US COINS (NEWCOMER GUIDE)

Besides the dollar, coins make up the most significant aspect of the United States currency system– a system which itself, is the most powerful in the world because of its affiliation with the world’s largest economy.

U.S. coins where first minted in 1792, and new coins have since been produced annually, and for historical reasons the value of a US coins neither depreciates with time nor with face value (i.e. coins that were minted much earlier on in history are still very valuable, and for example, the one cent and the five cent are larger than the ten-cent).

Since U.S. coins are not devalued with use, they are used for a variety of purposes besides being legal tender (money). Thus, U.S. coins function and are defined according to their rarity and can be classified into four major categories – circulating coins, bullion coins, commemorative coins, obsolete coins and mill coins.

• Circulating Coins

Circulating coins are the coins that the United States Mint produces for everyday transactions. That is, they are the acceptable legal tender, and if you are new to the U.S., these are what you would be using as money – this does not mean however they may also included in the United States Mint’s annual coin sets, which are a staple of the coin collecting hobby.

Unlike the dollar notes  however, which are simply valued per their dollars worth, the various U.S. coins denominations are valued in cents. 100 cents are equal to a dollar.

Denominations of Circulating Coins

Circulating coins are in the following denominations –

• Penny :

The penny is worth a cent and is a copper-plated zinc coin; its obverse (heads) view carries the inscriptions ‘liberty’ and ‘in God we trust’, including the year when the coin was minted as well as an image of the president Lincoln which has been featured since 1909 – its reverse (tails) view was altered in 2010 and currently carries the union shield and scroll with the inscription ‘one cent’.

• Nickel :

A nickel is worth 5 cents and is made of a nickel and copper blend. It is larger than a penny and has the image of Thomas Jefferson on its obverse view and the words ‘in God we Trust’ and ‘liberty’ in Jefferson’s handwriting inscribed on it.

• Dime:

Dimes are worth 10 cents and are made of a nickel and copper blend. It is smaller than a penny or a nickel – It has an image of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s left facing bust on its obverse view, and on the reverse, an image of the torch (of liberty).

• Quarter:

A quarter is worth 25 cents – it is made of cupronickel and is larger than a nickel. While the obverse view shows the familiar image of President George Washington, its reverse view alternates designs depicting national parks and other national issues through the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

Generally, half-dollars and $1 coins are circulating quality produced as collectibles and are not necessarily for everyday transactions. However, they may still be used as legal tender

 

• Half dollar:

Kennedy Half dollars are worth 50 cents. They are the largest of U.S. coins and are silver-over-copper coins. It has a portrait of President John F. Kennedy on the obverse view and a design based on the presidential seal on the reverse side – the design consists of a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast holding a symbolic olive branch and a bundle of 13 arrows.

• Native American $ 1 Coin:

These are worth one dollar and are used both as collectibles and for everyday transactions. They feature designs that celebrate the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individuals Native Americans to the history and development of the United States.

• Presidential $1 Coin:

Also worth $1, presidential coins are designed with the intention to honor the Nations past Presidents by featuring their images on the coins in the order that they served. The program began in 2007 with Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison.

 

• Bullion Coins

Bullion coins are coins that are made from precious metal and kept as either –

• A store of value – so that it can be retrieved and/or exchanged at a later time, or
• An investment – because they maintain their value without depreciating over time, and often bear interests eventually.

U.S. non-bullion coins are not used in day to day commerce as legal tender (money) and as such are non-circulating – however, they are accepted as the value of the precious metal that is within them in common transactions, and their value is based exclusively on the content (in grams) of these precious metals, which may be silver, gold and also platinum –

Types of Bullion Coins

The following bullion coins are minted in the U.S.;

• American Silver Eagle:

The American Silver Eagle is considered the official silver bullion of the United States – and has a nominal face value of a dollar, but contains one troy ounce of 99% silver.

Its design features the image of a walking liberty on its obverse (front) view and a heraldic eagle with shield and thirteen five-pointed stars on its reverse (back).

 

• American Gold Eagle:

An American Gold Eagle coin is the official gold bullion of the United States and is officially designated for pre-1933 ten dollars gold coins, but is not equal to their face value, but equal to the market value of their gold content (which usually fluctuates with market forces, as with gold and gold-made products).

The coin is offered in 1/10oz, 1/4oz, 1/2 oz, and 1oz denominations and each of the four sizes contains 91.67% gold, 3% silver, and 5.33% copper.

Their designs feature the image of  the lady liberty and an eagle soaring above a nest on their front and back views respectively.

 

• American Platinum Eagle:

The official platinum bullion coin of the U.S., the American Platinum Eagle is offered in its 1/10, ¼, ½, and 1denominatons valued at $10, $25,$50 and $100 respectively.

All four denominations are identical in design except for the markings on the reverse side which indicate the face value of the coin.

 

• American Buffalo:

These are also known as the gold buffalo and are 24-carat bullion coins with a face value of $50 and the images of the ‘American Indian Head’ and a buffalo on its front and back views respectively.

 

• America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins:

These coins comprise of a series of silver bullion coins with the face value of a quarter dollar – they contain 5 ounces of silver and their designs feature the image of George Washington in a portrait and alternating five individual designs from the coins design program.

 

• Commemorative Coins

These category of coins may be used as legal tender, they are not minted for general circulation, but are crafted to honor American people, places, events and institutions.

Each of the coins are crafted to be rich in symbolic history and help to raise money for important causes and represent an invaluable investment in maintaining American  history.

