Repeating My Self

Do you have a Euro coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment

I was kind of happy when I found this French Euro and then I searched my own blog and saw that I already found this exact coin last year in May.

To quote the former James UK, "Mundane is true...!"

Still these are technically new images of a new coin.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Euro Cent / France
Year: 1999
Mintage: 616,227,000
Metal: Copper-Plated Steel
Value: $0.07 in Very-Fine (This is exchange rate prices.)



Honestly if I knew it was a repeat before taking pictures I would not have posted but, c'est la vie.

Do you have a Euro 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.

Currency Books

Do you have some small size currency and want to know its value? Leave a comment

My last two book purchases were for U.S. paper money and both were paid with U.S. paper money but no one saw the irony. I had to upgrade because  although I'm primarily a coin collector the currency questions seem to be winning.

First I got the Standard Guide To Small-Size U.S. Paper Money, 1928 To Date, 9th Edition, by John Scwartz and Scott Linquist. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

What's New?

• Glossy color pages, it makes the book heavier and thicker.
• Less pages, more compact writing.
• Only change in values is in the higher notes and higher grades.
• Color ads moved to the back.

Disappointments

• Few price changes. (More of a market thing, not the book's fault.)
  
• 2004 $20 EK-* is still listed as 3,840,000 even though it should be 384,000.
• 1976 $2 L-A is listed as 82,5600 when it should be 82,560,000.
• Appendix of fancy serial numbers still not back.
• 2006 $1 B-* W has an error showing the final printing as B07 040 000K, the K should be a star 
• 2006A $10 iI-A should be II-A 
• 2006A $10 IB-* should be IC-* 
• 2006A $10 does not exist, should be just 2006
• 2006 $1 L-* to L00640000* says 640,000,000 it should  be 640,000 

Overall 
If you already have the book do not upgrade. If you want to buy a modern currency book then might as well go for this but an older cheaper version is fine.

Second was the United States Paper Money Errors A Comprehensive Catalog & Price Guide, 3rd Edition, by Dr. Frederick J. Bart. Much better than the previous book but still not perfect.

What's New?

• Epilogue changed from a Calvin Coolidge quote to a wacky song.
  
• "About the Author" changed his picture from the 1970s shot to late 1990s cool guy.
  
• All values change, most have doubled.
  
• Color ads in the back.

Disappointments

• Less descriptive, each error is now given the same boring error name.
  
• Less pictures of all the varieties.
  

Overall
If you already have the 2nd edition then get this one to keep up with the values and few new entries. If you never owned the older edition then get it and get this one also. This book is far from complete and the reduction in all the varieties was very disappointing, you will need both to find common errors.


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

First Find Familiarity

Do you have Canadian dime and want to know its value? Leave a comment

Four days into the new year and already the finds are rolling in. Okay its less of a roll and more of gently handed over by a cashier. I went to a Borders to buy a currency book and in my change was a nice little Canadian cent. I guess the cashier must have figured I would appreciate it.

So yes my first find of 2010 is Canadian.

I've heard of some people who get upset and refuse non-native coins. I understand if the exchange rate is large or if denomination difference is also large. For the case of the U.S.A. and Canada there are more factors.

Exchange rate: $1 U.S Dollar  ≈ $0.95 Canadian Dollar
Metal Value:for 1942 - 1977 Canadian Cents ≈ 2 1/2 cents
Collector's value: The same or slightly less then metal value.

Marketability is another factor because the market for collectible Canadian coins is huge over here. Every variety and error is easier to sell since Canada is so close. It becomes increasingly difficult to sell a minor variety or error the farther away you are from the originally country.

Here's the stats...

Type/Country: 1 Cent / Canada
Year: 1975
Mintage: 642,618,000
Metal: 98% Copper, 0.5% Tin, and 1.5% Zinc
Value: $0.02 in F

Do you have a cent from Canada 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 Non-Impressions

Do you have Canadian dime and want to know its value? Leave a comment

The last coin I found in 2009 of course ended up being from Canada. What else can be said this is New York we share a border with Canada the proximity does not go unnoticed.  Imagine how many of these end up in the city of Buffalo, although there are probably more in Toronto.

 

This happens to be one of the worst Canadian coins I have found. It seems to be rusted and heavily scratched. I can assume it was even more rusted and someone polished it clean.

Here's the stats...

Type/Country: 10 Cents / Canada
Year: 2004-P
Mintage: 214,143,000
Metal: 92% Steel, 5.5% Copper, 2.5% Nickel
Value: $0.10 (This one is damaged)

Whew! Done for last year.
I'll give you one guess on what was my first find for 2010...find out in the next post.

Do you have ten cents from Canada 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 Need of Pictures

Do you have a currency note and want to know its value? Leave a comment

For some reason this article struck me in my funny bone, I wish they included pictures. It does relate to a posting about bank/exchangers stamps on notes. The hero in the story is the currency exchangers which why you will continue seeing those funny little stamps on the notes.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian police have arrested a Lebanese man allegedly carrying fake currency with a face value of $66 million after he tipped a hotel staff with a $500 note, news reports said Friday.
The largest U.S. note currently in circulation is a $100 bill. But police found bundles of $1 million, $100,000 and $500 notes in the man's hotel room in Kuala Lumpur, the New Straits Times and The Star newspapers reported.
Hotel staff reportedly alerted police Sunday after a housekeeper received a $500 note tip and found out it was fake when she tried to convert it to local currency at a money changer.
The man could be charged for possessing counterfeit money and, if found guilty, face up to 10 years in jail, The Star said. A police spokesman could not immediately give further details.
The largest U.S. note ever printed was a special edition one for $100,000 in 1934. Bills of $500 were last printed in 1945 and are now no longer in wide circulation, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
This is not the first time the man has been in trouble with the law in Malaysia, the reports said.
A Malaysian court charged him last week with cheating over the sale of office supplies in 2005 in a separate case. Cheating, or fraud, carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Update:
Thanks to Coin Update for finding a picture of these notes, I will be laughing all day long.

