I’m back with a story from Canada

I am back after taking two weeks off for a little travel. As part of my ventures I spent some time in Canada. My wife, whose family is from the French-speaking areas of Quebec, had me trail along while she visited relatives. Even though I cannot speak French (très peu or “very little” is my response to when I was asked) I did have a good time. My wife’s relatives are good people and it would be interesting to see some of them come to the United States to visit.

While I was in Canada I decided that it would be interesting to buy rolls of one dollar (Loonies) and two dollar (Toonies) coins and see what I can find. The process was very interesting. First, I had to find a teller who could help me in English and accept U.S. currency. Thankfully, my wife had business at a local bank and the banker she worked with introduced me to a teller I could work with.

As I was introduced to the teller, I decided to buy two rolls of Loonies and Toonies. I thought this would be a good idea since these rolls may not have many coins. After all, rolls of U.S. dollars has 25 coins and the half dollars have 40 coins. I was surprised to learn that both the one and two dollar Canadian coins contain 50 coins! Playing it cool, I pretended I was not surprised and decided that purchasing 100 of each coin would be more fun to go through.

The rolls that were handed to me were clear plastic with locking tabs to hold the coins in place. Opening the roll is as easy as pulling apart the tabs. It does not require banging the rolls on the counter or tearing apart paper. While I did not open the roll all of the way, I was able to press the tabs closed to keep the rolls together.

Since I was paying for the rolls using U.S. currency, the bank used the current exchange rate for the conversion. With an exchange rate of a fraction over 98-cents per Canadian dollar, the two rolls cost less than $150 in U.S. currency. This presented a problem trying to pay with coins. Thankfully, my wife had some Canadian currency and paid for part of the transaction and added the C$5.00 fee since I was not a customer. What was more interesting was that without one-cent coins in circulation, the change had to be rounded. In this case, the change was rounded up!

After I walked out of the bank I began to wonder how the bank balances its books? Having worked on computer systems that supports accounting with all of the auditing capabilities and the ability to balance many accounts at once, what happens when the balances do not match? Do the banks track the plus-or-minus cents in order to make the books balance?

While in Canada I had to continue with my usual coffee habit and found myself at a Tim Hortons. For the United States audience not in the northeast where there are Tim Hortons franchises, Tim Hortons was founded in 1964 by Miles “Tim” Horton, a hockey player and entrepreneur, in Ontario as a donut shop. Although Horton died as a result of a 1974 automobile accident, his namesake restaurant is the largest fast-food chain in Canada. When I am asked to describe Tim Hortons I say that it is similar to Dunkin Donuts but with a better system and better coffee. When purchasing coffee at the Tim Hortons and paid using cash, the store worker would enter the amount of money I handed over and the electronic cash register calculated the change. On the screen it noted the change and how much would be actually dispensed without the one-cent coins. When I made a $1.78 purchase and handed the cashier a toonie, the cash registers said I was owed 20-cents in change.

Even though these transactions were in my favor, I had mixed feelings about the situation. I could have paid the exact amount using a credit card, but I am not comfortable using my credit card for small transactions.

Canadians seem to be comfortable, or at least accepting, with the elimination of the one-cent coin. I noticed they are comfortable with the one and two dollar coins. In fact, I liked having the coins from change while purchasing my coffee or other items while in Canada.

I am not sure that eliminating the one-cent coin or the paper dollar is ever going to happen in the United States, but if Canadians can adapt then I do not see why we should not be able to!

Whitman Show in Baltimore is always fun

When I returned to the hobby, the first show I attended was the Baltimore Coin Show. Back then, it was privately run by an area dealer who grew the show to something that required a facility the size of the Baltimore Convention Center to hold for a twice per year show. I remember walking into the hall at the time and being overwhelmed with the rows of tables and starting my adventure. Even when the show occupied only Halls A and B was really a sight to see.

Then Whitman bought the show and propelled it to levels greater than its previous owner, which did not seem possible. Not only has Whitman done a great job, but they expanded the show to three times per year and expanded the number of dealers to include Hall C. Hall C also includes Whitman’s own booth along with providing space for a Kids Corner, exhibits, services, and some numismatic organizations. In many ways the size and scope exceeds last summer’s World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia.

