Tim P. asks: Why no Philadelphia Nickels for 1968 – 1970 and is a 1970 S a Proof coin?
Paranoia by the treasury. The government wrongly blamed coin collectors for the severe coin shortage of 1960-64 and banned mint marks from 1965 to 1967. The mint grudgingly resumed placing mint marks on coins in 1968. The Philadelphia Mint specialized in minting large numbers of copper-nickel dimes and quarters to replace the silver coins that were pulled out of circulation by the public. The branch mints worked the most on cents and nickels which had no precious metal content. No nickels were made in Philadelphia during this period to allow more time for the coins needed the most.
The 1970-S nickel was minted both as a business strike and as a “S” mint proof.
Charles R. writes: My friend told me my 1979-D Washington quarter looks like it may be a double die. What does that mean?
There are many working dies that are made for each year’s coinage. Each die has a life of about 100,000 coins and there are many coin presses working at once. About one billion quarters or more are minted each year requiring quite a few working dies.
Doubled dies are created when in the process of manufacture, the potential working die rotates during one or more blows from the master hub. In reality, tiny but detectable amounts of doubling are common. Collectors are looking for obvious doubling where a good deal of rotation occured in the manufacture of that specific die. Usually, gross errors are caught by the Mint workmen but not always. Look at the severe die error in the 1955 doubled die cent. These even escaped detection after they were struck and many of these spectacular errors ended up in circulation before anyone at the Mint detected the error.
Note that every coin stuck with the defective die exhibits the exact same error. Don’t confuse double die errors with mechanical errors such as “shelf” doubling caused by a loose collar that hold a coin blank in place as it is struck. Each of these is unique and though doubling is present, has a different “look” than those from a doubled die.
Paul M. writes: Can you tell me history of the 1837 half cent token. Was it used as legal tender? Was it commisioned by private businesses? I have one that looks to good to be true – are forgeries common?
I imagine that you have the 1/2 cent token that says Standard Weight and Half Cent Worth of Pure Copper. These tokens are part of the series of tokens that were created by private sources to supply small change during the severe coin shortages between 1833-42. These “Hard Times” tokens were a fond memory twenty years later and many restrikes, usually as proofs, were made during this period to satisfy the collector demand for examples of these historic pieces.
Most of the tokens were 1 cent size and the 1/2 cent pieces are relatively rare. Values from $25 to $1,000. See: “Hard Times” tokens
Jim M. writes: Help: I need the help of someone who is knowledgeable about broken bank notes. I just bought what was purported to be a broken bank note. I don’t think it is but I’m not sure what it is. It’s printed on one side, on thin paper and with engraving sort of similar to Confederate money. It says:
Elyria, Ohio
I promise to pay ____________ or bearer on demand FIVE DOLLARS in current
bank notes at ______________________
___________________clerk
S. Styles Sherman & Smith. N.Y.
I bought it because I live in Elyria but this has me baffled. Do you have any idea what this might be and if could have any value? Thanks in advance, Jim
What you have is a I.O.U. or promissory note, not a bank note. The only bank in Elyria, Ohio wasn’t a “broken” bank, that is, it was organized after the depression period of the 1830’s and wasn’t “broke”.
It was called the Elyria Exchange Bank or the Lorain Bank. It was organized in 1847 and became a National Bank in 1864. It was also known as the State Bank of Ohio, Lorain Branch.
The pre-National Bank issue is an obsolete one dollar note that was issued May 26, 1855. It shows a plow and steamboat, a sailor, anchor, bale and ship on right, mechanic seated, farmer, wheel, grain and trees on left. The reverse shows Pandora, ONE above. To the left is a portrait of a man “1” above, ONE below.
Banking in the United States was erratic in the early part of the 19th century. Even the United States placed its money in a private bank. The practices of these banks were questionable and even down right fraudulent. The bank notes from this era are known to collectors as Broken Bank Notes because so many of them went bankrupt. There are thousand of Broken Banks and each one has an interesting story.
Leslie M. writes: I found a coin on the west coast of Fla. with a metal detector. On one side is an image of a lady w/flowers in her right hand, her hair is in a bun, and she wears billowing skirt. Words on the coin: to her right reads INDE, to her left reads ETILB. On the flip side of the coin is what looks like an Indian in headress. On the left side reads AUCTOKI (?) and on the right side reads CONNEC. I’ve been told this is a Conn. penny. The date on the same side as the image of the woman is 178?, I can’t make out the last #. Value?
