2008 Ireland 1 Euro Cent

Irish euro cents are the smallest change I find lately. Smaller than the average cent it is also copper plated steel so it will have a low value for years.

Coins from Ireland have always been tough to find in my American change. Irish tourist do come around but they tend to use cards or travelers checks. Since this coin was made in 2008 they have reduced production. The cost of things and the use of electronic transaction is making Irish coins less important for daily life.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Euro Cent / Ireland
Year: 2008
Mintage: 59,002,134
Metal: Copper Plated Steel
Value: $0.10 in VF

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.

2010 Turkey 10 Kurus

First time featuring a coin from Turkey and I got it in my change as a cent. Their coins seem to be common but I know very little about Turkey so I cannot be sure. 

10 KURUS 2010

TÜRKİYE CUMHURİYETİ

The head of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is on the coin who was credited as being the founder of the Republic of Turkey. Like most countries in the region has the crescent moon and a star. It also has design elements that are typical of Islamic art.

The coin is 1/10th of a Turkish Lira or the equivalent of a dime. The buying power is not known to me or its popularity but they do have to smaller coins.

Here's the stats for both coins...
Type/Country: 10 Kurus / Turkey
Year: 2010
Mintage: Not yet known.
Metal: Brass
Value: $0.15 in XF

Do you have Turkish coins 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.

2012 China 1 Jiao

Made in China and used in America as a dime, well at least I got it in my change instead of a dime. One jiao is one of the lowest circulating coin in China and is hardly popular outside of farmer markets.

The reverse has ZHONGGUA RENMIN YINHANG with several orchids. Made of stainless steel it is slightly larger than American dime. It has an exchange value of is about $0.016 which is less than two cents. I would not be surprised if the jiao is the next coin that disappears since there is also a jiao note that is not popular.

Here's the stats for both coins...
Type/Country: 1 Jiao / People's Republic of China
Year: 2012
Mintage: Not yet known.
Metal: Stainless Steel
Value: $0.10 in XF

Do you have a Chinese 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.

1946 Dime

The first of the Franklin D. Roosevelt dimes was issued on January 30, 1946 which was Roosevelt's birthday. It was Roosevelt who started the March of Dimes which encouraged Americans to send dimes to fund polio research. It worked.

Vaccines are the greatest health advancement of mankind and it saved American society in the early 20th century. The scourge of polio infected a large portion of the population including the President of the United States. From 1894 when the first case of polio was reported it ballooned to over 50,000 cases by 1952. By 1979 the last four cases were reported by people who refused the vaccine.

What stopped this disease that killed and crippled was research and funding by March of Dimes and other organizations.  Honoring the March of Dimes and President Roosevelt will continue next year with a commemorative dollar coin. 

Here's the stats for this dime...
Type/Country: 10 Cents / United States
Year: 1946
Mintage: 255,250,000
Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Value: $1.50 in G-4 (a silver value of $1.5017, a copper value of $0.002)

Do you have a silver dime 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.

1996 India 100 Rupees Bill, Inset A

Someone left this behind in a tip jar but the cashiers did not want it so I got it. It is the 1996 series 100 Rupees bill. The Inset A is the place it was printed, although not fully known it is suspected to be from the Mysore (Karnataka) printing press.

This was one of the first in the Mahatma Gandhi series. The obverse has the serial numbers in this case 0FA 744668, which is almost always 1 number, 2 letters, a a space, then 6 numbers. Unless it is a star note then the space gets replaced by a star. There are the typical security features like micro-printing, a Mahatma Gandhi watermark as well as an angled latent image in that white space.

The inset A is under the top serial numbers. If blank then it would be an earlier issue maybe June 1996 when these notes were first introduced. These are undated but can be identified as an early note by the Governor C Rangarajan at the bottom center. Since 2005 they have added the series date.

On the left hand side is a black triangle that is made with intaglio printing so it is raised slightly. This is to aid the visually impaired and each Indian note has a different geometric shape to identify the denomination.

The reverse has the Himalayas and more design elements.  The colors are muted but I am not sure if it is because it is old or it was made that way. Because of India's population billions of these were made so they may never become rare or scarce.

Here's the stats for this bill...
Type/Country: 100 Rupees / India
Year: 1996
Printings: Unknown
Printed: Unknown
Run: Unknown 
Value:  $1.67 in Fine

Do you have an Indian 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.

1985 Canadian Cent, Blunted 5

No. Not that blunted. Also those are not pot leaves on the back. It refers to the font on the 5 in the date. Blunted 5 is more boxy while a Pointed 5 has more angles.

Blunted 5, note the top of the 5 does not have a 45 degree angle, and the center of the 5 ends at a point not an angle.

