Money

Fantasy Coins: The Strange Business of The Moonlight Mint

Let’s strike a new design and date on a perfectly good old coin

From my personal collection. All photos by Author

You might never have had an Indian Head cent as change unless you are an old codger like me. It’s a pretty coin, isn’t it? It’s what our pennies looked like until the Lincoln Cent replaced that design in 1909.

But wait — that coin in the picture is from 1910. It must be a fake, right?

No, it’s not. It’s a genuine Indian Head cent. But it’s also true that the United States Mint stopped making Indian Head cents in 1909. How can both these things be true?

Note: All my coins are in a safe deposit box. Nothing is kept in my home.

Let me show you another one.

From my collection

The Peace Dollars were minted from 1921 to 1928, again from 1934 to 1935, and then one more time in 2021. None were made in 1965, but the coin shown above is a genuine Peace Dollar.

What’s going on?

It’s time to introduce you to Daniel Carr and his Moonlight Mint.