Even I'm Stumped

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

I recently bought one of those foreign coin lots where you get a pound of coins for ten bucks. I was able to identify all but one coin. Here it is.

I figured it wasn't a true coin because both side are identical and it looks cheap. By cheap I mean the field is not smooth and the design isn't sharp.

I went through all my books, other websites and even posted in coin forums. All the information I got is that it is Japanese and the Japanese characters spell Western. Some believe it is a pachinko token.

In pachinko parlors people play these semi-gambling machines and win balls then use those to get token at slot machines or to trade for prizes.

As for value I don't know anyone who collects pachinko tokens. Also I still don't know if this a gaming token or something else. If I find out more I'll let you know.

If you have knowledge of this coin/token/medal please let me know.

http://www.geocities.com/btokens/tokpach.html
http://www.geocities.com/btokens/pach.jpg

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Presents For All (sort of)

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Okay so I can't buy all of you nice visitors a coin. So instead I'll answer 100 questions asked to this site.

1. Are buffalo nickels worth money? Yes, average $1.00 in good.
2. 1943 wheat head penny? Common made of Zinc-Coated Steel about $0.30 in fine.
3. Price value of pennies 1995? Only if MS-65(near perfect) or more $0.25.
4. How much is my 1912 Indian head silver nickel worth? No such thing but a Liberty is $2.00 in good.
5. 1941 Canadian penny? $0.10 in very good.
6. 1944 penny value? $0.10 in very fine.
7. Denver mint 1971 cent error? Sure it is possible, common even.
8. 1944 wheat penny US value? $0.10 in very fine, buyer price is $0.02.
9. Value of 1924 Canadian penny? $5.00 in very good.
10. Is the Canada's 1975 100 dollar bill worth a lot? $105.00 in very fine.

11. American silver coins eBay half dollar 1838 ms65? It should sell for $3000.00.
12. 1944-penny? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.
13. 1944 copper penny value? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.
14. What is the value of a 1965 proof 65 nickel? No proofs were made that year.
15. 1944-penny? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.(I see a pattern.)
16. 1881 penny? $5.00 in good.
17. 1944 Canadian nickel? $0.15 in very good.
18. Coin collectors pennies 1944? Yes we do but it is not a big year.
19. Red $2.00 bills? From 1928-1963 about $7.00 in very fine.
20. Canadian nickel - 1928 - value? $0.20 in very good.

21. Dollar bill with stars at end of serial number? Common and collectible add 3 times face value.
22. How much is a 1935 wheat penny worth? $0.15 in good.
23. Value of a 1943 nickel Philadelphia mint? $1.00 in very fine.
24. How much is a VDB penny worth? 1909 starts at $8.00.
25. 1944-penny? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.(Hmmm.)
26. Error paper hundred dollar bill currency collector? Yes we do and there good.
27. 1941-d worth anything? Yes, $0.15 in good.
28. Pure silver dimes worth? As of July 14, 2007 $0.94 ignoring dates.
29. Old penny worth? As of July 14, 2007 $0.02 ignoring dates.
30. Penny 1889? $3.00 in good.

31. How much is an brass dime worth for 1966? No such thing an error would be hundreds.
32. 1944 one cent penny? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.(Arghhh.)
33. How much is a 1943 steel penny worth? $0.30 in fine.
34. Worth of 1953 $2.00 bill? About $7.00 in very fine.
35. 1944 doubled die mercury dime? It would start at $20.00.
36. American 1909 penny collectors value? It would start at $1.75.
37. Image of 1947D cent? Here.
38. Value of 1942 dime? $1.25 in fine.
39. $10 Canadian bill look like? Try here.
40. Mintage & price estimate for the 2007 buffalo proof gold coin? Unknown and same as last year.

41. Value of 1950 silver dime? $1.20 in extremely fine.
42. Rare Canadian pennies? 1936 dot below date, 1955 without strap.
43. Types of dimes made in 1934? Just the Mercury/Winged Liberty.
44. Values error penny? Most are only worth a few cents.
45. Stats for year 1916? Rare 1916D dime is made very low mintage.
46. 1941d penny? $0.15 in good.
47. 1963 Canadian 10 cents value? $0.80 in MS-60.
48. U.S. 1944 penny value? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.(Noooo.)
49. "1944 wheat penny"? Is this a joke.(See above)
50. Old penny values 1943? $0.30 in fine, not that old.


