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Denomination free issues... how many can we think of?
Hyperion
Posts: 7,522 ✭✭✭
ok, this is annoying me and I think it's been brought up before, but I'm bringing it up again 
The draped bust dollar/half/quarter have no denom. In this day and age of same-sized images in advertising, at a glance you really might not know what issue you're looking at if you're skimming. You can know what you're looking at by direct comparison or familiarity with the contemporary coins if something's in-hand, obviously.
This just came up again in thinking about the 1797 penny and twopence, no denom.
http://www.currencyhelp.net/british-cartwheel-penny.html
notice the dates of the issues... they're contemporaries. Was this just something done in those days? can we find an example of denom-less coinage elsewhere? and why in this narrow window of time was it just more acceptable?
Just curious.
The draped bust dollar/half/quarter have no denom. In this day and age of same-sized images in advertising, at a glance you really might not know what issue you're looking at if you're skimming. You can know what you're looking at by direct comparison or familiarity with the contemporary coins if something's in-hand, obviously.
This just came up again in thinking about the 1797 penny and twopence, no denom.
http://www.currencyhelp.net/british-cartwheel-penny.html
notice the dates of the issues... they're contemporaries. Was this just something done in those days? can we find an example of denom-less coinage elsewhere? and why in this narrow window of time was it just more acceptable?
Just curious.
0
Comments
If you go back far enough in time, coins without denominations listed on them are the norm, rather than the exception. People judged a coin by its diameter and weight. A whole lot more people were illiterate back then anyway, which is why in many societies (such as early America) they spent just about anything of similar size, weight, and metallic content (probably judged mostly by color). It was a hodgepodge.
Those Brit "Cartwheel" coppers were among the very first "modern" coins struck on steam presses, but the inscription "penny" or "two pence" just hadn't come along yet. (It had, on the smaller silvers- the silver Maundy twopence of the era had a big "2" on the reverse of it.)
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
<< <i>The addition of a spelled-out denomination on a coin is a relatively modern thing....... >>
True, most coins, from most countries, prior to 1800, didn't have denominations.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
bob
Russ, NCNE
BTW, Flowing Hair and Draped Bust DOllars and Half Dollars did have denominations.....on the edge. The 1796 Quarter and the early U.S.
gold did not have denominations.
Pop Quiz: Which U.S. coins had the most denominations on them???
TD
<< <i>The 2000-P Quarter DOllar obverse/ Sacagawea Dollar reverse mule has two denominations. Had the other sides been muled, the result would have been denominationless.
BTW, Flowing Hair and Draped Bust DOllars and Half Dollars did have denominations.....on the edge. The 1796 Quarter and the early U.S.
gold did not have denominations.
Pop Quiz: Which U.S. coins had the most denominations on them???
TD >>
I had no idea! the 3rd side! the edge!
Because the United States was a new country and had to purchase most everything in overseas markets, the Dollar had to stand on it's metal content rather than it's reputation so the coins were weighed for value.
Gary
Empty Nest Collection
<< <i>Pop Quiz: Which U.S. coins had the most denominations on them???
TD >>
Business strike or Patterns?
R.I.P. Bear
<< <i>
<< <i>Pop Quiz: Which U.S. coins had the most denominations on them???
TD >>
Business strike or Patterns? >>
Go ahead and include Stella, since it is in the Redbook, but ignore the other patterns, such as the international one with the values given in several different currencies. There are three regular issues tied for the lead.