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I've been a coin collector since I was a teenager, when I inherited a sizable collection from my grandfather. My grandfather was a banker in rural Minnesota, and over his career he accumulated hundreds of old U.S. and foreign coins - everything ranging from 19th century silver quarters to bronze two-cent coins. I've been a dedicated collector since then, and have put together a coin collection that includes classical U.S. coins, gold and silver world coins, and a number of ancient Greek and Roman coins. I began selling coins as a side business about three years ago, and last year did $140k in sales across eBay, Amazon, and a couple of other websites. My goal in creating this thread was to give people a chance to ask any questions they may have about coin collecting, or ask how much their own coins are worth. For the latter, pictures are appreciated as it can be difficult to give a proper appraisal otherwise. Here's a brief primer on what makes a coin valuable: Age How old is it? In general, old coins tend to be worth more than coins struck more recently. The older a particular coin is, the greater the collectible and historical appeal. Older coins also tend to be scarcer, as many coins are lost or destroyed over time. For example – 5% of the original mintage of an 19th century U.S. coin might have survived to the present day, with the rest getting melted down, destroyed, or simply lost over time. Go back a century further, to the 18th century, and the survival rate drops to <1%. Taking into account that most 18th century U.S. coins were already produced in tiny numbers, it makes sense that most of them now sell for over four figures. All that being said, the relationship between age and value does not always hold true. For example, you can still buy many 2000 year-old Ancient Roman coins for less than $10, due to the sheer number of them produced over the 400-year history of the Western Roman Empire (and distributed across its massive territory). But as a general rule, within any given coin series, older coins will tend to be relatively more scarce and valuable. Condition It may sound like common sense, but nicer coins bring higher prices. The greater the amount of original detail and the smaller the amount of visible wear on a coin’s surfaces, the higher the price. There are a dizzying array of words used to describe a coin’s condition, but at the most basic level, coins can be divided into two states – Uncirculated and Circulated. Uncirculated or “Mint State” coins are coins that show no visible signs of wear or use – they have not circulated in commerce, but are in roughly the same condition as when they left the mint. Circulated coins show signs of having been used – the design details will be partially worn down from contact with hands, pockets, and other coins. The level of wear can range from light rub on the highest points of the coin’s design, to complete erosion of the entire design into a featureless blank. Uncirculated coins demand higher prices than circulated coins, and circulated coins with light wear are worth more than coins with heavy wear. This picture provides a basic comparison of Circulated and Uncirculated coins. The coins on the right show full design details as well as luster, a reflective quality of the coin’s surface left over from the minting process. The coins on the left show signs of wear, as the design details are no longer fully clear and no luster remains. Type Type is the single biggest determinant of value. How much a coin is worth depends on how big the market for that particular coin is. For example, U.S. coins are much more widely collected than any other nation’s coins, just because there are far more U.S. coin collectors than there are collectors in any other nation. The market for American coins is bigger than any other market within the field of numismatics (other large markets include British coins, ancients, and bullion coins). This means that even if a Canadian coin has a mintage of only 10,000 coins, it is likely worth less than a typical U.S. coin with a mintage ten times greater. For another example - you may have a coin from the Vatican City with a mintage of 500, but it’s only worth something if somebody’s interested in collecting it. Certain series of coins are also much more widely collected than others, generally due to the popularity of their design or their historical significance. For example - Jefferson Nickels have never been very popular in the coin collecting community, as many collectors consider the design uninteresting and the coins are made of copper-nickel rather than silver, but Mercury Dimes and Morgan Dollars are heavily collected. An entire date/mintmark set of Jefferson Nickels can be had for a couple of hundred dollars, whereas an entire set of Mercury Dimes would cost four figures. Rarity Rarity is comprised of all the other factors above combined. Age, condition, and type all play a role in rarity. But the main determinant of rarity is how many coins were actually minted (produced). Coins with certain date/mintmark combinations might be much rarer than others because their mintages were so small. For example, U.S. coins with a “CC” mintmark are generally much rarer than coins from the same series with other mintmarks because the Carson City Mint produced small numbers of coins during its existence. U.S. coins without a mintmark, from the Philadelphia mint, are generally less valuable (though there are many exceptions) as the Philadelphia mint has produced more coins throughout U.S. history than all of the other mints combined. There are often one or two “keys” or “key date” coins within each series of coins, much scarcer and more valuable than the rest of the coins within the series. Some of the most well-known key dates include the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent (“S” mintmark = San Francisco mint), the 1916-D Mercury Dime (Denver mint), and the 1928 Peace Dollar (Philadelphia mint).
