Читать книгу Coin Collecting For Dummies - Neil S. Berman - Страница 15

All kinds of coins have been used in the United States, starting with coins that the colonists used before they got together and became a country. Before Thomas Jefferson sat down to try his hand at declaring independence, foreign coins — from France, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, and Spain — were used, as were coins made in the colonies themselves.This included Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont. For more on privately made coins, tokens, and medals and the desirable coins of the Continental Congress, turn to Chapter 9.

In Chapter 10, I cover copper and nickel federal coinage, including copper half cents, large cents, small cents, and two cents, as well as nickel three cents and five cents. I bet you’ll discover some denominations that you’ve never heard of before.

Silver coins make up the bulk of U.S. federal coinage prior to 1964. In Chapter 11, I cover 3 cents, half dimes, dimes, 20 cents, quarter dollars, half dollars, and dollars. Almost everyone has seen a silver dollar, but how about a silver half dime or a 20-cent piece?

The balance of U.S. federal coinage made of metal is pretty much confined to gold coins (my personal favorite). In Chapter 12, I discuss $1 gold, Quarter Eagles ($2.50), $3 gold, $4 gold, Half Eagles ($5), Eagles ($10), and Double Eagles ($20). These coins are the royalty of U.S. coinage, and they’re as popular with collectors today as they were with merchants more than 200 years ago.

Coins are made for more reasons than just commerce. In Chapter 13, I cover commemoratives (coins that were made for special reasons), including the new 50 State Quarters program and its cousin, the Presidential $1 Coins program.

Chapter 14 brings you odd and unusual coins, including patterns (coin designs that never made it into production); private pioneer gold, including Quintuple Eagles, or slugs for short ($50); coins of the 1830s through the Civil War; Confederate coins; Hawaiian coins; coins made as proofs; and coins made with errors (yep, people collect them too!).