49 Days Of Low Mintage US And World Coins

1869 Proof Liberty Seated half dime (800 Minted):

I'm sure I have a 2001-dated coin around but, nothing commemorating 9/11.

I just wanted to say that I remember that morning vividly. I was only halfway through my life (looking back) being 16 and having gotten my "for real" drivers license less than six months before.

Because of that, I found out about the attacks as soon as I got out of my car in the high school student parking lot. My first class at that time was Piano. There was a TV mounted in the room so we spent the whole period watching the news. I watched the collapse of both towers on live television.

It certainly had a major impact on me.

A little later in the day, I had a class (Biology) that included a classmate whose father was in NYC at the time and the fear and worry in the air were as thick as it can get. As far as I know, he was okay.

I knew I was watching infamous history being made.

The way that Americans and the world responded to the events of that day is the most positive thing that can be taken. It reminds me of a segment of Ken Burns' Baseball regarding the return to normalcy for every day Americans after the attacks. I can't find a good video to post for that so, just watch the whole thing.

Here's a low-mintage medal from the pre-9-11 world:

France, mint souvenir token?
2001, Ultime annee du Franc (final year of the Franc)





2001 was of course the year before the introduction of circulating Euro coins within the EU; a lot of the member states issued "farewell" commemorative sets of the old coins, and France in particular wanted to capitalize. Didn't give this medal much thought until recently; I was shocked that the going rate seems to be 30-35 euros, so I assume them to be fairly scarce?

I was in the 6th grade when 9/11 happened. I was sitting in first period when the principal rang over the intercom "Attention everyone, there has been a terrorist attack in New York. Teachers please do not turn on the televisions." I didn't find out what actually happened until that evening.

The token I got about a month before 9/11. I was interested in coins as a kid, and my parents took me to a coin show right at the end of summer before the 6th grade. There was a scavenger hunt for YN's, where we went through a circuit of tables, tried to answer trivia questions, and got freebies. In addition to this token, I also received my first Indian Head penny, Buffalo nickel, steel cent, and my first and only true error coin. I don't remember what question I had to answer for this one, but I now chuckle to recall that the dealer who was handing these out told us that Ultime meant "ultimate" or "best" and was a classic example of French ego. This is one of the oldest coins/tokens that I have owned practically since it was first minted.

2001 France 10 francs. Mintage: 100,000. This coin was not issued for circulation, but only as part of the final BU set of French coinage issued before the introduction of the Euro.

I can get us started today. Here is a Liberty Cap dime dated 1830 AD. It has been well loved these past 187 years, so much so that I can't figure out if it is the large 10 cent or small 10 cent variety. Any ideas?

Either way, the total mintage was 510,000.

1833 Capped Bust Dime
mintage 485,000

1852 O Seated dime
mintage 430,000