Some coins bear a mark of distinction… Each branch of the United States Mint has a code letter called a “mint mark” to show which branch struck a coin, but not every coin has a mint mark. The Mint has used seven different mint marks for eight branches because one mark was recycled! Denver’s “D”…

There were copper pennies and white cents? Yes, there were “white cents” that didn’t look at all like pennies. These were the Flying Eagle one cent coins of 1856–58 and the Indian Head one cent coins of 1859 –64. They were made frommetal that contained 88 parts copper to 12 parts nickel, which gave them…

The nickel had a growth spurt. The first five-cent pieces were small. Called “half dimes,” they weighed exactly half as much as a dime because their values were based on the amount of silver used to make them. The half dime’s tiny size(about 16 mm) meant the coin was hard to handle and easy to…

If you’re worth 25 cents, why not say so?… The quarter dollar made in 1804 was the first silver coin in the United States Mint’s history to have a value on it! Yes, up until then, all silver and gold American coins were non-denominated. People had to know by their size how much they were…

Thank you New Orleans and ANA participants and volunteers The American Numismatic Association (ANA) National Money Show (NMS) in New Orleans, LA on May 9 – 11, 2013 was a well-run and successful convention. As past Governor’s and longtime ANA National Volunteers, we see the many hours of work that goes into the management of…

The Federal Reserve shreds 7,000 tons of worn out currency each year. As youprobably guessed, the note most frequently replaced is the $1 bill. There are currently four billion $1 bills in circulation, and the life expectancy of each is approximately 18 months. Bills of larger denominations stick around longer since they are handled less…

The Louisiana Numismatic Association Summer Coin Show is a big success. The coin show was held on July 14th & 15th at the DoubleTree Hotel in Kenner LA. Although sponsored by the LNA, the show is hosted by the Crescent City CoinClub. “We didn’t see a record attendance, and we didn’t sell all of the…

The club hosted its 3rd show of the year on Saturday and Sun-day, November 19th and 20th. We did a lot of promoting for this show and even though the total public attendance fell short of the summer show, our winter show was successful. Attending visitors totaled 368 participants. The Oak Street Festival inNew Orleans…