Money, money, money
One thing I don't talk much about these days is how I used to be a coin collector. It was my favorite hobby, at some point even surpassing trivia playing as an interest. I would go to coin shows on weekends and spend my extra money trying to improve my collection. So I thought it might be interesting to review the history of our nation's coins. Today, we begin with the smallest denomination coins our mint ever produced. We begin with the half-cent, which was roughly the same size as today's quarter.
In 1793, half-cents were part of commerce as even five cents was a lot of money. This was the first of the half-cents made. It was replaced the following year by a different design.
Facing left to facing right. A lot like the two party political system that came to be in our nation. This design was used until 1797 and no new half-cents were made until 1800. Then they used the design below.
This design remained in use until 1808. Then in 1809, the year of Abraham Lincoln's birth, another new design was put into use.
This is my favorite design of all of the half-cent designs. One of the reasons I chose the year 1835 as the first year to collect a type-set of was this half-cent. A type set is one example of each denomination coin made in one year. Coins using this design were minted for circulation until 1835. In 1836 and 1837, only proof issues (special strikes made for collectors) were minted, and in very small quantities.
While proofs were issued beginning in 1840, through 1848, no half-cents with this final design were made for circulation until the year 1849. 1857 was the last year of the half-cent being minted at all. When adjusted for inflation, a half-cent had 14 cents worth of 2014 buying power in 1857.
In 2014, a complete collection of half-cents, with an example of every type ever minted sold at auction for $18.2 million. One of the collection's pieces set an all-time record, fetching $1,15 million all by itself.
The cent also began being minted in 1793. Since there were eight different types, we won't bother with photos of all of them. Just the first and last. Also made of 100% copper like the half-cent, the first large cents looked like this.
Seven more designs would be used starting in 1794 and ending in 1857 which turned out to be the last year of the production of the large cent. Small cents began being produced that year. Here is the last large cent design.
The record price for sale of a large cent was set in 2012, when a beautiful example of a 1793 "chain" cent brought $1.38 million at auction.
The reason the large cent was replaced with the smaller cent in 1857 was that it had simply become too expensive to make. The alloy was modified to be 88% copper and 12% nickel. The new Flying Eagle cents were first made in 1856, but only in pattern (test) format. These cents are highly collectible today.
The public did not like the design and the coin lasted for just two years of large minting for circulation, 1857 and 1858. Then in 1859 the famous Indian-Head cent was created. BTW, in 2004 an 1856 Flying Eagle cent sold at auction for $172,500.
These cents were minted from 1859 through 1909, with only slight design changes along the way. One reason collectors love collecting this set is that while there are some coins in it that are much scarcer than others, none are truly beyond reach. Although it is worth noting that an 1877 Indian-Head in only "good" (G-4) condition will probably set a collector back at least $500. All of these coins were minted at only the Philadelphia Mint until 1908, when the San Francisco mint began making Indian-Head pennies. The 1909-S Indian-Head is also a coin that will cost more than $300 for a G-4 example. Then in 1909, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the penny we know today began being produced.
That is a 1909 Lincoln cent, minted at the San Francisco Mint, with the initials of the coin's designer, Victor David Brenner at the bottom of the reverse side of the coin. Known as the "wheat cent" because of the two stalks of wheat on the reverse, these pennies were minted for circulation with this basic design through 1958. There were a few oddities along the way though.
In 1922 the Lincoln cent was being minted only at the Philadelphia and Denver mints. Dies used at Denver became worn and the D mint-mark that should have been on the coin did not appear. These coins can be very valuable, particularly in the higher grades. Coins are graded from MS-70 (best condition possible) all the way down to 3 (horrible condition). No 1922 no D cents graded MS-65 or better are known to exist. One in MS-64 condition sold for over $57,000.
If the penny above looks weird, that's because it is made of steel, not a bronze/nickel alloy. In 1943, at the height of World War II, steel was used due to shortages of the normal materials. The following year saw used shell casings being melted and recast as pennies. There are a number of 1943 cents that were made in bronze and a number of 1944 cents made in steel and they are all very valuable.
Do not adjust your monitor. I blew this one up a bit larger to better illustrate what is known as a "double-die" strike. The coin was struck twice but the second strike was slightly off and this is the result. This happened in a number of years but the two most well-known years were 1955 and 1972. A MS-65 RD (red, the more desirable color than brown) 1955 double-die penny is currently listed for sale at $59,500.
