Tell us what we don’t know…

MrEureka · August 28, 2023 6:20PM

There are many mysteries in numismatics waiting to be solved by some numismatic researcher. If you can think of one such mystery, tell us. Maybe you’ll inspire someone to take on the challenge.

World67 · August 28, 2023 6:28PM

Mintage figures for the 1870-s dollar and if any were officially released into circulation.

Keshequa · August 28, 2023 7:08PM

L and E counterstamped 1815 and 1825 quarters.

Many have tried….etc…

braddick · August 28, 2023 7:31PM

How in the world are two United States coins held in a person's clenched hand equal .55c yet one is not a nickel?

rentcontrol · August 28, 2023 7:42PM

@braddick said:
How in the world are two United States coins held in a person's clenched hand equal .55c yet one is not a nickel?

…because the other one is.

Ripnrun · August 28, 2023 7:43PM

@braddick said:
How in the world are two United States coins held in a person's clenched hand equal .55c yet one is not a nickel?

Half dollar and a nickel, one isn't a nickel but the other one is 🤣

braddick · August 28, 2023 7:47PM

fathom · August 28, 2023 8:12PM

Backstory of the 1794 $1 SP66.

Why was it struck, to whom was it given initially?

gscoins · August 28, 2023 8:29PM

More history on the reasons for the 1945 Mercury dime being so poorly struck.

Staircoins · August 28, 2023 9:02PM

The REAL story (no pun intended) behind the 1817 New Spain (aka Texas) 1/2 Real "Jolas"!

Bikergeek · August 28, 2023 9:48PM

@braddick said:
How in the world are two United States coins held in a person's clenched hand equal .55c yet one is not a nickel?

One of them is a half dime!

AUandAG · August 28, 2023 10:25PM

Why were there no 1869 cc coins struck. The dies had arrived, in late November, and the equipment had been tested and yet no coins were produced and the dies returned. Dollars were eventually struck on Feb 4th, 1870...

bob
vegas baby!

dollarfan · August 29, 2023 1:45AM

@braddick said:
How in the world are two United States coins held in a person's clenched hand equal .55c yet one is not a nickel?

If I had a half dime and a calculator I could figure this one out

fluffy155 · August 29, 2023 5:51AM

.

fluffy155 · August 29, 2023 5:54AM

I always wanted to know if there were any 1804 half dollars struck, we know the dies were made.

seatedlib3991 · August 29, 2023 7:31AM

I raised this question on a different coin site. Neither the who or the why is known but thousands of 1859-O and 1860O Seated dollars were hauled up to Philly and locked away for a 100 years. Were the coins considered suspect? Why not release or melt them? This is a Democracy where power transfers on a fairly regular basis but did someone have the pull to lock them up for an entire Century? If so then why? All then history books say is the topic is shrouded in mystery.

scubafuel · August 29, 2023 8:17AM

Which undefaced US dies are currently in private collections?

privatecoin · August 29, 2023 8:21AM

@braddick said:
How in the world are two United States coins held in a person's clenched hand equal .55c yet one is not a nickel?

Cause it's a half dime.

ctf_error_coins · August 29, 2023 8:28AM

Modern secrets ...

.... How, who, where did the the Denver release of major mint error coins come about in the year 2007?

RiveraFamilyCollect · August 29, 2023 9:53AM

During the Boer wars a large quantity of Gold was spirited away from South Africa before the British could get their hands on it. Many gold coins were hastily struck and blank rounds exist.
Who is hoarding the Kruger millions?

coinkat · August 29, 2023 11:41AM

Pacman inspired at the expense of FDR?

JJM · August 29, 2023 11:47AM

This is a cool thread!

pocketpiececommems · August 29, 2023 11:54AM

Who has the 1964 silver dollars?

jkrk · August 29, 2023 12:35PM

Money cannot buy love, but money increases the chances of finding love, and love decreases the need for money.

RichieURich · August 29, 2023 4:05PM

Where is the San Francisco Mint cornerstone with all of the valuable coins in it?

CaptainBlunt · August 29, 2023 4:23PM

And what is the condition of those coins in the cornerstone

Boosibri · August 29, 2023 5:09PM

Which collections did my 1868 Chile Proof peso belong to before Millennia.

And who the hell dipped out the Norweb 93-S $1

dcarr · August 29, 2023 5:14PM

.

emeraldATV · August 29, 2023 8:28PM

What's the difference between, An Impression and A Strike?
Too easy.....?

BigAl · August 29, 2023 9:20PM

Who is the Omega man

emeraldATV · August 29, 2023 9:58PM

@MrEureka said:
There are many mysteries in numismatics waiting to be solved by some numismatic researcher. If you can think of one such mystery, tell us. Maybe you’ll inspire someone to take on the challenge.

Turn the page mom !

The_Dinosaur_Man · August 30, 2023 5:00AM

Why make dies for branch mints that didn't use them? Or if they did use the dies, where are the undiscovered coins? Just my curiosity after reading through the literature and seeing comments like "dies for made for such and such mint, sent and received on such date, but no coinage ensued." It's like ordering a pizza for delivery, paying for it ahead of time, and then not enjoying it.

