The Coin Doctor's Questions and Answers

Comments: Excellent help
Name: Paul Allen
Email Address: safero@earthlink.net
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: I know from one of your previous answers that in order to find the approximate current value of a Mexican gold peso, I multiply the gold content (in that case, .121 pure gold troy ounce) against the world price of gold in dollars. In my case, I have a 1919 and a 1918 Veinte Pesos coin, each indicating "15 gr. oro puro." What is the gold content of these coins, to be used for multiplying against the world price?

To get the bullion value of any coin use the following formula:

(total gross weight in grams x fineness)/31.1033 (grams in a troy ounce of gold) x current price of gold in troy ounces.

Example: A U.S. $20 gold coin weighs 33.436 grams. The coin is .900 fine (90% gold). 33.1033 x .900=30.0924 grams of pure gold. 30.092/31.1033= .9675 (rounded). We now know that the coin contains .9675 of a troy ounce of pure gold

.9675 x world gold price (let's use $320).= $309.60. This is the intrinsic bullion value at $320 gold.

The above calculation does not include numismatic value which is a premium above the gold content. Numismatic value depends on market forces, market demand for a specific date and mint mark and the grade (condition) of the coin. For example typical uncirculated, common date St. Gaudens $20 gold coins are currently trading between $400 - $420, about $100 over the gold content. High quality uncirculated pieces such as ones that grade MS65 bring about double the above price.

To use your Mexico example: Your coin already states the net gold weight, "15 gr. oro puro." (15 grams of pure gold). To get the actual bullion value: 15/31.1033 = .4823 .4823 x $320 (current price of gold)= $154.34. Again this does not include any numismatic market premium which may or may not exist for that coin.

Name: i rutland
Email Address: ipuddin811@aol.com
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: Lincoln inauguration coin March 4,1861,copper

The original medal you have described was struck at the Philadelphia Mint and has the following description:

size: 76 mm
Obverse: Bust of Abraham Lincoln to right with the legend around ABRAHAM LINCOLN

REVERSE: Ornate banded wreath of oak and laurel surrounding the inscription INAUGURATED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 4. 1861. SECOND TERM MARCH 4, 1865. ASSSASSINATED APRIL 14, 1865. Beneath the inscription there are sprays of pine and cedar encircled by a serpent biting its tail, the Egyptian symbol of immortality.

The medal was first struck in the late spring of 1886 but records are not clear who actually authorized the medal. Those examples with MORGAN on the truncation of the bust were probably struck after 1917 when Morgan became the chief Mint engraver. The wreath on the reverse of this medal was also used for the commemorative medal of President Garfield's assassination.

The medal was struck in Gold, Silver and Copper. The copper examples have a deep chocolate color. "Brassy" color examples are modern mint made copies that vary from the above description.

From: "Ms J W"
Subject: cob coin identification
Here are the pictures of the cob coin. They appear grainy but the coin is very readable in person. Thanks for your help. Jim Wosochlo
-------------------------------------------------------

You have a Carlos II, Lima (Peru) Mint 1/2 real. This type was struck between 1684 and 1701. What you are seeing is not a "D" but a loop in a monogram that represents Carlos II of Spain.

Probably the best book on cobs is Numismatica Española (Calico/Trigo). The book is published in Barcelona, Spain periodically and covers all Spanish Coins from Ferdinand & Isabel to the present, including Spanish Colonial issues. You might find a copy at Amazon (go the bottom of the CoinSite Books page and type in "Numismatica Española" to see if they copies available).

Spain was the dominant political power from the 15th to the early 19th century and its coins circulated world wide as legal tender. They were legal tender in North America from the Colonial period to about 1858.

The U.S. modeled its coinage system to be compatible with the Reales system but in decimal; 8 Reales were exactly the exchange for a U.S. dollar.

Though worn 1 and 1/2 reales were theoretically worth 12 1/2 cents and 6 1/4 cents, worn pieces often traded at the equivalent of 10 cents and 5 cents.

Comments: Great site, very informative.
Name: LD Cunningham
Email Address: larryc@charter.net
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: In the 1960's I bought a Lincoln Cent from a Coin Dealer in Evansville, Ind. It was called a "poor man's double die" it is a 1955 and you can only see the double strike with a good magnifying glass. I think I gave a dollar for it. Do you have any information on this coin and any idea of it's value today. It is in very good condition. Thank You, Larry

Minor die doubling is fairly common since the working die was struck multiple times from the master hub. There was always the chance that the die being prepared might rotate slightly before receiving additional blows from the master hub. Current die preparation techniques, unfortunately for us devotees, have mostly eliminated double dies.

