North Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32804 (407) 648-8662)). They have a good selection, as does Loop Coins in Mobile AL (3972 Government Boulevard, Mobile AL 36693 (334) 661-4060). I can also personally recommend The Coin Shop in Cheyenne WY (510 West Lincolnway, Cheyenne, WY 82001 (307) 778-7196) and Ardie's Coins Inc 1944 Grand Avenue, Billings, MT 59102 (406) 656-8777).

In Britain, getting US coins is rather difficult but some dealers stock them (eg Peter Morris - Dealer in Coins & Medals). However, getting anything before 1900 is a bit of a problem wherever you go.

Great site about the US silver dollar http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgold/draped_busts/page_7.html

State quarters specialists http://www.internationalcoin.com/

English Milled Coinage and Love Tokens

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