1804 Draped Bust silver dollar. Class III Restrike
Category Archives: coins questions and answers
Q&A: Why is there such a multitude of varieties of the U.S. silver dollar series from 1794 to 1803?
1804 Draped Bust silver dollar. Class III Restrike
Q&A: As the American colonies were once British possessions, why did we not adopt the sterling currency system?
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The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: As the American colonies were once British possessions, why did we not adopt the sterling currency system, as did most other countries that subsequently emerged from British domination?
A: The reason was not, as some have suggested, to disassociate the United States from everything English
Q&A: As the American colonies were once British possessions, why did we not adopt the sterling currency system?
Hover to zoom.
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: As the American colonies were once British possessions, why did we not adopt the sterling currency system, as did most other countries that subsequently emerged from British domination?
A: The reason was not, as some have suggested, to disassociate the United States from everything English
Q&A: Who argued for the inclusion of a silver half dime among the early coinage denominations, and what was his argument?
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The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Jefferson and Hamilton favored the copper half cent as a coin useful to the poor
Q&A: Who argued for the inclusion of a silver half dime among the early coinage denominations, and what was his argument?
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The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Jefferson and Hamilton favored the copper half cent as a coin useful to the poor
Q&A: I’d like to add a 1970 half dollar to my collection. . .
1970-D Kennedy half dollar PCGS MS-67. PCGS Population 15 with none finer
Q&A: I’d like to add a 1970 half dollar to my collection. . .
1970-D Kennedy half dollar PCGS MS-67. PCGS Population 15 with none finer
Q&A: I’d like to add a 1970 half dollar to my collection. . .
1970-D Kennedy half dollar PCGS MS-67. PCGS Population 15 with none finer
Q&A: I’d like to add a 1970 half dollar to my collection. . .
1970-D Kennedy half dollar PCGS MS-67. PCGS Population 15 with none finer
Q&A: Why did the United States begin producing nickel five-cent coins in 1866 when they had been, and still were, coining silver half dimes?
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The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Why did the United States begin producing nickel five-cent coins in 1866 when they had been, and still were, coining silver half dimes?
A: The onset of war, with its requirement of vast expenditures of money and the orientation of priorities for non-consumer goods, traditionally creates inflationary monetary conditions
Q&A: Why did the United States begin producing nickel five-cent coins in 1866 when they had been, and still were, coining silver half dimes?
Hover to zoom.
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Why did the United States begin producing nickel five-cent coins in 1866 when they had been, and still were, coining silver half dimes?
A: The onset of war, with its requirement of vast expenditures of money and the orientation of priorities for non-consumer goods, traditionally creates inflationary monetary conditions
Q&A: Why were the rays from 1853 quarters not continued on future designs?
1853 Liberty Seated quarter, Arrows and Rays, PCGS MS-66. Image by PCGS
Coins Q&A: Selling online
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Selling your coins yourself, in online auctions, can be fun if you have the time and talent to do it. This typically requires some skill with scanning or photography (buyers like to examine potential purchases)
Coins Q&A: Selling online
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Selling your coins yourself, in online auctions, can be fun if you have the time and talent to do it. This typically requires some skill with scanning or photography (buyers like to examine potential purchases)
Coins Q&A: Selling online
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Selling your coins yourself, in online auctions, can be fun if you have the time and talent to do it. This typically requires some skill with scanning or photography (buyers like to examine potential purchases)
Q&A: What is private gold?
1853 $1 BG-503 eagle (Regular Strike). Images by the Professional Coin Grading Service
Q&A: Are the so-called restored date Buffalo nickels considered valuable as collectors’ items?
1937-D nickel three-legs (Regular Strike). Image by PCGS CoinFacts
Q&A: Is collecting any type of coin a good investment?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Is collecting any type of coin a good investment?
A: No! The hobby collector—be it of coins, back-scratchers, or Bavarian beer mugs—is occasionally persuaded to purchase by impulse or sentiment. Indulging frequent lapses into irrationality is part of the fun of maintaining a hobby
Q&A: Is collecting any type of coin a good investment?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Is collecting any type of coin a good investment?
A: No! The hobby collector—be it of coins, back-scratchers, or Bavarian beer mugs—is occasionally persuaded to purchase by impulse or sentiment. Indulging frequent lapses into irrationality is part of the fun of maintaining a hobby
Q&A: What is considered to be the most improbable example of a multiple major error coin?
1937-D nickel three-legs (Regular Strike). Image by PCGS CoinFacts
Q&A: What are California fractional gold pieces?
