Elective: Adventures in Coins
To most people, coins are used to buy things they want or need. But coins can also tell a story. The pictures on United States coins tell a lot about our country’s culture and history. In this Adventure, you will get to be a numismatist (noo-MIZmuh-tist). A numismatist is a person who studies coins and money. You’ll learn where coins are made and the meaning of their pictures and words.
Parts of a Coin
Show your den leader or parent that you can identify the various parts of a coin from memory. Watch the video below.
Coins are made in buildings named “mints” from a template called a “die”. There are four active mints:
- Produces: All circulating coins
- Mark: P (see below)
- Produces: Circulating coins and coin dies for other facilities
- Mint mark: D
- Produces: Proof (“test”) coins and limited collector issues Mint mark: S
- Produces: Bullion and collector coins (gold, silver, platinum)
- Mint mark: W
How Coins Are Made
Sometimes people say there’s a mint in Fort Knox, Kentucky. That’s where the United States stores its gold reservers, but it’s not an actual coin producing facility. Likewise, some people say there’s a mint located in Washington DC. That’s the headquarters of the US Mint System, but no coins are actually made there.
Watch these two videos to see how coins are made:
Playing a Coin Game
You can play one of the games recommended by the official adventure webpage or play one of these games with your den (your den leader will decide):
Supplies needed for game:
- A single die
- A pile of 10-15
Have an adult leader give you a selected value (e.g. $0.75). The objective of this game is to use your pile of coins and separate a bunch of them to match the value that the adult leader or parent selected for you.
Note to adult: Please make sure the cub scout uses at least one penny, one nickel, one dime, and one quarter.
Supplies needed for game:
- Two cups or buckets
- A bunch of quarters
The cub scouts line up on one side of the room. Give each one a quarter which they will have to balance on their nose.
The cubs will have to walk across the room with the balanced quarter on their nose. When they reach the other side of the room, they have to drop the coin into the cup or bucket.
Any cub that actually does it is a winner (there can be multiple winners).
Or, if you like, play the game with multiple dens and see which den can drop the most number of quarters in the cup or bucket.
Note to adult leader or parent: Don’t forget to reward good sportsmanship!
Make a Coin Rubbing
Use a pencil (colored or otherwise) and make a coin rubbing of the two sides of any coin you choose.
Using only your rubbing, see if you can figure out which mint and what year the coin was produced.
If you don’t know how to do a coin rubbing, see the video to the right.