Major Coin and Bank Note Categories

By Paige Shoemaker

Type - Odd denomination coins that were made for a short period of time, that is, half cents, large cents, two cent pieces, three cent nickel, three cent silver, shield nickel, liberty nickel, half dime, bust dime, seated dime, bust quarter, seated quarter, bust half, seated half, flowing hair dollar, bust dollar, seated dollar, trade dollar.

When a complete set is too prohibitive to collect by dates and mint marks, a collector can save just one coin from the set, making that a "type" coin.

Cents - Small type denomination minted from 1856 to present. Represents 1/100 of a dollar. Designs include the Flying Eagle Cent (1856-1858), Indian Cent (1859-1909), Lincoln Cent -wheat back (1909-1958), and Lincoln Cent -Memorial back (1959 to present).

Nickels - Denomination which represents 1/20 of a dollar. Modern designs include the Buffalo Nickel (1913 - 1938) and Jefferson (1938 to date).

Dimes - Denomination which represents 1/10 of a dollar. Modern designs include the Barber Dime (1892-1916), Mercury Dime (1916-1945), and Roosevelt Dime (1946 to date).

Quarters - Denomination which represents ¼ of a dollar. Modern designs include the Barber Quarter (1892 - 1916), Standing Liberty Quarter (1916-1930), and Washington Quarter (1932 to date). Start looking for the new quarter in 1999!

Halves - Denomination which represents ½ of a dollar. Modern designs include the Barber Half (1892-1915), Liberty Walking Half (1916-1947), Franklin Half Dollar (1948-1963), and Kennedy Half (1964 to date).

Commemoratives - With few exceptions, these are the only coins that have a real historical significance. These special coins are usually issued either to commemorate events or to help pay for monuments or celebrations that commemorate historical persons, places, or things.

Dollars - Also known as Silver Dollars, which represent one dollar on the open market. Modern designs include the Morgan Dollar (1878 - 1921), Peace Dollar (1921 - 1935), Eisenhower Dollar (1971 - 1978), and Susan B. Anthony Dollar (1978 - 1981). There were years during periods of the Morgan and Peace Dollars where there was no dollar minted - mainly due to the glut of coins on the market, the Depression, and the loss of popularity due to the newly made paper dollars.

Foreign - Any denomination of coin minted by or for a country other than the United States.

Gold - The Coinage Act of 1792 established an independent monetary system with the dollar as the basic U.S. monetary unit containing 24 ¾ grains of fine gold, based on the world price of $19.39 a troy ounce (480 grains). Congress changed the gold specification a few times. In 1933, by Executive Order, President Roosevelt ordered all U.S. citizens to turn in all their gold. This prohibition was extended in 1961 to gold held abroad. The dollar price was then set at $35 per ounce. Use of gold in international trade was further restricted as the price rose. The government revalued it at $38 in 1972, then $42.22 in 1973. All restrictions on holding gold were removed in 1975.

The price of gold has fluctuated over the past years. Initially, the size of the coin was the value based on the gold market, that is, $1 gold was $1 worth of gold. Types of gold coins were as follows: Gold Dollars (1849 - 1899); Quarter Eagles, also known as $2.50 Gold Pieces, (1796-1929); Three Dollar Gold Pieces (1854-1889); Four Dollar Gold or "Stella" (1879-1880); Half Eagles, also known as $5 Gold Pieces (1795-1929); Eagles, also known as $10 Gold Pieces, (1795-1933); and Double Eagles, also known as $20 Gold Pieces, (1849 - 1933).

Paper Money - There are several categories of U.S. Paper Money. The first U.S. Paper Money Issues were established in 1861. Before then, there were many different types of notes: American Colonies, Continental Currency, Broken Bank Notes, Railroad, Private Notes, and Paper Money from other countries, such as Spain, Mexico, and England.

After 1861, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving issued Demand Notes, Legal Tender, Compound Interest Notes, Silver Certificates, Treasury Notes, National Bank Notes, Federal Reserve Notes, and Gold Notes. After 1861, notes were printed from $1 to $10,000 for general use. It is legal to own $5,000 and $10,000 bills, but they are very hard to find. The banks have been returning these bills to the Federal Reserve for years.

The preceding material was written using information from A Guide Book of United States Coins by R. S. Yeoman.

The preceding material was written by Paige Shoemaker. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.