New Campaign Button

New Campaign Button

I arrived at the Baltimore Convention Center mid-afternoon on the Ides of March to take in the show and meet with my fellow board members of the Maryland State Numismatic Association for a scheduled meeting. Before the meeting I was able to get through about a quarter of the bourse talking with people and handing out my new buttons for my campaign.

Since the MSNA president could not get away from work, I presided as the organization’s vice president. I kept the meeting under 45 minutes while still getting a few things done. We set a new meeting, adjourned, then went to the elevator for the two floor descent to the main level and the bourse.

I did not buy much at this show since I did not take my usual inventory before going. I did look for New York-related tokens and medals and for Maryland colonial currency. But I did not find anything that intrigued me.

Later in the day, I did go by the table of Butternut Coins and COL Steve Ellsworth. This is not the first time I have spoken the Steve but every time I do I find him a very intriguing and engaging person. Ellsworth is a specialist in Early American Copper Coin along and the Civil War. It was his expertise in Early American Coppers that I was interested in.

As I was looking through his cases, I told Steve about my One Page Collection idea where I would fill a single 20 coin pocket page with nice coins for around $50-100. Since I posted it, I wanted to put the collection together and plan to talk about it at the upcoming National Money Show in New Orleans. He gave me suggestions as to what to look for based on my price and condition guidelines and found two coins that will be added to the collection.

1851 Braided Hair Large Cent obverse

1851 Braided Hair Large Cent obverse

The first coin I found was an 1851 Braided Head large cent that his holder has marked as VF30. It is not a rare coin but a nicely preserve coin with a smooth brown color, nice details still remaining, very clear “Liberty” in the headband, and the signs of slightly weak strike on the reverse that does not detract from the look of the coin.

1853 Braided Hair Half Cent Obverse

1853 Braided Hair Half Cent Obverse

The other coin is a 1853 Braided Hair half cent that his holder has marked VF35. Again, this is not a rare coin but one that is really beautiful. The coin shows some streaks of red and I asked whether it might have been cleaned at one time. Remember, it was a common and acceptable practice to clean coins to bring out their shine and color. But Steve did not think so and that the streaks of color may be original toning. Even if the coin is naturally recolored from a previous cleaning, the coloring does not detract from the beauty of the coin.

Both coins were well within budget and will be included in my one page collection. I appreciate the help that Steve provided in my search.

I have to start working on the 2, 3, and 5 cent coins one-pager.

Now that I decided to present these ideas at a Money Talks program in New Orleans, you will have to come to the show to hear about different ideas I have.

In the mean time, if you are in, near, or can get to Baltimore on June 20-23, it is a good way to spend a day or even the weekend. And let me know, we can sit down for coffee at the stand on the third level.

One Page Collection: The Cent

Someone who may be interested in collecting coins may look at the options and think that they are too daunting. Guide books talk about series of dates, mint marks, and varieties. Type books talk about every representative type, even ones that are not affordable to the average collector. Then the folder and album publishers give their interpretation of what a type collection should look like. What the novice to average collector is left with is confusion.

Collecting coins, specifically United States coins does not have to be daunting. You can put together sets of your own design that represents any time or any period. What is great is that once you define your goals, you can have the fun in putting the set together and showing it off to friends and relatives. It is also something that you can develop your own story and include it in your own album.

Supersafe 20 Coin Pocket Page for 2x2 holders

Supersafe 20 Coin Pocket Page for 2×2 holders

This is why I decided to create the One Page Collection. My one-page is a 20 pocket archival safe page to hold 2×2 holders of some type—for this, I prefer the self-adhesive cardboard holders with mylar windows. These pages can be placed in three-ring binders that can be used to build any number of collections. It is as flexible as your collecting whims can be.

