They all have interesting stories. Thats the interesting aspect of research. One in particular , you may find very interesting is, Fraser's Buffalo Nickel. If I told you the whole story, i'd have to .......you. Nah it's better for you to have fun researching it.
I would have to say the Barber half, so many are worn dang near smooth. It had to be one of the "hardest working" coins of all times. With all the working.... I am sure if a Barber half could talk you might get your ears full. And besides it is a cool classic design.
i always liked the story of Anne Bingham the Draped Bust model http://home.comcast.net/~reidgold/draped_busts/intro.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Bingham
Many of the top dollar coins have great stories and it would be hard to pick any one. There are also regular historical stories like coins first produced from the Dahlonega and Charlotte mint. Back in the day they had to figure out ways to move big minting machines from Philly to these locations, they had to hire folks from out of town to come set them up and train folks how to use them but due to whether everything was delayed and there were worries about how to acclimate the new employees to the environment with out making them ill etc....
Do you mean the truth or stuff made up by people to sell a coin or pretend they knew more than the other guy?
Definitely Saint-Gaudens double eagles, from the 1933 coins...to the many stories of re-importation (attempted and sucessful) of now "common dates" from Europe when it was illegal. More than likely if you have a "common" 1928, it is a re-import from a European bank. Many were hidden from the Nazis in occupied France during WW2, or sat in Swiss bank vaults.
I'd really like to read about the history of the Unions. It seems that at one point in time both known pieces were in the possession of the gentleman who implemented the gold coin withdrawal for Roosevelt. (Can't remember his name right now).
William Woodin. They were 1/2 Unions. $100 Unions never went beyond the rough sketch stage. (You'll find a description of key events involving the Half-unions in "Renaissance of American Coinage 1909-1915" and on USpatterns.com.
Thanks. I checked the USPatterns site and found it very interesting. I have the Renaissance book on my Christmas/Birthday wish list.
I would say that the Large Cents saw much of the History of the U. S. unfold! They were used during the Franco-American Naval War, the War of 1812, the Creek War, the War of Texas Independece, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War and were probably still circulating during World War I. There were other conflicts during this same time period within the U.S. and with other Countries as well that are barely ever mentioned or noted in History! Frank