51. Canadian 1942 copper nickel? It's actually Tombac(90% copper and 10% zinc) and worth $0.40.
52. 1889 penny? $3.00 in good.
53. SF mint commemorative? Yes, they're out and fabulous.
54. What is the rarest penny? 1943 copper in high grade.
55. Star noted two dollar bills worth? At least $12.00 in CH CU.
56. 1944 penny? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.(.......)
57. 1943 wheat silver penny selling value? Not silver and sells for $0.05.
58. How much is a dime from 1934 worth? $1.40 in fine.
59. Image of 2005P obverse Canadian dime? Dime here.
60. Why did the UK did not join the single European currency? Because they're smart and have pride and confidence in the Pound.

61. What is a 1964 Kennedy half worth? $6.00 in MS-63.
62. 1881 penny? $5.00 in good.
63. List value $2.00 bill? New and not perfect $2.00.
64. Value of a 1935A silver certificate? At least is $3.00 in very-fine.
65. What Canadian silver quarters are of a good value? 1904 & 1927.
66. What is the value of a penny 1958d? $0.10 in very-fine.
67. The worth of wheat cent 1952? $0.10 in very-fine.
68. Canadian 1dollar bill? About a buck.
69. value of 1944 wheat penny? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.(waaaa.)
70. 1955 Canadian penny? $0.10 with strap, $85.00 without.

71. My standing liberty quarter dollars has no date on it how can i find out how old it is? You can't you can narrow it down for stars or a recessed date.
72. Singapore error coins? Don't know of any but they exist.
73. Info on a 1963 silver quarter? Mintage 74,316,000. Value $3.00 in extremely-fine.
74. Minting pennies in 1944? The standard way 2,148,738,000 times.
75. 1956 wheat penny? $0.10 in very-fine.
76. Double-stamped dollar bill? It happens multiple value by 5 to 10 face.
77. What the cost of a 1926 penny? You can by one for $0.10 cents on eBay.
78. How much would a 1944 penny cost? Free from your change or $0.01 cents on eBay.
79. Value 1964 Canadian penny? $0.10 in MS-60.
80. What is the value of a 1853 dime? Good is $16.00 with arrows, $50.00 no arrows.

81. 1935f blue dollar? At least $3.00 in very fine.
82. 1990's 20 dollar bill worth? $20.00 its too soon.
83. 1941 dime value? $1.25 in fine.
84. Mercury head silver dime values? They average $1.00 in good.
85. 1944 one cent penny? Again $0.02-$0.10 in good.(Sigh.)
86. 1944 penny? Ditto.
87. How much 1890 penny worth? $3.00 in good.
88. 5 dollar bill collectors edition with red print? It is not an "edition" but made from 1928-1963.
89. Liberty walking dollar 1943 value? No such thing but the half dollar is $5.00 in fine.
90. Price check on old pennies? $0.02-$0.10 in good can only go up from there.

91. 1944 w mint marked dime? Not a mintmark it's the designers initials A over W.
92. 1982 error dimes? Yes they exist mostly copper-nickel plating problems.
93. Price of old dollar bills? They start at $1.20.
94. 1952s penny? $0.10 in good.
95. Image of 1947D cent? Here.
96. 1952s penny? Sounds familiar $0.15 in good.
97. $20 bill series 1969? At least $50.00 in CH CU.
98. Can I make a profit from coins? It is possible but not really on circulated ones.
99. Who buys these coins? I do, and other collectors, on eBay even in circulated.
100. Why 1944 so much? Over 2 billion were made and people falsely think there valuable.

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

I See Stars

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Just replying to questions I think most people should keep in mind when looking through your bills.

what does a star mean next to the serial number on a dollar bill?
A star means that some notes were damaged when made at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. To replace these notes the government uses notes with a star on them this way they don't have to replace notes with the same serial numbers. Less then 1% of notes are star notes.

