Category Archives: Tyler Rossi

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Rare Coins Worth Money That You Can Find in Pocket Change

The 1999 Wide AM is an example of a rare coin that can be found in pocket change. Image: CoinWeek / Adobe Stock.
The 1999 Wide AM is an example of a rare coin that can be found in pocket change. Image: CoinWeek / Adobe Stock.

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..
Both coin roll hunting and searching through pocket change can be interesting and accessible entry points into the hobby of coin collecting. It’s also a good way to make a little extra money… if you know what to look for.

Even a Henning nickel cn be found in a coin roll or pocket change
It’s fake: Henning nickel reverse.

With no exaggeration at all, I have probably searched through $5,000 to $10,000 worth of coins over the years as part of my coin roll hunting hobby. Over time, I’ve learned a number of tricks to quickly spot coins that are worth more than face value. Using them, I’ve found a Henning nickel, an almost fully delaminated quarter, a number of blank Lincoln cent planchets, and a small amount of discontinued silver coinage.

As an added benefit, when you purchase rolls of coins from a bank or receive a handful of change from a store clerk you’re technically not losing any money–you can always deposit the coins you don’t want back in a bank or just spend them.

So, what should you look out for when coin roll hunting or in your pocket change? Some coins are worth much more than others, after all, so if you’re looking to maximize the returns on your investment of time and money, then I suggest specifically looking for the following categories of coins.

A collector looks up the value of a Mercury Dime. Image: Adobe Stock.
A collector looks up the value of a Mercury Dime. Image: Adobe Stock.

Look for Eye Appeal in Pocket Change and While Coin Roll Hunting

The first category includes any high-grade or Proof coins that have nice eye appeal.

It’s almost impossible to find a truly Mint State coin while coin roll hunting. But there will be a large number that are on the verge. If you’re lucky, either the coins will have come from a brand new original mint wrapper that was full of freshly minted coins or from someone who was dumping a collection into circulation. Both are distinct possibilities, and I have found examples of each.

The second portion of this category, Proof coinage, is rarely found in circulation. When Proof coins do pop up, they are often dumped from someone’s collection. This typically happens when a relative inherits coins from a deceased family member and doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the value. Take this as a cautionary tale: even if you don’t want to tell anyone what you spent, you should keep accurate, up-to-date records.

1985-S Lincoln Cent in Proof. Image: Adobe Stock.
1985-S Lincoln Cent in Proof. Image: Adobe Stock.

Also, Mint State and Proof coinage becomes damaged through circulation very quickly and will lose most (if not all) of its value in a short amount of time. Snap it up when you find it!

Discontinued Coin Designs

The second category is one that I’ve already mentioned, and it is any coin with a discontinued design that is still knocking about circulation.

Now at this point in time, most examples are quite worn and will only be worth between $1 and $5. But you can still get lucky and find a piece in a nicer grade that’s worth much more. While the average life span of a circulating coin is 30 years, that is only an average. I’ve found numerous 100-year-old coins while coin-roll hunting – and even in my change. Plus, if a coin sits in some form of storage and is out of circulation for years before returning to public hands, it can reappear in surprisingly good condition.

While it’s rather unlikely that you’ll find a rare type of mintage, it is still possible to find Buffalo and Shield nickels, Mercury dimes, Standing Liberty quarters, or Indian Head cents worth between $5-$25 or more apiece. I have found relatively nice examples of all these while coin roll hunting.

Next, I suggest you pull any older, pre-1930 Wheat cents that you find. As these are reaching their 100th year, there aren’t many in good condition to be found in circulation. However, most will sell for between 25 and 50 cents in local coin shops. Slightly higher grade yet still circulated examples can fetch between $1 and $5.

Also, hold on to any Lincoln cents dated 1955 (they could potentially be Doubled Die Obverse (DDO) errors) and steel cents from World War II.

Pre-1964 Silver Coinage

Quick Tips for Finding Rare Coins in Rolls and Pocket Change
Uncirculated 1964-D Kennedy Half Dollar in NGC holder.

Fourth on my list is all 90% silver coinage. These are dimes, quarters, and half dollars struck prior to 1964, which is when the United States introduced clad coinage. In my personal experience, rolls of dimes produce dramatically more silver than rolls of quarters but slightly less than halves. However, it is much harder to locate half dollars because a lot of banks don’t carry them in much quantity.

But also, let me say from experience that there’s very little left in circulation. When I started nearly 15 years ago, there was already less than in previous decades (obviously).

Therefore, I suggest that, while finding a quarter or a half dollar is worth more individually and can provide a massive rush, if you’re looking for a higher gross volume of silver, then you should stick to dimes. These coins are generally not collected for their numismatic value but rather for their melt (the value of the metal they contain that could be retrieved by melting the coin). As such, these coins are often called “Junk Silver” and are bought and sold by weight. As of November 22, 2023, silver is worth $20.87 per ounce. That means a junk dime is worth about $1.79, a quarter $4.38, and a junk half dollar $8.70 (the later 40% silver halves are worth $3.56). Many dealers will purchase these for 3% to 5% below melt and sell for 3% to 5% above.

To save some time when checking your change or hunting through rolls, look at the edges; this is definitely easier than checking the date on each coin. On all modern circulating clad coinage, the copper core can be seen on the edges. Therefore, if the edge is entirely “silver” colored, then the coin is either silver or foreign.

As for Jefferson nickels, always look for the mint mark. If it’s on the reverse over Monticello, then it’s a 35% silver so-called “War nickel”.

Dramatic Errors in Pocket Change and Coin Rolls

The last category is error coinage. Through searching pocket change and full coin rolls, you can come across numerous types of errors–the vast majority of which are worth only face value. For example, coins that are very slightly off-center or with a small planchet defect.

