The entire 2027 Whitman Expo circuit has broken its traditional three-show residency at the Baltimore Convention Center. The primary reasons and the setup for 2027 include:
Doubled die coins occur when the die itself receives multiple design impressions from a master hub with a slight misalignment, not during the striking of the coin itself. Numismatists classify these mint errors into eight distinct classes based on how the misalignment occurs: The 1955 Lincoln Cent Doubled Die (Class I) is the most famous…
Yes, you read that right: General Motors, the American car and industrial giant, made prototype coins. Well, technically they weren’t coins since they weren’t produced by the mint, but GM made prototypes for the United States mint to test out a new roller press for coin production. In the 1960’s, the United States was experiencing…
When most collectors think about American numismatics, their minds drift naturally toward the great government series — Morgan dollars, Walking Liberty halves, Buffalo nickels, and early bust coinage. Foreign coins draw their share of admirers too, with centuries of royal portraiture and exotic scripts lending an air of the exotic. But tucked quietly between these…
Before I begin, this is a numismatic history article, nothing more. What follows is not a political statement, a commentary on foreign policy, or a reflection on America’s character as a nation. The 2026 dime design was approved by a citizens advisory committee in July 2024, well before the current political cycle, and its symbolism…
It is time for us as a hobby to stop treating every “Details” coin like it has the plague. We need to distinguish between harshly cleaned coins and coins that have simply lived a life. Does this scenario sound familiar to you? You find a Bust Half Dollar or a Seated Liberty Quarter that looks…
The United States has minted a cent for the past 232 years and announced in 2025 it would be the last year for business strikes of the cent. Here’s an interesting history of the cent: The End of the Cent: A Study in Historical Recurrence, Part 5
Have you ever noticed a name on a slabbed coin label? Have you ever read a description of a coin on a site like Heritage Auctions and noticed something that says “Ex. Eliasberg” in the description of the coin? If so, then you are looking at a pedigree coin. A pedigree coin is a…
MINT ERRORS When we speak of mint errors, some people will think of doubled dies (DDO’s & DDR’s), re-punched mint marks (RPM’s), and over mint marks (OMM’s). Doubled Dies are errors related to die creation whereas RPM’s and OMM’s are human errors cause by the manual process adding a mint mark to an existing die. …
O Canada! Our home and native land!True patriot love in all of us command.With glowing hearts we see thee rise,The True North strong and free! “Why did you start an article about coins with the Canadian National Anthem?” Well, let me explain. Short answer, this article will be about the coinage of our neighbors in…
COINS of the CIVIL WAR Yet another one of the Allentown/Bethlehem Coin Club’s young numismatists expressed an interest in the coinage of the Civil War. So let’s start there: The American Civil War took place from April 12, 1861, to April 9, 1865. It began when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina,…
UNTED STATES MINT FACILITIES I. PHILADELPHIA MINT: P 1792 Congress passes the ‘Coinage Act’ authorizing the creation of a mint to manufacture coins representing American denominations (dollars and cents) to be used in place of coinage from other nations. Philadelphia, the first capitol of the United States is chosen as the mint’s location. The mint…
FAVORITE COINS I have given several presentations over the past few years on a variety of subjects. But what I’ve never spoken about is what my favorite coin is and why; and I’m doing this for a reason. I currently possess several high grade and expensive coins, and I have proudly displayed them during our…
In May 2025, the U.S. Mint announced it had placed its final order for penny blanks, signaling the beginning of the end for the one-cent coin. While no official law has been passed to eliminate the penny entirely, the Mint confirmed that production will cease once the current supply of blanks is exhausted—expected in early…
While cleaning any coin is generally frowned upon, there may be exceptions. Cleaning coins found in solidified ash requires a gentle approach to avoid damaging them. Here’s a step-by-step guide: 1. Preliminary Cleaning: 2. Cleaning Solution (If Necessary): 3. Rinsing and Drying: 4. Further Cleaning (If Needed – Proceed with Caution): 5. Storage: Important Considerations:
If you answered 15, you were right for all of your life, until August 12, 2025. The new correct answer is 16! The 1804 Silver Dollar, often called “The King of American Coins,” is one of the most famous and valuable coins in U.S. numismatics. Despite its date, none were struck in 1804—most were minted…
An 1881-S Morgan Silver Dollar graded PCGS MS-63 with a CAC green sticker recently sold at GreatCollections for an astonishing $105,000. On its own, the coin’s market value is under $150, as 1881-S Morgans in MS-63 are both common and inexpensive. For comparison, similar 1881-S Morgans in old PCGS green-label holders have sold for as…
In the world of numismatics, few names carry the prestige of Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Known as The King of Coins, Eliasberg achieved what no other collector has ever matched—assembling a complete collection of every U.S. coin ever minted for circulation, by date and mintmark. Born in 1896 in Selma, Alabama, Eliasberg was a successful…
The Morgan Dollar, minted from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921, holds a unique place in American numismatics. Struck in vast quantities to satisfy the demands of silver interests under laws like the Bland-Allison Act and later the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, the coin was never particularly popular in everyday commerce. It was large,…
In coin collecting, a key date refers to a date (date and/ or mint mark combination) of a given coin series or set that is harder to obtain than other dates in the series. The next level of difficulty to obtain coins in a series are often known as semi-key dates or semi-keys. Here is a…
