"Uncommon Coins" adapted from "Circulating Coins," courtesy of The United States Mint

In our daily lives, we are used to seeing pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. But there are two other interesting coins currently in circulation. Here are some details about those coins. Be on the lookout for these rare beauties and add them to your collection!

The Dollar

The one-dollar coin is the largest circulating coin; it represents 100 pennies! When you hear the word “dollar,” you probably think of the basic unit of money in the United States, whether paper or golden coins. But our first dollars were coins made of silver. The word “dollar” comes from the German word thaler, which was a large silver German coin.

Because lots of people around the world used these silver thalers, other countries began making their own versions. American colonists were used to using the Spanish dollar, a coin often used in the nearby lands that traded with the colonies. So “dollar” was a pretty easy choice as a name for the brand-new currency of the United States.

The dollar was one of the first silver coins made in the United States, back in 1794. Over the years, there were times when dollar coins were not made, and people used other denominations. But the dollar coin is back in production again, only it is no longer made of silver. Kennedy half dollars and dollar coins are produced as collectibles, not for everyday transactions. However, they may be still used as legal tender.

The coin’s golden color does not come from gold, but a special mixture of copper, zinc, manganese, and nickel. This mix not only looks golden to human eyes, but “looks” like the silver-colored Susan B. Anthony dollar to vending machines. Despite their different color, both silvery and golden dollars have the same “electromagnetic signature,” so they can both be “read” by the same machines.

The 2019 reverse depicts Mary Golda Ross, the first Native American engineer in the U. S. space program. The dollar coin’s obverse design has included different versions of Liberty and other individuals including President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1971–1978), suffragist Susan B. Anthony (1979–1981, 1999), and Sacagawea in 2000. The Presidential $1 Coin Program launched in 2007, and the obverse design has featured different U. S. presidents. The Native American $1 Coin Program, launched in 2009, features Sacagawea.

The Half Dollar

The current design is based on the Presidential Seal. It consists of an eagle with a shield on its breast holding a symbolic olive branch and a bundle of 13 arrows. A ring of 50 stars surrounds the design.

The half dollar is the United States’ fifty-cent coin. If you’ve ever seen a half dollar, you probably know it shows President John F. Kennedy on the front. But many other designs have appeared on the half dollar coin over the years.

From 1794 to 1947, the half dollar, like most coins of the time, were made of silver and decorated with the head or form of an imaginary woman who stood for liberty. Then Benjamin Franklin became the face on the front of the half dollar. Although he was never president, like the men on our other coins, Franklin was a major force in shaping the United States of America. Below his bust are the initials of John R. Sinnock, who also sculpted the bust on the Roosevelt dime.

Soon after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the late president’s profile took its place on the half dollar. The liberty bell on the back was replaced by the eagle from the presidential seal, except during 1975 and 1976, the nation’s 200th birthday. At that time, the coin showed an image of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the site of many important national events, like the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the drafting of our Constitution.

What is the author’s purpose for writing “Uncommon Coins”?

a to provide information about collecting coins

b to explain the history of minting coins

c to compare designs on the dollar and half dollar

d to teach about the dollar and half dollar