Post Your Key Date Coins!

Once I finished my 7070 Type Album and my DIY "proof" type set, I decided to try collecting the "key date" coins for various series rather than focusing on collecting all the coins in any particular series. I have a long way to go, but thought I'd share what I have so far (along with a blurb describing what makes them "key") and invite others to do likewise!

1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent:

The 1909 S VDB Lincoln Cent is generally considered to be the "Holy Grail" of Lincoln Cents and is usually the first "rare and valuable" coin people hear about when first being introduced to the world of coin collecting. The designer of the new Lincoln Cent, Victor David Brenner, included his initials "V.D.B." on the reverse of the coin and 20,000,000 coins were minted at the Philadelphia mint before the decision was made to remove the initials. Only 484,000 were released for circulation by the San Francisco mint, however, which makes it the rarest Lincoln Cent ever produced.



1916-D Winged Liberty ("Mercury") Dime:

1916 was the first year of issue for the iconic Winged Liberty (a.k.a. "Mercury") dime, and only 264,000 were produced at the Denver mint (as opposed to 22,180,080 that were produced at the Philadelphia mint). These were widely circulated, and as a result even examples in poor condition can be worth thousands of dollars to collectors today.



1921 Peace Dollar:

1921 was the first year that the Peace dollar was minted. The original design featured the head of liberty struck in high relief. Unfortunately, it was soon discovered that the design wore down very quickly once in circulation and, as a result, the coin was redesigned with a lower relief image in 1922. As a result, only 1,006,473 Peace dollars were minted in 1921 and they are highly prized by collectors (especially those in mint condition).



1932-D Washington Quarter:

1932 was the first year of production for the now iconic Washington quarter, and only 436,800 of them were minted in Denver that year. Although this is slightly more than the 408,000 coins that were minted in San Francisco that year, there are fewer surviving uncirculated or "mint state" examples of the 1932-D. As a result, the 1932-D Washington quarter in mint state is considered to be the key date of the entire series.



1972 Eisenhower dollar (Type 2 Reverse):

There is really only one Eisenhower dollar that is considered to be a "key" variety by collectors, and that is the 1972, Type 2 Reverse. The difference between the Type 2 and the regular Eisenhower dollars has to do with the appearance of the Earth on the reverse. Unlike every other variety and year, the Earth as pictured on the Type 2 does not have any islands showing beneath and to the right of Florida. Instead of islands, incuse (engraved) water lines hint at their appearance. The 1972 Type 2 Eisenhower dollar was accidentally struck with a reverse die intended for proof coins only. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 of these were actually minted, while fewer than 40,000 in all grades are thought to still exist today since many of them circulated and have considerable wear making them hard to identify.



That's all I have so far. Your turn!