Cool Coins

D uring the 1950s there were Indian Head Pennies, Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes, and Standing Liberty Quarters in one's change. Who had handled these very coins? A Silver Benjamin Franklin 50¢ piece could buy a movie, popcorn, and a drink. Pennies were 95% Copper — Dimes, Quarters, and Halves were 90% Silver. That all ended beginning in 1964 when Silver was removed from all new US coins — How sad. All circulating coinage struck after 1964 contains NO Precious Metal. They are merely tokens.

🎦 San Francisco Mint Proof Coin Video 🎦 Royal Mint Proof Coin Video

1921 PEACE DOLLAR
HIGH RELIEF COIN
[Hover over the date to flip]

T he Peace Dollar design was created by Anthony de Francisci. He used his 22 year old wife, Teresa de Francisci, as the model for Lady Liberty (a.k.a. Columbia). His intials (an F over an A) are located under Columbia's neck. The design was finalized late in 1921 and the first Peace Dollars were struck on Dec 28, 1921. 1,006,473 of the 1921 Peace Dollars were struck in only 4 days! The 1921 Dollars were struck in a Special High-Relief which made a beautiful coin but broke many coining dies. In 1922 the dies were changed and all remaining years were struck in a more shallow relief. Starting in 1926 the GOD in "IN GOD WE TRVST" was engraved deeper so that the word GOD would stand out more prominently. During its ten years of production, over 190 million Peace Dollars were coined.

T his design was the last Silver Dollar Coin struck by the United States Mint for circulation. This was also one of the few US Coins to use the Art Deco * style which is apparent on the obverse in the word "TRVST". Lady Liberty wears a Radiant Crown not unlike that on the Statue of Liberty. The reverse of the Peace Dollar depicts a Bald Eagle At Rest on a Rock of PEACE. The Eagle faces to the East and watches a new sun rise over a Land at Peace. The Eagle also clutches an Olive Branch of Peace. It clutches NO ARROWS in its talons however, as this coin's design celebrates the hard-won Peace that followed the end of World War I.

T he Peace Dollar was the Silver Dollar in use during The Roaring Twenties. During the 1920's the country's total wealth actually DOUBLED! The pinnacle of wealth was reached in September, 1929 when the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 381.74 (a value it would not achieve again for 25 years! ). There was an explosion of new consumerism fueled by a prosperity never seen before in the history of the World. For the first time in the U.S. more people lived in cities than in the country. It was a decade of new ideas and unbridled freedom. We had Prohibition, the Speakeasy, Flappers, Bathtub Gin, Movies, Electric Lights, Automobiles, Telephones, Air-Mail, Art Deco, and Jazz Music. Women got the right to vote, commercial radio broadcasts begin and in 1927 Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs. Rudolph Valentino and Norma Shearer ruled the silver screen. What a decade!

🏢 Inside The Niagara Mohawk Building — An Art Deco Masterpiece

1945-S MERCURY HEAD DIME
MINTAGE: 41,290,000

H ere is another of my favorite coin designs and I am happy to have a few Uncirculated specimens. It has a sort of Art Deco feel to it, which I very much like. The design features a portrait of Lady Liberty (a.k.a. Columbia) wearing Mercury's winged Phrygian Cap which signifies Freedom and the Pursuit of Liberty. The reverse features a Fasces, a bundle of wooden rods with an axe all tied together as a symbol of Strength Through Unity, and surrounding this is an Olive Branch of Peace. Both the Phrygian Cap and the Fasces are also used on the official Seal of The United States Senate.

T his design was created by Adolph Weinman, whose initials (a W over an A) appear to the right of Columbia's neck, and was used on United States Dimes from 1916-1945. They were commonly known as 'Mercury Head Dimes'. Weinman used the bust he had sculpted of a friend's wife, Elsie Stevens, as the model for Columbia. His design lasted through Prohibition, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and two World Wars. However in the Low Mintage Year of 1922, NO Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, or Half-Dollars were minted by any United States Mint. Also, during the Great Depression, with commerce at a virtual standstill and in order to conserve Silver stockpiles, NO 1932 or 1933* Mercury Dimes were minted. In all though, almost 2.7 Billion Mercury Dimes were produced. That translates to 195 Million Troy Ounces of Silver!

