Coin values are based on three (3) components: Rarity, Condition and Demand

Rarity is the easy part. Using the Date and Mintmark of the coin, the marketplace fixes a coins rarity based on the original mintage and the estimated number of surviving specimens. Population reports also identify “Condition Rarities”; coins that may be common in lower grades but very rare in higher grades

The Condition of a coin relates to it’s “Grade” . This is represented by a Letter designation such as F or Fine, EF or Extra Fine, AU for Almost Uncirculated, BU or Brilliant Uncirculated, CU for Choice Uncirculated. The grade can also be designated based on a 1-70 scale letter/number combination for more precision. F-12, F15, F20, VF-25, VF35, XF40, XF45, AU50, AU53, AU55, AU58, MS60, MS61, MS 62, MS 63, MS64, MS65, MS66, MS67, MS68, MS69, MS70 (Perfect coin)

Finally Demand will affect the price of a coin based on the number of available examples vs. the number of people that want that particular denominations date/condition combination. This variable depends on current market conditions, tastes and perceptions of value and desirability. For example a beautifully toned common coin may bring a premium in the marketplace compared to a similarly graded brilliant white example of the same date and grade

So what are your coins worth? Ultimately they are worth what someone else is willing to pay for them at any given time. However most coins will trade within a price range, and there are several on-line Price guides that track the current “Retail” or “Market Value” of US coins and banknotes.

Below are links to several Price Guides that will give you a general idea of what your coins are worth in today’s market:

• PCGS Price Guide
• Numismedia Fair Market Values
• Heritage Quick-Pricing Guide
• US Coin Values Advisor
• GPAnalysis for Coins
• Numismaster Price Guides US & World Coins [Subscription]
• Teletrade USA Coin Price Guide
• Coin Dealer Newsletter - Greysheet [subscription]
• Coin World - Coin Values [subscription]
• Ancient Coin Auction Archives
• UK Coin Values by Tony Clayton
• Mint Error News Price Guide

Q - I found a 1943 Steel Cent. Is this Real?

A - In 1943, the production of our One Cent coin went through a major change. War efforts that year required copper and its availability was limited. It was decided to change the content from copper to steel coated with zinc for the first run of the new 1943 cents. In 1944, the need for copper was reduced, and the production of the copper cent resumed.

Over one billion 1943 steel cents were produced at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints, making this a very common coin. However, many people found the new “look” fascinating and saved, rather than spend, the new steel cent. Today, their value ranges from about 5 cents up to about 35 cents in circulated condition. Uncirculated specimens (showing no trace of wear or handling) can bring up to about $10 in high grades.

Many national and area television stations recently reported about a $500,000 cent. They mistakenly advised people that the steel cent was very valuable. What they should have said was that the 1943 copper cent is the rare version. What happened was an extremely limited number of 1943 cents were inadvertently struck on copper planchets, left in the machinery from the previous year. Very few escaped the mint unnoticed, and these are considered very desirable to collectors.

Auction histories indicate the value range to be from around $5,000 to $70,000 depending on the mint and condition… not the half million-dollar figure quoted. Copper-plated zinc forgeries abound. The primary test is to use a magnet. The common steel & zinc pieces (and the copper-plated fakes) will stick to the magnet. The rare copper issues will not.

Q - I found a 2 Headed coin. What’s it worth?

A - Almost always a “trick” or “novelty” coin used by magicians and pranksters. They are manufactured in 2 ways; one is by shaving two separate coins off (Both faces or both tails) and bonding them together; the second method and most used is machining the interior of one coin out (Leaving the edge) and shaving a small portion of another coin on one face and the edge. The smaller piece is then inserted into the hollowed-out piece and bonded together. Due to the minting process it is impossible to mint a coin with two faces or tails!

Q - I heard that the Wisconin State Quarter is rare. Is that true?

A - The mainstream press has begun to pick up on a story that has been known within numismatic circles for some time. In an unusual development for modern coinage and an unheard of development within the Statehood Quarter series, three distinctive die varieties have been reported for the 2004-D Wisconsin Quarter. First reported by collector Bob Ford, of Tucson, AZ, the more unusual varieties have thus far been reported in only the Tucson and San Antonio areas.

These coins are not mere striking errors. Although we may never know exactly how they came about, there is no question that these varieties arose as a result of an accidental or deliberate modification to the two obverse dies. Rick Snow, of Eagle Eye Rare Coins in Tucson, speculates that “perhaps (the varieties are) a “hub-through” where a semi-circular piece of debris gets caught between the blank die and the hub. This would produce an impression in the die which would create a raised element on the coins produced.” Unexplained, though, is the location of the die modification and the fact that both varieties resemble extra leaves on a corn stalk. According to Snow, “it may be an extraordinary coincidence or the result of some Mint employee’s private artwork.”

Whether these new Wisconsin Quarter varieties have arisen as a result of a hubbing error as Mr. Snow speculates, a die gouge as originally reported, or an unauthorized artistic endeavor in Denver, they have caught the attention of the collecting public. As this is written in February 2005, these coins are still quite scarce, with the Extra Leaf Low variety somewhat scarcer than the Extra Leaf High variety, and each scarce variety coin currently brings three figure retail prices. Both PCGS and NGC grade and attribute these coins as individual varieties, and indeed NGC will encapsulate the three varieties together if you have the coins to submit.

Perhaps the best comparison to these coins is the famed 1937-D Three-Legged Buffalo Nickel, a variety caused by over polishing of a single die. Originally found only in the Billings, Montana area, this coin has remained rare and popular since its discovery, with circulated pieces selling for prices in the mid three figures. Only time will tell whether the Extra Leaf Wisconsin Quarter varieties will remain scarce or how valuable they will be in the future. For now, they represent a chance to find a scarce coin in your pocket change.