Weekly World Numismatic News for March 13, 2022

The other day, I received a note from a teacher in another state. The teacher found this blog and wanted to ask questions about coins and using them for education. The idea came from one of the students asking questions about an online story about the American Women Quarters program.

After reading the story, the teacher explored other designs, including commemorative coins. When the teacher discovered the Negro Leagues Baseball Commemorative Coin Program, an Internet search brought the teacher to my blog post about the unveiling of the coin design at the Negro League Baseball Museum.

The teacher brought the information back to the class and started an in-class discussion with the student who brought in the article. Their conversation led to a discussion of why the Negro Leagues were necessary, and it opened a discussion about civil rights and how baseball played a part in civil rights.

We discussed using coins in the classroom and what can be learned from the coin designs, whether teaching about the presidents of the United States or what makes each state special based on its quarter.

The U.S. Mint has a Coin Classroom section on its website. But the section covers current coins and their production. Missing is a lesson on tying the Morgan Dollar to westward expansion, why the 2- and 3-cent coins were an idea based on the economics of the time, and the history represented by the designs of the classic commemorative coins.

Here is another area where the ANA could live up to its education mission by creating course guidelines for teachers.

And now the news…

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