From The Mint: Part 1

Do you have a commemorative 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 just bought four items from the U.S. mint on Friday and they arrived today, which is great for just $5.95 in shipping fees.

Since I'm on a budget I did not get duplicates and kept it to the cheapest things they sell. Maybe after I buy my books for next semester I'll get more. For now I'm satisfied with this purchase.

First two are these commemorative coins depicting the bald eagle, the symbol of America's strength, freedom, and democracy, lots to carry for one bird. Maybe to much since they almost went extinct. Thanks to every purchase of these coins you will be contributing to the American Eagle Foundation of Tennessee to ensure the majestic animals are forever flying free.

Packaging for the Uncirculated Clad Half Dollar.

Packaging for the Proof Clad Half Dollar.

Up close on the obverse.

Up close on the reverse.

The mint also sells the silver proof and uncirculated as well as the gold proof and uncirculated if you are interested. A reminder proof has a mirror like finish while uncirculated has a satin like finish.

I should of bought these when they first came out but I had even less money to spend back then so I just got them now since I had some extra cash. Set to be limited to 750,000 but as I always say the true amount will not be known for years.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: Bald Eagle Uncirculated Clad Half-Dollar Coin / United States
Year: 2008S
Mintage: 120,180
Metal: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Value: $13.00

Type/Country: Bald Eagle Proof Clad Half-Dollar Coin / United States
Year: 2008S
Mintage: 220,577
Metal: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Value: $15.00

Great eagle design I especially like the back with the flag waving.

Do you have a commemorative 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.

Marine Corps Commemorative Coins

Do you have commemorative 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.

On July 20, 2005 these Marine Corps Commemorative Coins went on sale. $35.00 for the uncirculated silver dollar and $39.00 for the Proof silver dollar. I bought one of each immediately and one came in three months and the second came in December.

Usually the mint is fast in shipping but this time they took extremely long.

Each coin is to honor the 230^th Anniversary of the Marine Corps.

Here is the Uncirculated one, the picture was taken with a camera. Notice the frosty surface and the color was off because I used a different light sources for each picture.This is the Proof one, notice the black surface because it has a mirror like surface. I put these in a scanner to get the picture, but I did not clean it and the smudges are on the plastic.
As for the value they currently have. Well it is hard to be precise but they sell on eBay for $45.00 with the government packaging. Soon though the true mintage will come out and the Red Book price may be anywhere from $45.00-$55.00.

The quality was less then perfect on these two coins but I only bought two so I'm stuck with them. This year the mint was disappointing after 4 years of near perfect coins.

Update:

Here's the stats for both coins...
Type/Country: 1 Dollar / United States
Year: 2005-P, uncirculated
Mintages: 49,671
Metal: Silver
Value: UNC $50.00

Type/Country: 1 Dollar / United States
Year: 2005-P, proof
Mintages: 548,810
Metal: Silver
Value: Proof $50.00

Do you have commemorative 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.

Mintmarks On U.S. Coins

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Anonymous said...

Hi, how can you tell a 1912-S Nickel from a 1912-D Nickel???

Thanks.

The mintmark on a 1912 nickel is located on the reverse of the coin.

At the bottom locate the word CENTS to the left is a dot, underneath the dot is the mintmark.

It will be a D, S or blank for Philadelphia.

That is the only Liberty nickel that has a mint mark but here's a list of other common U.S. coins and where to locate their mintmarks.

Indian Head Cent--underneath the wreath on the reverse.
Wheat Penny--underneath the date on the front.
Memorial Cent--underneath the date on the front.

Buffalo Nickel--underneath the FIVE CENTS on the reverse.
Jefferson Nickel (1938-1942)-on the right of the building on the reverse.
Jefferson Wartime Nickel (1942-1945)-on top of the building on the reverse.
Jefferson Nickel (1946-1965)-on the right of the building on the reverse.
Jefferson Nickel (1966-2004)-on the right at the end of the date on the front.
Jefferson Nickel (2005)-on top of the date on the front.
Jefferson Nickel (2006-Present)-under the date on the front.

Mercury/Winged Liberty Dime--on the reverse at the bottom to the left of the torch.
Roosevelt Dime(1946-1964)--on the reverse at the bottom to the left of the torch.
Roosevelt Dime(1965-2008)--on the front above the date.

Standing Liberty Quarter--on the front to the left of the date on the right of a star.
Washington Quarter(1932-1964)--underneath the wreath on the reverse.
Washington Quarter(1965-1998)--on the front to the right above the date.
State Quarters--underneath IN GOD WE TRUST on the front.

I'll stop there because for half dollars and dollar it gets a bit more lengthy.

Do you have 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.

True Values, Not Really Pt. IV

More frequently asked question about coins and money.

Why is gold worth more than copper?

• It is because gold is less abundant then copper, there is about a hundred times more copper than gold buried in Earth.

