Numismatic Class For Hs Students

Entertain things that bring coins value:
1. Age. Showcasing a coin from the 1700-1800s would be incredible to see as a starter numismatist.
2. Stories/Historical Importance. Choose an auction listing (Stack's Bowers Galleries or Heritage) of a major rarity and storied coin online, and you can read the catalog description out to the students. This would bring a seemingly boring coin to life!
3. Rarity. Finding an item that is extremely rare based on the grade, variety, or overall survival rate could spark interest on the collecting side.

All these play into the supply and demand market, which enlightens why coins are valuable in the first place. What a fun opportunity!

Quick update

Kids are definitely loving the hands on activities. Coin Roll Hunting has been a blast. They enjoyed trying to fill up a Roosevelt dime book and even found some upgrades for the "ugly" hole fillers.

Day 1 I had some students that said they weren't interested so I told them my goal by the end of the week was for them to be aware of what they have in their pockets. Do not spend a face value ten cent coin that has $2.60 worth of silver in it. I showed them the 1955 dime I received with my change a few weeks ago

They enjoyed errors and varieties and found some filled in mint marks while searching nickels. We also have encountered an above average number of Canadian coins, likely because we are very close to the border.

A couple of kids had coin apps on their phones so they had fun scanning some BU common date Morgans.

Today we are doing quarters and a grab bag of coins from about 40 different nations. Admin is happy with the level of engagement.

Nice, a little education goes along way.

I have found sites like this invaluable for help identifying counterfeits. Perhaps you could post something at the start of class then check for replies at the end?

I think the important thing you've touched on, VT, is that kids will respond differently and with differing levels of interest to various aspects of, well, anything, but definitely coins. Some people see the whole thing as very ho-hum, especially in an increasingly cashless society. But for some kids it might be the history that coins tell, for others the more obsessive side of the mechanics of collecting, whether thats flaws/errors or just more of a every year/mintmark approach.

I've lately been reading about the history of money in Panama, specifically in relation to the early 20th century after its independence from Colombia and the Canal Zone becoming a US dependency. It's quite involved with US numismatic history.

I would say it went well. I think we will be doing it again between the winter and spring semester so I will have some time to reflect and prepare for a new group of students.

In addition, I took a bunch of Morgan's including the 6 I tested with my students to First State Coins in Dover, DE. They were kind enough to use the Sigma machine and the entire lot checked out as authentic. Do you know if quality control in thickness was an issue in 1921?

Anyway thanks for the suggestions and positive support. I will reach back out to you all as I prepare for round 2 of this journey.

No I didn't but I guess it is understandable. The hadn't produced dollar planchets in 17 years and there was a good chance the experienced people were no longer there. They had similar problems when the tried making the 1964 Peace dollars.