Nancy-Jane K. writes: Perhaps you would be willing to help me with this coin. It’s not written in English, nor does it use letters that I am capable of reproducing with my keyboard. The closest I can say in that it has the number 10 on the left-hand side of the face, with rather unusual numbers (year??) across the bottom consisting of a one, a seven, reversed and the top has the classic v-bird shape that people like to draw, a nine that is not reversed, and a seven, reversed, with a curved top.
On the reverse side, there is more writing, and a palm tree, with crossed swords under it, in the middle of the coin. It has reeded edges, and is in very, very good condition, with a slightly yellowed cast to it, so I’m thinking it might be nickel?
I am also wondering if my 1960 QEII Hong Kong fifty cent piece is silver? My last question, I have dimes that were stamped offset…it appears to me that it is a common problem with dimes, are they not as collectable as other misaligned coins?
- Your mystery coin is a copper-nickel, Saudi Arabia 10 Halala (2 Ghirsh). The date you see are Arabic numerals and represents the Moslem date of 1397 (1976).
- Your 1960 Hong Kong 50c is minted on a copper-nickel flan.
- Yes, any mint error is worth more than face value. Off center copper-nickel dimes bring $3-$5 depending on condition and the degree of offset.
