Greatest United States Coins, Art Mint’s impeccable look at the numismatic history of the USA, adds a third and fourth issue

Modern coins that pay homage to earlier numismatic classics are fewer in number than you would perhaps expect. Ancient coins are well served by CIT’s stunning Numismatic Icons series, and for relatively more modern tastes, we have this terrific series from Art Mint, which concentrates on ten of the finest, and rarest coins ever released in the United States of America. Each issue features reproductions of both faces of a classic, historical US coin, set within a common border inscribed with the series title, and the modern issue details. The first pair were the 1933 Double Eagle, and the 1804 Draped Bust Dollar.

The first of this second pair of releases is the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, a coin that was never supposed to exist, and only did so with five examples that remained almost completely unknown until 1920, when the showed up in the possession of former US Mint employee, Samuel Brown. The Buffalo Nickel was the coin that replaced the Liberty Head version in 1913, and it’s thought an unknown worker at the mint, perhaps Brown himself, struck these five coins.

The coins have broken many auction records, being the first to break the $100,000 mark in 1972, and the first to hit $1m in 1996. The last two sales prices have been between four and five million dollars. Two of the coins are currently held privately, while three are held in museums, two of them by the ANA. Two of the five, the two in private hands, were struck to a proof finish. A real classic

The second new homage is of a considerably more down-to-earth coin, but one with greater historical significance. The 1787 Fugio Cent was the first authorised coin issued by the United States, and was said to have been designed by Benjamin Franklin himself. This 10 gram copper coin is adorned with 13 interlinked rings, which symbolise the original 13 colonies of the USA. They surround the motto ‘WE ARE ONE’, which was replaced in 1788 with the more familiar ‘E PLURIBUS UNUM’, still used today.

The reverse face features a sundial under a heavily stylised sun. The inscribed phrase ‘MIND YOUR BUSINESS’ is a message to work hard and be productive. There are actually several variants of the original coins, such as the American Congress type, which has a sunburst inside the 13 rings, and lots of others with minor quirks.

Art Mint has done a great job with the patina on the copper plating, and their choice of the common design is a sensible one. While the original coin isn’t one of the ultra-rare ‘superstars’ of US coinage, it’s arguably more interesting for its place in the history of the fledgling nation. Overall, this second pairing is a big hit, generating interest in a genre I have to admit has held little of it for me up until now. I’m biased, but I’d love to see Art Mint do a similar series for British currency. Available now, there will be a maximum of 500 of each struck, and they will be boxed with a COA.