Generic Lad

There are 4 major types of dollar coins "circulating" in the US (over here we hate them all so we don't ever use them ) The oldest is the Eisenhower dollar and it rarely circulates because people think that it is rare, but occasionally you can find them in banks. It is the large "silver dollar" sized dollar coin but circulation issues contain no silver (however, special proof and uncirculated coins were struck in 40% silver). The next oldest is the Susan B. Anthony (or agony dollar as I often call it) it is a small sized coin with a reeded edge in copper-nickel clad showing a really ugly woman on the front. The second most recent one is the Sacajawea dollar which features an American Indian woman on the front and an eagle in flight on the reverse. Recently, this was changed to be a different design from American Indian culture and the date and mintmark were moved to the reverse of the coin. And the most recent is the presidential dollars which feature various presidents on the obverse and the statue of liberty on the reverse. The year and mintmark is found on the edge of the coin, if it hasn't already worn off from circulation. If you want uncirculated examples of presidential dollars, just go into any bank, most are more than happy to get rid of the abominations!

Since it was dug it is possible it is just a lot of silver pitting. Weight would tell for sure but I'm not sure what William III sixpences are supposed to weigh.

I've been here... Lurking. Really haven't had the time/cash to get anything exciting coin wise, just finishing up midterms this week, then spring break! I bought a detector (Ace 250) and it came in the mail the other day, but haven't really had much time to even take it out of the box! Hopefully I'll find lots of gold coins! (Unlikely... but I can dream at least!) So should be able to take it out and see what all I can dig up, hopefully something a bit older than modern clad junk. Either way, should keep me busy for a while.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970-GREAT-BRITAIN-PROOF-SET-HALF-CROWN-ORIGINAL-PACKAGING-/120860034413?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c23d1c56d How not to take photos and price your common proof sets... It looks like a 2 coin proof set in the main listings! All the silver colored coins look like they aren't even there! Bad photography and bad pricing combine to make an anti-listing.

The past 2-3 weeks I've noticed an abnormally large amount of wreath crowns on eBay, the bad part about eBay is a creative enough seller can post pics of a genuine coin... then ship off a fake... While eBay does nearly always side with the buyer on disputes such as that... If someone doesn't realize its a fake, it can get into offline circulation fairly quickly.

On larger coins it does seem like there's lots of spare space. It seems unusual that Edward VIII went for such a traditional design on his gold coins, considering he wanted a (radical) re-design of all the others with the exception of the penny. Personally, I think a shield design or even a radically different design (such as Victoria's Una and the Lion) looks better on larger coins like Crowns and 5 pound gold than St. George slaying the dragon.

Yes, I think the Brass 3d was released in many different forms/designs and given out to people who run vending machines. The idea was to come up with a thickness and size that was easy enough to use in coin operated machines but distinct enough that it wouldn't be confused with a coin either higher or lower in value. http://www.mcsearch.info/search.html?search=&view_mode=0&c=7&a=232&l=&page=14 Shows one of the early design Edward VIII threepenny bits for sale (about the 6th one down) and it still realized $24,000 despite it being quite ugly. I think the use of St. Edward's rings on the silver 3d and 6d were made to show that Edward VIII was a sort of spiritual successor to Edward the Confessor, despite the huge differences between them! I've always found the story of Edward VIII's sets to be a sad one, once he abdicated he tried to get one from the Royal Mint but his brother denied his application and so he never owned the only British coins to bear his image.