However, if you find a coin that has a dramatic error, such as an off-metal strike or the 1955 DDO Lincoln cent mentioned above, it could be worth serious money. For example, the off-metal 1943 copper cent and silver 1965 dime are each worth thousands of dollars. These extreme errors are rare but do pop up every once in a while. Among the error coins that I’ve found are lamination errors (I sold the Washington quarter I found with a roughly 75% delaminated obverse for over $30!), off-center strikes, die clashes, blank planchets, and double-struck errors.

While I’ve made probably $500 coin-roll hunting and searching through pocket change over the years, it has provided me with countless hours of enjoyment. So, whether you simply peek a glance at the change you get at the store or you purchase a boatload of coin rolls from the bank, I would highly recommend taking the time to check. You never know what coin may be hiding in the roll.

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Sources

Potter, Ken and Brian Allen. Strike It Rich with Pocket Change: Error Coins Bring Big Money. (2021)

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Ten Worst 50 State Quarter Designs

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..

The 50 State Quarter Program, which ran from 1999 through 2008, was a wildly popular circulating commemorative program that was responsible for introducing a whole generation of new collectors to the hobby we love. Each year of the program saw the release of five new reverse designs, issued in the order that each state entered the Union. Replacing the beloved Heraldic Eagle found on the reverse of the Washington quarter since its debut in 1932 (with the exception of the Bicentennial quarter, an inspiration for this program), the 50 State Quarter reverse designs were supposed to be emblematic of the states they represented and convey something of its cultural, natural, and historic legacy.

But out of 50 coins over 10 years, some were more successful at this than others.

Of course, no list of the 10 worst of anything is going to be truly objective. And “worst” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad”, either, since in the case of the 50 State Quarters, the modern United States Mint wasn’t going to allow truly bad artwork onto the coinage. Perhaps a state-mandated concept was less than thrilling ot throttled by bureacracy. Or maybe the idea was good but the execution left something to be desired.

However it happened, here are our picks for the top 10 worst State quarter designs.

Michigan (2004)

The 2004 Michigan State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
The 2004 Michigan State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • 26th quarter in the series
  • Designer: Unknown. Mint Engraver/Sculptor: Donna Weaver

Coming in at number one on our list is the 2004 Michigan quarter. The coin’s reverse design depicts a simple outline of all the great lakes surrounding a topographical representation of the state. This was chosen from a group of five similar designs, all of which were based on an outline of the state. All other proposed designs submitted to the Mint included elements that showcased the state’s cultural and natural contributions to our nation. While arguably a well laid out design that uses the available space to good effect, the overall look is quite boring. Also, by doing only an outline of the state and lakes, Michigan is implying that they have not given or produced anything of value to the United States.

Wyoming (2007)

The 2007-P Wyoming Quarter dollar design proved to be polarizing. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
The 2007-P Wyoming Quarter dollar design proved to be polarizing. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • 44th quarter in the series
  • Designer: Donna Weaver. Mint Engraver/Sculptor: Norman E. Nemeth

As one of the most debated 50 State Quarter designs, the 2007 Wyoming quarter has been called ugly and unimaginative. The design consists of a simple cut-out shape of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. While not certain, this design is believed to be based off of a 1903 photo of cowboy Guy Holt riding a horse named Steamboat. To the right is the state motto “The Equality State”, which it adopted because it was the first state to give women the right to vote. At the time, the federal Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) approved of the design as “powerful,” and the federal Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) stated the design was “authentic.” Nevertheless, once it was released, the general public didn’t like it.

Texas (2004)

The 2004 Texas State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
The 2004 Texas State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • 28th quarter in the series
  • Designer: Daniel Miller. Mint Engraver/Sculptor: Norman E. Nemeth

Next is Texas. For such a large and important state, it’s a shame that they chose such an uninspired design. A simple depiction of the state with a five-pointed star superimposed over it does nothing to promote Texas on a national level. Only the stylized rope lariat border alludes to the “cowboy spirit” of the state.

Most of the early designs were much better; one even included a depiction of the Alamo within the state outline. One would expect that, out of the nearly 2,600 design concepts submitted, the Texas Numismatic Association could have selected a bolder, punchier, design.

Florida (2004)

The Florida State Quarter features a Spanish ship and a space shuttle. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
The Florida State Quarter features a Spanish ship and a space shuttle. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • 27th quarter in the series
  • Designer: Ralph Butler (design considerably and adversely edited by the Mint). Mint Engraver/Sculptor: T. James Ferrell

Also released in 2004, the Florida state quarter is a jumbled mishmash of design elements. While each of the three (a Spanish galleon, two Sabal palmetto trees, and a space shuttle) are well rendered individually, they do not unite in a cohesive design. Also, the significant amount of empty field, especially in the center of the coin, is slightly disconcerting.

Earlier design candidates were objectively more beautiful and did a better job promoting the state’s natural and cultural history. Unfortunatly, this was the design chosen in a three-week public vote from between a total of five options: “The Everglades”; “Fishing Capital of the World”; “St. Augustine”; “America’s Spaceport”; and the winning design “Gateway to Discovery”.

Massachusetts (2000)

Some have suggested that a design featuring Bill Buckner missing a routine grounder might have been a better choice for the Massachusetts State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
Some have suggested that a design featuring Bill Buckner missing a routine grounder might have been a better choice for the Massachusetts State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • Sixth quarter in the series
  • Designer: Two schoolchildren. Mint Engraver/Sculptor: Thomas D. Rogers

Massachusetts is yet another 50 State quarter that uses an outline as one of the main design elements. Superimposed over this map is a depiction of The Minuteman, a statue that stands in front of The Minuteman National Historical Park in Concord. While this statue does accurately represent Massachusetts’s Revolutionary War history, I have to admit, there were many more appealing ways to convey the message. For example, one of the early design proposals featured a handsome representation of Old Ironsides (USS Constitution) under full sail. Launched in 1797, she is the oldest ship still afloat.

