The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1896-07-02
COPPER CENTS OF UNUSUAL VALUE.
IL Uncirculated. They May lie Worth Very
Many Dollars.

AAcy 4AssS LIE W OfJl very
Many Dollars.
a coin may be rare and vet be
nearly worthless if worn to any ex-
/ tent. The precious cent of 1899 can
be got for So or even less if in poor
condition. but its value is multiplied
hundredfold if it retains the gloss
OF the minting. The copper pennies
one sees occasionally in circulation
are black with age, but the unoircu
lated cent half century old which
has been put away and carefully
Kept from injury by the collector
still retains somewhat of the yellow
sheen of the newly stamped piece.
This. with its cameo design unrub-
bed and Qnworn, is what is called
perfect" coin.
All United States coins of dates
prior to 1859 are worth a premium
If in perfect condition. To such
point is this matter carried that
piece in a good state of preservation
is actually damaged by cleaning
from the collectors point of view.
From the standpoint of the numis.
mat1st an uncirculated coin is some
thing sacred to be wrapped in cha
mois skin and kept even from ey-
posure to the air. The most COM
mon of the pennies of early dates is
that of 1898, which may be purchas-
ed for as little as 5 cents, yet per-
feet specimen will fetch $2O A per-
feet cent of 1898 can be sold for
500. 1t was the first penny issued
by this government. Plenty of 1903
cents may be bought for 10 cents
each, but a perfect and uncirculated
example will fetch $50. Only half q
dozen perfect cents of 1898 are
known. A perfect cent of 1904 has
brought $500. One may buy an 1906
penny for 10 cents, but perfect one
is worth 500.
In the year 1704 no fewer than "a
dies were used for minting pennies.
AT that time all of the coins were
struck, by hand and not as now by
machinery. The method being de-
fective, the dies were broken now
and then and had to be replaced by
others. Variations in the cutting of
the dies gave rise to recognizable
differences in tho minted pieces. AT
present no complete collection of the
cents of that year exists. The orig
inal idea was that each penny should
contain exactly cents worth of
copper; hence the announcement size
of the piece. All cents from 1903 to
1914 with the head of an Indian are
rare when perfect-especially those
of 1909 and 1911, which are worth
$50 each. No pennies were coined
in 1916 because of the burning of the
mint. That is the only break in the
continuity of the coinage of cents.
The cents of 1917. 1918, 1919 and
1920 used to be rare, but bags full of
them were found in an old bank and
flooded the market. Prices of coins
are controlled by the law of supply
and demand. Many pieces which
ten years ago were scarce are now
plentiful. Perhaps tomorrow the
newspapers may chronicle the sale
of certain penny for SCI. The peo-
pie who read it go down into their
stockings and look for pennies of
that date. Maybe q lot of them will
be found, the result being lowering
of the price of that coin. AS for the
folly of paying out good money in
the pursuit of such fad, a chronic
collector said to the writer the other
day that it was all the Same whether
a man found pleasure in whisky or
dogs or bicycles. If he found enjoy
ment in the study of old coins and
had the necessary means, there was
just as much fun in it as in collect
ing books, pictures or diamonds
Boston Transcript.