How much wheat pennies worth?
Wheat pennies are commonly found so I'll repeat what I said before,

• Wheat pennies in low grades go $0.03-$0.10 in general.
• Scarce dates: 1910-S, 1911-S, 1912-S, 1913-S, 1914-S, 1915-S, 1922-D, 1922-D, 1924-D
• Rare dates: 1909-S, 1909-S V.D.B., 1914-D, 1922, 1931-S

Give me the values of the following pennies...

1. 1908 = $2.00 in G-4(good condition)
2. 1913 = $0.85 in G-4(good condition)
3. 1921 = $0.20 in G-4(good condition)
4. 1942 = $0.15 in G-4(good condition)
5. "1943 silver penny" = it is zinc not silver = $0.30 in F-12(fine condition)
6. 1944 = So common check here.
7. 1944 S = So common check here.
8. 1945 = $0.10 in VF-20(very fine condition)
9. 1947 = $0.10 in VF-20(very fine condition)
10. 1947 D = $0.10 in VF-20(very fine condition)
11. 1953 D = $0.10 in VF-20(very fine condition)
12. 1955 D = $0.10 in VF-20(very fine condition)
13. 1958 = $0.10 in VF-20(very fine condition)

What is the rarest wheat penny?
Non-error it's a tie.

• 1909S VDB is rare at $750.00 for a G-4
• 1922 no D is rare at $600.00 for a G-4

What is the average value of your Lincoln Memorial penny?

• In near perfect condition only about $0.25 - $0.50, but only if looking newly minted.

What is the value of a buffalo nickel?

• With a date the average is $1.00 in G-4.
• Without a date visible about $0.50.

Tell me about these Canadian coins...

• 1947 Canadian penny = $0.10 in VG-8, any variety.
• 1966 Canadian penny = $0.10 in MS-60.
• 1944 Canadian nickel = $0.10 in VG-8.

What is the value of Cayman Islands 250 gold coin?

• All of those coins have a value of at least $975.00.

What is the value of a Jamaican dollar?

• They average $1.00 or more for UNC/uncirculated condition.

Error prices please?

• Error "new buffalo" nickel = there are several and have a $5.00 premium depending on grade.
• Error copper state quarter = happens if the "Nickel metal" peels off and has a $50.00 premium depending on grade.
• Value of a 1946 silver penny= I doubt it's real but if so $200+.
• Value of a 1976 silver penny = I doubt it's real but if so $100+.

Who is the man name on the U.S. dime?

• Franklin D. Roosevelt the thirty-second President of the United States (1933-1945).

High Grades Are Nice

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.

High grade coins are usually MS-60 or better.

Here's what is defined as mint state...
MS-60=UNCIRCULATED: Has no trace of wear but may show a number of contact marks, and surface may be spotted or lack some luster.
MS-63=CHOICE UNCIRCULATED: Has some distracting contact marks or blemishes in prime focal areas. Luster may be impaired.
MS-65=GEM UNCIRCULATED: An above average uncirculated coin that may be brilliant or lightly toned and that has very few contact marks on the surface or rim.
MS-70=PERFECT UNCIRCULATED: Perfect new condition, showing no trace of wear. The finest quality possible, with no evidence of scratches, handling or contact with other coins. Very few regular-issue coins are ever found in this condition.

This is from the Red Book but applies to all coins.

Here are some of my uncirculated coins with contact marks.

Know while the nickel is at least MS-60 worth about $0.15, it may grade a MS-65 even with the busted lip but that would only bring the value up $0.75.








So contact marks are not a bad thing, fingerprints are much worse. It still is ugly to the average collector.














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.

U.S. Mint .Gov

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

I got my mint coins today. Since about 2000 I've been buying coins and currency from the United State Mint Online Product Catalog. I usually keep it to less than $100 I don't buy repeats because I don't plan on selling my collection or making any type of profit. This is not always the wisest choice the 2001S silver proof set sold for $31.95 but now has a red book value of $120.00.

I bought the two newest Proof sets, a proof coin is one made especially for collectors it is characterized by a mirrorlike surface, extreme brilliance and high, sharp details. They are non-circulating but it's not impossible to find them in your change, they are sometimes confused with first minted coins because of the prooflike properties. The dies used to make them are different though.

Here are my Silver Proof and regular Proof set.....

Click on the picture for a larger image.

The red set is the silver, the blue set is the regular proof.

Here's what comes in the package. The package is a typical white box that barely fits the two sets, it fits in the mailbox with room to spare.

The price was $60.90 for the two sets and came within two weeks. There is also a flat shipping rate is $4.95 for everything sent in standard rate. I also order an uncirculated mint set, which is just an untouched example of all current coins the mint makes for America, that set is on backorder so I'll have to wait.

This is the official U.S. Mint catalog link.
This is the mint, they have good info and some good images but no prices or values http://www.usmint.gov/

Here's the stats for the sets...
Year: 2005-S Silver Proof
Mintage: 1,069,679
Metal: Silver and regular composition
Value: In original packaging $40.00 ($5.00 increase as of 2012 values)

Year: 2005-S Regular Proof
Mintage: 2,275,000
Metal: Regular composition
Value: In original packaging $12.00 ($6.00 decrease as of 2012 values)

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