Merry Christmas!

It's not really Christmas, of course, but that dollar seems to bring a little Christmas spirit with it whatever the season. I got it at my local Publix a few years ago for $2.00. I'm not sure why but now they go for $2.50. Probably not enough profits for either the supplying company or Publix. Notice I said supplying company. What I mean by that is that there is a company that there is a company that produces stickers to put on the bills. The bills can be obtained from just about anywhere, but crisp bills from the bank are best. The Uncle Sam's 3 Coin Register Bank is one of my other collectables. I got it at an antique shop on Martha's Vineyard for around $12.00. From what I have seen on eBay I am missing the little rubber or plastic tip on the handle. The only other damage is the paint peeling off where the coins are deposited. I can also say I got it for a steal compared to what this person was selling it for.

Backstage on Broadway!

Here are some backstage pictures from the play Billy Elliot. The coins all seem fairly new except the cent in the top left which looks to me like a pre-1982. All I can say about the play is that it was amazing and if you ever get the chance to you should go. I will also be posting more pictures on my other blog My Travels of the World so click the link to see them.

Worn Down to Nothing (almost) Cent Version!

Here is the oldest and one of the first coins in my collection. It's an 1827 cent or penny. I went to a Civil War/Revolutionary War antique shop 4-5 years ago which is when I really started getting interested in coins and historic items. It came with a Civil War bullet as well and I paid about $28.00 for both of them so it comes out to $14.00 a piece. Technically  I could count this as VF because all of the letters in LIBERTY are showing (even though the picture doesn't show it). Without that, though, I would call it a Good-Almost Good meaning it is worth about $10.00-$20.00.

One Million Dollars!

Here is a video from my travels of Washington D.C. and more specifically the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This was in the hallway that leads to the anteroom so I decided to take a video of it because pictures and videos are not allowed in the production facility. The entire process of making bills was explained and shown during the tour. It is also free which makes it a great spot to visit. The only down side is you must have tickets to enter and tickets are usually gone by 10:00 AM. The gift shop had a wide variety of bills and bill related items such as shredded money, uncut money, old money, books that help you learn oragami and come with a $1.00, pens with money designs, buttons with money designs, and, of course, a plethora of other little trinkets. I have noticed that many tourist traps in NYC and D.C. have gift shops that offer a few actually historically signifigant items or replicas and then the rest is pretty much worthless. It really annoys me.

Smithsonian Native Sun Symbol Coin!

I got this at the National Museum of the American Indian which is inside of the Alexander Hamilton Customs House in NYC. This was most likely the least costly item at $1.00 and a nice coin so I decided to get it (as opposed to other things that costed anywhere from $16.00-$100.00 and probably more). Now more about the museum. There was a great self-guided tour that showcased many different artifacts that were a part of the daily lives of Native Americans. My favorite parts, of course, were the dresses and bags that had coins sewn into them. From what I could tell most were Capped Bust or Seated Liberty half dollars. There were also some other types of coins, but not many. One of the most amazing parts of the museum was the art exhibit. There were many pieces made of different mediums and with many different inspirations. Some had a god, some a person, some were skulls, some were scenes of something happening in ancient times, and many, many more.

(NOTE: There are also many other exhibits and sights to see. To find out what they are you will have to visit yourself. )

Cuban 5 Centavos!

Here is my first and only Cuban coin. To be honest I know nothing about it other than what the words mean in English which is REPUBLICA DE CUBA= Republic of Cuba, cinco centavos= 5 (five) cents, and Casa Colonial= Colonial House. I got this, some other coins, and, of course, cash as a trade for some coins I was looking to sell last year. It is worth about $0.10 in USD.
(NOTE: The translations above are rough. I do sell but ONLY on MY local Craigslist. If you can somehow track me down and want to buy or sell I will give it consideration.)

My sub-Coin Box!

Most of these coins are not new, but the container is. I have decided to expand my coin box by getting this little container and putting foreign coins, proofs, and some non-monetary coins into it to make room in my main coin box. My main box is looking a little bare, but with all of the new finds I've been getting it shouldn't be long before it fills up again.

My Most Damaged Coin

What's old, ugly, and has probably been run over by a car? This coin! This is a perfect example of the kind of damage people knowingly or unknowingly put coins through. Whether it be touching a coin and wearing it down little by little, dropping coins on the ground, or somehow purposely damaging the coin  it all adds up. From my observations I can gather this coin was probably heavily mutilated early on in its lifetime and no one wanted to have it in a collection or save it so they spent it. I don't blame them, but I don't spend or sell coins unless I have a double so I'm stuck with this one... for now.

1959: An Important Year for Coins!