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Jun 24, 2017 17:05
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To kick it off, here are a few coins from my collection: 1868 U.S. 2 Cents There are a lot of obsolete denominations of U.S. coins - the half-cent, 2 cents, 3 cents (AKA "trime"), silver half-dime (replaced by the nickel), 20 cents, and $1/$2.50/$3/$5/$10/$20 gold coins. The bronze 2 cents was produced from 1864-1873, and was created to help combat the widespread hoarding of silver coins that began during the Civil War. Most of the smaller denominations are very affordable for collectors.   32 B.C. Roman Republic Silver Denarius, Mark Antony Antony produced these silver coins to pay his naval fleet and army legions in preparation for civil war with Octavian, heir of Julius Caesar and later to become Emperor Augustus. The obverse side of the coin features Roman legionary standards, borne by the troops in battle, along with the words "LEG IV" - indicating this coin was used to pay the 4th legion. The reverse side of the coin features a Roman galley with rowers, along with the visible words "ANT AVG" - translated as "Antonius (aka Antony) Augustus (a military title)". The reverse side also features a Roman banker's mark in the shape of the letter "C", used to certify the coin as genuine silver for use in commerce.   1938 U.S. Buffalo Nickel The Buffalo Nickel was one of several new coin designs introduced in the first decades of the 20th century, the ultimate result of Teddy Roosevelt's efforts to beautify the nation's coinage. This design was produced between 1913-1938, and was the immediate predecessor of our current Jefferson Nickel. The coin was designed by American sculptor James Earle Fraser, also known for his "End of the Trail" sculpture.   1834 Russian Empire Platinum 3 Roubles Along with 6 Roubles and 12 Roubles denominations, these were the only platinum coins ever produced for circulation by any nation (as opposed to modern platinum bullion coins). They were produced for a couple of decades in the mid-19th century, after Russia discovered large deposits of platinum in the Ural Mountains. Platinum is much harder than gold or silver, and proved a difficult material to work with (note the weak strike on the reverse). The coins were not popular with the Russian populace, as few trusted the value of the new metal compared to the standard silver and gold coins. As a result, most were melted down and these coins are very rare today. I only owned this coin for a few months before selling it, as it's a bit pricier ($1500) than the coins I typically collect. The 6 and 12 Roubles denominations are even rarer and more expensive, with the 6 demanding 5 figures and the 12 no less than 6 figures.   1926 U.S. Oregon Trail Commemorative Silver Half Dollar During the first half of the 20th century, the U.S. Mint churned out a huge number of commemorative half dollars to honor various events or individuals. The chief reason for this was that commemorative coins could be sold to the public for a premium over their face value, yielding the Mint (and whatever organization it was partnering with) a tidy profit. Most of these coins were devoid of artistic merit, but a few were designed by skilled sculptors. The Oregon Trail Commemorative has one of my favorite U.S. coin designs, created by James Earle Fraser (and his wife) - the same man who designed the Buffalo nickel. The Native American's gesture has been alternatively interpreted as a sign of peace or as a plaintive gesture to halt the westward flow of settlers into his people's lands.   