Wednesday, September 15, 2010

2010 U.S. Nickel

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

So this is a common coin barely worth the time to write this post. That said at least I got a 2010 nickel seeing how I yet to find a 2009 U.S. nickel.

I know last year was a slow production year but come on hoarders these 2009 nickels are not that rare. Let them flow into circulation. 2010 coins are flowing fast although I have not found any National Park quarters which seems odd.

 
Type/Country: 5 Cents / United States of America
Year: 2010 P
Mintage: 147,840,000 as of this August
Metal: 75% copper 25% nickel
Value: $0.05

I had an interesting conversation with one commenter who said in Russia his buckets of Rubles gets nothing over face value like my nickels in the U.S. This is true but even in average grade I think most coin collector would pay a little extra for coins from other countries. It would be great to search through common Russian coins as I think someone in Russia would love to get dozens of state quarters that we find common.

In short trading coins sounds better everyday.

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.

118 dollars worth, for Comments/Questions click here.:

Kelly said...

I set aside an odd quarter that I found in my change today. I can't remember what it was, exactly, but I want to say that it said (along with something else) Samoa on the back and I saw drums. Don't quote me, though, I'll get back to you when I have it in front of me.

ha ha @ the hoarders.

and I like the background. colorful magazine?

Man said...

odd quarter that I found in my change today. I can't remember what it was, exactly, but I want to say that it said (along with something else) Samoa on the back and I saw drums.

Sounds like a territorial quarter they are common but if there is something more odd just let me know.

Hoarders the TV show is great by the way.

I think it was catalog for the background.

Anonymous said...

What do you think of the new nickel? I hate it. Alot of people don't even recognize it as one when they see just the face of it.

Man said...

What do you think of the new nickel?

I don't care for the front I put up that picture on my post because Jefferson looks like he's leering or stalking.

I like the minor improvements to the back.

USA Coin Book said...

Greetings Man and fellow collectors,

I have a coin site that you might be interested in at: http://www.usacoinbook.com/

Basically, our site is specialized in coins and is also an alternative to eBay where members can buy, sell and auction coins, coin supplies and other coin related items. They can also track personal collections online without software and create a personal wish list that can be seen throughout the site. Also, anyone can quickly look up coin values, pictures and statistics in a clean, organized "Red Book" format. Everything is free to use and it is free to sign up. The only thing we charge is a 2% final value fee on anything that gets sold at our site. It is quickly growing very popular among collectors, dealers and even some major authors in the field.

I was wondering if you could add this site in your blogroll or links list if possible. I couldn't find a way to contact you so I'll just post this here as a comment, I'm sure you'll see it.

Kind regards
USA Coin Book

Man said...

No thanks, but at least I approved your comment which was automatically filtered by Google as spam.

Anonymous said...

I have a $10 star note, which I think is somewhat valuable. Is it?
Series 1999, number BD00796881* and D4 just below in the same font. (I also wrote down some other specifics, ask if they're needed.)

Man said...

$10 1999, number BD00796881* about $11.00 in very-fine

Anonymous said...

$10 1999, number BD00796881* about $11.00 in very-fine

What does very-fine look like? It is folded, if you were asking about that.
BTW, why so low? I expected around 15 ;-) Will it become more valuable with time?

Man said...

What does very-fine look like? It is folded, if you were asking about that.
Yes that describes very-fine.

BTW, why so low? I expected around 15 ;-) Will it become more valuable with time?
Unfortunately it is very common and not old.
It would take another 50 to 75 years before it gains any real value.
I would buy a silver coin or anything else unless you don't care about value.

Anonymous said...

Just for comparison: are non-star $10 notes from the 1990 series (i.e. almost twice as old) more valuable than this one or less? (Condition is the same level of very-fine - we've had those for a long time.)
Another question that is somewhat more on-topic: what is the normal color of an 1982 penny, can it be brown and why, and what is it most probably made of?
Oh, and as for "common Russian coins": what will a Struck Through Grease Error (at least that's what I think it is, that's the first I saw personally on any coin) be worth on a Russian 50 copeck coin? (The date is 2009, but unfortunately the 9 is among the barely visible letters. The mintmark is M and is clear.)

Man said...

are non-star $10 notes from the 1990 series (i.e. almost twice as old) more valuable than this one or less?
No, non-star notes can be up to 50 years old and have no extra value in very-fine.
Star notes even new and common types always have at least a 10% value over face.

what is the normal color of an 1982 penny, can it be brown and why, and what is it most probably made of?
In 1982 they switched from Copper cents to Copper-plated Zinc cents.
So that year has pennies made from two different metals and the look, feel, and weigh are different.
The "pure copper" are generally darker brown, have nice sharp surfaces and are slightly more valuable, just $0.02 versus the $0.01 zinc cents.

Struck Through Grease Error (at least that's what I think it is, that's the first I saw personally on any coin) be worth on a Russian 50 copeck coin?
Unfortunately such a minor error has no extra value. People want Struck Through Grease Errors of 90% or more.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately such a minor error has no extra value. People want Struck Through Grease Errors of 90% or more.
What's the non-extra value, then? 2 cents Or 20? Or half a cent? ;-)
And how the heck can one even see what coin it is (like date) - and is that even a coin at all - on a 90%? (Almost half of the near-edge letters are missing in my case, and the date and mintmark only survived by sheer luck - I don't know how many % it is, but my estimate is either 5-10 or 40-50.)

Man said...

Go to this LINK and scroll down a bit you'll see what collectors want.

Russian 50 copeck coin? (The date is 2009
About $0.80 in uncirculated.

Anonymous said...

Russian 50 copeck coin? (The date is 2009
About $0.80 in uncirculated.

I don't really have uncirculated coins.
It's new and shiny - that's all.
Just like Syruss (the Coin Of The Day guy) said back in December '07:
"One of the nice things about newer coins is how nice and shiny they sometimes are when you find them. We're not talking about Mint State or Uncirculated. Just bright and shiny."
That's the condition of most coins I have. Not mint state. Not uncirculated. Just bright and shiny.

Man said...

Not uncirculated. Just bright and shiny.

Well then it's almost-uncirculated which is $0.40. Realize that mint-state and uncirculated are just terms and means it can be a circulated coin from your pocket and still achieve a high mint state.

Anonymous said...

I have found a 1949 S penny, Lincoln side perfect. Size of coing accurate but nothing on the back side. It is a little thin though. Any value?

Man said...

1949 S penny, Lincoln side perfect. Size of coing accurate but nothing on the back side. It is a little thin though.

Damaged the thin part is because someone filed and smoothed the back, no extra value.

Anonymous said...

I have a copper nickel coin. Its exactly like the picture. But under the 2010, it has a letter D. I was just wondering how much is it worth?

Man said...

copper nickel coin. Its exactly like the picture. But under the 2010, it has a letter D

Just $0.05 unless you are saying it is copper in color.

Anonymous said...

1930 King George Canadian nickel. Fine condition, but the luster is still surprisingly strong. How much do you think it's worth (and can you explain the luster as well)?

Man said...

1930 King George Canadian nickel. Fine condition, but the luster is still surprisingly strong. How much do you think it's worth (and can you explain the luster as well)?

About $1.50 in fine.

The luster can be that the coin is actually a higher grade, most graders say luster starts a Extra-Fine and it would be about $15.00 coin.

It can also be that someone polished or cleaned the coin, which would be damaged and be about $0.10.

Anonymous said...

Well, recently my "collection" multiplied by several times, so I think I'll list them here.
But then, it's very nearly 300 coins, so I thought I'll start with duplicates (i.e. worse-condition versions of coins I also have in slightly better condition).
And here they are:

10 francs 1990, France
100 escudos 1991, Portugal
100 drachmes 1992, Greece
20 ------- 1990 ------
2 ------- 1980 ------
1 peseta 1966, Spain (with Franco)
5 ?? 1954, Italy (aluminium, with dolphin, a little bent)
2 forint 1971, Hungary
1 peseta 1975, Spain (with Carlos, and shinier than all the other pre-1990 coins in this batch)
10 ore 1970, Denmark (R IX, not too dark)
1 penni 1966, Finland (red, i.e. cent color)
5 centimes 1978, France
2 drachmes 1988, Greece (red and not brown)
1 peseta 1980, Spain (Espana '82)
1 yeni kurus 2008, Turkey (very shiny, it's just that the other is even shinier)
1000 lira 1990, Turkey (not too dark)
2 forint 2004, Hungary (also rather shiny)
1 dinar 1965, Yugoslavia (very thick 1)
10 ore 1980, Norway (OV, and a little shiny)
5 f? 1980, Belgium ("Belgie"; I have the "Belgique" variety of that coin, but not as a duplicate)
20 f 1982, Belgium ("Belgique")
5 dinara 1972, Yugoslavia (this duplicate is rather worn)
1 f 1991, Belgium ("Belgie"; again rather shiny)

3 duplicates among the set of duplicates (i.e. triples) not mentioned (they're all in rather bad condition anyway).
"Rather shiny" is probably a little below "almost uncirculated", "not too dark" approximately "fine", everything else "good" (though I'm not sure this is correct).

