Cut and pasted from another thread Sylvester brings up an interesting point especially when answering questions of newbies. Even though I have been collecting for several years, I still consider myself somewhat of a newbie. Is there a numismatic dictionary that explains the difference between or when ceratin terms should be used? cent or penny *** nickel or 5 cent piece ***device or portrait ***error or flaw I know there are some definitions in the back of my Photgrade book, but is there a "Webster's" for coins?
Sometimes our numismatic terms can be used to poke a little fun at each other. When I meet new customers who ask for a nickel, I ask, One Cent, Three Cent, or Five Cent? For Pennies, they receive the English Penny. Sylvester made one comment in the other thread about Lincoln on the reverse of the cent. He is on the reverse. Sitting there in his memorial. This can be a fun hobby along with providing knowledge and a means to spend our hard earned dollars. As far as feeling like a newbie, spend a few hours looking over the writings of David Bowers or Breen or Kagin or many others and most of us will feel like newbies.
Yes indeed. 1856-1864 cents were made from cupro-nickle alloy. The same alloy used for 3 and 5 cent coins, although a higher percentage of copper gives them a "tan" color. These are often refered to as "white" pennies.
Ha i picked a bad example there with the Lincoln! I forgot he was on both sides of the coin, but the overall point still stands, as the date side is still the obverse.
