Coin Collector Guide

We have all heard, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” but did you know that it has never held more truth than it does today? Right now there is a real opportunity to invest in your future just by keeping an eye on your pocket change for copper pennies. While these coins are getting less common in pocket change every day they are still common enough to be found by anyone who keeps an eye out. If you see a US cent with a date earlier than 1982 you are looking at a coin that is worth more than double the face value in copper alone! 1981 Cent 2.95g Copper At the time of this writing copper is around $4.00 to $4.25 per pound. It takes around 155 pennies (depending upon the level of wear) to equal 1 pound of copper. This means that at $4.00 per pound 1 penny holds 2.5 cents of copper. I...

2009 Two commemorative coins were issued for 2009, honoring two very important men; Abraham Lincoln and Louis Braille. Lincoln, as our sixteenth President, led the country during one of its darkest periods, the War Between the States. Louis Braille, a man from France who developed the Braille method of reading and writing for the visually impaired. Abraham Lincoln is honored with a commemorative silver dollar coin. The coin is made up of 90% silver, balanced by copper. The obverse has an engraving of President Lincoln, rendering him as if he were deep in thought. The reverse has an excerpt from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. (500,000 minted) Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar The 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille is marked by a silver dollar coin that has readable...

1907 – 1933 The St. Gaudens Double Eagle was minted from 1907 to 1933 (During the years 1917 through 1919 no Double Eagles were minted). These massive $20 face value gold coins contain slightly more than 30 grams of gold. But its more than the gold content in these beauties that determine their value. Each one is a peice of history with some dates being more hard to find than others. Augustus St. Gaudens came up with a classic design when he was given the task of designing the Gold Double Eagle. Even today the St. Gaudens design is widely recognized and is in fact being used on the American Gold and Silver Eagles. Sadly this designer died shortly after he completed the Double Eagle and the Indian Eagle. St. Gaudens Double Eagle Some 1907 and 1908 dated Double Eagles were produced without...

1909 – 1958 The Lincoln Wheat Cent was designed by Victor David Brenner, and is well known by several different names, but is probably most often referred to as the  Wheat Penny. In average circulated grades most Wheat Cents are valued at around $0.10 or less, but some high grade specimens can fetch in tens of thousands of dollars. For example, in 1914 less than 1.2 million cents were struck at the Denver Mint. As a result a 1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent can sale for more than $25,000.00. Another “key” wheat penny to look for is the 1909-S which even in poor grades is worth hundreds of dollars. This is the one which has the initials of the designer, “V.D.B.”, on the lower right side of the reverse. Less than half a million of these were struck before the initials...

1793 – 1857 From 1793 through 1857 the US cent was much larger than what we are accustomed to today. These cents ranged from 27 mm to 29 mm in diameter, quite large when compared to the modern Lincoln Cent which is only 19 mm in diameter. Different designs were used for US Large Cents: 1793 Flowing Hair Large Cent ~ (chain reverse) This was actually the first time that the Federal Government minted a coin using its own equipment and facilities. Only 36,103 Flowing Hair Large Cents were struck with the chain reverse. The fact that these coins were minted in such low numbers along with it being struck for only 1 year make this one of the rarest US coins for collectors. Depending upon the condition an example of this large cent can be worth anywhere from several thousand dollars to half...

1964 – Current Three months after the assasination of President Kennedy the US Mint changed the design of the silver half dollar to honor JFK. In 1964, when the Kennedy Half Dollar was first minted, it contained the usual 90% silver content (11.25 g) that Americans were familiar with. A year later the silver content was reduced and the coin was lightened. From 1965 up through 1970 Kennedy Half Dollars contain only 40% silver, which comes out to 4.60 g per coin. When 1971 rolled around Americans were presented with half dollars which contained nothing more than copper and nickel. Kennedy Half Dollar In 1965 the composition of US dimes and quarters were also changed to remove the silver. And finally in 1970, with the removal of silver from the half dollar, the days of silver coinage being...

Since the release of the individual state quarters, coin collecting has become a more popular hobby. The U.S. State Quarter program began in 1999 and each state was released in the order in which it joined the union. The U.S. Mint estimates that around 147 million people have been collecting the state quarters since their release. The program is also credited for drawing in new collectors and increasing the general public’s interest in coin collecting overall. Due to its popularity, more coin programs are currently in the works for the next several years. The process in which each design was selected took cooperation from congress, the U.S. Mint, and each individual state. Once the governor is contacted, the state provided three to five narrative descriptions of possible design ideas. This...

2007 The Virginia Company of London, England landed on the shores of what would be the United States of America in 1607.  These would be the first English settlers in the New World. The 400th anniversary of their settlement, Jamestown (named for King James of England) was honored with two commemorative coins. The silver dollar coin has on its obverse an engraving of three faces representing diversity of the different cultures brought together in the New World. On its reverse there is the image of the three ships that brought the English Virginia Company to North America; The Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery. (500,000 minted) It is 90% silver and 10% copper. Jamestown Commemorative Silver Dollar The five dollar gold coin has on its obverse the legendary Captain John Smith meeting...