My Motivation

Hey Guys!

       I just wanted to bring up a topic that I have been thinking about for some time. You see, due to the fact that my brain is engineering based in its processing I constantly find myself asking questions as to why I pursue the activities and topics that I write about. In particular of late this self analysis has been belaboring the question of why do I enjoy collecting so much?

Photo taken from: http://unisci24.com/311944.html

        While I don't have an exact reason for I why I do what I do, mainly collecting coins, I can mention some of the motivating factors behind my hobby. Ever since I was a kid I have always enjoyed organizing things and tidying up livings spaces. Collecting plays to this passion by allowing me to place every coin I find into one neat binder organized by oldest date to newest date (as seen below).

One of the pages from my personal coin binder!

         There is just this immense feeling of satisfaction I get whenever I look through my coin collecting binder and see the pages of history laid out before me. It makes me feel like an archaeologist looking over an ancient ruin, wondering what hands built the place and who they belonged to. There is a sense of mystery and discovery that comes from collecting that I have never gotten anywhere else, I feel like I can personally uncover artifacts that large parts of the world have completely forgotten about! I know its not the same motivation as other collectors but it is that spark that keeps me out their hunting for coins to complete my binder!

        Have a great day and Happy Collecting everyone!

- Sean

P.S. Leave a comment about what motivates you to collect. I would love to hear the story!

The Curious History of the Canadian "One Cent Piece"

Hey Guys!

         Given my curiosity with Canadian cents due to the large numbers I have found recently I thought I would due a little digging and figure out the general facts and dates of each series in the Canadian one cent line! Here are my findings so far:

        The Canadian "one cent piece" as it is officially know got its start in 1858 as a measure by the Canadian government to bring order to the national financial system, which at the time was dominated by British and U.S. currency. This early design of the cent featured a maple leaf wreath on the reverse with the words "ONE CENT" on the back along with the year of mintage. The obverse featured a portrait of the reigning British ruler of the time: Queen Victoria, who ruled until her death in the January of 1901.

Photo taken from: http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.php?coin=1-cent-1858&years=1-cent-1858-1859

        After the passing of Queen Victoria, her successor King Edward the VII took power. With this change in monarchy came a new one cent design courtesy of George William de Saulles. The new changes took place starting in 1902 and lasted until the death of King Edward the VII in 1910.

Photo taken from: http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.php?coin=1-cent-1902&years=1-cent-1902-1910

           From 1911 to 1936. The one cent design was of King Edward's successor: George the V taken from the images on the British postage stamps, known as The Admirals. 

Photo taken from: http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.php?coin=1-cent-1911&years=1-cent-1911-1920

         With his death in 1936 (what exactly is up with all of these 20 year reigns??), King Edward the VII came into power. Though he never saw his face on Canadian currency due his abdication on December 11th of the 1936 so that he could marry the love of his life.  His brother George the VI took power the same day his older brother abdicated and due to this weird exchange of power Canadian one cents from 1937 to 1952 bear the face of King George the VI (as seen below).

Photo taken from: http://www.coincommunity.com/canadian_small_cents/george_vi.asp

            Another important change that came with the 1937 small cent was the adoption of a new reverse design that would be used until 2012 when the coin ceased production. This new back was designed by Thomas Humphrey Paget and features a pair of maple leafs dominating the middle of the cent with the writing "1 CENT" and "CANADA". The date is also included on the lower left-hand side of the reverse. With his passing in 1952 a new ruler would com to power and be the last to ever be portrayed on the Canadian one cent piece because she is still living today...

            ...her name is Queen Elizabeth the II, and as of this year she has been ruling for 64 years of her 90 year life!!!! Just plain wow with this incredible woman!!! Anyways the point is that her portrait on the small cent has been changed multiple times to accommodate the changes to her face as she ages. The first design appeared in 1953 and features a strong and determined looking young woman.

Photo taken from: http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.php?coin=1-cent-1953&years=1

           The first alteration of the Elizabeth II cent appeared in 1965, when the young woman became more mature with the removal of her hair ribbons and the adoption of a tiara on her head.

Photo taken from: http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.php?coin=1-cent-1965&years=1..

              The design changed again in 1990 when th face resembled that of a woman in her later years who still retained the tiara from the 1965 design.

