LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 17, 2023

 
Two drawings by Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro for the Anthony dollar.

In one of those odd happenings that liven up numismatic history, a coin dealer managed to get a few hundred Anthony dollars in advance of the official release date, no doubt with the help of a friendly banker. The Treasury, apparently believing that this was a heinous crime of the worst kind, made a real effort to prosecute the hapless individual. Although the net result was the usual great waste of money and time, in truth, they should have given the coin dealer a medal for at least helping to popularize the new coin.

In due course, the coins, after a huge publicity campaign mounted at taxpayer expense, were duly released and were met with reactions ranging from a loud yawn to outright hostility. This was followed by laughter on a grand scale as the public realized the magnitude of the blunder. It was not long before the most commonly heard name for the new coin was the Agony Dollar, a play on words that reflected the unnecessarily stern look on Miss Anthony's face.

Shortly after this, and to prove some strange political point, Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin forced through the Senate a ban on further coinage of the Anthony dollars until his demands were met. They soon were, and coinage resumed. Proxmire was once famous for handing out awards to bureaucrats for wasting money but was singularly quiet when it came to his part in this coinage disaster.

To read the complete article, see:
The Susan B. Anthony Dollar (https://www.numismaticnews.net/collecting-101/the-susan-b-anthony-dollar)

 

Morris, caught up in speculative land schemes and saddled with other debts in the 1790s, declared bankruptcy in 1797 amid a significant economic downturn. He entered the Prune Street Debtors' Apartment, next to the Walnut Street Prison, in February 1798. He remained there until released in October 1801 under the terms of the Bankruptcy Act of 1800. George Washington and other Revolution-era notables visited Morris in debtors' prison, underscoring Morris' influence; some historians contend that some of the political will to pass the Bankruptcy Act of 1800 was a product of Morris' imprisonment.

Morris' financial proposals and the Nova Constellatio patterns are not his only connections to U.S. numismatics. His portrait appears on $1,000 Legal Tender Notes in the 1860s and $10 Silver Certificates in the late 1870s, early 1880s.

To read the complete article, see:
DID YOU KNOW THAT EARLY AMERICAN FINANCIER ROBERT MORRIS SPENT ROUGHLY TWO YEARS IN DEBTORS' PRISON? (https://stacksbowers.com/did-you-know-that-early-american-financier-robert-morris-spent-roughly-two-years-in-debtors-prison/)

Who or what determines the mintage size? Time, bullion on hand, a superintendent's orders for 3,844,000 coins one year and 1,766,000 the next?

First, the Treasury Department and the Mint operated on the Federal Government's fiscal year, so that is how all the officers looked at coinage. That meant that a calendar year, as required for dating coins, was an exception to all normal accounting. This is the main reason for inconsistency in coin production from one calendar year to another: the fiscal year was more important.

There were several ways used to determine how many coins were needed. For copper coins made from 1793 through 1857, demand from large cities and regions filtered its way through the largest banks and the United States Treasurer to the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia. The Mint, in turn, ordered planchets from suppliers, mainly Boulton and then Crocker Bros. Early coppers, and the later base metal minor coins, were also very profitable for the Treasury.

Gold and silver coins were made to the demand of depositors rather than for Government account. Production was erratic and depended on banks and deposits from specie brokers and the denominations of coin they requested...

To read the complete article, see:
Coin Production at the US Mint: Questions and Answers (https://coinweek.com/coin-production-united-states-mint-questions-answers-roger-burdette/)

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