So, anything valuable here? ;-)
January First-of-May :-)

PS: Is a 1968-D American cent valuable? I'm nearly sure it isn't, but that's the first pre-1982 cent I've seen, so...

PPS: I have a shiny 1994 Brazilian one centavo, with what seems to be a die break just to the right of the 1, and another triangular one from the lower right corner of the 1 to the upper left corner of the "v" in "centavo". Is it worth anything; and is it worth any more than a break-less one (also have)?

Man said...

10 francs 1990, France about $2.50
100 escudos 1991, Portugal about $1.00
100 drachmes 1992, Greece about $1.15
20 ------- 1990 ------ about $0.60
2 ------- 1980 ------ about $0.10
1 peseta 1966, Spain (with Franco) about $0.10
5 Lire 1954, Italy (aluminium, with dolphin, a little bent) about $0.02
2 forint 1971, Hungary about $0.10
1 peseta 1975, Spain (with Carlos, and shinier than all the other pre-1990 coins in this batch) about $0.10
10 ore 1970, Denmark (R IX, not too dark) about $0.10
1 penni 1966, Finland (red, i.e. cent color) about $0.15
5 centimes 1978, France about $0.10
2 drachmes 1988, Greece (red and not brown) about $0.50

Man said...

1 peseta 1980, Spain (Espana '82) about $0.10
1 yeni kurus 2008, Turkey (very shiny, it's just that the other is even shinier) about $0.15
1000 lira 1990, Turkey (not too dark) about $0.15
2 forint 2004, Hungary (also rather shiny) about $0.20
1 dinar 1965, Yugoslavia (very thick 1) about $0.10
10 ore 1980, Norway (OV, and a little shiny) about $0.10
5 f? 1980, Belgium ("Belgie"; I have the "Belgique" variety of that coin, but not as a duplicate) about $0.20 either way
20 f 1982, Belgium ("Belgique") about $0.70
5 dinara 1972, Yugoslavia (this duplicate is rather worn) about $0.10
1 f 1991, Belgium ("Belgie"; again rather shiny) about $0.15


1968-D American cent about $0.03

shiny 1994 Brazilian one centavo, with what seems to be a die break just to the right of the 1, and another triangular one from the lower right corner of the 1 to the upper left corner of the "v" in "centavo". Is it worth anything; and is it worth any more than a break-less one (also have)?
Just about $0.15 which has no extra value above normal.

Anonymous said...

10 francs 1990, France about $2.50
100 escudos 1991, Portugal about $1.00
100 drachmes 1992, Greece about $1.15

Sorry for asking, but why so much?

5 Lire 1954, Italy (aluminium, with dolphin, a little bent) about $0.02

If it wasn't bent (i.e. the other copy), would it be more valuable?

Man said...

Sorry for asking, but why so much?
Those are all from Euro countries and higher denomination coins assuming they are are in at least extra fine they retained value since mos people quickly turned them in for Euros.

Lower denominations are still floating around so they have less value.



If it wasn't bent (i.e. the other copy), would it be more valuable?
Yes but not much about $0.10.
They are very common.

Anonymous said...

Well, my collection grew by another several dozen coins today, so... well, here are the highlights (or what I perceive them to be).

Highlight the first.
2 copecks 1926, Soviet Union.
In one word: worn. It looks like it was in circulation all the way to the 70s or 80s (which is probably exactly what happened, actually). Well, maybe just a little better: most letters are still easily readable, but large bits of the coat of arms are worn flat. In all, probably the lower edge of Good.

Highlight the second.
25 copecks 2002, Transnistria.
Yes, you're seeing it right - Transnistria. As in, "totally unrecognized state" Transnistria.
I didn't believe it myself at first - the coin just lied there in a distant corner of my home, mentally catalogued as "25 Moldavian copecks"... till I actually saw it again, claimed it for my collection, and finally noticed that it said "25 copecks" in Russian and not Moldavian (i.e. Romanian - long and unrelated story).
As for the condition - rather dirty in places, but everything easily visible, up to the minutest details of the design; and believe me, the Transnistrian coat of arms has some very small details. I would have classed it as Fine, if it didn't look so much like a coin taken from a sidewalk (which, to be honest, it probably was).

Highlight the third.
5 shekels 1990-91 (don't remember what Jewish year that was, Israel - the Hanukkah version.
Yeah, it just says "Hanukkah" right here on the coin. In English letters, too (though also in Hebrew). I don't know why the triangular heck did they make a Hanukkah coin, but there it is.
Condition? Probably somewhere between "good" and "fine". I can't guess those grades correctly - for me, "good" is "you can easily see what type of coin it is, and most of the design, but some of the smaller details are worn off", "fine" is "all of the design visible, but the coin itself is darker in color", "very fine" is "shines a little", "extra fine" is "shines a lot", "almost uncirculated" is "shines like it's new", and everything above that is invisible without a magnifying glass and impossible for an out-of-pocket finger-touched coin anyway. I'm probably correct with some of those levels and incorrect with others - but how can I know which ones?
I do know that "new sheqalim" would have been more exact. I'm just not the man to be exact with that things - as you probably noticed already (see also above). ;-)

Well, there might well have been a highlight #4, and 5, and 6, and so on, but I don't have much time, unfortunately. :-(


So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

Man said...

2 copecks 1926, Soviet Union.
In one word: worn.
About $0.50

25 copecks 2002, Transnistria - Fine
About $0.10

5 shekels 1990-91 (don't remember what Jewish year that was, Israel - the Hanukkah version.
Yeah, it just says "Hanukkah" right here on the coin. In English letters, too (though also in Hebrew). "good"
About $0.50

Anonymous said...

Well, my collection (so-called) is still growing (though slowly), so yeah :-)


First of all, I've finally seen the actual system for grading coins. Seems I'm totally off :-O
As it turned out, my "good" is F-12 or maybe even VF-20, my "fine" is probably VF-30 or even a little higher, my "very fine" is low XF, my "extra fine" is high XF to low AU, and my "almost uncirculated" is high AU to low MS. (As for lesser conditions, VG-8 is my 19th century coins, and G-4 is something I'd be likely to find in a garden - coins in circulation are F-12 at worst unless actually damaged, because, you know, there aren't any older than 1997.)
I actually think there is an easy reason for that. You see, whoever came up with the grading system grew up in the United States of America, where getting a fifty-year-old coin in your change is commonplace, so he felt a need for all those lower grades - while I grew up in post-Soviet Russia, where getting a ten-year-old coin in your change was impossible until 2007 unless you count the foreign ones, and getting a twenty-year-old coin is still basically impossible even counting the foreign ones - so no circulation coins ever come below F-12, which is then subconsciously assumed to be the lowest grade.
Anyway, that'll probably leave the values totally off; so please can you recalculate the last three (my previous comment) with the correct conditions (as far as I can tell, first Fine, second XF, third low XF)?

And second...
You see, one of the major reasons I wanted to look at the actual grading systems was to correctly tell the grade of (what was at the time - my collection grew by about a hundred coins again while I was writing this post) my newest addition to the collection.
And as it happens, the grade of this coin was in the very area of which I said "invisible without a magnifying glass" - it hovers right around the Unc line, and might well be as low as AU-55 or as high as MS-63 (or at least that would be the 95% certainty boundary; it also would certainly move to the lower as time passes just from sitting in a non-professional album).
The coin itself is so very very new that it might well be unknown for you at all; it is a 2010 ten-rouble commemorative coin, the one on the new small yellow size planchet, about the 65 years of the victory in WWII.
This coin differs from just about any other coin I've seen in that the actual design, as opposed to the background lines, is so really really tiny (I estimate 6 mm in diameter, and maybe 1.5 mm for the central circle of the Order of Glory in the middle - for comparison, the Lincoln statue in the middle of the memorial on the cent is around 1 mm, and remember that the Russian coin has to fit an intricate design in such a space). This fact is what actually helped me to correctly grade the coin - highpoints or not, when I can see the lines that make up the tower in the middle and the stalks on the sides, lines separated by maybe 1/15 mm, when I see that the design continues into the smallness so far that even my fine-tuned eye, my eye that can easily read the smallest inscriptions I've ever tested it on, needs a magnifying glass to see further, I know for sure that it cannot be less than an AU-55, because that sort of detail just cannot happen on a worse-condition coin.
Oh, probably just got a little carried away. ;-) Well, in short, what is the value of such an object, anyway? :-)




...So what, how?
January First-of-May

Man said...

