Putting a Value on Your Old Coins
By Coins and coin collecting | Wednesday, 17 May 2006
How To Put a Value on Your Old Coins
The use of uniform pieces of precious metal as a means to trade food and other goods dates back centuries to the Lydians in the 6th century BC. That means there are coins spanning over nearly three thousand years. This gives both a lot of scope and a lot of research if you are to try and date your coins or to work out the value. Valuing old coins though does have its advantages over other items, coins are steeped in history and if there are any visible markings on the coin it can be very easy to date it, name it and place it.
Mass Production and Durability
The first thing to remember is that coins are probably one of the only items that have been produced in their millions for such a long period of time and are not thrown away. This makes the value of some old coins quite small; they simply aren't rare. It is true that the older the coin the less and less likely that there are still a large number in existence. Once a coin is taken out of legal tender it becomes much less appealing and, therefore, they do tend to be thrown away or lost to the kitchen drawer fairies for decades.
However, coins are made to be tough and resilient and they generally show up somewhere. The main contributing factor that increases the worth of most old coins is the condition they are in. It is unusual to find a perfectly preserved, mint condition coin from 100 years ago and this increased rarity means increase value. The better a coin has aged the greater its value. That said, even some ancient coins are worth only small amounts of money.
What makes certain old coins collectible and others not? As with any form of collecting there are rumors abound of certain coins having much greater value than you would possibly believe. A good rule of thumb is that if it sounds too good to be true, then it most likely is. True value from coins depends on how many were made, the condition of the coin in question and how many are known to be available today; the same criteria that applies to many different antiques regardless of their type. The first step to finding this information out is to discover exactly what you coin is. This can usually be done quite easily starting with the inscription or design that is featured on the coin. There are plenty of Internet sites worth visiting and many will have downloadable catalogues that have accurate pictures of coins similar to your own.
Rare coins
The most collectable coins are those that feature errors or, in some cases, weren't released to the public. Usually a few of these coins somehow manage to escape the net of the mint or government that was responsible for creating them and can become worth a lot of money. In olden times mistakes were made with the creation of coins and these error coins have become highly sought after collectibles.
'Collectible' coins
Many countries have created commemorative coins for display purposes and come pre packaged for good storage. These coins were not created to be spent but to be saved and treasured but often thousands if not millions were created and because they are all preserved in excellent condition it is unlikely they will be worth a lot of money.
Coins have been created and given to each veteran involved in certain wars or battles and some of these can become worth good money because they were created in relatively small numbers and were regularly lost. Again, the key in either of these circumstances is to find out the specifics regarding your particular old coins and then work from there. Museums have employed staff who are paid to help you from your own taxes and be an excellent place to start looking for the information you require.
This article is part of the Coins and coin collecting articles.
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