The latest Coin World  monthly issue, dated July 3, 2017, has been sent to the presses, and we have a quick preview of some of the Coin World exclusives found in our latest digital edition.

Collecting Morgan dollars: Their charms and secrets

In his cover feature about Morgan dollars, Steve Roach profiles the series. “Certainly they are one of America’s most popular coins, and with good reason — there are millions of handsome Mint State survivors, a few tough issues in the series of regular issues but no great rarities, and endless collecting options,” he writes.

He asks, “How does someone start collecting Morgan dollars?” and offers five different approaches collectors can follow.

The many whimsical names of large-size $2 notes

“What is the common denominator for such colorful nicknames as Lazy Deuces, Battleship Notes, and Rainbow 2s?” asks William T. Gibbs in his feature in the Paper Money section, answering, “They all are used for large-size $2 notes of distinctive designs.”

While the $2 Federal Reserve note is something of an orphan denomination today, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, $2 notes of different kinds circulated widely. Many are of distinctive designs, from which are derived their whimsical and distinctive nicknames.

America’s largest circulating gold coin

The $20 double eagle is not only the nation’s largest circulating gold coin, it accounted for “more than 75 percent of all of that precious metal deposited for coinage at the Mints,” writes Q. David Bowers in his “The Joys of Collecting” column.

“It may come as a surprise for you to learn that of the about 200 dates and Mint marks of twenties from 1850 to 1933, only about 20 are classic rarities costing over $10,000 each (with some into six figures),” he says, with most of the remainder available for a bit more than their bullion value.

Peloponnesian masterpieces: Five beautiful silver coins

“Ancient Greek artists were responsible for many masterpieces of numismatic art,” David Vagi begins, in his “Ancients Today” column, adding, “A number of these were created in the mid-fourth century B.C., near the end of the Classical Period of Greek art (circa 479 to 350 or 336 B.C.), when especially close attention was paid to coins as objects of art.”

He adds: “Some of the most remarkable coins of this era were produced in the Peloponnesus, the land mass to the south of the Greek mainland. Among them are five silver coins issued from the 370s to 340s B.C. that are worthy of individual study.”

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