2 copecks 1926, Soviet Union.
In one word: fine.
About $2.00

25 copecks 2002, Transnistria - xf
About $0.35

5 shekels 1990-91 (don't remember what Jewish year that was, Israel - the Hanukkah version.
Yeah, it just says "Hanukkah" right here on the coin. In English letters, too (though also in Hebrew). xf
About $2.00

2010 ten-rouble commemorative coin, the one on the new small yellow size planchet, about the 65 years of the victory in WWII.
About $3.00 each

I'm not sure what that entire last paragraph was suppose to say. Maybe less words next time.

Anonymous said...

The entire last paragraph was supposed to say "hey, what a weird coin, it has most of the design in a small circle in the middle". :-)

BTW, I know it's hard for you, but can you also recount the long list from January 1? The correct values: "rather shiny" is indeed low AU just as I thought, but "a little shiny" is high XF, "not too dark" high VF to low XF, and everything else seems to be some sort of VF (unless specifically said otherwise - and don't forget that "rather worn" is based on my Russian-influenced scale, and actually probably means Fine in this particular case, just like with the Soviet coin).

Now that I've mentioned my Jan 1 post, that reminds me of another thing I did recently. You see, my collection has two 1982 cents, and I've heard somewhere that they come in two different types recognisable by weight.
So I dug up my scales (which, from this point on, refers to the thing used for weighing, in case you were confused) - older, by the way, that any of the cents involved, including the 1968 one, and never actually used in the last two years, so they needed a lot of dusting - then the two 1982 cents, and two other cents - an 1968 and an 1989 - to test against.
Well, according to those scales, one of the 1982 cents weighed 3.09 (+- 0.01, assuming the weights used were also correct) grams, the other apparently the same (they balanced), and the 1968 cent was around 0.02 grams heavier (also checked by balancing). (The 1989 cent weighed 2.50 grams, which was nowhere near the other three.)
The question: what do those coin weights mean, are they normal, and what the whole thing says about (my scales and) the two 1982 cents?



...So what, how?
January First-of-May

Man said...

but can you also recount the long list from January 1?
No need when making the original values I assumed "rather shiny" meant mint state and then all the other were either XF or VF according to your description.
So all values are correct or even slightly higher. Values that go up or down a grade either get doubled or cut in half. It is easy to adjust them on your own.

...what do those coin weights mean, are they normal...
Pre-1982 cents weigh 3.11 grams +/- 0.10 grams
Post-1982 cents weigh 2.50 grams +/- 0.05 grams

During 1982 cents were made of both weights.

Everything is normal.

Anonymous said...

Edit: sorry, apparently didn't notice I've actually posted that - I though I lost that message :-)

Man said...

Edit: sorry, apparently didn't notice I've actually posted that - I though I lost that message :-)

No problem, actually Blogger automatically blocked your post as spam.

I have unblocked it and made sure you're not flagged as spam, I did delete the duplicate though.

Anonymous said...

Oh well, here I am again.
Not much new coins in my collection; as for the total, it seems to be basically 750, a hundred or so less without the modern Russians, a hundred or so more with the post-1960 Soviets, but either way several times more than I would care to ask you about.
So, let's start (and end, really) with the questions...

1) Are there any key dates among the 1961-1991 Soviet coins of 1 to 20 copecks? Same about 1930-1957 2 to 5 copecks (I currently have 26 of those in varying conditions and originally wanted to swap 23 of them off, but decided to ask you before just so I know what to keep).

2) I have a Soviet five-rouble commemorative coin with the Arkhangelsk Cathedral on it (I think the date is 1991, but I haven't checked so it might be 1990). I looked at it closely recently and noticed it looks completely like a proof should (AFAIK). However, I've never seen an actual proof before so I'm not sure if this is one. Can it be, and if it indeed is how much it's worth? (Condition would've been in high AU, or maybe even low MS if it wasn't a proof, I don't know how that works with proofs; but even then, I can actually see my reflection if I put the coin about 15 cm away (6 inches - IIRC the distance on which proof coins are supposed to do that).

3) I have a 10 cent 2001 Canadian coin, Year of the Volunteers; a type you've mentioned on this blog already, IIRC. However, my coin has some strange spike-like marks on the denomination side going from nearly all places where the design comes close to the edge and about halfway to the actual rim (forgive me for doing that with a well-preserved coin - probably a low AU - but I just had to have a fingernail check on one of them; yeah, they are actual raised metal). It also has some strange shape somewhere else on it, but that can well be a mintmark for all I know (IIRC, it looked like a P complete with the hole, but I don't remember where it actually was).

4) About the only actual addition to my collection: a Japanese 500 yen coin, 14 Heisei (=2002 CE). I have reasons to suspect that this is currently the most valuable coin in my collection. How much is it worth exactly?


...So what, how?
January First-of-May

PS: Answer quickly, people are going to sleep in Europe already! ;-)

Man said...

1) Are there any key dates among the 1961-1991 Soviet coins of 1 to 20 copecks?
1969 5 copecks is about $2.00 in fine.
1970 5 copecks is about $10.00 in fine.
1990M 5 copecks is about 7.00 in fine.
1965 10 copecks is about $3.00 in fine.
1990M 10 copecks is about $4.00 in fine.
1970 15 copecks is about $15.00 in fine.
1970 20 copecks is about $10.00 in fine.
1973 20 copecks is about $10.00 in fine.
1976 20 copecks is about $15.00 in fine.
1991 20 copecks is about $30.00 in fine.

Same about 1930-1957 2 to 5 copecks ?
1933 2 copecks is about $4.00 in fine.
1934 5 copecks is about $25.00 in fine.
1935 5 copecks is about $25.00 in fine.

Man said...

2) I have a Soviet five-rouble commemorative coin with the Arkhangelsk Cathedral on it (I think the date is 1991, but I haven't checked so it might be 1990). I looked at it closely recently and noticed it looks completely like a proof should (AFAIK). However, I've never seen an actual proof before so I'm not sure if this is one. Can it be, and if it indeed is how much it's worth? (Condition would've been in high AU, or maybe even low MS if it wasn't a proof, I don't know how that works with proofs; but even then, I can actually see my reflection if I put the coin about 15 cm away (6 inches - IIRC the distance on which proof coins are supposed to do that).
Two versions one proof at $7.00 and one regular at $6.00.


3) I have a 10 cent 2001 Canadian coin, Year of the Volunteers; a type you've mentioned on this blog already, IIRC. However, my coin has some strange spike-like marks on the denomination side going from nearly all places where the design comes close to the edge and about halfway to the actual rim (forgive me for doing that with a well-preserved coin - probably a low AU - but I just had to have a fingernail check on one of them; yeah, they are actual raised metal). It also has some strange shape somewhere else on it, but that can well be a mintmark for all I know (IIRC, it looked like a P complete with the hole, but I don't remember where it actually was).
Those are wear marks from a late stage die, in other words the thing used to make the coin was old and about to break.
No extra value.

4) About the only actual addition to my collection: a Japanese 500 yen coin, 14 Heisei (=2002 CE). I have reasons to suspect that this is currently the most valuable coin in my collection. How much is it worth exactly?
In high grade about $9.00.

Anonymous said...

Oh, here you are :-)
There were a lot of additions to my collection since, barely any of those being pre-1990, so I didn't say about those.
But the only one actually worth anything, might well be the most valuable again :-)

The coin is: 3 copecks 1868 EM.
I'm not sure how is the grade measured on those (it would have probably been some sort of VF if it was newer and American, but of course it is almost 150 years old and Russian), but it has barely any scratches (I didn't actually notice any at first glance - as it turns out there are two very small ones across one of the rims), and not much wear (lots of details visible including those of the Moscow coat of arms in the middle; there is actually something visible even in the small COAs on the left side, but not the right).
Oh, almost forgot, it's brown (remember, 1868 is a long time ago, and copper turns brown relatively quickly).

And since I'm asking about old Russian coins already, can you tell me what is a plausible value for a Ivan IV copeck (16th century)? I think the mintmark is CKM or something like that (what it can be?), and most details are visible but of course I have no idea how many they should be (it's also relatively shiny, which suggests to me that it was cleaned at some point - which, of course, is something expected for a 16th-century coin! and no, the letters that happen to lie on the letter side do not seem to allow me to read the full name, but that's probably just me not knowing where to look, the letters themselves are certainly good enough).
And, as you probably already realised, I have completely no idea how much is it worth - people I asked suggested figures as low as metal value (actually lower, but metal value is the lowest plausible figure; currently $0.80 or so) and as high as about $50, and I got the coin for about $4, which might consequently be much higher or lower than the actual price.
Question (duh): what is the actual price? :-)

PS:
BTW, what is the "high grade" you mentioned for the Japanese coin? I mean, come on, it's a random circulation coin from nearly ten years ago. It's XF at most, maybe even VF (I don't have the coin close enough to look, unfortunately). :-))




...So what, how? :-)))
January First-of-May

Man said...

