As the mint scrambled to adjust, a number of emergency measures were taken. Production of 1964-dated coinage continued well into 1965 until the new clad planchets were ready. Then, to make sure that there was enough of the new coinage to go around, the mint decided both to cease production of proof coinage and to do away with mintmarks. The only concession of any kind made to coin collectors were the Special Mint Sets of 1965-67, not true proof coins, but high quality circulation strike coins similar in some ways to the satin finish coins in mint sets today.

In 1968, the mint resumed the use of mintmarks and the production of proof coinage, but with a new twist. Proof coins, like the prior Special Mint Set coins, were now made in San Francisco, and the S mintmark reappeared after a 12 year hiatus. Initially, the San Francisco Mint also manufactured some circulation strike cents and nickels, but their dimes, quarters, and halves were strictly proofs. The mint would eventually also make Susan B. Anthony dollars for circulation, as well as silver-clad Ike dollars and bicentennial coinage for collectors.

During the first year of S-mint proof set production, an unexpected hitch occurred. In a few sets full of S-mint coins, the dimes had no trace of a mintmark! This came about because at that time all coinage dies were prepared with no mintmark, which would be added only upon arrival at the branch mint. On one die, that didn’t happen, and an instant rarity was made.

Walter Breen opined that about six examples of the 1968 no S dime were known. If that is true, then Heritage has sold each of these coins an average of at least three times apiece. Nevertheless, the 1968 no S dime is clearly an extremely rare coin, likely R.6 or low R.7, surpassed in rarity among 20th century dimes by only one coin.

Heritage’s upcoming 2010 April-May Milwaukee, WI CSNS US Coin Auction includes a rather unique proof set: one each of the five collectible missing mintmark proof coins. Along with the 1968 no S dime, the set includes the 1970 no S dime, the 1971 no S nickel, the 1983 no S dime, and the 1990 no S cent. While none of these coins is as rare as the 1968 S-less dime, each is highly desirable, and a key to its respective proof series. All of the coins in the set grade Proof-68 or 69, and show the eye appeal expected of latter-day US Mint products.

Incidentally, the sole 20th century dime that is rarer than the 1968 no S proof dime is also an S-less proof. A mere two examples are known of the 1975 no S dime, and neither Heritage nor the major grading services has ever handled one!

Related posts:

1. PCGS Displays Top Set of Modern Proof Coins at FUN
2. PNG Modern Coins Seminar at CSNS Convention
3. ‘King of Coins’ leads $45 million Heritage CSNS Auctions in Cincinnati

An Overview of Small Dollar Coins Missing Edge Lettering
NGC
When the Presidential $1 coins were first issued in 2007, their design called for lettered-edge inscriptions. For the first time ever, the date, mintmark and required inscriptions were to appear on the edge of the coin. The purpose of this feature, according to the authorizing legislation (the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005), was to give the dollar coins a distinctive edge as an aid to the blind or visually impaired. Additionally, it allowed for more room of the obverse, allowing for an expressive and artful depiction of the Nation’s past presidents. But edge lettering presented a challenge to the Mint. It was a significant undertaking, considering the number of dollars that would be struck.
[ Read Full Article]

The Differences Between Copper, Bronze, and Brass
The E-Sylum
The difference to me, as a chemist in my former life, is that bronze is mainly copper plus tin (not zinc) in various proportions, and brass is mainly a copper-zinc alloy. For example, cartridge case (brass) cents contained zinc, and thereafter both tin and zinc (like the early bronze small cents). How to tell the difference just by looking? Bronze might appear a bit grainy and dull, without the brighter and shinier appearance of most things brass. Think of yellow brass hardware. Bronze is less stable to oxidation in general and darkens faster than brass. Think statues. Of course, all comparisons depend on the percentage composition of the components. There is really no clear-cut delineation. Once you go to mainly tin, with copper and other elements, you get pewter. And once you go to centuries-long aged medals, there’s likely no visible difference between most bronze and brass.
[ Read Full Article]

Pursuing the Peace Dollar
Numismaster
I think it’s fair to say that if you want to collect silver dollars, large coins that actually contain a significant amount of silver, then the Peace dollar series, minted from 1921 to 1935, is the one to start with. For one thing, a complete collection of all date/mintmark combinations consists of just 24 coins. Only one of the 24, the 1928, is pricy in all grades and thus qualifies as a “key coin.” Relative to such key coins as the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent and the 1916-D Mercury dime, the 1928 Peace dollar could hardly be called a “stopper.” So, as interesting and collectible as the Peace dollar is, how did it come about? The answer lies earlier than 1921, with the end of the first world war. There was an interest among some for a new coin to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I.
[ Read Full Article]

Concerns Over Rise In Counterfeit Coins in North Yorkshire
The Northern Echo
Concern has been raised about the number of forged coins being used in parking meters in a town. The number of counterfeit £1 coins used in meters in Richmond, North Yorkshire, in the past year amounts to £1,500, 0.5 per cent of the total amount collected – more than average. However, councillors at Richmondshire District Council are concerned the figure could rise. The car parks in Richmond are operated on behalf of the council by a private contractor, which collects the money and maintains the sites. At a council meeting, it was said the forged coins are never seen by anyone at the council because the contractor has a legal duty to send them to the Royal Mint to be destroyed.
[ Read Full Article]

Related posts:

1. Coin News for March 8, 2010
2. Coin News for March 2, 2010
3. Coin News for March 19, 2010

Click To Enlarge

Click To Enlarge

A basic lesson will help you always catch fakes, like this 1895-O Morgan Dollar, which could be deceptive to many.

In high school history class, a student asks his teacher, “Do I need to memorize dates for tomorrow’s test?”

The teacher replies, “No dates.”

Encouraged, the young student goes home and studies hard, following the teacher’s instruction. The next day he fails the test. Miserably.

Of course, the teacher had not told the student there would be NO dates on the test, but that he should KNOW dates. For aspiring counterfeit detectors, this instruction should be made even more clear: K-N-O-W dates!

Dates are very important areas to examine because they are unique to a particular coinage issues. The position, size and shape of the date should be the first elements examined when attempting to determine authenticity (unless better diagnostics are known for that coin). Often a misshapen or wayward digit is confirmation that something is amiss.

While this advice might seem to apply primarily to altered date coins, it is just as important for die-struck counterfeits. This 1895-O Morgan Dollar is a die-struck counterfeit recently made in China. It is of the correct weight and metal composition of an authentic coin. It is made from transfer dies and this coin would deceive many collectors.

By looking at the date under magnification, the coin immediately falls apart. Raised blobs of metal can be seen surrounding the 5, most prominently at 5:00 and 7:00. The metal flow is also suspiciously smoother in this area, dissimilar from the texture seen around the other digits. If you knew nothing else about this coin, those markers alone should scream, “not genuine.”

The counterfeiter made transfer dies for this coin by using a model coin from the 1890s, replacing the last digit with a 5. While this reveals the counterfeiter’s methods, it also tells us something else. Coins of every date and mintmark combination can be made in this same fashion. It’s therefore important to remember that this rule always applies: “Know dates!”

