The Native American dollars or the more popularly known Sacagawea dollars have been minted from 2000 till now. These coins honor the Native Americans’ history and way of life. When the Europeans landed in the Americas in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, the ‘Native Americans’ wouldn’t have realized the extent to which their numbers would diminish in the next three centuries. The natives had a unique philosophy to everything, starting from their land, the river and their animals. The Spanish and later other Europeans who landed on their shores had a completely different view on land ownership and animal hunting. This huge cultural divide was in some ways detrimental to the natives.

Continue reading →

2016 has zipped past so quickly. It has left us truly breathless with the range of American coins it had to offer. Our Shopcsn blog also had a wonderful run this year with so many coins to explore and talk about. This is a compilation of all those coins that had wowed us and made us proud to be in the numismatic community.

Continue reading →

The second post in the series “US coin engravers and artists” is here…

Continue reading →

We have always talked about coins. It’s our passion. But what about the artists behind the coins? The Coin engravers and artists are the people who have managed to bring out the numismatist in you and me. They are the ones who have painstakingly brought out a thought or an entire story within a 1 inch coin. We have tried to piece together a post talking about these coin engravers, sculptors and artists who have made the US coins what it is today. As the post became a bit longer than we thought it would, we would be putting it up as a series. The first one is here….

Continue reading →

For the first time ever, Proof American Silver Eagles have been released with edge lettering. For commemorating the 30^th anniversary of the American Eagle, the 2016 Proof American Silver Eagle has been designed to have lettering in the edges where it is usually reeded.  Though rare, edge lettering in coins is not a new phenomenon. Some of the earliest American coins have edge lettering. Modern coins like the Presidential $1 coins and the Native American $1 coins also have edge lettering.

Continue reading →

Abe Lincoln , the most revered of all Presidents appears in the obverse of the cent or penny (taken from the British penny for the smallest denomination!) from the year 1909. Lincoln cent or Lincoln Penny as it is called has seen many changes in the reverse design but the obverse has been constant for the last 107 years. It was designed by Victor David Brenner using a photograph of the 16th President by Mathew Brady.

Continue reading →

After nearly 240 years of the 'Declaration of Independence', what do we really look forward to on the 4^th of July? Is it the fireworks that light up the night sky across the country? Is it the parades and the barbecues or the baseball games? Or is it just the lure of a long weekend, a day to relax with your partner and kids? It's all such great fun, isn't it?! But amidst all the fun and celebrations, do we also reflect for a moment on the events that made all this possible? The Revolutionary war with the British Empire that gained momentum on the 4^th of July 1776, when the Continental Congress came together and signed the 'Declaration of Independence'.

Continue reading →

Proof coins have always been a collector’s favorite. As the highest standards are used while producing Proof coins (more about that here), they come out of the mint struck with designs in bold and sharp detail. But in 2006, the U.S. mint did something different to attract more collectors. It produced a brilliant variation of the Proof coin-the Reverse Proof coin!

Continue reading →

Anne Frances Robbins, or Nancy Reagan as she is known to us is summed up by most historians as ‘an actress turned first lady’.  It is too unfair and short a eulogy for someone who personified ‘living life to the fullest’. Nancy Reagan was the 40^th First Lady. Over the two terms of Reagan’s administration from 1981-89, she brought glamour, élan and formality to the White House after Jackie Kennedy.

Continue reading →

Have you looked at the schedule of 2016 U.S. coins? It’s a pretty interesting line-up, with coins and coin sets that are familiar and some that are totally new. Some coins have had an early release and some are about to be released. So let’s jump in and see what is in store for us, shall we?

Continue reading →