Login
Hello fellow YNs and YNH!
1870 was an interesting year for low mintage coins, and the half dime denomination is no exception. This coin has only one known example (although there may be two, more on that later in the blog). Designed by James B. Longcare, this coin's design is that of all of the Seated Liberty coinage of this era.
Avid collectors of Morgan Dollars know that there is another large niche with this series (along with Peace Dollars) besides date and mintmark: die varieties, more commonly known as VAMs. If you do not know what a VAM is, I highly suggest reading my blog on VAMs, which I published right before this blog. A basic knowledge of VAMs is essential to gain as much information as possible from this article, so I highly suggest you come back to this one.
Many of us more advanced collectors know what a VAM is, but because this term has come up in blogs in the past (and will come up in blogs in the future *ominous foreshadowing*), I think it is important to educate new collectors or people who are unfamiliar with this term so that they can better understand and appreciate the blogs written by our members that collect coins by VAM.
Hello fellow YNs and YNH!
I firmly believe that in our hobby, we should set both short term, and long term goals. I have set myself both of these, and I encourage my fellow hobbyists to do so as well. Setting goals makes you focus on a specific area that you would like to focus on to help you complete that set you've always wanted to. For example, my main short term goal includes building and completing a set of mint state, eye appealing Franklin Half Dollars. I expect to be done within the next three or four years. Some of my long term goals are to specialize in half dollars (up to Drapped Bust, although it might extend a little bit further once I obtain some more of income. I would also like to be an expert in GSA Morgan Dollars, which I have already began extensive studying on. But on to the subject of my blog!
Hello fellow YNs and YNH!
At one point or another, every one of us has written a blog. But some people's blogs are great, and some need improvement. It's not a bad thing if your blogs aren't perfect (I know mine aren't), but that just means they need to be improved. In this blog, I am going to teach you how to effectively and efficiently research for your next blog post.
As I have said in many of my previous blogs, finding series that you enjoy, and you can afford, is something that is not easily accomplished for most people. There are always exceptions to a cheap series that make it unobtainable to a budget minded collector. Think, the Lincoln Cent series. If there was not such a big premium for the 1909-S VDB, there would be so many more complete sets of Lincoln Cents. Unfortunately, because of the price associated with the key date, some collectors will never fill all the holes. But I’m here to talk with you guys about a series almost no collect will have any trouble completing: Canadian Small Cents.Canadian small cents were issued from 1920 until the abolition of the denomination by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2012. They are about the same size as the United Sates cent (the US cent is 19.05mm, while the Canadian Counterpart is 19.1mm). Canadian small cents have had two main reverse designs, along with three different monarchs: King George the Fifth, King George the Sixth, and Queen Elisabeth the Second. (the third, Queen Elisabeth the Second, has had four different renditions of herself on Canadian cents).The main reason one would collect Canadian Cents would be while it is a longer series (it would require two Whitman folders to house all of the coins), all of the coins are financially within reach for 99% of collectors. Most of the years and mint marks can be purchased for less than $1 each in dealer’s junk bins, or, if you live further north, you may be able to acquire over half of the set just through circulation! I have found that the further north you travel, the more Canadian cents there will be passed through circulation here in the US. I have acquired many coins for my sett through this method. There are six coins that will probably set you back more than $1 (1922-1927, 1930), but even the key date of the series, the 1923, will cost you no more than $30 for a mid-grade specimen. There are multiple varieties in the series if that is your kind of thing, and with prices ranging from cheap, to… more money than I’ve had in my lifetime. 😅 Since the series has ended as of 2012, you have the ability to own the entire series without having to add new coins every year. Canadian small cents are underrated opportunities to collect beautiful coins on a budget. And as Canadian series gain in popularity as they are right now, prices can only go in one direction: up!Keep collecting,Thatcoinguy
Finding “sleeper” coins or series is something lots of coin collectors, inventors, and dealers attempt to do. The idea of buying an underpriced coin that is very likely to go up in value is something everyone wants. The late John Jay Pittman was particularly good at this. He spent about $75,000 over his lifetime on coins, and when his collection was auctioned off, it went for over $30 million! I have seen lots of suggestions on which series or date/mintmark coin is a sleeper, and some of them I believe to be right, but most I believe are incorrect. But here’s a series I think no collector can go wrong with: Capped Bust Half Dimes.
Money.org Blog and Forum Terms & Conditions of Use / Disclaimer
This is a community-sourced blog. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog post’s author, and do not represent the views or opinions of the American Numismatic Association, and may not represent the views or opinions of people, institutions or organizations that the author may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity.
All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The American Numismatic Association (ANA) makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The ANA does not monitor the blog on a constant basis.
The ANA will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information, nor for the availability of this information. The ANA will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.
Downloadable Files and Images
Any downloadable file, including but not limited to pdfs, docs, jpegs, pngs, is provided at the user’s own risk. The ANA will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages resulting from a corrupted or damaged file.
Blog/Forum Posts and Comments
In these terms and conditions, “user content” means material including without limitation text, images, audio material, video material, and audio-visual material that you submit to this website, for whatever purpose.
Blog/forum posts and comments are encouraged. However, the ANA reserves the right to edit or delete any blog/forum posts or comments without notice. User content deemed to fall under the following categories will be removed and may prompt disciplinary actions, including, but not limited to, review and suspension/revocation of blog and forum privileges:
In addition, user content shall not be illegal or unlawful, shall not infringe any third party’s legal rights, and shall not be capable of giving rise to legal action whether against you, the ANA, or a third party under any applicable law.
The ANA may terminate your access to all or any part of the website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your Money.org account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the website. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
The ANA reserves the right to display advertisements on your account and blog pages.
This blog’s terms & conditions of use / disclaimer is subject to change at anytime.