Related posts:

1. ANA Counterfeit Detection Seminar Offered April 22 at MSNS Spring Convention
2. Important Announcement: Counterfeit NGC Holders
3. COUNTERFEIT PCGS HOLDERS

Shield Five-Cent Pieces Were the First to Include Nickel
Numismaster
The Shield nickel started something big. It was the first nickel five-cent piece—actually composed of an alloy of copper and nickel. The design lasted less than 20 years, but the nickel itself is still going strong after nearly 150 years. The nickel started out as a replacement for the Postage Currency and Fractional Currency five-cent notes issued during the Civil War. Nickels were also used to redeem copper-nickel Flying Eagle and Indian Head cents after production of bronze cents began in 1864. The exchanges continued for years.
[ Read Full Article]

An Interview With Q. David Bowers on Internet Coin Buying
Coin Update News
Bowers sees online auctions as an extension of currently available outlets such as catalogs and convention sales. While the Internet is a new mode to showcase coins, he advises all prospective bidders “to know the person with whom you are doing business.” “In fact,” he adds, “one must be even more careful on the Internet.” Usually I am skeptical of designations by third-party graders such as NGC, PCGS, ANACS and IGC, remembering we should be purchasing coins rather than the plastic designating their grades. Recently, Bowers wrote about that topic in his Coin World column. Like me, however, Bowers is cautious about all the online bidding of raw coins on Internet portals.
[ Read Full Article]

Civility Marks Two-Day Collecting, Metal Detecting, and Museum Conference
Ancient Coin Collecting
The general mood of this conference was that everyone wanted to work together, within the law, to preserve cultural property. That’s a pretty safe stance. The nuances of that position can sometimes create disagreements, but the overarching fact or “bottom line” is that most people do care about cultural property preservation. Over the course of two days, it became increasingly evident to me that the British are on the right path. Their main concern was not ownership, that was clearly defined by law as it is in the U.S., the issue was reporting. With an active and growing cadre of private citizens engaged in the hobby of metal detecting, a country rich in historical objects, like Britain, is constantly at risk of losing important information about the past.
[ Read Full Article]

Dark Gold Thoughts Not Dark Enough
Dave Harper’s Buzz
Back when gold ownership was legalized in the United States on Dec. 31, 1974, there was a lingering fear that the coins that had been illegal to own since 1933 would once again become illegal to own. Advisors told gold buyers to stick to coins like the standard U.S. gold coins struck before 1933 as well as world coins like British sovereigns and French 20 francs of similar vintage. This seemed to be an unnecessary precaution as the age of the convenient one-ounce bullion coins was dawning.
[ Read Full Article]

The Artist In Everyone’s Wallet
The National
Not many artists can say their work is owned by millions. Mohammed al Mandi, however, is among those select few. He is one of the only master calligraphers in the Middle East. His angular designs can be found on every banknote in the UAE and Bahrain, as well as the passports of the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. Not only that, he is the artist who designed the interior of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
[ Read Full Article]

Related posts:

1. Coin News for March 17, 2010
2. Coin News for March 18, 2010
3. Coin News for March 10, 2010

The decade between 1834 and 1844 was the beginning of the modern era at the United States mint. The second half of this decade was especially interesting. A number of experiments and acts of legislation provided some of most attractive and popular issues in the history of American coinage.

A combination of factors occurred in the early to mid 1830’s that led to these design changes and the introduction of new mints and new denominations. Large quantities of gold were discovered in North Georgia and western North Carolina in the early 1830’s. This led to the establishment, in 1834, of branch mints in Charlotte, New Orleans and Dahlonega. These mints opened in 1838 and by the end of the 1830’s, all three were producing gold coins.

An important technological advance was the introduction of the steam press in 1836. Coins were now able to be struck using a close collar which allowed for a thicker edge and a more precise diameter and sophisticated designs. It also meant that the quaint, “folk art” designs of John Reich were to be replaced with more modern, technologically savvy renderings.

Christian Gobrecht was named the new Mint Engraver in 1835, after the exodus of John Reich. Gobrecht was a talented artisan whose skill enabled the Mint to modernize its gold coinage. Beginning in 1838, he attempted to create a uniform Liberty Head design for all three of the current gold denominations. This design would remain, with minor changes, until 1907.

One of the first assignments that Gobrecht was given was to design a new gold dollar. A small number of experimental pieces were produced in gold (Judd-67) as well as in a gold alloy, silver and copper. Despite an attractive design, this experiment did not produce any immediate results and the gold dollar denomination was shelved until 1849.

As more and more gold was discovered in the south, the importance of the yellow metal in coinage increased. Conversely, large discoveries of silver in Mexico and South America meant that the price of gold bullion rose. The Classic Head quarter eagle was introduced in 1834 and it featured a design by William Kneass and John Reich. The weight of these quarter eagles was reduced to 258 grains (from 270) and the diameter was lessened from nineteen millimeters to 17.5. Most importantly, mintage figures rose dramatically. Between 1829 and 1834 around 25,000 quarter eagles were struck. In 1834 alone, over 112,000 of the new Classic Head pieces were produced.

Gobrecht’s experimentation with the Classic Head design began in 1835 when the head was made taller. In 1836, there are no less than three variations of the head: the original design of 1834, the taller head of 1835 (based on Kneass’ original design) and the head of 1837 (with the hair distant from the sixth star) which was actually executed by Gobrecht.

Gobrecht’s experimentation went a step further in 1838. The Philadelphia quarter eagles of this year are noticeably different in appearance than those dated 1835-1837. The 1838 issues have a very broad obverse border, smaller stars and a new variation of the Classic Head portrait that is modeled on the original Kneass design of 1834 but with a taller, differently positioned head.

Production at the branch mints began in 1838 with the striking of 7,880 quarter eagles at the Charlotte mint. The design of the head was similar to that seen on the Philadelphia quarter eagles of this year. The most notable overall difference is a very pronounced doubled obverse rim that is different from that seen on any other quarter eagle of this era. The Mint made the decision to place the mintmark on the obverse and on the 1838-C it is prominently doubled.

In 1839, the head was redesigned–yet again–on the Philadelphia issues. The back and upper curls are different in shape and the stars are larger. In addition, the obverse denticles are longer and finely defined. The reverse is the same as seen on 1836.

Three branch mints coined quarter eagles in 1839. The 1839-C coins are found with an 1839/8 overdate and an 1839/39 repunched date. The mintmark is still prominently displayed on the obverse but it is further to the left than on the 1838-C. In addition, the denticles are much longer and finer in 1839.

Both the 1839-D and 1839-O issues have a distinctive appearance. The former has very long, boldly detailed denticles on the obverse and reverse. The latter has a more narrow border with much smaller, more rounded denticles. The 1839-O is found with two major varieties. One has a high date with a widely spaced fraction on the reverse while the other has a low date with a closely spaced fraction.

Why are there so many varieties known? Part of the reason may have to do with the Mint’s embrace of new technology. The steam press and close collar were complicated to use and it took a while to learn how to best employ them. And the original Kneass Classic Head design did not strike very well. Most Classic Head quarter eagles show weakness at the centers, due to the fact that the high point of the obverse was opposite the high point on the reverse. The mint was constantly tweaking this design in order to get better struck coins. As evidenced by the results through 1839, this did not work and the fact that Classic Head gold coins are nearly always poorly struck was probably the major reason why the Liberty Head design was introduced.