I wouldn't sell unless you really, really needed the cash. You can assemble a quick (non-gold) type set for US coins quite easily and for very little money as long as you aren't too picky about what you consider to be a "type" because some of the early large cent varieties can sell for quite a bit, and quality because with US numismatics worn specimens are quite common of some years but high grade pieces are nearly unheard of. This is especially true of the entire "Barber" set, worn examples sell for bullion, but AU or better coins sell for quite a bit more, even in common years. But a quick type set (half cent, large cent, Flying eagle cent, Indian Head Cent, Wheat cent, Lincoln Cent, Lincoln bicentennial cent, Lincoln Shield set, Two cent piece, three cent nickel, three cent silver, Bust half dime, seated half dime, shield nickel, V nickel, buffalo nickel, Jefferson nickel, westward journey nickel, newer Jefferson nickel, bust dime, seated dime, barber dime, mercury dime, Roosevelt dime, twenty cent piece, bust quarter, seated quarter, barber quarter, Standing Liberty quarter, washington quarter, various state/national park quarters, bust half, seated half, barber half, walking liberty half, Franklin half, Kennedy half, Morgan dollar, Peace dollar, Ike Dollar, Susan B. Anthony Dollar, Sacajawea/Presidential dollars) is going to be cheap relatively speaking. Your biggest expense is going to be Bust coinage in a reasonable grade, the twenty cent piece, and the half cent, the rest sells for bullion/face value with the exception of some of the earlier nickels which sell for a modest sum in mid grades. The Red Book is essential (~$15), the "Cherry Picker's guide" is useful if you want to collect die varieties (~$40). The Red Book's prices though often don't match dealer's prices, especially with lower-end coins or unpopular coins (Susan B. Anthony Dollars). eBay might be a good bet if you don't have any local dealers, but look for dealers first, I usually can find cheaper US coins at my local dealers than eBay. Keep an eye out for fakes, don't buy any Seated Liberty Dollars or Trade Dollars off of eBay (or at flea markets) unless they have been slabbed and you have looked up the certification number. Fakes are /everywhere/ for those 2 things. Morgan dollars have been faked too, but since it is such a common coin it is unlikely you will run into one of those, Trade Dollars and Seated Liberty dollars are much rarer.

I don't know that much about sovereigns (yet) but I'd say to test that brooch, its possible it might be gold even if it isn't marked. Even 9ct gold still has good value in this market as scrap.

Yes, I too struggle to get excited about debased coinage, most of my post-1920 coins are American for that reason (and the fact that they had great designs up to about 1947...) The modern Gold and SIlver Britannia bullion cons are quite nice, mind... See, the thing I don't like about the Britannias is that they have such an absurd premium. Amazing design and I picked them up every chance I could back when my coin shop treated them like generic bullion... Since then they've matched prices to what they sell for online... But really, the high premium makes them too annoying to use as an investment. An Eagle I can buy for ~$35 with silver at $34 an ounce, some more exotic bullion I can buy for ~$36-37, interesting mid-grade "junk silver" like standing liberty quarters, mercury dimes, walking liberty halves, Morgans, etc. for ~$36 an ounce if I shop around. But a Britannia, even a common date sells for $46+ when silver is $34 an ounce. Depends where you buy them from I guess! BTW would love to be able to get Silver Eagles for only $35, they're much more than that in the UK, but then silver coins and bullion incurs 20% Value Added Tax here (unlike gold). On Coinvestdirect (who I have used in the past for bullion coins purchases) these are the current prices (including UK VAT at 20%) per coin: Silver Britannia 2012: £30.74 ($48.17) NB: the Royal Mint shop charges an outrageous £58.50 plus p&p! Silver Eagle 2012: £28.64 ($44.88) Silver Philharmonic £28.02 ($43.91) There's not a huge difference, though I still I wouldn't buy Britannias in bulk as investment bullion though, in the past I tended to go for Austrian Silver Philharmonicas for that purpose (when they were £16.50 each, not now) or Silver Eagles (nicer coin, but a little more expensive and arguably bullion is bullion...). I did buy a single nice 1998 Britannia (which has the classic design) at the London Coin Fair recently for £30, which is more or less what you would pay for single Silver Eagles on eBay in the UK, so I thought was a decent enough buy. Hm, interesting, over here (at least in my state) coins are generally tax exempt, no matter if they are gold or silver, and even at the places that don't recognize that rule (flea markets, some antique stores, etc.) sales tax is rarely more than 7% and 9% if you are in a larger city. And of course generally buying things online make things sales tax exempt, unless you are in the state where the store was located. Some places online sell Eagles for absurd premiums, but I've got 2 local coin dealers (one specializes in coins the other specializes in jewellery) that sells Eagles for about $1-2 over spot. Of course proof Eagles are quite pricey (but nice!) and run anywhere from $50-80 depending on the year and quality. I haven't really been able to find many "exotic" pieces in stock in stores, Eagles are everywhere, Maple Leafs are fairly common, you see a Britannia once in a blue moon, you can find a lot of Australian coins but they have absurd premiums (higher than Britannias in some cases!) and, in my opinion, worse designs. Libertads are available every now and then. Pandas are scarce, but you can find them if you are willing to pay the premiums. But Philharmonics along with St. George the Victorious (Russian Bullion coins) are nearly unheard of. I think I've found a gold Philharmonic at one of my local dealers once (but of course I didn't have the cash on me to buy an ounce of gold ). You can find most of the rest of them online, but due to shipping and handling along with online dealer's typically higher prices, I don't buy coins for investments online. Collection, yes. Investment, no.