An alternative to the pocket page are Gardmaster Coin Albums. Gardmaster is made by Collector’s Supply House of Paris, Ontario in Canada. Their albums are based on a slide system where the coins are placed into pockets of a strip and the strip is slid into the page keeping the coin in place without the need for an extra holder. The albums are a smaller size with a “Snappy” binder to remove, mix, and match pages. I discovered these albums while putting together a collection of Canadian coins. I then adapted a blank 16-pocket version to create a year set for large cents. You can do an Internet search to find a dealer who sells Gardmaster albums.

For these articles, I will stick with creating a collection using the 20-coin pocket page.

As a general rule, the coins in this collection must gradable at Fine or better and cost under $100. When I create a set of half-dollars and dollars, the limit will have to be raised because of the silver values and the rarity of earlier coins.

Since these are 20-coin sets, many die varieties are ignored to a certain degree. However, design and composition changes are always significant.

The first set I will create are the copper coins. Cents and half-cents were specified in the Coinage Act of 1792 that authorized the creation of the U.S. Mint. Under the new law, the half-cent and its larger cousin the one-cent coin was struck in pure copper from 1793 through 1857.

The first half-cent struck in 1793 weighed 6.74 grams and was 22 mm in diameter. Subsequently, the half-cent weighed 5.44 grams and its diameter varied between 22 mm and 22½ mm.

The 1793 large cent had two designs, the controversial chain reverse which was then changed to a wreath weighed 13.48 grams and varied between 26-28 mm in diameter. In the 19th century, the large cent weighed 10.89 grams and its diameter varied between 27 and 27½ mm.

Consistency in the size of both coins would not be achieved until the introduction of steam-based coining equipment starting in 1836.

Large copper coins were eliminated by the Coinage Act of 1857. Signed into law by President Franklin Pierce February 21, 1857, this act repealed the legal tender status for foreign coins in the United States. It required the Treasury to exchange foreign coins at a market rate set by Treasury. This act discontinued the half-cent and reduced the size of the one-cent coin from 27mm (large cent) to the modern size of 19.05mm (small cent) that is still being used today.

First small cent was the Flying Eagle cent designed by James B. Longacre. The eagle was based on a design Christian Gobrecht used on the reverse of the Seated Liberty dollars. The Flying Eagle cent was a short lived series because of its difficulty to strike properly.

After having problems with the Flying Eagle cent, Longacre designed the Indian Head cent—which is not the image of an Indian but a representation of Libery wearing an Indian-style headdress.

Rounding out our copper collection is the Lincoln cent. Introduced as part of President Theodore Roosevelt’s “pet crime,” the Victor D. Brenner designed coin has been around over 100 years with a periodic change in reverses including the new Shield reverse that began in 2010, 101 years after the coin’s debut with the wheat stalks on the reverse.

Looking at over 230 years of copper coinage there is a lot to choose from to try to make a representative set. The following is what I came up with:

✓ 1840-1857 Braided Hair Half-Cent: A typeset of copper coins has to include a half-cent. To represent I am including a later version of the coin. Not only are these coins readily available but you can purchase a quality example for under $100. Choose one with nice features and a rich chocolate brown color to best represent this series.
✓ 1816-1863 Matron Head Large Cent: For large cents, I am picking two coins. For the early Matron Head cent, I would look at the early dates. They are readily available in better grades at reasonable prices. If you can find a version before 1836, that would represent the pre-steam press era.
✓ 1839-1857 Braided Head large cent: Walk any bourse floor and you will find later large cents that are nicely struck and at reasonable prices. If you want to spend more money you can find a red-brown example, but those with that deep brown color are well struck and wonderful. Having a large cent from this era is a good representation of the pre-small cent times.
✓ 1857-1858 Flying Eagle cent: Forget the lettering varieties. Concentrate on finding a nice coin that would grade Fine or Very Fine for your collection.
✓ 1859 Indian Head cent: This copper-nickel coin with a lauren wreath reverse is a one-coin type.
✓ 1864-1909 Indian Head cent: While there is a copper-nickel version whose reverse has an oak wreath with a shield over the wreath, the bronze version is a new composition with the same reverse. I consider the 1859 copper-nickel covers the composition and the bronze oak wreath reverse covers the change in metals. Coins from the 20th century are very available and affordable. In some cases, if you can spend more than $100 for a coin, you can purchase a nice red or red-brown example.
✓ 1909 VDB Lincoln cent: First year of issue with the “VDB” initials on the reverse is much less expensive than the San Francisco minted coins. For a few extra dollars you can even find a nice red or red-brown coin.
✓ 1909-1958 Lincoln cent: With almost 50 year of coins you can find an affordable example as a bright red coin. Spend a little more money and try for a 1909 cent without the “VDB” initials to get a first year of issue.
✓ 1943 P-D-S Lincoln steel cents: The only coin produced for circulation by the U.S. Mint that did not contain copper (the .999 silver coins contains .001 copper and the .9999 American Buffalo Gold Coin contains .0001 copper). This is worthy of adding one of each to this set.
✓ 1944-1946 Lincoln shotgun cents: Although they are Lincoln cents in every way as the 1942 and earlier cents, these coins were made from the spent shells taken from the training fields around the country. These coins might look a little darker and very available at higher grades for the average collector.
✓ 1959-1981 Lincoln cent with Memorial Reverse: These coins are made from .950 copper with the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse. These are the last copper coins struck for circulation. Adding a 1959 coin would give you the first year or add your birth year.
✓ 1982 Lincoln cent copper and copper-plated zinc coins: In 1982, the U.S. Mint transitioned from copper cents to copper-plated zinc coins. If you do not want to supplement this part with the entire seven-coin collection, then it is not a problem to ignore the lettering size and find an example of a copper and a copper-plated zinc coin. Otherwise, any coin from 1983-2008 Lincoln cent could be used for the copper-plated zinc coin.
✓ 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial cents: This four coin set should not cost more than 50-cents per coin. For a bigger challenge, find proof version that were struck on .950 copper planchets.
✓ 2010-today Lincoln cent with Union Shield reverse: The end of this set pending and further updates.

A page of Scott's Large cent collection in a Gardmaster album

A page of Scott’s Large cent collection in a Gardmaster album

With these 20 coin you now have a set that represents the history of half- and one-cent coins ever struck by the U.S. Mint. While my concentration has been on affordable and easier to find the coins for this collection, you can extend it by looking for more expensive coins or even better grades. One challenge would be to find all of the Lincoln and Indian Head cents as red or red-brown coins. I have seen nice red-brown Flying Eagle coins but were very expensive. And for a little more money, find an 1850s Large cent that is more red-brown than brown.

Another idea is to use the Gardmaster album, buy two 16-coin pages, and expand your collection. As you look through the types, you may want to start with my “Manageable Lincoln Cent Collection” for an idea on expanding your Lincoln cent typeset. From there, you can adapt those concepts to the other cent series.

Showgard pocket pages image courtesy of Vidiforms/Showgard.

POLL: Should the U.S. Stop Producing the One-Cent Coin

With Canada now withdrawing their one-cent coin from circulation and the Great Britain debating whether they should stop producing their penny, some are looking to the United States to figure out a direction. In fact, a line buried in an article whose link was lost in the digital surf noted that the European Union will keep its 1- and 2-eurocent coins while waiting to see what the United States and Great Britain does.

There are good arguments on both sides ranging from the coin is too expensive to make to the argument that rounding creates a regressive tax on those who pay using cash. These coins are annoying or they provide equality with those paying cash versus those paying with credit.

An alternative would be to change the composition of the coin. Various new metals can make the coin profitable again and keeping the coin in production. Even keeping the costs at par would be better than the negative seigniorage the U.S. Mint generates today.

What do you think?

Should the United State stop producing the one-cent coin?

Yes, it costs too much to produce and is not worth a penny. (63%, 57 Votes)
No, we should just keep it. (19%, 17 Votes)
No, we should keep it but change the composition (19%, 17 Votes)

Total Voters: 91

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Image is The King of Errors: 1955 Double-Die Obverse that was graded AU-58BN by NGC proudly owned by the author.

You Should Attend a Local Coin Show

Although I am a proponent of the virtual world and want to see numismatics expand virtually, there is something to be said about going to a local coin show. You know the type, one that is held in a large meeting room at a local hotel where 40-50 tables are setup attended by local dealers and people in the area. Sometimes, it could be more interesting than a larger show.

