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Name:        Chris DeKay
Email Address:   cadekay@aol.com
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Question:   We would like to know if the Indian on the Indian head nickel was modeled on a real person, and if so, who it was.
Thank-you very much.

 The Indian on the Indian Head or Buffalo Nickel (1913-1936) is a composite portrait of Three Indian Chiefs - Iron Tail, the Chief that faced General Custer at the battle of Little Big Horn, Two Moons and John Big Tree. The idea was to create a Native American portrait but not to associate the facial features with any specific tribe.

This was the second time that a Native American portrait has appeared on a U.S. coin (the first is on the 1908 gold $2.5 and $5 gold coins). Note that the third instance of a Native American to appear on a United States coin is coming up in 2000 with the release of the new dollar coin. It features the portrait of Sacagawea, the young Indian guide that helped the Louis and Clark Expedition find their way through the Louisiana Territory.

Comments:        It looks like it might be of great assistance in helping me solve my problem.  Thanks
Name:        Sandra Sigrimis
Email Address:   customcleaning@kih.net
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Question:        Dear Sir,
Some elderly friends have a coin collection which they want
to sell and donate the proceeds to help a congregation build
a new place of worship.
They have asked me to help them sell the collection.  How is
the best way to get this on the market and get a fair market
value?  I am unfamiliar with anything to do with this, so any help you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Sandra Sigrimis
Lily, KY  

  You must have the collection appraised by a professional Numismatist.  If you can't find a qualified person in your area, contact the American Numismatic Association (see the Links Page) and they can recommend a qualified appraiser.  You do not sell the collection to the appraiser.  The appraisal will tell  you what the coins are worth via a written report so when you sell them you'll know you are getting the right price. Note that a accurate appraisal should be within 10% + or - of the price realized.

You might choose to sell a valuable collection by Auction.  There are several effective numismatic auction houses both here and in Europe.  Your appraiser can recommend appropriate choices.  If the collection is primarily common material you might just sell it to a local coin dealer for cash.

Good luck...

   See the FAQ and look for the article on "Magic" coins and search the Coin Doc answers and Archives (use the Search Tool) for additional information.   

Collectors will pay from 25 cents to $50 depending on type, (there are four), and condition (grade).  This particular note was heavily saved, 1000 Marks before the great inflation was a great deal of money.  As the buying power if currency was lost to inflation, many of these once valuable notes were saved, maybe for the day when they would be valuable again.

 There are lots of sites that price coins (see the Links page) but there can be vast differences in value depending on grade and mint mark.  You have to know this information in order to make sense from price lists.

See Collectors' Showcase (www.sellcoins.com) and search for MORGAN to see examples of high condition Morgan Dollars and their values. If you feel that your coins are in the same category, you might want to have them graded by any one of the commercial grading services such as NGC, PCGS, ANACS, SEGS or others.

 Not in the 20th Century. There was a time in the 19th century that 5c coins were minted in silver, they were called 1/2 dimes. Also prior to 1858 when Spanish and Spanish Colonial coins still circulated in the United States as legal tender, worn silver 1/2 reales circulated as the equivalent of a ½ dime and were called "medios".

The designer's initials.."JS" or John Sinnock on the Roosevelt dime.  The vegetation on both the Winged Liberty and Roosevelt dimes are non-specific but are thought to be an olive branch (representing peace). 

The Washington quarter's vegetation might be a laurel branch (often portrayed on Roman coins on the head of the Emperor) and is consistent with the "Roman" Motif on the Peace Dollar that was contemporary with the Washington quarter.

U.S. nickels have the most consistent composition of all United States Coins.  From the nickels inception in 1866, the Shield Nickel, until 1999 the nickel coin has been made from an alloy of .750 copper and .250 nickel. Only for a brief period of years (1942-45) was the nickel composition altered and this was for the emergency of WW II.  The eleven war nickels from this period had all of the nickel replaced and some of the copper by an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese.  Interestingly, manganese for the second time in U.S. history is purportedly to be used in the manufacture of the new dollar coin to be issued in 2000.

The 1982 cent was the transition year from a copper cent to a zinc one with a copper plating.  There are seven business strike varieties which include the copper cents, zinc cents and small and large dates and Philadelphia and Denver issues.

Canada issued silver coins from the dime to the half dollar from 1870-1919 in .925 silver and dimes to dollars in .800 silver from 1920 to 1967 (the dollar coin starts in 1935).  Canada stopped .800 silver coins in 1967 and reduced the fineness to .500 fine in 1967-68. All silver business strike silver coin production ceased after this date.

