A 69 year old penny

[Chad L. Magee]

Man, I go on vacation and I see I missed a coin post! (@#$&!)

As others have already said, the 1944-s cent is not worth much unless either very high grade or a mint error (wrong metal type).  There is a collector who has a complete set of each possible type of wrong metal cent errors from 1943 and 1944.  One of them cost him six figures to get, but I don't remember which one it was.  His collection is also a top grade consenus set, meaning that he has the highest (or second highest) ones around that have been professionally graded by PCGS.  Most of the wheat cents that are common date (1940-1958 era) are worth about 5 to 10 cents each, depending upon who is buying and selling.  Earlier dated ones can be worth much more, but it really depends upon the date, the mintmark, and the condition of the coin when it comes to those.  Many coin dealers buy wheat cents in bulk and will pay between two and three cents per coin when you sell, as they have to make a profeit on them too.

As for the buffalo nickels (1913 to 1938), yes the dates wear off easily due to the overall design.  Since the coin is made up of nickel (25%) and copper (75%), it can be reacted with hydrochloric acid solution to 'regain' the lost date (or mintmarks).  However, this drops the value of the coin down to a AG-Fair grade automatically, so it becomes a filler at best in peoples' collections.  If you are just starting a kid out in coin collecting, that can be a good way to get them interested without spending big $ on it.  There is one date on the Buffalo nickels that you can tell without needing to acid-date them.  Early versions of 1913 had a raised mound on the back that the Buffalos stands on, which is refered to as a Type I.  The design was changed mid-year to the flat plain version to reduce wear on the dies and coins.

[Chad L. Magee]

The Buffalo nickels were not the only US coins to have a missing date problem due to wear issues in the design.  Standing Liberty quarters (1916-1930) also suffered from this, but due to their 90% silver composition, hydrochloric acid will not bring back the date.  I am working on figuring out what exact acid combination would work and how it can be applied for this to be done.  Early date (1916-1924) quarters are very hard to find with the full date, but the later years are easier as they slightly recessed the date in enough to prevent the date from being completely worn off so fast.  There is a Type I and a Type II version of the coin (the first version had a bare brested Liberty, 1916 to early 1917).  Even a poor grade 1916 can be worth thousands of dollars as there were only 52,000 of those minted (if I am remembering right).  I pulled one out of a dealers silver junk box twenty years ago for $1.25, as the dealer thought it was just another dateless SLQ that he was selling for 5X face value (based on $4.50/oz. silver).  If you look closely, there is ways to tell a 1916 from a 1917 Type I.  He just did not want to bother with it, as he had probably 5,000 of the SLQs in the box at the time.  This is a lesson that sometimes persistance can pay off, but you must be willing to try hard to do so.....

If you want to have some real fun with US coins, look at the ones that are pre-civil war era (ie. large cents, my specialty).  We even had half cents at the time too......

[A383Wing]

I got lots of coins here, almost a full set of Kennedy Half Dollars...1800's coins, pennies from before the '30s...

I may have to dig through them and see what all I got

Bryan

[Chad L. Magee]

Last year a change machine at Wall-greens spit out a 1896 Indian Head Penny in my change! I looked at it funny when I picked it up, the young clerk asked me "Do you want a different penny? Same year I found a Buffalo nickel in my change, 1926 but I think the date was raised with acid.   

All so look for Silver Nickels, made from 1942-1945. I have a few.

Cuda Ken   

I hoped you kept it, as that is a good find.  I think there is a varity of 1896 indian cents that can be valuable, but I am far from an expert on those.  The earliest cent that I have gotten in change was a 1859 indian cent in very poor (Fr2) condition, worth a few bucks at best.  This was over in Columbia, Missouri about ten years ago.  It was very corroded and dark, likely a ground find from a metal detector that was dumped in with regular change at the bank....

[Ram07]

Its not worth much...varies of the condition of course...in poor condition, it's worth 15 cents, in mint condition $8

[Chryco Psycho]

What I find funny is in Canada we simply accept Can & US coin as currency but in the US there is no acceptance of the canadian coins , just frame of mind I guess

[Paul G]

I can remember getting Canadian coins as change back when I was a kid. It was the coolest thing to get money from another country. Never had any trouble spending it at the dime store. 

[Chad L. Magee]

What I find funny is in Canada we simply accept Can & US coin as currency but in the US there is no acceptance of the canadian coins , just frame of mind I guess

Yes, I have seen that happen time and again when Canadian money pops up in change here in America.  I always kept the Canadian coins that recieved in change, mostly older copper cents and nickels.  I have probably $10-15 face value in silver Canadian currency that I ended up with in the bank deposit box.  The local coin dealers did not want to try to bother with it (customers can be picky on what they collect), so they made me package deals on them for 1.5X face value just to get rid of them.  Regular common American silver coins were 5X face value at the time ($4/oz. silver spot), so I bought them for the silver content value.  I did end up with a 1858 Canadian half dime in the mix (first year of that type coin in Canada).... 

[Steve P.]

My grandfather saved them and got me started. I have a box of them around here that I did out and look through every now and then.. I have no clue if they are worth anything, but they remind me of my grandfather.. That's worth it to me.. 