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of going to the Baltimore Area Numismatic Coalition (BANC) Show at a hotel in Timonium, Maryland. BANC is coalition of the Baltimore Coin Club, Catonsville Coin Club, and the Maryland Token & Medal Society who works together to put on a local quarterly show to bring together people in the Baltimore area and numismatists that may be visiting.

My visit to the BANC Show came about because the Maryland State Numismatic Association (MSNA) held a Board of Directors meeting after the show closed. Since I am Vice President of MSNA, I drove from the metro Washington region to northwest Baltimore a little early to do a little early shopping before the meeting.

Smaller shows do not attract the type of crowd that you will see in a larger venue, like a convention center. Fewer people go to these local shows making it a more relaxed atmosphere. You also see many of the local dealers, the men and (some) women who you want to get to know better because these are the people who can really help you put together your collection. And since the crowds are more relaxed, there is time to talk with those dealers and even catch up with pther collectors you may know.

Another advantage of being at a local show is to be able to talk with people who just come to the show because they have an interest. At this show, I was introduced to a woman who initially had a question about purchasing coins directly from the U.S. Mint at their facilities in the District of Columbia. What then happened is that you get an enthusiastic collector (me) and someone who wants to talk about collecting together and it turned into a wonderful conversation.

While I forgot to ask her name, I did give her the address to this blog. If you are the woman I spoke with, I hope you enjoyed our conversation as much as I did and hope it inspired you to expand your collecting pursuits. Also, we spoke about my write up about negotiating for coins. It was part of my two-part series “How Are Coins Priced.” You can read Part I first then Part II where the section on negotiating is included.

How can I go to a coin show without buying something?! Today, I kept with my New York collectibles and found a Bureau of Engraving and Printing folder with a Series 2003 $2 Single Star Note from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For those not familiar with the concept of Star Notes, the best short description is from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing:

When an imperfect note is detected during the manufacturing process after the serial number has been overprinted, it must be replaced with a new note. A “star” note is used to replace the imperfect note. Reusing that exact serial number to replace the imperfect note is costly and time consuming. The “star” note has its own special serial number followed by a star in place of a suffix letter. The serial number of the imperfect note that was removed is not used again in the same numbering sequence.

The other purchase was an 1830 Matron Head large cent that looks like it was dipped a long time ago and has re-toned. Although I prefer original surfaces, it is a good looking coin for its age and condition. Since I am passively working on a large cent year set (no varieties), it will fill a hole in that book. Too bad the dealer did not have other large cents to fill the holes since the price was right. But other coins were either too vigorously cleaned or had some corrosion.

If you want to find a local show, you can find one at the calendar at NumisMaster.com or the Events page at CoinWorld.com. Go forth and enjoy a local show!

A Small Find From France

A 2012 one Euro cent pocket change find from France next to a 2012 Lincoln cent.

Somewhere in my travels I received a 2012 one Euro cent coin from France. It is interesting how this coin made it into change here in the United States unless someone was really not paying attention since the Euro cent coin is smaller than our Lincoln cent. Although both are copper coated, our Lincoln cent is 19.05 mm (.75 inches) in diameter while the standard Euro cent is 16.25 mm (.639 inches). The Lincoln cent is also heavier at 2.5 grams made of copper-plated zinc with 2.5-percent being copper. The Euro cent is copper-plated steel weighing in at 2.27 grams where 5.65-percent is copper.

After doing an online search, I found that this is a 2012 coin from France.

As with all Euro coins, the reverse or common side depicts the same common Euro cent design that every country in the European Union uses and has used since Euro coins and currency were issued in 2002.

Le Triomphe de la République by sculptor Aimé-Jules Dalou at Place de la Nation in Paris features Marianne, the national emblem of France.

On the reverse, or national side, the coin features Marianne, the national emblem of France and an allegorical figure of Liberty and Reason. Marianne symbolizes “Le Triomphe de la République” (Triumph of the Republic), a bronze sculpture that overlooks the Place de la Nation in Paris. Marianne embodies the desire for a sound and lasting Europe.

