A Mysterious Mint Token

Hey Guys!

        My work schedule has been pretty wacky recently and as such I have been working for the past six days in a row. What a blast!

        Thankfully this busy schedule has given me plenty of time to make interesting discoveries at my job site, like this little beauty here!

The front of the Token emblazoned with the words "Uncirculated; Denver"

The back of the Token with the words "Treasury; United States Mint" inscribed on its surface.

          I was almost blinded by the sheer amount of light this piece reflects! The integrity of the luster is visible even within the photos I snapped of it! After some Google Image searching and a little slogging through sites like Coin Quest (see link #1 below for more), I found that this particular token is actually one of the items included in the proof sets minted by the National U.S. mints. 

          

          Apparently each mint has its own unique token design, with this one obviously being from the Denver mint, that looks to have been included in a uncirculated mint set at one time. Often times dealers will split up U.S. mint uncirculated and proof sets so that they can sell the coins at higher prices. Since the demand for the tokens is far smaller than the coins the tokens are often passed around until they wind up in the hands of somebody like me. 

          Although this piece is a modern version of the mint set token, its ancestors can be traced back to the opening of the U.S.A. National Mints in 1789! A cool history lesson indeed!

          I also found this 2009 D bicentennial Lincoln cent with the "Formative Years" reverse. Relatively common but I love the designs of these reverses, the artists were amazing!

An cent in fine condition with the "Formative Years" reverse 

          All in all a nice couple of finds for a single shift. I have to go to work in a couple of hours and will let you guys know if I find anything cool! 

Happy hump day and many blessings to you on your collecting journey!

- Sean

Link #1: http://coinquest.com/cgi-bin/cq/coins?main_coin=14557&main_ss_id=403203&main_ww_id=270