Lovely coin, but I agree with you on the second lion, does appear worn or a bad strike. There also seems to be weird toning (or lack of toning) on the rim, particularly on the obverse. Of course it could just be how the coin was stored. Not a bad example, but honestly I'd get a piece I could look at before spending ~$500 on a coin without seeing it in person.

Yes, I too struggle to get excited about debased coinage, most of my post-1920 coins are American for that reason (and the fact that they had great designs up to about 1947...) The modern Gold and SIlver Britannia bullion cons are quite nice, mind... See, the thing I don't like about the Britannias is that they have such an absurd premium. Amazing design and I picked them up every chance I could back when my coin shop treated them like generic bullion... Since then they've matched prices to what they sell for online... But really, the high premium makes them too annoying to use as an investment. An Eagle I can buy for ~$35 with silver at $34 an ounce, some more exotic bullion I can buy for ~$36-37, interesting mid-grade "junk silver" like standing liberty quarters, mercury dimes, walking liberty halves, Morgans, etc. for ~$36 an ounce if I shop around. But a Britannia, even a common date sells for $46+ when silver is $34 an ounce.

Amazing! Wish I had the cash right now to buy it... But its just /slightly/ out of my price range

While not a portrait, how did this end up being an official Royal Mint product? Really? Rules of soccer on a coin? Not to mention that apparently the rule has since changed. When I saw it on eBay I thought that surely it had to be some commemorative issue from the Isle of Man or something... But... Wow. Terrible is the only way to describe that!

Gold is a tricky metal to photograph, and different angles will make different points of the coin appear a different color and differences in detail. Honestly, these coin are prime candidates to get graded. Yes, if they do turn out to be fakes it would be disappointing, but when you potentially have a coin worth several thousand dollars it isn't worth the gamble not to have them insured and valued by a professional. It is best to have them slabbed by an American third party grader because even if you don't want to sell them, it is a lot easier to have them insured if you say that you have a 1921 double eagle graded AU 58 by NGC/PCGS with certification number XXXXXXXXXX than it is to say that you just have a 1921 double eagle.

At least he didn't list it as a US colonial coin where dug British coins go for quite a bit despite being worn flat, nearly unreadable or contaminated with bronze disease. Of course you do get a few gems in there, early US coinage produced in the colonies, evasion halfpennies and the like. But for the most part, its well worn common coins (or tokens) http://www.ebay.com/sch/Colonial-/528/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A1%257C66%253A2%257C39%253A1&rt=nc&_catref=1&_dmpt=Coins_US_Individual&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1581&_pgn=3

