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From: Gyamtsho (Answer forwarded by Paper Money Charlie's )
Subject: Mystery Currency??
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I just happen to find amongst some of the old stuff my parent used to own. I was wondering, if you can figure out or consult anybody who has knowledge about it. Also, I frankly like to mention that we lack people with expertise to determine the period of such currency.

I am attaching the currency so you may have a look.
Thank you, Gyamtsho.

You have a (1941-48) Tibet, 25 Srang (7.5 Srang=50 tam (Tangka). Orange and Yellow underprinting, 2 lions at center.  The back is orange and blue with people, buildings, elephant and rider. The note is torn and very worn and grades About Good (AG).  Collector value, less than US $5.  High grade examples bring $25+.

Your piece is part of the "Washington & Independence" series that was struck in about 1820.  These tokens in this series have similar characteristics to the large cents that were struck in the United States from 1793 - 1857 and the British pennies that circulated in England until 1967.

Tokens with the portrait of Washington circulated here and in England and though had no official status, were readily accepted as money.  Washington was so revered that anything with his portrait was cherished. The piece from this series is called the "Draped Bust".  There are three varieties with this particular bust and several other varieties that were struck in 1851 and 1860.

Your piece is representative of the 1820 varieties.  You can measure the diameter to check. Baker 2 = 28.3 mm (look for the signature "I" in the folds above "3" in the date, (I=Thomas Wells Ingram).  Baker 2A is overstruck on a token of I. Walker, Flimby Park Colliery (probably not your piece) = 27 mm and Baker 2B (yours?)= 29 mm.

The obverse shows laureate and mantled bust of George Washington facing left, the date 1783 is below and WASHINGTON & INDEPENDENCE. The reverse shows a similar figure to "Britannia" on the reverse of English pennies but here it is Lady Liberty seated left, a olive branch in her right hand and a staff topped with a Phrygian cap in her left (symbol of freedom of thought); UNITED STATES is around. The token has a plain edge.

Values depend on rarity, variety and condition.  Your coin would grade about Fine with graffiti on the reverse left.  Approximate value: Baker 2 - US $50 Baker 2B  US $800 - $1,000.  You can have your piece authenticated and attributed at the American Numismatic Association.  See the CoinSite Links Page for more information.

The first use of the "Peace pipe and Tomahawk/clasped hands" design on an Indian Peace medal was under President John Adams in 1797.  Pieces with George Washington and this design and the date 1789 were not struck at the U.S. Mint until after 1900.   This medal is still available from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

The current dime has its origins in the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945.  From 1946 to the present the dime shows a portrait of FDR.  From 1916 -1945 the dime featured a Liberty head with wings (mistakenly called "Mercury" because of the winged cap).  The reverse features the Roman Fasces, a bundle of sticks around an ax.  To learn more about the Mercury dime Click here

Dimes, quarters and half-dollars (dollar coinage ceased in 1935) were struck on 90% silver blanks.  All coins from this period are worth more than face value because of their silver content. Collector value depends on rarity and grade.  For a listing of prices for common date dimes see the CoinSite's What's It Worth? feature.

United States gold coins can be divided into three broad categories:
    1. "Common Date, grade and type" coins -  that is coins that are readily available from multiple sources.  Some examples are $2 1/2 Indians, St. Gaudens $20, Liberty $20, Liberty $5, Liberty $10.
    2. Better Date, grade and type coins - include the above coins in choice uncirculated grades, $2 1/2 Liberties, $5 Indians, $3 gold, $1 gold and any U.S. gold pre 1850.
    3. Rare coins - rare dates, gold before 1834, gem uncirculated examples of any date or era (MS65 or better condition).

Cost of U.S. gold coins can vary greatly but there are coins available for any budget.  For example, a uncirculated 1908 St. Gaudens currently can be purchase for less than $500 (contains .9675 ounces of gold) but a nice 1907 High Relief example can cost $25,000+.

You might want to consider the historical background of the coins and make that a consideration when you are ready to purchase.  For example, Civil War era, Early U.S. Finance period (1820s - 1840s), The era of William Jennings Bryan ("cross of gold" and such in the 1890's), California gold rush (CAL gold and territorial pieces (1849-1857), etc.  Include the historical perspective with your gifts

Any purchase that you make should either come with papers of authenticity from the American Numismatic Association or encapsulated by a third party grading service such as PCGS, NGC or ANACS. (You can see links to the above on the CoinSite Links page.

Most major cities have dealers that are members of the ANA and other numismatic associations.  If there are none in your area, please see our advertisers on www.coinsite.com and www.sellcoins.com .  A majority of coin purchases are transacted at major shows and by mail order.  You also might want to get a copy of Coin World (The NY Times of Coins) to see lots of ads and articles about coins.  See your local newsstand.

