News
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December 18, 2015
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How much money exists in the world?
Strangely enough, there are multiple answers to this question, and the amount of money that exists changes depending on how we define it. The more abstract definition of money we use, the higher the number is.
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December 18, 2015
Unbeknownst to many collectors and historians, the one-dollar coin was not always the dominant silver denomination. Indeed, for most of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Half Dollar boasted the highest production levels of all silver coins. Until mining interests began influencing the federal government in the 1870s, the U.S. Mint focused on producing the Half Dollar and smaller denominations instead of the bulky Silver Dollar. Furthermore, the Silver Dollar had competition from the Gold Dollar from 1849 through 1889. Many citizens preferred the compact Gold Dollar over its sizeable silver cousin.
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December 17, 2015
These days it’s hard to imagine anything less valuable than a penny, but for many years the one cent coin was not even the smallest circulated in the United States. That honor belongs to the lowly half cent, produced from the early days of the Republic until just before the Civil War.
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December 16, 2015
In the days and weeks following John F. Kennedy’s assassination, a nation in mourning rushed to honor the beloved late President. Bridges, airports, and more were swiftly named or renamed for him. Kennedy was assassinated on a Friday; by the following Wednesday, a decision had already been made to honor him on a newly-designed half dollar coin. Initial consideration was also given to the quarter, but Mrs. Kennedy did not want her husband’s portrait to supplant George Washington’s likeness.
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December 15, 2015
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At first glance, the concept of “money” seems extremely straightforward.
For example: the cost of a loaf of bread in New York City at a grocery store may be $3.50. We don’t think about it much, and we pull out our wallets to pay with cash or a credit card.
But money is actually more complex.
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December 15, 2015
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While a deeper look at money did raise many questions, there are at least some foundational truths that can be discerned about money.
For example, many economists and experts in the field agree that money must be a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value:
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December 15, 2015
Copper coins have been mainstays of American commerce since the 18th century—and continue to be encountered on a daily basis. From 1793 to 1857, the most frequently used U.S. copper coin was the Large Cent. Unlike the one-cent coins of today, the Large Cent was between the Quarter Dollar and Half Dollar in size. In the 18th and 19th centuries Americans believed that a coin’s intrinsic or bullion value should closely parallel its face value. Therefore, to ensure that the one-cent coin contained approximately one cent’s worth of metal, the Large Cent was rather hefty in size.
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December 14, 2015
In advance of the FED announcement, the TPM marketing team had some fun analyzing the type of data Janet Yellen and the FED really care about and a little more insight into how Yellen and her "elves" evaluate that data.
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December 14, 2015
Since its inception in 1986, the American Eagle bullion coin program has been wildly successful. Almost immediately after their initial release in 1986, the gold and silver Eagle coins became immensely popular and widely accepted bullion products. Some would argue that they are the most universally trusted bullion items in the marketplace.
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December 11, 2015
Throughout American history, citizens have preferred to use federally-issued money over currency issued by foreign or private entities. Since the 1790s, the U.S. government has a reputation for issuing coins of unquestionable purity, weight and metallic composition. As a result its coins have always been universally accepted and trusted.