Coin News
Five Fun Facts about US coins for American Independence Day!
Today is American Independence Day and we thought there could be no better way to join in the 4th of July celebrations than to share five fun facts you might not know about US coinage!
1) The reverses are struck upside down.
Did you know that on US coins, the reverses are stuck upside down? This is arguably due to the fact that originally, the Mint wanted to differentiate their coins from their medals. The medals’ faces are struck with the same orientation as they are supposed to be worn, and therefore when rotated, still show an upright image.
Upside down reverses. Credit: coincommunity.com
2) By law, US coin designs must give “an impression emblematic of liberty.”
The USA, as a nation, are well known for being one of the most patriotic countries in the world. They uphold strong values of liberty and freedom, from everyday life to sporting events and even on their coinage! As a result of this, US coin designers are legally required to display an impression emblematic of liberty in their coin designs.
Statue of Liberty, a true symbol of patriotism.
3) The coinage act of 1792, establishing the U.S. Mint, made defacing, counterfeiting, or embezzling of coins by Mint employees punishable by death.
The death penalty is still legal in 31 US states and the coinage act of 1792 is still in place today. This states that any Mint employee caught defacing, counterfeiting or embezzling coins can be, in theory, sentenced to death. Whether or not this would be upheld in today’s court of law is debatable.
Defaced coin. Credit: pinterest.co.uk/crumley1065/the-coin-box
4) Origin of the “buck”.
This well-known slang term for an American dollar is thought to have originated in the early US frontier days when the hide of a male deer (a buck) was common currency, due to the scarcity of coinage. The term has since been adopted into everyday language and certainly seems to be here to stay for a while!
Buck. Credit: state.nj.us
5) The U.S. Mint’s coin production has grown over 131,000,000% since production first started in 1793.
The US Mint’s operation has grown and advanced greatly since the first mintage in 1972, when production consisted of 11,178 copper cents. Today the Mint produces an average of 14.7 million coins per day. The first mint in Philadelphia actually used horses to drive the machinery, whereas today, much more modern techniques are used and greater numbers of coins can be produced.
So there we have it, five fun facts about US coinage! Whether they come in handy at your next quiz night, give you something interesting to bring up in conversation, or even spark your interest in collecting US coins, we hope you’ve enjoyed finding out more about US coins.
Own the US Coin Pack today!
If this has sparked your interest in US coins, why not own the coin pack containing 6 US coins from the 1 Cent to the 1 Dollar? Each coin is protectively encapsulated in display packaging with an image of the iconic Grand Canyon and additional information about the USA and their coinage.
June 2018 Video Newsletter
Watch as Yasmin and Rachel discuss all the latest news from the world of change collecting:
You can also watch our June Video Newsletter on Instagram TV here >>
Do you own the rarest Olympic 50p?
In 2011, 29 50p coins were released ahead of the 2012 London Olympics and millions rose to the challenge of collecting them all. For many, this marked the start of their interest in coins.
The Royal Mint now estimates that as many as 75% of the Olympic 50p coins have been removed from circulation by collectors, which is a testament to their popularity.
But which Olympic 50ps do you need to look out for…
2009 Athletics Olympic 50p
In 2009, two years before the 29-coin Olympic 50p series was released, nine-year old Florence Jackson became the youngest person to design a coin for circulation in the UK. Her Athletics Olympic 50p design was the ultimate winner of a Blue Peter competition.
Although you may recognise this coin, you may not know that a rare version of this coin exists. When the competition winner was revealed, only 100,000 special edition Blue Peter coin packs were released with a 2009 dated coin – making it the only Olympic 50p without a 2011 date.
That makes this 2009 Athletics Olympic 50p more than twice as rare as the famous Kew Gardens 50p.
Which Olympic 50p is the rarest?
Did you know that only 1,125,500 Football fifty pence pieces entered circulation? It’s definitely the rarest one to look out for and tops our chart as having the smallest mintage figures, which means it is even harder to find than the others.
Although the Olympic Football 50p holds the smallest mintage figure, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always going to be the most sought-after Olympic 50p. To determine just how scarce and sought-after your coins are, check out our Scarcity Index.
The withdrawn Aquatics ‘error’ Olympic 50p
The Aquatics 50p which we are familiar with today is actually a modified version which removed the waves passing over the swimmer’s face.
Despite the original design being adapted early on – there are still a few of the original coins in circulation.
Although the exact quantity of the original Aquatics design remains a mystery, we know it’s not unusual for these special coins to exchange hands for close to £1000… not a bad return on a 50p coin!
The rarest of the series
It is without doubt that the gold versions of each 50p remain the rarest of the collection.
Unfortunately for collectors, obtaining one of these is nearly impossible as only one gold version of each design was presented to the respective winning designer.
Aside from the precious metal content, their unique status and significance rank them as potentially the most valuable UK 50p coins in existence.
Is this the 30th Olympic 50p?
To the delight of many Olympic 50p collectors, in 2016 The Royal Mint issued a special 50p to wish Team GB success for the Rio Games.
The coin’s obverse features a swimmer with the Team GB logo, the Olympic rings and the inscription ‘TEAM GB’. Designed by Tim Sharp, the coin has been officially endorsed by Team GB and celebrates the spirit of British Olympians.
Although the 2016 Team GB 50p isn’t part of the 29-coin Olympic 50p series, it’s become known as the ‘unofficial 30th Olympic 50p’ – a must have for all Olympic 50p Collectors.
Dual-Dated Team GB 50p
Back in 2020, collectors were delighted by the announcement of the new Team GB 50p, released as part of the 2020 Annual Coin Set to celebrate Team GB’s participation in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
However, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021, this 50p was never individually released in 2020.
Excitingly, this means that there are two versions of the coin – one with the obverse dated 2020 from the 2020 Annual Coin Set and one with the obverse dated 2021 from the individual release.
What’s more, this makes the 2021 UK Team GB 50p one of only a small handful of UK 50ps to feature a dual-date – only adding to its collectability!
Complete your 50p collection