Collecting Lincoln Cents is the way many coin collectors get their start. It is the most collected coin in the world. The Lincoln Cent is the lowly penny and their tiny denomination and the fact that they are so common usually means that these little titans do not get the respect that they deserve. Since the centennial of his birth in 1909, President Lincoln’s likeness has been on one side of the one cent coin. The reverse has had a few interesting changes over the years.

The wheat penny was the first of the Lincoln Cents to be minted and featured a pair of wheat stalks surrounding the words “One Cent” on the back. There are some issues of this series that are extremely valuable depending on the date and the mint. These were made until 1958, when the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and brought about a change to the penny.

The Lincoln Memorial Cents were produced from 1959 until 2008. In 2009, for the 200^th anniversary of President Lincoln’s birth there were four unique designs on the back of the pennies. Each image was intended to show a different part of Lincoln’s life. These coins were minted for one year and in 2010 a new design was presented on the reverse side of the coin. The new image was the Union Shield. It was designed to signify how President Lincoln preserved the United States during the civil war.

Along with the changes in design and the different metals that were used throughout the almost one hundred years of Lincoln Cent production, there are also minting errors that can make an individual coin very unique and collectable. These can include striking errors or there are also errors with the die. Collecting Lincoln cents can be as simple as finding an anomaly in the coin. The most famous anomaly happened with the 1955 Double Die Lincoln Cent.

The Lincoln Cent has been part of American money for over a century and is still as collectable as it ever was. From the ultra rare to the minting mistakes, there are a lot of different reasons that a penny might be worth a lot more than one cent. Collecting Lincoln cents is as easy as keeping your eyes open and checking your pockets because you never know when you might stumble across a rare treasure.

Eisenhower dollars were minted between 1971 and 1978. The coin depicts a profile of President Dwight David Eisenhower. Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915 and served in World War I. He served various posts in the 1920s and 1930s, and in different military capacities in the early years of World War II. He became Supreme Allied Commander in December of 1943. He oversaw the invasion of Normandy and the subsequent conquest of Europe. He became General of the Army in December 1944. In 1952, he gained the office of President of the United States and served two terms from 1953 to 1961. He died in 1969.

Eisenhower dollars were quite large, measuring 1.50 inches across. The head of Eisenhower is on the obverse of the coin. On the back, the original reverse was the Apollo 11 Mission Insignia. These original designs were the work of Frank Gasparro, the tenth Chief Engraver of the US Mint. For the Bicentennial version of the coin, the reverse changed to show the Liberty Bell in front of the moon. That design came from Dennis Williams. The Eisenhower dollars came out of two mints: the Philadelphia and the Denver.

The Eisenhower dollars had problems in early production. In attempts to deal with the problems, designers made slight changes to the reverse design of the coin. The original design, known as Type 1, offered a lower profile than the others did. The second attempt, known as Type 2, has a slightly higher relief than the first design and includes slight variations in the design. Type 2 appears less defined than Type 1 or Type 3. The third attempt, Type 3, carries a better definition than the others two designs and is the type used on all coins in 1973 and after. All three designs appeared on coins in 1972, with Type 2 being the rarest.

The reverses on the Bicentennial Eisenhower dollars also have variations. Lettering changes created two different varieties. Type 1 of the Bicentennial edition has block lettering while Type 2 has a thinner, more elegant script. Type 1 is rarer than Type 2 in the Bicentennial coins. The condition of any of these coins makes a great deal of difference in value.

The 1932 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle represents the final issue of the series that is generally available for most collectors. Although coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint in the following year, they were never officially released into circulation. Only a single 1933 Double Eagle has been confirmed as legal to own, while the status of other survivors remains in question.

Similar to the issues of the previous three years, the 1932 Double Eagle is a rarity due to fact that the majority of the coins produced were melted. Of the original mintage of 1,101,750 pieces, it is believed that only 110 were officially released by the Philadelphia Mint. The number of specimens surviving today is even lower, with estimates ranging from 60 to 95 pieces.

The vast majority of 1932 Double Eagles are in uncirculated grades, with PCGS and NGC population reports showing most grades in the MS62 to MS66 range. The example residing within the Smithsonian Institution’s collection is estimated to grade MS67, making it the finest known.

Over the past few years, auction prices for 1932 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle graded MS66 have ranged from $126,500 to $161,000. Population reports show this grade awarded 19 times, although the number resulting from resubmissions is not known.

Reprinted with permission.

Source: http://saintgaudensdoubleeagle.com/1932-saint-gaudens-double-eagle/