Did You Know?: Coin Quiz

Try your mind on these lucky (?) seven questions to see how well you can do. Correct answers are given at the end.

1. The beautiful 1793 Liberty Cap large copper cent was the work of a talented artist and engraver who unfortunately succumbed to yellow fever in September 1793. He was:
     

     a. Charles Toppan
     b. Andrew Dexter
     c. Joseph Wright
     d. Vermillion Hoek

2. The American Numismatic Society building on Audubon Terrace at Morningside Heights, New York City, opened in 1908, and was largely financed by Archer Huntington, a numismatist who drew from a family fortune based upon:
 

     a. Oil wells in and around Tidioute, Pennsylvania
     b. Railroading in the West
     c. Banking on Wall Street, specifically speculation in bonds
     d. Banking in Davenport, Iowa

3. In 1965 Mint Director Eva Adams mandated that mintmarks no longer be used on coins. Why?
 

     a. To punish numismatists because in her opinion they caused a coin shortage.
     b. Money would be saved during the preparation of dies.
     c. Mint letters were confusing to the public, who didn’t understand their significance.
     d. Mintmarks were just one more complication in the recordkeeping process, thwarting efficiency.

4. Wayte Raymond, who later became famous in numismatics, published the Standard Catalogue, popularized holders and folders, and sponsored research, began his business career as:
 

     a. A bank clerk in South Norwalk, Connecticut
     b. A press operator at the Denver Mint
     c. Personal secretary to J.P. Morgan

     d. Purser on a Hudson River Day Line steamer connecting New York and Albany

5. When the Roosevelt dime was first released in 1946, there was some adverse public comment about it, most prominently concerning:
 

     a. The use of Roosevelt’s image on a coin, as he was not everyone’s favorite. 

     b. The initials JS, for Chief Engraver John Sinnock, which some thought really stood for Joseph Stalin. 

     c. The lack of an eagle on the reverse. 

     d. The overly large size of the portrait.

6. Common enough now due to the release of a hoard, this variety in 1961 was considered to be among the greatest 20th century numismatic rarities:
 

     a. 1903-O Morgan silver dollar 
     b. 1926-D quarter dollar 
     c. 1911-D Lincoln cent 
     d. 1912-S Liberty Head nickel

7. On the 1935 Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar we see:
 
     a. Neptune seated backward, riding on a whale 
     b. Seven turtles sunning on a log 
     c. Andrew Jackson in a bank safe 
     d. Henrick Hudson’s ship, the U.S.S. Constellation
 

Answers: 1-c, 2-b, 3-b, 4-a, 5-b, 6-a, 7-a.