Jan 16, 2010 | books, cents, coin design, dollar, state quarters, technology
The start of the new year was met with a lot of work. While I should be happy to be busy, I would like some time to continue to write this blog. It is relaxing and I enjoy sharing my numismatic experience, thoughts, and other stories with my readers. I thank you for reading and hope to pick up the pace on my writing soon.
For now, here are a few short items that have been on my mind.
Starting the last week of the year, I have been seeing more of the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Cent in circulation, particularly the Formative Years or Log Splitter cents. During one shopping trip, a cashier opened a new roll of cents and included three new Log Splitter cents in my change.
I have also been seeing a few of the DC and Territories Quarters. Most of the quarters I have received in changed honor The Northern Mariana Islands. Its distinctive latte stone makes it very distinctive to notice at a glance. Interestingly, I have yet to receive a DC Quarter in change from stores in the DC area.
The US Mint has released the new Native American $1 Coin. This year’s theme is “Government–The Great Tree of Peace” featuring five bound arrows and the Hiawatha Belt. The design looks much better in hand than in the images I have seen, even those from the US Mint. It must be the gold color of the manganese, but the design seems to have a bold yet artistic feel that the US Mint should consider submitting for the next Coin of the Year competition.
Over the past few weeks I have read a few interesting numismatic books that I would like to report on. One of those books is Fascinating Facts, Mysteries & Myths About U.S. Coins by Robert R. Van Ryzin. I thought it was pretty good book but I have a caveat that I will report on in the near future.
It seems that numismatics is one of the last industries to fully embrace technology. There have been some advancements that I want to talk about. One of them are the electronic books by Krause Publications. Whether you download their information or purchase a CD or DVD of their books, the people at Krause have taken an interesting step into electronic publishing. Also, some have also embraced the iPhone as a platform for bringing numismatic information to the masses. I recently downloaded a numismatic-related iPhone application that I will write about after I crash it a few times!
As an aside, I am going to use my new 27-inch iMac to write a few iPhone applications of my own. Stanford University has a course teaching how to program the iPhone. The course is available through the iTunes store and sample code from the course’s website. I hope to use what I learn to create my own apps. I also hope that other readers who have a technical background and access to an Intel-based Mac to follow along with the course and create other apps for numismatists.
I hope everyone had a good holiday season. Now let’s get to collecting!
Dec 26, 2009 | cents, coins, commemorative, dollar, quarter, US Mint
Around this time last year, I wrote that 2009 would be quite a year. As 2009 comes to an end, I know why I am not a prognosticator. With the down economy, the convergence of so many coin programs, and the performance questions of the US Mint it is difficult to call 2009 a successful year; yet it was not a failure.
Some of the success of this year included the 2009 Ultra High Relief Gold Coin, the District of Columbia and US Territories Quarters, and the Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent program. Although finding the cents and quarters have been difficult to find in change, these new coins had nice designs and was a chance for people to learn about Lincoln’s life and the history of our territories.
As the Lincoln Cent enters its 101st year of production, it will be given a new reverse. The Union Shield was selected as the symbol of a united country. The shield is featured in many of the frescos painted by Constantino Brumidi throughout the US capitol. Brumidi was the Artist of the capitol during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. The fresco shown here is one of the eight trophy panel from room S-128 (from the Senate side) of the capitol. It was design by Brumidi and painted by English artist James Leslie.
Starting in 2010, the US Mint will begin the American the Beautiful Quarters Program. It will be a program with 56 quarter-dollar coins featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites. Although this program might be overkill, the designs show that the program has the promise to show new and interesting designs. The first five quarters for 2010 will honor Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. It will be interesting to see if this program will catch on.
In the second year of the Native American $1 Coin program, the theme for the 2010 reverse is “Government–The Great Tree of Peace.” The reverse design features five bound arrows and the Hiawatha Belt. Hiawatha was the helper to the Great Peacemaker who negotiated peace amongst the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk tribes in the area now known as New York state. The alliance was known as Haudenosaunee, the Iroquois Confederacy, and is featured on the reverse. The words “Great Law of Peace” is also on the reverse to honor the constitution that created the confederacy. It is a wonderful design that follows up the great design of 2009.
Continuing the Presidential $1 Coins, 2010 will include coins for Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. We may see an increase of interest in these coins with the introduction of the dollar honoring Lincoln as we pass the (ho-hum) early 19th century presidents.
