Book excerpt: Coins give us a sublime and tangible connection to history and an artistic expression of the ideals and values of their periods. Like art, a collector need not attempt a “complete” collection of denominations and designs – a representative example of each of various major design families or individual designs can be quite enjoyable, satisfying and informative. This volume with its timeline is targeted to beginning and novice coin collectors to promote the enjoyment and appreciation of US coin design history, but hopefully experienced collectors will also gain new insights.