The Coin Doc's Answers

I assume when you describe the size as that of a "penny" that you mean a United States cent. Based on that, your coin is a 1892 Great Britain Shield 1/2 Sovereign. This coin was the equivalent to a Half Pound. The portrait is of Queen Victoria of England who reigned from 1837-1902. She holds the title of the longest reigning monarch in British history. The coin contains .1177 troy ounces of pure gold (multiply that number against the world gold price to find the gold value. For example if gold is $250/troy ounce the coin gold value is US$29.43).

There is numismatic value usually associated with this coin but condition (grade) plays a strong role in that part of the value. This coin was only minted at the London Mint. Value range: melt-$150.

The Philippines were under Spanish Rule until the Spanish American War of 1898 when the Philippines as well as Cuba and Puerto Rico were ceded to the United States.

The portrait is of Queen Isabel II of Spain and the Legends say ISABEL 2d POR LA G. DE DIOS Y LA CONST. (Isabel II by the Grace of G-d and the Constitution). The legend continues on the reverse: REINA DE LAS ESPAÑAS (Literally, Queen of Spain's possessions), below FILIPINAS. The denomination is at the left and right of the shield.

1,2 and 4 Pesos Philippine gold coins were minted with this date and were restruck with this date every year from 1868-1873. The 4 Pesos that your Grandpa has contains .1903 troy ounces of pure gold, slightly less than a 1/5 of a troy ounce. Collector value beyond the gold content depends very much on the condition (grade) of the coin. Value range: gold value to about $400.

Try getting examples of the following quarter dollars:

• No Motto Quarter 1838-1853 and then from 1856-1865
• Seated Quarter, No Drapery from Elbow
• 1853 Quarter Arrows at Date and Sun Rays behind eagle on the reverse.
• 1853-55 Arrows at date but No Rays.
• 1866 and after, Motto on ribbon the Reverse (In God We Trust).
• 1873 Arrows at Date
• 1934 Doubled Die Washington Quarter
• 1983-D Washington Quarter, though a high mintage, few were saved in uncirculated grades. A good example of a clad quarter with value.

Yes, but the current penny is a decimal unit 100 pence= 1 pound. The old large pence prior to 1971 is obsolete. Current approximate exchange value requires 60 pence to equal a U.S. dollar.

The coin is a gold Guinea of George II of England. Based on the inscription the coin's date is 1759. Values depending on grade: US$150-$1,000.

Russia uses the Cyrillic alphabet. CCCP were the initials of The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, what we use to call the Soviet Union. The other word is kopeck (100 kopeck=1 ruble). You are correct about the letter "Pi" Cyrillic is a modified Greek alphabet

It is just my opinion, but ALL the 1984-S Olympic Dollars are non circulating legal tender which means in the original packaging from the Mint the coins are virtually perfect. You would have to take them out of the packaging and abuse them for the coin not to be in gem condition. Has anyone heard of the Mint striking coins in AU condition (OK, maybe the Eisenhower Dollar)?

Accugrade certainly isn't a main stream grading service but would you want to pay much more than the holder price for one graded by NGC or PCGS? You can always buy the coin yourself in the original package and get it slabbed yourself. It will cost you $25 or $30 for the coin and about the same to get it slabbed.

Some recent doubled die Lincolns are:

• 1983 doubled Die Reverse - easily seen on the lettering "ONE CENT" on the reverse
• 1984 Doubled Ear Variety - the doubling is just below the ear lobe
• 1995 Doubled die showing strong doubling on the word "LIBERTY" on the obverse.

These are fun to search for and can be found. I've caught a few myself, though the attendants at fast food places look at you strangely when they see you closely examining your change. Such is the lot of us coin nuts!

There are no stars on a 1884 dime. The "re-engraving" that you describe was done outside the Mint. Re-engraved coins are seen on many official coins and were done for decorative or advertising purposes. "Love" tokens were very popular in the post Civil War era and involved altering one side of a coin by changing the design using a "chasing" tool or planning off the design on one side of the coin and engraving an elaborate set of initials or a landscape significant to the recipient. The coin of choice was usually a dime. It was a good size for a necklace and was light weight.

There are Love tokens that were created on other coins as well, including gold one dollar and 2 1/2 dollar gold pieces. The jewelers of this era became quite adept at creating some amazing designs from ordinary circulated coins. These are popularly collected today and there is even a "Love Token Society" whose members specialize in collecting these wonderful creations.

Your other coin is a 1 Real of Carlos III of Spain and based on the "F.F." Assayer, the coin would also have a "Mo" (Mexico City) Mint Mark. Though you don't mention the coin's date, it is under Carlos's bust, assayer F.F. was in charge of minting at the Mexico City Mint during the years 1778-1784 and then again in 1785,1787 and 1789. The value depends on the condition (grade) and date of the coin but average pieces can be purchased between $20-$50. Uncirculated examples are worth far more.

