The term “vintage” is often used when referring to U.S. coinage from 1964 and before or world coins that are pre-1940. When these coins were originally created, they were not minted as the collectibles or investments they have become today. These coins were minted to be used in commerce as spending money for goods and services; they had no value other than their face value at the time of minting, so they struck as many (or as few) as they thought they needed or had the time to do. This is why, due to the varied mintages at the time of production and the passage of time, many vintage coins still have such limited mintages.
