Welcome to the first installment of our series, “Lunch with. . .,” where we interview some of the most prolific authors and other noteworthy hobbyists in the field of numismatics — and satiate your appetite along with your hunger for knowledge! “Lunch with. . .” dives into the coinage-related aspects of some of the hobby’s […]
Q&A: Do Mercury and Roosevelt dimes display references to paganism and Joseph Stalin?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: Can you explain the contradiction of the Mercury dime bearing both the portrait of a pagan god and a motto stating national trust in the Christian God? A: There is no contradiction. “Mercury dime” is a misnomer, for the ancient god […]
Q&A: Why is there less color variation in U.S. paper money?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: The color green is so historically traditional the backs of our paper money that we refer to U.S. paper currency as “greenbacks.” Has the United States ever printed paper money in any other color since the turn into the 21st-century introduction […]
Q&A: How much money can be raised through the sale of commemorative coins?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: How much money did the Los Angeles Olympics effort receive from the sale of the Olympics commemoratives? A: The amount turned over by the Treasury Department was $73.4 million, which was shared equally by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Los […]
Q&A: How did Washington end up on the quarter, when he objected to the idea in his lifetime?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: What were the forces which deemed it proper that Washington be featured on the new quarter introduced in 1932, when in his lifetime Washington is said to have rejected the idea of having his image featured on a coin? A: […]
Q&A: Proofs, Proof Sets, and Other Questions
Periodically, Coin Update runs a Q&A from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition. Since the U.S. Mint is ringing in the new year with the 2017 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set (17AP, available for purchase as of noon today), we thought it would be interesting to post several questions on the topic. Happy […]
Q&A: Why Doesn’t the U.S. Change Coin Designs as Often as Other Countries Do?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: Are there any specific reasons why the United States does not change the design of its coins as frequently as do foreign countries? A: A law enacted by Congress on September 26, 1890, specified that changes in the design of […]
Q&A: Is it True That 1917-1930 Standing Liberty Quarters Were Illegally Struck?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: Is it true that the Standing Liberty quarters struck from 1917 through 1930 were illegal, or were illegally struck? A: That could be said. The authorizing legislation for the Standing Liberty quarter specified: “No change shall be made in the […]
Q&A: Why Were No Traditional Silver Dollars Coined for Circulation After 1935?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: Why is it that no traditional silver dollars were coined for circulation after 1935? A: Throughout its long and vexatious history, the U.S. silver dollar was never essential to the welfare of the domestic marketplace. In our nation’s early days, […]
Q&A: What Was the First Coin to Be Issued by Authority of the United States?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers, 5th edition: Q: What was the first coin to be issued by authority of the United States and when was it issued? A: Commerce was plagued by a flow of underweight state coppers and forgeries of English coppers in the years immediately following […]
