Most Beautiful Coins
Silver Coin
Walking Liberty half dollars were minted from 1916 to 1947. Many numismatists consider the Walking Liberty half dollar to be one of the most beautiful coins ever minted. Adolph Weinman designed both the Mercury dimeand Walking Liberty half dollar. Here is the description of his half
dollar design from the Breen Encyclopedia.
"Weinman's design, replacing Barber's stolid Germanic conception,
embodies a remarkable conceit: Ms. Liberty wears the American flag,
anticipating a rebellious counterculture fad by 50 years. Striding
eastward (toward war-torn Europe), she points into the sky at nothing
visible; in the crook of her left arm is an oversized bundle of oak and
laurel branches, said to be for military and civilian honors. On her
feet are Roman cross-thonged sandals; on her head is the same kind of
close-fitting cap as on Weinman's dime, though here apparently wingless.
On reverse, the gnarled tree nearest the eagle's forward talons is said
(in Mint Director Robert Woolley's Annual Report, June 1916) to be 'a
sapling of Mountain Pine, symbolic of America.'"Walking Liberty half dollars are spectacular looking! And their beauty is undoubtedly a contributing factor to their extreme popularity with collectors. Note that the U.S. Mint revived this classic design in 1986 by using Weinman's exact obverse design for U.S. Silver Eagles.
Copper Coin
A copper-plated one Afghani coin. Prior to the US Invasion, the Taliban and tribal warlords often produced their own money of varying values. These coins were only introduced in 2005 as a measure to help standardise the currency and to encourage Afghans to use a national currency rather than US dollars or Pakistani rupees.
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