Next time I'm moved to write a blog about coins I'll cover the two-cent piece, the 2 varieties of three-cent piece and the story of how the five-cent piece came to be known as the nickel.
In 1793, half-cents were part of commerce as even five cents was a lot of money. This was the first of the half-cents made. It was replaced the following year by a different design.
Facing left to facing right. A lot like the two party political system that came to be in our nation. This design was used until 1797 and no new half-cents were made until 1800. Then they used the design below.
This design remained in use until 1808. Then in 1809, the year of Abraham Lincoln's birth, another new design was put into use.
This is my favorite design of all of the half-cent designs. One of the reasons I chose the year 1835 as the first year to collect a type-set of was this half-cent. A type set is one example of each denomination coin made in one year. Coins using this design were minted for circulation until 1835. In 1836 and 1837, only proof issues (special strikes made for collectors) were minted, and in very small quantities.
While proofs were issued beginning in 1840, through 1848, no half-cents with this final design were made for circulation until the year 1849. 1857 was the last year of the half-cent being minted at all. When adjusted for inflation, a half-cent had 14 cents worth of 2014 buying power in 1857.
In 2014, a complete collection of half-cents, with an example of every type ever minted sold at auction for $18.2 million. One of the collection's pieces set an all-time record, fetching $1,15 million all by itself.
The cent also began being minted in 1793. Since there were eight different types, we won't bother with photos of all of them. Just the first and last. Also made of 100% copper like the half-cent, the first large cents looked like this.
Seven more designs would be used starting in 1794 and ending in 1857 which turned out to be the last year of the production of the large cent. Small cents began being produced that year. Here is the last large cent design.
The record price for sale of a large cent was set in 2012, when a beautiful example of a 1793 "chain" cent brought $1.38 million at auction.
The reason the large cent was replaced with the smaller cent in 1857 was that it had simply become too expensive to make. The alloy was modified to be 88% copper and 12% nickel. The new Flying Eagle cents were first made in 1856, but only in pattern (test) format. These cents are highly collectible today.
The public did not like the design and the coin lasted for just two years of large minting for circulation, 1857 and 1858. Then in 1859 the famous Indian-Head cent was created. BTW, in 2004 an 1856 Flying Eagle cent sold at auction for $172,500.
These cents were minted from 1859 through 1909, with only slight design changes along the way. One reason collectors love collecting this set is that while there are some coins in it that are much scarcer than others, none are truly beyond reach. Although it is worth noting that an 1877 Indian-Head in only "good" (G-4) condition will probably set a collector back at least $500. All of these coins were minted at only the Philadelphia Mint until 1908, when the San Francisco mint began making Indian-Head pennies. The 1909-S Indian-Head is also a coin that will cost more than $300 for a G-4 example. Then in 1909, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the penny we know today began being produced.
That is a 1909 Lincoln cent, minted at the San Francisco Mint, with the initials of the coin's designer, Victor David Brenner at the bottom of the reverse side of the coin. Known as the "wheat cent" because of the two stalks of wheat on the reverse, these pennies were minted for circulation with this basic design through 1958. There were a few oddities along the way though.
In 1922 the Lincoln cent was being minted only at the Philadelphia and Denver mints. Dies used at Denver became worn and the D mint-mark that should have been on the coin did not appear. These coins can be very valuable, particularly in the higher grades. Coins are graded from MS-70 (best condition possible) all the way down to 3 (horrible condition). No 1922 no D cents graded MS-65 or better are known to exist. One in MS-64 condition sold for over $57,000.
If the penny above looks weird, that's because it is made of steel, not a bronze/nickel alloy. In 1943, at the height of World War II, steel was used due to shortages of the normal materials. The following year saw used shell casings being melted and recast as pennies. There are a number of 1943 cents that were made in bronze and a number of 1944 cents made in steel and they are all very valuable.
Do not adjust your monitor. I blew this one up a bit larger to better illustrate what is known as a "double-die" strike. The coin was struck twice but the second strike was slightly off and this is the result. This happened in a number of years but the two most well-known years were 1955 and 1972. A MS-65 RD (red, the more desirable color than brown) 1955 double-die penny is currently listed for sale at $59,500.
Next time I'm moved to write a blog about coins I'll cover the two-cent piece, the 2 varieties of three-cent piece and the story of how the five-cent piece came to be known as the nickel.
posted by me at 10:21 AM
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