Coin display methods and apparatus

A set of coins is arranged relative to a display having discrete regions associated with discrete coins within the set. In a preferred embodiment, the display is a map, and an opening is provided within the borders of or proximate to each state on the map in order to receive a respective coin.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to coin storage methods and apparatus and 
more particularly, to a system for displaying or storing a set of coins in 
relation to a depiction of geographic regions with which they are 
associated. 
Background of the Invention 
Coin collecting is a popular hobby. Significant aspects of the hobby 
include the safe storage and attractive display of coins within a 
collection. One known method for storing coins is to provide circular 
openings in cardboard or fiberboard sheets which are bound together by a 
flexible backing. The resulting "book" typically provides a date labeled 
opening or coin receiving depression for each year in which a particular 
coin was minted. This type of prior art book is suitable for its intended 
purpose, but room for additional innovation remains in the field of coin 
displays and/or storage systems. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a map with coin holders 
associated with distinguishable regions on the map. Such an arrangement 
provides an attractive way to store coins and may facilitate greater 
appreciation of geography, as well. Many of the features and advantages of 
the present invention will become apparent from the more detailed 
description that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for storing and/or 
displaying coins in relation to geographic territories associated with the 
coins. In a broader sense, the present invention provides methods and 
apparatus for storing a collection or set of tokens in relation to an 
illustration having distinct regions which are unique to respective tokens 
within the collection or set. Several examples of the invention are 
discussed below. 
FIG. 1 shows a rectangular board or panel 100 which is made of cardboard or 
some other suitable material. The board 100 bears outlines of the 
continental United States of America and each individual state within the 
union. As shown with reference to Florida and Rhode Island, a separate 
opening 110 is provided in the board 100 for each of the fifty states. In 
this embodiment, each opening 110 is sized and configured to receive (by 
press fit) a disc 120 identical in size and shape to a 1997 United States 
quarter (approximately 15/16 of an inch in diameter and 1/16 of an inch 
deep or thick). 
Those skilled in the art will recognize that a different size of disc and 
opening may be used without departing from the scope of the present 
invention. In any event, a preferred method of scaling a generally true to 
scale map relative to the disc involves making the longitudinal distance 
defined between the laterally extending, northern and southern borders of 
Tennessee at least as large as the diameter of the disc. Those skilled in 
the art will recognize that other scaling methods may be employed in the 
alternative. 
Where space permits, as is the case with Florida in FIG. 1, the opening 110 
is disposed within the border of the respective state. Where space is 
insufficient, as is the case with Rhode Island in FIG. 1, the opening 110 
is disposed proximate the respective state, preferably in a manner that 
causes minimal obstruction of boundaries between states. A leader line 
and/or color code may be used to associate "displaced" openings with their 
respective states. 
As shown with reference to Alaska in FIG. 1, the associated disc 120 having 
been removed from the opening 110, the board 100 includes an optional 
backing material 130 to prevent the discs 120 from passing entirely 
through the openings 110. Those skilled in the art will recognize that 
relatively smaller openings may be provided in the backing material 130 to 
facilitate removal of the discs 120 as desired. 
The map 100 serves as an attractive and educational way to store and 
display "quarter-sized" objects which are distinguishable on a state by 
state basis. For example, each coin may bear the name and/or outline of 
its respective state, or some other symbol associated with the state. Such 
objects may be produced and distributed by a private entity, in which case 
the discs 120 may be made of any of a variety of materials, including 
metal, plastic, or wood. For example, a restaurant chain such as 
McDonald's could distribute a different state coin or token each week for 
almost an entire year, thereby requiring customers to patronize a 
McDonald's restaurant each week for a year in order to obtain the entire 
collection of state specific tokens. 
The present invention may also be provided in the form of a game or kit, 
wherein the board 100 and all the tokens 120 are distributed together. The 
tokens 120 could already occupy their proper openings 110; or they could 
be randomly disposed in the openings 110; or they could be free of the 
openings 110. In the event that tokens or coins are distributed over time, 
maps could be made available to tardy collectors with an up to date stock 
of those coins already distributed. 
