Friday, September 30, 2011

1941 Wheat Penny

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

Penny! Penny! Penny! That is right I used the slang term for cent. I am a rebel like that.

Seriously it is officially a cent but it is okay to say penny the term is interchangeable I will not deny common language. Even the U.S. mint uses the term on their official site.

Here is one wheat penny I recently found.


I must say it is nice to find an American coin in my change. I mean an older coin.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / United States
Year: 1941
Mintage: 887,018,000
Metal: 95% Copper, 5% Tin and Zinc
Value: $0.15 in G-4

Do you have a wheat 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.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

2007 South Africa Rand

Do you have a South Africa coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment

The last of the trio of coins given to me by the nice African tourist, it is a shame I never found out which country she was from. This is a South African rand not to be confused with the famed gold Krugerrand, now that would be a great change find. Each rand is about $0.12 in currency exchange value. Compare that to Krugerrands that always have bullion value plus five percent.

1 RAND over sprinbok over SOLI DEO GLORIA(only God gets the glory) over grass
2007 over new national arms flanked by iNingizimu Afrika Afurika Tshipembe which is Zulu/Swati and Venda for South Africa with designers initial ALS(A. L. Sutherland)

African and Middle Eastern coins are among the most difficult to come by casually for me. They are often worth little and they are minted on odd, sometimes unknown, schedules. Still they are very cool to see since they travel so far when they reach these shores.

Here's the stats for this coin...
Type/Country: 1 Rand / South Africa
Year: 2007
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Nickel Plated Copper
Value: $0.30 in VF (very-fine)

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.

Monday, September 26, 2011

2005 United Arab Emirates Dirham

Do you have a U.A.E. coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment

One of two United Arab Emirates (UAE) coins I own. Coins from Arabic countries often are more difficult to classify since they often do not have English writing or symbols and images that would instantly remind you of that country. Luckily the UAE coins have the country of origin written in English.

الامارات العربية المتحدة
 means UNITED ARAB EMIRATES encircling ١ درهم
(1 Dirham)

Jug over ١٠‎٠‎٥‎ - ١‎٣‎٢٥ (2005-1425)
There were two types of Dirhams issued for 2005. This regular issue and honoring the mother of the nation that has different symbols on the back. This one I found, I assume, is more common since it is worth less than the other.

Here's the stats for this coin...
Type/Country: 1 Dirham / United Arab Emirates
Year: 2005
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.35 in VF (very-fine)

This end of summer has been great for unusual change finds lets hope it extends deep into the fall season.

Do you have an United Arab Emirates 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.

Friday, September 23, 2011

2006 Mozambique 10 Meticais

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

Only the second Mozambique coin I own. The better part is that this one was free, from a nice African tourist. Also it is fairly modern, bimetallic, and cool looking.

After a huge inflation problems their old currency  was demonetized and Mozambique made new coins and currency for 2006. After that I think they have not made any more. They must have new coins but I have not seen them.

· DEZ METICAIS · around modern bank building with 10 crossing the ring and center.
·BANCO·DE·MOÇAMBIQUE·2006 around bank logo
The bank is a central theme in these coins because of what happened. At one point the old money was the lowest valued currency in the world until the Zimbabwe dollar collapsed in 2005. Putting banks on the coins shifts the confidence from leaders and politics to institutions that should be maintained and supported by the average person.

Here's the stats for this coin...
Type/Country: 10 Meticais / Mozambique
Year: 2006
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Brass Ring, Nickel Clad Steel Center
Value: $0.75 in VF (very-fine)

Do you have a Mozambique 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.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

1998 Canada Cent

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

Nice streak of change finds today but I will start with the most common since it was the first one I got this morning. Oddly I have not posted this particular year. Well it is not special, although a special one does exist with a W mintmark.


Well a nice Canadian find after a long while without one. This little Canada penny has a home now until I can figure out what to do with it hundreds of siblings.
 
Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / Canada
Year: 1998
Mintage: 999,578,000
Metal: Copper Plated Zinc
Value: $0.01 in F

Do you have a cent form Canada 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.

Monday, September 19, 2011

1965 Bahrain 5 Fils

Have a Bahrain coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment

The one and only Bahrain coin I have. Bahrain is a small nation on a group of islands in the Persian Gulf. They mint coins on a sporadic basis. skipping entire decades. I am guessing since Saudi Arabia is their closest neighbor they use that standard more often.

