A Penny for Your Thoughts, a Rare 1913 Liberty Head Nickel for Your Collection!

Collecting Rare Coins

Collecting money:  it seems a little silly when you think about it, doesn’t it?  Don’t we all want to collect as much money as we can?  What I am referring too, however, isn’t just adding to your bank account.  I am talking about collecting rare coins.  The difference is, the nickel that you drop in your piggy bank will only net you 5 cents, while coming across a rare nickel not meant for circulation, such as a 1913 Liberty Nickel, will increase your worth by about $5 million dollars.  Isn’t the world of coin collecting exciting?  You never know what you may find.  That is why rare coin collecting remains one of the most popular and lucrative collections on the market today!

The History of Coins
(courtesy of http://www.thecoinalley.com/)

Here is some information on the history of coins. Copper, Silver, and Gold Coins have found themselves in the hearts of coin collectors all over the world.  And are some of the most cherished collectibles, that haven't become some collecting fad at the time.  Coin collecting is here to stay, and as long as collectors stay intrigued in the passion of coins, and pass that passion down, the "Hobby of Kings"  will never die out.
 
It wasn't until foreign tradesman came to trade with the American immigrants and demanded coins for payment of goods.  Before then immigrants used beaver skins, tobacco, and wampum, which was fashioned from mussel shells in the form of beads.  Many foreign coins were excepted as payment, however, the Spanish Dollar became the standard monetary unit used throughout the colonial period.  As time went on, many coins and tokens of all different types were introduced by the colonist, and the money came to be.

March 1 1781, the Articles of Confederation provided that Congress should have the sole right to regulate not only the alloy, but also the value of any coin struck.  This meaning each state had the right to coin money, and New Hampshire was the first of the states to consider coinage, but few coins were placed into circulation.  Other states, such as Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey were granted coining privileges and Massachusetts began coining copper coins.

Copper Coins were the first coins to be minted by the United States Mint, which officially opened its doors in 1793.  The Mint produced the Large Cent and the Half Cent, which both went through some rather major design changes.  But none the less the cents were produced in a time where they were greatly needed.  After the era of the Large and Half Cents, which ended in 1857, came rise to a new copper coin series called the small cents which escalated into what we use now.  The Flying Eagle Cent gave birth to a new metal used in minting coins.  This new metal was Nickel, and it began the basis of coins today.  The new copper-nickel coins are what a majority of our coins today are made of in some facet or another.

Many of the most popular and famous coins were struck in silver.  Silver coins were what the United States Mint primarily produced and are very popular in the collecting community.   Many denominations of silver coins have been struck including the three-cent piece, the silver half-dime, the twenty-cent piece, quarter dollar, half dollar, and the one dollar coins.  All these coins, whether short lived or here to stay, brought some importance  to the economic structure of the United States.  And whether the coins were produced for the sheer value of showing England that we could stand on our own two feet, or that we actually needed the adoption of the silver coins for just a nice coin to look at in our pockets.  The Silver Coins were without a doubt one of the most regarded collectible coins minted by our United States Mint.

Our US Gold coins were minted in 1795 in denominations of the 5 and 10 dollar pieces.  These are a very desired collectible among coin collectors all over the world, and the are as rare as they come. The United States Mint produced gold denominations of $1, $2.50, $5, $10, and the 20 dollar gold piece.  A $4 Gold piece was struck as well as a $50 Gold, but these were merely pattern coins for the upcoming new coins and were never released into the economy. Owning gold coins today, wasn't really to spend them with actual circulating currency, but to regard them in the same effect as collectible coins, only knowing that they were worth their weight in gold.

The Top 10 Rare U.S. Coins
(courtesy of http://www.livescience.com/history/top10-rare-coins-1.html)

10: 1943 Copper Penny
The Second World War meant big rationing on copper, and the US Mint was no exception. Most wartime pennies were instead made of a brass-steel alloy, except for a few struck from the outlawed bronze (a copper alloy). If you find one of these anomalies - the common brass version will stick to a magnet, while the bronze won't - it could be worth big bucks.



9: 1776 Silver Continental Dollar

Not long after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the new United States Congress decided to assert its freedom by striking the first true American currency. The design, usually attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is a whimsical motif including the words "fugio" (time flies) and "mind your business," along with thirteen interlocking rings representing the colonies. Many were struck in pewter and a few dozen remain, but the silver version is very rare.