I don't have notes on this particular "good for" but many like it were created both as a substitute for change and a way of getting customers to return to the store.  I will guess because the denomination is high (most tokens are 1c to 5c tokens) that this token was a prize or an incentive of some sort.  Because it is unusual I would assume that the value would be higher than some of the other, more common "good for" tokens.  Guess...about $35 or so.

Almost all soft vinyl is polyvinylchloride.  This chemical breaks down quickly in the presence of light and less quickly in the dark.  Eventually the compound falls apart releasing hydrogen sulfide and a greasing oily substance.  These will rain havoc on coins.  The old cardboard and cellophane flips seem to have preserved coins a whole lot longer than the "modern" vinyl flips.

DO NOT USE any polyvinylchloride near coins as they will eventually destroy them.  Use Mylar flips, Cointains (inert plastic shells) or even the old cardboard and cellophane standbys.

What you are measuring is the thickness of the rim not the coin itself.  The edge thickness is determined by the striking pressure in the Mint press. High striking pressure, will cause a higher raised rim and letter distortion that is more pronounced as it gets closer to the rim of the coin.

No, these cents were stamped with JFK image by a private company not associated with the mint.  The reengraved cent accompanied a chart that showed the similarities between Kennedy and Lincoln.  They were used as promotions and were given as gifts when people opened accounts at some banks.  Value is....1 cent

There are no gold cents. Think about it. A cent from 1848 weighs 10.89 grams or about a third of a troy ounce of gold.  Even at $20/oz gold, an 1848 gold cent would have more than $6 in gold.....pretty good deal for a cent....what a country!

Paper money that is damaged, has been underground and stuck together can be redeemed at the U.S. Treasury for full face value.  They have a laboratory just for this purpose. They will be able to determine exactly how much money is really there and will send you a Treasury check for the amount that you have.  Do not try to separate the money yourself.

Contact the Department of the Treasury in Washington and they will tell you where to send your paper money.  Last time I checked they were not charging any fees for this service nor do they ask any questions about where you found it.  Their sole purpose is to help you redeem your U.S. paper money. Our tax dollars at work!

The majority of researchers consider Continental Currency pieces as being proposals for United States Dollars.  The design is often attributed to Elisha Gallaudet (EG FECIT) and there is evidence that they might even have circulated as money for a time.  Note that there are many replicas.  You should have your coin authenticated by the American Numismatic Association (see the Links page).

There are four types in Pewter:

1776 CURENCY (misspelled)
1776 CURRENCY
1776 CURRENCY, EG FECIT
1776 CURRENCEY.

Values from $1,000 to about $20,000 depending on type and condition.

Recently, it was discovered that some of the State quarters had rotated reverses because Mint employees had inserted the dies in the coin presses incorrectly.  Since there are many coins, 100,000 or more impressions, made from a single die pair, rotated reverses will not be particularly valuable but will bring a premium over normal coins.

Don't confuse rotated reverses with the normal orientation of United States Coins.  U.S. coins are made with "coin orientation" that is, if you want to see the other side of the coin right-side up, you must flip the coin from North to South.  Some foreign coins and most medals are struck with medallic orientation, that is that to see the other side upright, you must flip the coin or medal from east to west.

Most rotated reverses will not be exactly 90 degrees off but varying amount from as little as 5 degrees to 45 degrees.

All U.S. quarter from 1796-1964 were minted in silver.  The 1964 issue is 90% silver and 10% copper. Average circulated examples are bullion related, that is their value is close to that of the world price of silver. The actual pure silver content is .18084 troy oz.  If you multiply this decimal against the price of silver you will get the approximate value of the coin.

Silver quarters, dimes and half dollars are sold in the market in bags of $1000 face value as a way of holding silver.  For example, a $1000 face value bag contains 4,000 silver quarters.

Note that silver quarters are heavier,not lighter, than the current copper-nickel quarters. 90% quarters weigh 6.25 grams and the base metal versions weigh 5.67 grams.

See other Coin Doc answers on this page for information about rotated reverses on State Quarters.

Your medal from the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition in 1874 is something to be proud of.  Expositions were the 19th Century version of a science fair and many people competed to win medals in various categories.  Though I've never heard of an award at these expositions for a display of Land Shells (is that sea shells that were found on land?  'Could be from digs where the sea shells are found under the ground), awards such as these are certainly collectable and often show up in exonumia auctions.  They usually come in bronze, white metal, silver and gold.

Though the monetary value of the medal is fleeting the connection to your great-great grandfather is priceless.
Enjoy...