Week Seventeen

 

Coin of the Week: 1792 Quarter Dollar

1792 was an important year for coin collectors and the United States: several pattern coins were struck by the U.S. Mint, setting the stage for circulating coinage the next year. My personal favorite 1792 pattern is the Quarter, designed by Joseph Wright. Wright was George Washington’s personal pick for the first Chief engraver of the U.S. Mint. The only complication? Wright died before the patterns were struck, and never heard the evaluation of his design. It features a young Lady Liberty on the obverse, while the reverse shows a fine eagle beginning to spread his wings, a perfect symbolism for the new United States.

 

 

 

Rooting Through the Lost Art: Delaware State Quarter

Please note: most pictures will be blurry for the State Quarters, because the designs can only be found blurry. Sorry!

Original:

Proposed:

 

 

Cool Commemoratives: 2014 Gold Kennedy Half Dollar

This coin is one of the most popular commemoratives ever. It was just released less than three weeks ago, and already people had to be restrained because of it. At the 2014 World’s Fair of Money, when it was released lines to buy the coin were insanely long, and at $1,300 each, the mint was making good money, until fights broke out in the lines, and sales were suspended. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Half Dollar, this coin, along with an uncirculated set, and in the fall, a silver 4 coin set, are popular mementos of the slain president.

Turnover sales of this coin is over 2 times the original price already.

Week Sixteen

 

Coin of the Week: 1861 O Half Dollar

This is a true coin of mystery. The New Orleans mint began striking Half Dollars early on in 1861, but the mint employees faced a problem: Confederate forces needed a mint, and they were closing in on New Orleans. The Confederates quickly captured the mint, and official Confederate money would be struck later that year. But in the meantime, the Confederates still needed money to spend. Conveniently, the dies from the Union were still there, and still functional. So here are the mintage figures: 330,000 1861-O Halves were struck by the Union, 1,240,000 were struck for the state of Louisiana when it seceded from the Union, and 962,633 were struck by the provisional Confederate government. A total of 2,532,633 1861-O Half Dollars were struck. These coins have no known distinguishing marks, so if you have one, it could have been issued by any of these three governments. Adds a bit of spice to the whole thing!

 

 

Rooting Through the Lost Art: 2010 Lincoln Pennies

Here is the original design:

And here are the proposed designs:

 

So what would be different if you could make the call?

 

 

Cool Commemoratives: Korean War Silver Dollar

This is in my opinion the saddest excuse for a Commemorative in modern times. The coin, which does have an O.K. design, was made to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the Korean War. The 38th. Really? Most people (including me) see this commemorative as the perfect example of a pointless commemorative coin that was nothing more than fodder for a fundraiser (although the fundraiser was for a good cause, to create a memorial for Korean War veterans, but could it have waited a few years?) What do you think? Awesome commemorative, or funding fodder?

 

 

Trial and Error/Coins and the Law: 1974 Aluminum Cent

As copper prices rise, the penny becomes more and more expensive to make, even though it contains only 0.08% of the metal. Many people in recent years have proposed the discontinuation of the penny. But in 1974, and alternative was considered: make the pennies out of aluminum. This metal is inexpensive, light, and has an appealing color. So over a million test coins were created by the mint for senators to examine. When Congress decided against using aluminum, the mint attempted to recall all test pennies. It only found a few. Examples are rare, but at least one is in the Smithsonian, and a few have been graded by third parties. Although the government claims that they are illegal to own, since they were distributed freely, this has yet to be legally determined.

Week Fifteen

 

Coin of the Week: Augustus Saint-Gaudens Commemorative Coin (Tuvalu)

Sculptor/Coin Designer/Artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens has been mentioned in my blog a couple times before. But I never created a coin to celebrate him, and the island nation of Tuvalu has beat me to it. Nuts!

This coin features the standard portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, while the reverse shows a picture of Saint-Gaudens, and a small cameo of his most famous design, the 1907 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle. This coin is making it’s first sales a the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money, and is the first in a series called the Designers of America’s Coins that will be continued into future years celebrating awesome U.S. Coin Designers. Made with one oz. of .999 silver, this coin is sure to be a sellout, and a popular commemorative in the years to come.

 

Rooting Through the Lost Art: The Washington Quarter

This is perhaps the least organized section in my entire blog. I get to show you the designs that were proposed for the Washington Quarter, and you get to decide which designs are your personal picks. If you were the big shot, would the design have been different? First, the decided design:

 

And now, the runners-up…

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what would you have picked?

 

Note: The Second Runner-Up Design was used on a coin celebrating the death bicentennial of George Washington, pictured below.