Yes - just what *was* the US Mint thinking when they tried to foist the Susan B. Anthony dollar on the American public?!? They were facing a hard job anyway trying to convince people to use a dollar coin instead of a note in the first place, so what do they do, put a coin out with a portrait so ugly no one wants it in their purse/wallet (though of course there were other reasons that people didn't like the coin, such as its similarity in size to a quarter). Okay, I know she did much for civil rights for woman in the US, but she doesn't look great on a coin. BTW have you seen what the other proposed design for that coin actually was? It was actually a rather nice Flowing Hair rendition of Liberty, proposed by United States Mint Engraver, Frank Gasparro, see: http://koinpro.tripod.com/Articles/1977LibertyHeadDollar.htm I can't help thinking the coin would've had more success if they'd gone with that design! The reverse is better too... Yes, the pattern coin was so much better. The entire coin was a disaster, an ugly reverse and the same reverse used on the Eisenhower dollar! I must say though, I do like the reverse of the Sacajawea dollar (at least before the US mint decided to make yet another meaningless politically correct "commemorative" series), though the obverse is bland and the edge lettering is poorly executed. I find it rather sad that the US mint has gone from producing amazing coinage in the form of the Morgan Dollar, Peace Dollar, Indian Head Cent, Standing Liberty Quarter, Buffalo Nickel, Mercury Dime and Walking Liberty half dollar to the Eisenhower Dollar, Susan B. Anthony Dollar, Washington Quarter, the far too numerous state/territory/national park quarters, the ugly and terrible presidential dollars, the Franklin half dollar (which, I suppose I don't mind so much since they are all 90% silver...) and the Lincoln cent. There has been such a backsliding when it comes to coins since about the 1940s. Despite the fact that technology has advanced, the US mint instead decides to make low relief coins out of worthless, nearly unusable metal on the dollar coins with poorly designed edge lettering. On a thicker coin it wouldn't be a problem (like on the 1 and 2 pound coins) or if they made it raised (like the old Victorian crowns) but carved edge lettering in such a thin coin is worse than useless. Of course, I don't think things will get any better if the modern commemoratives are anything to go by and with the possibility of changing to even worse metal (steel)... I don't have much hope.

I too have bought a forgery in thinking it was genuine, it was a Trade Dollar dated 1873-S so I figured, common date, selling for around melt, how could I go wrong. It looked a bit worn too. It wasn't until after I got home that I realized... the die rotation was wrong for a US coin! I did buy an interesting Japanese yen forgery (knowing quite well that it was one) for a few bucks at an antique mall, its an interesting curiosity.

These look like valuable US coins.I wouldn't always advise this but get them slabbed (third party grading) by PCGS or NGC.Under no circumstance touch with bare hands apart from the edges.DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLEAN. I agree, get those things slabbed before you sell them. Even if TPGing is expensive, $50-100 is a drop in the bucket compared to the benefits you'd get from authentication, grading and slabbing those coins. Make sure you get them slabbed by either PCGS or NGC, avoid cheaper TPGers because they don't have the same reputation. Of course this goes without saying but get the 1921 insured! The 1914 is fairly common and really only worth melt (which right now is $1663.03, which is higher than the Red Book pricing) But the 1921 is a rare date and is worth quite a bit. I'm bad at grading, and even worse at grading gold so I'm not going to say what I think its worth, but once you get the 1921 slabbed (and might as well get the 1914 while you're at it) you will be able to have a better understanding of what its worth and you can start looking at full insurance and if you want to sell, look for auction houses.

For some of the really horrid pre 1920 I take it to a man on the local market who gives me cash there and then @55p/g.No postal worries and cash.He will pro rata 50% silver and USA 80%. If the coins are reasonable say NF+...eBAY. Keep in mind that US silver coins are 90% (not 80%) before 1965 (1964 being the last year for circulation 90% silver coins) but Kennedy half dollars dated 1965-1970 are 40% silver. US "War Nickels" (1942-1945 with a large P, D or S mintmark over the Monticello on the reverse) are 35% silver. If you guys have any scrap US/Canadian coins http://coinflation.com/ has a good chart on the intrinsic values. Also, if you are willing to sell coins abroad (via eBay or a similar means) coins that in British coin collecting is only worth scrap, American collectors will pay several times the intrinsic value, even for coins that (in British numismatics) have a high mintage. Even common date silver dollars will also sell for a modest premium over intrinsic value to a US collector with most Carson City silver dollars (CC mintmark on the reverse) selling for well in the three figures even when well worn. Personally, I have a coin dealer/precious metal dealer/jeweler that buys and sells fairly close to spot and has been very fair dealing with me with coins and scrap jewellery, last I checked they paid ~22-23x face for US scrap grade coins (intrinsic value at about 25x face) and sold at 26x or 27x face depending on the amount of inventory they had. But really, if you have any silver US coins even if they are worn down to nothing, check eBay, its silly what some American coin collectors will pay for worn specimens. For example, look at this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1872-SEATED-LIBERTY-HALF-DIME-RARE-OLD-COIN-/170777254093?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item27c31e18cd Not a low mintage (712,600), not in good condition and a coin the size of a threepence, yet its still selling for $17+. When it has an intrinsic value of ~$1 and honestly isn't that old.

