Do you think you have a United States rare coin? I thought I did.
I was fishing around for some coins for the soda machine yesterday, when I found a 1974 nickel that looked strangely silver... or else strangely dirty.
I don't know if 1974 nickels are especially valuable in terms of rare coins or not, but I do remember my dad always telling me there were certain years that you were supposed to hold onto.
Something about...
...pennies with wheat on the back
... coins with a "D" on them
... any silver coins (like how are you supposed to tell?!)
... and Susan B. Anthony $1 coins.
Anyway, I thought I'd do a little research to find out which U.S. coins are actually worth something these days.
And from now on, I'm saving them!...
The best sites on the web I found for quick access to coin values was Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers and Professional Coin Grading Service. Their sites are very up-to-date and make it easy to find the value of virtually any U.S. coin!
Another good site for general coin collecting information is the American Numismatic Association.
What's That Coin Worth?
Just to pick a few of the rare coins that I, personally, have come across... here are some coins you'll want to hold onto:
- Wheat Pennies (...worth 2 to 5 times their face value)
- Steel Pennies (...supposedly very common; all are from 1943 and they stick to a magnet; worth up to a dime)
1943 Copper Penny (...guess they primarily made steel pennies this year, making the standard copper penny rare for the year 1943; how does $20,000 sound?!)
- Indian Head Penny (...who knew a penny could be worth up to 3 dollars?!)
- Buffalo Nickel (...they're worth up to a dollar)
What's Not Worth A Thing...
- Pennies with the Lincoln Memorial (1959-present)
- Your everyday Jefferson Nickel (1938-present)
- Roosevelt Dimes (1965-present)
- Washington Quarters -- even the bicentennial one (1965-present)
- Susan B. Anthony Dollars (1979-1999) ...yes, my dad would be crushed!
The Value Of My Coin Collection
Turns out, my 1974 dirty silver nickel is worth a whopping... 5 cents.
But I still felt the urge to rummage through all those old coins I've been saving through the years! I mean, what are the odds that I could be sitting on something of value?
Fun, fun, fun!...
You can use this online tool from CoinStar to find out how much your jar of coins is worth! (Or try these.)
Okay, after a quick search here, this is what I found... It's not much, but the maximum value of my coin collection at this point looks to be around 3 dollars and 10 cents. That's from:
- (2) 1964 silver
RooseveltJefferson nickels (5x face value = $.25 ea) - (2) 1959 silver
RooseveltJefferson nickels (5x face value = $.25 ea) - (1) 1943 mercury dime (10x face value = $1.00 ea)
- (22) 1939-1958 wheat pennies (5x face value = $.05 ea)
Unless, of course, I take this guy's site into account, which states I could get around 50 cents to a dollar for each of my 1942-64 nickels! ... 88 of them at 50-cents each equals: $44! Guess I'll be holding onto those just in case. (The site claims $2 for "very fine" quality, which mine are not, so I deducted $1.50 each to account for the "well-circulated" condition of my nickels.)
...Ah well, I'm still "banking" on the fact that my stamp collection is worth something. My MOM will tell ya it is... She's the one who bought most of those "plate block sets of 4" for me through my elementary and high school years! I've got a few thousand dollars worth of "mint condition" stamps in face value alone!
Fun Things I've Done With Coins
Ah well, maybe I haven't struck it rich yet, but I had a good time scavaging around for old coins!Which reminds me... As a kid, we used to save up our pennies then take them down to the train tracks. We'd place a slew of them on the actual rails, then wait for a train to pass by. They would flatten them like pancakes, turning our pennies into mini copper saucers that we saved (for a few years), until we decided to start skipping them (like rocks) in the Mississinewa River.
Then, one year, my Dad had me convinced that coin collecting was yet another hobby I indeed needed to start (...in addition to my beer can collection, matchbook collection, rock collection, keyring collection, and stamp collection!). So my mission became to save one penny from every year, one nickel from every year, and so on. And I polished them all up nice & shiny too. (I would use a pencil eraser!) Little did I know at the time that cleaning your coin collection was a very bad thing to do.
What I Learned Today...
Sometimes you've gotta look REAL hard to spot what makes a coin valuable... like this 1995 penny!Geesh... does all this research make me an amateur numismatist now???
How to Find The Value of Coins in YOUR Coin Collection NOTE: Personally, I am not qualified to determine the value of your coins. If you have a coin and you would like to know what it's worth, you have two options:
Check online here: Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers or Professional Coin Grading Service
RELATED:
Rare U.S. Pennies Including the 1943 Penny
Rare Lincoln-Kennedy Penny: Are Commemorative Coins Valuable?
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I was looking at my small collection of circulated lincoln wheat cents and found that my 1946(s) inverted has a double rim directly above (IN GOD WE TRUST) any input would be appreciated . gnfshn283@hotmail.com
Rebecca,
Those silver quarters should be worth at least $2-3 each based on silver value. If they are only lightly worn, they will bring a nominal premium over that.
However, if you have these coins, check for the following:
If you have a 1942-D quarter and see some doubling of the design on the reverse (back side of the coin), it will be worth at least $25-30.
If you have a 1942-D quarter and find doubling on the obverse (front), it will be worth at least $125-150.
If you have a 1943 quarter with doubling on the obverse, it may be worth at least $40-50.
If you have a 1950 quarter with what appears to be a mixed mint mark, with both an "S" or "D" printeed together, you will have a quarter worth at least $30-40.
Marjorie,
Your 1896 silver dollar is worth at least $15-20 if it is not damaged (scratches, nicks, and so on). If the coin has only a light amount of wear, its value begins to approach the $20-25 mark.
Take a look on the back of the coin under the wreath. If you see an "O" and the coin is only lightly worn, it will be worth closer to $40-50.
If you see an "S" under the wreath and the coin is just lightly worn, then it may fetch around $200 or more.
Good luck!
Hi, Kathy,
Your three dimes should be worth at least 85 cents to $1 each, and that value is based on their silver content. However, if your dimes are only lightly worn, they will be worth closer to $2-3 each.
Bernie,
A nice collection you have there! Those pennies are probably worn, right? If so, all of the pennies you have from 1959 to 1975 will be worth only face value, and the others will be worth somewhere between 2 cents and 10 cents each based on wear and date.
The only pennies that will be worth slightly more than that will be your 1943 pennies. Based on wear, those should be worth between 20 and 50 cents each.
Some good news for you---you can stop looking for the 1965-D, 1966-D, and 1967-D pennies. Why? Because no U.S. coins from 1965 to 1967 contain mint marks!
Good luck, and have fun collecting coins!
Stan,
All quarters minted BEFORE 1965 are 90% silver. Those struck for circulation since 1965 contain no silver content whatsoever, and therefore are not worth money on the basis of bullion content.
In 1975 and 1976, the U.S. Mint did strike some Bicentennial quarters with a 40% silver composition, but these were sold to collectors, and not released by the mint into circulation.
Since 1992, the U.S. Mint has been striking a limited number of 90% silver quarters in proof for collectors. These also have not been officially released into circulation.
I have a 1896 dollar coin can you tell me how much it is worth.