Today's coin of the day should be a little more familiar: the Bicentennial Quarter! For me, this was the first non-standard coin I was ever aware of. Until the state quarter program, US coins were remarkably unchanging, particularly the quarter. The design of the quarter was essentially identical from 1932 to 1998, with the exception of course of this coin.
The guy on the back of the coin is a drummer from the revolutionary war. Back then, war was fought differently, and drummers were important to keep all the marching formations in step. Also, they were useful for making sure all the muskets fired at once. Sadly for the drummers, they were frequently targeted by the enemy in an attempt to cause chaos in the American ranks. So it makes sense that this particularly patriotic coin commemorates them.
Here's a fun fact about the bicentennial quarter: although it says 1976 on the coin, they were actually also produced in 1975. Just try and find a quarter with 1975 on it - you won't! The mint anticipated an unusually high demand for the coin, so they got started early producing them. (Of course this means that about half of these quarters are actually commemorating the United States' 199th birthday instead of its 200th.) It makes sense there would be more demand, many people kept at least one aside because it was the only non-standard coin they ever came across in their change. How many people do you know who saved one of these?
Another little known fact is that there were also bicentennial half dollars and bicentennial silver dollars. Since most people don't handle half dollars or silver dollars for day to day use, their design change slipped under the radar. The reverse of the silver dollar has the moon on it!
The guy on the back of the coin is a drummer from the revolutionary war. Back then, war was fought differently, and drummers were important to keep all the marching formations in step. Also, they were useful for making sure all the muskets fired at once. Sadly for the drummers, they were frequently targeted by the enemy in an attempt to cause chaos in the American ranks. So it makes sense that this particularly patriotic coin commemorates them.
Here's a fun fact about the bicentennial quarter: although it says 1976 on the coin, they were actually also produced in 1975. Just try and find a quarter with 1975 on it - you won't! The mint anticipated an unusually high demand for the coin, so they got started early producing them. (Of course this means that about half of these quarters are actually commemorating the United States' 199th birthday instead of its 200th.) It makes sense there would be more demand, many people kept at least one aside because it was the only non-standard coin they ever came across in their change. How many people do you know who saved one of these?
Another little known fact is that there were also bicentennial half dollars and bicentennial silver dollars. Since most people don't handle half dollars or silver dollars for day to day use, their design change slipped under the radar. The reverse of the silver dollar has the moon on it!
In fact, there is another american coin with the moon on it, which you may have never noticed. Check back tomorrow to see what it is!
No comments:
Post a Comment