The $100,000 look to be a copy of the real $100,000 issued in 1934 and limited only to 42,000 and only for Federal Reserve use.

The $1,000,000 note looks like a modified silver certificate.

I know this is serious but the whole thing seems ridiculous. I feel the most for the woman who got the $500 tip she was ecstatic to get this bill and must have been crushed when she got to the money changer. At least she went to the cops which probably meant she was more angry then disappointed.

Do you have note 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.

Tuning Into FM

Do you have a dollar note and want to know its value? Leave a comment

Hundreds of dollar bills pass through my hands every year and unless they are very old or obviously different I give them a quick glance and then move on. The reason is because I am more of a coin collector not currency.

Then one day one commenter asked about the 2003-A serial number F-M series. I was confused and looked up the info i my books and low and behold they are special. Here is a great table from the wonderful site uspapermoney.info. The guy has made tracking paper an art or a chart to be more exact.

Begin serial      End serial     Type      Length      Runs
 

F 000 00001 M  -  F 064 00000 M    fw      6,400,000       1
F 064 00001 M  -  F 768 00000 M    dc     70,400,000    2-12
F 768 00001 M  -  F 896 00000 M    fw     12,800,000   13-14
F 896 00001 M  -  F 960 00000 M    dc      6,400,000      15

So what does that mean?
It means the dollar for series 2003-A for the F-M block had switched printings from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. several times.

Switching between the different government printing and engraving facilities is not uncommon but as you see in the lengths 6,400,000 notes is a very small number for a regular series. It is just one run before switching.

 

I may have passed on dozens of these but until someone pointed them out I did not notice. Most times notes get used immediately. With coins I can hold them in a jar for months before using them, giving me enough time to search and fine pick any little variety.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Dollar / United States
Year: 2003A
Date Printed: October 2006
Printings: 6,400,000
Run: 15th from F89600001M - F96000000M
Value: $10.00 in CH-CU(choice-crisp-uncirculated)

Normally a CH-CU dollar is at most $2.00, so the one pictured above is five times the norm.

Do you have a dollar 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.

More of the Same

Do you have Canadian coins and want to know its value? Leave a comment

Yes like a broken a record I keep repeating the same type of finds. Oh wait should I explain that "broken record" reference to the young ones...nope.

These December finds were kind of refreshing as the Canadian coin was the second 2009 quarter I found in the last few months. Granted there are at least eight varieties not to mention the premium sets plus they are releasing more types everyday, Cindy Klassen type.

As some regular readers may have recalled it was not that long ago I found a regular Canada 2009 Speed Skating quarter. I am not sure how the Royal Canadian Mint distributes coins but new coins come by really fast. I still have yet to find any 2009 U.S. nickels or dimes, which honestly are not as rare as some sites claim.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 25 Cents / Canada
Year: 2009 RCM Logo
Mintage: Not yet known.
Metal: 94% Steel, 3.8% Copper, 2.2% Nickel
Value: $0.25

Type/Country: 5 Cents / Canada
Year: 1995
Mintage:78,780,000
Metal: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel
Value: $0.05 in Fine


PS: If anyone is expecting anything but Canadian coins anytime soon you may be disappointed. Maybe I'll throw in some common currencies that I found interesting just to break up the routine.


Do you have a coin from Canada 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.

Spot the Difference

Do you have a world coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment

Still working on putting up last year's find I got this odd pair. Where they were given to me I'm not sure as the last three weeks in December were kind of a blur.

The first is an Australian cent from 1973 in remarkably good shape about 17.51mm with a young queen.
The second is an East Caribbean States ten cents from 2000 in spotty condition about 18.10mm with a young queen.
Both weigh 2.60grams. This fact makes them feel almost identical in hand.

 

The reverse of the Australian coin has a feather-tailed glider which is one of the world's smallest gliding marsupials.

The reverse of the East Caribbean States coin has Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind. I think he liked puns.

Apparently by the 1991 all the 1 and 2 cent Australian coins were taken out of circulation and melted for Olympic Bronze medals and for normal metal recovery.

Here's the stats ...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / Australia
Year: 1973
Mintage: 140,710,000
Metal: Bronze
Value: $0.25 in XF

Type/Country: 10 Cents / East Caribbean States
Year: 2000
Mintage: Unknown.
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.10 in VF

I'm pretty sure the spots can be safely removed but who has the time.

Do you have a world 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.

Bermuda is Warm

Do you have a coin from Bermuda and want to know its value? Leave a comment 

Wind speed should never be higher than the temperature, 17 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 mph wind is not fun.

Although this is common Canadian weather these two coins give me a tropical vacation, coinwise of course.

At this exact moment Bermuda is 65F and raining, which to me sounds wonderful.

I got these two in December of 2009 in my change while shopping for gifts, the stores were packed and I got quite a few nice coins that I will share this month. I assume someone just got back from a Bermuda trip and decided to shop for gifts not caring that their money was funny.

Here's the stats ...
Type/Country: 10 Cents / Bermuda
Year: 2004
Mintage: 800,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.40 in XF


Type/Country: 25 Cents / Bermuda
Year: 2004
Mintage: 800,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.75 in XF

I usually take pictures using the sunlight which gives coins a great natural look but recently I've been using artificial lights. Not just artificial lights but halogens or those swirly new high efficiency light bulbs. Both kinds are horrible, sure I can find some proper lighting but for these coins I'm not too worried.

I will keep adjusting but winter is not the season for natural light plus who new these new light bulbs take minutes to fully light when cold. 

Do you have a Bermudian 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.