Yes, Kellogg & Company $20 gold pieces are quite valuable. They were one of the private minters that helped fill the need for coins in commerce in California when the United States Assay Office was being established. There are two designs that imitate the U.S. Liberty $20 gold coin. They have the date 1854 or 1855 and the legend SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA TWENTY D. appears around an eagle with outstretched wings with a shield on its breast. Sun rays with stars are above the eagle's head. Kellogg & Company dissolved in 1854 but was reestablished as Kellogg & Humbert at which time a $50 gold coin was produced.

These neat coins do show up at auctions and at major coin shows. Values depend on grade and type. Values for the $20 coins depend on grade and type but trade between $1,000 and $10,000. A proof version of the Amon Carter specimen of the $50 Kellogg-Humbert brought $154,000 in 1984.

From reading many messages from readers I get the impression that many people believe that coins are struck on blanks that are only approximate weight. This is not true. When coins were THE MONEY the coin's weight was critical to its value. In the early days of the Mint, there were rooms filled with employees whose job was to weigh newly minted coins to ascertain their weight was correct.Heavy coins were scored with a file and the metal dust was gathered and melted. "Adjustment" marks are common on early U.S. precious metal coins. Light weight coins were remelted.

Morgan and Peace Dollars weigh exactly the same, 26.73 grams. The coins are 90% silver and 10% copper. The actual pure silver content is .77344 troy ounces. Walking Liberty and Franklin half dollars weigh 12.5 grams are 90% silver and 10% copper and contain .36169 troy ounces pure silver.

The Louis and Clark gold dollars were minted for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon. The two issues are identical except for the date. Charles E. Barber, chief engraver of the the mint, created the dies. The coin features a portrait of Captain Meriwether Lewis on the obverse, date below and his partner William Clark on the reverse, ONE DOLLAR below the portrait.

There were no coins made from dies without the denomination. You may have some kind of unofficial token. Genuine gold dollars weigh 1.672 grams. Try weighing the coin to see if it is of dollar weight.

You have a medal of the Investiture of Albert Edward as Prince of Wales and that is the reason for the Welsh legends. It was issued in 1911. The next in line to the throne of England becomes Prince of Wales before he becomes King. Albert was the famous Edward VIII that became King in 1936 but abdicated 11 months later to marry the divorced Mrs. Wallis Simpson.

The medals were issued in both gold and silver. Only 129 gold specimens were issued and these are quite valuable (US$1,000+). The silver versions are far more plentiful and bring between US$80-$125.

George T. Morgan was the Mint engraver who designed the Liberty Head Silver dollar. These large and beautiful coins were made from 1878 to 1904 and then for one year, with a modified design in 1921.

The majority of these coins never saw circulation and, at least in the Eastern United States, they were thought of as being less than convenient. Collectors love them because they are easy to get, inexpensive even for uncirculated examples and many of the common dates are more than a century old.

If you are interested in the Carson City issues, the 1882-CC and the 1883-CC are the most common dates of this mint's issues. They can be found in the "Nixon" holders in which the coins were released from the U.S. government hoard in the 1970's. Prices run from $50-$85 depending on grade (they are uncirculated).

Your  South Carolina note is the 2nd South Carolina State issue (1778). The 5 Shillings note features a Phoenix and, depending on grade, trades between $25 - $300.

I don't think I've ever seen a one dollar gold coin in such a low grade as VG. I would think that in such a low grade it would be worth a bit over the gold content, maybe $20. Average circulated pieces are worth $100 - $150. You also don't mention the mint mark. For instance 1852 gold dollars were also minted in Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans. These are worth far more.

Brasher's 1787 Doubloons were essentially patterns or proposals for coinage. There are two designs, one, The "New York" Doubloon with Ephraim Brasher's Initials on the reverse eagle's wing (EB) and the New York motto, NOVA EBORACA COLUMBIA EXCELSIOR and another, based on the design of the cob Lima 8 Escudos. All the genuine pieces of which only a few exist, are 28.6mm in diameter and weigh about 26.6 grams. The composition is .917 fine gold.

Most brass copies are "museum" copies and have no specific value. These seem to be abundant. The "Robinson" copies you mention were made from a pair of copy dies in 1861 by a diesinker in Boston named Merriam. Only 25 brass and 25 copper were reported struck. These are prooflike and have a different lettering style than the original. I would think that these would have some interest but would not of great value.

Sometime during the same period, the curator of the Mint Cabinet, DuBois, made gilt electrotypes of the Mint's specimen of the Brasher Doubloon. These have edge seams very much like cast pieces.

During the 1980's many small private companies went into business striking medals containing one ounce of silver. The purpose was to sell silver at a substantial markup with the guise of this item being a premium collectible. Virtually all of these items are traded today at a slight discount to the world silver price as none of these small outfits are recognized and there is always the suspicion that the silver content is less than indicated.

Only a small number of brand names of silver bars circulate at face. There are also official coins such as the United States Silver Eagle and The Canadian Maple Leaf that are accepted without question.

You've stumbled upon a 1999 State quarter. These quarters will be struck in large numbers and are the normal circulation quarters. For the next ten years there will be five State quarters issued each year. Below is the issue schedule. Now if you had found a 1999 quarter with the reverse of 1998.........