c. 320 B.C. Greek Silver Drachm, Alexander the Great This dime-sized coin was produced shortly after the death of Alexander the Great, but bears his name. During his short lifetime, Alexander built a massive empire stretching from Greece to India. His sudden death of illness triggered the rapid collapse of the empire into several kingdoms run by his former generals and followers. Those kingdoms continued to produce coins in Alexander's name for centuries to come, at first as a way to link themselves to him and legitimize their rule, and later because Alexandrian drachms and tetradrachms had become the preferred trading currency across much of Europe and the Mediterranean. The coin's obverse features the bust of Hercules, wearing the skin of the Nemean lion - modern consensus is that some of Alexander's own facial features were melded into Hercules' portrait. The reverse side features Zeus seated on his throne on Olympus, with an eagle (his messenger bird) perched on his arm, and the Greek inscription "ALEXANDER" to the right.   1811 French Empire Gold 40 Francs, Napoleon Not much to say here - this coin is slightly smaller than a half dollar, and worth about $600. Coins of Napoleon remain popular with collectors, though those with a poor understanding of history sometimes get confused and end up buying coins of the less-renowned Napoleon III instead.   1923 U.S. Peace Silver Dollar One of my favorite designs, these silver dollars were produced between 1921-1935. The Peace Dollar was intended to commemorate the end of WWI and a return to world peace. They were hefty coins, measuring 38mm in diameter (inch and a half) and weighing an ounce. Just like modern dollar coins, old silver dollars were never popular with the public and most never circulated. The main reason the silver dollar continued to be produced despite the lack of public use was to give large silver mining companies the opportunity to sell their excess silver bullion to the government at an inflated price.   1835-1870 Japan 100 Mon Tempo The Japanese were fond of oblong coins, ranging from tiny silver Bu Gin coins to massive gold Obans (like the coin on Meowth's forehead). This bronze coin measures roughly 1"x2". I can't read Japanese, so don't have any insight to provide on the inscription.   2 B.C. Roman Empire Silver Denarius, Emperor Augustus The obverse side of the coin features the portrait of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, while the reverse features his grandsons Gaius and Lucius Caesar (sons of his friend, the general Marcus Agrippa). Augustus appointed Gaius and Lucius his heirs and intended them to jointly rule the Empire after his death. Their untimely deaths as teenagers (perhaps orchestrated by Augustus' wife Livia, so that her son would become heir), forced Augustus to appoint his step-son Tiberius as heir. The obverse inscription reads "CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE" translated roughly as Augustus Caesar, Father of the Country while the reverse reads "CL CAESARES" (initials of Gaius and Lucius).   1913 U.S. Indian Head Gold Quarter Eagle Another design resulting from Teddy Roosevelt's coin beautification efforts. Up until 1933, when FDR demonetized all gold coins, the U.S. produced gold coins in denominations ranging from $1 up to $20. Each denomination had a name, with an "eagle" representing the $10 coin, "double eagle" for the $20, and half eagle for the $5 coin. This quarter eagle coin was worth $2.50, and contains an amount of gold equivalent to roughly $2.50 at the time it was minted. With the price of gold now at over $1200 an ounce, a modern quarter eagle coin with $2.50 of gold would weigh about 8mg.   1881 U.S. Morgan Silver Dollar The Morgan Dollar (produced 1878-1921) is one of the more iconic U.S. coins, featuring in a number of Westerns. Like the Peace Dollar, it circulated little outside of the West. This particular coin features multicolored "toning" on the reverse, the natural result of chemical reactions between the silver on the surface of the coin and atmospheric sulfur (and sometimes other elements). You might find similar colors (though likely not as vibrant) on an old, unpolished silver spoon. Multicolored toning is considered attractive to many coin collectors, and toned coins often demand a premium over untoned coins. This type of toning is most common silver coins, followed by copper coins, copper-nickel coins, and (very rarely) gold coins.  
