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<p>[QUOTE="oval_man, post: 2467061, member: 22602"]"there doesn't seem to be a <i>pressing</i> need" Har-har</p><p><br /></p><p>Seriously, I really like your question and don't think it's stupid at all.</p><p><br /></p><p>Were dates included on US coins for the same reason(s) in 1794 as they are now? I can imagine a sense of pride in commemorating a country's early beginnings by dating its coinage. But foreign countries much older than ours have consistently had dated coinage. Is it primarily a matter of tradition?</p><p><br /></p><p>Maybe there's always been a fiscal reason for including dates: the mint needing to track how many new coins were needed to replace those lost to damage and wear in circulation.</p><p><br /></p><p>At any rate, certainly the US Mint realized at some point that minting dated sets would bring in revenue from collectors.</p><p><br /></p><p>All just speculation; maybe someone can correct me. Personally, not only do dates seem antiquated, but certainly the cent and maybe the nickel as well and, eventually, cash in general will be antiquated as all transactions become digital.</p><p><br /></p><p>(Btw, I read through the older thread on this topic and found interesting info and opinions but no clear answers, particularly to why there would need to be dates for <i>every</i> year of production. Certainly I can understand a date to acknowledge a design or metal composition change—but then again would anyone but collectors even care about these?)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="oval_man, post: 2467061, member: 22602"]"there doesn't seem to be a [I]pressing[/I] need" Har-har Seriously, I really like your question and don't think it's stupid at all. Were dates included on US coins for the same reason(s) in 1794 as they are now? I can imagine a sense of pride in commemorating a country's early beginnings by dating its coinage. But foreign countries much older than ours have consistently had dated coinage. Is it primarily a matter of tradition? Maybe there's always been a fiscal reason for including dates: the mint needing to track how many new coins were needed to replace those lost to damage and wear in circulation. At any rate, certainly the US Mint realized at some point that minting dated sets would bring in revenue from collectors. All just speculation; maybe someone can correct me. Personally, not only do dates seem antiquated, but certainly the cent and maybe the nickel as well and, eventually, cash in general will be antiquated as all transactions become digital. (Btw, I read through the older thread on this topic and found interesting info and opinions but no clear answers, particularly to why there would need to be dates for [I]every[/I] year of production. Certainly I can understand a date to acknowledge a design or metal composition change—but then again would anyone but collectors even care about these?)[/QUOTE]
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