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Name: Stacy Howel
Email Address: strouta@earthlink.com
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Question: I have a gold coin that states California Gold on the front, with a picture of a horse and rider with a lasso, it is dated 1850 and under the date states ten dollars. The back side has a picture of an eagle with Baldwin & Co across the top and San Francisco on the bottom. Can you tell me a little about it and it's worth? Thank you

Genuine Baldwin & Company Territorial gold coins are quite rare. Several issuers, such as Balwin, minted coins at a profit, and helped reduce the coin shortage that existed during the height of the California gold rush. 

The 1850 Ten Dollar - horseman type brings between $10,000 - $60,000 when offered at auction. Condition plays an important role in the price realized.

Note that there are large numbers of brass museum copies, though the modern ones will have the words "Copy" or "Replica" stamped into the coin. If you think your coin is genuine, you can have it certified at the American Numismatic Association. They are a non-profit organization that was chartered by the United States Congress more than a century ago. See the Links page on the menu below, to find their web site.

Generally speaking, circulated, common date dollars are so common that they basically bring the same price in any grade from VG-EF, approximately $7-$8. They are sold in bags of 1000 and are hardly rare. Don't expect dealers to want to stock them at any premium above that price, if at all. That doesn't include rare dates like 1893-S. Rare dates are a class by themselves.

Coins like 1970-S cents have to be monster grade to be desirable. Flaws that make the coin less than MS65 require that the coin be heavily discounted.

Don't try to play the grading game with common stuff. The only one who wins is the grading service. I don't recommend grading a coin unless it is quite valuable or normally requires authentication such as 1955 double die or a 1932-D quarter. In most cases it is better to sell the coin raw and let someone else play the grading game.

Well, if you were walking around in England in 1948, George VI would have been King and you would have that half-crown in your pocket. That would translate to 2 1/2 shillings or an 1/8th of a Pound. Since a pound was worth about US$4.00, your half crown would have been about equal to 50 United States cents. Money was much more valuable in 1948 and that 50 cents or 1/2 crown was roughly worth the equivalent in purchasing power to about US$5.00 in 1999 funds.

The coin itself has little numismatic value, no precious metal content and is no longer legal tender but it is sure fun to imagine using it for money.

Mints do not buy coins or "cash them in". Nor to they receive or store circulated coins, that is the job of the U.S. Treasury. To a bank or the Treasury a dime is a dime. Only collectors, and the dealers that service them, are willing to pay a premium for rare coins. The value depends on the demand in the numismatic market place for specific coins in specific states of preservation called "grade".

Coins were made a various mints and so the mint mark also plays a role in collector value. For example, there are three 1910 U.S.dimes. Listed below is an observation of approximate prices for typical uncirculated examples:

1910 (no mint mark= Philadelphia) - $75 and up.
1910-D (Denver Mint) - $150 and up
1910-S (San Francisco Mint)- $300 and up.

Note that coins with evidence of circulation are worth a great deal less.

The 1/2 franc you have is not from France but Switzerland (Helvetia)[100 rappen= 1 Franc]. The standing figure represents the defense of the Union (The Swiss Guards). The 22 stars (1982 and before) represent the Cantons that make up the Swiss Federation. Can you name all 22 Cantons in Switzerland? They are listed below:

1. Aargau
2. Appenzell
3. Basel
4. Bern
5. Fribourg
6. Geneva
7. Glarus
8. Graubunden
9. Lucerne
10. Neuchatel
11. St. Gallen
12. Schaffhausen
13. Schwyz
14. Solothrun
15. Thurgau
16. Ticino
17. Unterwalden
18. Uri
19. Valais
20. Vaud
21 Zug
22. Zurich

On one side it is a United States half dollar. Everything is exactly like others I have, except that the outside edge is smooth instead of reeded. Here's the really unusual part - on the other side, the coin is the color of a penny but the same size as a half dollar and appears to be of an origin outside the United States. It says 20 Centavos 1970 and has a picture of a partially completed or partially destroyed pryamid. There is also some writing that is way too small for me to read.

My guess is that this is the creation of a prankster, who joined two separate coins, but it seems like this would be an incredibly difficult thing to accomplish just for kicks. If they did, each coin would have to have been cut in half and joined because the thickness is the same as that of a normal half dollar coin.

If you have any information on the origin, history, or value of this coin it would be most appreciated.Thank you

If you have access to a machine shop and know how to use the tools found there, you can create some spectacular items. Coins used in magic tricks are a case in point (see the FAQ article "Magic Coins"). These coins appear to have two heads or two tails but these aren't made this way at the Mint. There is a big difference on how obverse and reverse dies are constructed and how they function in a Mint Press. It is not probable that you would be able to attach two obverse or reverse dies to a particular press.