You have a Connecticut copper (1785-1789), the emergency money created by the State of Connecticut to alleviate the shortage of small change during the transition from colony to Statehood. The coin was modeled on the English halfpence (9.72 grams). The legends are ACCTORI:CONNEC, (by authority of Connecticut) and INDE. ET LIB. (Independence and Liberty).
The obverse shows a bust dressed in mail, and the reverse, a crude depiction of Liberty seating on a rock, a shield facing front, and her holding a staff with a Liberty Cap on its top (after Britannia seated on a Rock).
The coppers, about the size of a English half penny, were minted by a group including John Goodrich, Samuel Bishop, James Hillhouse and Joseph Hopkins. They were given the authority by the state of Connecticut to establish a mint near New Haven. It is not quite clear whether they did the work themselves or sub-contracted some of it out to New York merchants Samuel Broome and Jeremiah Platt.
There are many varieties of this coin, including pieces made outside of “official channels”. Values range from $25 -$2000 depending on type, variety and grade.
Maurice M. asks: What might be the approximate. value of a Confederate $1.00 note – Florida – 1863 in near UNC condition?
The 1863 Florida State $1 note shows slaves harvesting cotton at the center, a child and the State arms at left. The note is black with red overprinting. There is a common copy of this note that is seen duplicated on fake parchment with a yellowish cast. The “play money” version is only printed in black. Genuine notes are printed on linen and have the red overprint. Value depends on condition: $35-$150.
Jack F. asks: How many US pennies are in current circulation?
A few hundred billion. Between about 4 billion and 8 billion cents are struck each year and though most are sitting in “penny jars” they are primarily used for paying sales tax.
People seem to be frustrated by cents and even try to structure transactions so they can spend their cents. I hate when the bill comes to $5.06. That means I’m going to get four more cents if I forgot to bring at least six cents with me.
Last year I tried to give rolls of 50 cents out as trick or treat to the kids on Halloween. Some of the more assertive kids told me to take a hike and break out the candy or I was going to get the “trick” part of the ceremony. M & M’s and Mars Bars won the day.
Sabrina writes: My grandmother found a coin that appears to be gold plated with silver or nickel underneath. The size and weight of a silver dollar. On the “head” side it has an imprint of President Tyler with the words “John Tyler, President of the United States” and 1841. On the “tail” side it has an imprint of crisscrossed axe and another tool with two hands shaking underneath it and it reads “peace and friendship”. There is no monetary value written anywhere on the coin. The edge of the coin is plain. What type of coin would this be. It is worth anything? Please answer. Thank you for your help.
The use of Peace Medals to befriend Indians goes back to the late 17th century and lasted until about 1890. When Lewis and Clark went on their famous adventure they surely took Peace Medals along with them as gifts for the Indians. The Europeans, especially the French, English and later the Americans, realized that these medals were a potent way of swaying Indian loyalty to the “white man’s” causes. The Washington Peace medals of the late 18th century, oval shaped and designed to be worn as a breast plate, were highly revered by the Eastern American tribes. Recipients worn them to the grave.
The medal you describe was made in 1841 under John Tyler’s Presidency. By this time the medals were available for sale to the public.
All the medals from 1809-1849 have a similar reverse of a crossed tomahawk and Peace Pipe, clasped hands and the legend PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP. This design was created by John Reich, the Mint Engraver in 1809. The obverse shows a portrait of a fur-draped bust facing left with the legend JOHN TYLER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 1841. The medal’s obverse was designed by Ferdinand Pettrich.
Almost every U.S. President in the 19th century had a peace medal made for him. The Thomas Jefferson medal shows his bust facing left with the legend TH. JEFFERSON PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1801. There is four buttons on his coat. Note that the later 19th century restrike issues have 3 or 2 buttons on his coat. The reverse legends are PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP. There are clasped hands and a crossed pipe and tomahawk. The Indian arm on the right has a bracelet with an eagle.
The Jefferson medal was struck in silver, bronze and white metal and in sizes between 100 and 105 mm. All the die work was done by Robert Scott, Chief Engraver of the Mint. Several hundred medals were struck and given out. They continued to be minted as they were needed until about 1811.
The United States mint continued to strike these medals well into the 20th Century. At least one four inch silver example was known to be struck between 1857 and 1892. The dies still exist and are in the Mint’s collection.
Note that the bronze medals have a mahogany or chocolate color not the bright gold color of the reproductions made after 1900 (The reproductions are still available from the Philadelphia Mint). The originals are can be expensive (condition is important), the restrikes fairly inexpensive and the modern goldine reproductions, almost worthless.