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The use of Peace Medals to befriend Indians goes back to the 17th century (Search Coin Doc archive #10 for "Indian Peace Medals" for more information).  When Lewis and Clark went on their famous adventure they surely took Peace Medals along with them as gifts for the Indians.

Almost every U.S. President in the 19th century had a peace medal made for him. The Thomas Jefferson medal shows his bust facing left with the legend TH. JEFFERSON PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1801. There is four buttons on his coat. Note that the later 19th century restrike issues have 3 or 2 buttons on his coat. The reverse legends are PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP. There are clasped hands and a crossed pipe and tomahawk. The Indian arm on the right has a bracelet with an eagle. This reverse became the standard reverse for Peace Medals up to 1849 with the issue produced for President Zachary Taylor.

The medal was struck in silver, bronze and white metal and in sizes between 100 and 105 mm.  All the die work was done by Robert Scott, Chief Engraver of the Mint.  Several hundred medals were struck and given out.  They continued to be minted as they were needed until about 1811.

These medals continued to be produced for sale to the public and at least one four inch silver example was known to be struck between 1857 and 1892. The dies still exist and are in the Mint's collection.

Note that the bronze medals have a mahogany or chocolate color not the bright gold color of the reproductions made after 1900 (The reproduction is still available from the Philadelphia Mint).  The originals are can be expensive (condition is important), the restrikes fairly inexpensive and the modern goldine reproductions, almost worthless.

Presidential tokens seem to be a popular item.  In the 1950's Shell Oil Company produced an aluminum set with the portraits of the Presidents with information about them on the reverse. You would get one when you filled up your gas tank.  There was a cardboard holder that the company supplied that had spaces each token.  The promotion was a success because "hole psychology" made people come back for more.  I've seen brass President tokens given out by banks as a reward for making a deposit in a savings account and even a fancy set in silver with gold plating, minted by a private mint.

I don't know which tokens you have, but they are interesting and fun to collect though not especially valuable. You might get involved enough with this set to broaden your collecting interest.

This coin was struck without the collar that holds the coin in place when it is struck. The reeding is imparted by the collar and that is why there is no reeding on your coin.  Normal clad off-center strikes on clad quarters bring about $10 but there is a great deal of interest in State Quarter errors. Estimate: $25+ depending on the offset.

Constantius II was one of the sons of Constantine, the Great (Emperor of Rome in 307 AD).  The small copper Follis that is often seen brings less than $10 in worn condition. There are many of these in the market place, many of them found in digs in archaeological sites. Still, it is historic and interesting, as well as a great point in which to start an ancient coin collection. (I got interested in the subject with coins from the same family). 

It goes to show that old doesn't necessarily equal rare or valuable.  It also means that you could put together a decent collection for less than it cost to buy many United States coins.  Try to put together a family portrait, you have one family member already.  Find the following copper folli:

• Constantine I (dad)
• Helena (grandma and mother of Constantine)
• Fausta (2nd wife of Constantine)
• Crispus (son of Constantine and his first wife Minervina)
• Constantine II - son of Constantine and Fausta
• Constantius II - son of Constantine and Fausta
• Constans - Son of Constantine and Fausta

A cool thing to do is to look up the history of Constantine and his family. The coin in your hand WAS THERE 1,700 years ago.

Sets like these were put together and marketed by a private company. There is no connection to The United States Mint. No such sets were produced by them. The Mints only sell current mint sets, proof sets and commemoratives as well as produce regular coinage.  They do not generally sell coins from previous years. They leave that up to coin dealers.

The United States Mint does not buy or redeem coins from the public. The only place to redeem coins is at a bank or at the Treasury.  Both institutions will trade them for current currency at face value. The Treasury also buys mutilated coinage at a discount though they will redeem any United States paper money at full face.

None of the sets you mentioned include rare coins. Though the sets are interesting they contain mostly circulated examples that often bring only small premiums above their face value in the coin market. Though The Lincoln memorial set is usually offered in mint condition, these are common coins that are currently worth only face value.

There were several offerings of patterns for a potential United States coinage from 1776 to the late 1780's.  The Nova Constellatio pieces are most ambitious.  They were the first decimal offerings and the design attempted to translate easily between many of the States coinage then in use.

The coins consisted of a 1000 unit silver coin called a "Mark" a silver 500 unit, The "Quint", a silver 100 unit coin as well as a copper 5 unit coin. The patterns were designed by Benjamin Dudley and all are dated 1783. The 5 unit copper piece is unique (and not known until 1980) but other examples of the other denominations may exist.  There are many sets of electrotype copies.  The last Mark piece was sold in the Garrrett Sale in 1979 where it brought $190,000.

If you think you might have a genuine piece, send it to the American Numismatic Association for authentication.  See the Links  page for more information.

The first coinage probably occurred in China in about 2,000 BC. These early coins were small scale reproductions of everyday objects such as knives and spades which at one time were barter items. These "coins" were cast from bronze and by 1000 BC were officially inscribed.

The Western World did not know of the convenience of coinage until about 700 BC.  Egypt and Assyria had commonly exchanged gold bullion bars and rings before and around this time but it was difficult to tell that the items had the agreed upon gold content. The Lydians are credited in inventing objects that were officially stamped to guarantee the quantity and weight of precious metal. 

They first struck their "coins", really a small ingot , in a native gold/silver alloy called "Electrum".  The coins were carefully weighed so that the proper amount of electrum was present. These coins are struck only on one side with an official mark and with a punch mark on the other.  For example, the electrum stater (650-561 BC) shows two lion heads face to face with three punches on the reverse. At first, the coinage values were very high, representing a soldier's wages for a month. Later refinements allowed for fractional staters and lower value coins in both gold and silver so that the coinage would be effective for normal, everyday transactions.

All North Wales pieces are tokens and privately issued.  I don't know of any reference to one dated 1796. You might have a North Wales Washington halfpenny.  This shows George Washington facing left, crowned harp and "North Wales" on the reverse. The date is 1795. These are valued between US$80-$3,000 depending on type and grade.

What made the 1922 plain cent so interesting was that there were no Philadelphia cents made in 1922.  Since all that year's cents were struck in Denver, the missing mint mark was glaringly obvious. The 1937-D Buffalo nickel error came from a worn die that a mint employee polished so extensively that he removed part of the design.  Every coin struck with that die were identical.

I didn't read the article about the "phantom D" but what does come to mind is a filled die error, that is, the coin was struck in Denver but the recess where the mintmark was filled with dirt and debris and this resulted in a very light impression.  That, in a way, is similar to the 1922-D except that 1997 cents WERE struck in Philadelphia as well as Denver.  I'm not aware of any special price market for this coin, at least not yet.

 These were popular in the 19th century as gifts to clients for their patronage.  Calendar medals sometimes come with advertising or political messages.  Having a calendar in your pocket was very useful and of course the user would constantly see the advertising.

The Regina Centennial Silver Dollar was minted in 1982 by the Canadian government to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Regina in 1882. The coin is non-circulating legal tender and was sold by the Mint as a silver proof in a square black leatherette case, a maroon insert and the coin encapsulated in plastic. Also, it was minted as a silver unc in a clear plastic case with a black insert.  Value Range: US$5-$10.

The Philippines were a U.S. possession from 1898 - 1945 and received their independence in 1946.  Most Philippine coins were struck at U.S.Mints though some were struck in Manila as well. The first coins struck after the Japanese no longer occupied the Philippine islands in WW II are dated 1944 and include the 50 centavos that you found.  These coins were only struck at the San Francisco Mint and show an "S" mint mark.  Value range: $0.75 - $5., depending on grade. See more information about the Philippines by applying this key word on the CoinSite Search Tool .

It is a commemorative crown (25p) from Great Britain celebrating the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.  They were minted in copper-nickel (value about $1) and in sterling silver (.925 fine, .8409 troy ounce pure silver) (value about $10).

The copper-nickel crowns were available at banks at face value, the silver version was made as a proof and sold by the British Royal Mint by subscription.

There are several medals and coins that have a motif of a man panning for gold, including a United States commemorative half dollar minted in 1925 at the San Francisco Mint. The best known of the medal types are the medals issued by the California Medalists Society in San Francisco.  The medals were minted at the request of the California State Chamber of Commerce in 1948.  Approximately 4000 pieces were minted with 1000 examples gold plated and mounted in a folder.

One example: The obverse shows a miner panning for gold with a log cabin and mountains in the background.  The legend around is CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 1848-1948. The reverse shows a helmeted female, facing left, holding a spear in her right hand. In the background are ships sailing on a bay; there is a bear above. These are quite scarce and probably are worth in the $50+ range in decent grade.

Yes, thanks for the tip.  I will publish it in the Doc's column. There is only one problem, coin collectors hate putting edge dings on their coins, even if they are only 1982 zinc cents.

You can often do the ring test by balancing the coin on your finger held over a soft mat and striking the edge lightly with a pencil. It's hard to do with a cent unless you can recruit someone with small fingers.

Proofs are made differently than regular circulating coins. They are struck more than once on specially prepared flans and usually have mirror fields.  The Proof 1908 Indian quarter eagle was made with an ususual matte finish. This has a dull sand-blasted look to the surface.  Proofs of this year are quite rare and valuable, only 167 were minted. 

If you think your 1908 quarter eagle is a proof, you can get it authenticated and graded by NGC or PCGS.  See the Links page for more information.

Your missing digit is a filled die error.  This can occur when a part of a die gets filled with dirt and debris. The metal from the blank can't flow into that area to receive the impression. Filled die errors are common and inconsistent and add no value to the coin unless the filled die error is severe.  This is a lot different than a doubled die, where the flaw is in the die and every coin struck from that die shows the same error.