Maryland (2000)

The 2000 Maryland State Quarter design is less impressive than the design proposed by local artist Bill Krawczewicz. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
The 2000 Maryland State Quarter design is less impressive than the design proposed by local artist Bill Krawczewicz. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • Seventh quarter in the series
  • Designer: Bill Krawczewicz. Mint Engraver/Sculptor:Thomas D. Rogers

Issued in 2000, Maryland chose to depict the statehouse tower on the reverse of its quarter. Not only is this a rather lazy representation of the state but it is also not even a very skillfully rendered depiction of the building in question. The official design is, if anything, too detailed. Interestingly, the draft version of this design, submitted as a proposal, was much more appealing. Additionally, while the oak is the state tree, why use oak branches as the second main design element? There are so many better, more interesting things to include. Overall, not the worst design, but it is one of the weakest when it comes to representing the state.

Wisconsin (2004)

The 2004 Wisconsin State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
The 2004 Wisconsin State Quarter. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • 30th quarter in the series
  • Designer: Rose Marty. Mint Engraver/Sculptor: Alfred Maletsky

While Wisconsin is called the “Dairy State” for good reason, does the state quarter really need to be all about cows and cheese? In a rather slapdash design, the coin depicts the head of a cow, a wheel of cheese, and an ear of corn.

This design was not actually supposed to be used. Instead, then-Governor Jim Doyle (D) scrapped the state panel’s choice: a handsome image of a Native American scout shaking hands with a fur trapper. Panel member Dean Amhaus, president of a Milwaukee-based tourism organization, lamented that this would only spur “more cheese head jokes.”

Idaho (2007)

The 2007 Idaho State Quarter design is for the birds. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
The 2007 Idaho State Quarter design is for the birds. Image: U.S. Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • 43rd quarter in the series
  • Designer: Don Everhart

Numismatic designs are all about proportions, and a skillful coin designer can fit almost any image onto the face of the planchet. The 2007 Idaho quarter, however, is not well proportioned. The design is dominated by a massive peregrine falcon ominously standing over a medium-sized outline of the state (again!), disrupting any balance in the composition. If either the state outline or the bird were smaller, it may have worked. As it stands, the outline is overshadowed by the bird, and almost looks to be an afterthought. To make matters worse, the level of detail employed in the falcon’s feathers stands at odds with the state’s outline and the rest of the empty fields. Also, if you squint, the position of the state makes it resemble an outstretched arm holding a gun to the bird’s head.

Earlier design proposals also did not have the best track record. Of the proposals, one even had the lyric “And here we have Idaho, winning her way to fame” taken from the state song.

New Mexico (2008)

The New Mexico State Quarter depicts a topographical representation of Walter White's home state. Image: U.S. Mint / CoinWeek.
The New Mexico State Quarter depicts a topographical representation of Walter White’s home state. Image: U.S. Mint / CoinWeek.
  • 47th quarter in the series
  • Designer: Don Everhart

Another uninspired design, the 2008 New Mexico 50 State quarter depicts the sacred sun symbol of the Zia people superimposed over a topographical map of the state. It may have been slightly better if instead of being placed off-center right below the state’s founding year (1912), the symbol were centered over the state map. Additionally, the state motto feels rather shoe-horned in at the bottom left of the design. While not outright ugly, the design is definitely uninspired.

Interestingly, unlike the other state quarters on this list, all four New Mexico quarter design finalists were quite similar, playing with a state outline and the Zia sun symbol.

Ohio (2002)


2002 Ohio State Quarter celebrates American aviation. “Wooster, we have a problem”. Image: U.S Mint / Adobe Stock.
  • 17th quarter in the series
  • Designer: Unknown. Mint Engraver/Sculptor: Donna Weaver

Lastly, we have the 2002 Ohio state quarter. This design makes much of Ohio’s aviation history. The four major design elements are: the state outline (sigh), an astronaut, the Wright brothers’ plane, and the motto “Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers”. While this claim is true (Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Orville Wright were all born in Ohio), it doesn’t make for a good design theme. The reverse feels a bit disjointed, and while there is an overarching theme (aviation), it is not put together well. Like the Florida state quarter above, it’s just a jumble of mismatched elements.

Though it’s kind of cool that the astronaut looks like the old MTV logo.

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Ten Extreme U.S. Error Coins Bring Big Prices

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. 2000-P Sacagawea Dollar and Washington Quarter Mule   Described as the holy grail of United States Mint errors, the 2000-P Sacagawea dollar and Washington quarter mule is the culmination of an unlikely series of events. First, a Mint worker responsible for a coin press striking Sacagawea dollars noticed that […]

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Ten Big U.S. Coin “Failures”

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   Not every coin produced by the United States Mint is embraced by the public or does its job for a consequential period of time. Some start out promising and then drop off, while others are spectacular failures from the outset. Here is CoinWeek’s list of Ten U.S. Coin […]

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10 Coins Worth More Than Face Value You Can Find in Change

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. 1982 No P Roosevelt Dime In 1982, the United States Mint released the first circulation coin that did not bear the correct obverse mint mark: the Roosevelt dime. This error occurred two years after Philadelphia started including a mint mark on dimes. A mint worker must have forgotten to […]

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Patina on Ancient Bronze Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Unlike modern coins, ancient coins are not held to the same minute condition requirements of the 70-point Sheldon Grading Scale. What matters instead is eye appeal, and one of the main factors that creates pleasing eye appeal is patina. So, what actually is patina? Basically, true patina is any […]

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A Collectible Counterfeit? The Story of Henning Nickels

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. A few years ago, I decided to start coin roll hunting, and with $25 I opened an account at the nearest bank that had a coin counting machine. After becoming friendly with the tellers, I began buying boxes of coins, pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters to search. While I […]

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Haloes on Ancient Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In various forms, the halo is a ubiquitous religious symbol. While most commonly seen in religious contexts such as gracing the head of Christ, a Catholic saint, or perhaps behind the head of the Buddha, the halo has also seeped into our popular culture as the title of the […]

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Pegasus on Ancient Greek Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As one of the most famous and recognizable mythical figures from the ancient Greco-Roman world to have survived into the modern day, Pegasus is a highly interesting figure that appears in many stories and on many ancient coins. The name “Pegasus” has two potential meanings. It either means “of […]