 ٥(five) فلوس (Fils) BAHRAIN
دولة البحرين(State of Bahrain) around encircled palm tree  ١٩‎‎٦‎٥‎-١٣٨٥‎(1965-1385)
Although seldom seem most coins from Bahrain are not rare. I am not sure I translated the Arabic writings correctly. Since I am not 100% familiar with the language it gets difficult.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Fils / Bahrain
Year: 1965
Mintage: 8,000,000
Metal: Bronze
Value: $0.10 in VF (Very-Fine)

Do you have a coin from Bahrain 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.

Friday, September 16, 2011

2000 Bahamas Quarter

Have a Bahamas coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment

All out of new finds so back to the vault and we are up to B. This is a Bahamas coin that I have not showcased although there has been Bahamian coins on this blog. Unless they are the silver pre-1974 coins most Bahamas coins have no premium circulated value, varieties, or significant errors.

They are also easy to find in change. Of the 27 I own about half were change finds.

Bahamian sloop with sailors at sea.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS above Coat of Arms above 2000
Again little information is known about these modern mintage of The Bahamas. They do not seem to be scarce. 13,000 was the circulating mintage for 1974 and that does not carry a premium. If these were made in the low millions I do not expect anything over face value unless in mint state.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 25 Cents / Bahamas
Year: 2000
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.25 in VF (Very-Fine)

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.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

2011-P U.S. Nickel

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

One reason for collecting brand new coins is to get the highest grade possible without having to pay for it. For nickels the standard is Full Steps. The back building is Monticello and at the base should be 6 separate steps but this only true on exceptional coins.

Click image for large full step nickel diagram
Go ahead count the steps I'll wait.

Now full steps means that all the way across the step the lines are fully separated. So if at any point Step 4 and Step 5 blend together or the separation line disappear then it is not 6-full-steps it is at least 5-full-steps.


Ignoring the nicks and bag marks this is one great looking coin. Full steps (FS) nickels carry a premium value but they should also be at least Mint State 60 for older nickels and at least Mint State 66 for recent years.

Here's the stats... 
Type/Country: 5 Cents / United States of America
Year: 2011 P
Mintage: 326,880,000 (estimated)
Metal: 75% copper 25% nickel
Value: $0.10 in MS-60, $6.00 in MS-66 and 6 Full Steps

Oh yeah I am assuming this one is a lower grade.

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.

Monday, September 12, 2011

2008 South Korea 100 Won

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

First Korean find in about a decade. Technically a South Korean find but there is always a chance the two Koreas will reunite in the future. In anticipation of reunification the Korean coin are often listed as Korea-South and Korea-North.

Since South Korea is a free country tourism is a big business and none of their modern coins are rare. Most are simple and have little value above the exchange rate of 100 South Korean Won = 9 U.S. Cents Now if I found a North Korean coin that would be a different story.

 백(100) bust of Yi Sun-sin 원(Won)

2008 above 100 above 한 국 은 행(Bank of Korea)

There is always confusion when non-collectors try to describe this coin. the say it has the date on one side, a big hundred, and on the other Confucius.  That last part is wrong. Yi Sun-sin is on the coin and he was a late 16th century naval commander who had some incredible victories during times of war. He is often used a symbol of strength, leadership, and even reunification.

Here are the stats...
Type/Country: 100 Won / Korea-South
Year: 2008
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Value: $0.10 in Fine

Do you have a coin from Korea 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.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

A Decade of Recovery

Hope never faded so the terrorist failed miserably.

Still it is as painful to watch 10 years later. Never has a decade seem so short. Along with the tears the sense of anger is still there and one should not forget what 19 radical Muslim terrorists did for hateful reasons.


NYC will become stronger after every injury and as the towers are built I will be there working, shopping, or just remembering the beauty of this city, country. and it's people.

Friday, September 09, 2011

1982 British Penny

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

As previously hinted this is the latest coin to hop across the pond from Great Britain into American change.

The last British penny I found was the last of the older portcullis design. This one is the first of the ONE PENNY design previous pennies had NEW PENNY titled from 1971-1981.  I guess coin designs are only new for ten years.

 

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Penny / Great Britain
Year: 1982
Mintage: 100,292,000
Metal: Bronze
Value: $0.05 in VF (very-fine)

Still going through the vaults for some other coins to post but luckily I got a few change finds to keep things new.

Do you have a coin from Great Britain 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.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

2008 British Old Penny

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

More British coins keep arriving in my change. Including the next one, will be posted Friday, it will be five for the year so far which is the most ever. A year from now tourists will be coming back from the London 2012 Olympic games and I expect a second influx of British coins. The peak should be Christmas 2012 so keep an eye out as consumers pass on these imports to pay for gifts.