Image Source: http://www.visi.com/~antiquitybureau/2starnotes.jpg

how much is a 1950D $5 bill worth with a star next to the serial number?
It depends on the serial number and condition.
The I-* is at most $200.00 in crisp-uncirculated.
The K-* is at most $175.00 in crisp-uncirculated.
All others are at most $100.00 in crisp-uncirculated.
divide by ten if in less then perfect grade.

some of the new $10 bills also have the star?
Lots of the new bill have this and at first the were rare but now they are worth only a few dollars over face but the DH-* are the most sought after.

is there anything special about them?
Many collectors like them but they are sometimes overpriced. Those from St. Louis(H), Minneapolis(I), and Cleveland(D) are always key districts.

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

New Coin Ideas

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

I'm checking all the blogs that link to this in the hope of reading something interesting while in class. Then low and behold the first linker was another New York blogger who was doing a little experiment.

He decided to pick up every coin he saw on the streets for a few months. Along the way he found plenty of pennies, a 1944 cent and a $5.00 bill, twice.

I commented to him that I doing the same only around my college and found 37¢, but the same day while on the subway I found two 1 dollar bills in a bundle on the platform. Now I don't know if it was luck or just that reading his blog made me hyper-aware.

I did spot a penny on the platform a couple feet away but I have my limits and left it there for some braver soul to pick up.

Just thinking about this I must have passed up hundreds of dollars in street money throughout the years. Is this just a New York thing?

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Still Busy....

So enjoy this video for now. It features 10,000 British 1 Pound coins.

What's Left

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

My favorite part of this blog is still answering everyones questions so keep it up.

I've been so busy with school and strapped for cash that I had little time to get new coins. I have been getting more coin books as I look into expanding my collection to older, ancient or gold coins.

For fun here is a coin I found in my coin jar that is slightly special.

Can you tell what is different about it?

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Neither Gone or Forgotten

On this the 5th year after the attack on America by Muslim terrorist there is more videos of these modern day monsters planning the attacks.

Television captured the horror of the day and I hope the justice against these enemies of freedom will also be televised.Children did die that day but many more lost there center, fathers, mothers and loved ones.

It's anger that fills me today sadness comes later when looking outside the window with a skyline forever changed.

Reference This

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Along with buying and getting coins I also regularly get coins books for my own nusmimatic library. Earlier this year I picked up The Official Red Book: A Guide Book Of United States Coins 2007 60th Edition by R.S. Yeoman and also bought Standard Guide To Small-Size U.S. Paper Money 1928 To Date 6th Edition by Oakes & Schwartz.

There is a 7th edition of the Paper Money book coming out in October.

When quoting prices from these books you always have to keep in mind that they are 10-50% more then most dealers will pay for coins or notes. Sometimes they pay less so at that point it would be better to sell them through eBay or other means.

Here are my two newest books.
The 2007 Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000 34th Edition.Overall it is fine not as thick as last years some updated prices but some big errors. The last page for South African coins is missing replaced with a repeated page. For $55.00 you'd expect better. I paid $34.65 at Amazon.com.

Also the 2001-Present World Coins is being sold separately at $30.00 only $18.90 on Amazon.com.

The second book I recently got was this older one Coins of England And The United Kingdom Spink Standard Catalogue of British Coins 38th Edition Spink 2003.
It is an older book I bought for the price of shipping and handling from a cool coin dealer. It is worn but still in good condition. The values are all in pounds but that is okay because it goes as far back as 150B.C.. Yeah two thousan years of coins. It does not list minatges which is somewhat disappointing but it still is great reference for older British coins.

I'm still waiting for the Standard Catalog of World Coins 2001 to Date (Standard Catalog of World Coins: 2001 - Present) to be delivered along with the Charleton Guide and A Charlton Standard Catalogue Canadian Coins 2006 (Charlton's Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins) by W. K. Cross they will be here in September.

This where most of my coin budget is going because I need to stop the coins for a while as I organize my collection. I'll buy some 2x2 and flips and really try to get rid of coins I don't want by either selling them or giving them away. After that I'll focus on the types, I want to finish a good collection of high grade coins.


