Harking back to earlier articles, you will recall that a coin collection can be anything you want it to be. It is not merely filling all the holes in a Mercury dime book, for example. That hole for the $3000 1916 D is impossible for many people to ever fill!
So, with a little history lesson thrown in for free, I have a short coin set that might make a good challenge for a coin collector—the coins of 1921.
In 1921, our country was suffering a post-World War I recession. Times were pretty tough for everyone. And, on the national political stage, since 1900 or so a different issue was also being fought over which still affected money policies for the country during the early 20’s. The country was still torn over the use of the gold standard and/or the silver standard to back our U.S. currency. (Contrast this to today; our currency is backed by nothing except the “word” of our government!) Since I’m not an economist, I won’t address this issue any further, other than to say that this required the government to start minting massive quantities of silver dollars to back the paper money. This, therefore, left less silver for the minting of the other coin denominations.
When we look at the coinage of 1921, there were plenty of both cents and silver dollars minted. The 1921 cents can be had in nice grade for a few bucks.
Let’s look at each denomination for 1921 and see how much a set of 1921 coins would cost in a “fine” grade and a “mint state 63,” which means the coin is uncirculated and shows no sign of wear.
For the 1921 buffalo nickel, P mint, there were 10 million minted and would run only $9 and $35 in these grades. The 1921 S, though, with only 1.5 million, would be $200 and $2000.
The Mercury dimes for 1921, with the P mintage of only 1.2 million, would cost about $150 and $1700; while the D mint would run $250 and $2000.
Only Philadelphia produced Standing Liberty quarters that year. This quarter would run $450 or so in “fine” and $2400 in MS 63. There were 1.9 million minted.
Hold onto hats for your half dollar values. With only a quarter million made, the 1921 P is $450 and $8000. The 21 D, with 200,000 minted, would be $500 and $14,000. The 21 S, half a million of them total, would be $300 and $27,500. With the S more expensive than the other halves in a high grade, we have a good example of a “condition rarity.” This means nicely struck, high grade coins are very rare for this date and mintmark.
Finally the silver dollars of that year are much more reasonably priced. 1921 was the last year of the Morgan dollar. With about 80 million from all three mints, these are $30 and $75 in our two grades. The Peace dollar started in 1921 to commemorate the end of WWI, which ended in 1918. With a million of these minted only in Philadelphia, they can be purchased for $130 and $500.
1922 reflects these same issues, too. That year, there were only cent and silver dollars minted. There were no nickels, dimes, or quarters minted at all!
Once again, history lessons through coin collecting can show us how our coinage is affected by the social and political pressures of the times.
I encourage you to come visit our club meetings. The Brown County Coin Club will meet on Tuesday, September 11 at 6:30 at the Austin Avenue Church of Christ. Come in the side door through the children’s play area, on the west side of the building. For more information, contact Bill Cooper at 325-642-2128 or Bob Turner at 325-217-4129. I can also be contacted through my website, PrincipallyCoins.com.
-Bob Turner
