AboutMyCoinWhat a Coin Is Worth
Four things set what a coin is worth, and the year stamped on the front is only one of them.
The other three are the mint mark beside it, the condition of the surface and how many people collect the series. A coin struck in the hundreds of millions is common whatever its date, and the questions here are about telling the difference before anybody makes you an offer.
Every answer stops where the coin starts mattering. For a figure on one particular coin, the coin value catalogue has the specifications and the metal content, and the melt value pages do the arithmetic.
How much is my coin worth?
A coin is worth whichever is higher: the metal in it, or what a collector will pay for that date, mint mark and condition. The metal is arithmetic you can settle in a minute, and the collector premium comes from three things printed on the coin or visible on its surface.
Are old coins worth money?
Age on its own is worth nothing: a two-thousand-year-old Roman bronze can be bought for pocket money, while a cent from 1909 sells for four figures. What sets the price is how many survive and how many people collect them, and a coin struck in the hundreds of millions is common however old it is.
What do the letters on a coin mean?
A single small letter near the date or on the reverse is the mint mark, and it says which facility struck the coin: D for Denver, S for San Francisco, P or no letter for Philadelphia, W for West Point. Initials elsewhere in the design are the designer’s, and they mean nothing for value.
Are error coins worth money?
A few are worth a great deal and most are worth very little, and the difference is whether the fault happened inside the mint or afterwards. Damage in a pocket, a machine or a vice is not an error, and it is the explanation for the overwhelming majority of unusual-looking coins people find.
Other topics
- Grading and condition — Condition is the largest variable in a coin’s price and the one most easily destroyed at home.
- Silver, gold and spot prices — The metal in a coin is the part of its value that is calculated rather than judged.
- Selling coins — Nobody pays what a coin is worth, and knowing why is what makes an offer judgeable.