Cool coin dealer: Northeast Numismatics Inc.

Do you have a coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Crazy Foreigners

Do you have a foreign coin/bill and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Back in April I met a lady from the Netherlands I said never been there but I do collect coins from that place. She then graciously offered me some coins and a bill that she couldn't use in New York.

Apparently she is traveling the world. Here are the ones she gave me plus a Canadian and American coin I found in my change.

This is why it's always good to talk to strangers.

Here are that stats for the money above...
Type/Country: 10 Rubles Bill/Russia
Year: 1997(2004)
Mintages: Unknown (by me at least)
Paper: Dk. brown & dk gray on m/c unpt.
Value: $1.25 in UNC

Type/Country: 5 Cents/United States
Year: 2006D
Mintages: 809,280,000 (Estimated)
Metal: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel
Value: $0.25 in MS-63

Type/Country: 5 Cents/Canada
Year: 1983
Mintages: 72,596,000
Metal: Copper-nickel
Value: $0.20 in MS-60

Type/Country: 2 Euros/Netherlands
Year: 2001
Mintages: 140,500,000
Metal: Bi-Metallic Brass center in Copper-Nickel ring
Value: $4.00 in UNC

Type/Country: 10 Baht/Thailand
Year: 1995
Mintages: 53,700,000
Metal: Bi-Metallic Aluminum-bronze center in Stainless steel ring.
Value: $3.00 in UNC

Throughout that month I also received a few more from Canada, one from Ireland and some US coins. Nothing too special.

Do you have a foriegn coin/note and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Buffalos Are Shiny

Do you have a gold coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Check it out Eric Ewanco got his Gold Buffalo and has shared some pictures.
Here is the reverse of the coin in it's velvet lined box.
I believe for those who can afford it they are still available from the mint.
Plus a direct quote from the mint.

"American Buffalo Gold Proof One Ounce Single Coin Product Limit: 300,000"

The price is still $800.00 plus shipping and handling. This is one of the highest quality gold coins the U.S. Mint ever made.

Early reports of quality has been good. I haven't heard of any valuable errors but some people don't like the background field looking so dimpling.

Some people have reported that boxes are showing up empty. Not usually from the mint but the Uncirculated Version from secondary companies and eBay have been ripped open during shipping. This is probably because the package is clearly known to be gold by the delivery service. I don't like blaming any company but listening to the complaints it does seem to come from one famous company.

The USPS(United States Postal Serivce) is the best way to ship them at least they can insure the coin even though that can be a hassle.

5% of these coins are grading MS-70 or PRDC-70(Proof-Deep-Cameo)
94% of these coins are grading MS-69 or PRDC-69(Proof-Deep-Cameo)
only 1% are grading lower then 68

Graded coins are selling for $1250.00 on average despite the fact that they are common. Once the mint post the final amounts sold the price will drop fast.

Do you have a commerative coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Coin Scale

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Along with books and websites I still need more things to accurately find out what kind of coins I have. So I bought a scale after months searching and asking many dealers and collectors.

The scale I finally settled on is the DigiWeigh DW-100AS. It is a pocket precsion digital scale with a 100g x 0.01g accuracy.


It came with a 100 gram weight for calibrations.



Here it is weighing a copper-dime.



The sale is very accurate. It does need an occasional re-calibration when the scale gets moved a alot but it's not annoying.
The feel is solid and better then I expected from a mostly plastic scale. It isn't exactly pocket friendly.

The price was $29.99 + $8.37 for shipping and handling but since I used my Amazon credit card it came out to be free, yes FREE with the first time discount.

Although I saw if you buy it and sign up for a Stamps.com account you get a $30.00 rebate. Here is their official website plus the link to the rebate at the top of their page.

Here is where I bought it from Amazon Scale or Amazon Scale 2

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

The Lower The Better

On of the visitors to my humble blog asked this. I believe this should be helpful to most
currency collectors.

And one more question, sorry, when a serial number is "low" how low does it have to be to give bill more than face vaule?