To the right of Marianne are the letters “R” and “F” for the République Française (French Republic). The design is surrounded by 12 stars symbolizing the the 12 nations in the European Union at the time of the design. It was designed by Fabienne Courtiade, an engraver from Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) whose name appears as “F COURTIADE” between the fourth and fifth star (assuming clock-like positions). This design is used on France’s one, two, and five Euro cent coins—all copper-plated steel coins.

If nothing else, I am a little ahead of the game since the coin is worth 1.3-cents at the current exchange rate. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

Image of the statue “The Triumph of the Republic” courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Scott’s 10 Most Desired Coins Within Reason

I was reading the article “How to follow the money in rare-coin collecting” at MarketWatch.com about the basics of collecting rare coins when I noticed that it pointed to a page withe a slideshow, “The $1 million penny and 7 more famous coins.”

The list has only one “reasonably priced” coin—that is a coin that someone with a little means could afford. It lists the an 1850 Double Eagle at $13,000. That started me to think about the potential to actually owning a few rare collector coins with value and something more align with my tastes. After thinking about this I came up with a list of my “10 Most Desired Coins Within Reason.” In this case, I defined reason as not being so rare that it could only be bought with the help of a good dealer and would not require bidding on it at a once-in-a-lifetime auction. I also set a limit of $5,000 on the price of any coin. I know this may limit the inventory to lower grade for some coins, but those lower grades could give the coin character.

Mostly in denomination and date order, here are Scott’s 10 Most Desired Coins Within Reason:

  1. 1793 Flowing Hair Chain Cent with AMERI. in Legend is basically amongst the first legal tender coins produced by the U.S. Mint. I know that there was an earlier run of half-dismes, but they were not real production runs. If I am going to produce a list like this, I am going to pick the coin I like and break one of my rules because even at its lowest grade, the coin will probably cost more than $10,000.
  2. 1909-S Indian Head Cent in Mint State Red. Even though the 1908-S was the first Indian Head cent struck in San Francisco, I am choosing the rarer of the two S-mint Indian Heads in Mint State Red. Of course, this may also break my budget but it would be no fun otherwise.
  3. 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent may not be the most expensive Lincoln Cent (the 1914 is), but it is the first of the iconic series and part of the controversy started because of the “V.D.B” initials on the reverse. Fortunately, I already own one graded as VF-30BN by NGC.
  4. 1955 Double Die Obverse Lincoln Cent is the coin that sparked the interest in error collecting. It is remarkable to think that one coin, a mistake, created a new segment of the hobby. For me, I already own one graded AU-58BN by NGC that I really like.
  5. 1937-D 3-Legged Buffalo is a very cool coin. Aside that the Buffalo Nickel is one of my favorite coin designs, there is something intriguing about the story behind this coin. Fortunately, the one I own was graded VF-25 by NGC and the last of the ones I already own on this list.
  6. 1917 Type 1 Standing Liberty Quarter is a compromise because the 1916 would be too expensive. In order to add a type 1 design (with breast exposed), the 1917 version is more reasonably priced in higher grades.
  7. 1921 Walking Liberty Half Dollar would be the coin I would point to on this list as being my favorite design. For me, only the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle come close to Adolph Weinman’s design. It should not surprise anyone that Weinman was one of Saint Gaudens’ students. The 1921 half dollars were almost an afterthought as the U.S. Mint was rushing to produce silver dollars and the 1921 fits the criteria to buy one in higher grades.
  8. 1878-CC Morgan Dollar in the GSA Holder because it is interestingly historic. The Morgan Dollar was authorized by the Bland-Allison Act that required the Treasury Department to buy silver from western mines and put them into circulation as silver dollars. It was passed after the Coinage Act of 1873, sometimes referred to as the “Crime of ’73,” demonetized silver and set the standard for gold as the backing of the national currency. Not only do you get the collectible from a western state near a western mine, but the GSA Holder is from the historic sales of the 1970s after the GSA started pulling coins out of storage in buildings long forgotten.
  9. 1908 Indian Head Gold Half-Eagle because if you make a list like this, there has to be some gold on it. If I am going to do a gold coin, I want the only coin whose design is incuse to the coin. Bela Pratt Lyon’s incuse Indian Head design is unique and nicely available in its first year of mintage.
  10. 1907 No Motto Saint Gaudens Double Eagle because this list cannot be complete with the other of the two most iconic designs ever made for a circulating coin. Since 1907 is the first year, this is the most affordable of the three types made that year and is more available than the high-relief versions.

