In a previous article I listed information so that you may be able to get an approximate idea of your coin's grade.
Now I'm going to go into detail of how to obtain exact grades for your circulated nickels.
Continue reading: Grading Nickels: How To Determine The Grade Of A Nickel
The buffalo nickel is technically known as "the five-cent Indian head" coin.
It's also referred to as the bison nickel or Indian nickel due to the Indian on the front.
The buffalo on the reverse of the coin was supposedly modeled after a bison named Black Diamond that resided in the New York Central Park Zoo.
Did you know? The buffalo head nickel was designed by James E. Fraser who used 3 different native Americans as models.
See how much your buffalo nickels are worth...
Continue reading: Little-Known Facts About Buffalo Nickels And How Much They Are Worth
In a previous article I listed information that might help you get an approximate idea of the grade of your coin.
Now, I'll go into more detail about how you can determine the exact grades for your circulated small cents (pennies).
Continue reading: Grading Pennies: How To Determine The Grade Of A Penny
Coin collectors will no doubt want to be able to look at their coins in order to determine at least an approximate grade. A coin's grade will give you important information that will ultimately be used in determining the coin's worth.
I might as well tell you now that you're not going to be able to do this if you're just beginning to collect coins. Being able to grade a coin accurately comes from a lot of experience.
Here's an overview of how coins are graded...
Continue reading: Grading Coins: How To Do It
Now that I've covered the Westward Journey nickels, I might as well cover the rest of the nickels.
Let's start with the more common Jefferson design. These are all the nickels that you find in your everyday change.
Continue reading: Jefferson Nickels & War Nickels
A lot of people want to know what their nickels are worth.
This article covers the Westward Journey nickels. Then, I will go over Jefferson, buffalo, Liberty, and shield nickels later.
Continue reading: Westward Journey Nickels: 2004-2006 Commemoratives
Coin collecting is a fun and exciting hobby for kids.
If you're interested in getting your children started early in coin collecting I have a few tips and pointers for you.
Some ideas as far as which coins might be the best for kids to collect...
Continue reading: Coin Collecting For Kids: How To Help A Child Start Their First Coin Collection
A Word About Silver Quarters...
Did you know that all quarters from 1964 on back were made of silver? Yep. But none of the new quarters are silver. Silver quarters are worth about 10x face value, because silver is up right now. updated 1/25/08
The history of how the Washington quarter came to be is one of the more interesting...
In 1931 it was decided that a 1-year commemorative half dollar coin should be made in 1932 in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. The front of the coin would be a design of Washington, and a contest would be held to come up with a design for the reverse of the coin.
The contest was held before the approval of Congress was given to go forward with the new commemorative coin. The winner was Laura Gardin Fraser, the wife of James E. Fraser who was the designer of the buffalo nickel.
Congress decided to change things a little. Instead of a half dollar commemorative, Congress decided that it was time to change the design of the U.S. quarter (which was the standing liberty quarter at the time) and that a portrait of Washington would be the design for the front of the new quarter.
After Congress authorized the new quarter, the Treasury Department initiated another contest. It was strongly recommended to Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon that Fraser's design from the previous contest be adopted for the new quarter. Mellon refused, and proceeded with the competition.
Continue reading: Silver Quarters & Washington Quarters: Their History And Value
There's a lot of talk about "mint" whenever you're discussing coins and coin collections.
Some examples:
First, there's the U.S. Mint, which is the federal agency responsible for the production and distribution of our Nation's coinage.
Then, there are mint coins (or mint condition coins) which refers to a coin that is in practically the same condition as when it left the mint.
And then you have mint sets which are collections of uncirculated coins for a particular year. (It includes one uncirculated coin of each denomination from each mint that produced the denomination during that year.)
And finally, you have mint marks (also spelled mintmarks)...
Continue reading: Mint Marks & Where To Find Them
Trying to determine a coin's value?
Before you can determine the value of a coin, you first need to know the "grade" of your coin.
In fact, coin grade is simply one of a number of factors that must be determined in order to find the true value of your coin.
Continue reading: Coin Grade Explained
Rare Pennies You Should Hold Onto... Including The 1943 Penny