The list below shows how they estimate the worth of low numbers. The first price listed would be for bill of the serial number 00000001 as they move to EVEN HUNDREDS they mean 00000100, 00000200, etc.

Click on the picture for a larger image.

Remember every one there are so many varieties in bills and notes that are collectible. Repeating serial numbers, "radar" serial numbers and many others.

I'll do my best to help I'm mostly a coin collector and the currency collection I have is small but the community is big finding someone to buy a any type is possible.


Do you have a bill or note and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

1886 Morgan Dollar

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

My last eBay purchase was this nice Morgan dollar. I bought for $23.50 plus shipping and handling. The coin is raw but marked MS-65.

MS-65 in a Morgan Dollar is described by having only light, scattered contact marks that are not distracting and strong luster with good eye appeal.

MS-64, which is what I believe this one is can be described by having a few scattered contact marks, good eye appeal and attractive luster.

This may fall into the MS-65 category but Morgan dollars are one of the most graded coin and submitting it professional would probably bring it in at MS-64.

Maybe one day I'll submit it to PCGS but not now.

Here's the stat for this coin...
Type: 1 Dollar-Morgan Dollar
Year: 1886
Mintage: 19,963,000
Metal: 90% silver, 10% copper
Value: $80.00 in MS-64 or $175.00 in MS-65

Price updated for 2012 and value went down $30.00 and $25.00 respectively since 2006.

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

My Australian Coins

Do you have an Australian coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Let's celebrate Australia.

Here are some coins I got from my change over the years. I also received a few in coin lots that I bought. Most were given to me in my change here in NYC. The distance between New York, New York, United States and Perth, Australia:

11606 miles (18679 km) (10086 nautical miles)

Well coins do end up in strange places. Here are 7 out of 10 coins I found over the years.

Including these the total find has been 2 pennies, 5 nickels, 1 dime and 2 half dollars.

Here are the stats for the coins pictured from top to bottom...
Type/Country: 50 Cents/Australia
Year: 1985
Mintages: 1,000,000
Metal: Copper-nickel
Value: $2.00 in XF( this one maybe is less because it worn)
($0.60 increase since 2008)

Type/Country: 50 Cents/Australia
Year: 1971
Mintage: 21,056,000
Metal: Copper-nickel
Value: $1.50 in XF( worn and maybe worth a bit less)
($1.05 increase for 2010)

Type/Country: 5 Cents/Australia
Year: 1998
Mintages: 88,532,000
Metal: Copper-nickel
Value: $0.40 in UNC
($0.10 decrease since 2008)

Type/Country: 5 Cents/Australia
Year: 1987
Mintages: 73,500,000
Metal: Copper-nickel
Value: $0.50 in UNC

Type/Country: 5 Cents/Australia
Year: 1982
Mintage: 121,770,000
Metal: Copper-nickel
Value: $0.25 in XF

Type/Country: 1 Cent/Australia
Year: 1981
Mintages: 223,900,000
Metal: Bronze
Value: $0.20 in UNC

Type/Country: 1 Cent/Australia
Year: 1979
Mintages: 130,339,000
Metal: Bronze
Value: $0.20 in UNC

Those not pictured:
The 1968 dime is about $1.00, the 1999 and 1988 nickels are $0.20 and $0.40 respectively.

Yes Australia has beautiful beaches, beautiful women and some of the best looking circulating coins in the developed world. Although why they still keep the Queen on there coins is beyond me.

Do you have an Australian coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

2005 W Submitted Photo

Do you have a photo of a coin and want to display it? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to also find out the price and history for you.

I recent asked if people wanted to display there Gold Buffaloes because sadly I couldn't get one. I have been buying Morgan dollars to fill in my coin addiction.

One nice visitor, Eric Ewanco, to this little blog showed off two pics of a ounce gold American dollar. Here it is.Notice that the same coin can take two different pictures. I often try to take a picture from above the coin and get a reflection of myself or the camera on the coin. These are great pictures I reduced for this blog just click on the picture for the original large pictures.

The best way I've heard of taking proof pictures involve using a stand and two light sources and an angled resting place. Very complicated.