3 copecks 1868 EM assuming VF about $8.00 this is the most common of that series and even in UNC it is just $35.00

plausible value for a Ivan IV copeck (16th century)?
Without year? It is not possible for an accurate estimate but a $50 is more liekly.
That said your story leads me to believe it has beeen cleaned or it is a replica, which then would knoock it down to metal value or double that if real. At $4 no big loss.


"high grade" is anything above MS-60, not seeing the coin in hand I assume a general grade.
Yes it is possible to get "high grade" coins from circulation.
But at VF the that Japan coin is about $2.00 or less.

Anonymous said...

Thanks! $8 is pretty good - I expected about half that. Which series?

Ivan IV copecks, and generally pre-Peter Russian coins, AFAIK never actually had a year (only the ruler name and title, as common with almost all ancient coins).

Really $2 for Japanese coin? 500 yen is more than $5 in itself, and I expected a little more :-)
(I know it is possible - cf. my (and your) Canadian coins. Just not in this case.)

Man said...

"Which series?"
Not sure what you mean?

Ivan IV copecks, and generally pre-Peter Russian coins, AFAIK never actually had a year (only the ruler name and title, as common with almost all ancient coins).

I'm not an Ancient coin expert but so I don't know all the symbols and designs that give a "general" date but it is possible to narrow it down, if I find a good link I will let you know.

Really $2 for Japanese coin? 500 yen is more than $5 in itself, and I expected a little more :-)
I should have said $2.00 numismatic value, but currently exchange value is $6.12.
I often forget to mention that coins have 3 values : collectors, metal, and exchange. I assume you are a collector and would want that value.

Anonymous said...

1951 ben franklin S ment its a half dollar could you please tell what it is worth thank you

Man said...

1951 ben franklin S about $13.50

Anonymous said...

You said "this [3 copecks 1868 EM] is the most common of that series". Which series?

General date for ancient coin: 1555-1585, or something like that, for my variety. Might be a few years off either side :-)

I understand that point about values - I just expected the first one to be at least the maximum of the other two, for obvious reasons :-)
(I only know one exception - recent nickels: exchange 5c, metal about 7c, collectors not above 5c :-)) )

Anonymous said...

its arepublica.de.colombia its a 1956. on the back it has.veinte centavos could you please tell me what it is and if its worth any thing

Anonymous said...

A 1920 standing Liberty half dollar its all silver could tell if its worth any thing

Anonymous said...

its A 1964 kennedy half dollar all silver would you please tell me what its worth thank you

Man said...

"this [3 copecks 1868 EM] is the most common of that series". Which series?
Oooh, the 3 copecks EM series or Y#11.1 from 1850-1900 5 varieties/series exist.

General date for ancient coin: 1555-1585, or something like that,
Did a little more research and these are going for about $15.00 ungraded but again, I'm no expert not info resources or auctions to give a realistic value.

I only know one exception - recent nickels:
Well in the U.S. coins that are not American hardly ever sell for exchange rate. Euros are good examples they nearly always have a higher exchange rate but you can often buy them at coin shops for half the face value. Same with Canada but recent metal jumps have changed Canada from "junk coins" to investments.

Man said...

republica.de.colombia its a 1956. on the back it has.veinte centavos

It is 20 Centavos (Cents) form Columbia about $0.10.

Man said...

1920 standing Liberty half dollar about $13.50

Man said...

1964 kennedy half dollar about $13.50

Right now silver value is outpacing collectors value.

Anonymous said...

Well, I finally found my "ancient" coin, and I guess I vastly overstated it condition - I suspect it would not even grade Good (AG at most). Oh, and the mintmark is CMH (I personally can only see half of that last letter).

And now that's I'm at it, I guess I should finally ask about my other three holdered (that is, in a square piece of double cardboard (?) which seems to look like a coin holder) coins (there was a fifth one, but I haven't seen it since November).
Deutsches Reich [German Empire] 10 Pfennig 1907-A, I'd say Fine but might be a little less (the design is bold but nearly flat).
Deutsches Reich [German Empire] 5 Pfennig 1892-G, a little less well preserved (I'd put it at VG).
Oesterreich [Austria] 1/4 Kreuzer 1816-S; that one is probably Good, but it's hard to see with the dark reddish-brown color.
The first was worth about $1.5 to me, the second $2 and the third $3; that Austrian one remained the oldest dated coin in my collection for months, and is now the fourth-oldest after three horrible-looking Russian 18th-century coins (and by horrible-looking, I mean the low end of Fair-2, so I'm not bothering you with those).
BTW, are any of them silver? If so, how much?
And as for silver, there are another two coins I would have quite liked to know the silver content (if any) and value of. The coins are Belgian, 25 Cen 1922 and 10 Ces 1923, and might or might not have a mintmark but I have no idea where to find it even if it exists; the condition I'd have put at Fine but as you know I'm not an expert on that.

And a final question. While looking at my higher-grade new ten-copeck coins, I noticed that somewhere between 5% and 20% of them (not clear due to small survey size) had some weird error that I after some googling identified as a die clash (basically, letters from the reverse visible on the obverse as if stamped there from another coin, or at least that was the first thing I noticed - there are similar impressions on the other side as well, just not as easily identifiable due to the non-letterness of most of the obverse design). Is it worth anything, and can it really be so common as to occur in every tenth coin? (I have examples for 2011 and 2010 in what might well be low MS, 2008 in AU+, 2009 in AU-, and a faint 2006 one; I have only searched a few dozen coins, though, and I have about 1500 ten-copeck coins, not to mention other denominations...)


...So what, how?
January First-of-May

Man said...

finally found my "ancient" coin, and I guess I vastly overstated it condition - I suspect it would not even grade Good (AG at most). Oh, and the mintmark is CMH
Got no idea what your talking about.

Deutsches Reich [German Empire] 10 Pfennig 1907-A, I'd say Fine but might be a little less (the design is bold but nearly flat).
About $0.20

Deutsches Reich [German Empire] 5 Pfennig 1892-G, a little less well preserved (I'd put it at VG).
About $3.00

Oesterreich [Austria] 1/4 Kreuzer 1816-S; that one is probably Good, but it's hard to see with the dark reddish-brown color.
About $1.00

None are silver

Man said...

Belgian,
25 Cen 1922 about $0.10.
10 Ces 1923 about $0.10.

Man said...

ten-copeck coins, I noticed that somewhere between 5% and 20% of them (not clear due to small survey size) had some weird error that I after some googling identified as a die clash

No extra value.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for such a weird question.
It appears I have no silver coins in my collection other than the above-mentioned Ivan IV copeck. So I wanted to buy a silver dime, quarter, or some other type of small silver coin.
Question:
1) What would an average silver Roosevelt dime (i.e. 50s or early 60s) cost to buy (note: not value, the price to buy)?
2) Would it be any higher if I wanted it to have at least the condition of VG? F? VF? XF? (that last one would probably be very expensive...)
3) Do you know of any small relatively recent silver coins buy-able for less than that (in at least Good condition)? (No idea what they might be - old nickels? something Canadian? or British?)
4) And one that doesn't seem to make sense in context, but does: is there any way to purchase something from eBay without using my only credit card? I'm afraid I might lose everything on it (not that there's much, but having to pay off debts from it would've been even worse).


...So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

Man said...

1) What would an average silver Roosevelt dime (i.e. 50s or early 60s) cost to buy (note: not value, the price to buy)?
--About $3.00 each

2) Would it be any higher if I wanted it to have at least the condition of VG? F? VF? XF? (that last one would probably be very expensive...)
--At this point silver value is outpacing grades if less than MS.

3) Do you know of any small relatively recent silver coins buy-able for less than that (in at least Good condition)? (No idea what they might be - old nickels? something Canadian? or British?)
--Silver dimes are the cheapest and best buys. But any silver you can get is good. Silver rounds (not from any government mint medals) are the cheapest since the have no collectors value just metal value.

4) And one that doesn't seem to make sense in context, but does: is there any way to purchase something from eBay without using my only credit card? I'm afraid I might lose everything on it (not that there's much, but having to pay off debts from it would've been even worse).
--Some dealers accept money orders try to find them. Either that or use your credit card and pay off the full balance immediately. Never buying more than you can afford, of course.

