Coins used to be beautiful.

Remember the buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, standing liberty quarters, walking liberty halves, and Morgan dollars? Nowadays they slap a president on a coin and call it money.

 

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I doubt many will disagree.

 

I completely agree. :thumb:

 

True. Today's coins can compete with the older coins, but they have made an effort with the state quarters set and the ATB sets. They have done the same with cents, nickles and dollar coins but would love to see them incorporate lady liberty into a coin used for circulation. Maybe a new half dollar design? (No disrespect to JFK)

 

What they are doing nowadays is revolutionary, but I'd rather go back to the old way of minting attractive coins (not US presidents).

 

Yeah, I'd like to see a different half dollar.

 

Were you alive when they were minting buffalo nickels?

 

No. Born in 1953. All those coins were in circulation when I was delivering newspapers.

 

I don't think I would include Morgan Dollars in your list of "Coins Used to be Beautiful"

The only thing uglier then a Morgan is a SBA :devil:

 

I beg to differ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think Morgans are the most beautiful coins of all.

 

If they had continued to mint coins in the same artistic style coins would be very boring, this argument has been going on for as long as coins have been minted. My advice is to collect the designs you like, regardless of when it was made there are some good looking moderns. The real problem is the restrictions the artist have to work around, remember that most of the earlier coins had higher relief giving the coin more character and detail. Also look at the talent the mint was tapping into when these designs were coming about, names like Barber and Fraser.

 

But nowadays, with the exception of the dollar, all the coins have presidents on them.

 

and i guarantee you that when we do break away from that people will be saying wow i wish they minted coins like they used to, just like when people say they dont make things like they used to. Its all about prespective

 

But when they first minted the older coins the public was saying how ugly they are. Now they changed the design the old coins are pretty while the new ones are ugly. And while I do agree that many of the new coins aren't as pretty as the old styles. Its all a matter of taste, I bet some collectors prefer modern coins to classic ones.

 

I don't know. It's hard to beat a Morgan dollar, walking liberty half, or standing liberty quarter.

 

I wasn't a fan of the Barber coins, but I've started to like them. I can't warm up to coins with presidents on them, though, except maybe the Lincoln-wheat pennies.

 

I bet in a hundred years, people will go nutso for the coins we have no. It is kinda hard to say "Our current coins are crap".

The Japanese were some of the most avid numismatists in the 19th and 18th century and they HATED their own money, they thought it woefully inferior to any other coinage, and many still do. They preferred Chinese or Korean coins.

Nowadays, those crappy coins they hated back then can be worth thousands of dollars in good condition.

 

Value is more a product of scarcity, though.

 

I always look through my Jefferson dansco and once I get into the 80's I just think what a disgrace the newer jefferson nickels are... the new coins wouldn't be near as bad if they weren't toally flat!

 

Not necessarily. 1708 10 Mon coins are very common and almost all uncirculated since the Japanese did not agree with the government that the 1708 coin was intrinsically worth 10 Mon. They can sell for $25, easy. However, a 1 Mon coin from Wakayama mint is VERY SCARCE yet can be had for $5-$15. And those long tsuho sell for mad money even though they made those coins in droves.

The difference is quality. Most old pre-meiji coins can be scarce but they look like junk. The 10 Mon 1708 was well minted and has a neat counterstamp "precious" so I guess people are drawn to the cleanliness/sharpness of the coin.
(Note: I know next to nothing about any coins except Japanese coinage. What you said "Value is more a product of scarcity, though" makes sense to me, but for Japanese coinage, not always true)