I'd also like to know what really happened to the 12,000 business strike 1895 Morgans.

MrEureka · August 30, 2023 5:57AM

@The_Dinosaur_Man said:
Why make dies for branch mints that didn't use them? Or if they did use the dies, where are the undiscovered coins? Just my curiosity after reading through the literature and seeing comments like "dies for made for such and such mint, sent and received on such date, but no coinage ensued." It's like ordering a pizza for delivery, paying for it ahead of time, and then not enjoying it.

That’s a bogus analogy because you have to reach into your own pocket to pay for the pizza. Government agencies don’t work like that. 😉

DoubleEagle59 · August 30, 2023 6:44AM

When a coin design changes, why do they share a year?

ex... last year Indian cent is the first year of the Lincoln cent.....last year barber quarter is the first year of the SLQ and so on...many other examples.

Why not just start the new design in the new year, like most other countries?

Such as Canada, when both the Monarchy changes and the coin design changes they start in the next year and never share a year.

Sapyx · August 30, 2023 6:31PM

@DoubleEagle59 said:
When a coin design changes, why do they share a year?

ex... last year Indian cent is the first year of the Lincoln cent.....last year barber quarter is the first year of the SLQ and so on...many other examples.

Why not just start the new design in the new year, like most other countries?

Such as Canada, when both the Monarchy changes and the coin design changes they start in the next year and never share a year.

This one is easy.

America has no particular need to lie about which year a coin was struck. Monarchies do have such a reason, when the king or queen dies.

Canadian coins struck after the king dies continue to be struck into the new king's reign bearing the old king's portrait. And bearing the date in which the king died. Because a coin dated 1936 proclaims King George V as King of Canada. A coin dated 1937 proclaiming George V as King of Canada would be lying, because George V was dead by then. Thus, a large number of "1936" dated coins were actually struck in 1937, while they waited for the new coin designs to be approved.

The "never share a year" thing is more properly explained by the slowness of British coinage design tradition. It historically takes months for a new royal portrait to be commissioned, turned into coinage artwork, approved personally by the monarch, approved by parliament, then turned into coinage dies and issued for circulation. They cannot prepare a portrait in advance of the old king dying; that would just be rude (in effect, saying "hurry up and die already, we want to issue coins with your son on them instead"). So they have to wait until the new king actually assumes the throne before commencing the redesign process.

For the coin-issuing colonies, such as Canada and Australia, the delay was even longer, since coin dies with the new monarch's portrait had to be shipped from London. Which means new designs can take over a year before they start becoming actual coins.

1936 was a particularly problematic year for British Empire coinage, due to the whole thing with Edward VIII rejecting his official portrait designs, and then deciding to abdicate just as the redesign issue was resolved.

Britain surprised everybody at the speed with which the new coin portraits for Charles III were released, after Elizabeth II passed away. Modern technology has helped hasten the old traditions: the portrait's creator worked off stock photographs, rather than a formal portrait sitting. Which is why you can, indeed, find some British coins dated 2022 with both Elizabeth II and Charles III portraits. Canada and Australia were kind of left out of the loop, and still haven't started issuing Charles III coins yet. Australia has been forced to issue 2023-dated coins as "in memoriam", with the old queen's portrait still on them.

Now let's look at America. Coinage redesign isn't tied to the reigning monarch, the political party of the day, or anything else - it happens whenever Treasury, under advice from the Mint, decides it should happen. So the new design coins can start production, as soon as the redesign process is complete and the dies are ready to go.

A smaller country could afford to pause coinage issue and wait until the end of a calendar year to change a design. But since the mid-1800s, the US economy has always been too big to allow for that; too many new coins are constantly demanded. Sure, they could keep the new designs on hold and wait for the new calendar year. But if "change is good", and there's no harm caused by changing straight away, why wait?

DrDarryl · August 30, 2023 7:05PM

Who paid for this gold medal? US taxpayers? President Eisenhower himself? Department of State?

Whose hallmark is on the center bottom?

Why does Getty Images have a wrong title? (Correction required. This is an Eisenhower gift to Churchill.)

Coinosaurus · August 30, 2023 7:20PM

What did John J. Ford, Jr. know about fake territorial gold pieces, and when did he know it?

breakdown · August 30, 2023 7:45PM

@Coinosaurus said:
What did John J. Ford, Jr. know about fake territorial gold pieces, and when did he know it?

I think you have probably read Moulton's masterpiece. The answer is pretty much in that book.

For me, where is the DuPont 1854-S half eagle?

keyman64 · August 30, 2023 8:33PM

What will be the very next MEGA GREAT parking lot find and reported first on the PCGS US Coin Forum?

daltex · August 30, 2023 8:45PM

@DoubleEagle59 said:
When a coin design changes, why do they share a year?

ex... last year Indian cent is the first year of the Lincoln cent.....last year barber quarter is the first year of the SLQ and so on...many other examples.

