Wednesday, November 20, 2024

10 Amazing Facts About The Coin

Coins are more than just legal tender. They can be literally worth their weight in gold. Here are 10 amazing fun facts about coins. 

1.) Where did coin tossing begin?

Tossing a coin to determine between two possible outcomes started in the time of Emperor Julius Caesar. Romans called this game of chance navia aut caput (“ship or head”), referring to the image of a ship’s prow on one side of the coin and the emperor’s head on the other.

In ancient Rome, the emperor’s word was law, so if a coin landed heads up, you had to respect the will of the emperor and carry out the action decided for that side. In Britain, the practice was called cross and pile, taking its name from the indentation from the hammer used to press the metal as the coin was struck.

2.) Can a coin make you happy?

Are we too cautious for own good when facing life-changing choices? This was certainly the conclusion of one study by Steven D. Levitt, Department of Economics, University of Chicago.

Levitt conducted a field experiment where research subjects who were struggling to make a decision flipped a coin to help determine their choice. Those who were told by the coin toss to make a change reported that they were substantially happier several months later.

3.) How many coins are there?

Euro coins first came into use in 2002. As of January 2020, there were 135 billion euro coins in circulation. Worldwide there are about 1 trillion coins in circulation.

4.) Making money from money

Coin minting in the European Union generates more than €13 billion of production, according to the Institute for Industrial Research study, “Mints in Europe EU28 from an Economist’s View” (2019) – 16,858 people’s jobs are directly or indirectly linked to coin production.

5.) Coins and ships – what’s the connection?

Sailors are a superstitious lot, and favor traditions and ceremonies that bring good luck when building a new ship. One of these is the coin ceremony, whereby mariners place one or two coins under the keel block of the new ship to bring good luck. The tradition dates back to Roman times, when coins attached to ships were said to provide divine protection.

6.) What’s the world’s most valuable coin?

Money can be worth far more than its printed value. Take the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, for instance, which costs $10 million, making it the world’s most expensive coin.

This is said to be the first silver coin to have been minted and issued by the US Federal Government in 1794. And worth a lot more than your average one dollar coin.

7.) And the least?

How can 2,000 coins be worth the same as one cent? That’s the case, however, with Uzbekistan’s tiyin coin – the coin worth less than any other worldwide. The tiyin is still legal tender but rarely found in circulation.

8.) Three to get married

As the legend goes, if you toss one coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome, you’ll return to the Eternal City. If you toss in two coins, you’ll return and find love. Three coins means you’ll return, fall in love, and get married.

The coin toss became a ritual after the 1954 romantic comedy film, “Three Coins in the Fountain.” Around €1.5 million in coins is collected each year from the fountain and donated to Caritas Roma, a charity for the poor and homeless.

9.) The feminine side

It’s not just men whose faces are depicted on coins: throughout history women have also adorned our cash. Take Marianne, the national symbol of the Republic of France, whose famous face first appeared on 5 centimes coins, then the franc, and then the euro.

Cleopatra was the first female to appear alone on Egyptian coins while Queen Isabella I of Spain became the first foreign ruler to appear on a coin issued by the US. Meanwhile, Catherine the Great of Russia issued the largest copper coin ever used in circulation, namely the 5 kopeks coin, which weighed on average a hefty 51 grams.

10.) Good luck for the new year

Filipino children know how to have fun on New Year’s Eve. They fill up their pockets with coins, and when the clock strikes midnight they shake out their pockets to bring good luck and attract wealth. Scattering coins around the house, on tabletops and in drawers is also said to bring luck and money. Source

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Mint Expands West

In 1849, the California Gold Rush brought a flood of people west for the chance to get rich. Transporting the gold east all the way to the Philadelphia Mint was time-consuming and risky. In 1854, a branch Mint opened in San Francisco to convert the miners’ gold into coins. By the end of that year, the San Francisco Mint produced $4,084,207 in gold coins.

Gold fever spread to Colorado in 1858, bringing hundreds of people to settle around the new city of Denver. In 1862, Congress approved a branch Mint in Denver and bought the building of Clark, Gruber and Company, a private mint. The following year, the Denver facility opened as an assay office for miners to bring gold to be melted, assayed, and cast into bars. It didn’t produce any gold coins, as was originally intended. In 1895, Congress converted the Denver facility back to a Mint, and in 1906 it produced its first gold and silver coins.

In 1864, in response to Oregon’s own gold rush, Congress authorized a branch Mint in Dalles City, Oregon and constructed a building. However, no minting or assaying duties were ever performed. Congress gave the building to the state in 1875 to use for educational purposes.

The country’s largest silver strike, referred to as the Comstock Lode, started in Nevada in 1859. Congress authorized a branch Mint in nearby Carson City. The Carson City Mint opened in 1870 to accept deposits from the Comstock Lode and to mint coins. During its operation, it produced eight different coin denominations. Congress withdrew its mint status in 1899 when the Comstock’s ore declined, but it continued as an assay office until 1933. Source

Thursday, November 14, 2024

230th Anniversary Flowing Hair High Relief Gold Coin

 

 
The 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair High Relief Gold Coin pays homage to the Flowing Hair dollar coin, issued in 1794 as America’s first dollar coin.

Monday, November 11, 2024

Circulating Coins

 
This episode looks at how the United States Mint makes circulating coins. Circulating coins are the coins that the United States Mint produces for everyday transactions. Circulating coins are also included in the United States Mint’s annual coin sets, which are the staple of coin collecting.



 

Friday, November 8, 2024

Salvation Army Received Two Gold Coins As Donation

The Salvation Army announced they have received two gold coins, worth over $4,000, donated in Waukegan before Red Kettle season has even begun. The Salvation Army North and Central Illinois Division said the two coins were donated on Monday afternoon.

The first gold coin of the season was a one-ounce South African Gold Krugerrand and the second was a half-ounce $25 gold American Eagle coin. The first coin, valued at approximately $2,750, was hand-delivered to the Waukegan Corps Community Center just after 1 p.m. Monday. A person walked into the Waukegan Corps and dropped off the coin on behalf of an anonymous donor who said they love the work of The Salvation Army in Lake County.

The message delivered along with the coin was that the donor wants to continue to help needy families. The second coin, valued at approximately $1,500, was walked into the Waukegan Corps on behalf of another donor at 3:30 p.m. Monday.

Gold coins, like the ones dropped off in Waukegan, help The Salvation Army support families who are struggling to stay in their homes, put a warm meal on the table and provide Christmas gifts for their children.

All Red Kettle donations stay local and the two gold coins will help fund programs and services in the Lake County community.“These gold coins will help us fund the services that help people in Waukegan all year long,” said Major Dan Faundez, Corps Officer at The Salvation Army Waukegan Corps. “We hope the generosity of these donors will be matched many times over this Christmas season,” Faundez said.

Read more about this amazing donation here...

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Then & Now: Part III (Die Making)

 

 

Part 3 of the "Then & Now" video series looks at hub and die making, featuring 1940 documentary footage from the U.S. National Archives​.


Saturday, November 2, 2024

Then & Now: Part II (Sculpting)

 

 

Part 2 of the "Then & Now" video series looks at sculpting and engraving, featuring 1940 documentary footage from the U.S. National Archives​.