Along with the Presidential dollars will be the First Spouse Gold Coins. Along with the presidents will be gold coins to honor Abigail Fillmore, Jane Pierce, Buchanan’s Liberty, and Mary Todd Lincoln. President James Buchanan was not married. His first spouse coin will be a reproduction of the Liberty Head Quarter Eagle designed by Christian Gobrecht minted and issued from 1840 through 1907. The reverse design depicts the future President as a boy working as a bookkeeper in his family’s small country store design by Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer David Westwood.
To round out circulating coinage, no changes are in store for the nickel, dime, and half-dollar.
Commemorative coins for 2010 will include the 2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin and the American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin. The Boy Scout commemorative celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. The program will produce 350,000 silver dollar coins with the $10 surcharge will be paid to National Boy Scouts of America Foundation who issues grants to local council for the extension of scouting in hard-to-serve areas.
The American Veterans Disabled for Life will also produce 350,000 silver dollars in proof and uncirculated version to honor disabled veterans. The $10 surcharge will be paid to the Disabled Veterans’ LIFE Memorial Foundation to support the construction of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, DC.
Considering what happened this year, it will be difficult to predict what will happen to the American Eagle Bullion and American Buffalo 24-Karat Gold coins. Because of how the law is written, American Eagle bullion will be produced but we are not sure whether American Eagle proof coins will join them. I hope the proof coins will be produced in 2010, but with the current Mint administration, we will not know until they announce a commitment to their production.
I hope 2010 sizzles as much as 2009 fizzled!
Fresco image from Constantino Brumidi: Artist of the Capitol.
Coin images courtesy of the US Mint.
Nov 17, 2009 | cents, coin design, US Mint, video
With “Real Life” delaying the completion of my proposal to Reform US Currency, I wanted to take a brief moment to talk about the November 12th launch of the last of the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent coins honoring Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.
The reverse design is an image of the US Capitol as it appeared on March 3, 1861 when Lincoln was inaugurated for the first time. With the Civil War imminent, Lincoln was asked whether the government should stop the construction so that the money would be used for the war effort. Lincoln was ever mindful of trying to keep the promise of the union said that the dome’s completion would enforce that view—making it an appropriate design for the last of this series. The reverse was designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted Joseph Menna.
In addition to the launch of the final 2009 reverse design, the design for the 2010 Lincoln Cent was introduced. The reverse of next year’s coin features a Union shield. In the context of symbolism, the union shield is an emblem symbolizing a national union fitting of the theme calling for the reverse to be “emblematic of President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country” as required by Public Law 109-145. Although this is not the first time a union shield has been depicted on US coinage, this is an interesting choice that I will discuss in the future. However, given the history of the Lincoln Cent, this will be the design for the next 50 years!
If you missed the launch, you can see some of the ceremony, the crowd, the designs, and part of the exchange in the following B-Roll video from the US Mint:
Coin images courtesy of the US Mint
B-Roll video from NewsInfusion
Sep 9, 2009 | cents, coins
Henderson, North Carolina is a small town north of Raleigh. Henderson was founded in 1785 by Samuel Reavis, Sr. and named for North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson. Reavis was a tobacco farmer and the town grew with the tobacco industry in North Carolina. When the Raleigh & Gaston railroad line was completed in 1835, Henderson became a regional trading area for tobacco, cotton, and textiles.
For most travelers today, Henderson is just about the only place to stop along I-85 between the northern most point of the highway in Petersburg, Virginia and Raleigh. Like many travelers, as I made my way north, I checked my car’s gas gauge and levels of personal fluids and made the decision to stop at one of Henderson’s fine service areas.
Following my purchase, I notice that the change handed to me included a few very shiny Lincoln cents. Considering my past experience, I dropped the coins in my pocket and returned to my car. After sitting for a few seconds thinking about the possibilities, I reached into my pocket to check my find. To my amazement I found three Lincoln Log Cabin Cents! All three were from the Philadelphia Mint and looked like they were from recently opened rolls.
This is the second time I found new Lincoln Cents in North Carolina. In fact, it is the only state where I have found 2009 coins! So when I returned to the DC area, I promptly spent the coins to put them in circulation here.
I still have not found any other 2009 coin in change including the DC and Territories Quarters. But I will keep checking.
Aug 6, 2009 | celebration, cents
On Monday, August 2, 1909, people lined up at banks and other distribution points in America’s major cities. It was an event like the country has never seen before. For the first time in the United State’s history, a coin minted for circulation was to carry the portrait of a real person. Sure, the US Mint produced a coin with other portraits, but they were commemoratives and not intended for circulation, even though some did circulate.
