Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-05-22
VALUABLE COPPER CENTS.
Few Hints to Collectors of United
States Pennies.

The Boston transcript. says: A coin
may be rare, and yet be nearly worth
less, il worn to any extent. The
precious cent OF 1899 can be got for
-, or even less, if in poor condition,
but its value is multiplied hundred
fold if it retains the gloss of the mint
ing. The copper pennies one sees &C.
casionally are black with age, but the
uncirculated cent half century old
which has been put away and care
fully kept from injury by the collector
still retains somewhat of the yellow
sheen OF the newly-stamped piece.
This, with its cameo design unrubbed
and unworn, is what is called q per.
feet" coin.
All United States coins OF dates prior
to 1859 are worth q premium, if in
perfect condition. To such point is
this matter carried that a piece in a
good state of preservation is actually
damaged by cleaning, from the col
lector's point of view. From the
standpoint of the numismatist an I'm
circulated coin is something sacred, to
be wrapped in channels skin and kept
even from exposure to the air. The
most common of the pennies of early
dates is that of 1898, which may be
purchased for as little as cents, yet a
perfect specimen will fetch $40. A
perfect cent of 1893, 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 ex-
ample will fetch $50. Only half
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 1904 no fewer than 81
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
the minted pieces. At present no
complete collection of the cents OF
that year exists. The original idea
was that each penny should contain
exactly l cents worth of copper, hence
the announcement size of the piece. All
cents from 1908 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 1915, 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 10
years ago were scarce are now plentiful.
Perhaps tomorrow tho newspapers may
chronicle the sale of certain penny
by auction for SOS. The people who
read it 60 down into their stockings
and look for pennies OF that date.
Maybe a lot Of them will be found,
the result being lowering of the price
of that coin. AS for the folly OF pay
ing out good money iu the pursuit OF
such a fad, chronic collector said to
the writer the other day that it was
all the same whether q man found
pleasure in whisky, or dogs, or bicycles.
If he found employment in the study
OF old coins, and had the necessary
means, there was just as much fun in
it as in collecting books. pictures or
diamonds.