All coins struck from a doubled die are exactly the same. The die that struck the famous 1955 was extremely rotated and that was the cause of the quite unusual 1955 cent example. The "Poor Man's" double die is from another die with a more common minor rotation. These are not particularly valuable (about $1 in average circulated condition) but they still are a source of pleasure for those that enjoy studying die variations.

Name: Roy Choate
Email Address: CRORRY@AOL.Com
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: Ref: The Official Red Book of United States Coins and The Official Blue Book of United States Coins, by Whitman, published by St. Martin's Press. Question: What is the difference between the two books, and which of the two has the most accurate overall prices.

Both the Red Book and Blue Book show approximate "retail" prices in grades that the coins are most often seen. The prices might be different since the books are published using data from different sources and may be a year or so behind the current market. The books usually do not address values in gem grades except for the most modern coins and even then, usually the highest grade considered is MS65.

From the stand point of coin value, the books are less about retail prices and more about relative rarity. One can compare prices within a series to identify rare dates and mint combinations. Actual prices may be a quite different when you actually go out and buy specific coins.

The "Black book" is the wholesale version of the books above and shows relative wholesale values (when you sell coins into the market). Again the data is generally out of date even for the latest issue but it does give you an idea of relative value in a handful of grades.

The best source of current coin pricing is to monitor the market for the coins you collect in hobby publications and auctions.

From: Daryl Jungroth
Email: DevilD@thedarktower.net
Subject: What is this worth?
-------------------------------------------------------

You have a medal by the famous German medallist Karl Goetz (pronounced "Gets"). This World War I era satirical medal is Goetz opus 156, THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA (Die Torpedierung der Lusitania). This satirical medal accusing the Cunard Line of lying about whether Lusitania was carrying war munitions. German U-Boats avoided passenger liners but sunk those carrying contraband.

Inscription on the observe: "No Contraband". In exergue: " The Liner Lusitania sunk by a German Submarine May 7th 1915. On the reverse: "Business Above All", headline on a newspaper, "Submarine Danger", below counter, "Ticket Office". K.G. initials in exergue.

The first issue was issued in error with the date May 5th, two days before the attack, (very rare) and was the source of numerous accusation that the German's had planned to sink the ship in advance. This caused a great deal of anger, especially in Britain and the United States and the Germans lost whatever sympathy there was for the German cause.

Original examples bring $250-$500 at auction sales. There are also copies that were made by a Pennsylvania firm after 1918; these are worth much less.

Name: Mike King
Email Address: betroll@aol.com
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: I am trying to find out any information I can about a penny that I have. It is a 1972S penny. It is worn in the high spots and show a silver metallic coloring. I have asked local coin dealers about it and they think it is a copper clad aluminum penny. I ran elemental analysis (X-ray Fluorescence) on the penny an got some unusual results. The analysis showed that the penny is clad in copper and nickel with the silver colored portion identified as niobium. I am extremely interested in any information you can provide me with about this penny. Thank you for time and effort.

Lincoln cents from 1962-1982 were struck on planchets whose composition were .950 copper, .050 tin. None of the strip from which the planchets (blanks) were cut had another composition nor were copper plated zinc cents struck until 1982. You can prove this simply by weighing the coin. Copper cents weigh 3.11 grams. Any deviation from this would indicate another composition.

There was an experimental run of aluminum cents dated 1974 as a proposal to replace the escalating price of copper in the cent but the idea or the law authorizing aluminum cents didn't exist until far into 1973. All but 12 of the aluminum cents were destroyed. The extant pieces were probably held by congressmen who were given samples but refused to return them. It is questionable whether the 1974 pieces are legal to own.

Advertisers often plate coins or treat them chemically to make them look different. The coins are then used in some promotion. Gold plated or silver plated cents are often seen. I suspect that some of the supply of these altered coins might have been victims of high school chemistry experiments.

There are also examples of U.S. coins accidentally struck on scrap metal, not coinage blanks. These coin are usually not complete and possibly other shapes than round. These will not weigh 3.11 grams.

If you wish, you can have your coin authenticated by any of the 3rd party grading services. To learn how to do this, see the CoinSite Links page for the Web sites of NGC, PCGS or ANACS.

Name: Roland Rainville
Email Address: ropro100@aol.com
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: I just found out that what i thught i had 1882 gold 10 dollar coin was counterfit(a good one i must add) is there any history of these counterfit coins? and are they worth any scrap value (some one told me it looks like its 22kt gold not 24? and is there a market for these things? thanks.

