20th Century Coins

There were no design changes for the 1911 coins produced in the United States, however, there were several lower mintage and key date gold coins struck during the year. The three US Mint facilities within operation at the time included those at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. The low mintage coins came from Denver. The [...]

After several years containing many new designs, the 1910 coins of the United States Mint remained static with regards to design. The previous changes had resulted in a new design for the smallest denomination as well as the four gold denominations. The Lincoln Cent entered its second year of release with coins produced at the [...]

The 1909 coins of the United States continued the transformation in designs, which would later be dubbed the “Renaissance of American Coinage.” After completing the redesign of the circulating gold denominations, the smaller value coins would be rejuvenated. The cent had carried James Longacre’s “Indian Head” design since 1859. After this period of fifty years, [...]

The redesign of the United States circulating coinage continued with the 1908 coins. The two smaller gold denominations were given new designs, following last year’s redesign of the higher denomination gold coins. Bela Lyon Pratt was the designer of the innovative coins. The Indian Head Quarter Eagle and Half Eagle would feature the same design. [...]

A new era of coinage design began with the United States Mint’s 1907 coins. For decades of longer, many coins had utilized the same coin designs, with these designs shared amongst multiple denominations. Following the efforts of President Theodore Roosevelt, American coinage design was revitalized. One of the new designs introduced which began what would [...]

The year 1906 marked the first time that coins were produced at the Denver Mint. Originally, the mint facility located there had been used as an assay office, however 46 years later it was converted into a working mint. In the first year of operation, both gold and silver coins were produced bearing the “D” [...]

The 1905 coins of the United States include one fewer denomination than the previous year. Production levels across the operating mints were generally at higher levels, resulting in no significant key dates for the year, however some semi-key dates exist for the half dollar and double eagle. As customary, the two smallest denominations represented by [...]

Within the United States, the circulating coins issued in 1904 included numerous lower mintage issues. Adding some distinction to the year was the issuance of a commemorative coin, designed with “two heads” or portraits on both the obverse and reverse. The 1904 coins were struck across the same slate of denominations as the previous year. [...]

The year 1903 produced a number of minor rarities in United States coinage, as lower mintage circulating coins occurred across two denominations. This year also marked the first issue of a commemorative coin struck in gold. As customary, cents and nickels were struck only at the Philadelphia Mint. These coins had mintages of 85,092,703 and [...]

For the most part, the 1902 coins produced by the United States Mint lack any significant rarities. With one exception, production levels at the three facilities within operation were at normal levels for the respective circulating denominations, which cover values from one cent to twenty dollars. The Philadelphia Mint struck proof coins for collectors in [...]