The Pointed 5 is more scarce and in low grades is worth about 7 times the Blunted 5 value. The Pointed 5 has a sharper angle at the top, a thinner font overall, and an obvious angled edge connecting the curved part of the 5 to the top. I have not found the pointed 5 but when I do I will do a side-by-side picture comparison.

Here's the stats...

Type/Country: 1 Cent / Canada
Year: 1985
Mintage: 771,772,500 (includes both varieties)
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.

1969 Canada Cent

This primo coin was out of sight back in 1969. As we hang loose here and jam with this keen coin we will reflect on the 1960s. 

By this time most countries gave up on silver coins and copper was mixed in everything. The next few years would see experiments in coin materials like aluminum cents and plastic currency. Although they never caught on it seems 50 years later that technology and inflation will make them real.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / Canada
Year: 1969
Mintage: 335,240,929
Metal: 98% Copper, 0.5% Tin, 1.5% Zinc
Value: $0.03 in Very-Fine

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

2013-D Dime

Over a year since finding the 2013 Philadelphia dime I finally get the Denver version. The east coast is always a bit behind in finding the Denver coins. I actually got three of these at once so I suspect it was a roll of new dimes.

2013 saw about a twenty five percent increase in coin production. It should be easier for out of pocket collectors to find most of them. While I am still missing some 2009 coins since that production year was low I expect to find these newer coins easily.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 10 Cents / United States
Year: 2013 D
Mintage: 1,025,500,000 (estimated so far )
Metal: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Value: $0.10  in AU-50

Do you have a U.S. dime 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.

2008-A Germany Euro Cent

So Germany won the World Cup and all I got was this German euro cent. German fans were quite around here but they were plenty around. They celebrated by filling up bars and restaurants meaning lots of Geramn coins should be accidentally floating around.

The A means it was made at the Berlin mint which does make commemorative coins. It is possible to see a special soccer euro or other type of German coin or medal soon. Spain did the same years ago as did so many European countries who either host or win the World Cup.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Euro Cent / Germany
Year: 2008-A
Mintage: 101,280,000
Metal: Copper Plated Steel: 94.35% Steel 5.65% Copper
Value: $0.05 in F

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.

1984-D Half Dollar

By 1984 the Kennedy half dollar was already twenty years old and losing favor with most Americans. The size was an issue but the rising use of credit also meant large change was becoming unnecessary.

A generation had passed since Kennedy's assassination and the warm feelings for this coin began to go away. Production fell to a fraction of the 1970s average and continued to fall until they stopped circulation production by 2002. Yes they are still being made and new ones are occasionally still found in your change but they are not popular.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 50 Cents / United States
Year: 1984-D
Mintage: 26,262,158
Metal: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Value: $0.50 in EF-40

Have a fifty cent coin from America 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.

1972-D Half Dollar

Whoever dropped these halves must of known they were all common. No silver or varieties means these were searched and dumped. Still they are over 40 years old and hardly seen in change any more so I am happy with them.

Most modern coin operated machines do not take half dollar coins. Add to that certain cashiers have never seen one these coins and refuse to take them. Even many store managers have not seen themespecially if they are not American born. I will not use them unless I have a real emergency so for now there is no issue. 

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 50 Cents / United States
Year: 1972-D
Mintage: 141,890,000
Metal: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Value: $0.50 in EF-40

Have a fifty cent coin from America 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.

1972 Half Dollar

Like yesterday this fifty cent coin is common and has no extra value. That being true does not make this any less cool. Still having seven of them in my pocket was a bulky mess.

Fifty cent coins are far from convenient or light. Even back when they were new they were not a popular coin. Generally the size made the coin uncomfortable but also the denomination was odd. Yes we have had 1/2 coins since the beginning of our coinage but in modern times it feels silly. I doubt I am getting the culture of rejecting large coins right but it does exist in America.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 50 Cents / United States
Year: 1972
Mintage: 153,180,000
Metal: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Value: $0.50 in EF-40

Have a fifty cent coin from America 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.

1971-D Half Dollar

The 1971-D half dollar is the most common of the half dollars and it is no coincidence that I found four at one time. Even including silver halves this one is still the most common by over 100 million.

My cashier friend told me there were 7 halves in the register but I had to buy something to get them as change. Since I did not want the clerk to get in trouble I just bought some cheap candy and paid with a ten dollar bill.

Since the last time I found a half in May I found out that they did make a special half dollar in gold and four in silver from each mint. Nice to see a new interest in half dollars especially since it is the 50th anniversary of the coin. I have found more half dollars this past six months than I have in the past 15 years.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 50 Cents / United States
Year: 1971-D
Mintage: 302,097,424
Metal: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Value: $0.50 in EF-40

Have a fifty cent coin from America 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.

1959 Nickel

I think I ran out of things to say about common nickels. It is old and has a low mintage but not worth much.

