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Trivia Question (20th Century Coins)

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In addition to the plain edges of the cent, nickel and Sacagawea dollar, the Indian eagle had stars on the edge (one for each state), 46 stars (from 1907 to 1911) and 48 stars (from 1912 to 1932). The Saint-Gaudens $20 gold piece also had a lettered edge with the motto "E Pluribus Unum" divided by stars, though I think there is at least one specimen of the High relief known to have a plain edge.

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OK, haven't seen any answers, so in addition to the coins listed, the 1992 Olympiad silver dollar (Nolan Ryan obverse) has the phrase XXV OLYMPIAD on the edge in addition to standard reeding.

 

This is a great piece to look at if you want to see how edge-lettered coins looked in the olden days, as these are rarely slabbed and easy to find at coin shows, where the earlier coins in high grade tend to be slabbed and the edge isn't visible.

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Great question, I never would have guessed the 92 olympic dollar! Does that have lettering and reeding? I must say that is a unique look, I have a British 1-pound coin that has lettering and reeding and it is pretty nice.

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I just looked at the coin in the Red Book and it said that the edge lettering only appeared on the unc. (Denver Mint) dollar and not the proof! Wonder why they did that? tongue.gif

 

Hoot

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Without researching the law that authorized the coin, or finding an original with documentation, I would suggest that it was an experiment to see if it was feasible for modern commems to have the edge lettering added going forward.

 

I would be willing to bet that the reject rate was high, or Mint employees complained about the added steps that were required to process the coins.

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My opinion of the lettered edge is that it was a failed attempt by the Mint to promote more interest in an otherwise boring coin. I recall the Mint's publicity at the time trumpting the fact that the coin had a unique edge. I think most collectors at the time yawned. And I think the yawning continues to this day...

Mark

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One thing I TRULY dislike about this forum, as opposed to the other side of the street, is the ability on this forum to post without being logged in. The above post about the mint's effort to increase demand via publicity for their mediocre commemorative was made by me.

 

Mark

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Yeah, the anon. posting can get confusing.

 

As to the commem, the Mint must have hated that thing so bad they conned the services into doing the Autographed Slab with this one. I've seen Nolan Ryan autographed copies of this on E-Bay recently.

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