Today's American Coins

[bigscoop]

“Today's American coins look like game tokens.”

Every time I recover a shield penny I feel like I'm 9 years old and standing inside a penny arcade. And state quarters, well, maybe 12-13 years old and waiting my turn at a pin-ball machine.

 

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[Bucket Lister]

“Today's American coins look like game tokens.”

Every time I recover a shield penny I feel like I'm 9 years old and standing inside a penny arcade. And state quarters, well, maybe 12-13 years old and waiting my turn at a pin-ball machine.

Are you bitching, reminiscing, or both? 🤨

Seems like a lot of (cosmetic) changes were ostensibly done for numismatists (and/or politicians' egos); IDK if that was good or bad, or how well conceived. I recall a lot of folks were confused when the first State quotas [sic] came out; some thought they were counterfeits--or worse... Canadian. 😱

I do wish they had chosen better alloys post-1964.

Aesthetically, I think--in general--American coins have seen better days. JMO

 

[cudamark]

I wish the one cent coins were made of steel, so, I could completely ignore them.....better yet, do away with them altogether, along with the dollar bill. Make $1 and $2 coins instead. Makes much more economic sense and our hobby more fun.

 

[bigscoop]

I wish the one cent coins were made of steel, so, I could completely ignore them.....better yet, do away with them altogether, along with the dollar bill. Make $1 and $2 coins instead. Makes much more economic sense and our hobby more fun.

Pennies are a pain, for sure.

 

[TORRERO]

I wish the one cent coins were made of steel, so, I could completely ignore them.....better yet, do away with them altogether, along with the dollar bill. Make $1 and $2 coins instead. Makes much more economic sense and our hobby more fun.

I think a lot of people want this to happen, Most countries have $1, $2 and even $5 coins. Coins basically last forever and can be recycled (found and returned to circulation)
Government says they are too afraid of the backlash that it will cause when Companies and stores round up by 0.05 cents... but what is the reality ? A penny is practically worthless, and so are Nickels, so it would not bother me to round up 0.05 cents.
But if you want larger denomination coins, go to Europe and hunt...
I just got back from Spain and hunted some beaches over there and although I didn't find much, the average coin was the 1 Euro, worth a little more than $1 and they have 2 Euros also ... although I didn't find any..

 

[RobNC]

Today's coins look like poop. To make matters worse they are made out of garbage metal mixes that stink once in contact with moisture. They are decaying the day they roll out of the die.
Some of the best looking coins to me are the "Peace" Dollar, Draped Bust Dollar, Standing Liberty Quarter, Walking Liberty Half, Braided hair cent, Flying eagle cent, any of the gold coins, and the mercury dimes.
Those older coins had character and style. Today's coins are just.. blah

 

[Ism]

Today's coins look like poop. To make matters worse they are made out of garbage metal mixes that stink once in contact with moisture. They are decaying the day they roll out of the die.
Some of the best looking coins to me are the "Peace" Dollar, Draped Bust Dollar, Standing Liberty Quarter, Walking Liberty Half, Braided hair cent, Flying eagle cent, any of the gold coins, and the mercury dimes.
Those older coins had character and style. Today's coins are just.. blah

Agreed, The moment they started putting presidents on coins, they started the downhill spiral.

 

[Blackfoot58]

Make one nice silver coin worth close to spot value, and circulate them. Maybe a $20 silver piece. (I realize with the rapidly devalued dollar it wouldn’t work.)
But it would be nice to have a coin of value in your pocket.

 

[Heavygold4me]

The older coins were more like works of art, todays coins have no eye Appeal.

 

[bigscoop]

The older coins were more like works of art, todays coins have no eye Appeal.

Agree. They just look like kid's toys or game tokens.

 

[Bucket Lister]

The older coins were more like works of art, todays coins have no eye Appeal.

I think it's important to remember that coins are products of their times (and despots when/where applicable). The beautiful early American coins were born of a Neo-classical period. The first president put on a coin was Lincoln, on the 100th anniversary of his birth. If he hadn't been assassinated, we might still not have presidential visages.

Commemorative coins began a bit earlier, with the Columbian Half Dollar.

 

[Bucket Lister]

I wish the one cent coins were made of steel, so, I could completely ignore them.....better yet, do away with them altogether, along with the dollar bill. Make $1 and $2 coins instead. Makes much more economic sense and our hobby more fun.

I think that would depend on the metallurgy and designs, and... [briefly looking at another page...] HOLY COW, how are CLAD Eisenhower dollars worth TEN BUCKS ‽‽‽

I'm reminded of the infamous Susie B. I thought it was a huge mistake conflating history with suffrage on the obverse and the lunar landing on the reverse(?) But I digress.... 🙄

Oh! My point was, any new $1 & $2 coins would also likely be clad (or dog forbid, aluminum 🤮)

 

[Almy]

Your northern neighbour eliminated cent coins and $1 and $2 currency several years ago. The cents are just gone, except those found by detectorists like me and the currency has been replaced by $1 coins and $2 coins (loonies and toonies from the loon which was depicted on the first ones). Cash transactions are rounded to 5 cents. It has worked well, as far as I know. Those $1 US bills and cents are often a nuisance to use, I have found.
I think you will like if a change similar to Canada's is made in the US.

 

[Clad2Silver]

The current circulating coins of the USA are uninspiring to say the least. The designs of the quarters are totally amateurish and overloaded with lettering and words. The current version of Thomas Jefferson is nowhere near as good as the original version from 1938.American currency is also going downhill, the new designs look a lot like play money.

 

[ARC]

I wish the one cent coins were made of steel, so, I could completely ignore them.....better yet, do away with them altogether, along with the dollar bill. Make $1 and $2 coins instead. Makes much more economic sense and our hobby more fun.

If they were made of steel we could just drag a magnet and clear the area first... or just magnets on scoops or shovel would take care of the bending over part at least.

 

[UnderMiner]

I throw away zinc pennies sometimes especially if they're corroded. If I don't they just disintegrate to dust and make a mess.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Teddy Roosevelt had a beautiful set of gold coins made for the US. By 1916, the silver was upgraded too. 1916-the depression was best era for US coins. Putting Lincoln on the cent in ‘09 was a huge mistake. Then came Washington, then Jefferson, then FDR, and we end up with dead presidents everywhere. I collect US coins but not any with dead presidents.

 

[Bucket Lister]

I throw away zinc pennies sometimes especially if they're corroded. If I don't they just disintegrate to dust and make a mess.

I'm waiting until I accumulate 50, so I can roll them up and take them to the bank for exchange.

Then if they complain, I can tell them to talk to the manufacturer!

 

[RobNC]

I'm waiting until I accumulate 50, so I can roll them up and take them to the bank for exchange.

Then if they complain, I can tell them to talk to the manufacturer!

Tell em to file a warranty claim with the mint. LOL

 

[Bucket Lister]

Tell em to file a warranty claim with the mint. LOL

Does the warranty cover damage from burial in acidic soil?