News
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July 27, 2017
When we think of wealth today, we often think of the massive personal fortunes of business magnates like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or Warren Buffett. However, it is only since the Industrial Revolution that measuring wealth by one’s bank account has been a norm for the world’s richest.
For most of recorded human history, in fact, the lines around wealth were quite blurred. Leaders like Augustus Caesar or Emperor Shenzong had absolute control of their empires – while bankers like Jakob Fogger and Cosimo de Medici were often found pulling the strings from behind.
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July 24, 2017
Before our five-cent coins were known as “nickels,” the US Mint actually produced silver half dimes. These half dimes were produced in a variety of designs from 1792 to 1873. However, the story of the nickel as we know it today begins shortly before the Civil War.
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July 17, 2017
Over the past 30+ years, the two major third party coin certification companies (PCGS and NGC) have greatly expanded their holder and label offerings. Originally, both grading services offered just one standard issue holder with variation whatsoever. However, as time has passed, both companies have introduced a plethora of new options.
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July 10, 2017
While the dollar was almost always regarded as the most prestigious US silver coin, it was not consistently produced. The half dollar was in fact much more important in everyday commerce and the development of the American economy. Its absence from today’s circulating coinage belies this important role it played in the monetary history of the United States.
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July 03, 2017
During the 1780s, the currency system in the newly-founded United States was, to put it simply, a mess. The economy was still reeling from the inflationary collapse of the Continental Dollar. There was very little specie (gold or silver coinage) in circulation, and even copper coins were hoarded. Counterfeit coppers and underweight coppers often served as substitutes in commerce. The economy suffered greatly from this lack of circulating coinage.
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June 28, 2017
38 Incredible Facts on the Modern U.S. Dollar
We’ve previously showed you 31 Fascinating Facts About the Dollar’s Early History, which highlighted the history of U.S. currency before the 20th century. This was a very interesting period in which we looked at the money used by the first colonists, the extreme bust of the Continental currency, the era of privately-issued bank notes, and Congress’ emergency issuance of the fiat “greenback” during the Civil War.
However, the modern era of the U.S. dollar is just as interesting. We have it starting in 1913, when the Federal Reserve Act was passed by Woodrow Wilson. Not only did it establish a new central bank, but it also gave the Fed the authority to issue the Federal Reserve Note, which is now the dominant form of U.S. currency both domestically and abroad.
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June 26, 2017
California was sparsely populated prior to the arrival of American settlers in the early 19th century. Even by 1846, San Francisco was a still small settlement with about 200 residents. It was in June of year that a group of American settlers rebelled against Mexican rule and raised their own flag, featuring a grizzly bear. The rebellion was soon subsumed into the official US takeover of California as part of the Mexican-American War. The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 sparked the California Gold Rush, and the ensuing immigration of hundreds of thousands of settlers cemented American control. California became a state as part of the Compromise of 1850. The “Bear Flag” was adopted as the official state flag of California in 1911.
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June 19, 2017
The Presidential $1 coin program was established by Congressional legislation in 2005. Beginning with the George Washington coin in January 2007, the US Mint produced four separate varieties each year, with each President honored in succession. The obverse design of the coins changes with each President, while the reverse design featuring the Statue of Liberty is consistent. Grover Cleveland, who served two separate terms as both the 22nd President and 24th President, is honored on two separate issues.
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June 12, 2017
The Pilgrims were English Dissenters, a religious group that objected to certain practices of the Church of England. Facing persecution under the rule of James I, a group including William Bradford fled to the Netherlands in 1608, and more famously to the New World in 1620 aboard the Mayflower. Though they planned to sail to Virginia, they were forced to land in Massachusetts by poor weather. They established the Mayflower Compact to govern their settlement outside the governance of the Virginia Colony; this document is considered a founding document of American democracy. The annual Thanksgiving holiday is traced to the Pilgrim’s celebration of a successful harvest in 1621.
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June 05, 2017
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery, a small group of volunteers tasked with exploring the American West. The leaders of the expedition were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and the venture is more commonly known as the Lewis & Clark Expedition. The United States had somewhat inadvertently purchased a large claim from France, the Louisiana Purchase, and Lewis & Clark were some of the first Americans to explore these territories and the lands further west. They reached the Pacific Ocean near the mouth of the Columbia River in November 1804 and spent the winter there near present-day Astoria, Oregon. The expedition helped later American claims over the Oregon Country, which was also claimed by Great Britain until the Oregon Treaty of 1846.