But this was different. This was the portrait of one of our greatest presidents. Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, was being honored on the cent the year the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth.
The new Lincoln Head Cent featured a portrait by Lithuanian immigrant, Victor David Brenner. Brenner, who came to the United States in 1890, learned engraving in New York City and spent the rest of his life honoring his adopted home with beautiful portraits of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and other leaders.
Even with the excitement the release was not without controversy. Almost instantly, the public did not like the prominence of the artist’s initials “V.D.B.” on the reverse of the coin. On August 5, 1909, Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh ordered production halted in order to remove the initials from the coin’s reverse.
When production was halted, over 27 million were struck in Philadelphia but only 484,000 were struck in San Francisco. With the rumors that the US Mint would recall the VDB cents, speculators saved as many coins as possible. But with only 484,000 minted, the 1909-S VDB became an instant key date in the new Lincoln Cent series.
Chief Engraver Charles Barber removed the initials from the master die but did not add them anywhere else claiming it would too difficult and would take too much time. When George Morgan was named Chief Engraver following Barber’s death immediately and effortlessly added Brenner’s initials to the trunk of the bust.
Brenner’s design lasted 50 years even with a one-year composition change in 1943. In order to preserve copper for the war effort, over 1 billion coins were struck in 1943 on zinc-coated steel planchets—which were not popular when they were circulated.
For the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday, the US Mint’s Tenth Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro redesigned the reverse of the coin to show the Lincoln Memorial. The obverse would continue to use the Brenner portrait of Lincoln.
As we celebrate the Bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, the reverse of the coins were redesigned for the celebration. But as it has been since it was introduced in 1909, the cents feature the portrait of Lincoln designed by Victor David Brenner.
Since August 2, 1909, the US Mint says that they have struck over 450 billion Lincoln Cents. This probably makes the Brenner portrait of Lincoln the most duplicated of any portrait in history. Talk about history in your hands!
Aug 1, 2009 | cents, foreign, pocket change
Continue to search through my change looking for 2009 coins. Since leaving Charlotte, I have not been able to find another 2009 coin.
When I go to a store, I become a little excited as the cashier hands me shiny coins. If I cannot take a quick glance, which is becoming more difficult as my eyes are showing their age, I put the coins in my pocket and check when I get home.
Earlier this week I went to a local grocery store and paid with cash. I noticed the shiny copper coin that was dropped into my hand. I looked at the coin with excitement and thought I saw a Log Cabin Lincoln Cent. But there was a line and I was in a hurry to go home.
Later that evening I emptied my pocket and found the coin. Rather than seeing a log cabin it was coat of arms. A closer look was that it said “Commonwealth of the Bahamas” with the year of 2004. The reverse of the coin has star fish and the denomination of “1 Cent.”
According to The National Bank of the Bahamas, the coin is 19.05 mm in diameter and 1.58 mm thick. The Lincoln Cent is also 19.05 mm in diameter but only 1.55 mm thick. Both coins are made from copper-plated zinc.
The Central Bank of the Bahamas ties its currency to the US Dollar making it an even exchange between the currencies. In this case, a cent is worth one cent and I broke even.
Even though it was nice to find a Bahamian coin in pocket change, I am still waiting to find my first 2009 quarter, nickel, and dime.
Jul 11, 2009 | cents, coins
It has been a very long week but things seem to be looking up today. Amongst some better news was receiving my first 2009 Lincoln Rail Splitter Cent in change.
I am in Charlotte this weekend because my mother has been in the hospital. On my way to visit her, where my mother was beginning to recognize us and her surroundings, I stopped for a drink at a local convenience store and received a 2009 cent in change.
It only has taken 192 days into 2009 to find my first 2009 coin in circulation. And it took me leaving the Washington, DC area to find it!
Jun 4, 2009 | CCAC, cents, CFA, coin design, US Mint
For the last few months, the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee have been volleying between each other and the sculptor-engravers at the US Mint over the design of the reverse for the 2010 Lincoln Cent. Based on what is being reported one thing is clear, the designs are somewhat less than stellar.
Ok… they stink!
According to Public Law 145-109 Section 303 states, “[the] design on the reverse of the 1-cent coins issued after December 31, 2009, shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.”