From: Sandra Bates
Subject: Roman Coins
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My friend has some coins that were given to her 50 years ago look Roman, they came from Ruins in Tripoli and have never been clean we need to know how to clean them. Her father was there and aquired them she also has pictures of the ruins they came from. We think the name of the place was Sabarta, or Sabratar, any help you may give we would appreciate.  They are encrusted and we don't want to ruin them they are in poor shape from what we can make out. Thank you.

Generally, unless you are an expert an conservation techniques, you are more likely to ruin the coins than enhance their value by cleaning them.  For attribution, the place of discovery may have little to do with the coin's origins since traders came with their own country's precious metal coins which were generally accepted in the market place.  Also, "Old" doesn't necessarily make "valuable". Rarity and condition play a part in collector interest whether the coin is one year or 2000 years old.

Damage to a coin besides general wear can reduce the grade of coin as much as one full grade in terms of value. Storage devices do not remove existing contamination. Products such as Intercept Shield are touted to keep a coin in its current condition. I've used low sulfur cardboard 2 x 2 holders with acetate windows for storing red cents for many years. They seem to hold up as well as the expensive mediums. The trick is to not have contaminated the coin before it is put in the storage device.

The Sacagawea dollars should be....spent.  The numbers minted are vast. Collectors in the future will look to purchase gem condition examples.  You won't find ones in that lofty condition in the wild but you can buy Mint and proof sets from the U.S. Mint (see their link on the CoinSite Links page). For regular issues, those are the ones to save.

Some lucky people have found errors, including a rare mule error (with the obverse of a Washington quarter and a reverse of a Sacagawea dollar struck on a dollar blank).  Those have turned out to be a financial boon to the finder.

Note that there is no gold in a Sacagawea dollar.  It is an alloy of copper-nickel with a bit of manganese to temporarily give it a "gold" color. An unprotected coin soon oxidizes to a chocolate brown.

Reeded edge coins have their origins in the days when coins were minted in precious metals.  It was a way of preventing people from rubbing off or clipping some of the metal from the coin. A coin with a damaged edge was obvious and more likely to be rejected because of the missing metal. Reeding is imparted by the collar that holds the coin blank in place when it is struck by the coin dies.  The number varies from time to time but I think there are about 160 reeds on either coin.

There are some coins that have reeding varieties.  One example is the "infrequent reeded" 1921 Morgan Dollar, One variety of this coin with far less reeding than other dollars of this date.  'Not the first coin on a variety collectors list but a good example nevertheless.

It is possible to count the reeds. Make a mark with a pen or pencil on the edge of the coin and count until you come back to the mark.

The period leading up to the establishment of the U.S. Treasury in 1789 were filled with ideas for establishing the fabric for the new country that became the United States.  Gouverneur Morris was the first to propose a decimal coinage (the British system was based on 12 pence to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound).  His ideas were executed by Benjamin Dudley and became the first examples of a pattern coinage for a proposed monetary system.  Neither the denominations or the Nova Constellatio coinage were ever adopted but the concept of a decimal coinage stuck.

For the uninitiated, a Pattern  is a proposal for coinage. Most patterns are never produced in their original form and are considered a stage in the development of the design.  Patterns exist for most United States coinage.

The Nova Constellatio (New Constellation) coins consisted of a copper 5 unit piece, a silver Bit or 100 units, a silver Quint or 500 units (two varieties) and a silver Mark or 1,000 units. All are dated 1783.  Few of these coins exist today, in fact all may be unique. Collectors revere the Nova Constellatio patterns for their historic value. Only one 1783, 1000 unit Mark has been sold at auction since 1979.  It came from the famous Garrett collection sale and brought $190,000. I'm sure the coin would bring a great deal more today.

There are many sets of Electrotypes that are often found in collections. These replicas have no monetary value. If you believe you may have genuine examples of these coins, you can have them authenticated at the American Numismatic Association.  See their link on the CoinSite Links page.

This set was minted by a private mint and was made specifically for promotion.  There is little market value beyond the silver content.  That doesn't mean that someone might pay you a good price for them, just that there is a thin or non-existent market for promoted private issues.

Sterling represents .925 silver or an alloy of 92.5% silver.  There are 480 grains in a troy ounce.  600 grains x .925=555 grains of pure silver /480 = 1.15625 troy ounces pure silver for each medal x 60=69.375 troy ounces of pure silver.  This would be your base value.  See the CoinSite Metals page for current silver prices.

When the Confederacy seized the New Orleans Mint there was little bullion for coinage.  What was there was the dies for the 1861-O  U.S. half dollar.  A reverse die showing a shield with a Liberty cap above, surrounded by a wreath and the legend CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA HALF DOL. was married to a Federal Seated half dollar obverse.  Only four coins were struck (one example was in the possession of Jefferson Davis when he was captured at the end of the Civil War).