The new Christian Gobrecht Liberty Head design was first used on eagles in 1838. It made its way to half eagles in 1839 and quarter eagles in 1840.

A very noticeable change was the moving of the mintmark to the reverse. It is not known whether this was done for aesthetic reasons or to facilitate better striking.

Other changes can be seen on quarter eagles from the 1840 to 1843 era but they are more subtle. From 1840 to 1842, date sizes from all four mints are tiny. In 1843, large and small date varieties are found on Charlotte and New Orleans strikings. Philadelphia quarter eagles from this year are found with only a large date while Dahlonega quarter eagles are seen only with a small date. Mintmark sizes vary in 1843 as well with large and small punches seen on all three branch mint issues.

Beginning in 1844, the quarter eagle design becomes more settled. Date and mintmark sizes are more consistent. Why did the wholesale changes of the first four years suddenly stop? One would have to suspect this was due to the Mint finally being satisfied with the designs and reaching the decision that these were the most suitable for producing good strikes and were the most difficult to counterfeit.

There are a number of varieties seen on the Classic Head half eagles but not as many as on the quarter eagles. In 1834 there are two distinct head design and the 4 in the date is seen with both plain and crosslet varieties. In 1835 there are three varieties of head and both large and small dates. When Gobrecht became more involved in the design process in 1836, three distinct head types can be seen. The design becomes more uniform in 1837 and stays the same through 1838.

The Mint was more successful in striking the half eagle of this design than the quarter eagle. While most Classic Head half eagles show some weakness at the centers, they are much better detailed than their smaller counterparts. The fact that the mint was able to successfully strike this design in the larger format suggests that this may have been part of the motivation behind the constant tinkering with the quarter eagle.

Branch mint half eagles were struck at Charlotte and Dahlonega in 1838. These issues each have a very distinctive appearance and both show the mintmark on the obverse. The 1838-C has very narrow borders with tiny denticles, weakness at the centers and a loss of detail on the eagle’s feathers due to over-lapping of the dies. The 1838-D has a broader border with distinctive denticles, sharper detail at the centers and more complete feathers on the reverse.

In 1839 Gobrecht’s coronet head design began on the half eagle denomination. It featured a liberty head with a very curved neck truncation and the mintmark displayed prominently on the obverse. This design was deliberately made to be similar to the 1838 eagle, as it was planned that all three gold denominations would ultimately have a similar appearance.

The design was modified in 1840. The truncation of Liberty’s neck was no longer so curved and the mintmark was moved to the reverse. The mint experimented considerably with diameter and date size in 1840. Some issues are seen with a so-called Broad Mill which has a diameter that is approximately 23 millimeters. Others have a Narrow Mill that is around 21 millimeters. The edge reeding has different varieties as well with some showing a very fine configuration and others more coarse in shape.

The next areas of experimentation seen on half eagles are date and lettering size. In 1842, half eagles from three of the four mints (all except New Orleans) have large date and small date varieties. The Philadelphia and Dahlonega coins dated 1842 also have small and large letter varieties on the reverse. This continued into 1843 when New Orleans experimented with date and letter size variations. In 1844, the mint decided that date and letter sizes would be large.

Again, we can assume that these experiments from the 1840’s were done primarily to decide what would be the best design to enable half eagles to be well struck and hard to counterfeit. The design that was adapted in 1844 went basically unchanged (with the exception of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST being added in 1866) until 1907.

After being discontinued in 1804, the eagle was resurrected in 1838. This was the “crown jewel” of gold denominations which is why it was the first to be completely redesigned by Christian Gobrecht. His initial design featured a Liberty Head with an extremely curved neck truncation on the obverse with the left side of the neck placed over the 18 and the right side just past the right side of the final star. The reverse had large letters. This design was continued for part of 1839 but was changed.

The new design featured a less curved neck and a differently positioned head. The left side of the neck was now far to the left of the date while the right side was well to the left of the final star. The date shows a slight curve. The reverse lettering was reduced in size.

The design found on 1838 and the first group of 1839 eagles did strike well so it cannot be argued that the change was made to facilitate quality. My guess is the decision was aesthetic in nature as the shape of Liberty’s neck and its position relative to the date and stars appears “odd.” The reconfiguration made in 1839 makes the obverse look more balanced but not perfectly so.

A final, subtle change to the eagle design was made in 1840. The date was made straight while slight variations can be seen on the neck curls. Small and Large Date varieties are found on the 1842 eagles from Philadelphia but there are no other changes during this era.

I regard the 1834-44 decade as one of the most interesting and under-researched eras of American numismatics. The collector who wishes to focus on types has a number of options while the variety collector has access to an almost unlimited group. Most importantly, this is extremely fertile ground. There has been little research done on gold coins from this era and many new discoveries are, no doubt, waiting the dedicated collector.

For more information on United States gold coins dated between 1834 and 1844 please contact Doug Winter via email at dwn@ont.com.

Related posts:

1. The Great Branch Mint Gold Popularity Contest of 2009
2. 12 Great Values in the Rare Date Gold Market Priced Below $5,000
3. 1834 Capped Head Quarter Eagle, A Classic Rarity

U.S. Mint First Spouse Coins Update
Mint News Blog
The Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold Coins will go on sale tomorrow. There will be a maximum mintage of 15,000 coins across both proof and uncirculated versions, with no household ordering limits. Both of these represent changes in procedure from prior releases of the series, which had maximum mintages set at 40,000 and ordering limits imposed for at least the first month of availability. Since the price of gold has remained within the same average range, the proof coins will be priced at $729 and the uncirculated coins will be priced at $716.
[ Read Full Article]

History Shows A Reagan U.S. $50 Note Not Too Likely
Numismaster
The idea of putting Ronald Reagan on the $50 Federal Reserve Note certainly made for an interesting week for our poll question. As you might expect, there were strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Obviously politics divides numismatists as well as the country at large. I expect the proposal to put the nation’s 40th President on the $50 bill will go nowhere. The sad truth about our paper money is simply the lack of change of the individuals on the notes. Throughout my lifetime George Washington has presided over the $1 bill, Thomas Jefferson the $2, Abraham Lincoln the $5, Alexander Hamilton the $10, Andrew Jackson the $20, Ulysses S. Grant the $50 and Benjamin Franklin the $100.
[ Read Full Article]

New Coin Honors Lost Soldiers of Fromelles
Royal Australian Mint
The Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, have today announced the Royal Australian Mint will next month issue a collectible 20 cent coin commemorating Australia’s Lost Soldiers of Fromelles. “This coin is a continuation of the Mint’s Australia Remembers series, exploring our nation’s war experiences and military history behind and beyond the battlefields,” the Assistant Treasurer said. “The coin design is based on the Cobbers statue which stands in the Australian Memorial Park at Fromelles.” “The design features a circle enclosing an artist’s impression of the Cobbers statue and, to the right, the inscription ‘20′.”
[ Read Full Article]

