Left: The Famous Lord St. Oswald-Norweb 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Right: The Taffs-Miles-Blue Moon 1794 Dollar Reverse. Both Images Courtesy: Stack’s Bowers. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..   The Mint Act of April 2, 1792, authorized the production of half cent and one cent copper coins, silver coins in denominations of half dime through dollar, and gold coins in denominations of $2.50 (quarter eagles) to $10 (eagles). The United States Mint struck copper coins first, as problems with the law prohibited the coinage of silver ..read more

1870-S Three Dollar Gold Coin. Image: Heritage Auctions / CoinWeek. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..   The existence of the single known 1870-S Three Dollar Gold coin was first confirmed in hobby circles by numismatist Edgar H. Adams, who wrote: “Only one specimen of this coin is known, this being now in the possession of a well-known New York [William H. Woodin] collector. It is said that the dies were used by a coiner of the San Francisco Mint to strike two specimens in 1870. One of those was placed in the cornerstone of a public b ..read more

1926 Indian Head Quarter Eagle. Image: Stack’s Bowers. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..   The Philadelphia Mint struck 446,000 Indian Head Quarter Eagles in 1926, a typical mintage for the $2.50 gold coin denomination. 1926 marked the 12th issue of the series. Of course, the Mint would stop production of the quarter eagle denomination after its 1929 emission. Interestingly, the 1926 Indian Head Quarter Eagle is one of two quarter eagle designs struck this year; the other was a $2.50 gold commemorative coin issued to mark the Sesquice ..read more

1809 Capped Bust Dime, Large Size. Image: Stack’s Bowers / CoinWeek. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..   Before being introduced on the dime, John Reich’s Capped Bust Liberty design was used to refresh the designs of United States half dollars, half eagles, quarter eagles, quarter dollars, and half dimes. Small quantities of dimes were produced from 1809 through 1828, as Mexican and Spanish coins like the silver real, equivalent to 12.5¢, were legal tender and commonly found in circulation, and bullion depositors often didn’t see the ..read more

By Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ……   On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Judge R. Gary Klausner of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered a consent order against Red Rock Secured, LLC, Sean L. Kelly f/k/a Shade L. Kelly-Johnson, and Anthony “Tony” Spencer on April 23. The order finds the defendants liable for making fraudulent misrepresentations to customers and rendering unlawful investment advice in connection with the purchase and sale of precious metals. The order requires the defendants ..read more

1887 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Image: Stack’s Bowers / CoinWeek. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes ….. U.S. Circulating Coin Production in 1887 – Putting the 1887 Liberty Seated Half Dollar in Context In 1887, the Philadelphia Mint handled U.S. coin production for all of the minor denominations, the silver dollar, and gold denominations up to $10, except the Half Eagle, which was only struck for circulation at the San Francisco branch. San Francisco also struck gold in the $10s and $20s in quantity. The chart to the right illustrates curren ..read more

1868 Liberty Seated Half Dollar Proof. Image: Stack’s Bowers / CoinWeek. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..   Large silver deposits were not forthcoming immediately after the Civil War, and because of this, the Philadelphia Mint produced modest numbers of silver coins but nothing approaching the levels of the mid-1870s after the passage of the Species Repayment Resumption Act was in force. The same held for gold coinage, although the San Francisco Mint continued to receive sizable deposits and churned at gold coinage at a solid rate. While the regular issue of Phil ..read more

1874 Three-Cent Nickel. Image: Stack’s Bowers / CoinWeek. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..   The Three-Cent Nickel was an unusual coin denomination with an unusual history. It was first proposed in 1851 as a medium of exchange for postage stamps, which had been lowered in price from five to three cents. Congress thought merchants would not be eager to accept copper coinage in exchange for stamps, and small foreign silver coins, while still legal tender, did not flow through commerce as routinely as they once did. To answer the need ..read more

1887 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Image: Stack’s Bowers / CoinWeek. By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes ….. U.S. Circulating Coin Production in 1887 – Putting the 1887 Liberty Seated Half Dollar in Context In 1887, the Philadelphia Mint handled U.S. coin production for all of the minor denominations, the silver dollar, and gold denominations up to $10, except the Half Eagle, which was only struck for circulation at the San Francisco branch. San Francisco also struck gold in the $10s and $20s in quantity. The chart to the right illustrates curren ..read more

Image: CoinWeek / Adobe Stock / Steve Brenner. By Dr. Steve Benner for CoinWeek …..   Most people who are even remotely familiar with the Roman Empire can name some of the gods that they worshipped. The Olympian gods like Jupiter and Mars, etc. are well known by readers, and many of the non-Olympian gods, like Saturn, Bacchus, Janus, and Bellona, etc., are also familiar. I have written several articles about these gods, both Roman and Greek, on coins, but this article is on the gods that were worshipped in the home, the personal gods of the Roman people, and not state gods (Vesta is the e ..read more