How have dates on coins influenced the hobby today?

Shamika

Think about it, would you be a collector today if coins did not come with dates? Remember trying to fill every hole in your blue Whitman Lincoln Cent album as a kid? Would coin albums have even been invented without dated coins? Would there even be an industry today?

I have great respect for type sets, error collections, and die-state studies, but for 30+ years I have been a passionate date/mint mark collector. Perhaps collecting by date/mm is the lazy man's version of variety collecting.

Although I've always been a collector by nature (insects, fossils, coin boards, etc), I'm not sure I'd be collecting coins if they did not come with dates. Or perhaps I'd be a type collector.

What do you think?

LanLord

I probably wouldn't be looking for that 1820 large 0 bust half if there were no dates.

mgoodm3

I think varieties would be much bigger.

rec78

Date and mint mark collecting lured me into the hobby when i was a kid. i dont think i would have taken an interest if coins did not have dates on them. In England- pre 1970's- most coin collectors collected by type.
Of course if no dates were on coins and they were minted for say 30 years collecting would be pretty boring unless you collected errors. After all you would only need one. Sort of like collecting Maria Theresia Talers. These were minted with much sameness since 1780. So you only need one maybe two if you want a proof and a BU.(these are dated but the date never changed).

DeusExMachina

I definitely would not collect if not for dates and mint marks. Part of the fun of collecting is learning about the history of the coin and the history of the time period when the coin was minted. The mint mark is also key b/c it creates variety, rarity and challenges.

Plus, think how many more counterfeits would exist without a date and mintmark.

Steve27

I find dates/MMs to be overrated, that's why I'm a type collector.

Dave99B

Needless to say, as a series collector, dates and MMs are everything to me. Not only am I a “hole filled”, I’m interested in specific certain time periods. I especially love the 1890 thru 1930 period, which is partly why I love the workhorse coins of that era, Barbers.

I can’t fathom coins without dates...that's just WRONG.

Dave

Coinhusker1

Collecting is ALL ABOUT the dates!! Without dates, most of us would probably collect stamps, baseball cards, or nothing!!

Legend would just have a generic proof Liberty Nickel.

paigowjohnny

I still don't understand the practical use of mint marks

OKbustchaser

<< <i>I still don't understand the practical use of mint marks >>



There is no practical use for mint marks since bullion quality became standardized. That is why collectors ignored them until the advent of Whitman folders (and why I still do). Collecting was done either by type or by date only.

morgannut2

I have a big collection by date /MM of 1965-1967 US business strike coins-- I'm just not sure which is which...

BillJones

Having a date on the coin is the factor that sold the hobby to me when I was kid. Most other antiques only have eras in which they might have been made. The date on a coin has always been an attraction for me so that I could place the piece in its proper place in history.

BillJones

<< <i>I still don't understand the practical use of mint marks >>



Mint marks were intended to keep the minters honest. In the old days having a mint mark placed things back at their source if a coin turned out to be underweight. They are there to discourage fraud.

Today they have less use, but still it is a way to get mints to put out a quality product. BUT that did not stop the New Orleans mint from making some pretty awlful Morgan Dollars.

Shamika

<< <i>The date on a coin has always been an attraction for me so that I could place the piece in its proper place in history. >>


That is a key component for me. It allows me to day dream about the people who may held the coin in question or stories the coin might tell.

Shamika

<< <i> Collecting is ALL ABOUT the dates!! Without dates, most of us would probably collect stamps, baseball cards, or nothing!! >>


Hmmm... I collected stamps before I collected coins. Perhaps this is why stamps went the way of the Dodo for me.

Shamika

TTT

ziggy29

It's already been said, but I'll reiterate. I like dates and mintmarks because it allows me to imagine the time and place where a coin likely saw its "tour of duty." So an 1852-O half dollar could take me back to the antebellum South, an 1855-S quarter to a Gold Rush miner's pockets, and so on. Without dates and mintmarks, much of the romanticism associated with collecting would be gone as I couldn't easily conjure up historical images and events to attach to the coins.

xphobe

Collecting US coins by dates/MM is how I started years ago, but I would still be an avid hobbyist today without them. My world collection is by type, and I recently sold all my Dansco date albums and am now focusing on US type. Coin designs change often enough (Maria Theresa notwithstanding) that I don't need exact dates to place them in history.

That said, I can't bring myself to part with my small cents - complete from 1856 to date... Sentimental I guess.

TitusFlavius

Dates (and Whittman albums) got me collecting Lincoln cents, but I'd probably still collect without them. Ancient coins, which I've been studying for a few years now, rarely have dates, but still have a great connection to history. I can't date my silver Persian Siglos any closer than between 450-330 BC, but I know it was the current type when Alexander the Great conquered Persia. Also my bronze Sextans of the Roman Republic has no date, but can be dated by its type and weight to 211-206 BC when Rome was at war with Hannibal. Dates make collecting easier, but aren't necessary to make a collection.