![]() ![]() For example, the positioning of the central device with respect to the legend is different, spacing of letters and numbers. ![]() One die looks obviously different from another, even though they had the same basic design. Because of this, we have more than 140 different die varieties of New Jersey coppers that can be collected. I enjoy collecting colonial coins because each coin was made from hand-engraved dies-no two are alike. The Articles of Confederation recognized these states as having the right to make their own coinage, but the Constitution put an end to that, making the Federal Government responsible for coinage. We include the copper coinage of these four states under the heading colonial coins, even though they weren’t colonies at the time. Vermont was not a state at the time, but we consider it as such for collecting purposes. The states taking advantage of this were Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont. Above: The reverse of a 1723 Pistareen.ĭuring the Confederation period, from 1783 until 1787, the 13 states had the right to mint their own coinage. Pistareens and all Spanish silver coinage played an important part in the U.S. Top: The Obverse of a 1723 Pistareen, minted in Segovia Spain. The Articles of Confederation governed us until the Constitution was ratified in 1788 and made us what we are today-The United States of America. Mint started production in 1792 in Philadelphia. Williams: Technically, we call any coinage that circulated in the British American colonies a “colonial coin,” but most of the collectors of colonial coins collect coins that circulated before the U.S. Collectors Weekly: What is the definition of a colonial coin? We don’t have an actual office as such, but we’ve held an annual convention for the past 15 years, generally in Boston during the month of November. We have members from across the U.S., as well as Canada, England, and Ireland. They’re fascinated by the science of coins-die emission sequence, die-state analysis, and other related research areas.Ĭ4 is a national specialty coin club and also an ANA member. They enjoy learning and sharing information about the people who made the coins, the minting techniques, and where the metal came from. The members really love their coins and history. I was installed as president of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club, or C4, at the summer American Numismatic Association (ANA) convention in July of 2000 in Philadelphia. While I was actively seeking different die varieties for Large Cents, I gained experience with colonial coins through my involvement with an estate. Once I had completed that folder, I started a Large Cents collection, for which I completed a date set from 1793 to 1857. After completing my Lincoln cents, I tackled collecting Indian Head cents. ![]() cent, the 1914-D cent, and the 1955 Double Die cent. I had been married for a few years before I dusted off my Whitman folders and tried to fill in the remaining holes, like the 1909-S V.D.B. Like most other boys in the late ’60s, I got interested in girls and cars, and then I went to college. I collected cents, nickels, and dimes, placing them in the blue Whitman folders. Williams can be contacted via I started collecting coins at age 11 when I earned a Boy Scout Coin Collecting Merit Badge. Along the way he looks at the differences between type and die-variety collecting and explains how the first mints were designed to be moneymaking ventures in more ways than one. In this interview, Colonial Coin Collectors Club president Ray Williams talks about early American coins. ![]()
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