These are two coins I recently got in my change. The top is a 1959 Lincoln Cent. It was a major change in the history of coins because back then coin design changes were few and far between. At that time the most recent coin design change had been the Franklin Half Dollar that replaced the Walking Liberty Half Dollar, which was around for over 30 years. The Wheat Cent itself had been around for 50 years making this a well-waited coin. Now it is worth only $0.03 for metal value. The bottom picture is a 1959 Jefferson Nickel. It is relatively bland and there is not much to say about it other than it's worth $0.05-$0.10.

First Year Presidential Dollar!

Here is my second true find of 2012. It is a 2007-D John Adams Presidential Dollar and the second in the series of Presidential Dollars. This one is valued at just $1.00 in this condition (note the little splotch of "stuff" on the obverse.) There are two "normal" varieties and many errors in this series. The errors include missing or doubled letters, numbers, or stars. The "normal" varieties include the words on the edge being up-side-down or right-side-up. For more information I redirect you here.

(NOTE: I found a 1964 nickel yesterday but I've already posted about it. Go to the link to see the post.)

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.

1980 Blue Book!

Here is my very thin 1980 Blue Book. The reason it is so thin is because there were very few coin design changes back in the day. Today we have 5 different quarters, 4 presidential dollars, and 1 new Sacajawea dollar coming out each year making newer coin books very thick very fast. Whereas in the 1800's and 1900's a coin design would normally be used 30-50 years making coin books and information sources of the time much thinner. The price tag says $2.95 but the Abebooks.com is selling one for $8.00 which seems fair for a nice example unlike mine with the yellowing of the paper and the minor damage on the exterior. It's very inaccurate pricing most coins well below modern values and like I said earlier only has a fraction of the coins modern books have.

(NOTE: I have been mostly using my iPhone to post lately so pictures of coins look very fuzzy and overly reflective.)

Vermin Supreme?

Although my normal post is about coins I like to take a break from the normal and venture into the unknown. In this case the unknown is a man who calls himself Vermin Supreme. He is a lesser known candidate running for president. The link describes him more in detail and gives a little history for any who want to know about him. He is very witty in his opening statement and is very comedic towards the end both of which I found to be very entertaining. This man is the funniest candidate for president I have ever seen or heard of. He would sure make one heck of a president.

(NOTE: After watching this video watch this one: Auto Tuned Vermin Supreme! and I recently got a Canadian Quarter and a Gold Dollar Coin that I should be posting about in the next few days.)

My Coin Box!

These pictures are of my actual coin box. It is the reason for the name if my blog and the thing that holds all of my numismatic items. This includes books, sets, my very inaccurate postal scale, and of course my coins. Most people have a converted silver chest or store their coins in a safe. A select few store their coins in any if various other household items. Mine is the latter. It is a guitar case that I turned into my coin box about a year and a half ago when my collection got too big for the space I was keeping it in. You may have noticed I keep my different items separated. This is to keep things organized and because it came with a divider that held up the neck of the guitar. This has been a virtual tour of my coin box.

(NOTE: I recently received over 1,000 views.)

Money Bag!

As mentioned in my End Of 2011 post I have a collection of pre-1982 95% copper cents. This is that collection. It was valued at around $5.00 for metal back then. Since that post I have gained 10-20 making it worth approximately $0.20-$0.40 cents more. All of the coins are in a plastic bag that sits tucked away in the corner of my coin box which, of course, houses all of my coins and other numismatic related items.

(NOTE: Help stop SOPA and PIPA in any way you can. Doing this can help keep many major and small sites and blogs just like this from being eradicated from the web.)

I'm Back!!!

As you may or may not have noticed my last post was the last day of last year. This was due to technical difficulties (meaning my little brother spilled water on my computer) that have since been mostly resolved. I just wanted to say I'm still here and that I should have a new post by tomorrow.

End of 2011!

2011 has been an awesome year of finds for me. I finally found a silver coin which was a dime. I only got a handful of foreign coins, but I got plenty of good American coins. I got a 1959-D Lincoln Cent which I had been missing for quite a while. I also got a 1941-D nickel which I was missing. I got only one Dollar coin this year which was an Anthony dollar. I also started a collection of pre-1982 95% copper cents which has turned out alright finishing the year with just over $2.25 face value. I got a few star notes and a CU 1976 series $2.00 bill. My most valuable coin is my 1851-(P) UNC gold dollar that I bought. I got lots of 1964-(P) and 1964-D nickels in my change which I expected because of how many I have recieved in the past. I bought a total of 17 coins not including the 2010 and 1964 Proof Sets I bought. I have been using the 2011 Red Book for values, but since they are already selling 2013 books I will try to get one of those rather than the 2012. Along with finding 6 State/ Territory/ National Parks Quarters, 1 UNC  and a few AU dimes, 5 nickels from the 50's and 60's, and 1 UNC nickel my whole year in coins has been reported here. HAPPY NEW YEAR and HAPPY HUNTING!

