Coin trivia!!!

I really liked the ones clinker did so I thought I would start one.

Did you know???
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• The first coinage struck specifically for the English-American colonies was called the "Hogge Money" of Bermuda and was minted in London. The name was derived from the fact that hogs were very plentiful on Bermuda.
• The first regular issue cent, struck in 1793, is referred to as a "chain cent". It derived its name from the reverse design which is a circular chain of 15 links.
• James Longacre was the designer of the Indian Head cent. The initial "L" is on the bonnet ribbon of the headdress, right below the last feather. The initial is on the coins from 1864 and after.
• The Shield nickel from 1866 to 1883 was the first nickel to have "In God We Trust" on it.
• The term "Mercury Dime" is actually a misnomer. The designer of the coin was Adolph Weinman. The bust is Weinman's design of Liberty, which was required by the coinage law, and the wings on the Liberty Cap was to symbolize freedom of thought.

• That the fist time E PLURIBUS UNUM appeared on a coin made by the US Mint was on the 1795 Liberty Cap-Heraldic Eagle gold half eagle.
• That a foreign coin was the principal coin of the American colonies. The Spanish milled dollar, known as the "pillar dollar" and "piece of eight" was legal in the U.S. until 1857.
• That the public and the Treasury Dept. did not like the large cents. The public because of it's size and weight, and the Treasury, because it was so expensive to produce.
• That the two-cent piece was produced in 1864 to try to relieve the coin shortage resulting from the hoarding of coins during the Civil War era.
• That the word "dime" comes from the Latin word "decima" which means "tenth part".
• That only three commemorative quarters have been issued by the U.S. Mint. They are the 1893 Isabella quarter, the 1932 Washington Head quarter, and the Bicentennial 1776-1976 quarter.

• That the Kennedy half dollar has been issued in three different metallic varieties - .900 Fine Silver in 1964, .400 clad silver from 1965 - 1970 and cupro-nickel clad copper since 1971.
• That more examples of the Kennedy half dollar were produced during its first eight years than the combined production of half dollars in the previous 170 years.
• That the Peace Dollar represents the first time where the word "Peace" was used on a coin of any nation.
• That the U.S. Mint has no record that the 10 1884 and 5 1885 proof Trade dollars known to exist were ever produced. If this is true, then the coins are illegal.
• That when the mint gets ready to produce proofs, both the dies and the coin blanks are polished.
• That the test performed to determine the purity of a metal in a coin is called an assay.

• That the Saint-Gauden's double eagle is the only modern coin of the United States to have a lettered edge prior to the presidential dollars in 2007.
• That the first gold dollars issued in the U.S. were not by the government, but by a private coiner named Christopher Bechtler at a private mint he maintained at Rutherfordton, No. Carolina.
• That the largest gold nugget on record was found in 1869 in Victoria, Australia. It weighed 208 pounds.
• That the three major categories of errors are considered to be: die errors, planchet errors, and striking errors.
• That during the Civil War, the Confederacy issued approximately $2.5 Billion dollars.
• That the motto IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on a coin of the U.S. in 1864, during the Civil War.

• According to the Mint the life span of a brass or bronze cent is 25 years.
• The first million dollar sale of a single private coin collection was that of George F. Scanlon auctioned by Stack's on Oct. 24-27, 1973. It brought $1,093,890.00. He had only collected for 10 years.
• That the Boy Scouts of America added a merit badge for coin collecting in 1937.
• The 1915 Pan-Pacific half dollar was the first commemorative coin to have the "IN GOD WE TRUST" motto.
• The 1792 cent pattern with silver center plug was the first U.S. cent to bring more than $100,000.00. It brought $105,000.00 at auction on Sept. 20, 1974.
• The Smithsonian Coin Collection has approximately 850,000 coins.
• That Franklin D. Roosevelt's profile was put on the dime in February, 1946, ten months after his death.

