Zombie Penny Back from the Dead!

If memory serves this is my first foreign coin find from change this year. A lot later than last year, I know, but I did get three shiny 2013 Cents (to be posted Friday) earlier this month which shaves a month off of last year's time. Plus, it's a Canadian Cent, the coin that is officially supposed to be in recall mode! It's also one of the newer ones with the newest portrait of QEII, which I did not have before. It's non-magnetic meaning it's made of the same metals as current U.S. Cents are, copper-plated zinc. In this shape, even with it not being struck anymore, it is worth just $0.01. Or if you want to get really precise, $0.0097.

1947 Canadian Penny!

Here's another one of the Canadian Cents/Pennies I bought before it's demise. It is in awful shape, but even in this condition it is worth at least metal value. Go to this site and you'll see that it is worth at least $0.15 in VG. Of course, that's a little much unless you need it for a set and even then it's a filler. Since I collect these for the sake of having them, I don't mind paying a little bit of money for them, but I don't want to spend too much either.

Also, I will probably be going to the flea market today for the first time in 5ever. Hopefully I will find a few nice, new coins!

2006 Canada Bravery/Bravoure Quarter!

 Well, I caved. I have tried not to buy any of the millions of commemoratve Canadian quarters that have been made in the past 20 years as they are of relatively little value and there have been many different types making collecting them almost impossible. I bought this one along with a 1968 silver dime and a 1971 quarter (all Canadian, of course) simply because I didn't have them and they were only being sold at face value. That's right, I got a silver Canadian dime for face value! Now, on to the coin above. It commemorates the Canadian Medal of Bravery as evidenced by the wreath and maple leaf on the reverse. To get the Medal of Bravery you don't have to be Canadian or even live in Canada! You just have to do something that benefits Canadian causes. The obverse features an unflattering portrait of QEII and the RCM mint mark. It's pretty scratched up but has little wear and for that it is worth face value.

1927 Canadian Cent and Trivia Answers!

Now that the Canadian cent has had it's life support cut off, it will soon see less and less time in circulation. With the hoarders and government aggressively recalling them, some people may give them grotesquely large price tags because of their newfound "rarity". Therefore, it is wise to avoid dealings with anyone who claims to have a "XXX RARE CANADIAN PENNY" unless it is known to be rare. If you still wish to attain issues of the Canadian Cent, do not fret. Most of them are still relatively cheap and will be for the foreseeable future. This is because there have been 35 Billion of them made since 1908 when the RCM opened. They will still be in the $0.25, $0.50, and $1.00+ junk bins at coin shows and flea markets which is where I got the above coin. It's worth about $3.00 and is, in high grade, an exception to that "XXX" rule above. Still it's not much to get excited over unless you find one in circulation. I got it for between $0.15 and $0.20 as it was in the "$0.25 for 1; $1.00 for 5" box and I got a few freebies.

On to trivia! This week's question was "What coin did I feature on December 30, 2012?" and the answer was "Bahama Islands 5 Cents". 5 people answered, all with the correct answer. In other words participation is up from last week! Thanks guys! Be sure to vote on the new question!

1940 Canadian Quarter!

Technically it's a $0.25 coin but quarter is easier. I bought it at the flea market for silver value which was in the $4.50-$5.00 range. The value has changed little being worth $5.02 as of 12/1/12. This coin features King George VI and his title of Emeroro of India on the obverse and a caribou, the date, the denomination, and Canada, the issuing counry, on the reverse. Since it's so worn iy is worth just the silver value.

1961 Canadian Quarter!

This coin comes from wayyy back in the day when coins were made of silver and had actual value. Canada made their coins out of 80% silver instead of 90% like America, but made their silver coins for four years after America stopped. In my opinion this portrait of QEII is one of the most beautiful in our modern coinage. This coin is worth just metal value or $5.10.

1980 Canadian Penny!

Yes these two pictures are the same coin. I took the first picture with no flash and the second picture with a flash and together they look like two totally different coins. I found this sometime during the end of last week in change. It's odd that I keep getting older Canadian coins in change rather than new ones and new American coins rather than old ones. I'm not complaining it's just a bit odd. It's worth right about $0.02 for copper value.

1952 Canadian Dime!

Bought this at the flea market a long while back and it is finally getting posted. At the time I bought it it only cost about $1.80 and now it is worth a little over $2.00 giving me a $0.20 gain if I were to sell it. Precious metals are like stocks except their values usually go up with bad times and down with good times. This works in favor of people selling the precious metals in bad times because the price is high when they sell it and low(er) when they buy it (usually in good times). There is little to say about the coin except it is worn, damaged, and gunky which is why it is only worth silver value.

Dateless Canadians

No this is not a post about Canadians who can't get a date although that does sound like an interesting topic to post about. Then again since my knowledge of Canada comes from Dudley Do-Right and other TV shows I may not be the best person to post about such things. These Canadians are coins and their dates have been worn off making them dateless. King George and the denominations are clearly visible which means these coins were minted sometime between 1912 and 1936 and that they are 10 and 25 cent coins. I bought them along with 8 other coins (a few of them being Canadians as well) at the flea market for silver value which is about right for most of them from what I've seen here. There are a few varieties, I believe, for each coin including a silver content change from Sterling (0.925 or 92.5% silver) to 0.800 or 80% silver. The 80% silver versions are the only versions listed on Coinflation and are worth about $2.00 for the dime and $5.00 for the quarter.

