The Capped Bust dime was minted from 1809 to 1837. Designed by US Mint Associate John Reich, the Capped Bust dime's reverse featured an eagle grasping three arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other. The eagle is adorned with a breast shield featuring six horizontal lines and 13 vertical stripes. A unique feature is the 10C designation on the reverse, as it is the only dime to have its value marked in cents (subsequent dimes say "ONE DIME").

The obverse design of the coin was change many, many times during its mint run. In fact, there are over 122 different variations of the Capped Bust dime. 1814 and 1820 are two of the more collectible years in this series.

The Roosevelt dime, a tribute to former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt, began production in 1946. This came just one year after Roosevelt's death in 1945. The project was commissioned by US congressman Ralph Daughton. The choice in the dime was due, in part, to Roosevelt's support for the March of Dimes charity. Due to the time constraints on the project, this coin was the first in over 40 years to be designed by a Mint employee. That person, chief engraver John Sinnock, had his first design rejected but his second design was accepted and put into production.

The first Roosevelt Dime was released to the public on January 30, 1946, this date would have marked Roosevelt's 64th birthday. The coin's obverse design features Roosevelt's bust and the designer's initials (JS) on Roosevelt's neck. The reverse of the coin features a torch, olive branch and an oak branch. These symobilize liberty, peace and victory. Controversy was quick on several coin elements. First, rumors began to spread that the JS on Roosevelt's neck actually stood for Joseph Stalin, as anti-communist sentiment was at an all time high. The US mint quickly set the record straight. Next, Sinnock was accused of stealing his obverse design from an African American sculptor, which he quickly denied.

The coin remained unchanged until 1965 when the coin's composition was changed from 90% silver and 10% copper to a to a copper sandwich which was 75% copper and 25% nickel. Soon after, earlier silver dimes began to disappear from circulation as collectors began to hoard them.

The Roosevelt dime has been minted in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver. San Francisco did not mint any dimes from 1955 to 1968. The pre-1965 dimes are much more collectible than those produced since. The series is a good start for beginning collectors as most years are easily found.

The Washington Quarter is a quarter dollar design that has been consistently minted since 1932, with the exception of 1933 or 1975 (bicentennial). The coin was designed by John Flanagan and carried the same obverse design until 1999 when it was modified to use William Cousins design for the 50 State Quarter program.

The coin was commissioned in 1924 by Congress to commemorate the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth in 1932. The same obverse design (pictured) has been used since 1932 but several reverse design have been used. The original reverse, which was minted from 1932 to 1998, is an eagle with wings spread. United States of America arches across the top with E. Pluribus Unum (from many, one) just below it. Quarter Dollar arches across the bottom of the coin.

The coins composition was originally 90% silver and 10% copper. This was changed in 1965 due to rising silver prices. All coins from 1965 to present are made of a 100% copper core surrounded by 2 layers of a nickel-copper alloy, called cupronickel.

There are no extremely rare coins in the series, which makes it a great place to start for beginning coin collectors. Two 1932 branch mint issues are the rarest in the series, with under 500,000 in each production.

Beginning in 1999, the Eagle reverse was changed to begin the 50 State Quarters program. Five quarters were released each year from 1999 to 2008, beginning with Delaware and ending with Hawaii. In 2007, legislation passed to include Washington DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands and the Northern Marianas in the series. All six were minted in 2009. This program has been succeeded by America the Beautiful Quarters, which will feature 56 national parks and will be released from 2010 to 2021.

There have been several mint mark variations on this coin during its run. These include:

1938-1954: Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco all mint coins.
1938-1964: Mint marks are featured on reverse of coin, between Monticello and right rim.
1954: San Francisco stops minting coins. They resumed for 1968-1970.
1965-1967: No mint marks featured on coin.
1968: Mint mark moved to obverse, just below date.
1980: Philadelphia mint begins using "P" mint mark, it was blank before this time.

There was a special Wartime Nickel version of this coin minted from 1942 to 1945. These nickels are 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese and usually appear a bit darker than other coins in the series. These coins feature the largest mint mark ever on a US coin, located above Monticello's dome on the reverse.

