Читать книгу A Guide Book of United States Coins 2021 - R.S. Yeoman - Страница 25

In contrast to the above, most coins of new designs attracted no particular notice, and examples were not saved in unusual quantities. In sharp contrast to the ultra-popular Kennedy half dollar of 1964, its predecessor design, the Franklin half dollar (launched in 1948), generated very little interest, and even numismatists generally ignored them—perhaps preferring the old Liberty Walking design that had been a favorite.

Here are some first-year-of-issue coins that were not noticed in their own time, for which specimens range from scarce to rare in Mint State today:

• 1793 cent and half cent. Though popular today, there is no known instance in which a numismatist or museum in 1793 deliberately saved pieces as souvenirs.

• 1794–1795 half dime, half dollar, and silver dollar. The Flowing Hair coins are highly desired today, but again there is no record of any having been deliberately saved.

• 1807 and related Capped Bust coinages. The Capped Bust and related designs of John Reich, assistant engraver at the Mint, were first used in 1807 on the silver half dollar and gold five-dollar piece, and later on other denominations. Today these are extremely popular with collectors, but in their time few were saved in Mint State.

• 1840 Liberty Seated dollar. Specimens are very scarce in Mint State today and are virtually unknown in gem preservation.

• 1892 Barber dime, quarter dollar, and half dollar. In 1892 the new Liberty Head design by Charles E. Barber replaced the long-lived Liberty Seated motif. The new coins received bad press, and public interest was focused on commemorative half dollars for the World’s Columbian Exposition. Few of the Barber coins were saved.

• 1938 Jefferson nickel. The numismatic hobby was dynamic at the time, but the new design attracted little notice. The market was depressed by the burst bubble of the 1935 and 1936 commemorative craze, making coin investments less popular.