Anonymous said...

I went to I place I was told has some good cheap coins. As it turns out, nothing cheap, and I've spent the equivalent of $9 on only five coins :-0
So I ask you: did I make any sort of bargain, was I conned out of my money, or neither?

The coins were (all but the last Russian):
1 copeck 1924, all details clear but bright red rather than shiny (XF? low AU? more probably XF)
15 copecks 1929, even better condition (almost certainly low AU)
15 copecks 1915 (maybe 1914 or 1912, have to check), very worn condition (maybe AG, but maybe VG or even Fine as some details are good while others are worn; either way, it's supposedly silver)
1 ruble 1967 (commemorative), average condition (which is probably either Fine or VF)
5 something (don't remember) Czechoslovakia? 1953, aluminium, Good to VG condition (I geniunely don't remember, having left the coin in another room)

And other highlights from my trip:
nobody sells a silver Roosevelt dime for less than $20;
and Mercury dimes are sold at $30 each;
for that relatively high amount one can also get, in different conditions of course, an 1964 half, an 1921 dollar or an 1841 cent (!);
people tended to try to sell me territory quarters for $1 each, and one offered an uncirculated Lincoln dollar for $2 (I bought neither).



...So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

PS: As for credit card, that's more me being afraid of spilling important information about my card than anything else :-))

Anonymous said...

Update after seeing the coin again:
I vastly overstated the condition of the 1924 coin - it's not really bright red (though still clearly red and not brown) and doesn't deserve anywhere near the AU grade (it does deserve XF, though, and judging by my cursory search this coin alone was worth nearly the entire $9 - and there are also the silver coins...)
The 1929 coin does deserve an AU grade (this being the highest grade I can reasonably assign to it without knowing what to look for - basically, shiny as new, and might well be Unc or MS for all I know).
The other 15 copeck coin is neither of 1915, 1914 or 1912 - it's 1899. The worn side is the one with the date, so an average grade of Good is plausible but I suspect it just had been cleaned.
Finally, the last coin is indeed 5 something Czechoslovkia 1953 (it only has a number in the denomination). I retract my guess at VG - it's just Good.


...So what, how?
January First-of-May

Man said...

The coins were (all but the last Russian):
1 copeck 1924, all details clear but bright red rather than shiny (XF? low AU? more probably XF)
About $30.00 if edge is reeded.

15 copecks 1929, even better condition (almost certainly low AU)
About $10.00 0.0434 oz silver

15 copecks 1915 (maybe 1914 or 1912, have to check), very worn condition (maybe AG, but maybe VG or even Fine as some details are good while others are worn; either way, it's supposedly silver)
About $3.00 0.0434 oz silver

1 ruble 1967 (commemorative), average condition (which is probably either Fine or VF)
About $2.00

5 something (don't remember) Czechoslovakia? 1953, aluminium, Good to VG condition
5 Haleru about $0.05

Man said...

Update: Values listed don't change I assumed the lower grades if you gave more than one grade.

15 copeck coin is neither of 1915, 1914 or 1912 - it's 1899. The worn side is the one with the date, so an average grade of Good is plausible but I suspect it just had been cleaned.
--If cleaned no extra value above metal about $2.00

Anonymous said...

Edge is reeded on both Soviet coins. Really $30 for the 1924 one? The "cursory search" values were around $10-15 (which, of course, is still more than I paid for all five coins together).

I have no idea where to look for cleaning marks, actually. I just don't know how else one side of the coin can be worn nearly smooth (I barely managed to read the date) and the other remain rather clear (near VF levels).

As for the 1929 coin, my assumption would be "almost certain MS but better say AU as I have no idea where it can be worn". I didn't notice any wear at all, except for what looks like contact marks. Does it matter for the value?

As for the Czechoslovakia coin, about what I expected :-) It was supposed to be a junk foreign coin, and I just happened to have barely any coins from Czechoslovakia in my collection (certainly none anywhere near that old).

BTW, my list of coins they offered for $30 was supposed to be another list for values (i.e. how much less than $30 they actually cost). I suspect it might actually be close for the cent (yeah, 1841 is correct) and especially the dollar (which, as far as I know, in the condition they have it in (VG? G? AG? I only saw a small piece of the actual coin, but it was really worn) might as well be just a piece of silver).

Oh, and how sensible would it really be to buy an uncirculated Presidential dollar for (the equivalent of) $2.20 or so? Note than your traditional "buy it in a bank instead" doesn't work in my country. :-)



...So what, how? :-))
January First-of-May

Man said...

Edge is reeded on both Soviet coins. Really $30 for the 1924 one?
Assuming XF and graded, if raw and XF then a little less. $10 is a bit low.


And other highlights from my trip:
silver Roosevelt dime about $3.00 each
Mercury dimes about $3.00 each

1964 half about $15.00
1921 dollar about $35.00
1841 cent about $18.00

territory quarters about $0.50 in uncirculated

one offered an uncirculated Lincoln dollar for $2 (I bought neither).
???I have no idea what a Lincoln dollar coin is?

uncirculated Presidential dollar about $2.00 or a little more is fine

Man said...

1929 coin, my assumption would be "almost certain MS but better say AU as I have no idea where it can be worn". I didn't notice any wear at all, except for what looks like contact marks. Does it matter for the value?

No change in value.

Anonymous said...

What was your assumption on the 1921 dollar's grade? Or does it really contain that much silver?
And yeah, by Lincoln dollar I meant a Presidential dollar with Lincoln on it :-)

Man said...

What was your assumption on the 1921 dollar's grade? Or does it really contain that much silver?
I assume the lowest grade always, I also assume a Morgan Dollar not a Peace dollar.

G-MS the silver value is outpacing the collectors value it has 0.77344 ounces of pure silver.

Presidential dollar with Lincoln on it is fine for $2.00 outside of Untied States.

Anonymous said...

I have returned to the place where I have seen the silver dollar.
It was (as it turns out) a Peace and not a Morgan; the condition, though, was horrible, which apparently might well be as high as Good (but more probably AG).
Yes. 1921. Peace. Dollar. For $30. The condition is still horrible, though (and I was unable to check the date on coin as it was not on the displayed side, so had to base it on the holder); I am sure it's a Peace, though - it does have the eagle.

As for the Lincoln dollars, I'll check back in a few days (i.e. once I get to that place again). I personally would have preferred to have Cleveland ones but they haven't been minted yet :-)

Man said...

1921. Peace. Dollar currently they are $40.00 in AG

Anonymous said...

I saw your site the other day and it got me interested, so I bought a few rolls of coins and have already found some interesting coins. One in particular is a 1958 nickel. On the back it has "FIVE F CENTS". The extra F is closer to the C in CENTS than to the E. Any ideas on what this is? Thanks

Man said...

1958 nickel. On the back it has "FIVE F CENTS". The extra F is closer to the C in CENTS than to the E.

Sounds damaged.
It could also be machine doubling where the coin accidentally gets struck twice in a weird way.

Now it also can be a dropped letter error where grease sticks in a letter then falls off and creates a second impression, rare and has value depending on type.

Without a clear picture I can't say which you have but Google "Dropped letter coin" or "hub Doubling" to see if yours is similar.
Or post a picture somewhere and drop a link here.

Anonymous said...

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k628/ejirvinii/nickel.jpg

This is the 1958 Nickel. I hope you can see it, I didn't have a camera so I just scanned the nickel.

Thank you for your help.

Man said...

I didn't have a camera so I just scanned the nickel.

Not really clear, but judging by the other damage on the coin it seems like damage.

Sorry I can't be more precise but I would say put it aside until you can better shots or find an expert to see in hand.

Anonymous said...

I've finally bought that Peace Dollar :-)
Guess what? They were wrong on the year. It's 1923.
As for the grade, I checked the pictures against Photograde, and it's much clearer than Fair but still somewhat less clear than AG (but closer to it). Is there somewhere in between those two?
Either way, that apparently didn't stop the coin from being a 25-gram piece of silver, worth somewhat more than the $28 I paid for it :-))

I also bought the Lincoln dollar (and probably overpaid for it), as well as two other coins:
Ecuador Un Sucre, 1937, Fine to VF? [motto side good, head side bad]
2 [Gellers AH?] 1910, XF

In all, it was a relatively good trip :-) but I probably won't be doing more of that anytime soon. Parents, you know.



...So what, how? :-))
January First-of-May

Man said...

Peace Dollar :-)
Guess what? They were wrong on the year. It's 1923.
As for the grade, I checked the pictures against Photograde, and it's much clearer than Fair but still somewhat less clear than AG (but closer to it). Is there somewhere in between those two?

