Week Three

 

Coin of the Week: Silver War Nickel

If you have done your history homework (and if you didn’t, you probably shouldn’t be on the computer) you will know about World War II. Well, during that war, nickel was a very badly needed war material. So the solution was simple. Take the nickel out of the nickel! But then, what would you put in the coin? Uhhh… Aha! I know! Silver and Magnesium!

All right, it’s 1942 and your idea sounds O.K., but how are we going to tell the difference? After all, the war isn’t going to last forever, and people might want to know when the blingy material was put in. Hmmm… How about a new spot for the mintmark (a little letter on the coin that tells you where it was made, like D for Denver, Colorado)? Fine, we’ll do that, and we have our silver nickel!

The story above tells you how to find a silver nickel: first, check the date on the coin. Nickels between 1942 and 1945 are made of 9% magnesium, 35% silver, and 56% copper. Second, look at the back of the coin and look for a large P, D, or S above the house, signifying the change of metal. In 1946, nickel nickels resumed, but that’s not to say that they were perfect. It was not until recently that an error coin was discovered, a 1946 nickel struck on a silver nickel planchet, or blank coin. So never underestimate your chances of finding something new, because it does still happen.

 

Silver War Nickel

 

Example of a Blank Planchet

Coin News/Cool Commemoratives: 2014 Commemoratives

In 2014, two new commemorative coin programs were created: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was one of the biggest steps towards desegregation in the U.S.A. Just ask your Grandparents what segregated school was like. African Americans had to sit in a designated spot, and they even had to use separate drinking fountains and bathrooms, because they were considered less that white Americans. But President Lyndon B. Johnson decided that it was time to end that. So on July 2, 1964, Johnson signed the bill into law, and today, although still not perfect, segregation has all but ended in the U.S.A.  So to celebrate 50 years of this act, the Civil Rights Act Silver Dollar was created.

Civil Rights Act Silver Dollar

The Baseball Hall of Fame? Who needs a reason? Baseball is fun! The mint held a competition to see what designs everyone could come up with, and the winning design would be put on the real coin. Hundreds of people, including kids, sent tons of designs, including me! The winning design was made by Cassie McFarland. These coins were struck with the denominations of Half Dollar, Silver Dollar, and $5 Gold Coins. They are the first coins officially produced by the U.S. Mint that are curved! The dome shape of these coins is nearly unique, which may have been a factor in the selling out of the gold one in two days!

Baseball Hall of Fame Half Dollar

 

Baseball Hall of Fame Silver Dollar

 

Baseball Hall of Fame $5 Gold Coin

 

Baseball Hall of Fame Coin from all sides

 

Trial and Error: $4 Gold “Stellas”

In the 1870’s, lots of coins, such as the British Sovereign, French 20 Franc, and Italian 20 Lire were being used in international trade, but the U.S. trade dollar was not doing so hot in the trade world. So the government came up with a new plan; the $4 Gold Stella. This coin would function as an international trade piece. Two designs were developed by designers Charles E. Barber and George T. Morgan. Though beautiful, these coins were a flop, due mainly to the fact that $4 was not a standard U.S. denomination. A Quintuple Stella was also developed, with a $20 face value, which also proved impractical, because of the already existing Double Eagle. Notice the motto beneath the star: Deo Est Gloria, or God Is Glorious. 460 Stellas were made in Gold, Copper, and other metals.

Charles E. Barber’s Stella

 

George T. Morgan’s Stella

 

British Sovereign

 

French 20 Francs

 

Italian 20 Lira

 

Quintuple Stella (compare to James Longacre’s $20)

 

Amazing Artists: Frank Gasparro

Frank Gasparro was born on August 26, 1909, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a natural artist, but his father wanted him to carry on the family tradition of being a musician. Young Frank won that argument, and eventually traveled to Europe to refine his skills. He was hired by the mint under John R. Sinnock, and his first successful coin design was the back of the Lincoln Cent, which replaced the sheaves of wheat that had been there since 1909.

Gasparro also designed the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollar coins, both of which flopped, as well as the back of the Kennedy half dollar.

Frank Gasparro died on September 29, 2001. Since his death, only the reverse of the Kennedy half dollar remains on circulating coins, with the replacement of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the penny with the Union Shield, and the older dollar coins with the Sacagawea dollars.

(Bonus bit of trivia: look on the back of a Lincoln Memorial penny, and you will see the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the center, making this the only U.S. coin with two pictures of the same person on it)

Lincoln Cent Reverse

 

Kennedy Half Dollar

 

Susan B. Anthony Dollar

 

Eisenhower Dollar