This one is particularly special since it is the last of the chains, crown, and portcullis pennies.



2008 saw two types of pennies from Great Britain. The old Christopher Ironside design featuring the House of Parliament emblem of a crowned portcullis or chains and a gate. The portcullis is a lattice gate that goes up down using chains. It was meant to symbolize the legislative gate keepers of the royal Britain.

The second newer design is that partial shield that can be seen on the 2009 British penny I found in June. Although some older world coin books state that only 100,000 of the older design were made in sets that is not correct. Newer books show that about one quarter of all the 2008 pennies were the old design and they freely circulated.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Penny-Crowned Portcullis / Great Britain
Year: 2008
Mintage: 180,600,000
Metal: Copper-Plated Steel
Value: $0.02 in VF (very-fine)

Do you have a coin from Great Britain 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.

Monday, September 05, 2011

Golden Dollars Edges

Do you have a dollar coin and want to know how much it's worth? Leave a comment

Officially the U.S. Mint states that the edge lettering on dollar coins is placed randomly. Meaning no special effort will be made to line up the edge lettering or to have them go in the same direction, unless they are proof.

So when you have the coin face up and you look at the edge lettering it can be right side up or upside down. The date can be centered above the portrait or to the side or anywhere. Since it is all random then there is an equal opportunity for a normal edge or upside down edge and it has no extra value.

Even with no extra value I want one of each. So for each year since edge lettering was reintroduced there are (5 dollar coins x 2 mint marks x 2 edge varieties) = 20 coins to collect every year.

Oh no check out the 2009 font one looks bold and the other looks fine. Does this mean there is another variety that I need to look out for?


The Zachary Taylor is a new one for me but I am still missing many, over 40 of them.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Dollar-Zachary Taylor / United States
Year: 2009 P (Edge normal)
Mintage: 41,580,000
Metal: 88.5% Copper, 6% Zinc, 3.5% Manganese, and 2% Nickel
Value: $1.00 in F-12 

Type/Country: 1 Dollar-Native American / United States
Year: 2009 D (Edge normal)
Mintage: 33,880,000
Metal: 88.5% Copper, 6% Zinc, 3.5% Manganese, and 2% Nickel
Value: $1.00 in F-12

Type/Country: 1 Dollar-Thomas Jefferson / United States
Year: 2007 D (Edge upside down)
Mintage: 102,810,000
Metal: 88.5% Copper, 6% Zinc, 3.5% Manganese, and 2% Nickel
Value: $1.00 in F-12

Warning for people using Metrocard machines in NYC if you want a $4.50 card and you put in a $20 bill you will get 15 dollar coins as change.

Update: Another edge variety for dollars recently made the news.These involved error coins that were supposed to be destroyed but instead were sold to private dealers. I did not mention missing edge lettering dollars because they are hard to come by and are one the most overvalued errors in the market, now I know why.

US Mint officer admits taking $2.4M worth of coins

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A former police officer for the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia has admitted to stealing $2.4 million worth of "error" coins and selling them to a coin distributor in California.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman in New Jersey said 64-year-old William Gray pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of theft of government property and tax evasion.
Gray, of North Wildwood, N.J., had worked at the U.S. Mint since 1996. In a federal court in Camden, N.J., he admitted taking $1 presidential coins that were missing edge lettering, knowing they would be considered more valuable to coin collectors because they were considered "mint errors." He mailed them from New Jersey.
He was freed on $50,000 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20.
This arrest may have an impact to all future errors.

Do you have a dollar coin and want to know how much it's worth? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Friday, September 02, 2011

1879 Austria 1 Kreuzer

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

This coin is beyond obsolete and 132 years old but even if it was not harshly cleaned it would still only be about $1.00. There is a popular myth that if something is old it is valuable. This is one of the oldest foreign coins I have and although cool it is nothing to retire on. Out of the thirty two Austiran coins I have this is the oldest.


SCHEIDEMUNZE K. K. OESTERREICHISCHE means COINAGE K.K. AUSTRIA, I think

They look and feel like U.S. coins from the same period. The wreath in the back with the little ribbon was a standard of many cents. It was a symbol of wealth and health beyond just Christmas times. 

Here are the stats...
Type/Country: 1 Kreuzer / Austria
Year: 1879
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Copper
Value: $0.25 in cleaned


I have another that also was cleaned apparently that is the only reason I got them in a cheap coin lot.

Do you have any 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.