How do you define modern?

For a colonial collector, it might be anything after 1800...
I’m thinking anything after 1900...
What say you?
0
For a colonial collector, it might be anything after 1800...
I’m thinking anything after 1900...
What say you?
Comments
Post 1964 for me.
there was a thread on this recently but your take from colonial collectors was not made. it is an interesting a worthy perspective.
half cent - all
cent - pre-1959
nickel - pre-1964
half-dime - all
dime -pre-1965
quarter - pre-1965
half - pre-1971
$1 - pre-1971 (if)
commemorative - pre-1955
gold - all
does a pattern collector care if a pattern is made in 1999 ?
Agree for previously silver coins. Any Jefferson nickel seems modern, as well as any cent post-1982.
Post 1964 for me as well.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
Struck on that new-fangled steam press thing.
Modern vs Vintage ?
Just kidding.
For my uneducated thought, to me, Modern is anything after 1964
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Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Clad and 40%.
USAF (Ret) 1974 - 1994 - The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. Remembering RickO, a brother in arms.
When the Mint allowed me to order via phone and Internet.
Depends on what one is using as the criteria... Are we contemplating design? production? content of the coins? Or would the criteria lead to conclude different dates depending on the coin series?
I am limiting this to US Modern as the discussion would likely be different at the world level. There will be chuckles in the UK if we used 1964 as the beginning of modern coinage.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Modern coins are those made 1934 and later. Coins dated 1933 mark the last of the Classics.
Opinion.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
In 50 years almost everyone born before 1965 will have passed on (to whatever comes next). I wonder if coin collectors in 2071 will opine that "Moderns" commenced in 1965?
In fact, if society and technology advances to the point where coins and currency become obsolete (and thus are not legally allowed to be used for financial transactions) will all the "Modern" moniker for coins and currency disappear and would these items all be considered "Classic" or even "Ancient"?
Newer vs older.
You decide what is new and what is old.
My demarcation has always been:
Large Cents/Flying Eagle, Indian Cents
Shield Nickels/V-Nickels
Of course 1/2 dimes aren't modern
Seated of all types/ Barbers + Morgans
Gold 1933/ Modern
Interesting perspective
thanks
boston
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Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Anything that circulated in my lifetime (1965 and forward) is modern.
For me, and this is totally arbitrary, 1970.
Non silver era of U.S. coinage is my definitive line, but in actuality I consider the end of the mercury dime, buffalo nickel, standing liberty quarter and walking liberty half dollar coinage as the end of craftsmanship in our coins and the beginning of nonartistic design allowing an artdeco type of artwork to prevail. JMO
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Post 1964 for dimes and quarters, 1959 and later for cents, all Kennedy halves and Jefferson nickels.
This for me.
Post 1959, my birth year.
Post 1964 when coins lost intrinsic value.
After you couldn't take one of these...