Here's the stats for this coin....
Type: 50 dollars-1 Oz Fine Gold
Year: 2005W
Mintage: 35,246
Metal: 91.67% gold, 3% silver, 5.33% copper
Value: $2,250.00 in Proof ($450.00 increase as of 2012 values)

I own gold coins in the 1/10 ounce variety but the are small and no comparison to these beautiful examples.

Do you have a photo of a coin/currency and want to display it? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to also find out the price and history for you.

Obsolete African Coin

Do you have an African coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

I bought this coin recently and was very pleased that it was only a few bucks plus free shipping and handling. Another good thing is it's great luster.

Here's the stats for this coin...
Type/Country: 20 Centavos / Mozambique
Year: 1974
Mintages: 13,044,000
Metal: Bronze
Value: $3.75 in XF, $9.00 in UNC

I'm not sure if it is XF or UNC it is sharp in all details but it is terribly spotted.

This coin was issued when Mozambique was under Portuguese control since then the country is now self-ruled. Most Portuguese colonial coins are worth alot more then face.

Do you have an African coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Happy Fourth of July

Something to ponder this July 4th, besdies our freedom and great potential.

The penny and nickel are getting to expensive to produce as they currently exist.



But the penny has been produced by the United States Mint for circulation since 1793.
This recent one found in Maine sold for $414,000.

I'm just hoping to keep the penny and nickel in circulation even if it is no longer copper.

Technorati Profile

Loonie Ten Dollars

Do you have a coin or currency and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Back in April I got a new ten dollar bill in my change on the same day I got a 1987 Canadian dollar coin. Since then I've got lots of questions on a possible error on the ten dollar bill.

Look at the note carefully this is what a new crisp ten dollar bill looks like.

Now the question of error on the new ten dollar bill.
It is a myth people asked why does the 2006 note have a 2004 date, is that an error?
NO!

When a new bill has a design change they change the date to what ever year the change was made. If the design change is minor like a signature or adding color then a letter is added to the date, so 2004 turns to 2004A.

No ten dollar bill errors have been verified.

As for the Loonie coin it was the first Loonie coin in Canada's dollar coin series. There is another common 1987 Canadian dollar but it is 10x rarer. It is also an 11 sided coin, I think the cashier who gave it to me confused it with a U.S. golden dollar.

Here are the values of those pictured above...
Type / Country: 10 dollar bill / United States
Year: 2004A
Mintage: 51,200,000
Value: $10.00 in all grades unless it has been professional certified.

Type / Country: 1 dollar-Loon / Canada
Year: 1987
Mintage: 205,405,000
Metal: Aureate-Bronze Plated Nickel
Value: $2.25 in MS-63(this one is about $1.25 because it is worn)

Do you have a coin or bill/note and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Gold Buffalo Coins News

Today the much talked about Gold Buffalo Coin was put up for sale at the U.S. Mint. This is the proof version meaning it is specially minted with a shiny mirror like field. The coin is $800 plus $4.95 shipping and handling with a limit of ten per order.Now I really want this coin but at $800 dollars it is out of my price range. The uncirculated version should be about $675 and will be sold through authorized coin dealers not from the mint directly.

Either way they won't be shipping out until July 13, 2006 and seeing how the mints website crashed today I think the 300,000 coins are sold out.

Yes these coins are legal tender, they are .9999 fine gold bullion, the first of its kind ever made by our mint. It is 1 ounce and gold today is at $582.90 an ounce.

If you buy one I would love to see a picture these are truely classicly minted coins.

Ebay, Friends and My Pocket.

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

In the beginning of December 2005 I bought these dimes on eBay then I got this Mexican coin from a new friend and I found a Canadian penny in my change.

Also notice the holders they are made in two and three holes for the mintmarks of each year. If want to put the 1941, 1941D and 1941S in the same place you now can with these holders. They are sold everywhere they sell coin supplies.

Here's a decent place to buy these holders.
Brooklyn Gallery

Here's the stats...
1941-D 1942-D 1943-D 1944-D Mercury Dime Lot VF++......$2.79
Lot 8 Silver Roosevelt Dimes 1947 51 56 60 61 62 64 64 .... $3.27
Coin Supplies Saf-T-Flip Coin Holder 1.5x1.5w/card 25PK...$3.25
It was a total of $11.81 with shipping and handling.