Jefferson nickels are great for beginning collectors because they are a fairly easy set to collect from circulation. Coins from the 1940s can be found in circulation fairly regularly. Jefferson Nickels are usually judged by the number of steps that can be seen on Monticello, with 5-6 steps being premium coins.

Rare coins in this series include the 1950-D Nickel, which has the lowest mint number of all Jefferson nickels. The 1939-D, 1939-S, and 1942-D nickels are also quite rare and command premium prices.

Production on the Franklin Half Dollar stopped prematurely due to the assassination of John F Kennedy. Congress passed a bill that began the production of the Kennedy Half Dollar in 1964. The Franklin Half Dollar had been slated to run until 1972.

Coins in this series without a mint mark were minted in Philadelphia, those with a "D" were minted in Denver and those with an "S" were minted in San Francisco. One notable error in this series resulted in the "Bugs Bunny" error. This error is found in 1955 Philadelphia coins and is named because damage to the coin's obverse die resulted in Franklin having a split lip which gave the appearance of buck teeth.

All 1796 draped bust dimes have 15 stars on the obverse, which was representative of the number of states in the union at the time. This number was changed to 16 in 1797, after Tennessee joined the Union. The coin was then ordered to just feature 13 stars for the original colonies as designed realized the design would become cluttered as states continued to join the Union. This makes the 1797 design very rare as they can feature both 13 and 16 star versions.

The Draped Bust design continued through 1807, though no coins were minted in 1799 or 1806.

The second design, from 1831 to 1838, was modified by William Kneass from John Reich's original design. This design does not feature the E Pluribus Unum motto on the reverse. The coin is also smaller than the original due to advanced in die manufacturing. Lady Liberty is also thinner on the obverse and more elegant in appearance.

All coins were minted in Philadelphia, so there is no mint mark present on either version. Prices for pristine versions of the Capped Bust Quarter are quite high.

Problems quickly arose as people began to mistake the now silver colored coin for a dime. Also, as the only magnetic coin ever produced, it caused major problems in vending machines. The coins also rusted very quickly. Public outcry ensued and the government quickly began recycling used ammunition shell casings for pennies.

The coin features the classic Lincoln design on the obverse. The reverse features ONE CENT over top of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in the middle with E PLURIBUS UNUM across the top and two wheat stalks along the bottom.

There are many errors and rarities from this series, most involving errors in switching over from the copper dies. One rare steel cent sold in 2004 for $200,000.

The Trade Dollar features Lady Liberty seated holding an olive branch towards the west on the obverse. Thirteen stars run along the top of the coin and the date is centered on the bottom. The reverse design features a bald eagle holding arrows and an olive branch in its talons. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is centered across the top of the coin, TRADE DOLLAR is centered along the bottom. Centered above TRADE DOLLAR reads 420 GRAMS, 900 FINE. This is a specification of the coins weight and silver content (90%). The Trade Dollar was designed by William Barber.

Many rare coins exist in this series. Many of the coins feature chopmarks, a marking placed on the coin by Asian merchants verifying the coin's authenticity. Examples without chopmarks are generally more valuable. Coins from 1879 to 1885 are the most valuable with only 15 coins being produced between 1884 and 1885 combined. Most years in this period feature around 1,000 coins minted.

The obverse of the coin features Lady Liberty sitting and holding a Union Shield. 13 stars run along the top of the coin and the date of production is centered along the bottom. The reverse of the coin features a bald eagle with arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other talon. There is a union shield on the eagle's chest. Mintmarks for the coin appear under the eagle's talon and include Philadelphia (blank), Carson City (CC), New Orleans (O) and San Francisco (S).

This series features some incredible rare coins. The 1870-S is the most valuable. Only 12-15 of these coins are known to exist! Even more rare is the 1851-O coin, only one is known to exist - the coin was struck under very mysterious circumstances. Other 50-500 existing coin issues include 1851, 1852, 1858, 1871-CC, 1872-CC and 1873-CC.