Ron Don Volante fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Jun 24, 2017 |
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Jun 24, 2017 17:06
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My great grand father owned a soda shop back in the thirties right nest to an international university, he kept any coin was different or odd and then collected on his own, I am guessing there are close to a thousand pounds of coins in the attic now, only about 10 percent sorted. Old roman coins, gold and silver, most are from before the mid 1800's. I remember a cookie tin of nothing but indian head pennies and another of nothing but the large one cent pieces.but lots more. No Idea what to do with them, it would take six months to sort through.
Applesnots fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Jun 25, 2017 |
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Jun 25, 2017 05:51
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Well if there's anything you'd like me to appraise, happy to do so if you can provide some pictures - even group photos are fine, if the individual coins are distinguishable. If you do want to do that, I would start with the gold coins and any early 19th or 18th century U.S. coins. If you're looking to sell them, taking the time to sort through them will be well worth the effort. Because if you tried to sell the entire unsorted collection online or to a dealer, you'd be leaving a lot of money on the table.
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Jun 25, 2017 16:57
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Weren't you also reviewing paper money on the other thread? If so, can you take a look at these: My mother has this $10 bill and she said someone told her there was something unusual about it, but can't remember what it was:  Also, these silver certificates (I'm guessing a buck each due to their condition):  
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Jun 26, 2017 01:19
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my dad had a coin that had a naked lady's breasts on the heads side and a naked lady's butt on the tails side is that worth a lot of money
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Jun 26, 2017 03:51
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What good timing! We're going through my grandma's house and found this just now. Well, my family did, I'm not there at the moment, so I can't get a better picture:   From a bit of research it looks like a 1772 Carolus III 1/2 reale piece (the R) I'm confused at what I'm thinking is the mint mark, though, G P, since this site http://coinquest.com/cgi-bin/cq/coins?main_coin=2334 says that G is Guatemala and P is Colombia Any comments or evaluation welcome, looks like it's maybe $30-50 on ebay. Very cool!
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Jun 26, 2017 23:19
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Mister Kingdom posted:Weren't you also reviewing paper money on the other thread? My paper money knowledge is pretty limited as I don't collect it, but you're right in that the silver certs are worth a buck or two each in that condition. I'm not seeing anything special about that $10 bill, looks like a normal Federal Reserve note to me. I don't see any obvious errors or misprints. Ein cooler Typ posted:my dad had a coin that had a naked lady's breasts on the heads side and a naked lady's butt on the tails side That sounds like one of the early U.S. silver dollar concept coins designed by George Washington (very rare). I've got a contact at Sotheby's if you're interested in consigning. Nosre posted:What good timing! You are correct (assuming it's 18mm and not 20mm) - here's a link to the exact coin: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces59951.html "G P" is the full mintmark for Guatemala, though I'm not sure what the "P" stands for. 18th century Spanish Guatemala reales in general are pretty rare compared to the MO (Mexico City) issues, so I think $50-60 is reasonable for your coin. Even though the photos aren't great, I can tell the coin still has a lot of detail and doesn't look bent (like many of these tiny half reales are). Ron Don Volante fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Jun 26, 2017 |
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Jun 26, 2017 23:21
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Thanks for that! This is an album of the coin collection we found, mostly belonging to my great-great grandfather. No need to ID everything, I can look up stuff on ebay fine myself  Just posting for interest and if there's anything in particular that jumps out:http://imgur.com/a/ZZeWS the 'crown jewel'  very pretty Morgan (pics don't do it justice)  These I could use some help with, if anyone can ID:  
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Jun 27, 2017 21:31
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These I could use some help with, if anyone can ID: [/quote] They're Chinese coins from the Qianlong era (1700s). The writing on the front is Manchu, the Chinese characters are on the back. These coins are WIDELY reproduced as tourist souvenirs and whatnot. The easiest way is to check if the coins are magnetic. The second easiest is to weigh a coin and compare it to listed weight for the coin in a reference guide. Honestly, I'd be surprised if they're legit, just because there are soooooooooo many fakes.