Photo taken from: http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.php?coin=1-cent-1990&years=1-cent-1965-2012

                 In 2003 the tiara disappeared and gave the portrait and kinder and less stern appearance.  

Photo taken from: http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.php?coin=1-cent-2003&years=1-cent-1965-2012

         The changes made in 2003 marked the last major design changes, excluding commemorative reverses, ever to be made to the Canadian small cent. In 2012 the Canadian government's budget called for a complete stop of Canadian one cent production because it took 1.6 cents of metal to make a one cent piece> With this declaration, the last one cent was minted on May 4th, 2012 with the coins continuing to be distributed into 2013. While they are still accepted as legal tender the Canadian government has begun to recollect the approximately 35 billion one cent pieces out there and melt them down for other purposes.

          Well that was an awesome history lesson!!! I personally love how the events behind each ruler led to the variations in the design of the coin! Anyways I have some other projects to finish up and see you all tomorrow!

Happy Collecting!

- Sean

Stress = Feeling Terrible; Stress + Cool Coins = Feeling Better

Hey Guys,

     Yesterday was really stressful for me. I have a lot of goals and ambitions that I want to work on but never enough energy due to the strenuous nature of my work to finish them all. Thankfully starting tomorrow I have a three day weekend to relax and rejuvenate myself while also working on those projects! Hopefully within the next couple of weeks I will be able to publish that website that I was talking about in my last post!

      In the meantime it is small discoveries like the one below that help to keep me sane. I found both this 1952 D U.S. cent and a 1982 Canadian cent yesterday and am very happy to add them to my collection.

Obverse View

Reverse View

I should be feeling better tomorrow and have a bigger and brighter post! So talk to you guys then and have a great day!

Happy Collecting!

- Sean
 

Monday Marvels and a Moronic Mistake!

Hey Guys!

        Happy Monday! Things have been crazy fro me with my work schedule and the website that I am building right now to talk about my interests! Thankfully among the insanity there were some exceptional coin finds this weekend! On Saturday I had a customer giving me change and ask what this coin was...

A 1997 Mexican Peso in alright condition!

        Naturally I told her it was a Mexican Peso and once she learned I was a coin collector she traded it to me for a nickel! Apparently this coin is worth approximately $0.55 right now, but since this was the only foreign coin she had I don't think a trip to a currency exchange location would have been useful.

         Sunday was a very busy day at the grocery store and full of unique coin finds! First off was this 1954 D nickel!

A 1954 D nickel with a LOT of nickel oxide on it!

         While there is a lot of nickel oxide present it is unusual to find a nickel from the 50's in modern circulated change, so for five cents this was a good pick up! Next I found these two Canadian cents from 1977 and 1986 from the same cent roll that I had opened near the end of my shift!

1977 Canadian Cent

1986 Canadian Cent

       And as I was leaving for home I saw this shiny cent stuck behind the tray of the CoinStar machine. Turns out it was a 2009 D cent with lots of luster left and a Lincoln bicentennial reverse!

The coin I found Sunday is on the left and the older coin I had is on the right

Just look and the difference in luster (and the lack of gunk on the new coin)!

        So many awesome finds in just two days! The only downside of these new coins was putting them in holders in preparation for this post. I was thinking about something else and nailed my finger with the stapler!

Don't try this at home kids!

      Nothing terrible put still an experience I would not recommend others repeat!

Talk to you all tomorrow and Happy Collecting!

- Sean

A Dazzling Date Discovery!

Hey Guys!

       So yesterday I was walking to the employee lounge I found this cent lying in the Coinstar return tray.

A full view of the coin 

A close up shot I took of the date. This is the max that my camera can zoom in sadly :/

         This is a 1970 S U.S. cent! It is one of the unusual coins in the Lincoln cent collection that has two significant variations which are considered separate coins. There is the more common "Large Date" cent with the numbers forming the date being of equal size and then there is the much rarer "Small Date" where the numbers in the date are different sizes (most recognizable the 7). The Small Date variation goes for up to a premium of $20 in mint condition! It probably would go for more if the variations were more noticeable, as it is even experienced collectors have trouble differentiating the two types of this cent. To try and correctly identify my cent I went on to a site called The Lincoln Cent Resource and looked up my coin and its varieties. 

