A Guide to Collecting Coins from Circulation

As a coin collector for many years, I have learned first hand that one can amass an exciting and incredible collection of coins directly from pocket change. In fact, the current period is the first time in generations that a collector can look to his or her pocket changeand expect to find a vast array of designs and denominations since the so-called "golden days" of coin collecting during the middle of the 20^th century. Needless to say, collecting coins from circulation nowadays is certainly more tantalizing than it was in 1992, when I first began collecting coins. Back then, one would be hard pressed to find anything more than Lincoln cents, Jefferson nickels, Roosevelt dimes, and the heraldic eagle-reverse Washington quarters. Fine coins all, but quite limited in scope when referring to the number of designs one could easily find in circulation.

The reason for all the buzz about today's selection of circulating coinage comes down largely to three coin programs that the United States Mint has begun over the past decade: the Statehood Quarters program (1999-2007), honoring each of our nation's fifty states; and the Presidential Dollars (2007-), a series of dollar coins that have just begun production, bearing depictions of our country's deceased presidents in chronological order of time in office; and the Westward Nickel series (2004-2005), four circulating designs that recognize the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Furthermore, one can find in circulation the usual offering of Lincoln cents, pre-2004 Jefferson nickels, Roosevelt dimes, and pre-1999 Washington quarters (with the heraldic eagle reverse).