Determining the Value of a Coin Begins With The Coin Type
A dealer or collector will always closely examine a coin before deciding on a price for it. The categories of type or denomination will be the first way that they sort these items.
Mints occasionally produce commemorative coins, tokens or medals which are primarily made for the collector's market. For examples, there are commemorative coins minted for the Olympic Games.
Half-cent coins, oversized coins, coins in odd denominations and more are among the coins which collectors crave. Many collectors like to collect sets – these are often too expensive for many collectors, who will instead set a goal of collecting one of each type.
Here are some of the more common types.
One cent coins – these have been minted since 1856. The collectible categories among these are the Flying Eagle Cent, made from 1856 to 1858, the Indian Head Cent, minted from 1859 to 1909 and the more recent Wheat Back Lincoln Cent made from 1909 to 1958.
Nickels – usually made from a nickel-copper alloy and having a face value of five cents. Collectible nickesl include the Liberty Head "V" Nickel made from 1883 to 1913. There are many 1913 counterfeits, but a genuine 1913 is very valuable. The Buffalo Nickel was produced from 1913 to 1938 and is also a sought after item among collectors. Also prized are Word War II era nickels, which were made of copper, silver and manganese due to wartime metal rationing.
Dimes – made since 1792 and having a face value f ten cents, dimes were once made of 90% silver and 10% copper. The silver content of these coins has been dropping ever since their introduction. In 1965, dimes began to be minted with 75% copper and 25% nickel. These components were chosen since they are not precious metals. This means that older dimes will tend to fetch a higher price on the market.
The more commonly collected dimes include the Mercury Dime, produced from 1916-1945 and the Barber Dime, minted between 1892 and 1916.
Rare quarters are a harder thing to find. There is the Standing Liberty Quarter, made from 1916 to 1930 and the very rare Barber Quarter, produced from 1892 to 1916.
Half dollar coins are becoming more and more rare. Even though it is a relatively recent coin, most coin collectors are thrilled to come across a Franklin Half Dollar coin; these were minted between 1948 and 1963.
It's fairly easy to find genuine silver dollars, but their precious metal content means that they tend to have price which is higher than their face value. Morgan's minted silver dollars from 1878 to 1921 are a somewhat common collectible coin, but the Peace Dollar, produced from 1921 to 1935 is a much rarer find.
For U.S. based collectors, specialty categories of collectible coins include foreign coins which are no longer in circulation, commemorative coins and gold coins which were produced before 1933. These include the Gold Dollars made from 1849 to 1899 and Double Eagles; these were minted from 1849 to 1933 and are also known as twenty dollar gold pieces.
While not coins per se, tokens and medals are often part of coin collections, especially subway tokens. When these medals and tokens are rare or commemorative in nature, they can be very valuable.
Once the first categorization of a coin is made, the dealer or collector will then go on to the next step – grading the coin in front of them.
Related Article: