Do you like modern U.S. coins?

I will not pick up a penny anymore ! I'm too fat and old for that !

If there were a pile of them , that I could shovel into 5 gallon buckets and load into my F-150, then yes.

I pass on picking up ( or even returning my beer cans ( for the 5 cent deposit in Ct). It has been 5 cents since it started circa 1980....

Well 5 cents in 1980 is like nearly 25 cents in 2012.

Everbody I know just trashes deposits cans or maybe recycles them ?

 

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It is not too distant from a JFK half.

Barbers are pretty bland.

 

Then, like I stated earlier, you've lived in better times than me.

 

I'll give an amen to that. Remember, the term modern is relative. At one time the very first ever coin struck was a modern. In 500 years the coins we use today will not be moderns. I like to think I'm just ahead of the times.

 

OK, this thread needs some pictures. While I feel the "Dead Presidents" issues have mostly run their course, I find the Sacagawea Dollar to be quite attractive. Now if people would just start using them.

As a few others have stated, I in no way feel I need to justify collecting modern coins. One of the most attractive things about the hobby is that you can make it your own. I personally don't understand collecting bullion, but that's just my opinion. To each his/her own!

 

I pick up pennies....especially if they are pre 1982! Then they are added to my box...

The other day at school, im usually the first one into my class...i found a dime under my chair of my desk!! Score!

 

Gotta love that majestic eagle on the reverse BRG.......

 

I don't really collect modern coins, thats not to say I don't like them. I tend to pick and choose certain coins because of the design. The Star Spangled Banner Commem. was an exception and I'm thinking about starting the 1/10th AGE coins too.

 

I don't dislike new coins, some of them are quite pretty, but they just don't have that history and age behind them that old coins do. The only modern US coins I actively collect are the silver eagles. I'm not even crazy about the gold eagles - I'd rather have old gold.

 

Some of the modern US coins I find quite attractive. The quarter for example (the "regular" variety, and several of the state and park quarters) I like. The Sacagawea dollar is pretty good too in my opinion - too bad the $1 coins don't really circulate. The two lowest denominations suffer from being too verbose

I'm in Europe, and collect US coins (primarily from the past 20 years) but do not use them every day. If anybody prefers to collect only those coins that are older than x years, perfectly fine with me. But I would find it strange if today's coinage looked like pieces issued 100 years ago.

Christian

 

I think old coins are great, but I also like lots of moderns. Lightly deep blue toned nickels are gorgeous. ASEs. Especially the RPs. The four 2009 Lincoln pennies. The 2004-2005 westward nickels. I definitely subscribe to Jordan's theory of the changing reverse generational shift to type collecting. I like the ATBs even better than state quarters, all of which are a huge advance over decades of the eagle reverse. Take another look at the Smithsonian commem. Wow! That reverse competes with the Platinums for outstanding Liberty design of the future. What don't all of these have? Years. And those will come.

 

I mostly like the designs of U.S. classic coinage, but I also like many modern designs as well. So to answer the OP's question...Yes, I like SOME modern U.S. coins.

-LTB

 

No one needs justification to collect anything they like. Every single one of us collect what we like, and don't understand why others like something different. If we all loved and collected the same things, imagine how dang expensive our coins would be!

The one point about modern commemoratives that just confuses me is why the relief is so low. I am just asking you Ken, would you pay $1 more to have a nice, high relief design versus the low relief coins they make now? I am sure $1 per coin would more than compensate the mint for slower run rates, but allow the mint to start making attractive coins again. They are commemoratives, meant to be collected and appreciated for their beauty. I simply cannot comprehend why the mint believes low relief is acceptable for these.

 

Roosies, $5 AGE and Ikes

 

Argh. You sure are right about that. I imagine it comes down to a CBA: price point and anticipated sales each way yields more people buying for that $1 less. Shame, that. If it's reasoned that collectors wouldn't care either way, that's just dumb.

 

I hear ya Chris. I really can't answer that. Lord knows they've got the technology and means to do it. A higher relief would be a plus and I would pay more to have it. Perhaps it's the size of the coin that limits the high relief? Remember, all (but one) of the classic commems struck were half dollar pieces. Even the UHR Saint Gaudens was struck on a smaller planchet. Maybe too much stress on the dies for the larger coins? Dunno......

 

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I like anything with gold or silver in it. Anything else is just a representation of monetary failure.

 

I've collected most US old coins over the years. These include lg cents, FE, indian, and wheaties, silver and cu/ ni 3c pieces, shield, liberty, buffalo, and Jefferson nickels, Barber, Merc, and Roosie dimes, Barber, SL and Washington quarters, WL and Franklin halfs, and Morgan and peace dollars. I've been very very proud of some of these collections though none had a lot of value.

I've also collected numerous old world coins over the years and still collect British copper back into the 1700's.

But with every single one of these collections I've had to compete with other collectors both economically and physically. They could get to the coins first and had deeper pockets. This left me holding the bag rather than the coins I loved as often as not. I made an important discovery back in 1976. I was learning how to differentiate world silver from base metal coins and noticed that many base metal coins were very beutiful and very rare and nobody cared. I collected the New Zealand 1S which is a very fine looking coin and had to get to the coin first with a lot of money to buy it but the far scarcer cu/ ni version of the same coin could languish in dealer stock for years at a far lower price. So why should I compete with everyone else for silver when the cu/ ni was overlooked?

I began studying the moderns and learning which were the wheat and which were the chaffe. Where everyone else just dismissed thm all as common junk because Yugoslavian 1953 50p coins were everywhere. It didn't seem to occur to people that the millions of this little aluminum coin might have nothing to do with another little aluminum coin from E Germ (10p) minted the same year. Today the Yugoslavian coin is still distressingly common but the German coin that listed for even less now sells for $1300. I was competing with no one at all for the German coin. If there was one anywhere I could pick it up for a dime. The trouble was in "collecting" it. It was work to track these down because they were rare and I knew they were rare because there were none.

I didn't get into moderns so much because they are rare or because they are beautiful or underappreciated. To a small extent I got into moderns because I wanted to preserve our modern heritage for future generations. To a small extent I hope to show these were basically good times by preserving the best of what we have and avoiding the worst. Peoples' beliefs are formed by what they see and the coins I saved for them are among the finest of this age. But the main reason I got into moderns is that there was almost no competition at all...

...And there still isn't.

 

[h=2]"Do you like modern U.S. coins?"[/h]Not much, I like pre-65 silver and pre-33 gold better than most other coins. I have a few moderns in my collection but mostly the older coins are the ones that grab my attention.