Coins have been treated as a method of currency for as many as thousands of years now. Collecting these little pieces of ancient history has become an extremely popular past time among many people. For many people, the idea of ancient coin collecting has become a true passion as well as a real life hunt for treasure. Because it is relatively inexpensive for a ancient coin collecting hobby to be started, you can collect a myriad of different ancient coins from all over the globe as simply as logging into the internet.

With the large variety of different types of coins that are available, from modern coins to ancient ones, it is important that you select a specific category of coins that you want to collect. You may choose ancient coin collecting or you may choose some other type of collecting depending on what you are interested in.

When getting into ancient coin collecting, what you should do is to gather coins that come from either a certain country, or a specific period of time. There are a number of inexpensive coins that you can fall back to in order to get started without spending a lot. Some examples are:

• The British Half-Farthing, which hails from between 1842 and 1869, and which was criticized for being too small of a denomination,
• The French Rooster Franc,
• The Chinese Gold Panda,
• The Silver Drachma, which was used around the time of the rule of Alexander the Great,
• The Silver Denarius, which hails from the earliest Roman Empire,

There are other ways to grow your collection of coins as well, such as by collecting:

• United States coins, including commemorative coins for example,
• Particular coins, such as coins that fall into a specific denomination or a specific type of coin, such as by collecting only Washington quarters, or only silver half-dollar coins,
• Coins with a specific theme, such as coins that feature animals, or coins that feature vehicles, or monuments, or anything else that you can think of.
• Coins with errors, since even mints are capable of making mistakes, and there are a myriad of different error coins that you can find, including coins with the wrong inscription, the wrong form, the wrong design or the wrong date on them.

Any time you are choosing a coin to collect, it is important that you determine the value and worth of the coin before you purchase it. Determining what the coin is worth is going to allow you to make sure that you get a good deal on the coins that you purchase. You should never spend more for a coin than it is worth on the market, because someone will be asking the market price, and others will be asking more. Just shop around until you find the ancient coin you want for the price it’s really worth.

Photo Credits: oceandesetoiles

Originally posted 2009-09-11 03:17:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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There have been many different coins which have been created over the years which have paid homage to the different presidents. While some have been able to get their faces on large currency or large coins, Benjamin Franklin got his face on Franklin Half Dollars. This is not to say that the half dollars are worth only that know. In fact, you will find that the coins have become rather valuable ever since the last coin was minted in 1963. There are some which are more valuable than others. Here is a closer look.

The first thing you will need to know about the Franklin Half Dollars is what you will find on the obverse and reverse. You will also need to know what errors have been made with the series which have caused the coin to become more valuable. It is also good to know what mints were Minting the coin and their significance with the coin itself. While Franklin might not have been alive to see his face on the Half Dollar, he would have been proud to have seen such a brilliant coin created just for him.

A Look at the Faces

There are two faces to the Franklin Half Dollars. The obverse (head) has the profile of Franklin along with his neck and shoulders. The Reverse (tail) has the Cracked Liberty Bell. It is possible to find the proofs which were available for this coin because of the recent run of the coin. It was run from 1948 to 1963. While it might seem that the most valuable of the series is the oldest, it is actually the error coins which are worth the most because they have been reclaimed when possible by the government to get them out of circulation.

Errors in Production

There were a few different errors made in the striking of the Franklin Half Dollars. One of the most notable of the errors occurred when the obverse and reverse dies hit each other with no coin between them. The result is what is called the Bugs Bunny Error. This is an error on the obverse on the 1955 coin which makes it appear that Franklin has a split lip giving him the appearance of pronounced front teeth. Another error occurred on the 1961-P Proof where the Proof was double died.

Minting the Coin

The majority of these coins have been reclaimed by the government so that they could be melted down and reminted. This is because the amount of silver used in the coin made the coin worth more than the amount which was printed on the face of the Franklin Half Dollars. Those who have an error printed 1955-P have a real treasure because it is the kind of error that even the most layman can see that the split lip was not intentional on the face of Franklin. It never should have even seen the light of day before being melted and recast.

Photo Credits: Wikipedia Commons

Originally posted 2010-08-13 03:07:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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The unique thing about coin collections is that there is a myriad of different ways to start a coin collection, and you can collect a wide variety of different coins or a small variety of very special coins depending on your interest. One of the options for coin collecting that you may want to consider if you enjoy unique coins is the art of collecting proof coins and uncirculated coins, which are coins that are not or have never been in actual use as currency in this country or any other country in the world for that matter. If the idea of proof coins and uncirculated coins seems worthwhile to you, the following information will prove useful.