As of today (2012 values) the Mercury dimes are worth.............. $10.66
the Roosevelt Dimes are............................................................. $21.30
and the Sat-T-Flips are ............................................................. $2.00
for a total of $33.99 so I earned $22.18 on my initial purchase. Okay so I'm not retiring but most of the times I lose money when I buy coins so any little that I make I will enjoy.

The Cinco Pesos is Mexican from 1948 it was free from a friend that also collects coins and is worth $29.00 (2012 value was $12.00 when I first got it in 2006).

The Canadian penny is from 1980 and only worth at most $0.10, yeah it's true most change finds are not worth a lot. It is the 5^th 1980 Canadian cent I found in my change.

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

My Oldest Find

Do you have a penny and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

My oldest change find ever happened on February 11 2006 it was this not so pretty 1907 Indian Head Cent. I received in my change from a store or supermarket, I can't quite recall because it was mixed in all my change.

Now this beats a 1913 penny I found back in the early '80s. That one was in circulation for about 70 years before I found it. This 1907 coin had been in circulation for almost 100 years.

This gives me some hope of my goal of finding a gold coin in circulation but as of late I have found very few coins that are interesting or valuable.

Here's the stats for this Indian Head coin....
Type: 1 cent--Variety 3-Bronze
Year: 1907
Mintage: 108,137,143
Metal: 95% Copper 5% Tin & Zinc
Value: $2.00 in G-4

How could this coin still be in circulation? Well it could be another collector placed it there. It could be a kid used it from his parents collection or some one needed to buy something and accidentally used it. What really kept it in circulation was the ugly stain over the date, in hand it is difficult to read and looks like 1987, which would confuse non-collectors.

Either way it was a cool find and I hope that you find something as old.

Do you have a penny and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

You Asked For It

I made a fairly accurate Wheat Penny Price/Value Guide here
WHEAT PENNIES.

I hope to do it for all coins but it might take a while tomorrow I'll put a permanaent link in the sidebar.

An Error Penny

Do you have an error penny and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

On May 22 of this year I was searching through my change at the end of the day and found a 1956 wheat cent, which was ok they are worth about 2¢ in that condition.

I left the coin on my desk because I was too busy to catalog my newest find. Then a few days later I noticed some crud on the coin then I looked closer and saw it was actually excess copper between the B and E in LIBERTY.

Immediately I recognized it was a "BIE" error and sure enough I got my error book out and there it was as clear as day.

Here's this coin stats...
II-F-4 BIE Die Variety (W) = a die break or crack between the B and the E.
Fairly common in the years 1955-1958 and value at $1.00 to $20.00.
I figure due to all the green spots and circulation wear that mine is closer to $1.00.

For a while BIE pennies became very popular and the BIE Guild was formed. Soon so many of these errors were found that the value went down and the collectors stopped tracking these coins. The BIE Guild dissolved and now unless the coin is proof or in excellent shape the premium for this error is low.

Here is a better picture of this type of error from LeeG(an expert collector) he also found a 1956 BIE but as you see in a higher grade.Do you have an error penny and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

No Date Nickel

Do you have a nickel and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Back in January I got this Shield from an eBay lot. This wasn't the coin I was after but it came with the lot.
It's a No Ray Shield Nickel. There are 2 types of Shield nickels, one has rays surrounding the 5 and the other doesn't. The one with rays were minted in 1866-1867, the no-rays were minted from 1867-1883.

All Shield nickel have an initial value of $18.00 in G-4(all letters in motto readable).
The 1880 nickel has a G-4 value of $450.00.

Notice that this nickel is in very bad shape. It is still identifiable but no date can be read and the motto is almost gone. I'll estimate it would barely grade PO-1(poor). If it had a date it would be a AG-3(almost good).

Here's the stats for this coin...
Type: 5 cents
Year: 18??-Unknown
Mintages: Unknown
Metal: 75% Copper 25% Nickel
Value: $1.50-$3.00 in PO-1 or PO-2

It only has value because it is identified as a shield nickel if it was this bad and a Morgan dollar it would on be worth it's metal value.

