What was the last great US coin?

To be great it has to be made of a valuae metal. So anything after 1964 is immediately out of the discussion.
I think it's the Walker. Classic design and 90% silver. Both obverse and reverse designs are beautiful which can't be said about many coins. Plus the US bullion coin was modeled after it.
There are many more great classic coins, but the LAST one I believe was the Walker.

 

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Most of the state quarter designs are pathetic. Just a mish-mash of random things thrown haphazzardly onto a coin.
The new state park series is awesome. The overall designs are so much better. I really like the boarder that goes around the edge of the coin framing each design as well as each coin only having one subject for the design. I think the mint really nailed it on this series.

 

From a design standpoint that represents the ideals this country was found on, without a doubt!

 

They (the mint) certainly appeared to learn some good lessons from their first attempt. I agree that many of the ATB designs are far better than the state quarters. That being said, I don't think any of them fall under the "last great coin" category. In my mind, you can't know that until the coin has time to "age." I think I agree with the opinion voiced earlier that the coin should be 1964 or earlier.

 

ASE as a remake of the Walker is the most recent coin with a 'great' design. And it's made of silver...

 

For me, the "last" made great American coin was the WL Half. It was a beautiful design. I also loved the Mercury Dime...but it stopped production in 1945 while the WL made it to '47. So, the "last" is the WL.

While I agree with you...I would love to see Lady Liberty back on our coins, we would no doubt be disappointed with the results. Since we last saw Lady Liberty circulating...there has been a couple major changes in our coins. First...the material has changed. Modern dies are now made of very hard nickel-clad alloys as opposed to the softer silver. The modern designs are VERY low relief and not very esthetically pleasing. Part of that is due to a harder medium...but I think it's also a change in how these coins are thought of. No longer are they a work of art, they are now a massed produced image. The design can't be too high relief or intricate because die wear will become apparent faster. It's all about economic high production.

Bottom line, I think Lady Liberty in 2014 would look very different from when we last saw her in 1947.

 

I didn't say the ATB coins are the last great coins minted, I was just saying they all have very nice designs and the series overall is great.
I do agree that a coin needs time to age before it can really be appreciated and called great.

 

Franklin Half - last complete series struck in 90% silver.

 

My vote is also for the Walking Liberty Half and Mercury Dime.

 

While I like the Walking Liberty half, I still think the Standing Liberty quarter is much more pleasing to the eyes, especially Type 1!

 

Oh.. I was going with start date as the cutoff.. if it goes by end date then it's definitely the WL half...

 

By end date the last good coin was the walking liberty half the last great coin was the st gaudens $20 in my opinion as great as some of the coins are it's been all downhill since 1807 and the end of the draped bust

 

Seated Liberty's. Nuff said.

 

The last coin they made that when I see it I think "that's great!" is the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle.

 

last great cent- indian head
last great 5c - buffalo
last great dime- mercury
last great quarter- standing liberty
last great half- walker
last great dollar- peace dollar

if i had to choose one, peace dollars

 

I would love to have one of those. Such an amazing coin.

 

I agree many great coins have been discussed to this point, but my eyes always fall back to the draped bust coins. They are my all time favorite!
Flying eagle cents are a close second.

 

First time posting here. I'm going with the one ounce gold buffalo proof. I've always loved the nickel but those images on 24kt gold at that size is stunning. The 2006 proof in particular is very sharp and finely detailed compared to all other years. The frosting on the devices is so fine and perfect that an oddly colored rainbow shimmers across it in direct sunlight.

The UHR Double Eagle is close because of the edge lettering (besides being such a great design) but the quality of the edge lettering is too crude for such a beautiful coin to be "great". I'd have paid a few extra FRN's for some skilled people to hand finish the edges. That would have made it a great US coin.

 

Yeah, walking liberty. Since then it's not so inspiring - a few decent designs, but without real silver or gold it's just business. Since it isn't likely that "real" metal will every be used in coins again - I guess it makes collecting the silver and gold stuff all the more interesting.
Duk

 

Ironic of course, since "liberty" was unobtainable by so many people of color during the entire era of silver and gold coinage. But hey, I find the the Charlotte, New Orleans and Dahlonega mintage really interesting, so ............
dt