Coins are minted by

Coins of the The first coins struck in the North American Colonies were With very few exceptions, the coins circulating in the Colonies until the Revolution were unauthorized private issues or old worn coppers no longer acceptable in England or Ireland. Silver was rare (consisting mainly of Spanish and Mexican dollars) and 1/ 24 of a Spanish real. The Rosa Americana pieces, struck by Fugio (“I flee”), the motto “Mind Your Business,” and 13 links for the united colonies. The end of the Congressional efforts to establish a national mint had resulted in the issue of the historic 1783 Nova Constellatio silver patterns of 1,000, 500, and 100 units, from dies by the Englishman Benjamin Dudley, exemplifying the extraordinary Morris Plan, drawn up by Robert Morris, superintendent of finance, which

This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy thru these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Do you have some silver U.S. coins and want to know how much they’re worth? So many people have been asking me about the value of their silver pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars! Below you will find: • A complete list of U.S. coins made of silver by denomination • A list of the most valuable silver coins by denomination • The dates that the metal composition changed for each U.S. coin denomination throughout the years When it comes to determining the value of your silver coins, keep in mind, silver coin values are based on the following factors: • Precious metal content — how much silver a coin contains • Mintage number — how many of that coin were made • Number of survivors — how many of that coin still exist • Grade and overall state of preservation — the condition of the coin • Errors and/or varieties — whether there’s anything unusual about the coin • Overall demand — whether enough people collect this coin to drive up its numismatic (collectible) value Silver Pennies (1943 and Other Years) “Wait, there were silver pennies?” you might be asking. Well, not really… At least not in the United States. But many people think they’ve found a silver penny! Here’s why: First, the 1943 steel Lincoln cent was made when the United States government was saving copper for the World War II ammunition — and it’s commonly mistaken as a 194...

The half dollar, quarter dollar, and dime coins are clad coins with 3 layers of metal. The 2 identical outer layers are an alloy of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel. The inner layer is copper. The outer layers are metallurgically bonded to the inner layer and weigh at least 30 percent of the weight of the coin. The dollar coin shall be golden in color, have a distinctive edge, have tactile and visual features that make the denomination of the coin readily discernible, be minted and fabricated in the United The Secretary may prescribe the weight and the composition of copper and zinc in the alloy of the one-cent coin that the Secretary decides are appropriate when the Secretary decides that a different weight and alloy of copper and zinc are necessary to ensure an adequate supply of one-cent coins to meet the needs of the United United December 31, 2005, shall bear the likeness of Thomas Jefferson and the reverse of any such 5-cent coin shall bear an image of the home of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Congress, shall select appropriate designs for the obverse and reverse sides of the dollar coin. The coins have an inscription of the year of minting or issuance. However, to prevent or alleviate a shortage of a denomination, the Secretary may inscribe coins of the denomination with the year that was last inscribed on coins of the denomination. The Secretary shall prepare the devices, models, hubs, and dies for co...

Whilst today’s presses operate on a larger scale, with greater quality control than the first mill presses, the same basic methods of minting still apply. Modern coin presses still consist of one working die for the obverse and another for the reverse, together with a circular piece of hardened steel known as a collar which forms the coin’s edge. Step 1 All coins begin as a design, which is made by an artist who may prepare the artwork by hand with paper and pencil or using computer software. An effective coin design is a product not just of a designer’s artistry or skill but of his or her research skills and the ability to work from a huge range of visual references. Coin designers are gifted artists, who develop scenes and impressions not only on a refined space and shape but also with a 3-dimensional aspect, using different heights and surface structures of the coin to enhance their designs. Many coin designs start with a number of different designers handing in their proposals and a committee choosing the best of them. Some coins are issued as part of a series with design elements that are repeated or link each of the coins in a collection. Step 2 The selected design and all its details are transferred on to a plaster mould made up to five times the size of the intended coin. Working on this larger scale enables the artist to perfect the design to the finest detail. Today this is done by computer software. Step 3 This is the sculpting stage that renders the design in r...