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Collecting the Canadian $2 Coin

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The date? February 19, 1996. The location? Ben’s Deli in Montreal. The plot line? The official launch of Canada’s new two dollar coin, the Toonie. February 19 did not, however, represent the first official public announcement. Officially publicized nearly a year prior on February 27, 1995 by the Minister […]

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The Coins of Portuguese Mozambique, Part 2

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Part 1 | Part 2 * * * While Portugal originally claimed a massive swath of Africa–from Angola on the west coast to Mozambique on the east coast–the British Empire disputed the Iberian nation’s right to a number of central territories. A subsequent ultimatum delivered on January 11, 1890, […]

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A Silver Drachm of Alexander of Pherae

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Backstory Born in 400 BCE, Alexander of Pherae would go on to leave an indelible mark on the Thessalian city of Pherae. While the son of the city’s tyrant, Jason, he was not first in the line of succession. This was to change quickly. After Jason was assassinated in […]

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A Brief History of the Indian Anna Coin

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Starting in 1903, the British mint in Calcutta was making plans for the eventual production of the one Anna denomination–which, prior to the decimalization of the Rupee in 1957, was equivalent to 1/16th of a Rupee. So over the next three years, the Calcutta mint produced a series of […]

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Quick Tips for Finding Rare Coins in Rolls and Pocket Change

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Searching through change and coin-roll hunting can be an interesting and accessible entry into the hobby of coin collecting. With no exaggeration at all, I have probably searched through $5,000 to $10,000 worth of coins over the years as part of my coin-roll hunting hobby. Over time, I’ve learned […]

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What Makes the Most Expensive Ancient Coins So Valuable

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As someone working in the field of “pre-modern numismatics” at NAC USA, I have the extremely rare opportunity to handle some of the best ancient coins in the world. Now, more than ever, I ask myself a deceptively complex question. What drives the value of a coin? Which factors […]

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Ottoman Coins and Currency at the End of Empire

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The Ottoman Empire was described as the “Sick Man of Europe” by the Russian tsar Nicholas I during a meeting with Austrian Prince Klemens von Metternich shortly after the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi[1] in September 1833. It was this defensive alliance that not only provoked the ire of Western […]

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Ottoman Coins and Currency at the End of Empire

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The Ottoman Empire was described as the “Sick Man of Europe” by the Russian tsar Nicholas I during a meeting with Austrian Prince Klemens von Metternich shortly after the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi[1] in September 1833. It was this defensive alliance that not only provoked the ire of Western […]

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Ottoman Coins and Currency at the End of Empire

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   The Ottoman Empire was described as the “Sick Man of Europe” by the Russian tsar Nicholas I during a meeting with Austrian Prince Klemens von Metternich shortly after the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi[1] in September 1833. It was this defensive alliance that not only provoked the ire of […]

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The Piastre in French Indochina

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   In 1847, after the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam had executed several members of the French Catholic missionary community for continued proselytizing after the criminalization of such actions, French Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly sailed into Tourane Bay (modern Đà Nẵng) and opened fire on the defending Vietnamese forces. […]

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How to Collect the American Gold Buffalo Series

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   The American Gold Buffalo program started in an interesting manner when the United States Congress introduced the new gold bullion coin as part of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. Not only did the bill lay out the design to be used (a modified version of James […]

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Ka-Ching! A Brief History of the American Cash Register

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. For thousands of years, merchants conducted business without the aid of the once-ubiquitous, and now increasingly defunct, cash register. Over the many years, store owners have used a series of lock boxes, safes, and cash drawers to keep their money organized and secure. There was always the danger of […]

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Coins of the British Palestinian Mandate

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. A great wellspring of revolution, the First World War upended the Middle East and totally eroded Ottoman control in the region. This led to extensive unrest and paved the way for the Anglo-French Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. British authorities used this agreement to create the Palestine Mandate, a political […]

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Top 10 Most Controversial US Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The 1933 Saint-Gaudens 20$ Double Eagle Sold in 2021 for $18.87 million, this is officially the most expensive coin in the world. But that’s not what makes it so controversial. Shortly after the United States Mint struck 445,500 double eagles in the spring of 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt issued […]

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The Circulation Coins of East Germany

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. When the Allies withdrew the Reichsmark from circulation in their respective occupation zones on June 20, 1948 in response to Soviet counterfeiting efforts, it was replaced by the Deutsche Mark issued by the Bank deutscher Länder, the post-war central bank of Germany founded on March 1, 1948. However, since […]

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Collecting French FDC Coin Sets

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Starting in 1964, the Paris Mint began producing a new series of special mint sets with very limited mintages. Marketed as Fleur De Coin (FDC), these sets contained between seven and 10 proof-like coins. Described on the internal information card included in all sets as “numismatic specimens” of the […]

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Money of Necessity: U.S. Military Payment Certificates

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. During World War 2, the United States Military marched straight into a monetary exchange issue: What do you use to pay your soldiers and still maintain limited control over the local economy? A large influx of a high-performing hard currency (like the U.S. Dollar) into a recently liberated yet […]

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A Brief History of Decimalization Day in the UK

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Seemingly, a 20-second conversation was all it took to undo over 1,000 years of British numismatic tradition. In 1966, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jim Callaghan walked to Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s office for a short conversation, and when asked his opinion on decimalization the PM replied, “well why not” […]

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The Numismatic Callbacks of the Game of Thrones Coinage

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. With the successful recent premiere of HBO’s House of the Dragon, a prequel to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) series of fantasy novels and the hit HBO series based on it, Game of Thrones, the franchise has seen a revival in popularity. Fans have […]

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Five Ancient Gold Coins And The Stories They Tell

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As a divine metal, gold not only served as a store of wealth for the rulers of ancient societies but it was also an earthly representation of unending and incorruptible divinity. Coins struck in gold, while definitely earthlier and more materialistic than religious or decorative items, also retained a […]

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Foreign Coins Struck by the United States Mint: The Mint in World War II

