The Coin Collecting Den

As any serious (or would-be serious) coin collector knows, coins are graded on a 70 point scale meant to standardize descriptions of coin condition. All else being equal, a higher grade coin should be more valuable than a lower grade, and at the high end of the grading scale the difference can be substantial. For example, a 1924 Standing Liberty quarter from the Philadelphia mint is worth about $600 in MS-65 condition. Not bad, but the same type of coin in MS-67 condition is worth $2,400!

Obviously it is in every collectors interest to be able to grade coins, at least to a degree, in order to avoid over paying for coins and identify attractive bargains. Learning to grade is definitely not easy to do, however, particularly since the best way to become familiar with the differences between coins of various grades is to examine coins that have already been graded by an agency such as PCGS or NGC. Accumulating such a reference set is usually beyond the means of a novice collector, so what is an aspiring grader (like me) to do?

For the thousands of collectors in similar circumstances, PCGS has released their Photograde online photo reference sets. These photo sets show high quality images of coins graded XF45, AU50, AU55, MS63 and MS65. Images are included for nearly all series of circulating coins produced in the 20th century, including Indian Head cents, Liberty nickels, Barber dime, quarter and half dollars, Morgan dollars, and Liberty and Indian head $2.50 and $5 coins.

The good: The pictures are large and detailed, and definitely show the difference between the lower and higher grades.

The “bad”: Even with pictures, differentiating between MS-63 and MS-65 is tough-to-impossible, and no explanatory text is included to tell why the coins were graded as they were.

The verdict: Photograde isn’t sufficient to be a stand-alone grading tool. However, in conjunction with a reference such as the Red Book, the Photograde pictures can be an invaluable resource.

The Mint has released production figures for circulating coins through November 2009. Total production for the month was only 76.06 million coins, a decrease of nearly 80% from October and the lowest production in years.

These figures include the final mintages for the Zachary Taylor Presidential Dollar and the Northern Mariana Islands quarter. Only Lincoln cents, Presidential Dollars, and NMI quarters were produced during November. Cents and dollars were produced at the Philadelphia Mint, while the Denver Mint produced cents and quarters.

The table below shows coin production for both November and year to date.

November 2009 US Mint Coin Production Figures

Three denominations (Lincoln cents, Presidential dollars, quarters) featured multiple reverse designs that rotated over the course of the year. The table below breaks down the total production figures for the year by reverse design. Of note: It has not yet been confirmed if production of the Lincoln cent Presidency design has ended, so the table only lists totals for the first three Lincoln cent designs. By subtracting the totals for these first three designs from the totals through November given above, possible mintages for the Presidency Cent come in at 198.00 million Denver Mint coins and 129.60 million Philadelphia Mint coins, assuming no further production in December. These totals are substantially less than the first three designs.

The Mint will be releasing the fourth and final Lincoln Bicentennial penny on Thursday, November 12. The design commemorates Lincoln’s presidency in Washington, D.C.

Two roll sets will be available at 12:00pm on November 12 for $8.95. The set includes one 50 coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint with no mint mark, and one roll from the Denver Mint with the “D” mint mark. Orders are limited to five per household.

The Presidency design is the fourth and final of the Lincoln Bicentennial series, with the previous designs commemorating Lincoln’s birth and early childhood in Kentucky, formative years in Indiana, and professional life in Illinois.

Everyone knows that the US Mint is located in Philadelphia. Few, however, may be able to explain why. After all, the Mint is an important agency of the federal government, and nearly all other government agencies are headquartered in Washington D.C. Why is the Mint different?

The answer lies in the origins and establishment of the Mint. From December 6, 1790 till May 14, 1800, Philadelphia was the capital of the United States.  On April 2, 1792, the Coinage Act was enacted into law. The act created a monetary system based on dollar units, specified the metallic composition and fineness of coins, and created the a mint located “situate and carried on at the seat of the government of the United States, for the time being,” meaning Philadelphia. The Act also authorized the President to construct buildings in Philadelphia, beginning with the Mint, the first Federal building constructed under the Constitution.

The Original Philadelphia Mint

Philadelphia was in many ways a good location for the Mint, as it was one of the young nation’s main commercial centers and the location of the headquarters of the Bank of the United States, the central bank. From the start, the Washington administration seemed to view Philadelphia as a long-term location and instructed the Mint to purchase, rather than lease, land for the initial building (on a site formerly occupied by a distillery.) The cornerstone was laid on July 31, Mint operations began in October 1792 and by November a special batch of half-dimes had been produced. Traditionally, the silver for those coins is believed to have come from silverware provided by George and Martha Washington!

The early years of the Mint were rather rocky, with yellow fever causing work stoppages in 1797, 1798, 1799, 1802, and 1803, and sufficient gold and silver to produce coins difficult to procure (the Coinage Act didn’t authorize the Mint to purchase gold or silver for coinage!) While the future of the Mint as an institution may have been in doubt, the Mint became firmly situated in its Philadelphia buildings. When the seat of government moved to newly constructed Washington, D.C. in November of 1800, Mint officials  resisted the move. In March of 1801 Congress passed legislation directing the Mint to remain in Philadelphia until 1803, due to the Mint’s resistance, a shortage of government funds to pay for a move, and the fact that the survival of the Mint was in question. Alexander Hamilton argued that the Bank of the United States could operate more efficiently than the Mint, and several votes to abolish the Mint were held, but narrowly defeated.

Then in January 1803, Mint Director Elias Boudinot filed a report with Congress outlining ways to improve the efficiency of the Mint. This led to a vote to retain the Mint in March of 1803 in its Philadelphia location. Congress continued to pass extensions allowing the Mint to stay in Philadelphia throughout the early 1800′s, typically for 5 years at a time. Finally on May 19, 1828 Congress passed a law leaving the Mint in Philadelphia “until otherwise provided by law” and there it remains!