U.S gold coins were never 24 karat gold. It would have been too soft to circulate. The standard for post 1834 U.S. gold was .90% gold and 10% copper or about 21.6 Karat (.4838 troy ounce of pure gold). Genuine Eagles weigh 16.718 grams. Weighing your coin is first step in authentication.

The motivation for counterfeiting is to either cheat on the gold (a counterfeit made during the same period that the coin circulated) or to fool collectors. Since 1882 Philadelphia Eagles (no mint mark) are very common and there is no motivation for a modern counterfeit of this coin unless the coin is in gem uncirculated condition where it then would bring a significant premium from a collector.

Authentication is a careful science and one learns not to condemn a coin unless the diagnostics tell us otherwise. Your coin might be genuine.

Comments: I think your site is very informative and the search function is great. I will visit again!
Name: jackie j
Email Address: JacJames6@aol.com
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: I know nothing about coins. I found this penny, I think perhaps it's a game piece or some such thing. Could you help? It's the same size and weight as a penny. It appears to be copper. The front has a 'P' in the center with "Uncirculated" along the top and "Philadelphia" along the bottom. The back has a crest in the center and says "Treasury" along the top and "United States Mint" along the bottom. All the lettering on the coin curves with the circumference. What is this? Thank You!

You have a "Mint Set" token. These tokens accompany the yearly sets of regular issue coins issued by the U.S. Mint for collectors. Since regular issues are currently struck and the Philadelphia and Denver Mint, two sealed packages of coins are included a mint set. The sets also include a Treasury token with either a "P" or "D", struck on cent blanks, to signify the above Mints. The tokens have no specific value.

From: Glyn Balkwill
Email: glyn@nfi.org.za
Subject: Request for identification
-------------------------------------------------------

You have a c.1953 Morocco (under French Protectorate) commemorative medal of the 25th Anniversary of Accession to the throne of King Mohammed V. AH1372 is the approximate Moslem date equivalent to 1953. The actual anniversary date was AH1375 (1955 AD).

The medal contains 15.95 grams of pure gold (total weight is 16.04 grams) or approximately a 1/2 troy ounce. Approximate market value: $250.

From: PRISCILLA CASTRO
To: webmaster@coinsite.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 1:10 PM
Subject: Currency
-------------------------------------------------------
Hello, I have a couple of questions for you. I have two Federal Reserve Notes that don't have a letter for the plate position, all it has is a single number on the lower right one has the number five and the other has number six. Is this rare?

Also I have a bill that the printing of the numbers are printed to the right and lowered on the bill. Is it worth saving?

Also currency with numbers in sequence for example: B 88113322 D, or B 07770888 L or having a small star replace the last letter, are these worth keeping or worth anything?

Thank you for your time and I apologize for so many questions. Thank you again.

Plate position numbers are on the left side and can be near the lower margin on the new style currency and on the left side and to the left of the Federal Reserve Bank number on the old. The small number on the right either near the portrait or toward the right border is the plate number.

Third printing errors (Treasury seal and serial numbers) such as severe out of alignment printing error bring a premium but the shift has to be quite severe before it brings a significant premium above the face value.

Collectors do collect serial numbers. There are lots of variations such as sold numbers (for examples all 2s or 1s, "radar" notes (notes that read backwards the same as forwards). Notes like your serial numbers are fun too and bring a premium but only if the notes are uncirculated (no bends or folds and 4 sharp corners).

Star notes are replacement notes for notes that would be in sequence but were damaged or destroyed in the manufacturing process. Collectors pay a premium for SOME star notes. See the CoinSite What's It Worth? feature for prices, including stars, for post 1928 US currency.

Comments: This is a great site.
Name: caitlin elam
Email Address: caitlinelam@hotmail.com
-------------------------------------------------------
Question: I have a 50 dollar american 10oz gold coin that is 1 1/4 inches in diameter. the year is MCMLXXXVII. It has ridges on the edge. One side depicts a woman with flowing hair holding an olive branch and a torch and says United States of America across the top. The other side depicts an eagle with an olive branch about to land in a nest with another eagle and a baby eagle with MB and JW below the nest very small. What kind of coin is this and what is it worth? Thank you very much, Caitlin Elam

Not 10 ounces but a one ounce Gold Eagle dated 1987. This is a bullion coin, that is, a way of holding gold. The U.S. Eagle program began in 1986 and continues today. The coins are made as regular business strikes or as proofs ("W",West Point NY) mint mark). The regular issues contain exactly one troy ounce of pure gold though the total alloy is 91.67% gold, 3% silver and 5.33% copper. The coin weighs more than a troy ounce to accommodate the added alloy.

The coins usually trade at about 5% over the gold content.

Looking for something specific?
Any word All the words Exact phrase

The Coin Doc's Answers