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As with during World War I, the United States Mint played a vital role in supporting the Allied powers throughout World War II. Through the 1874 Act of Congress authorizing the production of foreign coins, the Mint was able to supply 26 countries across the globe: Australia, the Belgian […]

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The Copper Coinage of George III

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Commonly known as the “Mad King” who lost the American colonies, George III was, for most of his reign, a relatively successful monarch. Since his father died young in 1751, George III came to the throne when his grandfather George II passed in 1760. The new king was the […]

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Collect This: Silver San Marino Commemorative Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Modern numismatic history in the statelet of San Marino started back in 1862. Only one year after Italy’s reunification into a single political entity in 1861, the Italian government signed a treaty with San Marino. With this agreement, the Italian monarchy officially authorized San Marino to produce currency. It […]

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Collecting Ancient Coins in an Era of Import Restrictions

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Ask a collector of ancient coins if they have ever bought a coin from an overseas vendor, and you will more likely than not receive a positive response. And while many collectors will have never experienced a problem with Customs, everyone will have heard at least a few horror […]

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Collect This: The Fabulous Italian 500 Lire Silver Coin

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In 1958, the Italian Mint in Rome began striking a silver coin that would come to be commonly called the Caravelle. The Mint would strike just under 100 million pieces for circulation from 1958 until 1967 when they subsequently began producing the same design exclusively in Brilliant Uncirculated and […]

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Medieval Greek Coins After the Fourth Crusade

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   In 1204, Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade. Less than six months later, Enrico Dandolo, the Doge of Venice; Boniface, the Marquess of Montferrat; Baldwin, Count of Flanders; and Louis I, Count of Blois signed the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae. Translated as “The Partition of the lands […]

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Chopmarked US Trade Dollars and the Current Coin Market

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. By the late 1800s, New World silver had been flowing into China for hundreds of years. When Spain conquered most of what is now Central and South America, they began producing vast quantities of silver. It is estimated that approximately 85% of the world’s silver was mined in Mexico […]

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Chopmarked US Trade Dollars in the Current Coin Market

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. By the late 1800s, New World silver had been flowing into China for hundreds of years. When Spain conquered most of what is now Central and South America, they began producing vast quantities of silver. It is estimated that approximately 85% of the world’s silver was mined in Mexico […]

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Krugerrand: The Embargoed Bullion Coin

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Whether consciously or not, money is an extremely effective tool that government possesses to disseminate a political message. Many examples can be found from both modern and ancient history of coins coming to represent a foreign people. This was as true for the Vikings who hoarded Middle Eastern silver […]

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How Were Roman Serrate Coins Made and Why?

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. An interesting group of Roman Republican coins, serrati (saw-edged) denarii have proved to be an enigma for numismatists for hundreds of years. As H. Mattingly states in his seminal 1924 piece on serrati, these Roman coins are completely different than Macedonian, Syrian, and Carthaginian serrati. Firstly, the Roman host […]

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The Italian Coins of World War 2

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Like many countries in the aftermath of World War One, Italy was riven by internal divisions. At the start of the Great War, Italy split from the Central Powers and joined the Entente. When combined with disastrously ineffective leadership, this decision–while placing Italy on the winning side–resulted in over […]

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A Look at the Ancient Coin Market Through Recent Auction Results

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Let’s take a tour through the auction records to get a sense of the value of an ancient coin. The coin in question is quite interesting. It is an arresting denarius of Augustus struck between 18 and 19 BCE at the Spanish mint of Caesaragusta, modern-day Zaragoza. On the […]

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The Aes Grave Bronze Coin During the Roman Republic

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. It is said that when Greece was building grand temples of white marble, the Romans were living in mud huts. While this is a sweeping generalization, there is some truth behind it as is demonstrated by the Republic’s earliest documented coinage, the Aes Rude or “Rough Bronze”. These proto-coins, […]

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The Last Coins of Nicholas II

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Late on the night of July 16, 1918, the “Emperor of All the Russias”, his wife, his five children, and four servants were all forced to dress and marched down to the basement of The House of Special Purpose, where they were being held. The Romanov family would never […]

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The Coins of Ancient Rhodes

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Situated on an important trade route between the Greek mainland and Ionian colonies in Turkey, the island of Rhodes slowly became one of the most powerful maritime powers in the ancient Mediterranean. Most of the islands’ inhabitants lived in three cities: Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. All three polities started […]

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Gold Maple Leaf

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Approved in 1978 by an act of the Canadian Parliament, the Royal Canadian Mint issued the world-famous gold Maple Leaf bullion coin a year later in 1979. Initially, the metal in this highly popular bullion coin was set at 99.9% purity. At its release, the Maple Leaf was the […]

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The Evolution of the Design of the Hapsburg Spanish 8 Real

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. First struck in 1497, the Spanish 8 Real quickly rose to prominence and became emblematic of a truly global empire and general financial stability. The high purity of this coin was so consistent that 8 Real coins were accepted as quality silver over time from Spain to Australia. Further […]

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A Brief Exploration of Patriotic Civil War Tokens

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. One common social impact of warfare is the general breakdown of confidence in a nation’s economic system. While seen during international conflicts such as in Germany during both World Wars and the Balkans during the fall of Yugoslavia, this erosion of confidence is particularly relevant for civil wars. While […]

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Foreign Coins Struck by the United States Mint: Cuba in the 20th Century

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Due to its geographical proximity to the US, the island of Cuba has always held a strategic position in relation to the North American mainland. This relationship dates back to pre-colonial times when the indigenous Paleo-Indian tribes arrived on the island between 5000 and 2000 BCE. While little remains […]

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The Ancient Coins of Mithridates

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   Mithridates VI Eupator (b.120 – d.63 BCE) was born into Pontic royalty under an auspicious sign. Justinus relays, in his recounting of Pompeius Trogus’s Historiae Philippicae, the story of how two comets lit the night sky for 70 consecutive days. This event was memorialized in a series of […]

