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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
 Posted - 12/02/2009 : 11:18:57
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I have some theories, interested in yours.
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Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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Neckro
1000+ Penny Miser Member
Saudi Arabia
2080 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 12:26:31
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| So the Alien overlords can date our history through coins. After we destroy ourselves. |
Trolling is an art. |
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Cerulean
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 13:20:14
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| It's a centuries-old tradition. If coins didn't have dates on them, I'd be far less interested in collecting them. |
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Are you a Buffalo Hunter?
Wanna take seignorage away from the Fed? Spend *any* coins!
We cannot afford this government.
Cerulean's Standing Offer: $3/lb shipped for foreign coins |
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Country
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3121 Posts |
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kieblera5
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
859 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 14:56:35
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| Why not? If there were no dates, then we'd have to do copper dating on our pennies to figure out the year. heh |
Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least.
Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you mercilessly with experience.
Caller number seven gets the Peace Prize!
Get coding tips, tricks, and more at: http://codingmonday.blogspot.com |
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highroller4321
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 14:58:23
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| I think the main purpose is to see how long the coins last on average. Second is to intise collecting. |
Copper Penny Investing
www.portlandmint.com |
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2old
Penny Pincher Member
188 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 15:07:45
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| How can you tell a medal from a coin?? |
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bman
Penny Collector Member
USA
425 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 16:33:01
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quote:
Originally posted by 2old
How can you tell a medal from a coin??
a medal has no face value. |
check out my coins for sale on ecrater : http://bmanscoinsforsale.ecrater.com/ |
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Cody8404
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
602 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 16:48:02
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| Dug up a coin in the back yard. It was dated 46 BC. I think I will sell it on E-bay. |
Awake, O kings of the earth! Come ye, O, come ye, with your gold and your silver, to the help of my people, to the house of the daughters of Zion, to the help of the people of the God of this Land even Jesus Christ. |
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hobo finds
Penny Hoarding Member
838 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 17:06:18
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| People want stuff from the past. whiskey, wine and postage stamps are some of them. Anything that makes people look into there past will have some value The same with dated coins. That is why they have dates on them. |
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ronin
Penny Sorter Member
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2009 : 18:03:06
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I only wish my coins aged as well as whisky.
I assume that the dates are there to glorify whatever head of state put their head on the coin... I was Emperor Rex Maximus for this many years sort of a thing. |
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uthminsta
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1872 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2009 : 17:35:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Cody8404 Dug up a coin in the back yard. It was dated 46 BC.
This is a joke right? |
Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
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Edited by - uthminsta on 12/03/2009 17:35:35 |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2009 : 18:44:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Country
Dates on coins - a short history.
You must be logged in to see this link.
You must be logged in to see this link.
Some examples of the earliest dated European coins.
You must be logged in to see this link.
A book that may be of interest is The Early Dated Coins of Europe, 1234-1500 by Robert A. Levinson.
thanks for the serious response.
sounds like the tradition of dating coins started in europe in the 1600's only. the links were good but didn't really answer WHY they are dated. sure, today, there is a collectibility aspect but that is a modern thing. and stamps are collected but they generally dont have dates on them. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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El Dee
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
547 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2009 : 19:22:58
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quote:
Originally posted by uthminsta
quote:
Originally posted by Cody8404 Dug up a coin in the back yard. It was dated 46 BC.
This is a joke right?
No, he's serious. A guy in England found a cache all dated year 0.
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Trust the government? Ask an Indian. |
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uthminsta
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1872 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2009 : 19:44:34
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quote:
It was dated 46 BC.
quote:
No, he's serious. A guy in England found a cache all dated year 0.
At the risk of it seeming like I'm not getting the joke, I just gotta say it... this isn't possible. |
Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
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psi
Penny Collector Member
Canada
399 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2009 : 20:24:21
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| Could it have anything to do with detection of counterfeits? If known fakes exist of a certain date then people might scrutinize coins of that date more closely. |
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Market Harmony
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1274 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2009 : 02:22:47
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This is a great question. I haven't done any research on this, so all of I got is just theory on my part.
When metal was determine to be pretty and worth something, then people decided that they wanted it. With finite supply, the price on the metals was relatively stable, so it also made perfect barter material. But, not everyone had a scale and testing stone to determine the precise value of a blob of gold or silver. So, coining from banks (not the "banks" we are familiar with) occurred to standardize the "currency" of gold and silver.
Governments eventually had to step in as: 1) practices at banks came into question, 2) they realized seigniorage from issuing coin 3) foreign trade demanded easy transactions of currency for goods.
This worked well in international trade for quite some time as all that a trader had to do was to look at the coins to determine their trade value.
However, as time progressed, the coin designs would go through changes and when doing trade, the difficulty of determining the value of the currency by looking at all the pictures on the coins most likely made it quite difficult to figure out what it was worth. So, a dating scheme was put into place in order to help the traders to determine the value of a coin. A coin could then easily be looked at to find the issuing gov't, the denomination, and the year which it was made. Based on this knowledge of the coin, the value could be determined. I compare it to our knowledge that 1964 Kennedy half dollars are 90% silver, and 1965 to 1970 they are 40% silver. Without the dates, we wouldn't easily know.
