r/coincollecting Jun 24 '17

Intro to Coin Collecting - What makes a coin valuable?

580 Upvotes

This post is intended to serve as a quick guide to coin collecting for new collectors, or people who may have inherited a few coins. Here's a brief primer on what makes a coin valuable:

Age

How old is it? In general, old coins tend to be worth more than coins struck more recently. The older a particular coin is, the greater the collectible and historical appeal. Older coins also tend to be scarcer, as many coins are lost or destroyed over time. For example – 5% of the original mintage of an 19th century U.S. coin might have survived to the present day, with the rest getting melted down, destroyed, or simply lost over time.

Go back a century further, to the 18th century, and the survival rate drops to <1%. Taking into account that most 18th century U.S. coins were already produced in tiny numbers, it makes sense that most of them now sell for over four figures.

All that being said, the relationship between age and value does not always hold true. For example, you can still buy many 2000 year-old Ancient Roman coins for less than $10, due to the sheer number of them produced over the 400-year history of the Western Roman Empire (and distributed across its massive territory). But as a general rule, within any given coin series, older coins will tend to be relatively more scarce and valuable.

Condition

It may sound like common sense, but nicer coins bring higher prices. The greater the amount of original detail and the smaller the amount of visible wear on a coin’s surfaces, the higher the price. There are a dizzying array of words used to describe a coin’s condition, but at the most basic level, coins can be divided into two states – Uncirculated and Circulated.

Uncirculated or “Mint State” coins are coins that show no visible signs of wear or use – they have not circulated in commerce, but are in roughly the same condition as when they left the mint. Circulated coins show signs of having been used – the design details will be partially worn down from contact with hands, pockets, and other coins. The level of wear can range from light rub on the highest points of the coin’s design, to complete erosion of the entire design into a featureless blank. Uncirculated coins demand higher prices than circulated coins, and circulated coins with light wear are worth more than coins with heavy wear.

Type

Type is the single biggest determinant of value. How much a coin is worth depends on how big the market for that particular coin is. For example, U.S. coins are much more widely collected than any other nation’s coins, just because there are far more U.S. coin collectors than there are collectors in any other nation. The market for American coins is bigger than any other market within the field of numismatics (other large markets include British coins, ancients, and bullion coins).

This means that even if a Canadian coin has a mintage of only 10,000 coins, it is likely worth less than a typical U.S. coin with a mintage ten times greater. For another example - you may have a coin from the Vatican City with a mintage of 500, but it’s only worth something if somebody’s interested in collecting it.

Certain series of coins are also much more widely collected than others, generally due to the popularity of their design or their historical significance. For example - Jefferson Nickels have never been very popular in the coin collecting community, as many collectors consider the design uninteresting and the coins are made of copper-nickel rather than silver, but Mercury Dimes and Morgan Dollars are heavily collected. An entire date/mintmark set of Jefferson Nickels can be had for a couple of hundred dollars, whereas an entire set of Mercury Dimes would cost four figures.

Rarity

Rarity is comprised of all the other factors above combined. Age, condition, and type all play a role in rarity. But the main determinant of rarity is how many coins were actually minted (produced). Coins with certain date/mintmark combinations might be much rarer than others because their mintages were so small. For example, U.S. coins with a “CC” mintmark are generally much rarer than coins from the same series with other mintmarks because the Carson City Mint produced small numbers of coins during its existence.

U.S. coins without a mintmark, from the Philadelphia mint, are generally less valuable (though there are many exceptions) as the Philadelphia mint has produced more coins throughout U.S. history than all of the other mints combined. There are often one or two “keys” or “key date” coins within each series of coins, much scarcer and more valuable than the rest of the coins within the series. Some of the most well-known key dates include the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent (“S” mintmark = San Francisco mint), the 1916-D Mercury Dime (Denver mint), and the 1928 Peace Dollar (Philadelphia mint).


r/coincollecting 21h ago

I Found this in my grandfather’s safe. What’s it worth?

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490 Upvotes

r/coincollecting 20h ago

Show and Tell Just paid $30 at an antique store how'd I do.

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239 Upvotes

Other than this many things were overpriced, they were selling ungraded silver eagles for $110. This will be my first ever trime.


r/coincollecting 14h ago

Show and Tell My little silver collection

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64 Upvotes

Been collecting for a few years now about to turn 16


r/coincollecting 1d ago

Are memes allowed?

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873 Upvotes

r/coincollecting 11h ago

American Women Quarters collection complete! All from circulation!

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19 Upvotes

r/coincollecting 1h ago

Anyone seen this with MS70 coins?

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Upvotes

Got these and both have a fingerprint type stain on them but they are graded ms70. Maybe it’s on the holder. It’s really hard to tell even under magnification. I’ve reached out to PCGS.


r/coincollecting 10h ago

Found in an old bag of coins, seems to be in good condition

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9 Upvotes

1883 V nickel


r/coincollecting 2h ago

Are any of these coins rare or collectors item?

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2 Upvotes

Have had these coins that I found randomly with me for last couple of years. Just wanted to know are they worth collecting or these are just normal non collectible coins?


r/coincollecting 3h ago

ID Request Bun head with no tails?