T he most sought after Mercury Dime by far is the 1916-D of which only 264,000** were coined. Even extremely worn 1916-D specimens are worth over $1,000. A nice specimen goes for an amazing 10-50 thousand dollars! Note that the DATE is almost too large for the coin and in fact angles upward about 6 degrees to fit inside the field area. On late date Mercury Dimes the Date size was adjusted down and made level to "IN GOD WE TRUST".

* No Buffalo Nickels in 1932-1933, No Standing Liberty Quarters in 1931, No Washington Quarters in 1933, No Walking Liberty Half-Dollars from 1930-1932, and No Peace Dollars from 1929-1933.

** FYI, the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent, which is considered rare, had a mintage of 484,000.

1917-D STANDING LIBERTY QUARTER - TYPE I
MINTAGE: 1,509,200

Use of V in Place of U
On the Reverse

T he Standing Liberty Quarter design is an excellent example of the Art Deco Style, which thrived in the 1920s and which I love so much. Notice the generous use of a V in place of a U on the reverse. The design was created by the American sculptor, Hermon Atkins MacNiel, and his recessed initial M appears to the right of the star just above the date. Goddess Liberty is depicted wearing loose flowing robes and carrying the Shield of The United States and an Olive Branch of Peace. The design was meant to show Liberty Marching Forward in Defense of Peace. On the reverse is an Eagle in flight and thirteen stars, representing the original Thirteen States.

Type I Quarter
Liberty Bare-Breasted

V ery late in 1916 the US Mint made significant changes to the original design without consulting the artist. One such change was to depict Goddess Libery bare-breasted which was consistent with the Art Deco style of the day. Only 52,000 of the 1916 Quarters were minted with this design before the year ended. After the artist complained about the many unauthorized changes to his design, the US Mint allowed MacNiel to modify the design as he wished. In early 1917 Goddess Liberty was given a chain-mail vest to cover her breasts and the arrangement of the 13 stars on the reverse was modified. Still about one-third of the Quarters in 1917 (known as Type I) depicted the Goddess Liberty bare-breasted before the changes took effect.

M acNiel choose the silent film star, Doris Doscher Baum, as the model for Goddess Liberty. Everafterward the actress was known as, "The Girl on the Quarter". She was also the model for the bronze sculture of Pomona, the Roman Goddess of Abundance, located atop the 22 foot tall Pulitzer Fountain, in the Grand Army Plaza, New York City.

Original Exposed Date
Wore Off Very Quickly
1916-1924

Modified Recessed Date
Clearly Visible on Even Worn Coins
1925-1930

A fter only a couple of years in circulation the DATEs would wear off completely, so starting in 1925, the DATE was set in a deep concave block lower than the coin's outer rim. Thereafter, even on worn coins the date was clearly visible.

D Mint Mark Located
Above and Left of the Date

I n 1931, with the depression on and commerce at a virtual standstill, NO QUARTERS were produced by any US Mint. Then in 1932, a new Washington Head design was chosen for the Quarter, so 1930 ended up being the last year for the Standing Liberty Quarters. In total, over 226 Million* were coined. This may seem like a lot, but over its entire 15 year run it amounted to only TWO quarters for each person in the United States.

* By comparison, today's mintages for quarters are measured in Billions per Year.

Walking Liberty Half Dollar

1943 WALKING LIBERTY SILVER HALF DOLLAR - PHILIDELPHIA
MINTAGE: 53,190,020

T hese were coined from 1916-1947, through two world wars, with 1943 being the highest mintage year. Adolph A. Weinman won the contest to design the artwork and his initials appear on the reverse to the right of the words 'HALF-DOLLAR'. All I needed for a great afternoon was a Half Dollar from my Dad to spend as follows: a Double Feature movie (35¢), a bag of popcorn (10¢), and a coke (5¢). It was 90% SILVER and had a nice weight in my small hands. The coin contains .36 Troy Ounces of SILVER.

Benjamin Franklin Half-Dollar

1950 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 90% SILVER HALF DOLLAR
PHILADELPHIA MINT MINTAGE: 7,742,123

B enjamin Franklin was a polymath whom I have aspired to emulate. These 90% SILVER Half Dollars were minted from 1948-1963. The rarest mintage year being 1955 when 2,498,181 were produced. This was the final circulating coin design to make the switch from the depiction of Lady Liberty to the portrait of an actual person. It contained .36 Troy Ounces of SILVER.