We are pleased to offer for sale this CollecTons Keepers Set #31 through #35.
What makes the Collectons Keepers program special?
Here at CollecTons, we work hard researching coins that should be part of every collection. Our goal is to utilize our knowledge in the numismatic industry to select coins worthy of being in everyone's collection! Therefore, the CollecTons Keepers program will only feature those Coins Worth Keeping.
Each coin is hand selected and given to ANACS (America's Oldest Grading Service) for grading and authentication. The coins are then sealed in an ANACS certified proprietary slab holder for long-term storage, with our limited edition label marking it a CollecTons Keeper.
The five CollecTons Keepers included in this starter set are:
Due to the need for copper and tin in the defense industry leading up to and during World War II, the U.S. Mint began to research how it could limit it's dependence on the metals and meet various conservation goals set by the government. They experimented with a number of materials, including aluminum and plastic but settled on zinc-coated steel as a replacement for the copper and tin used in the penny at the time. The 1943 Steel Cent was cut from a sheet of steel with a thin sheet of zinc on both the bottom and the top. The new coins were magnetic and 13% lighter than the pennies minted from the traditional copper alloy of the time.
The new “Steel Cents” proved to be unpopular with the public. When freshly minted, they were easily confused with dimes. The steel made the pennies magnetic so they could not be used in many of the vending machines of the time (which had magnets in them to detect counterfeit steel slugs). And the zinc coating did not cover the edge of the coins so they began to rust quickly from handling. Within a year, the Mint had developed a process which used salvaged brass shell casings (from ammunition) to produce an alloy that was close to the previous composition. This composition was used from 1944-1946. It was slightly darker in color but otherwise proved satisfactory.
The Steel Cent was only produced for a single year, 1943. It is the only circulating coin issued by the United States Mint that can be picked up with a magnet. It is also the only coin issued by the U.S. Mint for circulation that does not contain any copper.
Nickel is a critical wartime material and the entrance of the United States into World War II put the United States Mint and the United States War Department in direct competition for the metal. The U.S. did not have enough nickel to satisfy both needs so the Mint began experimenting with a non nickel alloy for the Jefferson Five Cent piece. This task was not as easy as it may seem. At the time, the nickel was heavily used in pay phones and vending machines. These machines used the electrical resistance of the nickel and the known weight of the nickel to detect counterfeits. It was neither feasible nor desirable to shut down these machines for the duration of the war so the Mint was tasked with creating a new alloy for the Wartime Five Cent piece that closely resembled the characteristics of the Pre-War Five Cent piece without using actual nickel in the alloy.
After some experimentation, the U.S. Mint found that a composition of 35% silver, 56% copper and 9% manganese produced the desired effect. An act of Congress on March 27, 1942 authorized the minting of the new “Wartime Silver Nickels” and they went into production in October of 1942. The mint mark was enlarged and moved from the obverse of the coin to the reverse to make it easier to sort the coins out of circulation after the war was over. A mint mark was also added to the Philadelphia coins, making it the first time a Philadelphia (P) mint mark had ever appeared on a U.S. coin.
Whether enough nickel was conserved to help the war effort is debatable, but the new Wartime Nickels served as a constant reminder of the sacrifices every American needed to make in support of the war effort. This 1945-S Silver Wartime Jefferson Nickel was the final coin issued during the war, making it an obvious choice for a CollecTons Keeper!
To this date the 2015-W Roosevelt Proof Silver Dime is the first and only proof dime to bear the "W" mint mark. It is known as a key date coin and one every serious collector should obtain for their collection.
The March of Dimes Foundation was formed in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to combat polio. Today, the mission of the March of Dimes Foundation is to improve the health of babies. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation, the US Mint created a "March of Dimes Silver Set". Included in the set was a silver proof Roosevelt Dime produced at the West Point Mint. This was the first and only proof dime minted at West Point. By limiting distribution of the March of Dimes Set, the mint insured that the mintage of this dime would be kept very low, at only 75,000.
Today, the 2015-W Proof Silver Dime is a highly sought after modern rarity due to the low mintage and high demand. It is a key date coin and essential piece to any Roosevelt Dime set, making it an obvious choice for a CollecTons Keeper!.
To this date the 2015-P Roosevelt Reverse Proof Silver Dime is the first and only reverse proof dime from the U.S. Mint. It is known as a key date coin and one every serious collector should obtain for their collection.
The March of Dimes Foundation was formed in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to combat polio. Today, the mission of the March of Dimes Foundation is to improve the health of babies. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation, the US Mint created a "March of Dimes Silver Set". Included in the set was a silver reverse proof Roosevelt Dime produced at the Philadelphia Mint. This was the first and only reverse proof dime. By limiting distribution of the March of Dimes Set, the mint insured that the mintage of this dime would be kept very low, at only 75,000.
Today, the 2015-P Reverse Proof Silver Dime is a highly sought after modern rarity due to the low mintage and high demand. It is a key date coin and essential piece to any Roosevelt Dime set, making it an obvious choice for a CollecTons Keeper!
The Eisenhower Commemorative Silver Dollar was struck to celebrate the 100th anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's birth. "Ike" was the 34th President of the United States (1953-1961) and a five star general in the United States Army during World War II. In 1951, he became the first Supreme Commander of NATO.
The Eisenhower Centennial Commemorative was the first American silver coin to be minted at the West Point Mint. It is also the only U.S. coin to features two portraits of the same person. The dual portraits symbolize his military service and his time as the 34th president of the United States.
The obverse of the coin was designed by John Mercanti. It depicts Ike as the President superimposed over Ike as the five star general. The reverse was designed by Marcel Jovine. It depicts Eisenhower's home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (a national historic site). Although the mint was authorized to produce up to 4 million of the commemorative coins, only 241,669 were minted at West Point.
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