There are a number of coins out there that never ended up being placed in circulation to be used for the purpose of commerce. This coin grade never had any wear or any defects meaning that these coins can be close to mint in condition. If you store these coins improperly, however, they can be worn and will no longer be in perfect condition any longer. Even if the wear is quite minor in nature, it will not allow the coin to have an “uncirculated” grade any longer.

When coins are first produced at the mint, they are placed into large canvas bags so that they can be transported. During the handling and transport phase, they can receive some small nicks and marks from rubbing and bumping along one another in the bags, and these marks are specifically known as bag marks. Bag marks tend to appear much more noticeable when the coin is larger in sized, such as a dollar or a half dollar coin. Typical bag marks will not prevent a coin from keeping the uncirculated grade. Light bag marks will not keep a coin from being considered to be uncirculated, but they may change the value that the coin receives if they are more noticeable bag marks.

Uncirculated coins are also capable of showing spotting, tarnish and discoloration while still maintaining the uncirculated grade when it comes to coin conditions. You should never clean a coin that has become tarnished as many methods of cleaning are actually capable of causing further wear on a coin, and this wear will upset the “uncirculated” grade of the coin.

There are also coins known as proof coins that were minted with the use of highly polished dies and never saw the light of day in terms of circulation. Just like with uncirculated coins, these proof coins are capable of experiencing darkening or tarnishing. Because labor and production costs went into producing proof coins beyond average coins, the mints that produce them quite often will sell them at a higher premium price, and often in much more limited numbers as well.

Photo Credits: Adamcha

Originally posted 2009-07-31 05:56:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Money -> Coins-Canada -> Fifty-Cents

If you’re a coin collector, specifically a Canadian coin collector, you might enjoy looking for a 1971 Canadian fifty cent piece to add to your collection. The trick to this is finding the right fifty cent piece to know whether the coin is worth merely 50 cents, or if it’s a more valuable one that could be worth a little bit more, maybe two dollars or more, depending on the current price of silver. The real value in these coins isn’t the monetary value, though, rather it’s the value for collectors when they find this fairly uncommon coin.

Rarity isn’t the only factor in rating the value of a coin, or almost all Canadian fifty-cent pieces would be worth more. A Canadian fifty-cent pieces, whether it’s a silver minting for collectors only or one designed for general circulation, has much the reputation in Canada as the $2 bill does in the United States. They’re both real money, but some people doubt their legitimacy because they’re rarely seen and not commonly used. The 1971 Canadian fifty cent piece is distinguished from other fifty cent pieces only because it’s a silver half-dollar produced when other half-dollars were alloys.

Ironically, even though some people look at a Canadian fifty cent piece and wonder if it’s a real, legitimate coin, the fifty cent piece was the first coin the Dominion of Canada ever produced. The first domestically minted Canadian coins were fifty cent pieces featuring an effigy of King Edward VII, struck in 1908. The reverse of the coin features Canada’s Coat of Arms. Canada still produced fifty cent pieces today, but they’re still rarely found in regular circulation because most Canadians, when presented with one, keep it because of its rarity. The 1971 Canadian fifty cent piece is, of course, more worth keeping than any of the others because of its silver content.

By 1971, Canadian half-dollars were made from a nickel alloy, with no silver content. But in April 1971 they minted some silver fifty-cent pieces designed for collectors specifically, and not intended for general circulation, even though they bear the same value as other fifty-cent pieces as far as currency is concerned. Even despite its silver content, though, this fifty cent piece isn’t necessarily a great investment coin—gold bullion coins are for more valuable as investments—but it can be an interesting addition to a collection of coins from Canada or all over the world.

If you’re looking for a 1971 Canadian fifty cent piece, the chief thing you’ll need to ask is whether the coin is a standard half dollar or a silver half dollar. If the seller is unsure and the picture is unclear, you may want to purchase the coin elsewhere, because the fifty cent pieces from various years look virtually identical, giving them each very little value as collectibles. The coins are probably best found in uncirculated condition, usually sold individually rather than in lots, because they were designed as collector items.

Originally posted 2008-11-19 14:00:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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