Brooklyn Artist Leaves Handmade Tokens for the Public
The New York Times
For more than 30 years now, sharp-eyed New Yorkers have been finding them on ledges, windowsills and store counters — poker-chip-size coins that reveal themselves to be something far more mysterious than loose change. The inch-wide ceramic discs, painted in iridescent colors, have the rough, weathered feel of ancient treasure. Each is embossed with a short, cryptic message, a year and two humble letters: “bw.” Those, it turns out, are the initials of Beriah Wall, a Brooklyn artist who estimates he has knocked out hundreds of thousands of these handmade tokens since the late 1970s, quietly dropping them in public places or the hands of bewildered strangers. His latest batch, minted over the last few months, carry the message “Stuck in Brkln.”
[ Read Full Article]

Queueing for Coins in Latin America
Earth Times
In many Latin American cities it’s not unusual for long lines to form in front of banks before business hours. The people standing in the lines tend to be restaurant owners or street vendors who need small-denomination bills or coins to make change for customers of their businesses. They sometimes wait hours just to get a little bit of the precious currency. There aren’t a lot of these bills given over to the banks. When the vendors can’t get them, they have to ask their customers to pay in small bills or in coins. It creates demand, meaning people who have a surplus of small bills can do a good trade.
[ Read Full Article]

Related posts:

1. Coin News for March 15, 2010
2. Coin News for March 11, 2010
3. Coin News for March 5, 2010

This woman was enamored with the smile and disposition of her caretaker’s great-grandchild. At the end of the visit, she gave to the baby a gold coin that she had been given as a young girl nearly 90 years before.

McGough’s grandmother and the woman who gifted him the coin both passed away when he was quite young. The coin sat tucked away for many years, and was seldom looked at. On those occasions when it was taken out, he remembers being told, “You got that as a baby,” and it was something that he owned his entire life.

Now 66, McGough sought to investigate the coin, as he was curious about its value. The coin was an 1805 five dollar gold piece, and it was not obvious how to determine its value. Just 33,183 were made, and there is a wide range in value depending on condition. But McGough’s primary concern was finding someone he could trust, because he didn’t know any dealers near him in Tennessee and didn’t want to be misled about the value of the coin.

Some Internet searching led him to dealer John Albanese, and a few phone conversations made him comfortable with him and the procedures for shipping the coin to Albanese with proper insurance.

After reviewing the coin, Albanese recommended having it certified so that it could realize its full market value. It was submitted to NGC, where it graded MS 63, putting it in the upper echelons of known examples. McGough could not have been a better steward for it. The coin is an attractive tan gold color and has a perfect original skin. It’s just some light abrasion and a few wispy lines that keep it from higher grade, and it is simply a wonderful choice uncirculated example.

While nothing has been decided, McGough comments that, “Getting the coin certified was a step toward selling the coin. It’s been a very good experience to get this accurate information.”

Related posts:

1. $90,000 heirloom coin returned to Lake Worth woman
2. Chinese Reveal 1805 U.S. dollar!
3. NGC-Certified 1804 Bust Dollar Highlights Offering of The Queller Family Collection

Same Date, Different Type Coins, Part II
PCGS
Last time, we looked at four occurrences of a mid-year changeover in a coin type during the 20th century in the copper, nickel and silver series. Someone pointed out that I did not include the 1913 Liberty/Buffalo transition. The 1913 Liberty nickels were not authorized issues, and including them in the official “set” would make it a rather difficult project for the average collector to undertake with any reasonable expectation of completing it. Today, we’ll finish the 20th century examples, and then begin looking at the seven instances of a mid-year changeover in circulating American coinage that occurred in the 19th century.
[ Read Full Article]

French Mint Unveils Gold Coin Plans
World Gold Council
The Monnaie de Paris, the French mint, has announced plans to produce two new one-kilogram gold coins, as well as a pair of ten-ounce gold designs, for its 2010 collectors’ range. One of the one-kilogram specimens is part of a series celebrating world landmarks. Following on from previous designs covering the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon and the Kremlin, the new €5,000 coin will feature the Taj Mahal. The depiction of the building’s famous dome will be set with diamonds and only 29 of the coins will be struck.
[ Read Full Article]

U.S. Mint Product Schedule and Price Updates
Mint News Blog
Following the release of the Abigail Fillmore coins and medal, the next product will be the 2010 Boy Scouts Silver Dollar. The release date had previously been known as March 23, 2010 and the pricing had been separately published. I will have a full post on the coins next week, leading into the release. On March 26, 2010, the Presidential Dollar Coin and First Spouse Medal Set featuring Millard and Abigail Fillmore will be released. This will be the first product released for the year, which contains a satin finish coin. Until recently, there had been a persistent rumor that the finish would no longer be used. Pricing for the product has not yet been announced, but based on the $2 increase for the individual Abigail Fillmore medal, I think the set price may also creep higher.
[ Read Full Article]

Collecting Short Sets Avoids Pricey Rarities
Numismaster
Once upon a time, there was a new collector who discovered Morgan silver dollars. She loved the Liberty head on the obverse and the proud eagle on the reverse. She liked the fact that these coins were made of 90 percent silver, were used as real money, and had a heft and a weight that impressed her. This lovely old coin was so different from the modern coins she saw in change every day. But then, the new collector learned more about this series. She found that this coin was made from 1878 to 1904, and again in 1921. She saw the many different mintmarked coins and noticed the prices on a few of these coins, particularly Carson City issues, were priced out of her budget. And she wondered how long it would take to locate one of each date and mintmark in the condition of her choice.
[ Read Full Article]

Review of An Ultimate Coins Game for the iPhone
Coin Collector’s Blog
Somewhere in my travels across the Internets, I found out about the iPhone game An Ultimate Coins Game by Flavio Passa, an Argentina-based developer. It seemed like a cute concept, a matching-like game based on coins. So the numismatist and iPhone time waster in me thought the 99-cents price tag was a reasonable price to give the game a try. Starting the program yielded two issues: Sound effects cannot be controlled or muted within the program and the instructions are sparse and must be read on the programmer’s time frame. Beginning with the sound effects, the noises are not optional. Sounds cannot be turned off and the only way to control the volume is using the iPhone’s volume.
[ Read Full Article]

Related posts:

1. Coin News for March 20, 2010
2. Coin News for March 8, 2010
3. Coin News for March 2, 2010

Beginning with this article, I’m going to focus, from time to time, on issues that I regard as “forgotten rarities.” These are coins that are truly rare but which, for a variety of reasons, do not get the fanfare that they deserve. I plan on featuring a selected gold rarity once every month or so. The first issue that I want to discuss is the 1863 eagle.

I’m going to try to avoid “condition rarity” issues in this series. In other words, I’m featuring coins that are rare in the most absolute sense of the word. And I think the 1863 eagle has this concept of rarity absolutely nailed.

There were only 1,218 eagles produced at the Philadelphia mint in 1863. For all denominations other than the double eagle, mintages were extremely low this year, which makes sense given the economic conditions of the Civil War (at the beginning of the year it was still not readily concluded that the Union forces would prevail). The low mintage of this issue, combined with a generally low survival rate for gold coins of this era, meant that the 1863 eagle was a rarity from the time it was struck.