• That the 1900 Lafayette commemorative silver dollar was the first U.S. coin to bear the portrait of an American, and the first to bear the portrait of a President of the United States. Washington and Lafayette both appeared on the coin.
• That mint marks first appeared on U.S. coins in 1838 with the opening of branch mints at New Orleans (O), Dahlonega, GA (D), and Charlotte (C).
• That the building housing the first United States Mint was built on Seventh Street in Philadelphia. The cornerstone was laid on July 31, 1792. The power for the mint was provided by two oxen, and it was guarded by a dog called Nero. The United States has continuously operated a mint in Philadelphia since that time.
• That the smallest monetary unit ever issued in the U.S. was the half cent. It was minted from 1793 through 1857.
• That the design for the Jefferson Nickel came from an open competition outside the mint for a $1000 prize. Felix Schlag was the winning designer. His initials "FS" were added below the bust in 1966.
• That the two-cent piece of 1864 was the first U.S. coin to have IN GOD WE TRUST appear as a motto on the coin.

• That the Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar was the first coin to feature an African-American.
• That the decimal currency system which we use today was first proposed by Thomas Jefferson.
• That the Philadelphia Mint mark (P) appears on all of the coins minted there except the Lincoln cent.
• That Calvin Coolidge was the first President to have his picture appear on a coin while he was still living.
• That liberty, peace, and strength and independence are represented on the Roosevelt dime by the torch, the olive branch, and the oak branch.
• That because of the Coinage Act of 1965, mint marks were not put on coins in 1965, 1966, or 1967.
• That before we had a national Mint, "currency" included livestock, produce, wampum, and foreign and colonial money.

• That the British Crown would not allow the colonies to issue coinage in order to prolong their dependence on England.
• That the Continental Dollar of 1776 was the first silver dollar size coin ever proposed for the United States.
• That the first coin produced in the first U.S. Mint was a pattern half disme struck in July, 1792, while the mint was still under construction.
• That the bust of Liberty shown on the 1792 half disme is believed to be Martha Washington. If this is true, then it means that she is the first American citizen to appear on a U.S. coin.
• That the first zinc cents were struck on Dec. 17th, 1981, but were dated 1982. They were struck at the West Point Bullion Depository.
• That from 1837 to 1964 the dime was 90% silver and 10% copper. The copper was to increase the hardness and thus the wear.

• That there are three dies used to strike a coin. The upper die, the lower or anvil die, and the collar.
• That the Lincoln cent is the most widely collected coin produced by the U.S. Mint.
• That IN GOD WE TRUST never appeared on a half dime.
• That Booker T. Washington was the first black American to appear on a U.S. coin. The Booker T. Washington Commemorative Half Dollar.
• That Isaac Scott Hathaway was the first black American to design a U.S. coin. The Booker T. Washington Commemorative Half Dollar.
• That Governor Thomas E. Kilby of Alabama was the first person to appear on a U.S. coin while he was still living. He was on the 1921 Alabama Centennial half dollar.

• Scotland struck the first dollar coin in 1676. The United States didn't issue a dollar coin until 1794.
• The 1792 Coinage Act called for the issue of a "mill" coin. Although it was never actually struck, it is still an official denomination. As a dime is a tenth of a dollar, a mill is a thousandth of a dollar.
• The city of Dayton, Ohio used the obverse of a large cent, the head and 13 stars for its official seal.
• The War Revenue Act of 1898 was used to authorize the minting of 109 million silver dollars to pay for the Spanish American War.
• The Washington quarter was originally struck in 1932 to commemorate the 200th birthday of George Washington. It wasn't until 1934 that it was continued as a regular issue coin.
• That President Franklin D. Roosevelt was both a stamp collector and a coin collector. His collection was sold many years after his death.
• That the Washington quarter was the first clad coin to be released to circulation.(Nov. 1, 1965)
• The New Orleans Mint was the first to strike quarter dollars with a mint mark. Liberty Seated quarter dollars were struck in 1840.
• The Law of April 2, 1792, established the dollar as the "unit" of the U.S. decimal system of coinage.
• The first commemorative coin of record was issued by Anaxilas of Rhegium in 480 B.C. to commemorate his chariot victory at the Elis Olympic Games.
• No gold coins are held by the Treasury Department. All gold held by the government is in the form of gold bullion.
• Rutherford County, North Carolina, supplied most of the nation's gold from 1790 to 1840.