Collectors weren't aware of the Confederate half dollar until 1879 when an example of the coin along with the obverse and reverse dies were discovered in the care of Dr. B.F. Taylor of New Orleans.  The reverse die and the confederate half dollar specimen were purchased by a Philadelphia collector, E. Mason, Jr.  Later they were sold to the J.W. Scott & Co. in New York.

The Scott company purchased 500 Federal 1861 New Orleans half dollars, planned off the reverse and struck them with the Confederate reverse die. These "restrikes" are easy to tell from the original as the obverses are distorted and flattened by the action of the die on the reverse.

Scott also created tokens in white metal with the Confederate reverse and a special die that was inscribed: 4 ORIGINALS STRUCK BY ORDER OF C.S.A. IN NEW ORLEANS ******* REV. SAME AS U.S. FROM ORIGINAL DIE SCOTT.

There are also two (maybe more) examples with the CSA reverse die after it was cancelled with a chisel.  There are also copies of the Scott pieces that were made in the 1960s.

As far as I know, there is no such U.S. government organization called the "Federal Archives and History" in Washington nor do I know of any U.S. government organization that authenticates coins and medals for the public. So it isn't clear in your message what was authenticated and who did the authenticating.

If you have one of the Scott restrikes, you might want to have it authenticated by the American Numismatic Association. They are a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress 110 years ago.  See their link on the CoinSite Links page .

Approximate Value Ranges, depending on grade:
1861 Half Dollar Restrike: $3,000 - $7,000
1861 Scott Token obverse, Confederate reverse: $650 - $2,500
1861 Scott Token copies, circa 1960: $2.

The 1910 series 100 ruble notes were heavily hoarded, especially after the Russian Revolution in 1917 (100 Rubles was a good deal of money and they were saved with the hope that they would be spendable again someday).  The notes are large, 258 x 121 mm.  They are brown notes with a multicolored underprinting and feature a man with a sword and a neat portrait of Catherine II (The Great).

Collector value depends on grade (condition) and signature.  Range from low grade to uncirculated: US $1 - $20.

Actually, the very coin in the Stacks sale in 1979 was sold privately in the 1990's for $275,000.  This is the famous no-arrows, no-rays, 1853-O half dollar.  I think the coin was graded VF in the '79 sale but was slabbed by PCGS, Fine.  It doesn't matter, it still is a major rarity and historic.  I think Eliasberg had one, but it was the lowest grade of the 3 or maybe 4 that suppose to exist (I think it was an AG) and there was one in Garrett that might have been a VF.  That I think is the highest grade known for this coin.

There are no mint records that show this coin being produced.  Numismatists speculate that the no-arrows no- rays 1853 New Orleans half dollar might have been minted for presentation purposes and were spent later.

This is one of the rarest and most desirable coin in United States coinage. If you believe you have discovered another example, you will want to have the coin authenticated by ANA, PCGS or NGC.  See their links on the CoinSite Links page .

You have a 1921 Great Britain penny.  The obverse features the head of King George V, the abbreviated Latin legend around is, GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRIT OMN REX FID DEF IND IMP (George V by the Grace of G-d King of Britain, Emperor of India and Defender of the Faith).  The reverse shows Britannia seated on a rock her right hand holding the shield of Great Britain and her left, a trident (Click here to learn more about this allegorical design).  Approximate value in average circulated condition, US 10 cents.

The reverse is very clear.  Two archery arrows in an X cross the center, with points at the top.  There is a large crown at top center between the arrowhead points. On the left, inside the V of the crossed arrows, is "2 OR" -- to the right, in the same position, is found "SM". There is a centered dot between the 2 and the O, and after the R; and between the S and the M.  At the bottom, between the arrow tail feathers of the arrows, is the date, sharp and clear - 1748. Does this coin have any value today?

You have a 1748 Sweden copper 2 Ore (weighs 28.3 grams).  The coin was struck under King Frederick I (1720-1751) and was made under the supervision of Assayer Hans Malmberg. 461,000 pieces were struck.  The coin served as small change in the 18th century Swedish monetary system:

8 Ore=1 Mark
32 Ore= 1 Daler
96 Ore=SM (silver money)= 1 Riksdaler=3 Daler SM or 9 Daler KM (copper Money).

Collector value depends on grade (condition). Approximate range: $1 - $35.

You have a 1940 Jamaica penny with the reverse planned off (removed). This was often done by jewelers in preparation for engraving a message on the reverse.  The resulting piece was often used as a gift. Collectors call this type of altered coin a "Love Token".  This piece might have been spent by accident before the message was engraved.

2nd is a 1974 D penny that looks to be struck on a blank thats NOT copper.  It looks at first glance like the 1943 steel penny- but its a 1974-D!!  I havent been able to find anyone that can tell me what it is or what its worth. 