8: 1866

This famous silver coin, owned by the DuPont family, was the target of a heist in 1967 and only recovered just a few years ago. Just a few denominations, and probably only the one duPont dollar, were produced without the classic "In God We Trust" motto in 1866. According to some sources, it was upon special request from a collector and friend of mint executives, a pharmacist who provided opium to the workers in return.



7: Almost anything from 1870

...or more specifically, from 1870 and created in San Francisco. Three of the most coveted collector coins - the 1870-S Half-Dime, 1870-S Silver Dollar and 1870-S Gold $3 coin (the S stands for the mint city) - come from the year when construction began on a new mint in San Fran. Just a few coins in those denominations were produced that year, most of which were destined to be embedded in the foundation's cornerstone.



6:  1913 Liberty Head Nickel

This five-cent piece is a numismatic legend. Despite being retired in 1912, five nickels with the "Liberty Head" design were struck in 1913 and came into the possession of one man. The collector started a rumor about their existence, driving up the value of the nickel if one was ever found but neglecting to mention he had all five. They were sold a few years later and, in a recent change of hands, one was valued at 5 million dollars.



5: 1974 Aluminum Penny

With the rising price of copper, in the early 1970s it almost cost as much to make a cent as the penny was worth. The US Mint tested alternatives, like this aluminum penny that was sent out to VIPs as a sample, and then never recouped.



4: 1861 Confederate States Half-Dollar

The New Orleans Mint came under the control of the Confederate States in 1861, but without a reserve of precious metals, the South chose paper money instead of coinage to support their war efforts. The few Confederate cents and half-dollars that were struck were virtually unknown until they began popping up in private collections after the Civil War.



3: The Brasher Doubloon

Before New York adopted the new constitution in 1789 it, like other states, had the right to issue its own state coinage. Goldsmith Ephraim Brasher got one of those contracts, to mint copper coins, but it appears he largely ignored that material and went on to produce several very artistic gold specimens for reasons unknown. Just seven of these unique coins are known to exist.



2: 1804 Draped Bust Dollar

When the Jackson administration, in 1834, wanted to dole out coin sets to foreign dignitaries, there was a problem - silver dollars hadn't been pressed for thirty years, to combat a rash of counterfeit schemes. The mint was ordered to press eight silver dollars for the occasion and they were dated 1804, the only dollar coins that would ever bear that year. Today, each has a value of over one million dollars.



1: 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle

In 1933, with the Depression in full swing, President Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard and recalled all gold coins for melting. About a dozen never made it back to the mint or were smuggled out again by enterprising employees, including this one, which resurfaced in 1992 and was confiscated by the Secret Service. In 1933 it had a face value of $20; in 2002, it was sold at auction for over 7 million dollars.



Tips for Starting your Rare Coin Collection

• A good way to begin your rare coin collection is to go through the change you already have! Clean out your old drawers, wallets, purses. You'll be surprised at all of the interesting and rare coins that you may discover you already have just lying around.
• Learn about rare coins.  Purchasing a rare coin information and price guide is essential when starting your own rare coin collection.  Check out rare coin price guides online, like the PCGS (http://www.pcgs.com/prices/default.aspx).  You want to know how much your coins are potentially worth in today’s market so that you know what to look for in your home and while shopping for rare coins.
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• Know where to shop for rare coins. Check out antique stores, rare coin shops, classifieds websites such as the iTaggit online classifieds, and online auction websites such as eBay. You always could get lucky by getting handed a free rare coin by a cashier! Keep your eyes open, sometimes a rare coin can be found even lying on the ground!
• A rare coin collection can be worth hundreds to millions of dollars.  Always do your own research and value your own collection when deciding to resale your collection.  Do not rely on a non-professional appraiser to tell you the value of your coins. In fact, I would not rely on any appraiser to value my collection if I had not previously valued it myself.  Plus – valuing your own collection will give you a feel for how much it is worth and give  you a better appreciation of your new-found hobby!
• When acquiring rare coins, purchase only coins certified by an objective 3rd. party authentication company, such as PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Services), NGC (Numismatic Guarantee Corporation) and ANACS (American Numismatic Authentication Certification Service). Always purchase your rare coins from an established, reputable dealer whose credentials can be verified. Also, always verify the values of any coins you are interested in before you agree to purchase them.
• Purchasing uncertified coins opens the door to counterfeits and altered coins. Remember, if the deal sounds to good to be true, it is.

Rare Coin Price Guide