Even if this could happen, the coins are dumped into a small hopper that runs on railroad tracks and a Mint employee examines samples of coins coming from each coin press. He or she, and others, would certainly notice that all the coins coming from that press had only one side.

In reality, you can not only purchase two headed or two tailed coins at a magic shop but pieces similar to what you have described in your note. The technique in making these coins involves two coins. One is hollowed out to the rim, the other coin has its rim and reverse removed. The second coin is inserted into the first so that the seam between the two is at the rim and virtually unnoticeable. There is absolutely no evidence of tampering on the edge.

The duple coins are often underweight since they are partially hollow inside. They also fail the "ring" test (balance a coin on your finger and tap it with a pencil, it should have a bell like quality. Coins that sound dead, are not a continuous piece of metal so the sound stops at breaks between the joined pieces).

Take a visit to a Magic Shop and ask to see these interesting creations.

Patterns are examples of proposed coinage. The Chief Mint Engraver is in charge of making samples of coin designs that may or may not be approved by the United States Congress who has the authority to order the minting of coins. The $4 Stellas were made in sufficient numbers to give to the Representatives and Senators to evaluate. There were two competing designs, one with flowing hair, Barber's design, vs. the coiled hair, Morgan's Design.

Neither one was ever authorized as coinage but the Congressman failed to return many of these pieces to the Mint. That's the reason that there are examples in the numismatic marketplace. See the FAQ article about $3 and $4 gold pieces for a bit more information.

Reeded edges were incorporated into precious metal coins to prevent filing, that is removing a small amount of metal off a coin that cumulatively would be sold. Money used to be defined as precious metal in coin form. Reducing the weight of a coin would render the coin's value less than its face value. By examining the reeded edge a prospective receiver of the coin could ascertain that a coin hadn't been filed. This saved the trouble of weighing it. Cents and later nickels were convenience items that had little or no legal tender status, had no precious metal and therefore there was no reason for them to have a reeded edge.

Though Today's circulating coins have no precious metal content, the tradition of plain and reeded edge coinage continues.

Works of art are not usually destroyed for their metal content. The artistic value most often exceeds the intrinsic value of the material that it is made from. It was common for major expositions to issue medals either as a commemorative of the event or as awards for entries in a display competition. Usually, the designer's name is not prominent on the medal and is placed in an obscure area in the design.

I'm not familiar with Heinz Mueller but if his name is prominently displayed then he might have been the person awarded the medal. You mention that the medal was sterling. Sterling refers to the silver content which would be 92.5% silver. This information usually appears on the plain edge and is expressed as ".925".

Medals, by the way, are not "coins" they do not have a denomination or official monetary value.  Medals from this exposition can be quite valuable. Typical values that such a piece might bring at auction: $300 - $500+. That's pretty good for less than $20 worth of silver.

British Sovereigns were an international trade coin and made in vast numbers. Today they are just gold, though rare dates exist. They contain .2354 or just under a quarter ounce of pure gold and trade in quantity as bullion items.

Because Sovereigns were so well known, they were packaged in emergency kits for U.S. fliers as far back as WW II for use in case they were shot down.  Having a few gold sovereigns might get you out of trouble and back to your lines.

-Because you removed the original surface. Collectors of art works prize originality above all. If you had found a Louis XVI chest of drawers and sanded the finish off and then refinished it with a modern varnish, it might look better to an untrained eye, but you would have removed not only the varnish but about 80% of its value.

Cleaning and polishing uncirculated coins is even worse as the luster comes from flow lines that radiate outward from the center of the coin. Cleaning and polishing the coins removes the flow lines and accomplishes two things:
1. The coin no longer has luster but is shiny. It is also no longer uncirculated.
2. The value of the coin has now slipped from MS6? to G4.

Subject: 1943penie

Yo tengo una moneda del ano 1943,y me gustaria saber (se es la verdade)cuanto pagan por ella. Te adelanto que esta es atraida por un magneto,y e blanca como la de 10 centimos, OI DECIR QUE PAGAN MAS DE 50.000 DOLARES POR ELLA, dicen que e en mahathan pero no sei donde. De todos los modos caso no sea la que quierem me quedqarei con ella pois e mui bonita y al mismo tiempo rara. Caso puedas responderme estas duvidas, gracias.

La moneda rara que lo busca es un centavo de cobre con la fecha 1943. El peiza en acero es comun y estaba el metál normal por este año. Menos de viente piezas de centavos de cobre estan conocido y estos son muy valioso. Vea la artículo "1943 Centavo de cobre" en el FAQ .