1968 Canadian Quarter!

Canada, we meet again. Like Man posted the other day Canadians are coming to America to buy milk and gas to save money. Like the article (linked in Man's post) says the dairy is doing great and loving the new business. Their business must be doing amazingly great because only a day after that post I get this coin. 1968 was not the best year for Canadian Quarters because it was the year that silver became so expensive that it was taken out of them. Silver was replaced with nickel almost like American Quarters except American Quarters were replaced with copper-nickel clad and are mostly copper. Since these coins are 100% nickel it is easy to differentiate between the silver versions and the nickel ones. As soon as I saw the obverse and realized it was a Canadian quarter, and not a silver American one, I immediately looked for the date. Since it was a 1968 I went and got a magnet to see which type it was. Sadly the magnet proved that this is the nickel version. This means that it is only worth $0.25 instead of the $2.60-ish it would be worth if it was silver. It still a very nice find especially since I hardly ever get foreign coins in my change. Let's hope this dairy keeps doing well and bringing in lots of Canadian change!

1961 Canadian Cent!

Bought this, 8 other Canadian Cents, and this Brtish 3 Pence coin at the flea market a while back. It was after this post I'm guessing some time in June. I bought this and the others because Canada has stopped minting their $0.01 coins and I only had a few. As I've said here I love the way Queen Elizabeth II looks on these coins from early in her time as Queen. This beautiful coin is worth $0.03.

1967 Canadian Centennial Nickel!

Bought this extremely attractive coin at the flea market. I can say without a doubt that this coin is uncirculated. Too bad it's common. If you didn't already know Canada became its own country in 1867 and issued special coins in 1967 to celebrate. They changed the design on the reverses to have a new design like the bicentennial American coins. Unlike 1976 American coins the dual date was on the reverse. These nickels usually featured a beaver on a log but the design was changed to have a rabbit. It is worth $0.20.

1996 Canadian $2.00 Coin!

Got Was practically given this coin at the flea market. I had already bought a bunch of coins (most of which will be shown in the upcoming days) and only had a few dollars left to spend on whatever caught my eye. As I was walking around I noticed a box that had a few coins in it. This was one of those coins. I asked the man at the table how much it was and he said $1.00. I was pretty happy to have made $1.00 but not as happy to have found out it was only worth $2.00. Anyway it's worth... oh yeah I already said that. I do think the bimetallic thing is cool. Maybe presidential dollars and Sacagewea dollars would be more popular if they looked cooler. Just an idea...

1973 Canadian $1.00 Bill!

                                              Just as a forewarning I speak Canadian.

This, like the British 2 Shillings I posted aboot yesterday, was a gift. I don't know much aboot Canadians or their country, but they do have beautiful currency. The nice, vibrant colours and the reverse are amazing. At a time American bills were like this with all sorts of fancy designs and the denomination on the bill at least 10 times. Now they have colours, but they could use some design changes. Cheque out down below for the rest of the post.

This is that same reverse just enlarged. It depicts well... this. It immediately reminded me of the 1914 American  $10.00 bill which has what looks to be a horse drawn plow on the left and a factory on the right. Back to this Canadian Bill it is only worth $1.00.

1995 Canadian Dime!

I think I got this as a gift sometime last year. I don't really know much about it other than it is magnetic (It is made of pure nickel) and it is in rough shape. In this condition it is only worth $0.10. Today's background is a newspaper.

100th Post!

Today marks the day that I post my 100th post (this one, of course). It's been about 2 months since my 6 month anniversary so there's not that much new stuff to report. I did find my first 2012 cent, get a Where's George bill, witness the downfall of the Canadian Cent, and while I just read down my post list I found out that this is my most popular post. I also just found out that I have 5,934 views on all of my posts! Thanks to everyone who has visited, commented, showed this to others, etc.!
 

Goodbye Forever, Canadian Cent :(

Yesterday was the last day of striking of Canadian pennies. According to the Royal Candian Mint the penny is "...ultimately a burden on Canada's balance sheet...". More articles here, here, here, and here.  I will miss the Canadian penny since it was my most common Canadian find . Au revoir Canadian Cent.

1986 Canadian Quarter!

This is a 1986 Canadian Quarter and my first true find of 2012. At first I thought it was a silver quarter because the first part of it I saw was the edge. I then turned it over to confirm my beliefs but was a bit sad to find out it was just a Canadian Quarter. I was not completely let down because it was still a find and a foreign coin and a nice alternative to my usual American coin finds. It is only worth $0.25 in VF.

Santa Half Dollar!

I was going through some new arrivals on Govmint.com which is a site I used to buy from but now refuse to because of the extremely high prices. I saw a Canadian Half Dollar with Santa Claus on it and clicked on it. It costs about $35.00 plus shipping and handling which brings it to around $40.00. I would not recommend shopping here to anyone except for rich people trying to waste spend excess money or people who want a specific item that can't be found anywhere else. I wouldn't normally do a post like this, but I have seen at least 100 ads for Govmint on sites like Youtube and other popular sites. Some good places for buying coins are eBay, Craigslist, a local flea market, or straight from the mint. For precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium a good place is  Independent Living Bullion.

Happy Birthday Canada!

Canada became its own country in 1867. Everyone was happy to be in their own country instead of a colony under European rule. 100 years later they issued a 1867-1967 cent to commemorate their 100th year of independence kind of like our bicentennial coins (by our I mean U.S.A.'s). They are very common which explains why I found it 44 years later in NYC. The obverse is Queen Elizabeth II. On the reverse is a Rock Dove, denomination, Canada, and 1867-1967. It is worth around $0.03 in this condition mostly for copper value. It is the second oldest foreign coin I have found in circulation the oldest being a 1921 Swiss 5 Rappen. It is the oldest canadian cent I have found.