20 Worstest Individual US Coins
renman95
Posts: 7,037 ✭✭✭✭✭
I'll begin with the 1979 SBA Dollar. It didn't even have the decency to be 38.50 millimeters, was confused with the quarter dollar, a design only SBA's Mother could love, Ike Dollar reverse rip-off, series only lasted 3 (+1) years, and just before the Sacagawea Dollar debut it appears again, begging, saying , hey, remember me?
19 to go.
What say you?
:-)
2
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I am not a fan of any Barber coin-10c, 25c, or 50c. Does that count as 1 or 3?
Presidential dollars
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
The Shriver and Anthony dollar got to be two of the ugliest coins ever made but this one is the worst.
Makes me wont to vomit.
Overland Trail Collection Showcase
Dahlonega Type Set-2008 PCGS Best Exhibited Set
2 Cent Pieces, utterly the worst coins ever.
First spouse coins. If you want to buy bullion, I just can't imagine selecting this over the American gold eagle or gold buffalo designs, or better yet, common date circulated or low-MS pre-1933 gold.
The Old Spanish Trail commemorative half has a very minimalistic cow skull on the front, and the map on the back indicates the trail had a stop where the historical trail did not.
Of course, there are worst designs with modern coins (read: many of the State quarters...) yet for a classic coin- I think this one even tops the Barber half.
peacockcoins
20 cent pieces. Why make a near quarter size coin with a liberty seated design? These were frequently mistaken as quarters and still are today. I have seen many 20 pieces on ebay listed as quarters. Here is a twenty cent coin listed as a quarter. If you search 1875 liberty seated quarter you can find some almost every day.
https://ebay.com/itm/165011058747?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item266b6cf03b:g:UBkAAOSwDxdhElyM&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%252B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSLY2M1Gjmuwt9c03vWNfiRn8WtXP55sYemmHzHqVDOxLuqUCJxNljVS8BGgO0HBQ675Z9uykWA9p%252FRqmlmQKTBQQl9O1%252BhBqwLC3aST10g%252FUviv8TOSKgAlrLBR3PSc4a%252Bqe046skXL93mIs2PHYE2bNg3pePE8dSuRS%252Bni9Ih3KbzZ6Gn75v58EyJZ4SR%252FsyUYIvRT5qwF0DBTRXyGUwQoU9uqyNA%252Fk7Bvtx3Y7duHkXu6sHnXEevDSvxjmFI88SdABY0wv6BiBT01L9k7YTRS3bQviqpBeRDj1o33wbYLdMj0YHzQQsLE1pXINq5VXho4F9EACXjtJcxWzZaxznhm%252F81FTEjmfFAMjnKapxeXxdFqALlhR2FnoaojvYUYoZE5UAieENwDxCeMJVXMePWE%252FkZ3gWskwkJESZCu6IkbiekciQVgElQz0FkKn3i6GqNVcU6Y8PQLul3KtZLZrqhlIBaimOzPybjwaguf%252F0CV%252BFvQa2mBA0aFDLFDUKa0gDq%252FO0msLeMFHOzf76WCXTpQaDE2DjN%252B0vKzJ9SkDi5%252BTsxsPHmvur7AcX6hUhqRWYde3HHnkdo4BX0CsZotjE%252FeImvVbBhYUNAdJmf6y%252BkVeFEB9i0z7hTbgeULtmsqDa%252FVB7hsKfOsTzLywrga60yp2zsFfxYV0t7Hw4SXQ6Qzct0JhDbVQiUNkpsXXbDP%252FuhNk8lBsJXK5mKa%252B0GBXMHKNLYBzHFKBW4eIXghFmjMuqrMr0xlCxMIBOs%252Bp7ZSeY%252FfFu%252BWEyVp9xZgGIfcgufN%252FRgUxdelkqL3TI1I9WqeYzz6mOIEHYNesOUeVmLd0ihlC34cNIkiPgGC%252BsGubufw%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524
Are these available at near melt? If not they should be. Not really coins though in my view.
Those actually seem like really high grade specimens, almost like one didn't like the type, vs. a terrible individual coin.
I was thinking we'd see something like the following for individual coins
****> @braddick said:
****_**_When someone angers me "cabeza de vaca" is one of my favorite expressions
as a personality suffragette Susan B Anthony is worthy of some study_*_*****
I never cared for the prezzie bucks or the spouse coins... terrible designs and void of substance. Cheers, RickO
Easy answer--1947 up. Most first graders could have designed our coins and I believe they did.
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
Most of the new commems
You don't like the Walking Liberty half dollars? They were minted in 1947.
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
My bad. 1948 up.
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
I LIKE THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL COMMEM !!!
York County commem. Very simplistic design IMO.
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Given the especially uninspired reverse (to go along with Mr Barber on the obverse), I'd single out the 10c.
Smitten with DBLCs.
Worstest?
Are you the reincarnation of Warren G. Harding?
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Zinc Lincoln cents. They turn bad (corrode) so easily. And one-cent is practically worthless. So why bother ?
PS:
For the record I do like bronze Lincoln Cents.
The Ike. Makes a good tip though because you know exactly what it is when it’s put in your hand. A big old slug.
It's not my favorite commem, but I actually like the (obverse) design of the Spanish Trail commem. BTW, the coin commemorates the Spanish Trail highway between Florida and El Paso, not the 19th Century trade route of the same name between New Mexico and California. So, it is not inaccurate historically.
