The first American coins used by the colonists was supplied mostly by Great Britainand Spain, they were silver and copper, but where only given a limited amount.A need of coins tempted the colony of Massachusettsto create a small mint in this country, which they did in 1652. The first copper coins were tokens. The Granby Coppers were the first copper coins made in America. These tokens were made in great numbers.
Saga of the 1933 Double eagles
In the great depression President Roosevelt ordered all gold coins to be melted and no more gold coins were issued for circulation.
A few coins were not melted.
Twowere given to the Smithsonian institute
In the 1950s the secret service confiscated eight more coins.
King Farouk of Egypt somehow ended up owning one of these coins.
40 years later the coin showed up in New Yorkand was also seized and a seven year legal battle commenced over this coin.
In 2001 the case was settledand the rare 1933 Double eagles coin was sold for $7,590,020
In 2004 ten more double eagle coins were found and also confiscated by the secret service and now held in fort knox.
Spainwas the most powerful country in Europein the 16th century. After the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Spainwas ruled by Napoleonic forces till 1814.Many Spanish colonial mints struck coins similar to the regular Spanish issues until the 1820's. These coins are easily distinguished by a mint mark; you would need a coin book because of the many varieties.
1778 GEORGIVS III REX many of these coins were found and with the wear and tear of such coins there is a question as to whether these coins were counterfeit British halfpennies or a Machin Mills half penny. The difference in appearance is that Georgivs III Rex is facing to the right.
George III Halfpennies were produced between 1770 and 1775, but no 1778's we're made by the British.
The U.S. Mint's history begins as the American colonists were struggling for independence from Great Britain. As the colonies grew and expanded, trading for goods increased. The colonists were ordered to use coinage and money from England, but the coins were not widely available. The colonists were not given permission to mint their own money by the King of England. As a result of this great need for coins, colonies began secretly minting their own money to look like British coins. Soon every colony had it's own form of currency. This quickly turned into a problem when colonies began doing business with each other. The Virginiapenny did not carry the same value as the Massachusettspenny. For example, a loaf of bread that might cost 5 Virginiapennies might cost 8 Massachusettspennies. The emerging leaders of our country knew that something had to be done to create a single currency for the nation. As the colonies began their fight for independence, the idea for the U.S. Mint was developing.
One of America’s popular collectible coin is the Morgan silver dollar the coins were minted between 1878 and 1921 with a significant break between 1905 and 1920. The 1921 versions of the Morgan dollar are the most common in circulation, although in rare cases ultra-high, pristine un-circulated grades of the Morgan dollar are traded by coins collectors. Morgan dollars are second only to Lincolncents in collector popularity.