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Foreign Coins Struck by the United States Mint: Fighting a Global War

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Money is the fuel that facilitates the global economy, and at no point is this more important than during a war. In 1914, the world descended into a war that would end only after leaving approximately 20 million dead and 21 million wounded or maimed. Due to a complex […]

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Hyperinflation: Five Banknotes That Signaled Economic Catastrophe

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. What is inflation? Basically, inflation is the rate, usually measured yearly, at which prices increase. When controlled by financial institutions and kept below 2% annually, inflation can actually help increase consumer demand and drive economic growth. However, if inflation starts to increase rapidly, money becomes worth significantly less. Central […]

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Bonham’s Sells Gold Medallions Created by Pablo Picasso

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   One of the most prolific and famous artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso’s artwork is instantly recognizable for its distinctive surrealist and cubist tendencies. Inevitably, like all artists whose works spanned multiple decades, Picasso’s style changed over time. In the early 1940s, Picasso began an affair with […]

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Dolphin Imagery and Olbian Cast Dolphin Coins

Fresco of dolphins, c. 1600 BC, from Knossos, Crete By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The dolphin straddled the Greek worlds of mythology, religion, and the mundane. In Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, it plays the role of a hunter who stalked fish and man alike. Similar to the lion, or any other large land-based hunter, it […]

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Foreign Coins Struck by the United States Mint in the 19th Century

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The purpose of the United States Mint is to make money. And no, I don’t just mean striking coins for the federal government. According to its Annual Report, during the 2020 fiscal year, the Mint earned approximately $40 million USD in profit. This revenue was due to the Mint’s […]

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The Boston Mint and the First Colonial Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. How, as a trade-based colony belonging to the world’s greatest maritime empire, did the Massachusetts Bay Colony begin striking the first hard currency in North America? As discussed in my article on the Knights of Malta’s right to strike coinage, I find this monetary aspect of state-building fascinating. Since […]

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The Influence of Historic and Ancient Coin Designs

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. History is a continuum and time moves linearly. Generally, as time progresses, artistic and cultural trends evolve and build upon each other. One perfect example is the Hellenistic influence seen in Buddhist artwork from the Gandharan province in the first century BCE. The Bactrian and other Greek kings who […]

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The Right to Strike: Early Coins of the Knights Hospitaller

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Now called the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, the order’s name was originally The Knights Hospitaller. A Roman Catholic religious order founded in 1048 by Italian merchants from the Amalfi coast, the group originally consisted solely of men who took […]

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The Coins and Currency of Modern North Macedonia

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Modern-day North Macedonia is a country of breathtaking natural beauty and ancient history that gained its independence in 1991 from the disintegrating Yugoslavia. A majority Slavic nation, North Macedonia has a rich monetary tradition stretching back through the socialist and royal iterations of Yugoslavia, medieval Bulgarian and Turkish empires, […]

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Beautifully Ugly Coin Portraiture

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. When it comes to coins, what do we mean when we call a numismatic portrait ugly? Are we talking about the beauty, or lack thereof, of the actual individual pictured? Or simply the skill level of the engraver? Why not both? So for this article, I have put together […]

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A Brief Guide to the Hearts of Potosí

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. First struck in 1693, the Hearts of Potosí are fascinating numismatic rarities that still command interest even after three hundred years. Struck using metal mined from the Cerro Rico (“Rich Mountain”) in Bolivia, which was believed to have been made entirely of silver, these coins were fashioned into the […]

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Ancient Chinese Coins and the World’s Oldest Mint

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In early August 2021, Han Zhao and his team of Chinese archaeologists with the State University of Zhengzhou, announced that they had discovered the “world’s oldest coin mint”. Located near the city of Xingyang in the Henan province in central China, the physical archaeological evidence and radiocarbon dating places […]

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Paper Banknotes From the Papal States

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In 1796 the French army of Italy invaded the Italian peninsula. With General Napoleon in command, the army swept through northern Italy, overthrowing various Austrian and Italian rulers before instituting the so-called “sister republics”. This did not, however, guarantee peace and tranquility. Italian nationalism was on the rise in […]

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The Fascinating World of Saint Lambert Communion Tokens

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Popularized in the 1560s by French Huguenots and Scottish Presbyterians, communion tokens quickly became a staple of northern Calvinism. These tokens first came into use as a result of an admonition by the French theologian and reformer during the Protestant Reformation. He stated that in order “to prevent the […]

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A Brief History of the Swiss Shooting Thaler

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Switzerland, a country known today as the land of neutrality, was once one of the world’s most militant cultures, birthplace to some of the most highly valued mercenaries for hundreds of years. These include the famous Swiss Guard of the Pope and the Landsknecht employed by practically every European […]

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The Gold Coins of Ancient Carthage

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Phoenician traders first landed in northern Tunis and founded Qart-Ḥadašt or the “New City” in the second half of the ninth century BCE. As part of a trans-Mediterranean trade network, Qart-Ḥadašt–also known as Carthage–quickly grew in importance and after several centuries grew to be one of the most powerful […]

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A Brief History of the Latin Monetary Union and Its Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. For many, the Euro Zone is the first single currency union in Europe. But in 1865, Napoleon III introduced the Latin Monetary Union or LMU in an attempt to make the world’s “strongest” currency. His uncle, Napoleon Bonaparte, had tried to unite Europe by military force, but Napoleon III […]

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English Civil War Siege Money

King Charles I stands centre wearing the blue sash of the Order of the Garter; Prince Rupert of the Rhine is sat next to him and Lord Lindsey stands next to the king resting his commander’s baton against the map. The Prince of Wales (later Charles II) and the Duke of York (later James II) are the two boys behind Prince Rupert’s back. The standard-bearer […]

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Dating the Ancient Shekels of Tyre

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Much has been written by eminent numismatists and religious scholars on the biblical significance of the shekels of Tyre. In fact, David Hendin, an expert American numismatist of ancient Jewish and Biblical coins, wrote an article for CoinWeek earlier this year on these fascinating coins. His article, “Graven Images […]