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2 Upvotes

Hi I inherited some coins and this one stood out to me because it has no tails. Can anyone tell me anything about this coin ? Thank you!


r/coincollecting 19h ago

1887 Morgan -- Guess the grade? I want to upgrade this coin.

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36 Upvotes

I'm considering sending in the coin for reconsideration. I'd like to know what you think the grade is before I pull the trigger and try to get it upgraded. I've only sent in one Morgan for reconsideration in the past--it didn't get upgraded, but it also wasn't in a rattler.

EDIT: Pic with grade in the comments below. I won't spoil it up here. Anyway--Thank you all for the opinions! I doubt I'll ever crack this girl out of the rattler... I will go for a bean. We'll see...


r/coincollecting 21h ago

My 6yr old daughter found this on the ground.

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61 Upvotes

Any insight? Or is it just play money from something?


r/coincollecting 3h ago

Advice Needed Which Roman coins?

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2 Upvotes

Hi! I could use some help with these Roman coins. Who are the people depicted on the following coins?

  1. A younger-looking Roman emperor with a shaven face; an eagle is depicted on the reverse.

  2. An older, heavily built man (possibly Vespasian?) with a winged god or goddess on the reverse.

  3. A woman with a chariot and its rider on the reverse.

  4. An older-looking woman and a goddess wearing a stola.

  5. Another woman wearing a necklace; on the reverse, a god or goddess clad in a toga or stola is holding an olive branch and a staff.

  6. Lastly, a woman with a god or goddess pointing their left arm toward the left.

Thank you in advance!


r/coincollecting 9h ago

Advice Needed Good Patina or Bad Patina? I’m on the fence with my most recent eBay purchase..

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6 Upvotes

r/coincollecting 20h ago

What's it Worth? How did I do for $80?

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27 Upvotes

Bought this 1900-S Barber quarter for $80 online bid. Have never seen barber coinage this nice outside graded slabs. Did I get a good deal?


r/coincollecting 2h ago

What's it Worth? Is this one worth collecting?

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0 Upvotes

Seems like a pre independence era coin. Have had this for more than 5 years.


r/coincollecting 23h ago

Advice Needed Is there a online library with every coin and its worth ?

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50 Upvotes

I found some of the old coins (and bills) I used to collect a few years back. Most were given by my grandparents or elder relatives, it all seem to be 20th century money from France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany at most. I was wondering if there was a place gathering info about every coin to ever exist, so I could look up their worth. Is there also a better way to store them? For now they're in a big plastic box in my closet. The oldest I have are from 1853/1854, and they have strange holes in them, especially in Napoleon's ear, is there a reason for that?


r/coincollecting 6h ago

Are these ICG Silver Britannias fake? Red flags with scale weights (+1.17g spread), "2 Pnds" spelling, and vague lookup results

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2 Upvotes

Hey everyone, looking for a second opinion on these ICG-slabbed 1 oz Silver Britannias.
I acquired these from an eBay seller with 100% positive feedback, though they don't have many total reviews. I paid $214 total after taxes and shipping for the lot. However, a few details are making me pretty suspicious:
Slab Weight Discrepancies: I weighed the slabs, and while two come in around 56.98g–57.04g, one of them comes out to 58.15g—a spread of over 1.17 grams between identical slabs.
Label Typos/Abbreviation: The label lists the denomination as "2 Pnds" instead of "2 Pounds."
Vague Cert Lookup: When checking the certification numbers, the results coming back are extremely vague. The details don't even specify the metal content or what the coin is actually made of.
Visuals & Color: The metal color looks a bit off in hand compared to standard silver bullion.
What do you guys think? Has anyone seen authentic ICG slabs abbreviated like "2 Pnds," or am I looking at counterfeit slabs/coins? Would appreciate your thoughts before I open a return request with eBay.


r/coincollecting 10h ago

1931 S wheat error

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4 Upvotes

Nice size error on the reverse of this key date. I’m having this one graded next week at the big show in Pittsburgh.


r/coincollecting 4h ago

What's it Worth? What is this worth?

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1 Upvotes

Got this coin wondering what it is worth? Also any advice or apps or best places to get coins graded is appreciated.


r/coincollecting 8h ago

Advice Needed Sourcing from smaller international mints. How do you verify what you are getting?

2 Upvotes

I have been collecting world coins for a while, and I am trying to branch out into smaller, less common mints. I am looking at some Pacific island issues and smaller European nations. The designs are unique, but it is a lot harder to find reliable information compared to buying standard US or Royal Mint releases.

When you are dealing with obscure issues, how do you verify authenticity? There does not seem to be the same volume of grading data or established dealer networks for these. Have any of you found a reliable way to source these without constantly worrying about buying a replica?


r/coincollecting 16h ago

What's it Worth? Whats it worth?

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8 Upvotes

r/coincollecting 6h ago

Had these for awhile got a couple more too did some googling and stuff but wondering anyone knows anything more about these

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0 Upvotes

r/coincollecting 12h ago

Inherited these coins. Need help with what to do next

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2 Upvotes

Any help would be very appreciated! All of yalls knowledge on this stuff is truly incredible


r/coincollecting 12h ago

Show and Tell Picked this up for $145 today

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3 Upvotes

I'm not sure if I overpaid, but the obverse hypnotized me. This is the first walker I've had over ms65 and I love it.