Liberty Seated Dollars Mintage

February 11, 2011Posted inDollars

Once again silver dollars were issued for circulation with the start of the series of Liberty Seated Dollars. Mintages were impacted at one point by the rising price of silver, which made the coins melt value exceed their face value. For two years, just over 1,000 silver dollars were struck, and instead the US Mint produced more than one million of the newly introduced gold dollars.

Seated Liberty Dollar

First struck in 1840, the Liberty Seated Dollars carried the new composition of 90% silver and 10% copper that had been adopted for silver coins during the interim. Production would continue until the enactment of the Mint Act of 1873.  In addition to the Philadelphia Mint, the mint facilities at New Orleans, San Francisco, and Carson City would also strike the silver dollars.

Sacagawea Dollars Mintage

November 17, 2010Posted inDollars

The United States Mint introduced the first golden colored dollar coins with the Sacagawea Dollars. The obverse design by Glenna Goodacre would feature a portrait of the Shoshone woman who had accompanied Lewis & Clark on their exploration of the western territories. Her newborn son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, is carried on her back. The reverse of the coin depicts an eagle in flight designed by Thomas D. Rodgers.

Sacagawea Dollars

This would represent the third series since the silver content had been removed from the denomination. Rather than a large diameter like the Eisenhower Dollars, or the similar characteristics to the quarter dollar seen for the Susan B. Anthony Dollars, the Sacagawea Dollars would feature a small diameter with a distinctive golden color and a plain edge. This would allow the coins to easily be distinguished within circulation.

Jefferson Nickels Mintage

November 12, 2010Posted inNickels

The Jefferson Nickel is a long running coin series featuring the 3rd President of the United States and one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence. The series was launched in 1938 and has been minted for all subsequent years to date. There are no significantly low mintages for the duration of the series, making it relatively approachable for the average collector.

Jefferson Nickels

Felix O. Schlag was the designer of the original Jefferson Nickel. His design featured a left facing portrait of Thomas Jefferson on the obverse with an image of his home at Monticello on the reverse. This design was used continuously from 1938 to 2003. During the following three years design changes were make to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark expedition. At the conclusion of the series a new obverse design by Joe Fitzgerald was adopted and used for subsequent years.

Eisenhower Dollars Mintage

November 8, 2010Posted inDollars

The Eisenhower Dollar was the first coin of its denomination released after the switch from silver based coinage to copper nickel clad coinage. The series was issued to commemorate the 5 Star General and 34th President of the United States, as well as the Apollo 11 mission that brought man to the moon. The duration of the series was ultimately short, from 1971 to 1978, with many years struck with low mintages.

Eisenhower Dollar

Capped Bust Quarters Mintage

November 2, 2010Posted inQuarters

The Capped Bust Quarters series is divided into two different varieties. The first was issued from 1815 to 1828 and featured a design by John Reich with specifications that matched the earlier quarter series. The second was issued from 1831 to 1838 with a design modified by William Kneass and a reduced diameter. In terms of mintages, the first variety has generally lower levels and contains the rarities of the series, while mintage levels for the second half of the series were generally higher.

Capped Bust Quarter

Production of the Capped Bust Quarter includes some gaps as the denomination was not very prominent within early America. The lower denominations were used more frequently within everyday commerce and the higher denominations were used by banks and silver depositors. There was simply less need for the quarter dollar denomination.