Calvin Coolidge

The Illustrious 30th President of the United States... in Color!

Some background: Born in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, John Calvin Coolidge (Jr.) was a shy redhead with a Yankee twang-ish voice, and a penchant for sarcastic humor. He served as President (Republican Party) from 1923-1928. He was elected Vice President under Warren G. Harding in 1920, and ascended to the Presidency upon Harding's death, the causes of which are still not completely certain. During the "Roaring Twenties", he was extremely popular among the public for his hands-off attitude towards government, although some speculate that his lack of regulation of the Stock Market eventually caused it's crash, a leading factor in causing the Great Depression.

Coolidge holds an interesting standing among the Numismatic world. A President known to be almost absurdly frugal, the medals bearing his portrait are uncharacteristically vibrant, designed by the big-ticket engravers of the day, including George Morgan and John R. Sinnock. Here are some of the more interesting medals:

As a side note, Coolidge presented this medal to aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh:

Coolidge's most famous Numismatic appearance is on the 1926 United States Sesquicentennial Commemorative Half Dollar. The reason behind it's fame? Coolidge was the first- and so far only- President to appear on a Unites States coin during his lifetime (and his Presidency!). His portrait appeared alongside that of George Washington, which certainly couldn't hurt his appeal. The reverse of this coin featuring the Liberty Bell (designed by Sinnock) was reused about 20 years later on the Ben Franklin Half Dollar. The majority of these coins did not sell, and were later sent to the mint for melting.

Here's another couple of cool Coolidge pieces, oddly enough from the Republic of Liberia:

I hope you found this brief look at an obscure U.S. President as interesting as I did! Thanks for reading.

Harry Potter and the Numismatist's Desire

Harry Potter was proud to say that he was a perfectly normal wizard, thank you very much. He was the last person you'd expect to be involved in anything numismatic, because he just didn't know about such things. 

With profuse apologies to J.K. Rowling and her book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for this brief parody, Today I will focus on the admittedly few, but still impressive, coin-themed feats of Harry Potter.

First and Foremost, the Isle of Man released a set of Harry Potter Crowns in 2001/2002, and enjoyed relative collector appeal:

These coins feature scenes from the first two Harry Potter Movies. I myself am a crown collector, so these hold great appeal for me, but the best part is yet to come...

All true HP fans are aware of the Gringotts monetary sytem:

"Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough"

And now I present to you...

The Money of the Wizarding World!

Gold Galleon

Silver Sickle

Bronze Knut

This wasn't how I personally pictured them, but the designs are nice either way.

January 2016

I'm Back!

It's been almost a year since I last blogged. Sorry about that. I got caught up in life and things like that, so just know that I intend to get better about blogging more often. Today's post is just to let you know that I'm getting back on track and I fully intend to keep going. Expect a new juicy post in the next couple of weeks!

 Thanks for reading!

March 2015

 

The Queen of about Ten Billion or so Faces

Since her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth the Second has gone through a lot of makeovers on the coins used by her subjects. After a bit of searching, here are some of the designs that I could find:

And the newest design:

 

 

“Hey… Is That Me?” Living People on U.S. Coins

Law prohibits any living person from being portrayed on a U.S. coins. So, naturally, there are people that have broken this rule. Five, to be exact…

1. Governor T.E. Kilby, Alabama Centennial Half Dollar

He’s the guy on the right.

 

2. President Calvin Coolidge, U.S. Independence Sesquicentennial Half Dollar

Also the guy on the right.

 

3. Senator Carter Glass, Lynchburg VA Centennial Half Dollar

He appeared here, even though he really didn’t want to.

 

4. Senator Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas Centennial Half Dollar

This was actually the second design of this coin produced. The first featured two Native Americans.

 

5. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics Silver Dollar

The only (current) modern example of a living person on a coin.

February 2015

 

New Coins Coming:

There’s a whole slew of new coins that are coming out soon. Here are some of my favorites from around the world:

2015 March of the Dimes Silver Dollar

This coin will be sold individually and in a set with two specially made 90% silver dimes, one from Philadelphia and one from West Point. Celebrates the 75th anniversary of the March of the Dimes program.

 

2016 Ronald Reagan Dollar Coin (no images available)

The Presidential dollar coins have not been very popular in recent years, and many think that continuing the program at all is just a big waste of money. I think that we should definitely continue the program to honor the presidents that have not been on a coin yet, such as Ronald Reagan. But there are two items of controversy: The First Spouse side series would produce a coin featuring Nancy Reagan, who is still alive (see next month’s article for more on living people on coins). Some people don’t think that this is a good way to honor her. The second bit: The order of the 2016 Prez. dollars are as follows: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan. But wait, aren’t we forgetting someone?

President James Earl (Jimmy) Carter is nearing his 91st birthday, but he is still plenty alive. He came after the term of Ford, but before the terms of Reagan (1977-1981 to be exact). Here we go again: most people don’t want Jimmy Carter on a coin while he is still alive (and there are probably a fair few who don’t want him on a coin at all). So what happens when Jimmy Carter dies? Will the mint put him on a dollar coin then? What if he lives another ten years? Would they still make a coin for him years after the program was scheduled to end? Or will they just skip him and leave him as the missing link in the Prez. dollar chain? Only time will tell, but in my opinion, if they can put Nancy Reagan on a coin while she is still alive, the I see no reason to not make a coin for Jimmy Carter while he is still alive.

 

Canada 2015 Rock Rabbit 25-Cent Gold Coin

This little guy is so cute that I can hardly stand it. The Canadian Rock Rabbit, or Pika, is the feature of this small, low denomination gold coin that is selling for about $60 USD. And, being me, I had to find pictures of the real deal rabbit.

See? What did I tell you? ADORABLE!

Week Thirty

 

Special Article: Niobium

Niobium (symbol Nb, atomic no. 41) is a very rare precious metal, and is only used in coins occasionally. It is so valuable that its price exceeds that of gold as of this writing. It is found mainly in Brazil, Canada, and Australia. Its appearance is very similar to that of platinum, but when oxidized, it can become bluish. It can be treated with chemicals or alloyed with other metals to turn into other colors. Niobium can be found in steel alloys, jewelry, and even the wires of cell phones! Only a few countries actually make coins made of Niobium. Some of these countries are:

Austria

Canada

Luxembourg

Palau

Sierra Leone

 

British Virgin Islands

 

Niobium in its raw form looks like this:

Notice that in all of the coins shown above, Niobium is not the only metal. It is either the inner or outer ring, and in some cases it is just part of the design. I couldn’t find the exact price for niobium, or I would have posted it.