| Coin collecting is fascinating, and | | | | reverse side. |
| collecting American coins is an easy and | | | | |
| entertaining hobby if you live in the United | | | | Dimes |
| States. There are some really interesting | | | | |
| coins of most denominations. | | | | Probably the most boring American coin are |
| | | | dimes. The design of dimes hasn't changed |
| Pennies | | | | since 1945, the year after President Franklin |
| | | | Delano Roosevelt died. He suffered from polio |
| The Lincoln head penny is probably the most | | | | and supported the March of Dimes. The March |
| collected American coin. They have been | | | | of Dimes helps people with birth defects now, |
| minted since 1909. During WWII some Lincoln | | | | but in Roosevelt's time it also helped |
| head pennies were made out of zinc instead of | | | | children who had polio. To memorialize his |
| copper. A very few were made of copper in | | | | support of the March of Dimes, Franklin's |
| 1943, and these are rare and valuable | | | | portrait has remained on our dimes since his |
| American coins. | | | | death. Dimes are a boring coin, but that is |
| | | | a great American coin story. |
| Pennies had an Indian head on them before the | | | | |
| Lincoln penny was minted. Another rare | | | | Quarters |
| American coin are the indian head pennies. | | | | |
| | | | The quarter, our favorite American coin, had |
| Nickels | | | | the Statue of Liberty on it until 1930. |
| | | | George Washington replaced her. The mint has |
| Nickels had a picture of the goddess Liberty | | | | been releasing the very collectible US State |
| on them, from 1883 to 1913. An extremely rare | | | | quarters, an American coin series that will |
| American coin, interestingly, is the 1913 | | | | be completed in 2008, since 1999. |
| liberty nickel. A mint employee made them | | | | |
| illegally after hours and only five copies | | | | Half Dollars and Dollars |
| were made. | | | | |
| | | | Half dollars used to be common, and until |
| The most classic American coin is the buffalo | | | | 1964 they had Ben Franklin on one side and |
| nickel. It has a buffalo on one side and an | | | | the Liberty Bell on the other. President |
| Indian head on the other. | | | | Kennedy's portrait went on the half dollar in |
| | | | 1964. Because Kennedy was beloved, and |
| The nickel has had President Jefferson's | | | | because the 1964 silver dollar was to be the |
| portrait on it, since 1938. In 2004, the mint | | | | last "real" silver dollar, people hoarded |
| started a "Westward Journey" series of | | | | them and they became a treasured American |
| nickels to commemorate Lewis and Clark's | | | | coin. The mint released more of them than any |
| journey. So the Westward Journey nickels are | | | | other half dollar, because so many people |
| destined to be collectible coins as they've | | | | collected the 1964 Kennedy half-dollars. |
| tweaked Jefferson's portrait and the coins | | | | Congress even froze the date, and 1964 half |
| have different historical themes on the | | | | dollars were minted in 1965, too. |