Knowing some of the history of the gold denominations of US currency, I can see why it was important to see the date. The US Mint changed alloys and weights several times. But, just that simple date and the background knowledge of what the issuing party was doing with their coinage at that time period would give you all the information you need to determine the actual value of the coin.
So, my theory is that the reason for dating coins was primariliy to assist in international trade. I have no theories on WHEN this would have occurred, however.
Of course, my theory may well be way off, too. But, I liked to think about the possible answers to this question. |
goto the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org |
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Country
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3121 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2009 : 07:39:11
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I think the reason for the dating of coins was for religious veneration. Islamic coin AH dating began in the 7th century and has continued to this very day. Dating of coins began in the Islamic world. I believe that European thinking recognized the islamic world as a competitor during the Middle Ages and saw the need to add Anno Dommini dates to coins to celebrate the Christian religion. It seems that this didn't occur in Europe until the rise of the Regentcy governments that replaced the city-states in the 16th century.
I think European dating of coins is a response to the Islamic dating of coins. These traditions have continued ever since. |
---> Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.
– Theodore Roosevelt
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Edited by - Country on 12/04/2009 07:42:50 |
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Country
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3121 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2009 : 08:00:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Lemon Thrower
quote:
Originally posted by Country
Dates on coins - a short history.
You must be logged in to see this link.
You must be logged in to see this link.
Some examples of the earliest dated European coins.
You must be logged in to see this link.
A book that may be of interest is The Early Dated Coins of Europe, 1234-1500 by Robert A. Levinson.
thanks for the serious response.
sounds like the tradition of dating coins started in europe in the 1600's only. the links were good but didn't really answer WHY they are dated. sure, today, there is a collectibility aspect but that is a modern thing. and stamps are collected but they generally dont have dates on them.
As an aside, many of the worldwide commemorative stamps printed in the last 20 years have dates in a corner of the stamp. |
---> Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.
– Theodore Roosevelt
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2009 : 08:46:05
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actually, dating coins started in ancient Egypt. They would mark the number of years of rule. So they might mark it year 10, meaning the 10th year of the Pharoh's rule.
I think that is where the idea started, to honor the ruler.
I think it was resurrected when govts got the idea to meddle with the metal. Just a guess on my part. But if they were not going to meddle with the metal, why date the coins? BTW, meddling with the metal goes back to ancient Rome. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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slickeast
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2533 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2009 : 08:49:45
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| I agree with highroller. I think the main reason was to determine the life span of the coin. The same reason paper money has dates. |
You don't have to be the BEST you just have to be.......SLICK
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just carl
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2009 : 11:02:38
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quote:
quote:
Originally posted by Cody8404 Dug up a coin in the back yard. It was dated 46 BC.
This is a joke right?
Of course not. Why would you think he is kidding?
Possibly made a long time ago meaning $46 for Best Coffee. A Starbucks coin. 
Not sure but I think the correct nominclature would be BC 46, not 46 BC. It's AD the follows the date.
Dates are put on coins due to that empty place and most Mints just don't like an empty place on a coin. 
Dates are placed on coins to tell how many have been made that particular year. Our Mint has to report quantities manufactured yearly. Without this date, there could not be an easy method of keeping tract of how many were really made. |
Carl |
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Cody8404
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
602 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2009 : 13:59:00
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The first coins made for illiterate folks did not have dates, but they did have the face of the ruler.
I bet it started in some area to show how old the city was. Since then it has become tradition.
The Christian world were the first to have dates consistently. These start about 1100, as far as I have been able to find. At that point a long life was 40 years, but to have a coin with a date of over 1000 was really long.
YES, the coin dated 46 BC was a joke. It is an imposibility. |
Awake, O kings of the earth! Come ye, O, come ye, with your gold and your silver, to the help of my people, to the house of the daughters of Zion, to the help of the people of the God of this Land even Jesus Christ. |
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n/a
deleted
7 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2009 : 14:21:36
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quote:
Originally posted by highroller4321
I think the main purpose is to see how long the coins last on average. Second is to intise collecting.
I don't think the government would want to encourage the hording of money. |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2009 : 14:29:18
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quote:
Originally posted by chipguy123
quote:
Originally posted by highroller4321
I think the main purpose is to see how long the coins last on average. Second is to intise collecting.
I don't think the government would want to encourage the hording of money.
actually they do if they make seignorage. hence state quarters, collectible stamps, etc. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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n/a
deleted
7 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2009 : 14:59:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Lemon Thrower
quote:
Originally posted by chipguy123
quote:
Originally posted by highroller4321
I think the main purpose is to see how long the coins last on average. Second is to intise collecting.
I don't think the government would want to encourage the hording of money.
actually they do if they make seignorage. hence state quarters, collectible stamps, etc.
I should have clarified that I meant regular spending cash. |
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Topic |
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Why do coins have dates on them?
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