--About $37.00 and nothing is between Fair and AG so when there is a conflict it grades the lowest.

Ecuador Un Sucre, 1937, Fine to VF? [motto side good, head side bad] about $0.50

2 [Gellers AH?] 1910, XF ??Sorry don't understand?

Anonymous said...

The coin itself just says 2 1910 - no other inscription; the words in brackets are what the dealers said.
Oh, and AH is supposed to stand for Austria-Hungary :-)

Man said...

2 1910 - no other inscription; the words in brackets are what the dealers said.
Oh, and AH is supposed to stand for Austria-Hungary


Austria 2 Heller about $3.00 in XF, not Hungary because it would say Hungary.
Early Austrian coins only had the bird emblem on the front. The date and the denomination on the back.

Anonymous said...

BTW, I think I saw a 1918 British penny on sale for $1 (I didn't have any money left, or I would have certainly bought it). Is that plausible, and if so more or less than the actual value? (Condition was at least Fine.)

Man said...

1918 British penny on sale for $1 (I didn't have any money left, or I would have certainly bought it). Is that plausible, and if so more or less than the actual value? (Condition was at least Fine.)

About $0.80 very common so $1.00 iss a fair price.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for being so late, but here's an update from my April 9 post.
I did look closely at my "too dark brown to see well" 1816 Austrian 1/4 Kreuzer, and it seems to have been much better preserved than I originally thought. My new estimate is Fine to VF (I don't know what the difference is, but I'm thinking VF is more likely as while the middle of the shield is worn I do see some bands on the crown).
Also, as for the Lincoln dollar, apparently I overpaid for it! As in, paid about $2.50 instead of $2.10. (Though I personally think it was worth having seen it being taken right from the official roll - the guy who sold for 2.10 did no such thing.)


...So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

Man said...

1816 Austrian 1/4 Kreuzer, and it seems to have been much better preserved than I originally thought. My new estimate is Fine to VF

About $2.00

Clinton Riddle said...

Re: National Park quarters

Just started seeing these, and I've only found three, thus far. All three were from bank rolls and AU at least. Even found one American Samoa, which I wasn't aware even existed. Didn't know if these were rare (I doubt), but found them interesting.

Man said...

National Park quarters

Just started seeing these, and I've only found three, thus far. All three were from bank rolls and AU at least. Even found one American Samoa,


None are special and the one from American Samoa is from the Territories series (2009) not Parks (2010-).
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/dcandterritories/

Anonymous said...

Okay, so I was going around buying (and even more so, just asking for) various coins all over the last several weeks. That was me about the 1841 cent in the "Repeating is OK" thread, BTW. :-) (Hey, I did mention it here as well (among the posts of April 13), and it's not like 1841 is the most common large cent around - looking at official mintages, it's much more likely to be a key date.)
But more on topic :-) The guy who wasn't supposed to arrive before 4pm ended up not arriving even then, so instead of the expected cent I ended up buying a bunch of other old coins (for a total of $35 - a trade after which both me and the dealer apparently thought they've been had).

Oh, and the coins were:
British half crown 1899 (VF?)
------- shilling 1875 (VF-XF)
------- -------- 1954 (XF+)
Australian sixpence 1941 (VF-XF details (if not more - how much hair there's supposed to be?), but weirdly same color as the newer shilling)
Baden (German state) 1 Kreuzer 1866 (XF)
Are they actually worth (in total) the $35 I paid, and what is the value of each? :-)

And some other coins I've acquired (for free or close enough) during those several weeks, and haven't posted here yet:
German 5 reichspfennig, 1925-D (VF)
DDR 5 pfennig, 1948-A (VF+ as there aren't enough details to be more certain)
Romania 15 bani, 1975 (VF+ (XF-- would be more correct - it looks horrible in hand but the details are there) and aluminium)
Moldova 50 bani, 2005 (XF, duh - what did you expect from a 2005?)
Cyprus 50 eurocent, 2008 (XF+)
Lietuva? 5 centai, 1991 (XF, and is that the first post-Soviet issue ever?)
Oh, and a few uncirculated-looking (AU? MS? I'm not a specialist) eurocents: German 1 and 2, 2011-A and Austrian 5, 2010.


...So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

Man said...

British half crown 1899 (VF?) about $27.00
------- shilling 1875 (VF-XF) about $30.00
------- -------- 1954 (XF+) about $0.50

Australian sixpence 1941 (VF-XF details (if not more - how much hair there's supposed to be?), but weirdly same color as the newer shilling)
--Not sure how to grade thsis one, about $3.25 in vf

Baden (German state) 1 Kreuzer 1866 (XF) about $8.00

German 5 reichspfennig, 1925-D (VF) about $0.50
DDR 5 pfennig, 1948-A (VF+ as there aren't enough details to be more certain) about $1.00
Romania 15 bani, 1975 (VF+ (XF-- would be more correct - it looks horrible in hand but the details are there) and aluminium) about $0.10
Moldova 50 bani, 2005 (XF, duh - what did you expect from a 2005?) about $0.75
Cyprus 50 eurocent, 2008 (XF+) about $1.00
Lietuva? 5 centai, 1991 (XF, and is that the first post-Soviet issue ever?) about $0.10 from Lithuania not sure if it was first.

Oh, and a few uncirculated-looking (AU? MS? I'm not a specialist) eurocents: German 1 and 2, 2011-A and Austrian 5, 2010.
--Just face value, final mintage must be known before getting accurate values.

Anonymous said...

Does the combination of $25 and $30 mean that at the end it was me who got a bargain? That would've been good. As it was, he was basically selling them for silver value (which adds up to $20 or so) and to at least make it look like something worth $35 I added the two non-silver coins.
BTW, do you know of any accurate grading system for those? For me (based on the American scale - British VF is American XF, apparently), VF was "all details visible but some minor ones" and XF was "all details visible except maybe some I won't be able to see without a magnifying glass anyway" (note what I said about 2005); that makes the shilling VF-XF in that the wreath side is XF and the head side is VF+ (the die mark is 53, BTW). Which grade is your $30 for?
Oh, almost forgot: for me XF is the condition of details, not luster. Most (especially non-white) coins I would grade XF have all the details they need, but luster... what do you mean by luster, anyway? :-)
Really hope that shilling (or half-crown) gets to be my new most valuable coin. Both deserve that position much more than that previous dollar does...

Man said...

Does the combination of $25 and $30 mean that at the end it was me who got a bargain?
--Possibly if your grading is accurate.

BTW, do you know of any accurate grading system for those?
--There is no accurate grading system, even among the professional grading companies you would get different grades on the same coin.

Which grade is your $30 for?
--I always assume the lowest grade if you put more than one. Even if the back of the coin is a higher grade you must always grade according to the weakest side.

what do you mean by luster, anyway?
--Luster is shininess.

In general XF has at least 90-95% original detail
In general VF has at least 65-75% original detail

Anonymous said...

Well, this time I've certainly been had :-) actually thought it was rare :-))
What is the actual price of an 1958 "British Columbia" Canadian silver dollar? It's shiny and details are good, so at least XF+ in condition, but I paid $35 for it...
(Though given the nature of the money (part of unexpected prize), I didn't really care - a big silver coin is still a big silver coin either way. My father would be happy.)

Man said...

1958 "British Columbia" Canadian silver dollar? It's shiny and details are good, so at least XF+ in condition

About $25.00 but silver keeps going up and down.

Anonymous said...

Okay, so I decided to use the prize as fully as possible - and by that I mean buying another $190 worth of coins.
The question: how much were they really worth?

The coins were:
Mozambique 1,5,10,20,50 centavo 1,2,5,10 metical, all 2006 and uncirculated (MS?)
Vanuatu 1,2,5,10,20,50 vatu, all 1990 except 50 (1999), same condition (MS?)
Isle of Man 1978 half penny, MS (much brighter than any coin in the previous two sets)
Sweden 5 kron[or?] 1966 "100 years of Constitution" and yet again MS!
Austria 50 schilling 1966 "150 years of National Bank" (another MS - what's American for "Brilliant Uncirculated"? this coin and the previous one both certainly deserve that "grade")
Russian Empire 1 rouble 1818 СПБ ПС - this one is a Fine, probably, and coincidentally the most expensive coin I bought at $70 or so
US 1 cent 1841 (finally); and those hecking Photograde guys don't seem to have any pics (okay, only one - for AU-58) of the older smaller-head-and-letters version of Braided Hair! Okay, could be worse, most online guides just lump them together with Matron Heads; either way, it seems to be even higher grade than I expected, hovering aroung the high VF to low XF border (and BTW, has a strong L in Liberty, something that most Photograde ones lacked).

So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

Man said...