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the United States government 
could mint distinct quarters associated with particular states (an idea 
that is being considered in the 1997 Congress). The map 100 would provide 
a convenient and educational way to store and display such quarters. Those 
skilled in the art will also recognize that the coins may be encased in 
acrylic, for example, for preservation purposes, in which case the 
openings 110 would be sized accordingly. 
As shown with reference to Texas in FIG. 1, an inexpensive replica 140 of 
each actual coin (or token) may be initially provided together with the 
map 100 to occupy the openings 110 in the absence of the actual coins or 
tokens. Such a replica could be made of a less expensive material than the 
real thing or could simply be an embossed piece of foil. 
An optional cover 150 is shown together with the board 100 in FIG. 1. The 
cover 150 is made of a transparent material such as acrylic and is formed 
with a depression or cavity sized and configured to receive the board 100. 
In other words, a relatively thinner portion 151 of the cover 150 spans 
the board 100, and a relatively thicker portion 152 of the cover 150 
surrounds the board 100. 
Those skilled in the art will recognize a variety of alternative 
arrangements for enclosing the tokens 120. For example, the map could be 
part of a plastic tray, and the cover could be pivotally mounted on the 
tray. Another option would be to simply provide a cover or overlying 
support into which the tokens are inserted from behind and retained in 
place by snap fit. Such a cover could be configured to approximate the 
topography of the region it represents, with a flat portion provided for 
display of each of the coins or tokens. 
Another variation of the present invention is to secure the tokens to a map 
or board by magnetic force. For example, FIG. 2 shows a map or board 200 
made of ferrous metal. As shown in FIG. 3, each of a plurality of "region 
specific" tokens 220 includes a magnet 222 disposed within a plastic 
housing 224. The arrangement allows the tokens 220 to be connected to and 
removed from the board 200. Those skilled in the art will recognize that 
designated coin spaces or outlines could be shown on the map 200. 
Alternatively, magnets could be disposed at specific locations on the 
board, or the entire board could be "magnetized" to support tokens made of 
ferrous metal. Yet another option would be to use hook and loop fasteners 
to retain the tokens in place. 
FIG. 4 shows another map or board 400 which is similar in many respects to 
the board 100 in FIG. 1. However, the board 400 further includes a 
locating means 480 for assisting a person with locating a particular state 
and/or token 420 on the map 400. The locating means 480 includes 
coordinates disposed along at least two orthogonal edges of the board 400 
and a list (not shown) of the states together with respective pairs of 
coordinates. For example, the token receiving opening 410 for California 
is at (5,L) in FIG. 4. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the 
coordinates could be placed on the cover 150 shown in FIG. 1 (rather than 
on the board itself). 
Those skilled in the art will also recognize that numerous other locating 
means could be employed with similar results. For example, a 
longitudinally extending member could be slidably mounted to the lateral 
sides of the board, and a laterally extending member could be slidably 
mounted to the longitudinal sides of the board, and their point of 
intersection used to locate particular states. 
The size of the coins or tokens and the relative sizes of the states may be 
such that it becomes desirable to split the map into more than one section 
or board, and/or to depict the northeast states in a relatively larger 
scale, for example. Along these lines, a relatively bold border line 160 
is included in FIG. 1 to show a desirable line of separation between 
eastern states and western states; and a relatively bold border line 170 
is included in FIG. 1 to show a desirable line of separation between 
northeast states which may require enlargement relative to the remainder 
of the states. 
FIG. 5 shows a segmented map or board 500 having four discrete sections 
501-504. Section 501 shows Alaska and Hawaii; section 502 shows the 
portion of the continental United States lying west of the border line 
160; section 503 shows the portion of the continental United States lying 
east of the border line 160; and section 504 shows an enlargement of the 
northeast states lying northeast of the borderline 170. As shown with 
reference to Maine, the token receiving openings 510 for the enlarged 
northeast states are provided only in connection with the enlarged 
depiction thereof (and not in the section 503). 