Hope you can help- looking forward to hearing from you- thx..... Alan 

Cents struck on a silver dime will be missing part of the outer design of the Lincoln cent because of its smaller diameter. It will also have a different weight than a cent. A silver dime weighs 2.5 grams and a 1943 steel cent weighs 2.7 grams. I think that a 1943 cent struck on silver dime would be quite desirable and quite rare.  Estimate: $500+

No steel strip for cents existed in 1974, nor were they available at the mint for any other coinage. Weighing the coin is diagnostic.  Standard copper cents weigh 3.11 grams.  If your coin matches this weight, then your coin was plated outside the Mint for some purpose, probably nefarious. There are 1974 Aluminum cents (but not 1974-D).  Twelve are known, the remainders of the 1974 aluminum cent experiment. For more information about aluminum cents, Click here .

You can have any coin authenticated by contacting the American Numismatic Association about their authentication and attribution services. See the CoinSite Links page for their Web site

Another coin that we is one ounce as well.  34-35 mm across, brass or copper.  I believe the date is 1805.  it says "1 killing".  The word killing is split by a set of crossed arrows, with the 1 being above the word "killing" and in between the arrow tips.   The date is between the feathered ends if the arrow.  It appears to have the outline of another set of arrows underneath the lettering. ON the other side is a crown above the huge letters C and A. The C and A are inter-twined.  Right next the the CA is the (roman numeral?) IV.   Three small crowns are to the bottom, right, and left of the letters.  The circumference (not the edges of both sides, but the flat edge going all the way around the coin) is dotted with imprinted diamond-shaped points. Do you know what either of these coins are?  Can you recommend any websites for further reference when we are seaching for other coins of different

Based on the legends your reported, your first coin is from Angola (Portuguese from 1491-1975). I'm familiar with the 10 and 20 Reis, but I've never heard of a 1753 40 Reis (XL) from Angola. There is a 40 reis from Brazil but this has different legends and is much smaller than the coin your reported.

Your second coin is 1805 Sweden copper 1 Skilling (48 skilling= 1 riksdaler Species).  The monogram and "IV" represent King Gustaf IV Adolf (1792-1809). Value depends on grade (condition). Approximate range: US $1 - $45.  Some of these pieces were struck over 18th century 2 Ore flans. If you can see the underdate, the coin is worth double or more.

For more sources of world coin information, see the CoinSite Links page, the FAQ, the Books page and the Search Tool.

You have a 1838 Great Britain silver 3 pence; Young head Queen Victoria, crown over "3" and date divided at either side.  Value depends grade  (condition).  Approximate range: US $1 -$150.

For more information about the  English monetary system prior to 1971 please see Coin Doc cdarchive #26 . Once there press Ctrl+F and search for "4 farthings".

You have a 1866 United States nickel 3 cent piece.  These were minted from 1865-1889 and overlap the Type III 3 cent silvers (1859-1873).  Value for the 3 cent nickel depends on grade (condition).  Approximate range: $5 - $100.

First strikes from a new Morgan Dollar die would often have mirror fields similar to a proof. These coins are designated PL or "proof-like". There is a subjective method by which the depth of the reflective fields are measured.  DM is the designation for "deep-mirror".  DM coins are often found with frosted devices (the design elements) and this has the effect of making the fields seem extremely reflective, often described as "Deep Mirror Cameo".

After the first 30-?? strikes or so, the presses were stopped, the dies were removed and polished.  Subsequent coins struck had normal frosted fields.

You are probably referring to "V.D.B"., the initials of the designer of the Lincoln cent,  Victor D. Brenner. Some thought the initials were too visible and successfully persuaded Congress to order the removal of Brenner's initials soon after the Lincoln cent was issued. Because of this action, there are several varieties of 1909 Lincoln cents with and without Victor Brenner's initials on the reverse. Collectors consider the San Francisco minted 1909, known as 1909-S VDB, to be the most valuable.

There was never a 90 cent coin but you might be referring to coins that were 90% silver.  Prior to 1965 United States dimes, quarters and half dollars (and dollars from 1935 and before) were minted on 90% silver planchets.

'Not a U.S. coin (there were no U.S. coins until 1793 and none with a figure of Washington until 1932).  You have  a medal from the "Washington & Independence Series" struck in about 1820 by James Kean of Philadelphia. The piece is copper and is 28.2 mm in size and weighs 120 grains.

The obverse shows a laureate and mantled bust of Washington facing left. The legend, "Washington and Independence", is around.  The reverse imitates the reverse of a U.S. cent with ONE CENT within an olive wreath with a bow at the bottom. Around, UNITY STATES OF AMERICA (the wording was used to avoid the charge of counterfeiting). 1/100 below, plain edge.  Value depends on condition. Approximate range: $60 - $500.  Note that modern copies exist. These are worthless.