Where do coins and bullion products come from? Many folks could correctly answer such a question with lightning-fast reflexes by blurting out “the mint.” But which mint? And where is it? What else does “the mint” make? There are many public and private mints around the world. They make a seemingly endless array of coins, bars, and rounds. Too many to list them all in a single article like this one. But we’re going to learn about some of the major mints here. We'll highlight their most popular products so that more collectors and investors are educated on the origins of their favorite numismatic and bullion pieces. Part I: Government Mints in the United States The United States Mint serves a primarily public function. This is laid out in the Coinage Act written by the country's first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. Decisions on what to mint and how to do so are mainly dictated by the federal government and are subject to policy passed by Acts of Congress. The original United States Mint coin production facility has since spawned several branch locations. Each branch mint facility currently in operation is as follows: Denver, San Francisco, and West Point. A mint mark stamped on the coins corresponds to the location where they were made: D, S, and W, respectively. There is also a bullion depository operated by the Treasury Department at Fort Knox, Kentucky. However, it does not strike United States coinage. Historic mint facilities also once existed in Carson City, N...

American coinage (1792 - c. 1837) [ ] The The first coin minted under the act, and therefore the first official coin of the United States, was the The half cent and cent were made of pure This period of coinage covers several designs. The In the early days, often years went by without a certain denomination being minted. Seated Liberty era and introduction of the Double Eagle, Nickel and small cent (1836 - 1891) [ ] In 1849, in the wake of the Rising copper prices caused the reduction of the size of the large cent. Originally, cent coins were large and heavy. This changed between 1856 and 1857 when they were replaced by the small-sized The five cent nickel coin was introduced in 1866, and gradually it made the half dime obsolete. To this day, the nickel, though the design has changed, retains the same metallic content it had from its inception: ~25% nickel, ~75% copper. The second half of the 19th century saw several odd coin denominations. The In 1878, the first Turn of the 20th century coinage, the introduction of paper money and the end of gold coins (1892 - 1932) [ ] American coinage and paper money has gone through significant changes since the late 1990s. Up to the mid-1990s, American money had changed little since the end of silver coins in the mid-1960s, and some of the denominations, including the paper notes and the nickel, had barely changed since the 1930s. Beginning in 1996 with the $100 and $50 bills, paper money was redesigned to deter counterfeiting. In 199...

Overview of coins issued by the United States Coins of the Current coinage [ ] Today, four mints operate in the United States producing The producing mint of each coin may be easily identified, as most coins bear a mint mark. The identifying letter of the mint can be found on the front side of most coins, and is often placed near the year. Unmarked coins are issued by the Philadelphia mint. Among marked coins, Philadelphia coins bear a letter P. Denver coins bear a letter D, San Francisco coins bear a letter S, and West Point coins bear a letter W. S and W coins are rarely found in general circulation, although S coins bearing dates prior to the mid-1970s are in circulation. The CC, O, C, and D mint marks were used on gold and silver coins for various periods from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century by temporary mints in Coins in circulation [ ] Value Image Specifications Description Minted Usage Common name Obverse Reverse Diameter Thickness Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse 19.05mm (0.750in) 1.52mm (0.060in) 1909–1942 3.11g (48.0gr) plain 1909–1958 wide wheat cent, wheat penny, wheatie 1943:? rare 1944–1946:? salvaged wide 1947–1982 3.11g (48.0gr) wide 1959–2008 wide cent, penny 1982–present 2.50g (38 gr) Core: Plating: 2009 2010–present 21.21mm (0.835in) 1.95mm (0.077in) 5.000g (77.16gr) plain 1938–2003 wide nickel 2004–2005 2006–present 17.91mm (0.705in) 1.35mm (0.053in) 2.268g (35.00gr) Core: Plating: Overall: 118 reeds torch, 1946–present wide dime ...