Author Archives: R.W. Julian

Counterfeiting in the United States has generally been confined to the paper money. In the early days of the Republic this usually meant that engravers worked on private bank notes but the target changed after the introduction of the greenbacks in the Civil War and the abolition of private notes. Continue reading →

The end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 meant that the United States was now a free and independent nation but with freedom came added problems. Prior to 1776 American vessels were well defended by the British Royal Navy and it was a brave pirate indeed who chose to attack merchant shipping flying the British flag. Continue reading →

This year marks the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which began in June of that year. The British refusal to honor the neutral rights of American ships on the high seas led to a declaration of war by Congress and until the peace treaty was signed in late 1814, a series of battles on land and sea marked the struggle between Britain and the United States. Continue reading →

Because numismatics first became a national hobby more than 150 years ago, there has been a sufficient amount of time for myths and legends to grow about the coinage of the United States. Continue reading →

Because numismatics first became a national hobby more than 150 years ago, there has been a sufficient amount of time for myths and legends to grow about the coinage of the United States. Some of these stories are of course quite true, but others are not and it is the aim of this article and a prior one in the Oct. 11 issue to correct some of the misinformation which occurs from time to time. Continue reading →

Because numismatics first became a national hobby more than 150 years ago, there has been a sufficient amount of time for myths and legends to grow about the coinage of the United States. Some of these stories are of course quite true but others are not and it is my aim to correct some of the misinformation which occurs from time to time. Continue reading →

That the United States mints have struck coins for many countries is well known to collectors. What is not so well known, however, is that such coinage preceded the 1874 law authorizing our mints to strike foreign coins. To understand this seeming paradox we need to travel back in time to 1835 and the Philadelphia Mint. Continue reading →