My 2 cents from 1865

Besides the end of the Civil War, 1865 was the second year of mintage for a very unusual coin with a value of 2 cents. 

The 2 cent piece is unique because it is the first coin to have the motto "In God We Trust" which can be found on the ribbon above the shield and arrows.  The coin, made mostly of copper, had a very short life and and was minted from just 1864 to 1873.  The 1873 issue was made just for collectors with estimates of about 600-1100 minted. 

This 1865 specimen was coined in Philadelphia with a total mintage of 13,640,000.  Enthusiasm for this coin with an unusual cash value amount  quickly faded, and the quantities manufactured decreased sharply after this issue.  A coin of this condition was graded fine and purchased at the local coin shop for $25.  The coin is slightly smaller than the modern quarter.  The reverse side pictures a wreath that has the look of a modern Christmas wreath.  The 2 cent piece is an unsual, unique and fun coin to add to any collection. 

 

 

 

1855

The Braided Hair Large Cent, sometimes called a late date cent, was minted from 1839-1857.  These coins are about the size of a modern half dollar and were made entirely of copper.   As prices for copper rose throughout the 1850's, the government decided that a new and cheaper alternative was needed.  Even in the 19th century, the cost of materials involved in the manufacture of coins was part of the conversation.  This sounds much like the current debate about cost in keeping our modern pennies. 

Designed by Christian Gobrect, this last version of the large cent survived throughout the most of the 1850's but was last minted along with the new Flying Eagle Cent in 1857.  Below is an example of a one cent piece I picked up at the coin shop minted in 1855.

According to in the Yeomen Coin Guide book, these coins were unpopular and hardly circulated outside of larger cities.   Today, it would seem very impractical to use such a large coin for small transactions.  I would image that citizens in the 1850's felt the same way, as the smaller cents became very widely used.  Below is a scan of the reverse or tails side of the coin.

 

The 1855 had a mintage of 1,574,829 and a coin of this age and condition can be purchased for less than $30.  For a coin nearing 160 years old, it's a fun a inexpensive way to add an older piece to your collection.

America the Beautiful

Over the last few weeks, I was able to find more America the Beautiful Quarters in change.

Chaco Culture New Mexico 2012
Yosemite California 2010
Yellowstone Wyoming 2010
Denali Alaska 2012
Puerto Rico 2009

The coins are interesting and depict other images than we associate with coins, such as long ago presidents and proud eagles or monuments.  These coins are like a mini history lesson and may encourage collectors to read more about the places represented.  Most of the coins look brand new with lots of luster.  The 2009 Puerto Rico has the most wear.  Since I have been finding more of these, I will probably get an album for display, instead of having them just spread out on the dresser.  The mint issues 5 different designs per year, so I'll be on the lookout for the 2013 quarters.

For me, the Chaco was the most interesting of the finds.  The circular structures featured are called great kivas, and were used for ceremonies.

This is the fourth year of the program, and these special coins will be minted through 2021.

Gold Coin Update

In my last post, I explained how I found a gold coin worth millions of dollars.  Not so fast, as it was April first so I decided to have a little fun with the blog.  The coin was actually a copy of the famous 1933 $20 double eagle gold coin. 

Due to an act of Congress, most of the original gold coins minted in 1933 were melted down before they were released by the mint for circulation.  However, about 20 are said to have survived and may have been illegally removed from the mint by a cashier and were sold or given to a Philadelphia coin dealer.  These majority of the coins were stored in a safety deposit box and recently surfaced by a descendant of the dealer.  After a long court battle, it was found that the coins were illegally removed from the mint and confiscated by the United States government.

My coin has the word copy etched into the bottom of the eagle and above the word WE.  So, unfortunately, I won't be able to sell this for millions.    However, it is an interesting specimen and common dates of this coin contain actual gold and are now worth thousands of dollars, so it's fun just to examine the features on this type of coin.  Plus it is super shiny and is just a fun piece to have in a collection.

Rare Gold Coin Find

On Monday, April 1st, I made, perhaps, one of the greatest coin find of all time.  How could I have been so lucky?  I will be the envy of the numismatic community.  Let me tell you the story and then scroll down to see the historic picture.

So I was going through an old box of items that a bought at auction, and I found this coin in a velvet purple pouch.  I could not believe my luck as this could be the one of the rarest coins of all time.  The 1933 double eagle $20 dollar gold piece recently sold for at auction for 7.5 million dollars.  The coin did not stick to my magnet so I know it is real and made of gold.  Now I head there was a story a while back about stolen double eagle coins involving the secret service and a coin dealer from Philadelphia, but I hope to avoid all of this as I will  put up the coin for sale.

Doing more research, the United States went off of the gold standard in 1933 and these coins are supposedly not legal tender and are illegal to own.  No way!  I found this legit in a box at an auction and I am going to sell this fast.  The good thing about my coin is that it's much shinier than those dirty double eagles that you may have seen in an auction catalog or on the Wikipedia page.

Please see the scan below of one of the rarest coins in the world.
 

According to Wiki, this coin is the Saint-Gaudens double eagle and is named for the designer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of the premier sculptors in American history.  I'll update all the readers of my blog shortly on the sale price and give you more of the details of the sale.

Flying Eagle Cents

Minted for just three years, the Flying Eagle cents are popular with collectors, and can be found at coins shops in lower grades for under $10 each.

The price of copper had gone up in the 1850's and the mint decided it simply cost too much to produce the larger copper one cent pieces of the day.  Cost is still in an issue for the mint over 160 years later, as the price to make a modern penny is now a little over 2 cents.

This lead to two big changes with coins of this era.  The first being that the half cent coin was abandoned in 1857 and the smaller Flying Eagle replaced the large cent.  In 1856 a pattern coin was shown to members of Congress, and this had a mintage of just 2,000 coins.  The coin only survived for 2 more years, as problems with the design created by James B. Longacre led to cracks in the dies and was a difficult to manufacture.

Below are three of the coins I purchased at the local coin dealer.  One has a hole that reduces the value but I thought this was a unique and inexpensive example to add to the collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monster Box

 

Lots of collectors like silver coins. A popular one available are the American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins. These coins are very beautiful, and you can purchase these directly from the United States Mint and other authorized coin dealers.


According to the U.S. Mint website, "these coins provide investors with a convenient and cost effective way to add a small amount of physical silver into their investment portfolios. Since their launch in 1986, American Silver Eagles have become leading bullion coin investment products."

However, there are buyers that like to add more than just a small amount of silver to collections. These “silver stackers” conduct purchases through authorized vendors and will order a Monster Box of coins.

So what is in a Monster Box? 500 coins. Specifically, 500 one ounce Silver Eagles, contained in 25 tubes with 20 coins in each tube. Each coin contains one ounce of silver. The coins only have a face value of $1, but these collectors buy as an investment with the hopes that the price of silver will increase.  As of the market close on 3/20, silver traded at $28.78 dollars an ounce. One individual coin is sold by the mint for $62.95. Times this by 500 and you can see this is quite an investment.

For those of us that don’t have the money for this purchase, and just want to see what a Monster Box looks like, check out the You Tube video below. The buyer opens a Monster Box live on camera, and also includes some other silver purchases. You may want to turn the speakers down on your computer, as the music that accompanies the unboxing is loud. 

I am not sure what someone does with a Monster Box besides put all of the coins in a safe, but wanted to show an example of extreme collecting.