Adam B. writes: I have a piece of Colonial Currency for Maryland dated in April of 1774. for the amount of 1/6 of a Dollar. It is in good to fair condition. I am trying to find out how much it is worth so I can appraise my collection. Please help. I can’t seem to find a price guide on the web. Thank you.
The note is dated April 10, 1774, Maryland 1/6 dollar. Similar notes were issued in various colonies to alleviate the shortage of coins. The notes before 1730 are rare but the later Revolutionary period issues seem to be in abundant supply, especially in average or lower grades. Value in Good: about $10-$14.
Ken K. writes: I would like information on a coin/token dated 1837. One side of coin has a picture of a running donkey/horse. With the phrase, “I follow in the steps of my illustrious predecessor.” The other side has a picture of a turtle with a chest on its back. On the chest is “SB Treasury”. Under the turtle is “fiscal agent e________ e_______. Can you give me some idea what this is or where it came from?
The period between 1832-1844 was a turning point in the history of the United States and centered around the controversy over whether public funds should be kept in a privately controlled institution. President Andrew Jackson began the controversy by vetoing a bill in 1832 to continue the existence of the private Bank of the United States passed its charter expiration in 1836. An economic depression began in 1837 when even state banks proved to be unworthy places to keep the country’s funds. A whole category of collecting centers around the “Broken Bank Notes” of this period.
Emotions ran high and as the economy worsened, the population hoarded gold and silver. Small transactions became difficult. The government hadn’t the capacity to supply copper coins to substitute for the hoarded money. Hundreds of large cent size tokens began to appear to take the place of small silver coins. These tokens had advertising messages or political statements as their themes.
Your Hard Times token, know as “Jackass running” is one of the first instances of the symbol of the “Democratic party” of Andrew Jackson. The issuer is critical of the policy of eliminating the Bank of the United States (I FOLLOW THE ILLUSTRIOUS STEPS OF MY PREDECESSOR). The obverse legend says: 1837 EXECUTIVE EXPERIMENT, and above FISCAL AGENT referring to the tortoise. On the tortoise’s back is a treasure chest, representing the funds of the United States and on the chest is SB TREASURY, which refers to the independent “sub-treasury” system that the government established.
I guess the tortoise represented what the critics thought the government would make out of the economy, slow. The critics were nostalgic for the high flying boom that was fueled before 1832 by worthless paper money and overextended credit.
Many changes, most for the good, came out of the Hard Times Period.
Phillip D. asks: What is a 1945 “thick” penny??
I never heard this term used with a United States 1945 cent. Since the flans are uniform and rolled out and cut from the same sheets, it would be difficult or even impossible to find one flan thicker than another. There are a couple of errors that would make a flan SEEM thicker than another:
David E. writes: I recently purchased an 1881-S $5 gold piece. I have since discovered it to be an S/O mintmark, as described in the Breen encyclopedia. I have been unable to find any more information on this coin, or its value. Breen lists it as rare. Can you provide more insight on this coin?
This interesting repunched mint mark was discovered by dealer Jay Miller in 1982 and is a curiosity as well as rare. The dies for coins were manufactured in Philadelphia and distributed to the branch mints. The punch for that mint was located at the branch mint whose workmen would stamp the mint mark into the dies by hand. It seems that a New Orleans punched die found its way to the San Francisco Mint and the “S” mint was stamped over the “O”. Possibly San Francisco needed another die and New Orleans had and extra one. Dies were very expensive to make. I am only speculating but it seems to be a plausible story.
You will have to place the coin in a prominent auction to determine what the current market is for this rare coin.
Kay writes: My question concerns a Medal (not a coin) from the Columbian Exposition. It is 3″ in diameter and possibly made out of bronze. On the front shows Columbus and on the back is Printed “Worlds Columbian Exposition in commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the landing of Columbus MDCCCXCII MDCCCXCIII to L.J.Farmer.” At the very bottom is the name C.E.Barber. Do you have any idea what this was used for in conjunction with the Columbian Expositon and how many were made. Also why is there a name engraved on it??
There were exhibits at the fair, very much like you still see at a county fair. I assume that the medal you have is an award for an exhibit and the winner’s name was engraved on the medal.
Charles E. Barber was the United States Chief Mint Engraver at the time and he obviously designed the award medal. I don’t know how many were struck, but yours probably is the only one engraved with that particular name.
Chandra writes:Â I have a coin dated back to 1792 with George Washington on it. My coin only has 12 stars on the back of it, whereas, the books I have seen have 13. I will be having this coin appraised sometime in the future. If it is real, how much money is it worth? The books I have seen doesn’t give a value.
The United States quarter that was introduced in 1932 is the only United States circulating coin with a portrait of George Washington. However, there are many medals. In fact, George Washington probably holds the record for the most medals struck with his portrait. There are official Mint medals and lots of privately issued medals too.
The 1792 date was often used. It was the year of the French Revolution and the philosophical ties between the Americans and the French were very strong. After all, they were our chief ally during the War For Independence.
There are lots of varieties of these medals and a great deal of collector interest. Original 1792 medals can bring $100 or a lot more depending on type and grade. There are also copies and fakes of these early pieces. These are worthless. Electrotypes and casts made by enterprising individuals for the Centennial in 1876 are collectable but at much lower prices.
Richard L. writes:Â As time has gone by I have been buying coins graded by PCGS and had the following questions…
1. Are there any guidelines I should follow in order to determine whether I’m paying a fair or too high a price for a coin?
2. When going to sell a coin, any tips on how to determine a coins value?
3. Any tips on how to get as much as possible when selling a coin?
The reason I’m asking these questions is because I’m finding prices vary wildly. Even when consulting recently purchased grey and blue sheets, prices vary wildly as well, thus adding to my confusion… Help me Doc!Â
Check sources such as Coin World. They run a price “Trends” section in their weekly newspaper. They don’t list all coins every week but they rotate through all U.S. coins and even some foreign coins over the course of several weeks. The listing is a general survey of retail prices. Wholesale, or what a dealer would be willing to pay if he has a ready client, is about 20% lower.
Not all coins are equal even in the same grade and packaged by the same grading service. Sometimes coins with no patina are stronger sellers and at other times, attractively toned coins are more in demand. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but everyone hates ugly coins, even if PCGS grades it MS65.
If a dealer has many examples of a common coin he may not purchase more unless he buys it at a discounted price. He hedges on the price because he may have to keep that item for a long time before he can sell it. Tying up capital is costly. Attractive, rare and in demand coins may bring more than listed prices because of their scarcity and their easy salability. Try to remember that coin dealers are running a business and are not required to “redeem” your coins.
If you want to make money collecting coins then you will have to invest in a considerable amount of numismatic education but that’s what makes it interesting and fun. It helps if you know about your hobby. You’ll find that the people who make out the best are those that learn what and how to collect, buy and sell.
Tom D. writes:Â I have a US $20 bill that is not printed on the back. The bill is in uncirculated condition. I have no idea what it is worth, could you please help? I am from Canada, and when I ask dealers here I get a different price from each of them. I have been told that the bill is worth between $30-$150.Â
U.S. currency is printed in three stages. The notes are printed on sheets. The backs are printed first, allowed to dry, then the front is printed and allowed to dry. The last stage prints the Treasury Seal and serial numbers on the front of the notes.
Your note is missing the first printing. There are several events that might cause this error.
“Blank Backs” are rarer than “Blank Fronts”. You didn’t mention what series the note was, though a good guess is 1988, they messed up a lot in that series. Values: $150-$200.