Do you have a similar list? Add it to the comments below.

Counting Change

On a lighter note, after saving pocket change for nearly two years, I was able to fill a one galling container and an old beer pitcher. Using all the strength left in my aging arms, I carried the container and pitcher to the local bank that offers free coin counting for customers. Even though I am not a customer, my wife is and I deposited the results into her account to save money on the fees.

During the counting process, two of the bags in the machine filled and the teller had to replace them. But after a little more than a half-hour of feeding coins into the machine and checking the rejection bin, all the coins that were countable were counted and I came up with the following totals:

Coin Type Quantity Value
Dollar coins 18 $18.00
Quarters 1405 $351.25
Dimes 1247 $124.70
Nickels 793 $36.95
Cents 2108 $21.08
Total  $551.98

While I am not surprised that there were more cents than any other coins, I was a bit surprised as there were less than one thousand nickels. Over the next few days I carefully looked at the amount of change and figured out that most of the time, I am receiving quarters and dimes for most transactions ending with a 5. Change of 25, 35, and 45 cents does not require a nickel to be used while change of 55-cents adds a nickel to two quarter—of course I could have received 3 dimes and a quarter, but that was not the case while I was watching carefully.

Of 5,571 coins counted, 38-percent were the lowly Lincoln Cent that represented 3.8-percent of the total value. Although I still maintain that the United State should not end the coin’s production, seeing these results can lead to an interesting discussion. And before you do respond, an informal conversation at the Royal Canadian Mint during the World’s Fair of Money that they are delaying the buy back of their one-cent coins because of social issues brought up by merchants and many citizens. It appears that while many say they were for the elimination of the one-cent coin, when it really happened there are some significant objections being heard. We can discuss this further in the spring after the RCM begins their buy-back program.

There were several rejected coins including six wheat-back Lincoln cents from the 1950s. Somehow a steel cent ended up in the pile—but that may have happened when my cleaning people picked up a stray coin I may have dropped and added it to my pitcher. I also found several foreign coins including Canadian Cents (sorry, I am keeping those), two one-cent coins from Jamaica, a penny from the United Kingdom, a Canadian 5-cent coin, a 5 Eurocent coin with a French reverse, and two 1976 Bicentennial Quarters. There were also three buttons and a $1 note buried in the pitcher.

Proceeds are being donated to three different charities as well as being used for a nice dinner out with my wife. A special donation (on top of divided donation) of the $21.08 from the proceeds of the cents will be donated to Common Cents, creators of the Penny Harvest and the “Official Charity” of the Coin Collectors Blog.

The Canadian Penny: RIP

Dignitaries were present at the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg to honor (or mourn) the striking of the last Canadian penny.

Citing its low buying power and that it costs 1.6 Canadian cents to produce one coin, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced in March that the government will end the coin’s production. Cash sales will be rounded up or down to the nearest 5-cents while non-cash transaction will continue to be settled to the nearest cent.

After a brief ceremony that included Flaherty and Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint, the last penny was struck and carried from the presses by Flaherty. It will be given to the Canadian Currency Museum located within the Bank of Canada complex in downtown Ottawa for display

Ceremony images from the Royal Canadian Mint via Twitter.
Cent coin image courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint.

Saga of the Half-Cent

Since the Canadian government has proposed the elimination of their one-cent coin from production and putting in measures to remove them from circulation, proponents of a similar policy in the United States have been pointing northward and the past to support their position. When they point to the past, the target is the Half-Cent, established as part of the Coinage Act of 1792 and eliminated by the Coinage Act of 1857.

The common argument is that if the United States could eliminate an unpopular low-denomination coin in the 19th century, why can’t we do this in the 21st century?

