I imagine everyone has one of these in a drawer somewhere in their house. This one is kinda special to me in that not only is it a 1909 penny, but it's from a restaurant in the town where my mother was born - Cumberland, MD. I don't think the place survived until I came along, though. Will have to ask Mom.
Let's work from the bottom up, since the more familiar stuff is there. If you want to skip to the cooler old stuff, scroll down.
These are typical Eisenhower dollars from the early 70's. Imaging carrying a pocket full of these around every day instead of a packed wallet. Guess nobody does, since dollar coins have always failed in later decades.
Always liked these Kennedy half dollars. The bicentennial one has a different back. Used one of these for flipping for the break at pool for a while. Then I switched to a Canadian coin about the same size that I wouldn't miss as much if it got lost or stolen. Didn't include that on the other post....hmmm.
I had almost forgotten about these Sacagawea dollars. They weren't around for long. The image reminds me more of the iconic photo by Dorothea Lange - Migrant Mother.
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| Guess it's just from the kids being there |
Here's a Susie B. Anthony dollar. They were produced from 1979 to 1981 and then suspended. Nobody really liked them, though. They tried again in 1999, but it didn't go any better. I remember they'd get stuck in vending machines because they were so close to the size of a quarter.
I've got a whole roll of these, but there's no need to scan them all.
There were also these presidential dollar coins, but there aren't any dates on them. A quick search yields that they were produced in 2007–2011 into regular circulation, and then in 2012–2016 and 2020 for collectors only. They said that led to a surplus of unused dollar coins too.
Here's a nifty one, although just as badly received at the time. In 1893, the US made these to fund the Columbian Exposition - a world's fair type event to mark the 400th anniversary of the trip. It was the first time a US coin portrayed a historical figure. They didn't sell well, and were released into circulation until the 1950's. They made five million of them initially, and melted half of them back down.
This "walking" Liberty dollar is one of the nicest coins in the collection, though it's tarnished on one edge. I think it slipped out of its plastic pouch and was exposed for a while. It's not very old, but this design is really classic. They're not worth a whole lot. There's a colorized version as well.
I did have one Washington quarter in there too. Put the 2019 with it for comparison. These things have evolved so much. I doubt any other American coin has had so many versions - all the states and whatever they're putting on the backs now...
A couple 50's dimes. These haven't changed much forever. Do they still campaign to get rid of these?
Have a whole bunch of these Liberty dimes. None of which are in great shape, though.
There's this weird Liberty dime-sized nickel with the rim around it. Not sure how that got on there, but it's not coming off easily.
Another dime-sized Liberty coin, this time for three cents. Bonus welding spot doesn't add to the value. They call 'em three cent nickels. Not actually bad for 1866. It's funny to think that this coin is 100 years older than my classic Ford, which is 54 years old itself.
Though here's one that tops that - looks like 1832 on the front of this penny. Ol' girl Liberty gets around.
This one is also from that era, but isn't actually currency. I'll call it a trade coin. Advertising a press or some industrial machine on the front, and ground plaster on the back.
I keep all of these in this funky treasure chest box, which was proabably intended for jewelry or something, but coins are more appropriate, I think.
Next up, I have to empty an entire closet to access my comics. That will most likely be a seven or eight part series as I go box by box and scan the highlights.
Nice collection. The presidential dollars are dated on the edge. If yours are missing the edge dating it's a major rarity. They still make Sacajawea dollars but are pretty hard to get. They have a different back design each year now as well.
ReplyDeleteI actually keep an Ike dollar in my wallet... no intention to ever spend it. Just like the feel of something substantial in there I guess.
One of those large cents was the first purchase I made when I officially became a coin collector. I had discovered my dad's small stash and then a few weeks later drove past a coin shop. Made a uturn and a whole new world opened up to me. I purchased two coins that I remember that day, but the large cent was the first. I had no idea what it was but I knew I had never seen anything like it before. It's damaged and was in the dealer's reject/junk box but it means the world to me. The other that I purchased was a (bent) 1832 dime, which at the time was the oldest in my collection. My current oldest is circa 300 BC.
That treasure chest box is a great way to store your collection. My good friend and I run out honors field trip (which won't be happening this year) and there's always a handful of kids who pay with those Sacagawea dollars... and an occasional Susie B. Anthony. I always swap them out along with any of the half dollar or silver dollar coins that come through.
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