Coins from the Early Americas, United States

I have many different Coins from the early United States available for leasing to Movie and Television Production Companies.

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Reich's Capped Bust Design, 1807 - 1836

Reich's Capped Bust Design, 1807 - 1836 This was the French engraver John Reich's (1768-1833) first design change when he was hired by the Mint in 1807. His critics said the buxomly Miss Liberty looked like his fat mistress (maybe!) wearing a contemporary head covering. The reverse has an eagle that will later appear on infantry officer's buttons.

Counterstamped

During the Depression of 1837 a great deal of halves were imported into Canada because the price of silver was less than fifty cents. It became the main coin to pay the construction workers building the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River in Bytown, Upper Canada (Ottawa). Probably hundreds of thousands were hoarded into bank vaults for the redemption of their banknotes. They came on the market with President Roosevelt's bank holiday and subsequent bank failures.

The Sully - Gobrecht Design, 1836 - 1891

The Sully - Gobrecht Design, 1836 - 1891 Thomas Sully designed Liberty seated wearing drapery and supporting her shield. Christian Gobrecht designed the laurel reverse. Gobrecht gets most of the credit though, because he engraved the working dies for the dollar in '36 and then the design was adopted for all the silver denominations in 1837.

This long lasting design went through minor changes with time including adding more drapery and arrows at the date. Their weights were standardized on the metric scale in the 1870's.

George T. Morgan's Cartwheels, 1878 - 1921

George T. Morgan's Cartwheels, 1878 - 1921 After leaving the Royal Mint in London, Morgan was hired to design a new silver dollar. He met secretly 5 times with a school teacher named Miss Anna Willess Williams. The head was referred to simply as "a Greek figure". Years later when the truth was discovered, Anna lost her job because it wasn't considered proper for a lady to model.

Rich silver mine owners of the mid-southwest pressured the Government to purchase their metal and take it off the market because the glut was driving the price down. The solution was to purchase 2 - 4 million ounces a month and coin the silver into dollars on a large scale and hoard them in the Treasury's vaults as the deposit for the 'green backs'. That wasn't enough to stop the decline, and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act forced them to purchase 187 1/2 tons every month. In less then 15 years more than 422 million were coined at the four mints. The Pittman Act of 1918 did dispose of 184 million examples of his engraving. The remaining dollars were finally put on the numismatic market in the 1960's & 70's. Now it is one of the most popularly collected series in North America, second only to the Lincoln cent. An uncirculated coin with a large design, it has the ability to reflect light off its surface in a manner reminiscent of the turning wagon wheel of the 'old west'.

A.A.Weinman's Walking Liberty Design, 1916 - 1947

A.A.Weinman's Walking Liberty Design, 1916 - 1947 Ms. Liberty wears the American Flag striding eastward pointing at nothing visible. In her other arm is a bundle of oak and laurel branches. She wears Roman sandals on her feet and a Phrygian cap on her head. The reverse shows the eagle's forward talon holding a gnarled sapling of a Mountain Pine.

THE AMERICAN EAGLE - GOLD COINS The Mint started striking the five and ten dollar gold coins in 1795. The ten was named an Eagle and a Half Eagle was five dollars. The next year the $2.50 or quarter eagle was minted. These were the only three denominations till the California Gold Rush. Then in 1849 Congress passed a bill creating two new coins. A gold dollar and a twenty dollar coin called the Double Eagle. James Barton Longacre designed an obverse showing Liberty wearing a coronet surrounded by thirteen stars.

Almost 12 million small gold dollars were struck at five mints before a larger, thinner planchette version went into production in 1854. The smaller older coins were to be turned in to the Mint and about eight million were destroyed by 1861. These are popular coins for jewelry and the experts say only one percent are in numismatically acceptable condition.

Colonel James Ross Snowden was appointed the Director of the Mint in 1853. One of his first directives was to change the gold dollar. Longacre designed Liberty as an Indian Princess head surrounded by an inscription instead of stars. But actually her features are modelled after Venus Accroupie, or 'Crouching Venus', a Roman marble in one of Philadelphia's museums.

1881 Half Eagle, 1839-1907

1886 San Francisco Eagle, 1838-1907

Christian Gobrecht designed Liberty wearing a coronet in 1840 for the quarter, half and eagle, the reverse has a spread eagle with a shield on his chest. This was used till the next change in 1907.

Some of these coins were used in the movie Open Range, starring Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall.