Canada 1982 Cent

Do you have a Canadian 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

For years I've been getting Canadian coins in my change and for the most part I am happy to see them but a recent inventory has been eye opening.

Not counting recent finds and purchases I have pulled out about 525 Canadian coins (C$25.61) from my American change. Back in November of 2005 I reported about 300 Canadian finds meaning in four years I gained about 225 more.

What is a person to do?
James UK has a similar situation with 223 Euros totaling €30.70. A simple universal Coinstar machine would be helpful. I understand each coin needs its own weight, magnetic, and specific gravity sensor but at least one Super-Coinstar in the worlds major cities NY, London, Paris, et al.

How about smelting them?
I would love to have some copper bars. Pretty sure I can get the temperature needed but this just maybe a violation of the apartment's lease.

Throw them back into circulation?
Sure simple enough with all the commemorative coins floating around no one would notice. Unfortunately there is a good chance I'll be getting the back next time I get more change.

Art, brother, can you make something groovy?
I do have access to the college's manufacturing equipment but these coins are too small.

Day trip?
True, I know some friends who take summer jobs up in Canada and I can visit them and act like a big shot by paying for everything in Canadian money. At $0.90 to the U.S. Dollar it may be worth it to just step over the border and buy some groceries and come back.

Stare at this coin and if any inspiration hits you feel free to leave a comment.


Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / Canada
Year: 1982
Mintage: 876,036,898
Metal: 98% Copper, 0.5% Tin, and 1.5% Zinc
Value: $0.02 in F

Side note: Any changes or weirdness to this blog is an attempt to update the style and make it better. Feel free to leave a comment if something goes wrong or any improvements my simple brain can actually make.

Do you have a Canadian cent and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you

1944 Lincoln, Wheat Ears Reverse

Do you have a penny 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.

Half all of the traffic to this blog are inquiries about the 1944 U.S. Cent. I've posted it about in the past and still most visitors disregard the entry and still ask if the coin is super-valuable.

I'm truly sorry but it's not.

Even if you were to find one in Mint State 65, no trace of wear, barely noticeable blemishes, and full red color, it would only be worth $3.00 in retail and $0.50 average buyer's price.


Finding this well circulated 1944 cent in my change marked the 20th time I found this particular coin. The only reason I don't put it back in circulation is over fears I'll find it again. There are 14 known Doubled Die Obverses and 3 Doubled Die Reverses all hold a small premium. There are some made from the 1943 steel blanks worth thousands and other off-metal errors worth a lot.

Here's the stat...
Year: 1944
Mintage: 1,435,400,000
Metal: 95% copper 5% zinc
Value: G-4 $0.02 or VF-20 $0.10 or EF-40 $0.20

Still if you have question about this coin feel free to ask. I understand that finding a 65 year old coin is still something special.

Do you have a wheat cent 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.

2009 is Finally Here

Do you have a quarter 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.

145 days into the year and I finally get a 2009 coin. Friends and family members who just collect state and territorial quarters have found every current design including the D.C. quarter. I on the other hand haven't seen anything new since Alaska, Hawaii escapes me.

Unlike most I was in favor of adding the U.S. territories to the state quarter program but the addition of National parks for the next 11 years is just ridiculous. In 2004 Daniel Carr made the following design which I think is better than the one that is currently used. His other design were good enough to made for New York and Rhode Island.

Compare it now to the design chosen by a Puerto Rican Commission.

Nice enough but no coquí.

On the circulating coin "Isle of Enchantment" is written in Spanish "Isla del Encanto" above the Puerto Rican hibiscus, Puerto Rico's state flower. The building is the Sentry Box at San Cristobal Fort, El Morro, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

All people from Puerto Rico have been U.S. citizens since 1917 and the island became a territory in 1952. By 1998 America asked for an indefinite extension before allowing Puerto Rico to become independent or a new state.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 25 Cents-Puerto Rico / United States
Year: 2009P
Mintage: 53,200,000 (Estimated)
Metal: 91.67% Copper 8.33% Nickel
Value: $0.25 in F-12

I would add that the mintage is about 1/8th the normal mintage and other coins this year follow a similar low production.

Do you have a special quarter 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.

Vanishing Queen

Do you have a coin from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas 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.

Got these two at different locations but on the same day. Both were mistakenly given back as nickels. One thing the constant redesigning of our coins have done is to utterly confuse some of those behind the register. Still with no 2009 finds and a lower production means free finds don't seem to be in the future. I guess I'll stick to talking about non-U.S. coins

Usually when looking at an unfamiliar coin you can quickly gauge what is the obverse and what is the reverse. If Queen Elizabeth II is on it then that is the obverse. A coat of arms can is now seen more on the obverse but I tend to think of as a reverse feature since the U.S. is not big on coat-of-arms. Animals, plants, and nationally symbols are almost always reverse features.

The first pictures shows the obverse of a Canadian nickel and the reverse of a Bahamian nickel and the second photo is vice-versa. I admit even I get confused when trying to figure out which is the front or back of any coin.

Until 1974 The Bahamas had the Queen on every coin and note. Then out of nowhere they switched to the Bahamian Coat of Arms. They are still a part of the Commonwealth of Nations with Queen Elizabeth as head of state but I guess they choose to show their independence with something of their own. On the currency side they have gone back and forth depicting different important figure including the Queen.

This is trend on many of the 53 commonwealth headed by the Queen. Many countries either by official law or just artistic reason have temporarily, permanently in some cases, removed the Queen on coins. Granted it is easier to identify coins of 40 years ago but the explosion of designs makes up for the confusion.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Cents / Canada
Year: 2008 Maple Leaf Logo
Mintage: Not Yet Known
Metal: 94.5% Steel, 3.5% Copper, and 2% Nickel
Value: $0.05 in F

Type/Country: 5 Cents / Bahamas
Year: 1998
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.05 in VF

While I will get the Canadian mintage, eventually, the Bahamian one may never be known. Many times the coins of the Bahamas were made in several different countries plus there was a six year gap between the last five cent coin issued in the Bahamas. These 1998 coins may have been made for years or a short run it is not fully known.

Do you have a coin from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas 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.

France 5 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.

After a month of no post I come back with a Euro. Shame on me. Still it is the first thing I found since my Where's George dollar. I found some interesting things I'll post in next few days but for now let's get through this mundane coin.

As you can tell the 5 Euro Cent is fully detailed but is dirty. The fingerprints are permanent since the the mixture of water and chloride ions, which are inorganic salt from sweat, etch the surface of the coin leaving a gap or ridge that fills with dirt. Watching Law & Order: SVU a few months ago I also learned that vegans leave less fingerprints since they have lower salt in their body. A more carnivorous person leaves a greater mark on metals because of higher salt content.

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

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.

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.