"Worstest"? Trying to knock Shakespeare and Joyce out of creating the most words in the English language?
I'm sure I'm in the minority on both sides of this but I like the look of a Proof DCAM or MS70 Ike dollar. I'm tired of the iterations of quarter series that keep coming out. They could have stopped at 50! Throw in the innovations dollar stuff... Enough is enough!
Mark
Again, I dunno, I kind of like them!
Also a short and fairly easy to collect series...
Mark
I was going for a classic coin as it is going after low-lying fruit with the moderns.
I was doing a little digging around and apparently, I am not alone in my view of the Spanish Trail half...
Art historian Cornelius Vermeule, in his volume on U.S. commemorative coins and medals, said of the Old Spanish Trail piece that it "can safely be designated the ugliest commemorative coin ever produced by a United States mint. It may be the strongest contestant for the title of least attractive American coin ever manufactured under official auspices between 1793 and the present."
He ridiculed the cow's head, saying that using it to represent Cabeza de Vaca was akin to depicting a field of roses on the dime to represent Franklin Roosevelt. Vermeule noted Slabaugh's praise that the obverse told a story and then stopped, and stated, "the question is whether or not the story is worth telling on a United States half-dollar".
peacockcoins
The Norfolk commemorative half - were they trying to put an entire book on a coin?
Post 1948 coins? I like most of those coins in their Original design/relief. The issue with them IMO is that AT MOST they should have lasted 50 years from their original minting date. The current low relief examples of those coins that are put out look like tokens.
I also like the classic Spanish Trail commem.
I'd say the 2001 Capital Visitor 50C commem is right up there for ugly designs. When people mention SBAs and the Shriver $1, I think the original fugly US coin was the Coronet Head cent.
U.S. Type Set
Yes-I think the dime is the worst of the bunch.
87 Constitution Commemorative dollar is plain and not to inspiring. Probably not the worst, but I think they could have done better.
I was being sarcastic Mark, I actually like 2 Cent Pieces.
I do, too. This is the pinnacle of my two cent date set-
As much as I dislike Barber coinage I have to agree with dcarr. Zincolns are useless, and worse, they are actually toxic. Time for them to go.
Buffalo Nickels. Ugly, crude coins that say, "Look what we slaughtered in the 19th century!"
I used to like them when I was a kid. I don't care for them at all now. Same with the rest of the nickel 5 cent pieces.
While we are all entitled to our own thoughts, the Buffalo Nickel represents artist merit and craftsmanship that is missing in the mass produced coinage of today. Please take a careful look at the early Buffalos and the attention to what matters... Detail in the composition and design that was not sacrificed. There is a look that really set the standard for what really matters in coinage/metallic art that has not been replicated since, and maybe... just maybe... this is why there are collectors that seek what matters... it is art and the look of what cannot be the mass produced crap that we are stuck with today.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
In one simple sentence... The Buffalo Nickel is a compelling reason for collecting coins.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Are you talking about Indians or buffalos?
peacockcoins
I am likely the one of the most Liberal of those that participate here. I am not going to retreat from what I think is right... end of discussion. There is something about art and how it is done and presented that exceeds expectations... and the Buffalo Nickel falls square within what exceeds expectations. For those that want to argue artistic merit over content... this is your opportunity
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Interesting. I really like the design of the 2017 high relief liberty coin and the ideals for which it stands.
What aspects of this coin elicit such a strong reaction @mrcommem ?
He who knows he has enough is rich.
Obviously both. And it's not about politics at all, it's American history. But all of that's secondary to how crude and ugly these coins are.
Crude and ugly... the Buffalo nickel? REALLY?
I can understand someone making a political statement as an objection... but from an ARTISTIC MERIT STANDPOINT... OMG... You must be kidding or you just simply would not recognize quality engraving even if it bit you in the ass.
Please ban me now if this is the type of crap I am going to be subjected to.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
You state the case for Buffalo nickels quite well, coinkat. My sentiments exactly, and I'm sure many others here agree.
Both sides of the coin depict others that were slaughtered in the 19th century. I agree with your sentiment there.
It is bad enough to experience nonsense on the Sports forum in connection with Heisman trophy thread... but the commentary here even exceeds what has been expressed there.
Take care folks...
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Another ugly coin is the Washington-Carver classic commemorative half dollar. The reverse looks like a bus token. The same is true for the obverse (?) of the York County commemorative.
Also, the Hudson looks like a clown coin. If I fall one coin short of finishing the type series, let that missing coin be the Hudson. Is this a mummy and a bugle-playing snail-person riding an amusement park whale? This example is graded NGC MS66. Huh?
I realize many if not most here are huge fans of buffalo nickels including myself when I was a preteen, but as I've grown up I've come to find them ugly compared to most other US coins and particularly coins of that era. They're so grotesque I'll bet it took some effort to convince people that these were actual legal tender when they were introduced.
Anyway, that's my honest opinion and it's been funny to read the reactions here.
Well! I just ignore the IDIOTS bashing my lovely Barbers!
@barberian
Seems you either need a lesson in engraving in terms of history, art, design and composition or in the alternative, you must be one of the most sophisticated collectors of world coins there ever was. I am not betting my life on the latter.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
When it comes to this coin I’ll vomit with you. Way the hell ugly all over the place🤮