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Subject: 1957 silver certificate
I have a 1957 Douglas Dillon $1.00 silver certificate dollar bill. Can you tell me the estimated value of this bill. A recent coin show on t.v. stated the silver certificate was valued over $5000.00.
Please advise, Brian McDonough

Dillon's signature appears on the 1957A and 1957B silver certificate and these are currently valued at face, that is one dollar, unless they are uncirculated in which case they would bring about $3. I have never heard of a Dillon signature on a 1957 note without a series A or B letter next to the date. The 1957 note has the signatures of Priest-Anderson.

Generally the series letter changes if there is a change of Secretary or Treasurer or a minor or major design change. The signatures changed in about 1960 to Smith-Dillon making the series change to "1957A" and then again later to "1957B" with the change of signatures to Granaham-Dillon.

It might be possible to have an error where the signatures were changed but the series date remained the same for a short time, maybe one sheets worth until the printing was stopped and the error plates destroyed. I haven't heard about such an error but I guess that is conceivable. Such a note would be worth a substantial premium if it was authentic.  You would think that thousands or even millions of notes would exhibit this error, if it existed, and it would be documented somewhere. I will look for news stories about this note.

Possibly you can supply additional information such as:
How might such a note be created.
How was it determined that it was worth $5,000.

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Name: Danny
Email Address: Danny.English@ada.sykes.com
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Question: Dear Doc: I have a coin that one side it has an Indian head on it and the date 1854, and stars around the edge from the date all around the coin to the other side of the date. A note of the coins size is very small, on the other side at the top it says California gold with flowery leaves at the beginning and ending of the California gold and in the middle is big lettering. It has 1/2 and below that is something that looks like a bear.
I found this coin in the beach at Newport Beach California while visiting some of my wife's relatives. Note also it is a private beach that no one to their knowledge has gone through it with a metal detector. My daughter found it while digging in the sand and said she had found a penny. I would really like to know what she's got. We are in southern Oklahoma and there are no coin collectors, or stores anywhere close.

You have modern replica of the California Gold that was created privately to alleviate the lack of small change during the "Gold Rush" days in California. The coins were made from 1849 to about 1887. Jewelers continued to make them for jewelry and there is evidence that the coins continued to be used as money to as late as 1917.

None of the California gold issues feature a bear or other animal. The "bear" pieces are tokens that were made for some commercial purpose. Most are brass with gold plating. They were made from about 1950 and to possibly as late as 1985. They have no specific value.

Use the CoinSite Search Tool to find other entries about California Gold. Search for "California Gold" in quotes.

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Comments: So far so good! just found you and anxious to get an answer.
Thanks.... Name: Tom Kressin
Email Address: tkressin@execpc.com
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Question: Hello Doc, Am aware of the Zinc composition change in 1982 Lincoln Cent. How can one check for the "copper" vs the "zinc" flavor of the coin without hurting the coin itself? Thank you in advance for your assistance

You can weigh the coin. Copper cents weigh 3.11 grams, zinc cents weigh 2.5 grams. If you don't have access to a gram scale ask your pharmacist if he might consent to weigh a coin for you. Also, copper doesn't bond easily to the zinc, so you will see lots of bubbles on the surface of the coin. This has been mostly resolved in the current issues but was a significant problem in the first issues of 1982 and therefore is an aid to identification.

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Comments: EXCELLENT RESOURCE
Name: Phil
Email Address: KEEPITLOCKED@netscape.net
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Question: I HAVE A GOLD COIN FROM 1786 WITH THE HEAD OF 'CAROL III' ON IT, IS IT VALUABLE AND WHAT ARE ITS ORIGINS?

You'll have to be more specific. There is more than one denomination in gold under Charles III of Spain. Identification includes the denomination: 1/2, 1, 2, 4 and 8 escudos, the Mint mark representing the place where the coin was made (several mints minted gold coins in both the New World and in Spain) and the assayer's initials.

Generally gold coins from the period of Charles III are valuable and it is not always the largest coins that have the most value. For example the 1786 Seville 1/2 escudo assayer "C" can be worth as much as $4,000 in high grade circulated condition. vs a 1786 2 escudos from the Lima Mint that brings under $500.

Collectors are looking for high grade pieces and therefore those bring the highest prices. Of course, rarity is important also. Cleaned or polished pieces, unless they are extremely rare, are only suitable for jewelry and may only be worth a small premium over their gold bullion value.

