Coins

The Golden Era Of Coin Collecting

The middle-20th century is seen by many in the hobby as coin collecting's Golden Era.

The 1950s and 1960s, in particular, are hailed as having been a wonderful time to be a coin collector. That was when people could collect a variety of old, even scarce, coins in circulation.

That's right, you could put together a collection of obsolete and scarce coins -- all for the mere expense of face value. You wanted a Mercury dime? You could find one in your change! An Indian Head penny? A bit of searching would find you one. Buffalo nickels were still plentiful as well.

You could go to your bank and ask for silver dollars -- real silver dollars --  for face value.

Coins like Barber dimes, quarters, and half dollars still appeared every now and then in circulation. Standing Liberty quarters and Walking Liberty half dollars still found their way into the pockets and purses of Americans.

Coin Collecting Comes To A Halt

As the 1960s moved on, silver coins were no longer produced. Collectors and hoarders snatched up most of the silver and obsolete coins that remained in circulation. The number of coin collectors that dominated the hobby seemed to be stagnant, if not dwindling.

Periods of investment interest would spark the realm of coin collecting. The silver and gold boom of the late 1970s went bust in 1980.

The mint-state coin investment excitement of the late 1980s soured by 1990 as prices suddenly fell.

While dedicated coin collectors kept the hobby going all throughout the years of ups and downs, the loud buzz coin collecting enjoyed during the post-World War II years simply could not be sustained.

State Quarters Spark An Increase In Coin Collecting

Then, the United States Mint released the first 50 States Quarters Program in 1999.

The excitement around the 50 State Quarters sparked an incredible growth within the hobby of coin collecting that had not been seen since the 1950s and 1960s.

Tens of millions of people actively collected the 50 State Quarters. Many of these people went on to start collecting other types of coins as well.

The U.S. government capitalized on the immense popularity of the 50 State Quarters program and approved the District of Columbia and United States Territorial Quarters program. The D.C. and U.S. Territories Quarters program is effectively an extension of the 50 State Quarters program. It honors the following:

• District of Columbia
   
• Puerto Rico
   
• Guam
   
• American Samoa
   
• U.S. Virgin Islands
   
• Northern Mariana Islands

Next Exciting Design: National Park Quarters

Beginning in 2010, U.S. quarters will become the canvas for another coin program which features U.S. national parks. The U.S. National Parks Quarters program is going to run for at least 11 years.

Congress, however, approved the program to extend for as long as 22 years. This means that the U.S. quarter will continue to intrigue and attract coin collectors potentially into the 2030s with new designs that will be released every 10 to 11 weeks!