Category
U.S. Coins
U.S. coin coverage.
The History of the U.S. Nickel, From 1866 to Today
September 12, 2026
The five-cent piece is the plainest thing in an American pocket. No silver, no gold, no eagle on the back, just a president and his house. It is also the only denomination still circulating in essentially the metal Congress gave it in 1866, and the one lawmakers are arguing over right now. The history of […]
When Did the U.S. Stop Making Silver Coins?
September 9, 2026
Ask a room of coin buyers when American money stopped being silver and you will get three answers, all partly right. The dime and quarter went first, the half dollar hung on five more years in a watered-down form, and the silver dollar had quietly stopped circulating long before either. The line most holders use […]
The History of the U.S. Penny, From 1793 to 2025
September 3, 2026
On November 12, 2025, at the Philadelphia Mint, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach pressed the last circulating one-cent coin the United States will make. It closed a run of 232 years, longer than any other American coin has managed. The penny outlived the half cent, the trime, the twenty-cent piece, and every circulating gold coin, yet […]
The History of the U.S. Quarter, From 1796 to Today
August 30, 2026
Reach into a pocket of loose change and the quarter is the coin you notice first: heavier than a dime, wider than a nickel, the workhorse of parking meters and laundromats for generations. It is easy to take for granted. Yet the 25-cent piece has one of the longest and most restless design records of […]
The U.S. Branch Mints: Where Your Coins Were Struck
August 25, 2026
Turn a U.S. coin over and look for a small letter near the date or the design. That letter is a return address. It tells you which building struck the coin, and behind each one sits a piece of American history: a gold rush, a silver boom, a war that shut the doors, a modern […]
Discontinued U.S. Coin Denominations: A Short History
August 16, 2026
On November 12, 2025, the U.S. Mint held a small ceremony in Philadelphia and struck the last circulating penny. After 232 years, the one-cent coin authorized by the very first Coinage Act had become too expensive to make, its production cost having climbed from about 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents apiece over the previous decade. […]
Famous Rare U.S. Coins and the Stories Behind Them
August 6, 2026
Most coins are worth roughly what the metal in them is worth, plus a little. A tiny handful are worth the price of a good house, or a very good one, and the reason has almost nothing to do with the silver or gold they contain. These are the famous rare U.S. coins: pieces whose […]
How to Read Mint Marks on U.S. Coins
July 28, 2026
Pick up an old dime and look closely at the front, just above the date, or turn a silver dollar over and study the space beneath the eagle. Somewhere on most American coins sits a single tiny letter, easy to miss and simple to ignore. That letter is the mint mark, and it records exactly […]
After Years of Drift, the U.S. Mint Gets a Real Numismatist
December 19, 2025
🧭 Editor’s Note: The U.S. Mint has been drifting without a steady hand — long on optics, short on coin sense. With Paul Hollis confirmed as Mint Director, that era may finally be ending. In this breakdown, I’ll explain who Hollis really is, why his background matters, and why this appointment is a sharp course…
The Final U.S. Penny: Historic Sendoff or Auction-House Theater?
December 17, 2025
Editor’s Note:The penny didn’t die quietly — it went out in a blaze of headlines, gold plating, and six-figure auction bids. In this breakdown, Jacob Barton cuts through the nostalgia and auction hype to explain what those $16.7 million “last pennies” really represent… and what they absolutely do not mean for everyday collectors and investors.…