Why not just start the new design in the new year, like most other countries?

Such as Canada, when both the Monarchy changes and the coin design changes they start in the next year and never share a year.

For example, SLQ ended in 1930, Washington Quarter started in 1932. Franklin half ended in 1963, Kennedy half started in 1964. SBA dollar was brought back (like the Morgan) in 1999, golden dollars started in 2000. Not just moderns. Flying Eagle cent ended in 1858, Indian cent started in 1859.

scubafuel · August 30, 2023 9:28PM

Why does the continental currency “dollar” still bring so much money?

may · August 31, 2023 6:10AM

@braddick said:
How in the world are two United States coins held in a person's clenched hand equal .55c yet one is not a nickel?

Half dollar and a half disme.

TwoSides2aCoin · August 31, 2023 7:08AM

The reason only 1 1975 Proof dime (copper/nickel) clad coin missing the mintmark S, and valued at $500,000.00 exists , like the 5 1913 Liberty nickels worth 5 million, is clandestine. Not by error were either created, but (in my mind) very calculated.
Except ONE was just snuck in (to a proof set). 5 were snuck out (and through channels WITHOUT records) and carefully placed into a private collectors' hands. No mystery there.
One was "discovered". Five magically appeared some five years after the fact.
Let's talk Sacagawea mules and high/low leaf quarters.

Excuse me, Mr.E You provoke thought with your moniker. There are always more questions than answers. Mystery / Mr.E.
I wish I knew... so my natural thoughts keep going back to " it's an inside job".

Smudge · August 31, 2023 12:19PM

@keyman64 said:
What will be the very next MEGA GREAT parking lot find and reported first on the PCGS US Coin Forum?

I don’t know, but you won’t have to wait long.

MFeld · August 31, 2023 1:32PM

@TwoSides2aCoin said:
The reason only 1 1975 Proof dime (copper/nickel) clad coin missing the mintmark S, and valued at $500,000.00 exists , like the 5 1913 Liberty nickels worth 5 million, is clandestine. Not by error were either created, but (in my mind) very calculated.
Except ONE was just snuck in (to a proof set). 5 were snuck out (and through channels WITHOUT records) and carefully placed into a private collectors' hands. No mystery there.
One was "discovered". Five magically appeared some five years after the fact.
Let's talk Sacagawea mules and high/low leaf quarters.

Excuse me, Mr.E You provoke thought with your moniker. There are always more questions than answers. Mystery / Mr.E.
I wish I knew... so my natural thoughts keep going back to " it's an inside job".

I believe that there are two known 1975 No-S Proof dimes.

alefzero · August 31, 2023 1:41PM

What is the first US legal tender coin to feature a dead president? What is the first US legal tender coin to have a particular individual on both sides of the coin?

emeraldATV · August 31, 2023 10:06PM

@keyman64 said:
What will be the very next MEGA GREAT parking lot find and reported first on the PCGS US Coin Forum?

Cats !

messydesk · August 31, 2023 10:11PM

Where's Don Taxay?

Walkerguy21D · September 1, 2023 3:20AM

I’ve always pondered the relative abundance of AU-MS walkers of 1929D and S, compared to the 1927S and 1928S, despite having lower mintages.
My pet theory is that many of the 1929 coins were still held at the federal reserve branches when the stock market crashed in October of that year. And they continued to hold them rather than release them into commerce during the ensuing Great Depression. And no additional walkers were even minted until late 1933. The earlier dates continued to be work horses during those years, and suffered the commensurate wear and tear.

After that, I suspect that they began trickling out in the mid-late 1930’s. At that point the collectors and dealers who could afford to do so put some away on speculation, as was done with the low mintage 1938D.

Windycity · September 1, 2023 5:54AM

I believe there are three no S 1975 Proof Dimes - the Bicentennial sets were Presented to President Ford, his assistant and one other at White house as representations of what the Bicentennial coinage would look like,

@TwoSides2aCoin said:
The reason only 1 1975 Proof dime (copper/nickel) clad coin missing the mintmark S, and valued at $500,000.00 exists , like the 5 1913 Liberty nickels worth 5 million, is clandestine. Not by error were either created, but (in my mind) very calculated.
Except ONE was just snuck in (to a proof set). 5 were snuck out (and through channels WITHOUT records) and carefully placed into a private collectors' hands. No mystery there.
One was "discovered". Five magically appeared some five years after the fact.
Let's talk Sacagawea mules and high/low leaf quarters. :s

Excuse me, Mr.E You provoke thought with your moniker. There are always more questions than answers. Mystery / Mr.E.
I wish I knew... so my natural thoughts keep going back to " it's an inside job".

MrEureka · September 1, 2023 6:16AM

What is the process used by the Philadelphia Mint in the 19th century to gild patterns, and how can you definitively determine if a piece was gilded at the Mint or later, privately?

Tell us what we don’t know…

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