1865/4 25C BG-736 (Regular Strike). PCGS AU-53
Q&A: Is the 1936 Arkansas Centennial commemorative coin the only U.S. coin to bear the portrait of a living person?
Arkansas Centennial commemorative silver half dollar. Hover to zoom
Q&A: Is the 1936 Arkansas Centennial commemorative coin the only U.S. coin to bear the portrait of a living person?
Arkansas Centennial commemorative silver half dollar. Hover to zoom
Q&A: What causes a missing or weak “4” on 1943 steel cents?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: I have a number of 1943 steel cents on which the “4” of 1943 is either weak or missing. What caused this?
A: The missing or weak numeral (or letter) error is generally caused by the concerned area of the die filling with dirt, grease, or metal particles which harden and prevent coin planchet metal from flowing into that area of the die as intended, which softens or eliminates the intended raising of the numeral or letter
What causes a missing or weak “4” on 1943 steel cents?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: I have a number of 1943 steel cents on which the “4” of 1943 is either weak or missing. What caused this?
A: The missing or weak numeral (or letter) error is generally caused by the concerned area of the die filling with dirt, grease, or metal particles which harden and prevent coin planchet metal from flowing into that area of the die as intended, which softens or eliminates the intended raising of the numeral or letter
Q&A: Can we account for the upsurge of interest in recent years in mint errors?
An example of a clipped planchet, a type of Mint error that is increasingly less likely to occur. Photo by economicrealist
Q&A: Can we account for the upsurge of interest in recent years in mint errors?
An example of a clipped planchet, a type of Mint error that is increasingly less likely to occur. Photo by economicrealist
Q&A: Can we account for the upsurge of interest in recent years in mint errors?
The following Q&A is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Can you account for the upsurge of interest in recent years in mint errors?
A: Major mint errors—overdates, off-center strikes, and multiple strikes—have long been of great interest to most collectors. Some of the more significant mint errors—die breaks, double dates, and clipped planchets—have also enjoyed a small but enthusiastic following for many years
Q&A: Is any particular course available to teach me the “know-how” of coin collecting?
The following is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Is there any course available which would teach me the “know-how” of the hobby of coin collecting?
A: Not in the academic sense, but neither is there a school to train presidents. Desire is the motive and application is the means to acquiring a working knowledge of coin collecting
Q&A: How was the three-cent denomination introduced?
The following is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: People have told me that the three-cent denomination was introduced into our coinage system because of the postal situation at the time. Could you explain this for me?
A: There were two principal reasons for the introduction of the three-cent piece, or “trime” as it came to be referenced in Treasury documents
Q&A: How was the three-cent denomination introduced?
1866 three-cent nickel. Hover to zoom
Q&A: How was the three-cent denomination introduced?
1866 three-cent nickel. Hover to zoom
Q&A: How was the three-cent denomination introduced?
The following is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: People have told me that the three-cent denomination was introduced into our coinage system because of the postal situation at the time. Could you explain this for me?
A: There were two principal reasons for the introduction of the three-cent piece, or “trime” as it came to be referenced in Treasury documents
Q&A: Is it true that the Standing Liberty quarters struck from 1917 through 1930 were illegal?
The following is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Who was the model for the Standing Liberty depicted on Hermon MacNeil’s beautiful quarter?
A: MacNeil acknowledged that his rendition of a standing or striding armed Liberty was inspired by Roty’s early 20th century “sowing Marianne” of the French silver coinage. The actual model was 22-year-old Miss Dora Doscher (later Mrs
Q&A: Mercury dime Mint errors
The following is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Can you explain what is meant by a 1942/41 dime? Is it a dime struck with a dual date?
A: Two major “overdate” Mint errors exist for 1942, one from the Philadelphia Mint and one from the Denver Mint. Both were produced when production dies in the preparation process were first sunk with a 1941-dated hub die and then, by accident, finished with 1942 hub dies
Q&A: Which of the branch mints was the first to strike quarter dollars?
The following is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: Which of the branch mints was the first to strike quarter dollars?
A: The New Orleans Mint began striking Liberty Seated quarter dollars in 1840. The San Francisco Mint followed in 1855
Q&A: What are the most significant issues in the modern U.S. Mint commemorative series?
The following is excerpted from Clifford Mishler’s Coins: Questions & Answers:
Q: What do you consider to be the most significant issues within the modern commemorative series?
Hover to zoom. Image courtesy of APMEX