A Guide Book of United States Coins 2021. R.S. Yeoman
for the 1914-D, an MS-63 1931-S is valued at just $195.
Other Popular First-Year Coins
Among other United States coins struck since 1792, these first-year-of-issue varieties (a partial list) were saved in large numbers and are especially plentiful today:
• 1943 zinc-coated steel cent. The novel appearance of this coin resulted in many being saved as curiosities.
• 1883 Liberty Head nickel without CENTS. The Mint expressed the value of this new design simply as “V,” without mention of cents—not particularly unusual, as three-cent pieces of the era were simply denominated as “III.” Certain people gold-plated the new nickels and passed them off as five-dollar gold coins of similar diameter. Soon, the Mint added CENTS. News accounts were printed that the “mistake” coins without CENTS would be recalled and would become very rare. So many were saved that today this variety is the most plentiful in Mint State of any Liberty Head nickel in the entire series from 1883 to 1913.
• 1913 Buffalo nickel. These were saved in large quantities. Today more Mint State coins of this year exist than for any other issue of the next 15 years.
• 1837 Liberty Seated, No Stars, half dime. Several thousand or more were saved, a large number for a half dime of the era. Apparently, their cameo-like appearance made them attractive curiosities at the time, as was also true of dimes in 1837.
• 1837 Liberty Seated, No Stars, dime. Somewhat over a thousand were saved, a large number for a dime of the era.
• 1916 “Mercury” dime. Quantities were saved of the 1916 and 1916-S, the first year of issue. However, for some reason the low-mintage 1916-D was generally overlooked and today is very rare in Mint State.
• 1932 Washington quarter. At the Philadelphia Mint, 5,504,000 were minted, and it is likely that several hundred thousand were saved, making them plentiful today. The 1932-D quarter was struck to the extent of 436,800, but for some reason was overlooked by the public, with the result that Mint State coins are rare today. On the other hand, of the 408,000 1932-S quarters struck, thousands were saved. Today, Mint State 1932-S quarters are at least 10 to 20 times more readily available than are equivalent examples of the higher-mintage 1932-D.
• 1999–2008 State quarters. From 1999 to 2008, five different quarter dollar designs were produced each year, with motifs observing the states in the order that they joined the Union. These coins were highly publicized and collected.
• 1964 Kennedy half dollar. The popularity of the assassinated president was such that although hundreds of millions were minted, it is likely that many were saved as souvenirs both at home and abroad. This was also the last year of the 90% silver-content half dollar made for circulation, further increasing its popularity.
• 2000 Sacagawea “golden dollar.” These coins, intended to be a popular, wear-resistant substitute for paper dollars, were launched with much fanfare in 2000, and many were saved by the public. However, the coin did not catch on for general use in commerce. Later issues have been made for sale to collectors, not for circulation.
• MCMVII (1907) High-Relief gold twenty-dollar coin. Although only about 12,000 were minted, at least 6,000 survive today, mostly in Mint State. Released in December 1907, the coin, by famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, created a sensation, and soon the coins were selling for $30 each. Today, Mint State coins are plentiful, but as the demand for them is extremely strong, choice specimens sell for strong prices. An MS-63 coin lists for $24,000.
• 1892 and 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition commemorative half dollars. These, the first U.S. commemorative half dollars, were widely publicized, and hundreds of thousands were saved. Today they are very common in used condition.
Coins Few People Noticed
In contrast to the above, most coins of new designs attracted no particular notice, and examples were not saved in unusual quantities. In sharp contrast to the ultra-popular Kennedy half dollar of 1964, its predecessor design, the Franklin half dollar (launched in 1948), generated very little interest, and even numismatists generally ignored them—perhaps preferring the old Liberty Walking design that had been a favorite.
Here are some first-year-of-issue coins that were not noticed in their own time, for which specimens range from scarce to rare in Mint State today:
• 1793 cent and half cent. Though popular today, there is no known instance in which a numismatist or museum in 1793 deliberately saved pieces as souvenirs.
• 1794–1795 half dime, half dollar, and silver dollar. The Flowing Hair coins are highly desired today, but again there is no record of any having been deliberately saved.
• 1807 and related Capped Bust coinages. The Capped Bust and related designs of John Reich, assistant engraver at the Mint, were first used in 1807 on the silver half dollar and gold five-dollar piece, and later on other denominations. Today these are extremely popular with collectors, but in their time few were saved in Mint State.
• 1840 Liberty Seated dollar. Specimens are very scarce in Mint State today and are virtually unknown in gem preservation.
• 1892 Barber dime, quarter dollar, and half dollar. In 1892 the new Liberty Head design by Charles E. Barber replaced the long-lived Liberty Seated motif. The new coins received bad press, and public interest was focused on commemorative half dollars for the World’s Columbian Exposition. Few of the Barber coins were saved.
• 1938 Jefferson nickel. The numismatic hobby was dynamic at the time, but the new design attracted little notice. The market was depressed by the burst bubble of the 1935 and 1936 commemorative craze, making coin investments less popular.
The 1962–1964 Treasury Release
The Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878, a political boondoggle passed to accommodate silver-mining interests in the West, mandated that the Treasury Department buy millions of ounces of silver each year and convert it to silver dollars. At the time, the world price of silver bullion was dropping, and there were economic difficulties in the mining states. From 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921, silver dollars of the Morgan design were minted under this legislation and subsequent acts, to the extent of 656,989,387 pieces. From 1921 to 1928, and 1934–1935, silver dollars of the Peace design were produced in the amount of 190,577,279 pieces.
Although silver dollars were used in commerce in certain areas of the West, paper currency by and large served the needs of trade and exchange. As these hundreds of millions of newly minted dollars were not needed, most were put up in 1,000-coin canvas bags and stored in Treasury vaults. In 1918, under terms of the Pittman Act, 270,232,722 Morgan dollars were melted. At the time, the market for silver was temporarily strong, and there was a call for bullion to ship to India to shore up confidence in Britain’s wartime government. No accounting was kept of the dates and mints involved in the destruction. Just the quantities were recorded (this procedure being typical when the Treasury melted old coins). However, hundreds of millions remained.
Now and again there was a call for silver dollars for circulation, especially in the West; and in the East and Midwest there was a modest demand for pieces for use as holiday and other gifts; in such instances many were paid out. The earlier example of the high-mintage 1901 dollar being rare in Mint State, as most were circulated, is reflective of this. Other coins were stored, such as the aforementioned low-mintage 1884-CC, of which 84.7% were still in the hands of the Treasury as late as 1964! At this time the Treasury decided to hold back bags that were marked as having Carson City dollars, although in records of storage no account was made of them earlier.
Beginning in a significant way in the