Sunday February 12, 2012
Grading Morgan Dollars is easier than you think. I have attended week long classes taught by professional coin graders, read just about every book on coin grading and spent countless hours at the coin shop honing my grading skills. All of this knowledge is condensed into one article that you can use to sharpen your Morgan Dollar coin grading skills.
This article covers grades ranging from About Good (AG-3) to the ultra-rare Mint State 67 (MS-67). The Morgan Dollar Grading Guide is the third in a series of U.S. coin grading guides that I have developed. The descriptions and pictures will teach you how to grade this popular series of U.S. coins.
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Image Courtesy of: Heritage Auction Galleries, Ha.com
Thursday February 9, 2012
With the price of gold and silver going up and down daily, these price changes can have a ripple effect on coins that are not made out of gold and silver. I am continuing to update all the value listings on this website to reflect current market conditions. Two of the most popular coin series that coin collectors assemble are the Indain Head pennies and Lincoln Wheat pennies. Additionally, I have expanded the listings to include the values for an "average" circulated and uncirculated specimens for each date and mint mark. Also, values for popular die varieties are now included.
Updated Coin Value Charts:
Friday February 3, 2012
2012 Proof Silver Penny
Image (c) 2012 James Bucki |
The Royal Canadian Mint has issued their first ever all silver proof set. The set not only includes a silver dollar that commemorates the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 but also a silver version of every current circulating coin. Normally silver proof sets only include silver coins such as the commemorative dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, and dime, while the rest are made out of their usual base metals. What makes this set unique is that the penny, nickel, one dollar loon and two dollar coin are also made from silver! Additionally, unlike the United States silver coins which are made from 90% silver, all the coins in this set are made from 99.99% silver. They used gold plating to give the penny, one dollar loon and two dollar coin their colorful appearance. Mintage is limited to 20,000 sets.
Update 2/9/2012: According to the Royal
Canadian Mint, as of today only 8,000 sets are left.
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Monday January 30, 2012
The United States Mint has announced the pricing for the 2012 commemorative coins. The two themes for this year commemorate the Star-Spangled Banner and the Infantry Soldier. The 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coins will consist of a five dollar gold coin and a silver dollar while the 2012 Infantry Soldier is honored on a silver dollar. The chart below lists the options available to collectors. The gold coins will be priced according to the mint's gold pricing chart based upon the spot price of gold at the time of issue. The mint did not list the product's release date.
| Product |
Introductory
Price |
Regular
Price |
2012 Infantry Soldier Proof
Silver Dollar |
$54.95 |
$59.95 |
| 2012 Infantry Soldier Uncirculated Silver Dollar |
$49.95 |
$54.95 |
| 2012 Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar Defenders of Freedom Set |
N/A |
$61.95 |
| 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Proof $5 Gold Coin |
Priced according
to market. |
| 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Uncirculated $5 Gold Coin |
Priced according
to market. |
2012 Star-Spangled
Banner Proof Silver Dollar |
$54.95 |
$59.95 |
2012 Star-Spangled Banner Uncirculated
Silver Dollar |
$49.95 |
$54.95 |
2012 Star-Spangled Banner Two-Coin
Set* |
Priced according to market. |
*The 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Two-Coin
Set includes a proof $1 gold coin as well as a proof silver dollar. |
Image courtesy of: The United States Mint
