Coin collection - Understanding the parts and purpose of a coin

Coin collection - Understanding the parts and purpose of a coin

On one hand, becoming a coin collector is easy. On the other hand, becoming a good collector requires some effort and planning. New collectors are often overwhelmed with language they've never heard before, concerns about counterfeit coins, grading issues, and so on. Before you start collecting coins, this article helps to know what a coin is!

Coins have three sides. The front of the coin is called the obverse; the back, the reverse; and the edge, well, the edge. Coins are usually struck (stamped) from dies, which are pieces of metal (usually round steel) with designs on them. There are three dies: the obverse die, the reverse die, and the collar die (which strikes the edge). Engravers (artists with engraving tools) create the designs on the dies in the past, this was done entirely by hand, but today much of this process has been automated. Legends and mottoes are the wording that you see on either side of a coin. Many of the designs and wording are required by law; others are at the discretion of the designer and the minting authority.

Coins are struck at a mint, usually a government-run operation. The number of coins struck is called the mintage. Coins are struck for one of the following uses:

General circulation: These coins are called business strikes, and they're intended for use in commerce. The coins you have in your pocket or coin purse and spend throughout your day fall into this category.

Proofs: These coins are made especially for collectors. Today the quality of proof coins is substantially higher than that of the coins struck for circulation.

Believe it or not, you now know as much about coins as most beginning collectors do.

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