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The Death and Return of an Emperor: Commemorative French Napoleonic Medals

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. “It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well.”   Such was the first request made in the Last Will and Testament of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King […]

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A Contemporaneous British Take on German World War I Medals

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. German World War I medals are viewed today through three main lenses: as simple vehicles for propaganda espousing Teutonic virtues; as permissible artistic expressions of war fatigue; and lastly as early 20th-century “attack ads” against the Entente Powers. Regardless, these views are informed by hindsight. To me, the more […]

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Strong Lineup of Ancient and World Coins Feature at September CNG Sale – Happening Now

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As of Friday, August 6, 2021, Classical Numismatic Group’s (CNG) Feature Auction 118 has been open for online bidding. It will continue to be open until each lot hammers on September 13 and 14 during the live auction, which starts at 9 am EDT on Monday, the 13th. In-person […]

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A Massive Coin for a Massive Empire: The Russian 5 Kopek Copper

The Imperial Russian 5 Kopek certainly has a heft befitting such an imposing country. But why strike such large copper coins?   By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As a consequence of his extensive wars with Sweden in the late 17th century, Russian Emperor Peter the Great implemented one of the first comprehensive overhauls of […]

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Ancient Electrum Coins: The Case for Manufactured Alloys

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In 2016, archeologists discovered a small golden bead (3.175 mm, 0.148 g) while digging in the ancient village of Pazardzhik in central Bulgaria. Between 6,500 and 6,600 years old, this bead is the oldest processed gold artifact produced by human beings and is approximately four thousand years older than […]

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A Collectible Counterfeit? The Story of Henning Nickels

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. A few years ago, I decided to start coin roll hunting, and with $25 I opened an account at the nearest bank that had a coin counting machine. After becoming friendly with the tellers, I began buying boxes of coins, pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters to search. While I […]

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LGBTQ+ Representation on Ancient Coins and Tokens

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. While Pride month is over, I feel it would be interesting to dive into the history of LGBTQ+ representations on ancient coinage. This representation can take several forms. Firstly, as everyone should be aware by now, the LGBTQ+ community is not an invention of modern society. Queer individuals are […]

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Continuity and Legitimacy: The Ancient Coins of Septimius Severus

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Septimius Severus ascended to the throne in absentia as he marched from the “sleepy” Danubian province of Pannonia Superior towards the heart of imperial power in Rome. This provincial governor who ended the bloody civil war of 193 would go on to reign until his death in 211 CE […]

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On Ancient Mintmarks and Determining an Ancient Coin’s Origin

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. One of the most basic tasks of a numismatist is the identification of coins. While correctly attributing the denomination, issuing authority, and date are important, determining the mint at which a coin was struck can reveal lots of contextual information. Outside of private issues and small city-states that operate […]

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Four Reasons the Ancient Coin Market is Complicated

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. One of the most common questions I receive as a numismatist and a numismatic writer is: How much did you pay for this ancient coin? Usually followed by: How much will you sell it for? What most people want to know is will I lose money or make money […]

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The Humble Coinage of the First Seleucid King

Seleucus I Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Empire, never put his own portrait on the empire’s coinage. Why?   By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   Since coins were one of the most effective tools for mass propaganda in the pre-modern world, it quickly became standard practice for a ruler to put their likeness […]

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Monnaie de Paris Release Coins and Medals to Commemorate the Smurfs

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In 1958, the Belgian comic artist Pierre “Peyo” Culliford created Les Schtroumpfs. These lovable little blue dwarfs–more commonly known by their Dutch name, Smurfs–have since become famous across the world. Initially printed in the Belgian comics magazine Spirou and viewed as secondary characters for Peyo’s other series Johan & […]

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The Mystery of the Double-Headed Coins of Ancient Istros

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Istros, also known as Histria, was an ancient Greek colony located on the western Dobrudja coast of the Black Sea. Situated approximately 300 miles north of Byzantium, this small city was founded by Miletian traders around 657 or 656 BCE. As the oldest Greek colony on the Black Sea, […]

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Ancient Roman Coins: The Coins of Crassus

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. What does it take for an ancient historian to claim that you died by having molten gold poured down your throat? Easy – you just need to be the richest Roman to have ever lived. It also helps if you earned your vast fortune through slavery, dubious business dealings, […]

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Tyler Rossi: Ten Coins I’d Love to Own

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As an avid numismatist, I tend to be attracted to coins that tell a story. While I of course appreciate the sheer elegance and beauty many coins display, I also seek out individual pieces that bear witness to history. For this article, I used the same criteria for selecting […]

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Tyler Rossi: Ten Coins I’d Love to Own

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   As an avid numismatist, I tend to be attracted to coins that tell a story. While I of course appreciate the sheer elegance and beauty many coins display, I also seek out individual pieces that bear witness to history. For this article, I used the same criteria for […]

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Uncirculated Ancient Silver Coins for Under $1,000

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As a collector, you have many different options when deciding on your collecting strategy. And while everyone starts in a different place, most run into the two main questions of quality or price. But it is important to realize that there are no correct answers to these questions, and […]

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Changes in Portraiture on Ancient Roman Coinage

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Over the roughly one thousand years that followed the overthrew of the last king in 509 BCE, Rome underwent many cultural revolutions. Some of the most notable changes include the rise of the Triumvirates and the overthrow of the Republic, the increasingly autocratic nature of the subsequent Empire, and […]

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Prices and Coins in the Ancient World

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   When I was a kid, I walked to school both ways! When I was younger, movie tickets were only 50 cents! While these are a few of the stereotypical laments of many “older” folks, they speak to a series of deeper trends in our markets. Change is inevitable, […]

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CoinWeek Podcast #149: Collecting Coins with Bulfinch and Rossi

 CoinWeek Podcast #149: Collecting Coins with Bulfinch and Rossi. Mobile phone users. Stream this podcast for free by downloading the podomatic app or subscribe to the CoinWeek Podcast on iTunes. CoinWeek got our two newest writers Chris Bulfinch and Tyler Rossi to sit down and discuss how their childhood friendship forged through their local scouting program […]

