The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers: Q: Why are there so many varieties of halves listed in catalogs for the years 1805 to 1836? A: There are four basic reasons. First, the half-dollar was the highest denomination silver coin in production at the Philadelphia Mint. Second, the quantities produced annually […]
Bowers on collecting: Julian asks “true or false”
From our archives, here is an article from 1978. See how well you can do: Julian Asks “True or False?” For some years, the author has been gathering odd examples of what might be called fables about our coinage. Upon investigation some of these have proven false, others true, and some defy resolution. In this […]
Bowers on collecting: From 1954
In the December 1954 issue of The Numismatist Stuart Mosher presented the following: Copper Quiz for Coin Collectors. Count five for each correct answer. If you score 70 you have a very fine score. Fifty or less is below average, while 90 or more is remarkable. Which contains the most copper, a Lincoln cent of […]
Q&A: Why did the United States begin producing nickel five-cent coins in 1866 when they had been, and still were, coining silver half dimes?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers: Q: Why did the United States begin producing nickel five-cent coins in 1866 when they had been, and still were, coining silver half dimes? A: The onset of war, with its requirement of vast expenditures of money and the orientation of priorities for non-consumer […]
Q&A: Why were the rays from 1853 quarters not continued on future designs?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers: Q: I have noticed that some 1853 quarters are different from all other Liberty Seated quarters, in that there are arrows by the date on the obverse and rays radiating around the eagle on the reverse. The latter feature makes for a very unusual […]
Q&A: What is private gold?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers: Q: What is meant by the term “Private Gold?” A: In a simpler time—before the railroads bound the disparate parts of the country into a united whole—much of the country was separated from the financial centers of the East by formidable barriers of distance […]
High-value “cherrypicker” coins take the stage at the ANA National Money Show
Bill Fivaz, coauthor of the Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties of United States Coins, and Dennis Tucker, publisher at Whitman Publishing, along with Whitman Associate Editor Brandon Hall, spoke to a standing-room-only audience at the American Numismatic Association’s National Money Show on Thursday, February 27, 2020, in Atlanta. They gave an overview of today’s cherrypicking […]
Q&A: What is a 1942/41 dime?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers: Q: Can you explain what is meant by a 1942/41 dime? Is it a dime struck with a dual date? A: Two major “overdate” Mint errors exist for 1942, one from the Philadelphia Mint and one from the Denver Mint. Both were produced when […]
Queen Victoria, her remarkable reign, and legendary coins
In November 2019, the East India Company Bullion (EIC), in association with the South Pacific island country of Niue, launched a collector’s set of gold coins which featured a new interpretation of Una and the Lion. The EIC also announced the set was the first of a new annual series that would feature different depictions […]
Q&A: Is collecting any type of coin a good investment?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers: Q: Is collecting any type of coin a good investment? A: No! The hobby collector—be it of coins, back-scratchers, or Bavarian beer mugs—is occasionally persuaded to purchase by impulse or sentiment. Indulging frequent lapses into irrationality is part of the fun of maintaining a […]
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