          After five minutes with a jeweler's lens I found that this coin is a "Large Date" variety. All of the letters in the word "LIBERTY" are clearly defined and well struck. In addition the inner curve of the 9 points towards the mint-mark rather than the 7. Both of these features are classic examples of a "Large Date" 1970 S, which is worth about $0.10 or so in the condition I have it in. Usually people will pay a dollar or two extra for a better quality one. So my chances of selling this one are basically nil. After further research I discovered that 1970 S large dates are one of the cents that have a known doubled die example! Not for this one but I will have to keep my eyes open for the future 1970 S cents I come across! 

        Oh well! It was a fun experience and I do not regret it! If any of you know for certain what this coin is please let me know in the comments!

        Have a great weekend and Happy Collecting everyone!

- Sean 

Observations on Nickel Oxidization

Hey Guys!

       So yesterday's post got me thinking about a trend that I have picked up with a number of the older Jefferson nickels, which you can see in the picture below:

The coin I am looking at in question is the 1940 nickel in the middle bottom of the picture.

         As you can see the 1940 nickel stands out from it counterparts because it has this unusual black stuff surround every high point of the design. It particular this black substance surrounds the date and letters on the obverse of the coin, as well as the letters on the reverse.

        After looking on the internet for clues as to what this mystery material is, I believe I have found a likely culprit.

Nickel Oxide in its Processed Form

  

         This charming pile of black is actually a compound known as Nickel Oxide (NiO). It is created when elemental nickel in some form comes in contact with water and then proceeds to deteriorate and form this compound (in essence NiO is the equivalent of rust for a nickel)!

         To prevent nickels from oxidizing the U.S. National Mints actually use the a 75% copper, 25% nickel composition of metals in their nickels. The properties of these two metal combined with a thin protective non-reactive coating over the coin prevents it from oxidizing.

        This would explain why I generally only see nickel oxide on older coins...the decades of circulation have removed the protective coating and allowed the nickel to come in contact with water!

        I hope you all enjoyed this science lesson today! Please leave a comment if I left something out of this explanation!

Have a great day and Happy Collecting!

- Sean

A Technique for Finding the Treasures of Time!

Hey Guys!

       So a quick update from yesterday...

       The first coin I saw of the day, hardly 30 seconds after I had started my shift was this 1940 D in great condition

Obverse of Wheat Cent with the date and mint-mark being clearly visible (SQUEE!).

Reverse of Wheat Cent

       Such a big find! It is hard to find wheat cents from 1940 or before in circulated change. Especially when they are in good condition like this, where they are free of copper oxide, big scratches and gummy residue. Definitely a good addition to my collection!


       And now onto the main event!!!

       So today I am going to discuss how I quickly search piles of coins for any ones that may interest me. It is actually a very simple process and it begins with me encountering a container of coins like the one pictured below:

Can you spot the cent that is not like the others!

          What I am primarily looking for are older U.S. cents in a pile like this, so automatically I ignore any cents with a shield back (which was used starting in 2010) since it is a newer coin and I also don't typically look at cents with a bright coppery luster. As you can see in the picture above the only cent that immediately stands out from its fellows is the wheat cent in the bottom right corner which as you can see has no luster left on its surface. The line of cents below help emphasize this point. As you can see circulation quickly deteriorates the luster of a coin so older coins will appear as a much darker brown compared to the almost red sheen of their younger counterparts.

The newest coins are on the left and the oldest coins are on the right. See the difference in color that is brought on by circulation?

Which coin is out of place?

             Since all I am looking for is coins that don't quite fit in with the others, this technique also helps me spot foreign coins hidden among U.S. currency. In the picture above the Canadian coin stands out clearly from the others due to its radically different design! I even use this technique with nickels like the ones pictured below.

Do you see the 1940 nickel?

           This time we continue to ignore the new designs and high luster of the modern coin and instead focus on the older ones. The trick is that since nickels are not made with copper (duh!) they exhibit age differently than cents. In this case the 1940 nickel located in the middle bottom of the pile has this black varnish that surrounds all the high points of the design. Not only that but it also appears much smoother to the eye as all of the high relief areas have been worn down by circulation. These attributes are common with older nickels and you should keep your eye open for them if you are working on a Jefferson nickel collection!

           Well I have to get on with schoolwork and other personal projects. Have a great day guys and talk to you all tomorrow!

Happy Collecting!

- Sean