This nickel is a bit rough but for a circulating find it is good enough. I will keep taking the 1950s coins from my change even if they are common because of habit.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Cents / United States of America
Year: 1959
Mintage: 27,248,000
Metal: 75% copper 25% nickel
Value: $0.10 in Almost Uncirculated (AU-50) this one is less

Want to know if your nickel has more than face value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

1997 Bermuda 10 Cents

800,000 of these coins were minted for circulation which does not sound like much. One has to consider the population size which is about 65,000 in Bermuda, not including tourists, makes smaller quantities of coins a better option.

Since I found this one in my change I wonder how many tourist bring Bermudan money home with them. I also wonder if they accept money other than Bermudan money in that country. I assume a tourist friendly country like that is more wiling to take change of any kind.

In America I know there are certain places and certain people who are very anti-foreign change. Even in NYC some cashiers are very strict on what money you can or cannot use. While most others take most anything and will accept a few non-U.S. coins if that is all you have. Still notes are almost never taken in lieu of the host country's money.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 10 Cent / Bermuda
Year: 1997
Mintage: 800,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.10 in VF

Do you have a Bermudan 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.

1951-S Wheat Cent

Wooo I finished finding every 1951 cents and it took only two and half years. This passive approach to collecting sure is take a long time.

Coins with the S mint are still quite common but finding them is always an added yippee. This one does have a slightly better value but it is still just twice the value of common wheat cents.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / United States
Year: 1951-S
Mintage: 136,010,000
Metal: 95% Copper, 5% Tin and Zinc
Value: $0.10 in F-12

Do you have an older cent 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.

1957 Nickel

Someone just asked me why their nickel looked strange and it did not match any other nickel they had. When I looked it was a 2008 nickel with Jefferson's head facing forward while all the other nickels were the old profile portraits. Portrait Jefferson nickels are so common and remained unchanged for so long they tend to go unnoticed.

Finding nickels that are 50 years old or older is not that difficult because they are still common. Even the more uncommon nickels can still be found since they do not stand out from the rest. All you need to do is review your change more closely. Remembering that in older nickels the mint mark was on the reverse to the right of the building, Monticello.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Cents / United States of America
Year: 1957
Mintage: 38,408,000
Metal: 75% copper 25% nickel
Value: $0.15 in Almost Uncirculated (AU-50) this one is less

Want to know if your nickel has more than face value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

1958-D Wheat Cent

The last of the wheat cents listed in most cent guides. Almost a billion were made so finding one is common sine they lack any real collectors value if circulated.

The iconic wheat cents will probably stay in our change as long as we have change. Many people are pointing out how cashless societies are spreading. Not surprisingly most cashless areas are also wealthy places. Poor and rural places can also go without cash for some time as bartering and trading still works well. It is the middle class that tends towards cash as it is most efficient.  

While I can trade this cent for its two cent worth of copper or use it at face value to complete a purchase I think I will just go cashless and put it away in my wheat cent piggy bank.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / United States
Year: 1958-D
Mintage: 800,953,300
Metal: 95% Copper, 5% Tin and Zinc
Value: $0.10 in F-12

Do you have an older cent 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.

9th Anniversary

Another year passes and another massive flip to the way I collect and showcase my finds.

Willow/Pottery or Leather Anniversary

Well leather just means purses or wallets, pottery was used in ancient times to store coins, and willow is a bit odd for coins but I did find one nice reference that famed Willow Tree coin from 1652. If only I found one in my change.

Source image: Willow Tree Sixpence via LittletonCoin.com

Coined For Money Blog

Over 2.2 million visitors is great and I thank everyone who came by these past nine years. Almost 1,000 post and over 34,000 comments means I need to start organizing this blog more. Behind the scenes I have been keep a spreadsheet of all the American, Canadian, and British coins I have posted like that I do not repeat myself. Those three countries are my most common finds and I hope to organize them in a way that a person can look up a specific coin from those countries with ease.

Again I switched back to a mostly daily blog since several cashiers that I work near give me change that are more than just modern American coins. Granted I have to use cash more often but luckily the ATM is also nearby. Last year I was down since I was finding few new things and could not afford to buy anything in real life let alone for my hobby. This year has been better as I got a few books and I am looking forward to get some supplies.

Most of last years copycat blogs have given up but unfortunately so have many long time bloggers. I have to update my blogroll because those links are out of date. Cheap, Green and Happy was a great coin roll hunting blog that I followed since 2007 but after a scare during the Boston Marathon the guy stopped publishing, I guess bigger priorities. My TV blog also came to a stop mostly because I have little time after work to watch and post about bad shows.

Non-blog formats, like Twitter, Facebook, and phones apps, continue to become more popular and that takes away from this site. Yes I should link them all together but it takes some time and I would rather do it right than quickly, which is against common sense in the internet age.

