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Are YOU a numismatist? We are the local club that will help you with that hobby!
We meet on the second Monday of every month at 6:30 PM, at the Cafe in Joseph Beth Booksellers at Lexington Green in Lexington, KY. There will be a brief presentation and a monthly Club Auction.
News and Views— May 14th, 2012
What are Proof Coins Anyway?
By Jeff Garrett
Two of the most basic terms that anyone new to numismatics needs to understand are Business Strike and Proof. Business strike coins are those made by the mint for general circulation. Proof coins are the numismatic delicacies struck for collectors each year. In general, business strike coins are frosty in appearance and coins struck as Proof display mirror surfaces. The United States began striking regular issue coinage in 1793. Proof coins are generally believed to first appear around 1819. The Smithsonian collection, which has the finest group of Proof coins in the world, has a set of 1819 Proof coinage. The United States Mint still strikes millions of Proof coins each year for collectors.