In order to understand why that question is a non-sequitor, you have to look back at the history of the half-cent.

After the passage of the Constitution by the constitutional convention, Alexander Hamilton wrote extensively for both the Federalist Papers and spoke in many venues how the a strong, centrally managed currency would improve commerce between the new states and promote the nation as a whole in foreign trade. While this view was shared by others, how to implement a new currency system became controversial.

On January 28, 1791, Hamilton submitted the Secretary of the Treasury Report, “On the Establishment of a Mint” to the House of Representatives. Hamilton tied the value of the basic unit to the Spanish Milled Dollar (8 reales) and called the basic unit a “dollar.” In that report, Hamilton proposed a simple system of currency that included a ten and one dollar gold coins, one and one-tenth dollar silver coins, and one-hundredth and two-hundredth copper coins. Hamilton surmised that using smaller denominations would standardize production around a few coins that could be produced in sufficient numbers to supply commerce.

While mostly in agreement with Hamilton’s report, Thomas Jefferson had another idea. Jefferson thought it would be better to tie subsidiary coins tied to the actual usage of the 8 reales coin. At the time, rather than worry about subsidiary coinage, people would cut the coin into pieces. A milled dollar cut in half was a half-dollar. That half-dollar cut in half was a quarter-dollar and the quarter-dollar cut in half was called a bit.

The bit was the basic unit of commerce since prices were based on the bit. Of course this was not a perfect solution. It was difficult to cut the quarter-dollars in half with great consistency which created problems when the bit was too small, called a short bit. Sometimes, short bits were supplemented with English pennies that were allowed to circulate in the colonies.

As an aside, this is where the nickname “two bits” for a quarter came from.

Jefferson felt that in order to convert the people from bit economy to a decimal economy, the half-cent was necessary to have 12½ cents be used instead of a bit without causing problems during conversion from allowing foreign currency to circulate as legal tender until the new Mint can produce enough coinage for commerce.

Much against Hamilton’s wishes, congress agreed and made the half-cent along with the eagle, half-eagle, quarter eagle, silver (not gold) dollar, half-dollar, quarter-dollar, disme (later renamed dime), cent, and half-cent. After the bill was passed and signed by President George Washington on April 2, 1792, Washington decided to put the new Bureau of the Mint under the jurisdiction of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to ensure that the currency system would be implemented since Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton objected to these provisions of the law.

As the new Mint ramped up production, there were other issues with U.S. coinage that overshadowed any perceived controversy that the half-cent would have received. Over the next 60 years, laws were passed to change the composition of coins, ratio of gold-to-silver, and even the problem with melting that caused the suspension of producing the silver dollar in 1804.

The half-cent would come into focus in the 1850s when the cost to produce the United State’s copper coins was nearly double their face value. In 1856, the Mint produced the first of the small cents, the Flying Eagle small cent, and produced 700 samples to convince congress to change to the small cent. As part of the discussion was the elimination of foreign currency from circulation making the U.S. Mint the sole supplier of coins.

There is no record of outcry from the public on the elimination of the half-cent. Its elimination came four years after the Coinage Act of 1853 that created the one-dollar and double eagle gold coins in response to the discovery of gold in North Carolina, Georgia, and California. The gold rush caused a prosperity and inflation that not only made the half-cent irrelevant but not something on the public’s mint. In that light, the Mint and congress felt that it just outlived its usefulness and would not be necessary with the elimination of foreign currency from circulation.

More controversy was generated in 1857 over the demonetizing foreign coins in the United States than the elimination of the half-cent. While the half-cent continued to circulate, it was estimated that one-third of the coins being circulated were foreign, primarily reales from Mexico. Redemption programs did not go smoothly, but in the end foreign coins were taken out of the market and the American people adapted and it could be said we prospered.

Comparing the elimination of the half-cent in 1857 with the trying to eliminate the one-cent coin today is like saying one baseball player is better than another because he hits a lot of home runs. Just like there is more to consider than hitting home runs in baseball, there is more to the discussion than pointing to an event that happened 155 years ago without considering entire picture.

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