coin collecting basics

Presented By
Ginger Bing
 A little about me
• member of the Pasadena, Bellaire, and Greater Houston
Coin Clubs, American Numismatic Association, Texas
Numismatic Association and Society of Paper Money
Collectors
• vice president of the Pasadena Coin Club.
• I have attended three summer seminars held by the
American Numismatic Association.
• The seminars are held once a year in Colorado Springs,
Colorado and are the highlight of the numismatic year.
The two, one-week sessions are held at the beginning of
July. The Association brings in the top numismatist in
each subject from across the country to teach the classes.
Collecting Terms
Numismatics- the study and collecting of things
that are used as money, including coins, tokens,
paper bills and medals

Currency- any kind of money, coins or paper

money, that is used as a medium of exchange

Planchet- the blank piece of metal that the coin

design is stamped on
A few more terms
Denomination- the different values of money.
Circulating US coins are currently made in
following denominations: cent, nickel, dime,
quarter, half dollar and dollar

Die- an engraved stamp used for impressing a

design upon a planchet to make a coin.

Mint mark- a small letter on a coin identifying

which of the US Mint’s facilities struck the coin.
US mints and mint marks
Plain- No Mint Mark
D- Denver, Colorado
S- San Francisco, California
P- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
W- West Point, New York
O- New Orleans, Louisiana
CC- Carson City, Nevada
Which is it?
Front & Back or
Obverse & Reverse of a coin?

The answer is: the obverse and reverse.

Obverse is the front of a coin
Reverse is the back of a coin.
Circulating Coins
The circulating coins were first issued as
following:
Cent 1793-current
5 cent 1866-current
Dime 1796-current
Half Dollar 1794-1797, 1801-current
Dollar 1794-1935, 1971-1981, 1999-
current (clad), 1849-1889 (gold)
Other coins that have been
minted

Half cent 1793-1857

Two cent 1864-1873
Silver three cent 1851-1873
Nickel three cent 1865-1889
Half disme/dime 1794-1873
Twenty cent 1875-1878
A few facts
The US Mint website states the approximate
life span of a coin is 30 years.
By law a coin design has to stay in
circulation for at least 25 years before it can
be considered for redesign.
This law has been on the books since 1890,
because of frequent design changes.
Why Lincoln?
The Lincoln cent was first issued in 1909 to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth.
This was the first time a historical, nonallegorical
figure was used on a circulating coin of the US.
His 150th birthday in 1959 resulted in the Lincoln
Memorial replacing the wheatears found on the
Lincoln cents of 1909-1958.
Currently there is talk about a new reverse design
to commemorate Lincoln’s 200th birthday in 2009.
Franklin Roosevelt and the dime
The death of Franklin Roosevelt promoted
many requests to the Treasury Department
to honor the president by placing his portrait
on a coin.
Less than one year after his death the dime
bearing Roosevelt was released to the
public on FDR’s birthday, Jan 30,1946.
Washington on the Quarter
The portrait of George Washington that
appears on the quarters minted from 1932 to
today was selected to commemorate the 200th
anniversary of our first president’s birth.
About $100 of Washington’s silver was
reportedly used to mint the first US coins. The
coins were half dismes and the portrait may
have been modeled after Martha Washington.
 JFK
The assassination of President John F.
Kennedy generated such an outpouring of
public sentiment that President Lyndon
Johnson sent legislation to Congress to
authorize the Treasury Department to issue
new 50 cent pieces.
The first Kennedy half-dollars were minted
on Feb. 11, 1964.
Coin Grading
Note these are not all the grades only a sample

About good- very About uncirculated-

heavily worn with with traces of wear on
portions of the nearly all of the
lettering, date, and highest areas. At least
legends being worn half of the original
smooth mint luster is present
Fine- moderate to Very choice about
considerable even uncirculated- the barest
wear. Entire design is trace of may be seen on
bold. All lettering one or more of the high
visible, but with some points of the design. No
weaknesses. major detracting marks
To learn more about grading..

The book to have is:

Official ANA Grading Standards
for United States Coins
Holding Coins

Always hold with care and clean hands

Always hold on the rims or edges
Hold over a soft cloth or towel
Less handling is always best
To learn more about coin
collecting
American Numismatic Association
 www.money.org
United States Mint
 www.usmint.gov
Krause Publications
 www.krause.com
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
 www.frbsf.org
Local Coin Clubs
Pasadena Coin Club
 Meets 2nd and 4th Monday @ Golden Corral,
4021 Spencer, meets starts at 7 pm
Bellaire Coin Club
 Meets 1st and 3rd Monday @ Bellaire Public
Library, 5111 Jessamine Second Floor 6-8pm
Greater Houston Coin Club
 Meets 3rd Thursday @ Fair Haven Methodist
Church, 1330 Gessner, meets start at 7:30pm
National and Regional Clubs
American Numismatic Association
 www.money.org, 818 North Cascade Ave,
Colorado Springs, CO 80903, 1-800-367-9723
Society of Paper Money Collectors
 www.spmc.org
Texas Numismatic Association
 Hal Cherry, TNA Secretary, P.O. Box 852165,
Richardson, Texas 75085-2165