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Low supply and high demand equal ‘key dates'

In his Cover Feature, Paul Gilkes examines the concept of key dates — coins in a series that have a lower mintage and higher price. Learn what factors beyond initial low mintages contributed to such coins as the 1877 Indian Head cent and 1916 Standing Liberty quarter dollar.

This is just one of the articles found exclusively in the print and digital editions of the March 5 issue of Coin World Monthly.

Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpieces live on, numismatically

Steve Roach explores the many contributions of Leonardo da Vinci, a true “Renaissance man” who exceled at many things, including art. In his World Coins Feature, Roach explores how da Vinci’s classic paintings like Mona Lisa and drawings like his Vitruvian Man survive in the priceless originals but are accessible to many in other forms — on coins, medals, and paper money.

Benjamin Franklin flies a kite and survives (see it on a $10 note)

In 1752, legend has it, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a thunderstorm to confirm the connection between electricity and lightning. He survived the test, notes William T. Gibbs in the Paper Money Feature. The only scientific experiment depicted on American paper money is captured in a vignette appearing on the Original Series and Series 1875 $10 national bank notes.

German immigrant designs some of the most enduring U.S. coins

John Reich immigrated to the United States to start a new life in the New World. As Paul Gilkes writes, he found employment at the federal Mint in Philadelphia as an engraver. He would create some of the most enduring designs used on early copper, silver, and gold coins, and even left his “signature” on the dies he created. Read the feature found exclusively in the March 5 issue.