This is important to know, because even many collectors confuse them, calling them all coins. A coin is a piece of (usually) metal with an assigned value, issued by a governing body. If it’s not issued by some form of government, it’s not a coin. A token is a piece that is privately issued, with or without a specified value, but often used in lieu of coins. A medal is a piece issued to commemorate, honor or recognize an event, place, person or group, with no stated value and not intended to circulate as money. A medal may be a private, or a government issue, but its sole purpose is to commemorate something.
The JFK bust was added to the coin after it left the mint, just like the Liberty Bell, US map, state maps, Lincoln smoking a pipe or cigar, Masonic emblems, etc. These are classed as ‘novelty’ coins with little or no collector value, since they are altered coins.
There are numerous minting varieties, but not all are errors. Some can be chalked up to wear and tear on the minting equipment. Collectors are examining the State quarters much more closely, not realizing that the Washington quarters have always had a lot of minor minting varieties. For instance, die cracks are so common on the quarters that they have no collector value. Die breaks, however do have some value.
The most significant find so far are the 180 degree rotated reverses on some of the Pennsylvania quarters; which have been valued at more than $500 each. To tell whether your coin has a rotated reverse, hold it by the sides and turn the coin top to bottom toward you. If the reverse comes up right side up, it’s a normal coin. If it’s upside down, you’ve got one of the rare ones.
This is one question that nobody can fully answer. It is impossible to evaluate a note or coin without seeing it as the exact amount of wear - called the grade - determines the value. Numismatists use a 70-point scale for grading coins, and a single point’s difference can mean a difference of hundreds or even thousands of dollars, so you can readily see why we can’t put a value on a description. In most cases even a photo or scan won’t help. Besides grading the coin, it’s necessary to determine if the coin is genuine or not, again something that can’t be done from a description or a photo. The ANA Library can give you a retail value range from an annually-published price guide, but this is nothing more than a general guideline.
The furor over the “copper” cent resulted from a story carried by Associated Press, hyping a local story of a “lost” coin claimed (without any substantiation) to be worth $40,000 to $50,000. The AP writer added another zero to make his headline sound better and the “lost” coin suddenly was the talk of the country.
The facts are that in 1943 the government began striking cents from zinc-coated steel because copper was needed for the war effort. However, something less than two dozen 1943 copper cents were struck on planchets left over from 1942 productions. This is a total for the three mints. Of that number, only one is known from the Denver Mint - showing a small D under the date. This coin sold for $82,500 at auction in 1996, the highest known price for a 1943 copper cent.
Unfortunately many thousands of the normal zinc-plated steel 1943 cents were copper plated, some as a prank, but most as a commercial venture. These, and the normal steel cents can readily be detected with a magnet, such as the one on your can opener. Harder to detect are the additional thousands of counterfeit and altered date coins. Many of the 1948 cents have the 8 changed into a 3, but most of these can be spotted by the stub tail on the lower loop of the 3.
If you do have a 1943 cent which passes these initial tests, then it’s time to visit your local coin dealer for some professional advice. The next step will be to send it in to the American Numismatic Association Authentication Bureau for expert authentication. Write first before sending the coin as there are very specific instructions you need to follow.
The Fugio cents were the first authorized coin. Unfortunately the contract to make them fell into the hands of James Jarvis, thanks to a $10,000 bribe paid to the head of the Board of Treasury. The issue was further complicated by a Jarvis employee who embezzled government copper to strike coins for Connecticut. The contract was voided, with a serious loss to the government, which received only 398,577 of the coins. There are - as is the case of most early coins - numerous copies of this coin, many of them dating to the 1960s.
There seems to be a lot of this going around lately. No, it’s not rare and it isn’t valuable. The two-headed or two-tailed coins are commercially manufactured by hollowing out one coin and cutting down a second to fit inside it. This means that the seam or joint is on the rim on one side, or along the inside edge of the rim. Most people will tell you to look at the edge for the seam, but that’s incorrect, as it’s extremely difficult to make one that way. We know it’s an altered coin because the U.S. Mint has never intentionally or accidentally issued a two-headed coin, as the coin presses are made so that it’s virtually impossible to get two obverse or two reverse dies in the die holders.
Answer: Many factors go into the valuation of a coin. Ultimately, the answer to what it’s worth is really just what someone will pay for it. This is rarely a cut-and-dried process as any product being sold. Each and every coin has it’s own merits and/or problems. NO TWO COINS ARE EXACTLY ALIKE! Once a coin is determined to be authentic, an accurate “grade” must be arrived at, in order to value the piece properly. Many messages are still sent to us regarding this one specific topic, i.e. “How much is it worth?” Quick question. No quick answer. No definite answer at all without an expert examination or certification.
A: Obviously, you want to get the most money you can for the coins. For this reason, we recommend that you follow the guidelines as described below to get a basic idea of your coin or collection’s worth. Depending on the total value and the speed with which you need to get paid for the collection, you should decide between one of two basic avenues to follow. Sell wholesale to a coin dealer like Joel D Rettew or consign to an auction. Generally speaking, the longer you can hold on to your coins, the more you will be able to get for the collection.