Two commemorative coins were issued for 2009, honoring two very important men; Abraham Lincoln and Louis Braille. Lincoln, as our sixteenth President, led the country during one of its darkest periods, the War Between the States. Louis Braille, a man from France who developed the Braille method of reading and writing for the visually impaired.

Abraham Lincoln is honored with a commemorative silver dollar coin. The coin is made up of 90% silver, balanced by copper. The obverse has an engraving of President Lincoln, rendering him as if he were deep in thought. The reverse has an excerpt from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. (500,000 minted)

The 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille is marked by a silver dollar coin that has readable Braille…

The Virginia Company of London, England landed on the shores of what would be the United States of America in 1607.  These would be the first English settlers in the New World. The 400th anniversary of their settlement, Jamestown (named for King James of England) was honored with two commemorative coins.

The silver dollar coin has on its obverse an engraving of three faces representing diversity of the different cultures brought together in the New World. On its reverse there is the image of the three ships that brought the English Virginia Company to North America; The Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery. (500,000 minted) It is 90% silver and 10% copper.

The five dollar gold coin has on its obverse the legendary Captain…

The first coin shows an engraving of Franklin with his kite experimenting with electricity on the obverse, while the reverse has the “Join or Die” cartoon that Franklin published in the Pennsylvania Gazette May 9, 1754. (250,000 minted)

The second coin shows a simple portrait of him on the obverse, while the reverse has the designs…

1879 saw the invention of the light bulb at the hands of Thomas Edison. 2004 brought about the minting of a commemorative coin which honored Edison. The coin was 90% silver and 10% copper, and featured an artist’s view of Edison in his laboratory and an image of the early light bulb on the obverse. The reverse  has a singular picture of the light bulb with a commemoration of its 125th anniversary above. It is marked also with the years 1879-2004. (500,000 minted)

Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clarke led over 35 men with the help of a young woman belonging to the Shoshone nation (Sacajawea) across the country. They began the long journey of the many miles west as the Unites States was…

Two coins were issued by the U.S. Mint for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games. The five dollar coin is 90% gold and 10% alloy and has the crystal emblem of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games over the beautiful design entitled “Rhythm of the Land” on it’s obverse. The reverse has the Olympic flame on top of a cauldron. (80,000 made)

The silver dollar coin is comprised of 90% silver and 10% alloy. On the obverse it portrays the Crystal Emblem as well as the classic Olympic rings and the “Rhythm of the Land” design. It’s reverse has the beautiful Rocky Mountains in the backdrop, superimposed by the Salt Lake City skyline. (400,000 made)

The bicentennial of West Point Military Academy was commemorated…

The one dollar coin features a  portrait of Leif Ericson on the obverse, (the explorer thought to have landed in the area now known as North America five centuries before Columbus). The reverse side of the coin is his ship proudly sailing the seas. (500,000 minted)

Another one dollar coin commemorates Ericson as well… in this coin the explorer is shown in profile. The reverse side has the giant from the Icelandic Coat of Arms, along with a dragon, an eagle, and a bull. (150,000 minted)

A one dollar coin featuring the Library of Congress has a rendering of an open book with a torch shining over it… the torch is to represent seeking knowledge on the obverse. The dome of the Jefferson Building…

The St. Gaudens Double Eagle was minted from 1907 to 1933 (During the years 1917 through 1919 no Double Eagles were minted). These massive $20 face value gold coins contain slightly more than 30 grams of gold. But its more than the gold content in these beauties that determine their value. Each one is a peice of history with some dates being more hard to find than others.

Augustus St. Gaudens came up with a classic design when he was given the task of designing the Gold Double Eagle. Even today the St. Gaudens design is widely recognized and is in fact being used on the American Gold and Silver Eagles. Sadly this designer died shortly after he completed the…

The Lincoln Wheat Cent was designed by Victor David Brenner, and is well known by several different names, but is probably most often referred to as the  Wheat Penny.

In average circulated grades most Wheat Cents are valued at around $0.10 or less, but some high grade specimens can fetch in tens of thousands of dollars. For example, in 1914 less than 1.2 million cents were struck at the Denver Mint. As a result a 1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent can sale for more than $25,000.00.

Another “key” wheat penny to look for is the 1909-S which even in poor grades is worth hundreds of dollars. This is the one which has the initials of the designer, “V.D.B.”, on the lower…

From 1793 through 1857 the US cent was much larger than what we are accustomed to today. These cents ranged from 27 mm to 29 mm in diameter, quite large when compared to the modern Lincoln Cent which is only 19 mm in diameter.

Different designs were used for US Large Cents:

1793 Flowing Hair Large Cent ~ (chain reverse)

This was actually the first time that the Federal Government minted a coin using its own equipment and facilities. Only 36,103 Flowing Hair Large Cents were struck with the chain reverse. The fact that these coins were minted in such low numbers along with it being struck for only 1 year make this one of the rarest US coins for…

Three months after the assasination of President Kennedy the US Mint changed the design of the silver half dollar to honor JFK. In 1964, when the coin was first minted, it contained the usual 90% silver content (11.25 g) that Americans were familiar with.

A year later the silver content was reduced and the coin was lightened. From 1965 up through 1970 Kennedy Half Dollars contain only 40% silver, which comes out to 4.60 g per coin. When 1971 rolled around Americans were presented with half dollars which contained nothing more than copper and nickel.

In 1965 the composition of US dimes and quarters were also changed to remove the silver. And finally in 1970, with the removal of silver…