By Lisa Hix — Despite the ever-widening wealth gap, most of us continue to grasp at the American Dream, which promises financial security in exchange for hard work. In fact, for many workers in today's economy, attaining middle-class status is exactly that—a dream—while digital technologies have pushed enormous numbers of steady-paycheck employees into the unpredictable “gig economy,” where contracts are the norm. “If you broke the Hobo Code of Ethics, you would be punished by other hoboes.” Roughly...

Buffalo Nickels, Lincoln Cents, and the Coin Boards Meant to Hold Them

By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn — I started collecting coins when I was about 7 years old. I took over my brother’s collection of Lincoln cents. At that time, the early 1960s, it seemed like every boy collected coins for a week or two and then got bored just like my brother did. I kept at it, collecting a little bit of everything over the years—from ancients to metals to tokens to paper money. I learn as much as I can, but usually my interest in a particular area runs out before I finish the collection. Very often I sell...

U.S. Pattern Coins Tell the Stories Behind Our Currency

By Maribeth Keane and Jessica Lewis — I started collecting coins when I was five years old, and I started dealing when I was 13 or 14. Most kids start with coins of circulation—I had albums for Jefferson nickels, Lincoln pennies and Roosevelt dimes. I started with Morgan and Peace dollars pretty early. I came close to finishing a set of Peace dollars, I was one coin away. That’s the closest I ever got to completing a collection of anything in my life. But I quickly moved into all kinds of other coins from around the world. I...