Certainly every school child knows Gettysburg as the site of Lincoln’s famous address and as the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. There is so much history here however that it deserves being looked into a little more deeply. Here are five things you might not know about “Gettysburg.”

• There is a bronze likeness of an Irish wolfhound on the Irish Brigade monument in the Park. The monument symbolizes the loyalty shown for the Union cause by the brigade’s soldiers, most of whom were Irish immigrants or sons of immigrants to the United States.
• During the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1938, President Roosevelt dedicated a monument to everlasting peace between the North and South.
• Well before the battle, Samuel Gettys opened a tavern in 1761. Fifteen years later his son, James, laid out lots that surrounded the tavern. The small town became known as Gettysburg.
• There was only one documented civilian death during the battle. Twenty-year-old Ginny Wade was hit by a stray bullet while she was baking bread.
• Edward Everett, the great orator, was the “main” speaker the day of President Abraham Lincoln’s famous address. Everett spoke for over two hours; Lincoln for a few minutes. Lincoln’s address consisted of 10 sentences.

Mint marks in the form of letters or symbols are an ancient feature that can be traced back to Greek and Roman minters who took pride in their work and wanted to be distinguished from others who were perhaps less skilled. Many kings and emperors of that time also insisted on the use of mint marks to be able to identify the origin of any coins that did not comply with standard weight and fineness. Without constant supervision it would be easy for a minter to make lightweight coins and pocket the extra metal.

New Orleans Mint Mark Collection

Over the years most countries have continued the custom of including mint marks of one kind or another to identify the place of origin for their coins. It was only logical that when first branch mints in America opened in 1838, mint marks were used to distinguish those coins from other similar pieces being made in Philadelphia. In that year new manufacturing facilities were opened in Charlotte, North Carolina; Dahlonega, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. The mint letters designated for them were “C”,“D”, and “O” respectively.

Susan B. Anthony Mint Mark Coins

For many years the original Philadelphia Mint did not use a mint mark for identification. That custom changed in 1979 when the letter “P” was used on the dollar coin. Thereafter, the mark was included on all Philadelphia-made coins except the one-cent piece. Prior to that it had been used only on the wartime nickels made of silver from 1942-1945. It is usually easy to spot mint marks on United States coins. They are always in the form of tiny letters that seemingly should not be part of the basic design. Prior to 1965 nearly all mint marks were placed on the reverse of the coins. There are exceptions, but very few, and those coins are easy to spot. The rest of the early coins have a mint mark on the reverse usually right below the eagle.

From 1965 to the present mint marks have been placed on the front of every coin usually near the date. On the cent it is right below the date. Nickels show it between the date and Jefferson’s ponytail. You will not have to look hard to find the mint mark on the dime; it is directly above the date. Quarters show the mark to the right of the ribbon in Washington’s hair, the half-dollar has it above the date, very near the point of Kennedy’s neck. Both the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars have mint marks near the neck and the Sacagawea dollar carries the mark below the date.

Searching for mint marks can be fun, and it is necessary to know where they are all located to properly identify each coin. The coins in circulation today are all made in one of three currently operating mints. Philadelphia (P), Denver (D), and San Francisco (S). The mint in West Point, New York occasionally makes a few non-circulating coins and uses their (W) mark for identification.

Gold Plated Racketeer Nickel

Minted from 1883 to 1912, the Liberty Head nickel was America’s 5-cent piece before the Buffalo Nickel came into use. The father of the Liberty nickel was A. Louden Snowden, Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint. He instructed master engraver Charles E. Barber to design the new 5-cent piece, which Barber accomplished in a spare and simple style. The elegant design of this coin features Liberty’s head on the obverse and the Roman numeral V within a wreath on the reverse.

In 1882, the Mint endorsed Barber’s design, and samples were sent to Washington for approval by. To Snowden’s surprise, Treasury Secretary Charles Folger rejected the design. The secretary realized that the laws required “United States of America” to appear on the reverse of the coin, not the obverse. Folger had then consulted with President Chester Arthur, who agreed with Folger. Snowden then suggested that an exception should be made, but the secretary refused, and Barber needed to modify his design. The revised design was approved in 1883, and the coin was ready for struck.

We are offering a set of 5 mixed date Liberty Head nickels. The set is guaranteed to include the most famous Liberty nickel of all, the 1883 “Racketeer” Nickel. This coin was originally minted with the Roman numeral “V” on the reverse but without the word “cents”. This inspired con artists to plate the nickel in gold and try to pass it off as a more valuable $5 gold piece. Just 5 million of these coins were produced before the Mint realized its mistake. The rest of the 1883 nickels minted that year (16 million) all had the word “cents” added on. Each coin in this collection is in Good to Very Good condition and is encapsulated in clear plastic for protection. A free display case is included with each coin.