On Maundy sets, do you know of a good resource to look up the mintages for each individual piece for the older issues such as Victoria, Edward VII, and George V? I can find a few places that show what the mintage for each set is worth, but a lot of (American) dealers only sell them piece by piece and it would be nice to know if for a certain year the groat was lower minted than the penny or vice versa.

Exactly. I keep my bullion and collector coins separate. I've got a decent sized (well, not really decent sized, but decent enough as a student anyways ) collection of bullion which is strictly for investment. Sadly I missed out on the big spike in silver prices last year as I was still up at college (of course it had to be during final exams...) and so there was really no way for me to get back to my bank to sell them. Though I have to say I've compromised with lower-grade Standing Liberty quarters, I'd say I have a collection of them but I really paid not much more than I would for an ugly Washington silver quarter. You might have a similar coin or group of coins that are readily available in lower-grade condition and have little to no premiums over silver content. Sadly over here in the US there really aren't any coin shops (or eBay sellers) that do that and because the coin says 18XX or 17XX it goes for quite a bit more than it should considering its nearly all the way worn down... (and insured shipping makes it not profitable to buy directly from the UK) Personally, I'd go for low premium coins, Victorian Crowns in all but the lowest grade conditions have a large premium over silver content if you just want it for bullion. I've got a nice Excel spreadsheet where I calculate the intrinsic value of coins with a given price of silver, I'd attach it but it doesn't want to let me... Britannias have an absurd premium if you are looking at them from an investment standpoint. Right now silver is at ~$33.50 per troy ounce, based on recent eBay auctions any Britannia is going to set you back $48-50 for a common one. With $70-80 common for some of the older dates. Eagles have a reasonable premium that in the US you can usually get back when you sell it (dealers sell them for about $1-2 over spot and buy it for $1-2 over what they'd buy for a silver bar), Maple leafs also have a low premium. A fun coin that sells for bullion is the Maria Theresa Thaler, though the date says 1780 they are nearly all re-strikes that continue to this day at the Austrian mint, but it has everything that an interesting coin should have, raised edge lettering like the old head crowns, large size and an interesting history. And, since it is a modern coin you can get it in BU/AU without having to pay much of a premium at all over silver content. But really, its up to you. None of us know what the market is going to be like, for all we know today we will see silver trading at $5-10 an ounce again or it might shoot up to $80 per ounce. But do keep collector coins and bullion coins separate, though, there's nothing wrong with having a few bullion coins of nicer designs.

Don't pay for those eBay books on DVD, just type the book into Google Books and you'll get the book for free. Since its all public domain anyways.

I can't say my collection has much of a theme to it. If I find a coin I like for a price I can afford (or a coin that is obviously underpriced) I'll buy it. Some of my favorite coins have been coins I've bought on a whim like my 1821 Farthing. There are a few "key" coins that I want to acquire including a Gothic Crown and a high grade Gothic Florin, but at the moment they are a bit out of my price range.

Depends really. I'm a student, so I really don't have that much disposable income to spend, but I do patrol eBay daily. Really I haven't bought anything significant in about a month, my last purchase was a bag of various world coins for 15 cents a piece (along with an Indian Head Penny I sniped in there ) along with a dollar face value of (worn) Standing Liberty Quarters (I don't know why, but every trip to the coin store has me buying a few). I mostly buy like a headless chicken, if I find something that looks shiny, I generally buy it. I really haven't established my collecting pattern yet, currently just getting a small type set together of denomination/monarch but I've been dabbling a bit in ancient coins along with a few ventures in love tokens and other interesting things. But I get a lot of my coins quantity wise from coin roll hunting and sell off the silver I find to fund my British coin habit.