 

• Obsolete Coins

These coins are denominations which no longer circulate or have been disused. They include –

• The half cent (1/2 Cent)
• Fugio Cent (1 Cent)
• Two cent piece (Two cent)
• Three cent bronze (Three Cent)
• The three cent nickel (Three Cent)
• The Trime (3 cent)
• Half dime (5 cent)
• Twenty cent piece (20 cent)
• Gold dollar ($1)
• Quarter eagle($2.50)
• Three dollar piece ($3)
• The Stella($4)
• Half Eagle($5)
• Eagle ($10)
• Double eagle ($20)
• Half union ($50)

Coin Collecting Hobby

Coin collecting is one of the oldest hobbies and is often regarded as the ‘hobby of kings’.  The idea became quite popular when commemorative coins became widely available, and is based on the concept of collecting and preserving rare coins for aesthetic purposes or for subsequent investment for potential long term profit.

The coin collecting world, while unconventional is elaborate, and coin enthusiasts have been known to form coin clubs and coin and medal programs – on the long run however, the enthusiasm often pays off as collectors gradually build portfolios of very valuable and rare pieces.

 

TOP 3 BANKS IN USA & TOP 3 BANKS MOST HELPFUL TO IMMIGRANTS

The matter of choosing a financial institution that you can entrust with your money (or related resources) is not one to be taken lightly. Some financial experts even suggest that the seemingly basic act of choosing a bank, and an accompanying account might be your only hindrance to attaining your financial goals.

If you’re looking for a good bank in the US, you will find a dizzying number of options from which to choose; The best bank however should have low charges, high interest rates and a lenient policy when you overdraft. But whether you’re looking to park your cash for the long or short term, the sea of options means that there are more ways than ever to do your banking on your own time and terms — not your banks.

Let’s cut right to the chase – Here are our top picks for Banks in the US and why;

• TD Bank (Favorite)

TD Bank is particularly popular for its wide range of top-notch services and products from which customers can choose at will, their relatively high APY and tiered interest rates on savings accounts, and their competitive CD rates –  its stands out among its brick-and-mortar competitors especially for their availability and customer service and the added advantage that customers can stop by  one of their over 1,300 branch locations across the US and access their customer service representatives in person during bank hours or over the phone on a 24/7 basis.

• Bank5 Connect (Close second)

Bank 5 connect is a great pick if you’re looking to open  checking account – which is must-have. opening one at Bank5 Connect offers unparalleled benefits from its high 0.76% interest rate, low minimum deposit, to lack of maintenance fees. as if we weren’t impressed already the bank offers customers an additional host of perks, ranging from free checks to ATM fee reimbursements. And Members earn rewards points for every $2 spent using their Bank5 Connect debit card, which are redeemable for gift cards and merchandise – absolutely wonderful if you ask me.

• Synchrony Bank ( Not Bad Either)

Synchrony bank is a great choice for savings accounts – Those who stash their savings here enjoy up to  1.05% APY; without any minimum deposit or balance, there are no fees or service charges and loyal customers also take advantage of a wide range of perks that make the bank almost too good to be true; including ATM reimbursements and travel rewards.

 

*Best Online – Ally Bank:

If you’re looking for an online bank buddy that you could carry around in your pocket however, we recommend the 3-time winner, best online bank of the year – Ally Bank. The bank earned high marks for its high savings and CD yields, no checking account maintenance fee, top-notch customer service, and excellent app. Ally bank is online-only bank and offers up to 1.0% APY on savings accounts — which earns customers 100 times more interest than many of its traditional competitors — and up to 0.6% APY on its free checking accounts.

BEST BANKS FOR US IMMIGRANTS

Choosing a bank is hassle enough, but if you an US immigrant the playing field is even more riddled with obstacles from documentation, proof of origin/identification to credit scores – and to make the water even murkier, the process is further stifled if you aren’t British, Canadian, Australian or from and EU country.

However, where there is a will, there will never cease to be a way.

The very best option would be to find a U.S. bank, such as

• Well Fargo
• Citibank
• Bank of America

All of these may already have locations locally in your country and will allow you to open up a U.S. bank account. The point here is to make the U.S. bank branch in your country provide the identification check in person procedure required by the Patriot Act by meeting them in person with the proper identification.

If this is out of the question however, you will find the list of our top pick for the best banks for US immigrants quite useful –

• TD Bank:

TD bank offers a vast number of account choices with perks that aid ease to the culture shock that an immigrant might encounter. you can open a bank account with a foreign passport and one of the following items:

• Employment ID with photo and signature
• State-issued ID or driver’s license with signature
• Foreign driver’s license with photo
• S. employment authorization card with photo, signature and expiration date
• College ID with photo
• Alien registration card with photo
• Permanent resident card with photo
• Capital One

An ITIN and proof of identity are sufficient to open an account at one of the bank’s branches.

• Self-Help Federal Credit Union, which has branches in Northern California and Chicago, accepts the following forms of identification:
• Valid driver’s license
• Passport
• Matricula
• Residency card

A financial institution specifically credited for helping undocumented immigrants is;

• The Latino Credit Union in North Carolina.

Latino Credit Union and Self-Help FCU also offer products designed with the undocumented community in mind. DACA and citizenship loans, for example, are available to help members cover the cost of a deferred action or naturalization application.

Here’s what you need to open an account with Latino Credit Union:

• Government-issued ID from any country
• Valid ITIN or Social Security number
• Proof of current address

Opening a bank account as an immigrant person can be slightly intimidating, but it’s a fear worth overcoming. It can help you establish a financial history in the U.S. and give you a safe place to store your hard-earned savings.