On December 27, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt sent a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury in which he stated that the nation's coinage was "hideously atrocious" and that he wished to employ Augustus Saint-Gaudens to beautify the United States coinage. This letter marked the beginning of the Twentieth-Century American Coin Renaissance.
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The symbolism and inscriptions on the obverse of the Great Seal of the United States have been the source of much of the symbolism on its coinage. The obverse depicts an American bald eagle clutching an olive branch with thirteen olives and leaves and thirteen arrows, cementing the eagle as a national symbol.
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The Lincoln Cent was the first non-gold coin issued during the Twentieth-Century American Coin Renaissance. It is the first circulating coin to feature a person, and that obverse remains the longest-running design of all United States coinage. The reverse has been changed several times, including the Memorial Reverse introduced in 1959, the Bicentennial Reverses of 2009, and the Shield Reverse introduced in 2010.
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Coin collecting is not about collecting coins. It is about learning the artistry, history, metallurgy, and symbolism of coins. Acquiring tangible exemplars to hold is a bonus. Well, to be clear, you should hold them only if absolutely necessary, and then, only by the edge with your thumb and index finger.
Coins are a window into a nation’s history and national identity. Its politics and economic policies will also come into view on occasion. Learning about that history and national identity is what makes coin collecting interesting. Sharing that knowledge with others is what makes it a worthwhile endeavor.
Coins, Coin Grading, Coin Values, Coin Photography, Auction Sites; Proof Coins, Specimen Coins, Commemorative Coins, Bullion, Medals; Sheldon Scale, Market Grading, Luster, Eye Appeal. The first purchase a coin collector should make is a book rather than a coin. Advice seldom followed, but sage advice, nonetheless.
A Type Set is a type of coin collection where the objective is to collect an exemplar of every major design variation for a series or a period, rather than collecting by specific dates and mint marks. A Type Set offers an opportunity to explore the various coins produced by a nation.
A Type Set should include more than easily acquired common dates. Exemplars need not be the rarest coins in a series, but should be chosen for the context they add to the series' history. The collector should ask themselves, why is the exemplar important to the series? What story does it have to tell?
