coins, coins, coins

We're collectors. Nearly everyone who works here collects something. My grandpa collects coins. Since his birthday is coming up, I went looking through our stock of coins for something unique and interesting to add to his collection.

America's First Silver Dollar was the first Thing that caught my eye. It's not a replica—it's a .903 silver coin minted when Mexico was still a Spanish colony. Based on Mexico's eight Reales silver coins, these silver dollars were legal tender in the U.S. from 1794 to 1857. He also collects the state quarters, so he might like these 51st State Quarters even though they're outside the official collection. They were privately minted after a the Senate bill that would have extended the program with quarters for Washington DC and the four US territories was anonymously blocked.

Gramps also likes to search bulk coins. When I was a kid, I used to help him go through bags and bags of unsearched coins looking for that one rare find that would make his day. This bag of Buffalo Nickels, minted between 1913 and 1938, might help him round out his nickel collection.

Our Genuine Mercury Dimes collection contains ten of these increasingly rare coins. The dimes are mounted for display with one .900 silver dime from each of the last ten years of issue (1936-1945.) And this set of Double-Dated Coins is also ready for display. It contains coins of the same denomination that shared a common production year but had different designs. For example, in 1916, the Barber dime was ending its 24-year run and the Mercury dime was beginning.

Lincoln pennies are really popular with collectors and this is the best Lincoln Penny Collection I've ever seen. 98 pennies, one from each year of issue (including the increasingly rare 1943 steel cent) are displayed in a museum-quality portfolio. It's great for both new collectors and lifetime collectors like my grandfather.

Collectors also like counterfeit coins—as long as there's a good story behind them. The Racketeer Nickel is a perfect example. Called “the most brazen coin fraud in American history,” a deaf-mute named Josh Tatum gold-plated Liberty Head Nickels and passed them off as five dollar coins. And because of a legal technicality, he was never punished for it! To reproduce Tatum's crime, we've plated these Liberty Head Nickels in 24-karat gold and mounted them for display.

Finally, no collector can resist recovered treasure. Our Sunken Treasure Coin is part of a collection of coins lost in 1809 when a British trading ship bound for India sunk in a sudden storm. The ship and its cargo were recovered in 1985. The “10 Cash” coins were packed in wooden casks and trapped in the thick mud so they are still in mint condition.

Since I can't buy every Thing I found in our collection of coins, the hardest thing now will be to decide which of these collectible coins and/or coin collections to give to Gramps for his birthday...