Coin Expert?

What makes you an expert? I get this question all the time; I also think about it a lot. I think a lot depends on who you are with, and what you are talking about. I can find a famous, well respected, US Coin guy who would not be an expert on ancient Chinese coins....

ANA & Copper Coins (2 of 2)

Early American Coppers (EAC), or copper coins, was another transition. More common than some of the pre-colonial, but ohh how hard they are to identify. With so many from ground finds, and being made of copper = challenge! We covered large cents and 1/2¢. Those half’s...

Colorado Springs & CC

Greetings From ANA So I have been remiss in posting, but I have a super good excuse. I am out in Colorado Springs at the ANA Summer Session (summer seminar) (both weeks), so the numismatist out there knows what I am talking about. For those of you that are thinking,...

Circulated vs. Uncirculated Rolls

Come On! For anyone that has ever worked retail, you know that there are two kinds of coin rolls. The ones that you can pry open, and the ones you crack on the corner of the drawer and hope that the drawer does not break off!  For those of you that have not, let me...

Pattern coins……so much for change

The Old Standby Ever think that US money is kind of boring? Go on, admit it, you know it is. It is almost like there is a formula for our coins today. Old dead white dude on the obverse, American iconic image on the reverse. For the coins in our pocket, it is almost...

Hub & Die Errors

OK last massive post on errors, at least for now. We have talked about what errors happen in the preparation and striking process, so now we finish with problems in the die itself. The machinery is working fine, but its elements have issues. (Don’t we all) Guess what,...