Mozambique 1,5,10,20,50 centavo 1,2,5,10 metical, all 2006 and uncirculated (MS?)
--About $12.00 for the set.

Vanuatu 1,2,5,10,20,50 vatu, all 1990 except 50 (1999), same condition (MS?)
--About $6.25 for the set.

Isle of Man 1978 half penny, MS (much brighter than any coin in the previous two sets)
--About $2.00

Sweden 5 kron[or?] 1966 "100 years of Constitution" and yet again MS!
--About $9.00

Austria 50 schilling 1966 "150 years of National Bank" (another MS - what's American for "Brilliant Uncirculated"? this coin and the previous one both certainly deserve that "grade")
--About $22.00

Russian Empire 1 rouble 1818 СПБ ПС - this one is a Fine
--About $50.00

US 1 cent 1841 (finally);high VF to low XF border
--About $80.00

Anonymous said...

I think that adds up to just barely less than $190... even that mostly due to the cent (really expected much less for the cent and much more for the rouble which is after all older and silver).
Also expected much more for the Swedish coin - isn't is supposed to be silver? It's certainly noted as such at the holder... EDIT: apparently it's only 40%. Still expected more than $9 for such a huge one.
Either way, the Vanuatu set ($10) means much more for me because it's such an obscure country, and so is the Mozambique one ($14) in that I have next to no coins from Africa; as for the Austrian and Swedish ones, they look so great (unfortunately, without a good grading guide I'll never be able to quantify just how great) they're certainly worth their $32 and $25 respectively. That only leaves the rouble ($70, but the prices even for later ones tend to be so huge, along the lines of $200, that I thought I would never be able to afford one - and if I did it would be from the 20th century, not early 19th) and the cent ($35 - now that was a bargain). (Oh, and the half-penny ($3), but honestly I thought of it as too cheap to care about.)
End result: counting the British coins from last week, I'm technically still in the positive - basically, a little better than I expected. :-)

So what, how? :-))
January First-of-May

Anonymous said...

OK, here's another update :-)
First, I seem to apparently be very lucky in finding foreign (aka non-Russian; I'm including USSR) coins in circulation! After a 10 euro cent (not listing, I don't remember the country anyway) and a 10 copeck 1991 (second series (the one with some buildings on it) and XF; I also got a VF one earlier), my next one is 25 copeck 2005 from Transnistria (XF+). What are they worth?
And second, another attempt on buying; I think the dealer already knows I'm a novice and is trying to con me, but here are the coins (total paid $36) anyway:
1971 Eisenhower dollar (XF to AU, and I'm not seeing any mintmarks so presumably P)
1972-D Kennedy half dollar (XF+)
1941-S Walking Liberty half dollar (poor half... I'd give it a VG)
1905-G German 1/2 Mark (VF+ and nearly black in fields)
My current trend is towards collecting by type, so even if they don't have so much value those American coins are actually good for me because they're all new types (also, I finally have an American silver coin that doesn't look like a random round piece of metal with barely-visible pictures; okay, VG isn't actually "very good" but it's still better than "Fair"). Still, I would like to know the actual values.
Oh, and third: what Morgan dollar date-mintmark combinations are worth buying for $54 in 1)XF, 2)VF, or 3)F? That coin shop I've talked so much about has several (presumably various dates, mintmarks, and conditions - that's why I'm asking), and the only thing I currently know is that it's always worth that if it's a CC or O (and even that might not be always correct with that level of premium).

So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

Man said...

10 copeck 1991 (second series (the one with some buildings on it) and XF;
--About $1.00 or $0.50 in VF

25 copeck 2005 from Transnistria (XF+)
--About $0.35

1971 Eisenhower dollar (XF to AU, and I'm not seeing any mintmarks so presumably P)
--About $1.00 correct no mintmark means P

1972-D Kennedy half dollar (XF+)
--About $0.50

1941-S Walking Liberty half dollar (poor half... I'd give it a VG)
--About $14.00

1905-G German 1/2 Mark (VF+ and nearly black in fields)
--About $4.00


what Morgan dollar date-mintmark combinations are worth buying for $54 in 1)XF, 2)VF, or 3)F?
--XF always go for the higher grades even if you get less coins.

it's always worth that if it's a CC or O
--CC in general is best, followed by S, then O, then (P) and D

Shop for Morgans by getting the highest grade possible, then everything else.

Anonymous said...

You've completely misunderstood my question about Morgan dollars :-)
The point was, IIRC even at XF the silver value is high enough (while still lower than $54) that common Morgans are worth about the same as in F (i.e. silver value).
Thus, the question: which ones are uncommon enough to be worth more than $54 in XF or less, and since what grade? For CC and O (and S), give the exceptions instead (as all of them seem to be relatively rare).
(Note that it's specifically about dates and mintmarks - not any other sort of varieties as I won't be able to readily distinguish them in a coin shop environment.)

Man said...

which ones are uncommon enough to be worth more than $54 in XF or less, and since what grade?

I understood the problem is that with silver jumping and falling so rapidily I can not say which coins are worth more at any given moment.

Every single CC Morgan is worth more than $54 in XF or less.
Every other Morgan is worth less than $54 in XF or less.

Anonymous said...

Weird. Are there really no non-CC key dates? Or are they just so barely "key" that they aren't worth much more (like it seems to be with Braided Hair cents)?
And just in case (I know stumbling on a CC is incredibly unlikely, but still), how far down can the CC ones go for still above $54?

Man said...

Are there really no non-CC key dates?
--Key date for CC is 1889 at $3,200 in XF
Key date fo S is 1893 at $8,500 in XF

On average in XF $200 for CC.

1882-CC and 1883-CC are the most affordable at $150 in XF or $135 in VF.

1883-S is $47 in XF
1884-S is $55 in XF
Those are the best Morgans to buy in XF and for about $54.

Man said...

I would add about half of S coins are "key" but yes every non-error/variety is just silver value or common.

Anonymous said...

So there are non-CC Morgans worth $50+ in XF?
Can you get me a reasonably complete list, then? I presume they would be mostly key or semi-key (and hopefully they would include some (P) and/or D ones - it seems with S and O, never mind CC, my best bet is to buy while it's still available).

Man said...

So there are non-CC Morgans worth $50+ in XF?
Can you get me a reasonably complete list, then?

1884-S at $55
1885-S at $65
1886-S at $100
1888-S at $220
1889-S at $85
1892-S at $375
1893 at $280
1893-O at $625
1893-S at $8,500
1894 at $2,000
1894-O at $140
1894-S at $165
1895-O at $750
1895-S at $1,400
1896-S at $225
1899 at $200
1899-S at $70
1901 at $125
1901-S at $60
1902-S at $210
1903-O at $420
1903-S at $400
1904-S at $260

Be careful with the (P) because many are faked by scratching of an O or S.

Man said...

Sorry it took so long my browser crashed while typing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks!
So basically, the (P) ones are 1893, 1894, 1899 and 1901, the O ones are 1893-95 and 1903, and the S exceptions are 1883-earlier, 1887, 1890-91, 1897-98, and 1900 (assuming they exist). Right? :-)

Man said...

Yes, not taking into account varieties or errors.

Anonymous said...

Okay, so I went to a coin market again. (Mental note to myself: never go to coin markets with more than $20 worth of cash on person. It tends to end badly. Okay, maybe not always, but still.)
Amount of money spent this time: $100 (maybe a few dollars more or less - it wasn't originally in dollars anyway, and I didn't really count it closely). Most of the money went for the few silver coins; most of the coins, on the other hand, were from "any coin for less than $1"-style bargain bins, so probably not worth very much. :-)

