1943-S Steel Cent

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This is not the $1 million dollar copper 1943 cent. Instead this is the normal zinc-coated steel cent issued because there was a copper shortage during World War II. Copper and silver version were made accidentally and sell for hundreds of thousands to $1.7 million for a unique 1943-D copper cent.

 I have been hearing about the rare and valuable 1943 penny since I was a kid. They used to advertise in the TV Guide that only four copper war cent have been found and you may rich if you find the fifth. Of course I searched for years and finally at my first job I found one in the register and kept it. I was young and not an expert collector so as soon as I found it I tried cashing it in. Hoping to get at at least $100,000 you can imagine my disappointment when he said $0.10.

Now I am older and understand that the error version is very rare. Most have been found and rarely go to auction. Many fakes exist and while weight is a good way to show fraud most are so expertly made that only a professional grading service can tell.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent  / United States
Year: 1943-S
Mintage: 191,550,000
Metal: 100% Steel and plated with Zinc
Value: $0.40 in F-12

If you notice on certain spots on this coin the zinc is wearing off and the steel is getting exposed and rusting.

Do you have a 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.

1989 South Africa 2 Rand

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I would prefer a Krugerrand but this worn 2 rand is the highest face value South African coin I own. Although this little coin seems a bit suspicious. It is a bit warped and some design elements are missing. Could it be a fake?
 

It weighs 5.45 grams which is 0.05 grams lighter than normal. Still this is within normal range especially if worn. Would it even be worth faking? It is equivalent to a U.S. quarter even back in 1989 I doubt it had a stronger purchasing power.

The front says SUID-AFRIKA 1989 SOUTH AFRICA and the banner in the arms should read EX UNITATE VIRES. The ALS initials are there.

The back has an impala and 2 RAND but the ALS initials are not there. The bulging back has made the details less than sharp. Poor impala has no eye, it is kind of creepy.

The edge seems like a normal alternating segmented 2 Rand even has a coppery hue to it when angled right. So I am leaning towards real because there is nothing conclusive that it is a fake.

Here's the stats for this coin...
Type/Country: 2 Rand / South Africa
Year: 1989
Mintage: 65,233,000
Metal: Nickel Plated Copper
Value: $0.24 in AG (almost-good) same as currency exchange

Do you have a South African 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.

2003-P Canada Quarter, New Effigy

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When you have a living person on a coin that seemingly will never die you have to upgrade every few years. 2003 was one of those upgrade years when they changed the mature Queen to the new older Queen. Not exactly elderly but more grandma-like. They did away with the crown and dropped in a wrinkle or two.

 The reverse stayed the same with that iconic caribou.

2003 saw two caribou Canadian quarters. The first had the older design which was the younger queen, the second had the newer design which has the older queen. To make it easier they are referred to the old effigy and new effigy. I have yet to find the 2003 old effigy because it was made in a lower quantity about a 1:4 ratio in favor of the new effigy. Below is the old and new side by side, a 2001-P and 2003-P.

Here are the official names of all the portraits of the queen on the Canadian quarter:

• Laureated Portrait (1953-1964)
• Tiara Portrait (1965-1989)
• Royal Diademed Portrait (1990-2003) 
• Uncrowned Portrait (2003- ) 

Here are the stats...
Type/Country: 25 Cents-New Effigy /Canada
Year: 2003-P
Mintage: 66,861,633
Metal: 94% Steel, 3.8% Copper, 2.2% Nickel
Value: $0.25 in EF-40

Do you have a Canadian 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.

1976 Somalia 5 Senti, Crowned Arms

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There are two versions of this coin. One is very rare and the other is extremely common. Guess which one I got? That is right the common version. Not surprising I got it back in 2005 from a $3.00 eBay lot. Those thing are almost always cherry-picked.

The rare one has a five within a circle but the common type has a crowned arms with lion supports.

JAMHURIYADDA DIMOQRAADIGA SOOMAALIYA
جمهورية الصومال الديمقراطية

senti 5 سنت
1976 ١٩٧٦

This like most of the Somalian coins are Food and Agriculture Organization (F.A.O.)  issues and promote good food and agricultural practices. Somalia has a long history starting at least as far back as 9000 B.C. They were mostly fine until Europeans came in and since they left Somalia has been struggling with power hungry rulers and religious fundamentalists. 

Most of there coins are just worth metal value but in 1976 a 5 senti was issued in small amounts that did not contain the crowned arms. In uncirculated it is over $200.00 compared to $0.35 for the one with the crowned arms. It is not known how mant were made but since they do not come up much in auction I think less than a few hundreds.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Senti / Somalia
Year: 1976
Mintage: 18,500,000
Metal: Aluminum
Value: $0.10 in Very-Fine

Also found a 1970 Canada cent in my change but again that has been .

Do you have coin from Slovakia 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.

2004 $20 Bill, EB-L

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Low serial numbers are very collectable but there is a limit. The high serial number notes I mentioned recently have no extra value for a simple reason, they are not collected. All serial numbers are equally unique but people do like that whole 1, 2, 3, etc. so they tend to be the most wanted and thus it increases value.

Is this note low enough?

00003138 is not considered low by most unless crisp-uncirculated it really has no extra value. About a ten percent premium is placed on bills with preceding zeroes that fall between 1001-9998. This bill does fall into the "Fancy Note" category. Extra value is given if they also are either sequential, repeating, or many other cool looking number combinations.

First! Now that is a phrase every internet fan knows well. Well having the first note is ideal for collectors also. Trading for a lower serial is often done because the lower the number also means the bill is older. A 2004 $20 bill with 0000001 as the serial number could bring about $2,000.00 or more depending on grade and auction. With the regular 2004 series you have 66 chances of finding that rare note.

Here's the stats for this bill...
Type/Federal Bank: $20 Note- D.C. / New York
Year: 2004
Printings: 1,081,600,000
Printed: May 2005
Run: 1st of 4 from EB00000001L - EB06400000L
Value:  $21.00 in VF 

Do you have currency 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.

Coined For Money: Round-Up Sept. 17-23, 2012

The theme of this week's news round up seems to be the value of things. Or maybe it could be called the greatest finds but either way the stories this week are worth millions. So what is the lesson to learn from these stories is appreciate what you have now and stop trying to predict the future.

A Russian field of diamonds found in the 1970s could be worth trillions of carats. Although they are mostly industrial diamonds it is still enough to lower the value of diamonds by half but it won't be exploited.

Baseball guy buys a 1943 copper cent for $1 million and still as enough to buy more.

A 69 year old hoarder who was dead in his home for at least 3 months left behind $200 in the bank, $12,000 in cash, $165,000 in stocks, and $7,000,000 in metal value of gold and coins. Probably $14 million in collectors value and it will be left to the county to give it to a cousin that did not care to check in every few months.

Finally found a 1947-D nickel which is neither rare or valuable but still elusive, well not anymore.