By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn — When I was about 7, I began to notice the different kinds of dimes, nickels, and cents I got back as change. At the same time, I had a cousin whose father gave him several large cigar boxes of Indian cents and other coins. His father worked in a New York City post office in the 1930s and had set aside every Indian cent or interesting coin that came across the counter. The boxes also contained a few circulated commemorative halves and a couple of gold coins—things I’d never imagined...

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...