Looking into the future 

Total integration across every platform. A bit to much but there should some application that can do it automatically every time I post to blogger. Also I need to list every coin I posted about over the past nine years and have them available on my blog in an easy way like the great Coins and Canada does it.

The Donations link is still active and surprisingly people have helped. After some tough times I am doing better financially and will still accept donations in order to keep one place on the internet where people can find and evaluate their common coins.

I thank you all and keep those questions coming 

1987 Dominican Republic 25 Centavos

This coins is a 25 centavos featuring the Mirabal sisters who fought against the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. They were killed by the regime who tried to make it look like an accident. The deaths of the sisters shocked and outraged the public and would add to the growing calls to end the dictatorship.   

25 CENTAVOS ☆ REPUBLICA  DOMINICANA ☆ 1987 ☆ (
25 CENTS ☆ DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ☆ 1987 ☆)

CUNA DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS ☆☆☆ HERMANAS MIRABAL ☆☆☆ (CRADLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ☆☆☆ MIRABAL SISTERS ☆☆☆)

The Mirabal sisters have been honored many times for their sacrifice. Their husbands were incarcerated and family persecuted for years but eventually the change they wanted came to pass. They are also on the 200 pesos bill. This 25 centavos coin was one of two commemorative coins made in 1986 and 1987.

Got this from a friend who got this in their change. It has been a long time since I found any Dominican coin in my change despite living in NYC, there are large Dominican communities here. 

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 25 Centavos / Dominican Republic
Year: 1987
Mintage: 6,000,000
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.15 in Very-Fine

Do you have coin from the Dominican Republic 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 Austria 5 Euro Cent

Not much going on in Austria in terms of coins and currency. They are still euro happy and paying their debts slowly. This coin featured is common and has no cool varieties that I know of yet.

With so many euros coming into American change I think I should make some sort of Excel graph. I assume that French and German euros are most common and the copper ones and five cents are probably the most found.

Honestly I have not kept up with the Euro coinage as closely as I wanted to since in the beginning, 1999-2002, they were all common and lacked varieties. Now may be different but I have not researched it.

Here are the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Euro Cents / Austria
Year: 2005
Mintage: 66,100,000
Metal: Copper Plated Steel
Value: $0.08 in XF

Do you have any 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.

2006 France 5 Euro Cent

Another French coin so close to Bastille Day it must be fate, or not. France has been in headlines recently as they try to encourage the world to use Euros above U.S. Dollars in global currency markets.

For instance when companies by planes in France the must use U.S. dollars. Odd I know but $5 trillion dollars in U.S. are used every day around the world. Russia is switching to the Chinese Yuan and other monies out of spite. France is doing the same after breaking a treaty with the U.S. by laundering funds for a few blockade-bound countries.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Euro Cent / France
Year: 2006
Mintage: 132,078,000
Metal: Copper Plated Steel: 94.35% Steel 5.65% Copper
Value: $0.10 in F

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.

1994 British Penny

This is the most common of the 3rd portrait effigy pennies from 1992-1997. Keeping up with the queen's image is important to the British so every few years they review the official portrait and decide if needs updating.

The cost of updating coins images is nominal since most modern mints are set up to make dozens of coin types very efficiently. One benefit of changing the portrait is you can also change the metal content and make it easier for the public to accept the new coinage.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Penny / Great Britain
Year: 1994
Mintage: 843,834,000
Metal: Copper-Plated Steel
Value: $0.02 in VF (very-fine)

Do you have a coin from Great Britain 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.

1916 Wheat Cent

The oldest coin I found this year so far. Unfortunately judging by the pinkish hue and uneven washed out appearance it has been cleaned.

The reverse has holes typical of environmental damage. That and the obvious cleaning makes me think this was dug up by a metal detectorist and set back into circulation because it now has only metal value. I doubt the $0.02 in metal value is enough to make this a keeper unless you are a really bad at metal conversion math. I still will keep it but it is not a collectable coin despite it being almost 100 years old.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / United States
Year: 1916
Mintage: 131,833,677
Metal: 95% Copper, 5% Tin and Zinc
Value: $0.30 in G-4 (this is about $0.02 because of cleaning)

Do you have a wheat cent 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.

2009 France 1 Euro Cent

Bastille Day is on July 14, celebrations around here will be on the 13th. In honor I am showing off this French coin, either that or I just found it and it is another coincidental find.

I still here that French 1 and 2 euro cent coins are barely used yet those are the only ones I find. It could be that since the U.S. still actively uses cents that it is a good dumping ground. I try to use small change as much as possible now and no one behind the register seems to object.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Euro Cent / France
Year: 2009
Mintage: 404,050,500
Metal: Copper Plated Steel: 94.35% Steel 5.65% Copper
Value: $0.05 in F

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.