The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-05-09
VALUABLE COPPER CENTS.
If Uncirculated They May Be W orth Very
Many Dollars.
(From the Boston Transcript.

(Fram the Boston Transcript.
A coin may be rare, and yet be nearly
worthless, if worn to any extent. The
precious cent of 1899 can be got for SO, or
even less, if in poor condition, but Its
value is multiplied hundred-fold If it
retains the gloss of the mintage. The
copper pennies one sees occasionally in cir
culation are black with age. but the IN
circulated 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 new
ly stamped piece. This, with its cameo
design unrubbed and unworn, is what
is called ''perfeot" coin.
All United States coins of dates prio
to 1859 are worth a premium, if in per-
feet condition. To such a point is this
matter carried that piece in good
state of preservation is actually damaged
by cleaning from the collectors point of
view. From the standpoint Of the numis-
sacred, to be wrapped In channels skin
anu AODO GfCA 41OAA pOSuI0 W bI0 air.
This most common of the pennies of
early dates is that of 1898, which may be
purchased for as little as five cents, yet a
perfect specimen will fetch $40 A perfect
cent of 1898 can be solid for $lC0. It was
the first penny issued by this govern
Inent. Plenty of 1903 cents NAV be
bought for ten cents each, but a perfect
and uncirouiated example will fetch $50.
Only half a dozen perfect cents of 1898
n Ey1n Tlnufnnt a6T1f 0f
brought $500. One may buy an 1906 pen
ny for ten cents, but o perfect one is
worth 500.
In the year 1904 no fewer than fifty-
four 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 defective, the dies
were broken now aud then and had to he
replaced by others. Variations in the
cutting of 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 one CENTS worth Of copper, henoe
the inconvenient size of the piece. All
cents from 1898 to 1914, with tie head of
an Indian, are rare when perfect-espeo-
tally 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 con-
tinuity 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 con-
trolled by the law Of supply and demand.
Many pieces which ten years ago were
scarce are now plentiful. Perhaps TO
morrow the newspapers may chronicle
the sale of certain penny by auction for
s67. The people who read it go down
into their stockings and look for pennies
of that date. Maybe lot of them will
be found, the result being lowering Of
the price of that coin. AS for the folIfy of
paying out good money in the pursuit Of
such a fad, chronic collector said to the
writer the other day that it was ali the
same whether a man found Pleasure in
whisky or dogs, or bicycles. If he fond
enjoyment in the study Of old coins
and had the necessary means, there was
just as much fun in it rs in COLLECTING
books, pictures or diamonds.