And get one of these...
My Saint Set
1935 last year of the silver dollar and 2 years after gold.
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Post 1964 for coins.
I am all on for 1950 plus
Kennedys are my quest...
Moving from silver to clad marks the beginning of the modern period IMO.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
If there's only 1 transition from pre-modern to modern, I would use hammered to screw press.
There's a pretty big change from screw press to steam press as well, but I think the transition from hammered coinage to a screw press is a larger change.
Once we get to the steam press, I think the final product isn't much different than what we have today, compared to earlier changes.
This is kind of humorous, there is no objective measurement of “Modern” vs. what?? Old Stuff?
Really Old Stuff?
And, primarily, personal belief is defining these seeming imaginary parameters.
So why does it matter?!
Borders need to exist?
Maybe ModernCoinMart can add an opinion?
Post 1964 is the most common cutoff date for modern coinage. Other dates are relative and open to changing over time, but switching to clad from precious metals will always be 1964
Mr_Spud
If it was "accidental", theen it's Classic
If it was "intentional", then it's Modern
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
I like to collect “classic” coins and I like Franklins, too, so the cutoff point has to be 64
If I didn’t like Franklins it could back up to ‘47.
Cent-post 1958
Nickel-post 1937
Dime-post 1964
Quarter-post 1964
Half -post 1970
Dollar-post 1935
Commemms-post 1954
Gold-post 1933
I would consider anything modern that you would find in pocket change that contains no precious metal.
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@oih82w8 's definition is likely the cleanest - if you can find it in pocket change then it's modern. This will then also change over time, so what is modern in 2050 is not the same as what is modern in 2021. At some point, there will be no such thing as pocket change, and then all coins become classic.
However I will offer an alternate, inspired by baseball cards. 1986 is when cards slip from being classic to modern, because 1986 is when the printing presses turned way way up. There's still some rarity to 1985 and earlier cards. So even if some collectors will say that classic cards are the 60's and earlier or the 50's and earlier, or draw a line in 1978 or whatever, there is a huge drop off the cliff in pricing between 1985 and 1986. There are very few non-error rarities after 1986 other than intentionally-made 1/1's which exist in the current sets.
To make same argument for coins, I look then at 1933 for coins as the last year of classic coinage. Not only is it the last year of gold, as previously discussed, but look at the lincoln cent mintages. In 1933 14.3MM in Philly and 6.2MM in Denver. In 1934 219MM in Philly and 28MM in Denver. The number of bright shiny MS RD cents from 1934 onwards is large enough that anyone can have one for a reasonable price. 1933 and earlier you have smaller mintages so it's more challenging. Yes, there are modern rarities - look at product the mint puts out each year with strict limits, or the gimmick "W" mintmark coins or whatever. I totally understand the 1965 demarcation, but there are so many 1964 silver coins out there that anyone who wants one can get one. The most expensive Roosevelt Dime in MS65 per PCGS price guide is the 1949 MS65 FB for $100.
Basically - I define modern based on rarity. Once the mint started pumping out huge quantities, there became much less special about the coins. You can build beautiful modern sets, don't get me wrong. I have a Jeff nickels set in a Dansco which my dad gave me in 1995 and every few years I add to, but it's all modern, even the 83 year old coin.
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I don't consider Frankies for example to be modern because they are not found in change and they have an intrinsic bullion value far exceeding the valuation they represent.
Post-1964. Just my personal preference.
My OmniCoin Collection
My BankNoteBank Collection
Tom, formerly in Albuquerque, NM.
If you look at the way I have organized my coin picture files, it’s most anything after 1900. I know some people think that’s silly, since I don’t keep up with all the stuff the mint is selling these days, the file is not that huge. The others are “colonel coins” (American coins before 1792), “Early coins” (1792 to about 1807) and “19th century” (1807 to 1899).
The gold, medals, British, tokens and Roman coins have their own files and sub-files.
“This”
As I remember, this was the standard years ago. One of the reasons was prior to 1934, there was little savings of rolled coins. So, there was less availability of uncirculated coins of that era, as many entered circulation and circulated extensively.
In 1934,, as coin collecting became more popular, dealers began saving more rolled coins at the time of issue. Making the coins issued from 1934 and later more plentiful, and available for future collectors.
I also remember when uncirculated rolls of coins were for sale, the earliest available years were usually1934.
Of course mintages of most coins, generally soared after 1934, making these modern, heavily hoarded coins, much more available than those issued before 1934.
What is special about 1934? It cuts off several series mid way through.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, signed the Gold Reserve Act on January 30, 1934. All gold held in the Federal Reserve was to be surrendered to the United States Department of the Treasury; immediately following, the President raises the statutory gold price from US$20.67 per ounce to $35. No denomination of gold coin issued for channels of commerce commencing 1934, thereby marking the end of the classic era ,beginning of the modern era.
Another way to put this is out with the old, in with the new. Old through 1933. New beginning 1934.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
Post 1964 with exceptions.
Cents - Post 1958 (How can a memorial cent be other than modern?)
Nickels - Post Buffalo, except war nickels (How can a non-silver Jefferson be other than modern?)
Half Dollars - post 1963 (How can a Kennedy Half Dollar be other than modern?)
I teeter on allowing Eisenhower Dollars to be non-modern since the size changed...... but I just cannot do it.
So.... you’re saying you have pocket change that does have precious metal??
I want to move there!
This defines Modern:

Totally arbitrary, but it’s anything after 1950 for me. Plus, that makes me ‘modern’ too.
Dave
Looks Classic!
It's certainly not a modern design.
IMO, post 64 for the dime, quarter & half. Lincolns would be 59. As for the Jefferson, can't seem to make up my mind.
Reading this thread, it is clear that the definition is arbitrary to a large degree. Actually, we do not have a definition, we have opinions... like so many things in numismatics. My opinion (FWIW), aligns with those that say post precious metals... in most cases. Even that has blurred lines, since we do have mint issued silver sets. Good discussion though, with thoughtful inputs. Cheers, RickO
1900-1999? after that are contemporary?
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
Coins 1965 to date.
Currency 1960 to date
Basis: PCGS submission forms.
Consistency a winning angle.