While the mandate sounds simple, there is a catch: Lincoln only caught a glimpse of a united country. Prior to Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865, Lincoln visited Richmond after it was taken by Union troops. Lincoln was greeted as a conquering hero by newly freed slaves on his way to visit the Confederate capital. When Lincoln arrived at Jefferson Davis’s office, he sat behind Davis’s desk to symbolize that there was only one president who had the authority to rule over the land. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 and died on April 15.
Lincoln was re-elected in 1864 with 55-percent of the vote and a 212-21 electoral vote margin. On March 3, 1865, Lincoln gave his second inaugural address as the war was winding down. Lincoln’s theme turned to healing as he ended his address:
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
With that rich and well documented history, someone could not come up with a good theme to represent the preservation of a united country?
Even though the Confederate states did not participate in the 1864 election, Lincoln’s re-election and inaugural speech laid claim to his desire to end this bloody chapter in our history and pursue a policy of peace. What would be a better iconic image than Lincoln delivering his Second Inaugural Address.
Although there is only one known photograph of the inauguration (see above), there are artists renderings that could be used to base a design. For example, the color image to the right of this paragraph was found on the Internet. I do not know who created the image but it shows Lincoln standing at a lectern with Vice President Andrew Johnson (a southern Democrat) sitting behind Lincoln, and Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase standing to Lincoln’s left. It is a better image to use than what appeared on the cover of Harper’s Weekly because it shows a more dignified proceedings’plus I think it would look better on a small coin, like the cent.
I think that this is a better idea than sheaths of wheat, shields, and images of the Capital building because it is clearly about Lincoln and how he lead the nation out of its bloodiest war into one United States.
If you agree with me, I encourage you to contact the US Mint, CFA, and CCAC to let them know if this idea. After all, it is our money, we should have more of a say in how it looks!!
May 21, 2009 | cents, charity, video
Anyone who has followed my writing knows that I am an advocate for keeping the Lincoln Cent and charities that use the cent as a basis for the good work they do. The power of the little copper-colored coin is underestimated and maligned for bogus reasons. The coin we colloquially (and incorrectly) call the penny deserves more respect.
Add Marcelo Bezos to the list of people who found the penny to be a worthy charitable endeavor. Bezos, the founder of the Penny Pyramid Project was inspired to break the world’s record for a pyramid made of cents by a family member’s ongoing fight with colorectal cancer. As Bezos writes, “My father in laws Dad has been battling this cancer for almost 12 years. In November of last year his health took a turn for the worst. I wanted to do something big to show this man that his strength, faith and will to live had touched many of those who had met him, including me.”
In turn, Bezos turned his project into an annual fundraising event in conjunction with students in his area.
The concept of building a pyramid from pennies is such a neat idea and the stop action video of the project is so cool, I thought my readers would be interested in watching:
If you watch this video, can someone please help me identify the background music?
Although his site and YouTube channel appears to be sporadically updated, I hope he is successful in furthering awareness to the necessity of screening and finding a cure for colorectal cancer.
May 18, 2009 | cents, US Mint
During the last and very busy week, I planned and plotted to take a long lunch so that I can visit the US Mint kiosk at Union Station to purchase rolls of the new Formative Years, or Rail Splitter 2009 Lincoln Cents. I arranged to meet a friend who was not a collector who would buy six rolls, give them to me, and I would buy lunch.
When I arrived, there was a long line. My friend and I waited over a half-hour to purchase the rolls. The scene caught the attention of The Washington Post who filed a story about the sale.
After my friend and I purchased 12 rolls of the new Lincoln Cents, we had nice lunch at a restaurant in Union Station.
What I should have done is what the collector did in the Post’s story: taken the rolls to the post office to have them stamped and post marked. Apparently, there are collectors willing to pay a premium for rolls with proof of first day of issue.
All of the rolls sold at Union Station and on Friday at the Rayburn House Office Building were from the Philadelphia Mint. Maybe I can trade a roll with someone who has rolls from the Denver Mint. I promised one roll to someone who could not be at the pickup and one roll will be used at my coin club for sale of individual coins to members. The other nine rolls will probably go on sale so I can make back the money I paid for lunch!
The US Mint has released the new Native American $1 Coin. This year’s theme is “Government–The Great Tree of Peace” featuring five bound arrows and the Hiawatha Belt. The design looks much better in hand than in the images I have seen, even those from the US Mint. It must be the gold color of the manganese, but the design seems to have a bold yet artistic feel that the US Mint should consider submitting for the next Coin of the Year competition.
Loading ...