The list (starting with silver, of course :-) )
10 copeck 1923 RSFSR (XF+)
15 ------ ---- ----- (VF to XF)
20 ------ ---- ----- (AU)
10 copeck 1916 (Russian Empire) BC (XF- details, and that's not the mintmark, that's, IIRC, the engraver initials)
15 copeck 1907 СПБ ЭБ (XF details on obverse, mid-reverse is hazy for some reason but otherwise looks VF)
10 copeck 1904 СПБ АР (that one is honest VF)
5 copeck 1892 СПБ АГ (Fine, but IIRC that's quite a rarity in the silver version)
[here we come to non-silver...]
DENIER TOVRNOIS 1651 A [and on the other side] GASTON (whatever that is; the condition looks AG)
5 centimes "l'an 8" (aka 1799) BB (AG- and somewhat bent, but hey it's old)
1 pfennig 1949-F "Bank Deutscher Lander" (VF to XF)
5 pfennig 1950-F (VF? only mentioning for completeness' sake)
2 Rentenpfennig 1923-J (XF- details)
5 ------------- 1924-J (VF)
10 ------------- ------ (also VF)
1 rouble USSR 1979 "Space Station" (it says Olympics on it but the picture is indeed of a space station; also, honest circulated-ish XF)
- ------ ---- 1983 "Ivan Fedorov" (a little better than above - aka XF+)
20 copecks 1931 (with shield, and really dirty but somehow VF-ish details)
bicentennial quarter (VF - I just hadn't ever stumbled on one before)
1952 nickel (I'll give this one AG - and where do they keep their mintmarks again? if it does have one, it's quite well hidden)
[a whole lot of British coins - I decided to randomly sort them by date, and then the close calls also by date]
one penny 1897 (Good)
farthing 1925 (VF++; nearly gave it XF but the thing's too dark)
one penny 1938 (VF-)
threepence 1945 (VF-?)
half crown 1960 (VF to XF, and it's certainly not silver)
sixpence 1962 (XF+ complete with luster)
two shillings 1966 (VF+)
ten [new] pence 1970 (XF, and the large-sized version)
new penny 1971 (VF - it's to replace the previous one that had gone far too green)
Indian quarter anna 1908 (reverse VF but obverse AG or so, and literal small crack near the edge of the coin)
new 1 penny 1971... where exactly is "ballivie insule degernereves"? never heard of such place (though IMHO likely either Jersey or Guernsey; either way, the coin (near-AU) has a bird on reverse, three lions on obverse, and no sign of the queen so I'm not sure why I mentioned it here)
Bermuda one cent 2002 (with a pig; also near-AU)
[british series end here]
10 groszy 1923 Poland (F to VF)
20 ------ ---- ------ (same)
50 ------ ---- ------ (VF)
5 mongo 1959 Mongolia (XF+)
10 ----- ---- -------- (VF?)
20 ----- ---- -------- (VF)
10 pruta [1949] Israel (XF?)
25 ----- ------ ------ (same)
20 (dollars?) Zimbabwe 1980 (VF?)
20 cent 1913 "Italia" (F to VF - and is that a naked woman on reverse?)
20 cent 1919 "Regno d'Italia" (VF-)
10 centimos 1959 Spain (VF to XF)
10 cent 1948 Netherlands (XF)
2 dinara 1953 Yugoslavia (XF?)
20 [something] 1894 [Austria] (VF to XF)
10 yen [1955] (XF)
1 [two characters] 1964 China (incredibly shiny and detailed small aluminium coin - maybe AU?)
[and finally...]
5 aurar 1966 Iceland (nearly certain AU)

Phew, that was long...
Now the funniest question - does that come up to at least $100 in total value? ;-)

So what, how? :-)
January First-of-May

Man said...

10 copeck 1923 RSFSR (XF+) about $10.00
15 ------ ---- ----- (VF to XF) about $5.00
20 ------ ---- ----- (AU) about $18.00
10 copeck 1916 (Russian Empire) BC (XF- details, and that's not the mintmark, that's, IIRC, the engraver initials) about $10.00
15 copeck 1907 СПБ ЭБ (XF details on obverse, mid-reverse is hazy for some reason but otherwise looks VF) about $7.00
10 copeck 1904 СПБ АР (that one is honest VF) about $6.00
5 copeck 1892 СПБ АГ (Fine, but IIRC that's quite a rarity in the silver version) about $1.50

Man said...

DENIER TOVRNOIS 1651 A [and on the other side] GASTON (whatever that is; the condition looks AG)
--About $3.00

5 centimes "l'an 8" (aka 1799) BB (AG- and somewhat bent, but hey it's old) about $0.50
1 pfennig 1949-F "Bank Deutscher Lander" (VF to XF) about $0.50
5 pfennig 1950-F (VF? only mentioning for completeness' sake) about $0.75
2 Rentenpfennig 1923-J (XF- details) about $20.00
5 ------------- 1924-J (VF) about $1.00
10 ------------- ------ (also VF) about $1.50

Man said...

1 rouble USSR 1979 "Space Station" (it says Olympics on it but the picture is indeed of a space station; also, honest circulated-ish XF)
--About $2.00

- ------ ---- 1983 "Ivan Fedorov" (a little better than above - aka XF+)
--About $2.00

20 copecks 1931 (with shield, and really dirty but somehow VF-ish details)
--About $4.00

bicentennial quarter (VF - I just hadn't ever stumbled on one before)
--About $0.25

1952 nickel (I'll give this one AG - and where do they keep their mintmarks again? if it does have one, it's quite well hidden)
--About $0.06 on the reverse to the right of building, D, S, or blank

British coins -
one penny 1897 (Good) about $0.25
farthing 1925 (VF++; nearly gave it XF but the thing's too dark) about $0.40
one penny 1938 (VF-) about $0.35
threepence 1945 (VF-?) about $0.50
half crown 1960 (VF to XF, and it's certainly not silver) about $0.50
sixpence 1962 (XF+ complete with luster) about $0.35
two shillings 1966 (VF+) about $0.30
ten [new] pence 1970 (XF, and the large-sized version) about $0.25
new penny 1971 (VF - it's to replace the previous one that had gone far too green) about $0.05

Man said...

Indian quarter anna 1908 (reverse VF but obverse AG or so, and literal small crack near the edge of the coin)
--About $0.05

new 1 penny 1971... where exactly is "ballivie insule degernereves"? never heard of such place (though IMHO likely either Jersey or Guernsey; either way, the coin (near-AU) has a bird on reverse, three lions on obverse, and no sign of the queen so I'm not sure why I mentioned it here)
--About $0.30 from Guernsey

Bermuda one cent 2002 (with a pig; also near-AU)
--About $0.10

10 groszy 1923 Poland (F to VF) about $0.20
20 ------ ---- ------ (same) about $0.35
50 ------ ---- ------ (VF) about $0.80
5 mongo 1959 Mongolia (XF+) about $2.00
10 ----- ---- -------- (VF?) about $1.50
20 ----- ---- -------- (VF) about $1.25
10 pruta [1949] Israel (XF?) about $1.00
25 ----- ------ ------ (same) about $0.75

20 (dollars?) Zimbabwe 1980 (VF?) about $0.25 it is cents not dollars

Man said...

20 cent 1913 "Italia" (F to VF - and is that a naked woman on reverse?) about $0.50
20 cent 1919 "Regno d'Italia" (VF-) about $0.50
10 centimos 1959 Spain (VF to XF) about $0.05
10 cent 1948 Netherlands (XF) about $0.10
2 dinara 1953 Yugoslavia (XF?) about $0.25
20 [something] 1894 [Austria] (VF to XF) about $0.65 20 Heller
10 yen [1955] (XF) about $0.35

1 [two characters] 1964 China (incredibly shiny and detailed small aluminium coin - maybe AU?)
--About $0.50 1 Fen

5 aurar 1966 Iceland (nearly certain AU) about $0.75

does that come up to at least $100 in total value?
--I'll let you do the math. ;-)

Anonymous said...

From what I was able to count: I literally thought you actually tried to make it exactly $100; then I counted again and came up to a little more (something like $110).
End result: I got ripped off at 5 copecks (literally thought silver 5s were much rarer than copper ones), got lucky at 2 rentenpfennig (I've heard somewhere that rentenpfennig coins are uncommon, so I've got all three out of the bargain bin where it was about $2 in total for them), and it just about balanced (I didn't pay more than $10 for any individual coin, though, and not more than $3 for any non-silver one - which leaves the possibility that some of the high prices are inflated relative to me).

Man said...

(literally thought silver 5s were much rarer than copper ones)
--Not really on average they have higher values because of metal value but most of the later dates are common.

(I've heard somewhere that rentenpfennig coins are uncommon...
--Yes, that and they are highly collectible German coins are still very popular.

I assume you're in Russia so maybe the collectors market is different than over here.

Anonymous said...

1870-S Slabbed dime in MS-67

Man said...

1870-S Slabbed dime in MS-67 about $20,000.00

Anonymous said...

I have a silver belt belt buckle, with a Morgan Silver Dollar inside date is 1884. Been in family for years how can I tell if its been circulated or not?

Man said...

a silver belt belt buckle, with a Morgan Silver Dollar inside date is 1884. Been in family for years how can I tell if its been circulated or not?

Unless the coin is in an air tight container on your belt it has been circulated.

If you want to know the grade then copy and paste the link below...
http://www.cointalk.com/t115123/

lree44 said...

I have a nickel that i believe to be the smallest ever made and i don't know how to find out what it is worth?

Man said...

I have a nickel that i believe to be the smallest ever made and i don't know how to find out what it is worth?

I also found one check out this link...
Tiny nickel
Apparently they are made for jewelry and sell for around $4.00 each.