 

 

 

Making a Mint: Carson City

The Carson City, Nevada Mint has a rich history that starts with the discovery of tons of silver called the Comstock Lode. The silver overload was helpful when it came to striking coins, and so a branch mint was opened there. Coins struck at Carson City bear a “CC” mintmark, but are actually quite uncommon. The bulk of coinage production still came from the mints at Philadelphia and San Francisco. Almost every denomination of coin from the dime to the double eagle was produced at Carson City, but when the silver and gold rushes ended, so did most of production. Almost no CC silver dollars are priced below $100, and a good quantity of all rare U.S. coins are from Carson City. The mint formally stopped production in 1893, was used as an assay office until 1933, and today it is the house of the Nevada State Museum. Commemorative medallions are still struck there with the CC mintmark with one of the original presses.

Carson City Mint

Week Fourteen

 

Coin News: 2015 National Park Quarter Designs Released

The U.S. Mint released the designs for the 2015 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. They were chosen by the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee, and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury on July 29, 2014. The designs are as follows:

 

Nebraska: Homestead National Monument of America

 

Louisiana: Kisatchie National Forest

 

North Carolina: Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Delaware: Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

 

New York: Saratoga National Historical Park

 

We look forward to these designs, as well as those of the Great Sand Dunes and Everglades National Parks that are scheduled for release later this year. For more information, visit news.coinupdate.com/2015america-the-beautiful-quarters

 

Coin of the Week: Grace Coolidge Gold Coin

Grace Anna Goodhue was born on Jan. 3, 1879, in Burlington, Vermont. She lived a fulfilling life, and began teaching the deaf in 1902, becoming close friends with Helen Keller. She first saw her future husband, John Calvin Coolidge, while he was shaving on a balcony wearing only long underwear and a hat. Grace burst out laughing, and Calvin, as he was known, retained his sense of humor, and arranged to be introduced. They were married in 1905. While Calvin did not like big public parties, Grace ensured that he saw plenty of excitement. When Calvin was running for Vice-President in 1920, he relied on his wife for relief from the stress of campaigning. Calvin and  Senator Warren Harding made the election, and when President Harding died in 1923, Calvin Became president. Grace was a bubbling change from Mrs. Harding, who was very strict. Grace owned several pets, like raccoons, cats, dogs, birds, and lots more. She never forgot her work as a teacher for the deaf, and was one of many first ladies who were tireless advocates for the underprivileged. This gold coin is a part of the First Spouse series, and depicts Grace Coolidge on the obverse, while the reverse shows three hands signing “U.S.A.”, with the White House in the background.

Grace Coolidge Gold Coin

Coins are available from the U.S. Mint, but if paying $400 is a little out of your price range, bronze medal versions are being made of every gold coin, and will later be available by individual or in set purchase.

 

 

Amazing Artists: Joseph Bailly

Out of the many forgotten coin designers, one of the highest on the list would be Joseph A. Bailly. Maybe it’s because he didn’t have the prestige of the Barbers, or the talent of Morgan, or the modernization of Gasparro. But whatever the reason, Bailly has been lost to history.

He was born between 1823 and 1825 in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker. When he was about 22, he was drafted into the army to fight in the French Revolution of 1848. He apparently didn’t like this plan. Bailly deserted and fled to England. He studied sculpting there, the did a bit of traveling. After going to the U.S. and the to Argentina, he settled in Pennsylvania. He made many sculptures, and in the 1870’s he was commissioned by the U.S. Mint to create possible designs for the Trade Dollar. Though his designs were very nice, the mint eventually chose the seated Liberty design by William Barber. Bailly moved on, and continued producing some of the finest statues and sculptures in America. He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1883 at the age of about 61.

Bailly’s Seated Liberty Trade Dollar

 

Bailly’s Liberty Bust Trade Dollar

 

 

Coins and the Law: American Liberty Circulating Commemorative Program

This section covers a modern bill that has not yet been passed. In 2013, the American Liberty Circulating Commemorative Program was introduced. This program would allow the mint to strike dimes, quarters, and half dollars with modern portrayals of Liberty. In 2015, if the bill is passed, the mint will make Liberty dimes alongside the Roosevelt dimes. In 2016, the dime would go back to normal, and the quarter would have a Liberty design, along with the National Park Quarters. In 2017, the quarter would revert to just the National Parks, and the dime would have a new Liberty design, and so on. The half dollar would get one Liberty design in 2015, would be made alongside the Kennedy coins for ten years, and then the Liberty coin would get a new design. But before all this can happen, the bill needs to become law. So I urge you, if you live in the U.S., write to your congressmen/women, and ask them to support this bill! It’s bill number is H.R.2535. If you don’t live in the States, watch for designs. I will post them as soon as they come out if the bill passes!