Week Two

Coin of the Week: Flying Eagle Cent

In the early 1800's, the one cent coin was just a chunk of copper with a design on it, about the size of a half dollar coin. But rising copper prices were a problem, and so the penny was almost eliminated. But wait! Out of the ashes of the cent rises... the small penny!

Made to replace these big pennies, or large cents, as the collecting world calls them, small cents just sort of... made cents! Designed by the illustrious James B. Longacre (see Amazing Artists), this coin features an American Eagle in flight, hence the name. On the back, it shows a wreath, probably made of corn and cotton plants. This design, while beautiful, only lasted for three years, and the wreath shows two of the most productive plants grown in the South, showing the growing use of slavery in the south, which eventually tore the country apart during the Civil War.

These coins are fairly common, but a little pricey. When buying, expect to pay about $20 for a nice example.

(P.S. These coins, even though created to lower the copper content, still contained 88% copper. The coins of the same size today contain less than 1%.)

Flying Eagle Cent

 

Trial and Error: Trade Dollar

So the U.S.A. is one of the strongest countries finances. Well, was anyway. And all of the strong countries need a way to trade with other countries. The solution to this problem? The trade dollar. It would be a sort of exchange, so that the U.S.A. could still use its silver dollars, and shell some out in other countries, particularly in places like China, India, and nearby nations known as the Orient. But finding the perfect design was hard. Here are some of the proposed designs from the 1870’s

And as for the official design:

It’s rather safe to say that the trade dollar was a flop. The people who used them in the Orient gave them “chop marks”, or seals of approval, which made them virtually worthless as mutilated coins. They were also too valuable. Many people made copies of these coins to spend as real money (this is called counterfeiting) and succeeded. So if you have one, I advise that you get it authenticated. These coins are very expensive, hitting the $120 mark at least, another reason to get it authenticated.

Trade Dollar with Chop Marks

Wonderful World: Canada Maple Leaves

In 1978, the South African Krugerrand came into the coin market as the world’s first official Bullion Coin, a coin sold only for it’s value in precious metals. But collectors who wanted one were faced with a problem: South Africa was going through Apartheid, a time of nasty segregation between the South African white government and the African people. So to protest, many countries quit buying things from this country. But the collectors still wanted bullion coins. So the Canadian Government authorized the creation of the Maple Leaf coins. They are made in four different types of precious metal: Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium. In 2007, as a publicity stunt, the Royal Canadian Mint made the largest coin in the world, which happened to be a 100 kilo Gold Maple Leaf. This stood as the world’s largest coin until 2011, when the Australian Kangaroo coin showed them up.

South African Krugerrand

 

Canada Gold Maple Leaf

 

 

Canada Silver Maple Leaf

 

Canada Platinum Maple Leaf

 

Canada Palladium Maple Leaf

 

Cool Commemoratives: 1926 Sesquicentennial Half Dollar

In 1926, the U.S.A. turned 150 years old. And What better way to celebrate this than to make a commemorative coin? So the coin was made, featuring George Washington, our first President, and Calvin Coolidge, the President at the time. This was one of only three times in U.S. history that a living person was placed on a coin, and the only time that a President has been on a coin while alive, not to mention in office. This was one of the best selling Commemorative coins ever, and still commands a high price today. ( F.Y.I., the word “sesquicentennial” means 150 years old) This Coin was designed by John R. Sinnock, and the Liberty Bell on the back was later used on Sinnock’s Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar.

1926 Commemorative Half Dollar

 

Amazing Artists: James B. Longacre

Every collector learns about the coin artists, and then decides on a favorite. Mine? Just look at the caption above.

James B. Longacre was born on August 11, 1794 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He found home life distasteful, and ran away at age 12, then became an apprentice at a local bookstore. The owner took young James Longacre into his family, and discovered that Longacre had an artistic talent. Longacre became a well known artist after drawing portraits of such people as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. He gained the notice of the powerful John C. Calhoun, and when the U.S. mint opened, he was one of the first engravers there. Longacre became chief engraver of the mint in 1844, after the death of Christian Gobrecht, and some of his many designs include:

Indian Head Cent

 

2 Cent Coin

 

3 Cent Coins, Silver and Nickel

 

$1 Gold Coins, Liberty and Indian Heads

 

$3 Gold Coin

 

$20 Liberty Double Eagle Gold Coin

Longacre died on January 1, 1869, and was replaced by William Barber. Today Longacre’s coins are considered very pretty, but not progressive enough in the coin artistry world.