And another thing people ALWAYS talk about here is if it is legal to deface coins. Yes it is LEGAL. You just cant use it for currency AFTER you deface it. According to U.S. code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331:

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; or Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or lightened --
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."


Thanks for reading and please comment!!!!!!!

PLEASE do not regard any of this as fact. I am now learning many of these are not true. I have corrected many of the errors.
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So much knowledge... O.O

Nice read!

 

Thanks!
BTW How common is it to find $20 star notes in circulation?
I found a 2004 the other day.

 

Interesting reading . . . mahalo for the research.

 

Ro Freaky GarrettC

Thanks for your research, compiling ands sharing,,,

Clinker

 

What is a lettered eagle?



If you meant lettered edge then how about Presidential Dollars?

 

Um, what? Quarter dollars have been minted since 1796, and Philadelphia was the first to mint them.

Even if you want to be strict about the coin having to say "quarter dollar" on it rather than "25c" to call it a quarter dollar... then it still would have been minted since 1838, again in Philadelphia first.

 

Maybe the first to strike with a mint mark....
Sorry didn't specify...

 

The had edge lettering? I didn't know that.

Ruben

 

Not all of them. The ones with edge lettering demand much higher prices.

 

What about the 1786 - 1788 New Jersey Cents:

http://www.coinfacts.com/colonial_coins/new_jersey_coppers/new_jersey_coppers.htm

Or how about the 1787 Brasher Doubloon?

http://www.coinfacts.com/colonial_coins/brasher_doubloons/brasher_doubloon.htm

Or how about the 1787 New York Excelsior Cent:

http://www.coinfacts.com/colonial_coins/new_york_coppers/1787_ny_excelsior_eagle_left.htm


While it can be said that on officially minted coins of the US, the earlier statement is true, but that provision should be added to make it more correct.

Ribbit

Ps: I think I left off something but I can't remember what it is at this time. :goofer:

 

Thanks I will correct that.

 

Pretty good but not quite true.Spanish milled dollars were legal tender from 1793 - 1801, 1806 - 1809, and 1843 to 1857. Spanish COLONIAL milled dollars were legal tender from 1834 to 1843 from Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Central America, and from Mexico only from 1843 to 1857. NO Spanish dollar, home or colonial, were legal tender from 1810 to 1834.

True if you restrict it to circulation coins. The 1984 Olympic dollar also had a lettered edge.

And was the first building built for the US Government

Since 1980.

Unless they were struck using an"open collar" with a lettered edge in which case there are four dies, obv, rev, and two edge dies, or the Saint-Gaudens eagle, and double eagle which used five, obv, rev, and a three collar dies.

Silver dollars or Mexican Pesos?

Read it again, as long as you are not trying to fraudulently pass the coin it is perfectly legal. One exception is if you have placed advertising on it (different section of the law). So counterstamping your business name or placing a sticker with your company name etc on the coin and then spending it is NOT legal,

No, ALL of the Saint-Gaudens double eagles have edge lettering. There may be a pattern or two that don't, I don't remember.

 

Washington quarter vs. Roosevelt dime:

Which has more edge reeds? Clue...one has exactly 1 more edge reed than the other...

 

True or False??

Canada minted a $1,000,000 face value coin that weighs 100 kg.

 

True, it is gold.

 

Correct!! http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270133,00.html

 

There was a thread about it being up for auction:

http://www.cointalk.com/t114358/

 

Do tell!!! No way I'm going to count the reeds . . . Not exactly feeling like doing the research either. Blahhhh. Glad I've got Coin Talk to replace tv.