Adjacent sections of the map 500 are interconnected by a flexible backing 
material 506 which may be said to define a hinge between each adjacent 
pair of sections. For example, section 501 and section 502 are 
interconnected by the backing material 506 and are foldable relative to 
one another about an axis Z. Angling of the sections relative to one 
another (about axis Z, for example) allows the board 500 to be positioned 
upright on a horizontal surface with only its lower edge X engaging the 
surface. The hinges are wide enough to allow the sections 501-504 to be 
folded flat against one another, thereby reducing the area occupied by the 
map 500 to one-fourth its size in FIG. 5. 
FIG. 6 shows a puzzle 600 which is similar in size and shape to the boards 
100 and 200. However, as shown with reference to Arkansas, each state or 
select group of states is provided in the form of a puzzle piece 601 which 
is removable from the base or board 602 and separable from adjacent puzzle 
pieces. The entire map formed by the removable members 601 rests within a 
depression formed in the board 602. This embodiment 600 allows both sides 
of each coin or token 620 to be viewed without removing it from its 
opening 610. This embodiment 600 may also be seen to provide two levels of 
puzzle solving: one involving matching each token to its respective state; 
and the other involving locating each state relative to the overall map. 
Several of the features discussed with reference to other embodiments may 
be integrated into the puzzle embodiment 600. For example, a cover may be 
added to help maintain the puzzle pieces 601 in place relative to the base 
602. Alternatively, the tokens 620 and/or the pieces 601 may be connected 
to a base or any other suitable member, such as a refrigerator door, by 
means of magnetic force. In the latter case, no base or board is required. 
Yet another possible feature involves making sections of the map available 
together with newly introduced coins. For example, the map could be 
divided into ten discrete five state units or pieces, and one unit could 
be released each year together with the five related coins. 
FIG. 7 shows a discrete map or board 700 which depicts somewhat outdated 
outlines of countries of Europe. As shown with reference to Denmark, an 
opening 710 is formed in the board 700 for each country shown on the map 
700 in order to retain a respective token 720. Tokens 720 may be privately 
produced and distributed for each opening 710, or the board 700 may be 
used to store actual coins from each of the countries shown. 
Recognizing that all such actual coins may not be identical in size and 
shape, either each opening must be sized according to the actual coin size 
of the respective country, or some sort of adaptive coin holder must be 
provided. The former case simply requires that the desired coin or coins 
be collected from each country, and then appropriate sized openings be 
formed in the map. 
The latter case may be addressed in a variety of ways. For example, as 
shown in FIG. 8, a board 800 is provided with openings which are 
sufficiently large to accommodate the largest anticipated actual coin 820. 
An alternative coin retaining arrangement is provided in the form of tabs 
818 which extend radially inward from the edges of the openings 810 to 
retain appropriately sized coins by snap fit. Those skilled in the art 
will recognize that this particular arrangement may be substituted for or 
replaced by any of the retaining arrangements discussed above. In any 
event, one or more sizes of bushings 891 and 892 are provided to 
accommodate relatively smaller actual coins 822 and to similarly snap fit 
into any of the openings 810. Tabs similarly extend radially inward from 
the edges of the bushing openings to retain appropriately sized coins by 
snap fit. 
The foregoing description will enable those skilled in the art will 
recognize additional improvements, modifications, and/or applications 
which nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention. For example, a 
map could be supported on spaced apart sheets of plastic which are 
interconnected by intermittent posts, and a toroid-shaped token could be 
inserted between the sheets of plastic and maneuvered into alignment with 
an appropriate hole through at least one of the sheets. A fastener could 
then be inserted through the hole in the sheet and a central opening 
through each token to secure the latter relative to the former. Or the 
tokens could be mounted on masts or posts which, in turn, are connected to 
the regions of the map. Or, the body of each player on a basketball team 
could be displayed on a board with an opening in place of each player's 
head, and a separate coin bearing each player's face could be distributed 
to complete the display. Or, a flexible member, such as a shirt or curtain 
with transparent pockets, could be used in place of a board or other rigid 
support, in which case the tokens are preferably made of a relatively 
lightweight material such a plastic. Recognizing that those skilled in the 
art will undoubtedly recognize many such variations, the scope of the 
present invention is to be limited only to the extent of the following 
claims.