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Jun 29, 2017 03:49
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Huh, cool. They're some neat family history even if they're not real, and I wasn't expecting big ticket going by the rest of the collection (the gold piece excepted) Thanks
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Jun 29, 2017 23:19
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I don't have any coins to appraise, but I'm a total Byzantophile and would be really interested in putting together a small collection of coins around a theme - like one coin minted during the reign of every emperor during the Macedonian dynasty (867 - 1056). The idea honestly isn't very fleshed out, but I figured I might as well ask if there are enough Byzantine coins on the market to make this a viable project for someone not looking to take out a second mortgage. And if it is, where do you recommend an amateur start looking for coins?
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Jul 1, 2017 07:59
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Pig in the Sky posted:I don't have any coins to appraise, but I'm a total Byzantophile and would be really interested in putting together a small collection of coins around a theme - like one coin minted during the reign of every emperor during the Macedonian dynasty (867 - 1056). The idea honestly isn't very fleshed out, but I figured I might as well ask if there are enough Byzantine coins on the market to make this a viable project for someone not looking to take out a second mortgage. And if it is, where do you recommend an amateur start looking for coins? You can definitely put together an affordable collection of Byzantine coins - while they weren't produced in the numbers of the Western Roman Empire, there are fewer collectors out there so the prices are reasonable. I would recommend first checking out VCoins, which is an online marketplace for lower-end ancient coins. You could probably put together a pretty solid collection of follis (the standard bronze coin) for around $20/coin. There were few silver coins produced under the Byzantine Empire, and gold coins start at around $300. If you're looking for more primo material, I can recommend a few more options, but VCoins would be the best place to start for a new collector. It may also be worth your while to browse eBay, as you can often find cheaper material there. eBay has a deserved reputation as a market filled with counterfeits, but for niche material like this (assuming you stick with cheaper coins) there's little risk of getting burned. If you were looking for something in higher demand, like coins of Justinian, I would encourage greater caution. Just be careful with dealers out of Eastern Europe, and don't buy anything from dealers based in China.
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Jul 1, 2017 17:35
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What is the market for ISIS coins like? Is it even legal?
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Jul 3, 2017 09:42
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No, those wouldn't be legal. I got reported by Paypal to the Office of Foreign Assets Control for selling a Cuban coin once, so they definitely wouldn't tolerate ISIS coins. Their plan of trying to create a circulating gold coin is a pretty ludicrous proposition for the 21st century (don't tell that to the gold standard nuts), so I'm sure whatever small number of coins were produced were immediately hoarded and likely melted down. If some escaped the ISIS domain I'm sure they'd be pretty valuable, though they're not going to trade anywhere except the black market any time soon.
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Jul 3, 2017 17:04
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Finishing up the small pile we found in my grandma's attic, and these two came up with a question. They're both in very nice shape (check out that copper color!)(click for huge):  The date fonts being different struck me immediately, though. There's also small differences in the front image, and the curve of the text on the reverse - particularly around the 'OF', or the last 'A' in America. 'Half Cent' is not quite aligned flat, but that's consistent on both of them. Is one a potential counterfeit, or just 1830s printing irregularities? This is also pretty neat:   That's an 1856 Campaign token from the first ever Republican presidential candidate, who lost to Buchanan. Was a popular western explorer. Jessie was his wife, who was very well known herself apparently. I can't find this exact picture on ebay--might be worth a few hundred? A decent amount of these tokens from the 1800s are.
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Jul 6, 2017 04:46
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Do you have any general tips to avoid fakes? Also what are some of the weirdest coins to have been produced?
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Jul 15, 2017 12:04
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 12:31 |
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Caption Yaypants posted:Do you have any general tips to avoid fakes? Also what are some of the weirdest coins to have been produced? Don't buy anything off eBay. Buy from sites like vcoins which are reputable. Short of a shitload of experience you're not going to learn to detect fake coins on your own.
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Jul 16, 2017 22:13
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