Here's George?

Do you have a currency 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.

In the past I've been asked about the significance of Where'sGeorge.com stamped notes. Often I reply it's just a fun little game some people play with money, well I'm changing my stance. It is an obsessive habit that defaces money. Sure the bills are generally worth just face value but it is not all about the value.

Other common stamps seen on bills are bank stamps from other countries. These at least have a legitimate purpose, to stop counterfeiting. A few days ago I got my first Where's George bill and when investigating the site I can't help to be disappointed at what I found. What Hank Eskin started as a nice side project for an under worked database consultant has turned into a pandering company.

The object of the game is to use the serial number and series year of the bill to track the bill across the world. The problem is not the game but it has turned into a competition of manic proportions. This bill for instance has spent 1 year, 33 days, 9 hours, and 3 minutes to travel from South Portland, Maine to NYC. Although it looks like it's been around the world twice, while drunk.

The WheresGeorge.com site is free to register but I didn't so I could not contact the original sender "Melody". I would ask her to freely comment if my reaction is justified or not.

Melody's Stats:

Bills Entered:	23,876	Hit Rate:	7.47%
Bills with Hits:	1,784	Total Hits:	1,931
Days of Inactivity:	1	George Score:	1,074.13

Yes you read right and not all bills entered are $1.00. She doesn't even rank among the top that record is for people who submit over 1 million stamped notes. In my life I doubt 100,000 notes passed through my hands let alone 1 million since 1998, the company start date.

Illegal?
Only if used for advertising purpose or to alter the value of the note with the purpose of deception.

The Secret Service ordered WheresGeorge.com to stop selling rubber stamps and they complied but many others still do, legally. Seeing how a profit is still being made at WheresGeorge.com it is possible to prosecute but the Secret Service wisely said they had better stuff to do.

On coins the Secret Service takes it more serious.

The Silver Surfer quarter was a promotion by 20th Century Fox through the Franklin Mint to circulate 40,000 stickered quarters for a chance at prizes. There was a big scandal which lead to no real trouble for either company.

Which made me laugh when I saw the Cici's Pizza commercial last night.

Each Cici's Pizza will be given 2,000 cents and told to drop the stickered cents on the ground and if you pick one up and peel the sticker you may win some free food. http://www.beapennypickerupper.com/ is the site and while the commercial is shown in NY I think the closest Cici's is about 200 miles away.

I don't mind the sticker promotion, illegal or not, because there is no permanent damage unlike the ink stains and extra abuse given stamped bills. I'll end this almost rant by pointing out I did block the serial number and will pass the note on, still I want to contact the original sender if time permits.

Update: The actual commercial.

Do you have a currency 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.

Spanish 10 Euro Cent

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.

What can I say about the Euro that hasn't been said before? The exchange rate is about 13 U.S. cents for every 10 Euro Cents. They still pop up in my change, although this one was prompted out of register when I caught a glimpse of it. Cashiers are still nice when they're not too busy.

The new coin books are coming out and are tax deductible if used in part of your coin business. Still I can't afford them now and I don't have the time to bargain shop. I will need them seeing how most 2008 Euros are not listed although now some good online sites provide mintage information.

I'll keep it short and leave with the pictures and statistics on my recent find.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 10 Euro Cent / Spain
Year: 2008
Mintage: 139,256,940 (Not official)
Metal: Brass
Value: $0.15 in Very-Fine

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.

Mind The Gaps

Do you have a coin missing from your simple out of pocket collection and can't figure out why? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the mintage and history for you.

While taking inventory or checking off the list of coins I find in my change occasionally there is a gap. Some coins have a low mintage, some were only sold in special sets, but others just evade capture.

One commenter asked:

For about a year now I've been collecting canadian coins mostly from circulation (I live in Canada) and now I have a lot of coins including every penny from 1960 to 2009, except 1990. Was there a low mintage of this coin or something?

My response:

The average mintage is 500 million or more the 1990 cent had about 210 million made so while lower than normal it is not rare or scarce.

I have the same problem I have almost every Canadian cent from circulation except 1990. It's odd.

Expanding on this Canada made 1,066,628,200 cents in 1989 which led to a smaller 218,035,000 in 1990 then back to 831+ million in 1991. 1990 also introduced a new portrait. While there are some theories behind the lower mintage no good explanation of why they are seldom seen circulating was ever given.

I've found Canadian cents from 1942 and bought others from 1902 to date at low cost. With all that I have not found a 1990 and refuse to buy it, search rolls, or trade for it. 32 Canadian 1964 cents but not one 1990, it's odd.

Other low mintage cents I'm missing:

Canada 2003 92+ million 1990 218+ million 1958 59+ million 1949 33+ million 1948 25+ million 1947 74+ million

Now I just found this nickel.

This 1947 nickel has escaped me for 20+ years and finally I got it. Is it rare? No. Have I found older nickels? Yes. It just happens I never found a United States nickel from 1947 of any mint. This one is dented and damaged but very clear. 1938 and 1944 are other missing years plus counting mintmarks I'm still missing some fairly common nickels.

Is it possible to collect every coin from your change? (Without roll hunting or trading)
Yes. Just wait 80 years and always pay in cash.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Cents / United States of America
Year: 1947
Mintage: 95,000,000
Metal: 75% copper 25% nickel
Value: $0.05 because it's dented

Sidenote: This image was taken with a 10 megapixel camera on loan, now it has been years since I bought my Canon A95 (5 megapixel) and the advances are great.

Want to know if they made a coin for a certain year and its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.