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Name: sam
Email Address: srossi@prodigy.net
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Question: I submitted question couple months ago about 18k gold commemorative coins for first 13 states printed in 1970's, have not recvd. answer, re-submitting in case I didn't do it right the first time. thanks

There are no official gold coins commemorating the first 13 states minted in 1970 or at any other time. These medals were privately issued and as such are essentially designed to sell precious metal at a substantial premium. These kind of items have little or no collector value, at least not in the Numismatic community. That is not to say that someone might fall in love with these items and pay you a "blind" price, only that there is no market for items like this except for their precious metal value.

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Comments: I like the site. This is the first time I've asked the good doctor a question. RM
Name: Rich Mason
Email Address: rmason@directweb.com
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Question: I have a new 1999 penny,it is significantly thicker than all the other 1999 pennies I've seen. Could it be a mint mistake? It is nearly double in thickness. Is it worth anything besides 1 cent? Thank You

What you are seeing is extra height in the rim not an increase in the actual weight of the flan. You can check this by weighing the coin. It should weigh 2.5 grams. This can happen if the striking pressure of that particular mint press was too high. That would force additional metal to the edge of the coin and increase the size of the already upset rim.

The coin could also have stuck to the die and actually struck other blanks (brockage). If this happens for enough blows of the press the resulting error can look like a cup. (At a visit to the Denver Mint with the ANA, I was shown a Eisenhower dollar with rims that were 2 inches tall). The reverse of the coin is usually deformed.

Note that U.S. coin blanks are cut from sheets of stock that are manufactured to specific standards. It is not likely that there would be stock that was twice as thick as normal. This would be detected immediately (The blanks wouldn't fit through the feeder). Also, even if could fit, there would be tens of thousands or more of identical pieces in circulation. All would get stuck in standard counting machines. This would be a news item.

There is a collector base for coin errors and if the error is significant enough, the coin will bring a premium.

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Comments: it is very informative very comprehensive
Name: Edessa Email Address: wfoaylm@pc.jaring.my
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Question: i have a liberty coin date 1799 of flowing hair a diameter of 2 Cm, 7 stars on the right and 6 stars on the left of the word of liberty. The bald eagle is the back of the coin with words of United States of America. Can you please tell me the value of the coin worth today? Thank you, looking forward to your answer as soon as possible

It seems that you might have a replica, actually a "Cinderella" of a U.S. half cent or quarter. The diameter of the half cent minted between 1793 and 1797 is 2.2 cm. The design shows a head of Liberty facing right and a pole with a Liberty cap behind her head. The design that replaced the "Pole to Cap" was first issued in 1800 with a slightly larger diameter (2.35 cm). There are no 1/2 cents struck with the date 1799.

The John Reich Liberty with Stars (called the Classic Head 1/2 cent) features a Liberty head facing left, 7 stars to the left and 6 to the right. The first year of this issue is 1809. None of these designs show an eagle on the reverse.

You might have a replica of a quarter as that better matches your description of the design but the quarter was not issued in 1799 either(the first year was 1796 followed by 1804). Also the diameter is 2.75 cm, far larger than your 2 cm example.

Replicas have no numismatic value.

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Comments: Nice forum for the novice - me!
Name: Randy Belk
Email Address: belkrkr@msn.com
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Question: Is any kind of a coinage set available for the birth year of 1932? This is to be a gift for my brother. I have only seen sets to 1934... He has collected some coins in the past, so I thought some type of coinage would be a nice gift. Any other suggestions for this type of gift? Budget in the range of $75. Is the "American Historic Society" a legit supplier?

The American Historic Society isn't a society but a business that sells coins, usually at a far greater price than you would pay at a local coin dealer. Only the cent and quarter were struck with the date 1932. If you purchase a reasonable quality 1932 Philadelphia Washington and a AU or Unc 1932 cent they would make a fine pair and come in under your budget. The 1932 Washington is the first year issue and was suppose to be a one year commemorative. The coin became popular and the Washington quarter resumed minting in 1934, permanently replacing its predecessor the Standing Liberty quarter.

The 1932 D and S are scarce but the Philadelphia issue is fairly easy to acquire in high grade circulated condition. If time allows, you can purchase a custom holder for your coins from Capitol Plastics through your local coin dealer.

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From: AL T ROUND
looking for help on how to get a price for an error coin I found. Scan does not show true color. Coin is very coppery and brand new looking. Please advise any people or person I can contact or maybe your company might be interested. Thank you, Al Round

There was a time (previous to 1980, I think) where cents went through counting machines at the Mint and the off center cents would get stuck and then recycled. Off center cents were far scarcer then. Now the bags are weighed so all the errors get sent to the banks where they get stuck in THEIR counting machines. Value for one like in your picture: about $1.