[moparstuart]

 i'm getting ready to make the grille shell for my nash out of pennys , I have enought wheat pennys to
make a ring with them to go around the NASH winged emblem  . the rest will be a combination of new and old polished and tarnished  . Then i will clear coat them all .

[Chad L. Magee]

i'm getting ready to make the grille shell for my nash out of pennys , I have enought wheat pennys to
make a ring with them to go around the NASH winged emblem  . the rest will be a combination of new and old polished and tarnished  . Then i will clear coat them all .

Good idea!  Let me know if you need more wheat cents for it when you do it.  You could also use Mercury dimes (1916-1945), but being 90% silver, they cost more ($2 each).  Years ago (back when gold was less than $300/oz.), I wanted to build a 32 5 window coupe hot rod project and use a St. Gaudiens $20 gold piece for the hood ornament.  I have seen a $10 Indian used that way on a similar car which gave it a unique look.  I still have the project in mind, but it is on a back burner for now....

[green69rt]

i'm getting ready to make the grille shell for my nash out of pennys , I have enought wheat pennys to
make a ring with them to go around the NASH winged emblem  . the rest will be a combination of new and old polished and tarnished  . Then i will clear coat them all .

Good idea!  Let me know if you need more wheat cents for it when you do it.  You could also use Mercury dimes (1916-1945), but being 90% silver, they cost more ($2 each).  Years ago (back when gold was less than $300/oz.), I wanted to build a 32 5 window coupe hot rod project and use a St. Gaudiens $20 gold piece for the hood ornament.  I have seen a $10 Indian used that way on a similar car which gave it a unique look.  I still have the project in mind, but it is on a back burner for now....

That would have been a nice $1300 hood ornament!!

[JB400]

I've seen a few cool pieces of artwork at flea markets and household auctions that used all the same year of pennies.  It'd be a cool piece if using vintage pennies.  Looking forward to seeing Stu's one of many projects

[moparstuart]

i'm getting ready to make the grille shell for my nash out of pennys , I have enought wheat pennys to
make a ring with them to go around the NASH winged emblem  . the rest will be a combination of new and old polished and tarnished  . Then i will clear coat them all .

Good idea!  Let me know if you need more wheat cents for it when you do it.  You could also use Mercury dimes (1916-1945), but being 90% silver, they cost more ($2 each).  Years ago (back when gold was less than $300/oz.), I wanted to build a 32 5 window coupe hot rod project and use a St. Gaudiens $20 gold piece for the hood ornament.  I have seen a $10 Indian used that way on a similar car which gave it a unique look.  I still have the project in mind, but it is on a back burner for now....

[Chad L. Magee]

Cool!  That will definately make your car stand out in a car show.  I can see a design of one row of wheat cents, one row of Mercury dimes and then another row of wheat cents down the sides.  You could even alternate the dimes from obverse to reverse to obverse.  The silver will tarnish with exposure, so you could either polish them (and clear coat) to keep them shiny or leave them dark on purpose.  Just an idea that popped into my head while looking at the photos.   I can't wait to see what you do with it.....

[Chad L. Magee]

green69rt-

I could have bought a common date original VF-EF $20 St. Gaudien for $320 at the time ($25 over scrap), but never got seriously started on the project.  I was just too busy with grad school at the time.  Many dates of St. Gaudiens are still sold as bullion coins in the lower grades.  Different story above MS63.  (Nowdays the mint sells a modern St. Gaudiens bullion $50 coin but it is just not the same.)  I knew bullion gold was going to go up so it would not be a loss to use it in this way.  I was also going to use silver 1 oz. bullion art bars and Morgan silver dollars on the side boards to climb into the car.  Yes, I like precious metals a bit....

[moparstuart]

Cool!  That will definately make your car stand out in a car show.  I can see a design of one row of wheat cents, one row of Mercury dimes and then another row of wheat cents down the sides.  You could even alternate the dimes from obverse to reverse to obverse.  The silver will tarnish with exposure, so you could either polish them (and clear coat) to keep them shiny or leave them dark on purpose.  Just an idea that popped into my head while looking at the photos.   I can't wait to see what you do with it.....

My orinament is a little different too  , the 34 chevy grille currently on the car is going away

[moparstuart]

I've seen a few cool pieces of artwork at flea markets and household auctions that used all the same year of pennies.  It'd be a cool piece if using vintage pennies.  Looking forward to seeing Stu's one of many projects

i want to have a mix of all year pennys including new ones for the year i made it . , as i see it being on the car for many years to come .
 

[70moparman]

Tell your wife/girlfriend that a 69 year old penny is a sign of something to do later on.

LOL 

[70moparman]

I keep all the wheat pennies I find in circulation, have since I was a kid, I have hundreds of them... They are not worth much, but they are worth more than face value... The two wheat pennies to look for is a 1914 D (Denver mint mark) and a 1922 plain (no mint mark- Philadelphia) ~ They were minted in limited numbers and command good $$$, especially the '22 plain.     

[moparstuart]

 

[Steve P.]

How much is it worth now??  lol...... 

[moparstuart]

How much is it worth now??  lol...... 

LOL less then when i started  but it covered up all the rust pits and holes and two large cracks   

  after sitting in a field in south dakota for 70 years