News:

Sign up for the monthly zoom events by sending a PM with your email address to Hitesh

Main Menu

Only one of these I have (1899 penny)

Started by Prosit, November 29, 2007, 02:49:27 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Prosit

And it is damaged :(

   (Image manipulated for viewing)

Dale

EDIT: Title

BC Numismatics

Dale,its a bummer about the reverse of that British 1d. coin.The obverse is still quite nice though.

Aidan.

Figleaf

I think this coin is a lesson on the size of coins people tolerate in a time when certain people are yammering that the US dollars with presidents are too large and heavy. I cannot remember the British having any problems with the size or weight of their pennies. Maybe it's all a question of reluctance to change...

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

Prosit

I think it is all tied in to percieved value.  At the time of this coin it was probably percieved as worth 1 penny and if it was smaller people would have felt short changed  ;)  A smaller copper would have been percieved as worth less.

Now consider the US at this time, size and composition of a coin is not considered a measure of its worth.  A large coin is simply that, a large coin and with a populace that in general carries few coins (dump them in a can or jar every evening), coins are simply a bother and a large coin is a larger bother.  That and an inertia to change caused by habit and you have a population that won't use certain coins when an alternative is available.

These days, I normally carry no coins and no notes a majority of the time.  I may not be a typical american in that regard (don't know) but certainly not unusual at all.

Dale