I regard the 1863 as the third rarest business strike issue in this entire series, trailing only the 1875 and the 1864-S. I believe that there are around 30-35 known in all grades. As of March 2010, the combined total of coins graded at PCGS and NGC was 37 but this figure is clearly inflated by resubmissions; NGC, as an example, has eight coins alone in AU58.

The surviving examples of this issue tend to be in the VF-EF grade range. Eagles of this era were clearly used in commerce and those that were not later melted tend to show numerous abrasions and signs of rough handling. I can’t recall having seen more than three to five 1863 eagles that had original color and reasonably clean surfaces. Many have been cleaned or processed and properly graded AU examples are very rare.

Since 2000, there have been only six auction records for 1863 eagles that have not been damaged, harshly cleaned or ungradable by PCGS and NGC. The most recent record of note was Heritage 1/05: 30496, graded AU58 by NGC, that realized $28,750. This coin was not choice for the grade, in my opinion, yet it was still a bargain given its rarity and comparatively high degree of preservation.

Related posts:

1. Historic SS Central America “Ship of Gold” Exhibit Returns to Long Beach Expo Coin Show
2. US Gold Collecting: The New Orleans With Motto $10 Eagle “Short Set”
3. The 1883-O Gold Eagle Coin Becomes Trendy (and Spendy…)

Link to PART ONE: Dollars and Half Dollars

The seated quarter dollars had their production starting a year earlier in 1838. The series was just like the other seated series, except for the half dime and dollar, struck until 1891, when it was finally replaced a year later by a new design, made by Charles Barber. The design is not much different than the half dollar; the most notable difference is the denomination and size, as can be expected.

In my opinion, this series is the most difficult of the seated series to complete by date only. The long run of dates (continuously from 1838 to the end of the series in 1891) is not the main criteria for this; it’s the fact that many Philadelphia dates, especially the 1880’s dates, are very scarce in any grade. In Mint state, most coins including branch Mint issues, are available although earlier dates can be very scarce or (virtually unknown) in full Mint state; this especially the case for the branch Mint issues.

These branch Mint coins were struck at the same Mints as the Half Dollars, the San Francisco, New Orleans and Carson City Mints. As is the case with the other seated coinage series, branch Mint coins normally command a premium over a Philadelphia Mint issues, although again this is not the case.

As I said before, the series started in 1838, replacing the capped bust design in production since 1815. The first two dates were only struck at the Philadelphia Mint. These issues are common in grades up to EF-40, but command a nice premium and get scarcer in higher grades.

In gem grades, a coin is very rare and a trophy coin to most collectors. the design of these first two years is of the no drapery, type 1 design. this was changed in 1840 when drapery was added to the elbow of liberty.

Philadelphia Mint coins only exist as type 2 (with drapery). The New Orleans Mint first struck quarter dollars in 1840. Because the correct, with drapery dies were not received at the beginning of the year, production started using the old type 1 obverse design. During the year, the obverse die was replaced with the new obverse, thus creating two separate varieties for the 1840-O issue. The type 1 had a Mintage of 382,200 coins and the type 2 output for the year was 43,000 coins. Both command a premium over a common type coin of more than 100% and thus are not really interesting to date only collectors.

From 1841 to 1844, both Philadelphia and New Orleans Mint struck seated quarters for general circulation. To most collectors, the choice will be a nicely struck Philadelphia issue. Although these coins are less expensive than their New Orleans brothers, the mintages are lower. This can be expected, as many were saved by both collectors and hoarders. For the more adventurous collector, the New Orleans issues are interesting to seek for a premium, well struck example. Especially the first date of this group, 1841-O is suitable for this purpose. It has the highest Mintage differences between both Mints (New Orleans struck 452,000 coins in comparison to the 120,000 struck in Philadelphia) and the prices reflect this in all grades.

The 1845 and 1846 dates were only struck at the Philadelphia Mint and both are relatively common and affordable in all grades. New Orleans resumed quarter dollar production in 1847 with a total output of 368,000 pieces; especially in high grade, it is much scarcer than its Philadelphia counterpart. 1848 resulted in a Philadelphia only year and from 1848 to 1860, the New Orleans Mint continuously struck quarter dollars. Of these dates, the 1854-O (with Arrows at the date to denote to weight change from 6.68 grams to 6.22 grams the previous year, when this was noted by both rays around the eagle and arrows at the date as was the case with the Seated Half Dollars) would be the best option in all grades with some premium but not that much.

As is the case with the Seated Half Dollars, in 1855 the San Francisco Mint struck Silver Quarters for the first time in its short existence. From that date until the late 1860s, the date only collector can choose from the two Mints. Most dates have low mintages, although most coins are much more available than expected. With the civil war going on, silver coins were being hoarded by just about anyone and all silver coins quickly disappeared from circulation. In 1870, the Carson City Mint was opened and the first 8,340 quarters were struck at the Carson City Mint during the year. The low mintage created a classic rarity to collectors with Mint State pieces (virtually) unknown.

In 1866, another design change occurred on all reverses of the higher denominations (quarter to dollar) denominations. To project the faith the reunited country had in God, the motto “In God We Trust” was placed on a scroll above the eagle. This motto continues to be on all United States coins since then, at least more or less as there are some exceptions. Patterns were created for these denominations during the previous years in several metals, all very rare but very collectable.

The series of patterns starts in 1861 with J- 284, $10 gold piece not too interesting for this article (but very historic in its own way), using the motto “God Our Trust” which was at first proposed. The first seated coinage with a motto related to God comes in 1862, when pattern Half Dollars in both silver and copper were made during the year. Both used the motto “God Our Trust”, with the first type (J-293 in silver and J-294 in copper) displaying it on scroll, and the second type (J-295 in silver and J-296 in copper) displaying the same motto without the scroll. This type was also struck in the then semiprecious metal aluminum, probably for the few collectors of the day.

The same can be said for the first patterns of 1863. But the now familiar with the public motto, “In God We Trust,” was used for the first time on J- 342 in silver and J-389 in copper pattern half dollars. This type was also struck in the then semi-precious metal aluminum, probably for the few collectors of the day. The “In God We Trust” motto was also used on a silver dollar pattern, also struck in three metals (J-345 to J-346).

Quarter dollar patterns with the motto were first struck in 1864 (J-386 to J-389, with the latter being struck in another metal, this time Nickel) as were again Half Dollar and Silver Dollar patterns. The same scenario continued in 1865, with especially the silver pieces being popular. The reason is that these pieces are the true transitional pieces (pieces with a new type first used for official coinage a year later), when the motto was finally introduced on the seated and other coinage in 1866.

Studying these different patterns is a very interesting field of study which I will not cover in depth in this article. For technical information, see the Judd and Pollock texts, both listed in the resources. The Judd book was recently revised with new updated prices, while the Pollock book is currently out of print and hard to find. However, both are well worth their money and in the case of the Pollock text, a must-have for the collector interested in these coins. For a more historic background on these truly fascinating pieces of US numismatics, I would recommend the Taxay book, also listed in the resources listing.

The first relatively affordable Carson City quarter dollar comes with the 1875-CC, at the time, the weight had again been changed from 6.22 to 6.25 grams. Again, this was noted to the public by arrows at the date in 1873 and 1874 as was the case with the half dollar. The coins slowly started to be seen in general commerce, although it did take until April 20, 1876 when silver traded again at par with paper money. This had not been the case since 1862, when it took more paper money than a given amount to buy the exact same amount in silver coins. Although more common than preceding Carson City issues, this coin still commands a strong premium in all grades.

The premium gets smaller with the next date, 1876-CC, and together with two Carson City issues that followed, ended this period the most affordable and the best choice for the collector who wants to include a seated quarter dollar in his collection minted at the Carson City Mint. As is the case with the half dollars, quarter dollar production stopped by the end of 1878 and was never resumed at the Carson City Mint.

The same scenario that could be seen with half dollars is the case with quarter dollars. The exception here is that the San Francisco Mint struck quarter dollars in 1888. This date, with an incredible high mintage for the era of 1,216,000 pieces, is commonly available in all grades and much cheaper than Philadelphia coins of the era, which although are easy to be find, will set you back a good amount of money for the 1880’s coins.

The 1890 date has the largest mintage since 1878, with a total output of 80,590 pieces, including 590 proofs. The last year of the series, 1891, saw the return of a well known branch Mints, the New Orleans Mint (re-opened in 1879, although it did not strike any quarter dollars until 1891). Production there was limited to just 6,800 pieces commanding a good premium over a Philadelphia issue (3,920,000 pieces struck for circulation) and San Francisco issue (2,216,000 pieces struck during the year) which are both very affordable and easy to find in any grade up to Gem Mint State.

Although the series is long, with many scarce and hard to find issues, this is a series which is certainly possible to complete. Take your time building such a large 19th century set (with a complete date/mint mark set being even harder) and pick out coins you really like. As a notice, and this can be said for any series, seated or not, when you don’t immediately fell in love with a certain coin, think by yourself if you could appreciate this coin the way it is. If not, pass on it and keep searching.

Collecting Seated Dimes by date only

The Seated Dimes series is the lowest denomination of the Seated type that was minted during the whole lifetime of the design. The Seated Dime or 10 cent piece was first minted in 1837. It was minted continuously in all the years until 1891, when this design too was replaced with the more modern Barber design as were the quarter and half dollar series.

As said, the production of the new dimes started in 1837. The type 1 design, only struck the same year at the Philadelphia Mint and for a short period in 1838 at the recently opened New Orleans Mint, featured a design which was the closest to the original design by Thomas Sully. The design featured no obverse stars, with the Seated Liberty Design simple but beautiful like it was meant to be. This same design was also used in the first year for half dimes.

In the first year, the Philadelphia Mint struck a total of 682,500. Many were saved and finding a nice example should not be too hard. In 1838, when production of the larger denominations was started, thirteen obverse stars were added to the design. Except for a small design change in 1840 (with drapery added to Liberty’s elbow) and arrows at the date from 1853-1855, the design essentially stayed the same until 1860.

The New Orleans issues of these coins are not as rare as is the case with the larger denominations. Production was large during the years, giving the date only collector several different branch mint issues too choose from without paying a large premium. It must be noted however, that many New Orleans issues are weakly struck (a general problem with New Orleans coins) and in many cases, the Philadelphia coins come much nicer.

For the date only collector, the preference would be a nice fully struck Philadelphia coin when nothing is available. In the 1838-1860 period, there are some keydates, even for the date only collector. The first coin commanding a premium over common dates of the era is the 1840, when no Dimes were minted at the New Orleans Mint. Although it brings a premium and will cost more than other Dimes of the 1840’s, the first “stopper” (more or less) is 1844.

Again, there were no dimes minted in New Orleans that year and production at the Philadelphia Mint was only 72,500, the lowest mintage of any dime since 1811. The coins are scarce in all grades, although they can be found with some searching and a lower AU piece (50 or 53) will set you back about $2,500.

Seated dime production shortly resumed at the New Orleans Mint in 1845 but was stopped and not resumed until the end of the decade in 1849. In these three years, production at the Philadelphia Mint started in 1846 with a total output of only 31,300 pieces (the lowest since the classic rarity of 1804) creating a scarce coin which is very rare in any Mint State grade and unknown in Gem. Both 1847 and 1848 dates are scarce but should not be too hard to find.

Other dates until the Arrows-at-date design are all available, with the New Orleans production staying under 510,000 pieces in these years. The with-arrows design was minted in Philadelphia in 1853-1855 and, in New Orleans, in 1854 and 1855. All issues are generally available, with the 1853-O being the scarcest of the set. Others are easily available and for the date-only collector including an issue of both Mints would be a great display of the type.

The San Francisco Mint started producing dimes in 1856, with a total output of 70,000 pieces. Most if not all immediately went into circulation and the issue is opt to be hard to find in all grades, harder in AU and even more so in MS. This certainly is not a date-only collector would likely include in this collection, but if you have some extra cash to spend, why not? It is your set you are working on, and the fun of collecting is that you choose what to include in it.

San Francisco, California lies in an area which was already inhabited by Indians at least 15,000 years before any Europeans arrived in the new world. When the first Europeans visited California with its foggy days and strange (at least to European colonists) geography, it was believed that California actually was an island some distance from the main land. On early maps of California, it is indeed shown as an island, with several small islands in the water between California and main land. These islands were based on myths and nothing else, but were subsequently included in these maps.

From 1500 to the mid 19th century European activity on the western coast was very limited. In fact, the only Europeans who visited were explorers who documented parts of the country and claimed it to the flag they were sailing under. One of these voyages included that of Francisco de Ulloa. In 1510, a novel based on this voyage where the character explores an island is published for the first time.

The island is called “California” and this is the earliest known use of that name.

The Spanish had a long history of influence in the new world, including California. However, not many people decided to move to California in the late 18th century, as most of the activities on the continent were near the eastern coast. The current state of California, together with Mexico and other parts in South-America were part of the Spanish Colonies, with its major activities in South-America, were silver mines proved to be a welcome income to the Spanish government.

The area of San Francisco was claimed by the Spanish in 1769. A mere six years later in 1775, a Spanish mission set out for California to keep it in Spanish hands. This mission, called Mission San Francisco de Asís, was established with a small settlement and a military fort. In the early 19th century, San Francisco’s population grew, although only in very small increments as there still was no interest in the area except for some Russian colonists. Eventually, these Russians had colonized almost all of an area near the western coast of North America, reaching from Alaska all the way down to Southern California.

In 1821, Mexico became independent from Spain. With Mexico now being a relative small country in the early 19th century, the country was much greater and included California, Texas, and other parts of the current Southern States. During the American-Mexican war of 1846-1848, American settlers (believed to be no more than 500 Americans who lived close to the coast in 1846) fought for their independency from Mexico.

California was ceded to the United States on February 2, 1848 following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 17 months after these American settlers declared California independent from Mexico and starting the war. This was done by raising a primitive flag, displaying a Grizzly Bear next to a Large Star in a dark red color on a white background and the words “California Republic,” directly under these symbols over the city of Sanoma. However, California was, after it was ceded to the United States by Mexico not considered to be a full and equal state until the so-called compromise of 1850.