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CoinWeek Podcast #149: Collecting Coins with Bulfinch and Rossi

CoinWeek Podcast #149: Collecting Coins with Bulfinch and Rossi Mobile phone users. Stream this podcast for free by downloading the podomatic app or subscribe to the CoinWeek Podcast on iTunes. CoinWeek Editor Charles Morgan got two of our newest writers, Chris Bulfinch and Tyler Rossi, to sit down and discuss how their childhood friendship–forged through their local […]

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Treasure Coins: Ancient Gold Coins Recovered from Shipwrecks

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The Dokos Shipwreck, the oldest in the world, was discovered by the father of underwater archaeology, Peter Throckmorton, after almost four thousand years on August 23, 1975. A simple pile of ceramics and stone anchors and other stone items devoid of all biodegradable organic material, this wreck, unfortunately, contains […]

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Ancient Roman Coins: The Many Faces of Nero

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Born on December 15 in the year 37 CE, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was not necessarily destined for greatness. He was, however, the son of one of history’s most famous women, Julia Agrippina (the Younger). After her husband, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, died in 40 CE, Julia quickly remarried to the […]

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Ancient Greek Coins: Archaic to Classical

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Archaic Greece, born out of the ruins of the Bronze Age Mycenaean culture, quickly began to dominate the eastern Mediterranean Sea. For roughly three hundred years after that great Mediterranean power–centered on the city of Mycenae but with trading cities throughout the Peloponnese and Asia Minor–violently collapsed, Greece descended […]

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Coins in Culture: Coin Collecting through Memes

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As modern-day hieroglyphics, memes are a distinctive visual language full of inside jokes and social commentary. By studying these pictural snapshots we can glean a deeper understanding of the social group which produced them. First off, what is a meme? Pronounced “MEEM” (Blackmore, 65), these “pieces of visual media […]

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Clipped Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Money equals power, and a ruler’s success often hinges on control of that power. The stability of a monetary system can reinforce a ruler’s right to rule; conversely, an unsound and vulnerable coinage can lead to disruptive social and economic issues. As a result, medieval authorities, much like their […]

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Mythologized and Mistrusted: Freemason Mark Pennies

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. A fraternal organization whose origins are purported to stretch back to ancient times, FREEMASONRY has a storied history of secrecy and is often accused of wielding influence over whole societies and governments. The first recorded evidence of the Freemason initiation comes from the diary of Elias Ashmole. On October […]

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Death Thaler……..

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. It is impossible to make generalizations about the German States during the period after the Thirty Years’ War[1] because the country we now know as a single unified Germany was then comprised of almost three hundred principalities, ranging in size and strength from the large organized states of Prussia […]

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Judaea Capta: Subjugation and Defeat on Ancient Roman Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. The year: 70 CE. The location: Jerusalem. The future emperor Titus’ legions unleashed their pent-up rage on the Jewish people as fires raged and the Second Temple crumbled. Projected by the spear tips of some 60,000 soldiers, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who believed that Roman Imperium […]

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Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Two Sides of a Bill

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a country of immense natural beauty and thousands of years of cultural history that resonates to the present day. With human habitation attested to as early as 16,000-12,000 BCE by the Badanj cave carvings, this beautiful land has been home to many peoples: Ancient […]

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The Life and Death of Pan and His Coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. First appearing during the early sixth century in Arcadia, a wild mountainous region centrally located in the Peloponnesian peninsula, the Greek god Pan served as a deeply important religious figure. As the god of the wilderness, fields, sex, shepherds, panic, and hunters, this multifaceted the god served as a […]

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Shadows of the Past: The Commemorative Olympic Coins of Failed States

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. While watching the opening ceremony to the Olympic Games, one is easily overwhelmed by the pomp and circumstance. Costing hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars to host, the Games represent a massive financial commitment by the host city and country. As such, they tend to be propagandized […]

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Collectible or Not? A Study of Ancient Coin Fourées

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Seemingly in accordance with human nature, people began producing counterfeits immediately after the first coins in the world were struck. The drive to create forgeries is perhaps older than recorded history and unfortunately finds a ready home within coinage and numismatics. As collectors, we are naturally wary of modern […]

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Young Numismatists and the Coin Collecting Merit Badge

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have long “strove to educate and enrich the youth of America”, a desire reflected in their motto, “Be Prepared”. When questioned about for what a scout should be prepared, the British scouting founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell replied: “Why, for any […]

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Ancient and Medieval Coins as Royal Propaganda

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. How does a monarch solidify legitimacy? What tools can be drawn upon to project power? Since a centralized state monopolizes the use of force, the monarch has it within his prerogative to wage war. If successful, an “US” versus “THEM” conflict is a surefire unifier of people, as personified […]

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Ancient Coin Profiles: The Indepedent Bronze Coinage of Roman Termessos

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. High in the mountains of Pisidia in Anatolia, near the Mediterranean coast of what is now southwestern Turkey), lay the remarkably well-preserved ruins of Termessos Major. Unconquered by man, the city was felled by nature when an earthquake destroyed a local aqueduct in the fifth century CE (AD). Despite […]

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Ancient Coin Profiles: The Indenpedent Bronze Coinage of Roman Termessos

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. High in the mountains of Pisidia in Anatolia, near the Mediterranean coast of what is now southwestern Turkey), lay the remarkably well-preserved ruins of Termessos Major. Unconquered by man, the city was felled by nature when an earthquake destroyed a local aqueduct in the fifth century CE (AD). Despite […]

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Emergency Issues: Collecting Meissen Porcelain Notgeld

By Tyler Rossi ….. What makes modern money valuable? Simply put – belief. The whole modern financial system rests on the simple belief that the national government guarantees the value of an inherently valueless item. However, when people lose faith in their governments, they will search out alternatives. One such solution is notgeld, examples of […]

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