Parts of a Coin

I'll get to the parts of a coin, but first a story:

I remember when I was about the age of a Webelo and I found a stack of extremely shinny quarters in my mother's hutch in the living room. These quarters actually belong to my father. I made the wrong decisions and took them and bought a pack of baseball cards with them down at the general store called Kings that was located on main street in my hometown.  I remember coming home with my mother waiting for me at the door... mother's always have a way of knowing when their children have done something wrong!  Come to find out, Dad was saving those coins because they were made before 1965... which meant that they were minted out of silver.  The price of the the coin today, just in it's weight in silver, would be close to $3.50 each.  Needless to say, Dad was not happy.  

Another coin that I remember from my youth which I received from my parents, possibly due to the above story, was a Good Turn Coin.  This was a Boy Scout coin that you would keep in one pocket and transfer to the other after you completed your "good turn" for the day. 

Now to the parts of a coin.

There is so much more to a coin than just simply heads and tails. On the obverse (heads) side of the quarter you have the field, rim, legend, design or device, motto, mintmark, designer's initials, and the denomination of the coin.

On the Reverse (tails) side of a Quarter you have; The field, rim, legend, design or device, motto, edge, and date.

You will find the date on the Obverse side on Quarters that were minted prior to the new 2000's designs.