NUMISMATIC & COIN COLLECTING BASICS - COIN WORLD

Getting started in numismatics

Young or old, affluent or not, all sorts of people find coin collecting an accessible hobby. Many famous collectors started as children or young adults, and this is also the kind of hobby and vocation that gets passed to generations within families and shared with friends. Because studying numismatics also involves learning about history, politics, art and much more, this hobby has educational value. Of course, coin collectors also find this hobby exciting and sometimes, profitable. The first step for novice coin collectors usually includes learning the language of coin collecting. Special terms describe a coin's condition, type and appearance. Mastery of basic terms opens the door to gaining more knowledge.


 

collectionStart Your Collection

Learning coin terminology and acquiring basic collecting knowledge are important first steps for those entering the numismatic hobby.

 

 


 

historyCoin History

From the U.S. Mint’s first facilities, to the discovery of the Saddle Ridge Hoard, read about the historical places, people and events that have shaped numismatics.

 

 


 

metalsPrecious Metals

Bullion investing and coin collecting go hand in hand. Learn all about the basics of investing and the many different bullion coins available.

 

 


 

coinsKnow Your U.S. Coins

What’s so special about the Morgan dollar? How many different types of Lincoln cents have there been? Get familiar with all U.S. coins, past and present.

 

 

Making coins come alive

The very first American colonists had little need for coins in the wilderness. They bartered with trade goods, Native American wampumand tobacco. As civilization grew, the British did not always give the Americans permission to mint their own coins, but the colonists found alternative sources of coins and on occasion, struck coins without royal authority. For example, the Massachusetts Bay Colony set up its own mint in Boston in 1652 during a period when England lacked a king and continued striking 1652-dated silver coins for decades. Thus, early examples of U.S. Colonial coins were born. In April of 1792, the U.S. Mint was established in Philadelphia, the nation's capital at the time.

Numismatics, the studying of coins, and the collecting of coins both stand apart from investing in coins for their bullion value. Still, the bullion value of most collectible coins still needs to get considered. Even today, the U.S. Mint and mints of other nations’ produce bullion coins that are different from regular coins intended for currency. Through much of history, coins derived most of their value from their metal content. While people used coins as currency for thousands of years, the practice might have been closer to trading small bits of copper, silver, gold and other precious metals. However, as gold and silver rose in value, the intrinsic worth of the precious metals in the coins began to exceed their face value. In the U.S., for example, the replacement of 90 percent silver coins with base metal coins began in 1965.

Learning about U.S. coins means learning about the history of the country. Very often, decisions about a coin's content, value and design were made because of political, economic or social events of the time that they were minted. In some cases, political figures or mint executives even made decisions because of favoritism, nepotism or personal competitions — and learning these details makes old coins come alive.

Numismatic

Know your U.S. coins: Indian Head cent

Difficulty in modifying the Flying Eagle cent design to correct the problem of short die life and poor strikeability led Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre to abandon the eagle motif in favor of his new Indian Head design in 1859.

The head and tail of the eagle on the obverse of the copper-nickel Flying Eagle cent were positioned directly opposite the wreath on the reverse, creating weakness in the detail of the design with every strike.

The chief engraver had been in his position for more than a dozen years when he was given the assignment to fix the existing cent design or produce a new one. At the same time Longacre produced the Indian Head obverse, three new reverse designs were also tested. One alternative included a plain oak wreath. The second choice depicted an oak wreath with a wide ornamented shield above. And the final selection offered two versions of a plain laurel wreath.

One of the latter two variations - the centered laurel wreath with low relief - was paired with the obverse Indian Head design to strike the first coins for circulation in 1859.

The hub style was changed from narrow bust point in 1860 to broad bust point, possibly to increase die life. A shield was also added on the reverse between the points of a new, oak wreath.

A year before the Civil War ended, Congress took action to alter the composition of the small cents since the necessary coinage metal was in short supply and it was costing the Mint more than the face value to produce the coins.

The Mint Act of April 22, 1864, amended the Act of Feb. 21, 1857, by changing the composition of the small cent from the 88 percent copper, 12 percent nickel - established with the Flying Eagle cent and the first nearly six years of Indian head cent production - to a bronze alloy of 95 percent copper, 5 percent tin and zinc.

This bronze alloy would remain constant throughout the rest of the Indian Head cent series, which closed its run in 1909. Along with the 2-cent coin, the bronze Indian Head cents marked the first token coinage of the United States, being valued only by the government stamp, not the metal content.

The bronze Indian Head cent was released in July 1864. Its production proved profitable to the federal government, as 3.7 bronze cents could be reproduced from every recoined copper large cent.

During the Civil War, large numbers of cents were hoarded, then later dumped into circulation, causing a glut. In 1871, this coinage saturation was alleviated when legislation called for the redemption and recoinage of all earlier minor coins, allowing financial institutions to redeem larger amounts of coins.

Enough copper was redeemed to keep the Mint going for six years.

In 1873, the country's economic woes plunged the nation's populace to again flood commerce with hoard coins as they could no longer afford to accumulate them. The new infusion of coins created rarities of the 1870, 1871 and 1872 dates, causing larger than usual mintages for the 1874 and 1875.

The Mint's self-imposed stance to combat high planchets prices by not buying them certain years resulted in lower production in 1885, 1886 and 1894. The Mint began making its own cent planchets in 1908.

Indian Head cents were all struck at the Philadelphia Mint, except in 1908 and 1909, when examples were also struck at the Mint production facility in San Francisco. Mintage was low for the 1908-S issues since the San Francisco Mint, rocked by the Great Earthquake two years earlier, had only one press available to produce cents.

Keep reading from our "Know Your U.S. Coins" series:

Cents and half cents:

2- and 3-cent coins:

Nickels:

Dimes and half dimes:

Quarters:

Half dollars:

Dollars:

Gold coins:

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