Why Half Cents Deserve a Place in Every Serious Collection The United States half cent holds a peculiar distinction in American numismatics: it is simultaneously one of the most historically significant coins ever struck by the Philadelphia Mint and one of the most consistently overlooked. Authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792 and produced intermittently […]
Why I Just Watched the Biggest Regional Coin Show in Illinois—And You Should Too! You know that feeling when you stumble across something that just flips your perspective on a topic? That was me when I clicked on the YouTube video titled, “The Biggest Regional Coin Show in Illinois! All Interviews CSNS 2025.” Honestly, I […]
The Economic Crisis That Created a Collecting Category Few periods in American monetary history produced collecting material as rich in political and social commentary as the Hard Times era of roughly 1833 to 1844. The forces that gave rise to these tokens were nothing less than a constitutional battle over the soul of American banking. […]
“`html A Brief History of the Mercury Dime Struck from 1916 through 1945, the Mercury dime — formally known as the Winged Liberty Head dime — stands as one of the most beloved designs in American numismatic history. Sculptor Adolph A. Weinman created the obverse portrait during a golden era of U.S. coin design, the […]
My Mind-Blowing Journey into 18th Century Coin Making! Honestly, I didn’t think I’d have one of those “Wow, I never knew that!” moments today, but boy, was I wrong! I recently stumbled upon a video titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MylJMAc11A">I Made Coins Using 18th Century Techniques! on the watch channel, and it left me both fascinated and […]
The Art and History Behind the Design Few coins in American numismatic history generate the passionate admiration inspired by the Standing Liberty Quarter. Struck from 1916 through 1930, this 90% silver coin represents the pinnacle of the so-called Renaissance of American coinage — that remarkable period in the early twentieth century when the United States […]
The Vision Behind an American Icon Few coins in American numismatic history capture the spirit of the frontier as powerfully as the Buffalo Nickel, struck from 1913 through 1938. Officially known as the Indian Head Nickel, the series was the work of sculptor James Earle Fraser, who brought to the coin a deeply personal artistic […]
Why I Was Hooked by a Coin Dealer’s Journey at the FUN Show Recently, I stumbled upon an incredibly fascinating video that took me deep into the world of coin collecting—specifically, it chronicled the journey of a brand new dealer, Thomas Strunk, at the FUN Show. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to […]
A Nation in Crisis Looks to Higher Ground The year was 1861, and the United States was tearing itself apart. As the Civil War dragged into its early months, a wave of religious sentiment swept across the Union — a deeply human response to an era of profound uncertainty and suffering. Letters poured into the […]
A Brief History of America’s Smallest Gold Coin The gold dollar occupies a singular place in American numismatic history. Authorized by the Coinage Act of 1849 — the same legislation that responded to the California Gold Rush by dramatically expanding the nation’s gold coinage — the series ran for four decades before Congress quietly discontinued […]