(NOTE: While most of the coins I have posted about I got this year I did get some last year so not all coins in my previous posts are featured in this post.)

The famous Buffalo!

This is one of the most well known coins with collectors. It is the famed buffalo nickel that many coins have been modeled after. From gold $50.00 coins to silver $1.00 coins to private mint coins this is a very well known coin. The history of these coins is pretty complex. In 1913, the first year of production, these coins went through a design change. The buffalo was on a mound which ment the "Five Cents" part would be worn away much faster than if it was on the straight line it was redesigned to be on. During the entire production time there were a few errors such as doubled dies and missing legs but relatively few. This coin is error free and worth about $1.25 in G-4 and VG-8. Most high grade Buffalo Nickels are scarce due to being worn down during the Great Depression making them worth at least $22.00 in MS-60 although they can go for $5,000.00 for the 1926-S.

Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty!

This is a 1986-S Half Dollar issued for the 100th birthday of the Statue of Liberty. The obverse shows the Statue of Liberty, a rising sun, the ocean with a ship in it, and the motto. The reverse depicts a family on a pier with their luggage, the city in the background, United States of America, and E Pluribus Unum. This coin and its Denver struck uncirculated counterpart are worth about $6.50 each for the conditions MS-67 for the Denver and PR-67 for this one (San Fransisco). This is in the Official Government packaging and comes with an information sheet that doubles as a Certificate of Authenticity.

Post-WWII Nickel!

As mentioned in earlier posts from 1942-1945 nickels were made of silver, copper, and manganese instead of the usual nickel and copper and the mint mark was moved from the far right of Monticello to right above it. In 1946 the old metal composition and mint mark position were resumed and the final result is this coin. It's a 1946-D nickel worth about $0.35 in VF-20 althought this one is worth slightly less.

Subway Token Video!

Visit this link for a video of subway tokens and slugs that I took in NYC at the Transit Museum. The video is a little loud so turn down the volume especially if you have headphones. Also, this token is worth about $3.00-$4.00.

1964 Nickel!

This is a 1964 nickel and a very common nickel in my collection. I have many of these as I mentioned in my Clarification post a while back. This coin is interesting because the obverse is in AU and the reverse is in fine. This coin is worth about $0.10 and possibly a bit more but only a few cents at most.

1963 Jefferson Nickel!

This is a 1963-(P) nickel and one I was previously missing. I got it a couple weeks ago and now that I think about it it was the day before I got my silver dime. I meant to post about it but I got all excited over the dime that I kind of forgot about it. I just realized that I still had the picture and decided to post it. It is worth about $0.10 and there is nothing particuarly special about it other than the fact that I no longer have to search through change for this one. I will, however, keep any I find as long as it is not badly damaged because of the way I collect which is basically this: If I find any coins older than 1964 I keep them. This is due to the things mentioned in my Clarification post a while back which goes into all of the details.

1932 Washington Quarter!

This is a 1932-(P) Washington Quarter. It was originally intended to be a circulating commemorative for Washington's 200th birthday, but was so popular that it was continued as a regular issue. This one is worth only $8.00 in VF-20. The two more rare versions the 1932-S and 1932-D that are worth $225.00 for the S and $250.00 for the D in VF-20.

(NOTE: On pre-1964 Washington Quarters the mint mark is under the wreath on the reverse.)

More WWII Nickels!

 These are two 1942-P nickels with many differences and very few similarities. First, I will start with the similarities. They were struck at the same mint, they have the same design, and they both contain copper. Now for the differences. The one on the left is made of copper and nickel like nickels today's nickels, the one on the right is made of copper, manganese, and silver, it has a mint mark above the dome as opposed to the one on the left with no mint mark, and the one on the right has a die crack from the "P" in "Pluribus" to the top of the dome on Monticello making it worth about $0.75 more than its approximate $1.84 for silver value. The one on the left is worth about $0.30 in VF-20.

Worn Down to Nothing (almost) Nickel Version!

During WWII copper and nickel were being salvaged for the war effort so some metal compositions had to change. The penny or cent was changed from 95% copper to zinc coated steel in 1943. The same thing happened to the nickel from 1942-1945. During those years it was made of copper, silver, and manganese. This is a 1943-D Silver Nickel and is worth about $1.84 for silver value.

(NOTE: This may be a D/D but it is very worn so I need to have it checked out. Also, the description in the link is wrong it is not 90% silver it is 35% silver.)