In case you have been wondering what your favorite coins are worth, you might want to first find out what mintmarks, if any, they have.
Mint marks, along with grade, overall condition, and the date are the main factors in determining how much a coin is worth.
The most common mintmarks you will encounter today are:
- "P" - Philadelphia
- "D" - Denver
- "S" - San Francisco
But there are other mintmarks, too!
In response to increasing bullion values, the U.S. Mint is raising prices on its gold coins.
New Ultra-High Relief Saint-Gaudens coins are up $50 each, to $1,389.00. First Spouse coins have increased $25, to $665.75 for uncirculated versions and $679.00 for proof.
The Ultra-High Relief gold coin, by the way, is one of the most popular gold coins the U.S. Mint has offered in a long time.
The coin is:
With bullion values for gold hitting a record high yesterday, news about sales of U.S. Mint Eagle coins is positive: sales are strong.
Over 100,000 Gold Eagles were sold by the Mint in September. More than a quarter-million Silver Eagles have been sold during the first days of October alone!
And while the news is all about gold right now, let's not forget our lighter-colored bullions friend named silver. It, too, is performing well this year in the bullion market -- those sales numbers for the Silver Eagle are exciting.
If you want to purchase silver eagles, be sure you know how to do it right! Some tips for buying Silver Eages include:
One economist has proposed that we scrap our current coinage system and replace the nickel, dime, and quarter with coins like a 3-cent, 11-cent, and 37-cent pieces!
The theory is that these denominations correspond with a more "efficient" coinage combination given coin usage for transactions. By the way, in this proposed system, we would still have the 1-cent coin.
I don't know how much you or I would like using 11-cent and 37-cent coins (could get kinda complicated when adding up our change from the jar, huh?), but did you know our country has already had a 3-cent coin?
It's true!
Indian Head $2.50 (Quarter-Eagle) and $5.00 (Half Eagle) gold coins are among the most beautiful gold coins the U.S. Mint ever created. They also make great investments and are popular with numismatists.
They also are known as "incuse" coins -- the design dips INTO the coin rather than popping off the surface, like most other coins.
Here are a few interesting points you can learn in the video:
It isn't often when you find a rare coin in circulation, but it happens.
Did you know that Scott Travers, a famous numismatist, once "spent" 3 valuable pennies in New York City to promote coin collecting? In 2006, he used a 1908-S Indian cent, 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent, and 1914-D Lincoln cent -- and nobody has reported finding them yet!
You may be surprised to learn that there are several rare Lincoln cents that you may have a (small) chance of finding if you keep your eyes to what goes through your pocket. Some of the scarce dates include:
With seemingly everybody -- including certain lawmakers -- talking about getting rid of the U.S. cent (it's not actually called a "penny," by the way), you would think coin collectors probably don't much like pennies either.
At least the serious collectors, right? Wrong.
In fact, Lincoln cents have always been a highly popular coin to collect -- even for veteran coin collectors.
That said, the Lincoln cent is perhaps more popular to collect now than it has been in decades.
So why all the Lincoln cent "buzz" now?
For one, the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial cents have stirred much interest in the Lincoln cent series. With 4 special designs honoring Lincoln's private life and his public life in 2009 and a permanent, new reverse (tails) design coming in 2010, people are excited to Lincoln cents again.
Following are 5 unique ways to collect Lincoln cents...
Continue reading: 5 Ways To Collect Lincoln Pennies
The U.S. Virgin Islands quarter was recently released. Have you seen it yet? It's still pretty early, so it may be awhile before you start seeing these quarters show up in your pocket change.
Still, you may be interested in some background information about this coin, including how the U.S. Virgin Islands quarter design was proposed and approved.
Here's more about the U.S. Virgin Islands quarter including:
The 5th coin in the 2009 District of Columbia & United States Territories Quarters series was released on September 28th.
The U.S. Virgin Islands quarter is currently being minted and should be making its way into your pocket change anytime now.
Continue reading: U.S. Virgin Islands Quarter
Bullion investing is hot right now, but while gold, gold coins, and gold bullion may be the "popular" metal, don't forget to keep an eye on silver. The Wall Street Jorunal wrote a very interesting report on silver this week. Namely, the article says silver has increased in price by 47% this year. Yet, at around $17 an ounce as of this writing, it is far cheaper to invest in silver, per ounce, than in gold.
Coins represent a great way to store silver. A lot of people seem to think they have to have lots of money to invest in silver. But if you click here, you can read how you can buy silver coins on a tight budget. Money-saving tips include:
Assembling rolls of silver coins piece by piece (one coin at a time)
Finding silver coins in circulation (yes, that's STILL possible!)
Rare Pennies You Should Hold Onto... Including The 1943 Penny