I am of the opinion that this early history of the American Continent, more or less fully related to United States history, must not be forgotten, as they give a very interesting view of the United States and how its geography changed over the years through wars, peace treaties, and other circumstances which had many impacts on everyday life of the Americans.

These Americans can truly be considered as the builders of the western states during the 19th century. After the San Francisco Mint started to strike dimes in 1856, the other dates of the 1850s up to 1860 are generally available and it should not be too hard to find a nice and well struck example for your date-only set. Much was to change in 1860, when the design of the dime was completely revised.

The legend was moved to the obverse and the reverse was replaced with a large wreath. The first decade of the design, the 1860s will most likely include more San Francisco dates than Philadelphia coins. The output of the Philadelphia coins was very low during the civil war and a few years afterwards. Because the impact of the civil war was much smaller in the west of the country, production of dimes stayed relatively stable at the San Francisco Mint.

The Carson City Mint started to strike dimes a year after opening, in 1871. As is the case with the other denominations, the first few years are not really to be considered for date-only collectors because of the rarity and price of these issues compared with other Mints. The first affordable issue comes in 1875. In these few years between, arrows were again placed at the date in 1873 and 1874 as was the case with the large denominations. This was also done by the Mint Act of February 12, 1873, which also discontinued both Silver Dollars and Half Dimes. The Carson City coins are virtually unobtainable in anything higher than very fine, although San Francisco issues will cost about as much as the Philadelphia with-arrows issues. As has been said before, for the date only collector a good option would be to have one Philadelphia issue and the other date from the San Francisco Mint.

As with all other Seated Series, production at the Carson City Mint stopped in 1878 and was never resumed. The trio of Philadelphia coins struck in the years that followed (1879-1881) are very scarce, and, with no dimes minted at the San Francisco Mint between 1877 and 1884, there is not much to choose from. Although mintages were low during these years (1879: 14,000 for circulation +1,100 proofs – 1880: 36,000 for circulation + 1,355 proofs – 1881: 24,000 for circulation + 975 proofs) not much were put into circulation with enough coins being out there and used in commerce and many were saved for later generations to enjoy.

San Francisco production of dimes was resumed in 1884. The 1885-S is the scarcest of the later San Francisco dates with a mintage of 43,690. The 1885 from Philadelphia is much more common so the date itself is not much of a problem. Until the end of the series, this stays the same. The last option I opt to include is the 1891-O, which is the first New Orleans Dime to be struck in 31 years. This coin is slightly scarcer than its Philadelphia counterpart but does not bring much more and is a good way of saying goodbye to a long lived series and one of the workhorses of 19th century expanding America.

Collecting Seated Half Dimes by date only

The lowest denomination of the Seated type is the silver 5-cent piece, or half dime. Like the dimes, this denomination was first minted in 1837 with the original design by Christian Gobrecht displaying no obverse stars and a very nice small letter reverse. The denomination shows many similarities to its larger brother, both in design as in mintages.

Unlike the dimes, this denomination was not struck through 1891. When it comes to the end of these small but fascinating series, there are more similarities with the largest seated design type, the silver dollar previously discussed. As was the case with the Silver Dollar, this denomination was discontinued as per the Mint Act of February 12, 1873 and never to be seen again in United States commerce. The 5 cent piece was replaced with a larger, nickel coin, in modern times known as the shield nickel.

The nickel, as they are now called (this was not always the case. In fact, prior to the introduction of the 5 cent nickel piece, the Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents were called “Nicks” or “Nickels” because they largely consisted of Nickel until 1863 when that too was replaced with a bronze composition), has proven to be a worthwhile coin in everyday commerce and is still popular up to this day.

Like I’ve previously mentioned, the series started in 1837 featuring the no-stars type (type 1). This type is very popular with type set collectors and thus commands a premium, although the coin itself is not rare. The lonesome Philadelphia date of this type comes in two date sizes, designated as large and small date. It is believed that of the total mintage, 1,405,000 struck for circulation and a handful proofs for collectors, approximately 65-80% is of the large date type (the exact number is unknown), although there is not much of a price difference in today’s market. Personally, I’ve experienced that this date is quite hard to find with premium surfaces, and although it might be a common date this might require some searching to find a satisfactory example of this date.

In 1838, the New Orleans Mint began to strike half dimes, all of the no-stars type. The issue is a classic rarity and almost impossible to find in AU and MS grades. For that reason, the date only collector will most likely settle for a Philadelphia Mint coin, which now features 13 Obverse stars (type 2). This is a common issue which is easy to find in all grades.

The New Orleans Mint changed to the withstars type in 1839 and struck this type in that year and a few months in 1840. The 1839-O has a similar Mintage of about 1,000,000 pieces but circulated more extensively and is much scarcer in high grades. Production at both Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints was divided into two separate types in 1840. The old type coin had mintages of 1,034,000 and 695,000 respectively at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints. The new type introduced that year had much smaller mintages 310,085 in Philadelphia and 240,000 half dimes in New Orleans.

This new type (type 3) featured a modified design, which was changed by Robert Ball Hughes, an Anglo-American Sculptor. This was done with all seated denominations, and featured a lower relief than previously, refining of several key-features of the design (most notable the rock and shield) and adding drapery to Liberty’s right elbow.

The three early New Orleans issues of this modified design, 1840-O, 1841-O, 1842-O and 1844-O all had much smaller mintages than the coins struck during these years. Although not many collectors attempt a complete date/mintmark set of the seated half dime series, prices for New Orleans issues are relatively low to their mintage and overall availability. For the date-only collector, this will leave open more coins to choose from. It must be noted, however, that the New Orleans issues of this period often come weakly struck at several areas, this being more the rule than the exception. When it comes to overall eye-appeal, the date-only collector will most likely settle for Philadelphia coins which come most of the time sharply struck, although this is not always the case and some cherry picking for full detail coins has to been done there.

The 1840’s were the years when westward expansion became larger than ever before but still relatively small in comparison with the next decade, after gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, California on January 24, 1848. When holding a coin from this decade, especially in circulated condition, the collector can just wonder if that coin was part of a group of emigrants (as California was still Mexican Territory in the early 1840’s) who traveled to California that decade, leaving almost everything they had behind in the eastern states were they originated from.

The half dimes of this important decade in United States history are almost all relatively available in grades up to MS-64 and even higher. There is, however, the exception here again; 1846 saw no half dimes produced in New Orleans, and production at the Philadelphia Mint was just limited to 27,000 pieces, the lowest since 1802, the “collectible” key date of the denomination (with only the 1870-S, being unique surpassing it).

Most of the known survivors, believed to be less than 250 pieces, are in low grades up to fine. Very fine examples are very scarce, extremely fine is rare, and everything higher is very rare (AU examples) to extremely rare (uncirculated pieces, which are believed to be less than 10 true uncirculated examples, not counting several proofs known, being 5 to 7) in comparison to the mintage.

When collecting the seated series by date only, the 1846 half dime is one of the true key-dates. No half dimes were struck in New Orleans that year, leaving the date-only collector not much choice. Delicate searching has to be done before finding an example with a good strike and no problems. However, when it is done the coin is a worthwhile addition to any collection and one to be proud of.

The New Orleans Mint started to strike half dimes again in 1848 and continued to do so until the last full year of coinage, 1860. Most of these dates are scarcer than their Philadelphia counterparts, although the premium for most issues is low, leaving an interesting opportunity for the date-only collector, again. Examples could be any of the type 4 dates, which featured also arrowheads next to the date on this denomination, starting in 1853 and continued in both 1854 and 1855, after which the old type was resumed again. The reason to do so was the silver prices and hoarding thereof previously discussed in this article.

The type 4a seated half dime as I personally call it (although the design was the same as was Minted from 1840 trough a few months of 1853, the weight was changed and thus creating a new type in my view) was Minted for the rest of this decade. All issues are relatively easy available (the San Francisco Mint did not started half dime production until 1863), both from the Philadelphia as the New Orleans Mint (although the latter are relatively scarcer each year) but striking quality still varies a lot.

The last half dime of the New Orleans Mint was the 1860-O. With a mintage of 1,060,000 pieces, which actually is more than the Philadelphia issue (which consisted of 799,000 coins Minted), the coin is common in all grades. This coin is both notable being the last year of half dime production in New Orleans, but also featured a complete revised design done by Thomas Longacre. The obverse stars were removed from the coin and the Legend “United States Of America” was moved to the obverse.

The reverse design was completely different, now featuring a large wreath which featured oak, maple, wheat and corn elements and a smaller half dime, the same which was done to it’s larger sister the dime.

As was the case with the other silver denominations following the Civil War, the half dime too was hoarded soon after the War began. From the 1863-1867, production at the Philadelphia Mint was very low, especially so in the last three years of the period because of the large amount of silver now flooding everyday commerce after peace had returned again in 1865. To prevent that Proofs for collectors became instant rarities, the Mint decided to strike a limited production of circulation strikes.

All these circulation issues are rare as their mintages will suggest, although there won’t be much difference in pricing between a fine and lower Mint State coin, because these issues were scarcely used and most stayed in AU or Mint State condition.

Luckily enough for the date only collector, there was the San Francisco Mint. The western Mint started to strike half dimes in 1863 and did so through the end of the series. The mintages were larger there than those of the Philadelphia Mint (this being true of all coinage of the period), although still relatively small in the context of the half dime series. These issues circulated more or less in rural areas across the western states, and it should not be too difficult to find a date in the condition of your choice.

However, one must not forget the option to include one of the low mintage Philadelphia dates of the 1860’s in your collection (and this can be said for any of the Seated series’). The coins and their mintages are directly linked to the events of the Civil War and there direct aftermath. It again is an issue to think about when collecting by date only, one of many as you have found out so far.

Mintages at both Mints increased again in the late 1860s and early 1870s when freshly minted small change was again needed in everyday commerce by the people, who were hoping they could now rebuild their country again and memorialize the many people who died in that long and bloody war.

There is, however, one exception again, being the 1870-S (and not for the first time). No half dimes were reportedly struck in San Francisco that year, but more than 100 years after its mintage, one turned up at an ANA convention in a most unusual place: a dealer’s jukebox. It just shows what can be found when you look hard enough, but of course you must be lucky.

The 1872-S shows two different types in the mintmark placement; within the bow of the wreath or beneath it. This is an interesting difference, but to the date only collector this will not be of much significance, especially when including a Philadelphia coin in your date-only collection.

The seated half dime series ended just like the dollar after the Mint Act of February 12, 1873. This ended a romantic denomination, first minted in 1792 as the first federal silver coin of the new United States and featuring several interesting design changes along the way, along with rare, unique and historic issues as is the case with all of the seated series.

Conclusion

My main purpose of this article was to show collectors one of the many possibilities when collecting any of the seated series. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than I expected when I started writing it, as many historic events had their influence on all American coinage of the discussed periods in the 19th century, the era these coins circulated throughout the United States.

To illustrate these certain periods in American History, every denomination includes some historic information on subjects not directly numismatic. I have done this to give the reader better insight what people and which events had influence of the coinage of the United States.

However, I hope that it has not become a boring story with nothing but facts in it but that it will actually prove to be a nice starting point to anyone who is interested in one of the seated series, but which is halted by the size and cost of these sets. Most of these date only sets are more or less easy possible to complete in some period of time and can be expanded to include more Mint issues and be build up to a complete date/mintmark and variety set or even more.

All of this leads to the conclusion that if the right choices are made when collecting seated coinage by date only, it can be fun and very rewarding, with a complete set of any series being a major accomplishment. As usual, search for the best grade you can afford, but remember that the grade on the holder is only an indication of the actually coin. Strike, color and luster needs to be seen by yourself to judge if that coin is worthwhile to add to your collection.

Printed Sources: The sources noted with a (*) are non-numismatic and were used for historical research. These sources are recommended for further reading on the different historical subjects covered.

Blythe, Al: The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes, DLRC Press – 1st Edition 1992

*Boorstin, Daniel J.: The Americans-The National Experience, History book club New York – Francis Parkman Prize Edition 2002 (Originally published 1965)

Bowers, Q. David: The Expert’s Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins, Whitman Publishing – 1st Edition 2005

Goe, Rusty: The Mint on Carson Street, Southgate Coins and Collectibles – 1st Edition 2003

Judd, J. Hewitt (edited by Q. David Bowers): United States Pattern Coins-experimental and trail pieces, Whitman Publishing – 8th edition 2003 (1st published 1959)

*McPherson, James M.: The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom-The Civil War Era Oxford University Press – 1st Illustrated Edition 2003 (Originally published non-illustrated 1988)

*McPherson, James M.: The American Presidents, DK Publishing – Revised U.S. Edition 2004 (Originally published 2000)

Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC): Population Report, Online Edition

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS): The PCGS Rare Coin Market Report, May 2007 Issue

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS): The PCGS Population Report, May 2007 Issue

*Rosen, Fred: Gold! The story of the 1848 Gold Rush and how it shaped a nation, Thunder’s Mouth Press – 1st Edition 2005

Pollock, Andrew W. III: United States Patterns and Related Issues, Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc- 1st edition 1994

*Stewart, George R.: The California Trail, University of Nebraska Press – Bison Book Reprint 1983 (originally published 1962)

Taxay, Don: The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Company – Reprint 1983 (originally published 1966)

*Ward, Geoffrey C. Ward: The West- An Illustrated History, Little, Brown and Company – 1st edition 1996

White, Weimar W.: The Liberty Seated Dollar 1840-1873, Sanford J. Dust – 1st edition 1985

Yeoman, RS: A Guide Book of United States Coins, Whitman Publishing – 60th Edition 2007 (1st published 1947)

Online Sources:

Coinfacts

Heritage Online Auction Archives:

Wikipedia article – History of California to 1899

Wikipedia article – History of San Francisco,California
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To contact the AUTHOR of this article Dennis Hengeveld – Click Here

Related posts:

1. Collecting Date Sets of Liberty Seated Coinage – Part 1: Dollars and Half Dollars
2. Some Thoughts on Proof Bust Silver Coinage: Part One – Half Dimes and Dimes
3. DGS Slabs Barbieri Cache of “Smoking Liberty” Seated Quarters