Week 18: America's First Coin, Nickels With No Nickel, and Blue Jeans on a Dollar

Week 1819–25 October 2026

America's First Coin, Nickels With No Nickel, and Blue Jeans on a Dollar

The coin that told you to "mind your business," the wartime nickels made with silver, and the blue-jeans dollar two federal design panels couldn't agree on.

MondaySpecific History
The Fugio Cent: America's First Coin Told You to "Mind Your Business"
In April 1787, before there was a U.S. Mint and before the Constitution was written, Congress approved a copper coin. Collectors call it the Fugio cent, and it's usually counted as the first regular-issue coin of the United States.
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WednesdayError Education
Woodies: Why Some Old Pennies Look Like They're Made of Wood
Every so often an old Lincoln or Indian Head cent turns up with light and dark stripes running across it, like the grain in a piece of wood. Collectors call these woodies, and the stripes aren't toning or damage. They're a mistake in the metal itself.
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ThursdayNot in the Books
1893 Indian Head Cent: A Strong Die Clash on Both Sides
An 1893 Indian Head cent with a die clash on both sides: the C from CENT in front of Liberty's forehead, the wreath through the feathers, and her profile on the reverse. Two 1893 clashes are already catalogued; this is a different, stronger die pair, so we catalogued it.
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FridayPost
Wartime Nickels: The Nickel With No Nickel and the First P Mint Mark
In 1942 the United States started making five-cent pieces with no nickel in them. To mark the change, the Mint did something it had never done on a U.S. coin: it put a mint mark on coins struck in Philadelphia.
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SaturdaySpecific History
The 2027 Innovation Dollars: Blue Jeans, a Microchip, a Telescope and Beverly Cleary
The 2027 American Innovation $1 coins will honor Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia and Nevada. In April, the two federal panels that review U.S. coin designs looked at the candidate designs for the back of each coin. They agreed on two states and split on the other two.
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The Fugio Cent: America's First Coin Told You to "Mind Your Business"

Woodies: Why Some Old Pennies Look Like They're Made of Wood

1893 Indian Head Cent: A Strong Die Clash on Both Sides

Wartime Nickels: The Nickel With No Nickel and the First P Mint Mark

The 2027 Innovation Dollars: Blue Jeans, a Microchip, a Telescope and Beverly Cleary

Coins from this week — look one up, then save it