Do you have a nickel and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Somewhat Recent Finds

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

In January these are all the coins I found in my change.

1. 1942 Canadian 1 Cent valued at $0.10 in VG-8
   
2. 1998 Canadian 5 Cents valued at $0.15 in MS-60
3. 2002P(ND) Canadian 10 Cents valued at $1.00 in MS-63
4. 1989 Singapore 50 Cents valued at $0.45 in XF
5. 1946 Canadian 1 Cent valued at $0.10 in VG-8

Mostly Canadians, also the oldest Candian coin I ever found was at that 1942 and it was at Starbucks.

The strange one was the fifty cents piece from Singapore
Here's a shot of the edge with some writing. It says REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE (lion's head).

Here's the stats for this coin...
Type/Country: 50 cents / Singapore
Year: 1989
Mintage: 20,046,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.45 in XF

A note to all you New Yorkers Scott A. Travers will spend two valuable pennies this weekend. He already spent a 1914D cent valued at $350.00 buying a pretzel from a clueless vendor in Time Square . He will spend this weekend a 1908 cent and a 1909S VDB cent valued at $200.00 and $1000.00 respectively. This is why I always check my change.

Do you have a coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

1964 Proof Set

Do you have a proof set and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

This is a 1964 proof set in the original government packaging sent to me by Iwog.

A good way to tell the original packaging is intact is by the yellowing marks on the inner papers. They all have the same pattern.

It still is possible to find these sets and others in original packages for cheap about $20.

Here's the stats for this set...
Type: Proof Set
Year: 1964
Mintage: 3,950,762
Metal: 3 silver coins, 1 nickel, 1 copper penny
Value: In original package $20.00($7.00 increase since 2008)

Do you have a proof set and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Last Year's Last Finds

Do you have a foreign coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

The lack of updates has to do with a busy college schedule but I have been answering any questions.

Towards the end of last year(2005) I got this final trio of coins in my change. I can't recall where exactly I got them but here they go. 1 Canadian Cent 1986, 1 Phillipine Piso 1995 and 250 Lebanon Livres 2003.


Here's the stats for all the coins...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / Canada
Year: 1986
Mintage: 788,285,000
Metal: Bronze
Value: MS-60 $0.10 (the above example is worth less)

Type/Country: 1 Piso / Philippines
Year: 1995
Mintage: Unknown.
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: UNC $1.00 (the above example is worth less)

Type/Country: 250 Livres / Lebanon
Year: 2003
Mintage: Unknown.
Metal: Brass
Value: UNC $1.85

For 2006 I've been tracking all my finds by date and place found. I haven't scanned many of them because they have been lower end coins.

Do you have a foreign coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Die Crack On Dime

Do you have an error coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Generally I look over all my coins but recently I've been really eyeing them like a collector. I here of so many types of coins that at first I ignored them and just collected by year. Now though I'm checking for any little variance.

Towards the end of December I found this dime in my piggy-bank(not actually in the shape of a pig).Notice the arrows are pointing at some raised metal that forms a crack or lightning bolt shape.Upon closer inspection there are actually two cracks.

This is an authentic error.

It is called a die crack because the die used to press the coin cracked and transfered the results on this and probably thousands of others before a mint inspector noticed.

The error coin book classifies this as II-D-1 Die Crack (W), the W stand for "wear" meaning that is how the mistake was formed. This classification is for three or less cracks that don't span the coin.

This particular error is not rare so the value is only twice the face value with only these minor cracks.

Here's the stats...
Type: 10 Cents / II-D-1 Die Crack /2 "light" cracks(1 from rim to center)
Year: 1983-P
Mintage: 647,025,000
Metal: 75% copper 25% nickel(Outer Layers), 100% copper(Inner Core)
Value: EF-40 $0.50

Because the coin is in quite a nice state it may be worth $0.25 and double it for the die crack for a grand total of $0.50. Not much but the first error of this type I recognized and kept.

Do you have an odd coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.