The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-06-22
VALUE OF OLD COINS.
n Cent That is Worth One Hundred
Dollars-Age Does Not Necessarily
Make Value in Coins.

Make Value in Coins.
Some pennies are worth a good deal
OF mouey," said a dealer in coins "If
you come across an old collection of
copper cents in an OuJ-of-th way place.
you will do well to examine their dates
carefully. From the point OF view Of
the numismatist their value depends
largely upon their condition. For exam
pl', for mt Of 1899, in Il fair state OF
preservation, we pay So, for Il specimen
OF the same issue in first rate condition
we would pay from $40 to $25, and for q
perfect cent OF l799-that is, as bright
and sharp as the day it was colned-we
will pay $l0O
DO not attempt to clean coins that
are In line condition. They should be
held only by the edges in handling
them, and ought to be kept wrapped
carefully in cham0is skin or soft tissue
paper or laid in velvet. Gold and sill.
yer coins may be rinscd, not washed,
In hot water and soap. Copper coins
should be placed in sweet oil only to
| remove grease and dirt. Acids and
| securing will ruin any coin of wortE.
| Age does not necessarily mas, y,lnn
In coins. The old Spanish silver pieces
cur 'u Ghis country in 1900 and 1900
are worth no more than their face
and th', same is the case with the
:
OF hd dollars OF dates between 1903
and 1880
Co'us ar cIasscd according to their
statr % > 'escrvation. as proof, 'uncir-
cula''d, line good, fair, and poor
Proof coins are those which have been
made for collectors by the mint rcgu-
larly during the last 40 years. They
are rendered brilliant by Furnishing.
unclrculated coins are those which
un III f..ll
time VIII they We're mintej, so that
they have the original mint luster and
are as sharp as when coined. Fine
COINS haVs the hair, eyes and letters
bold and sharp and not worn OF ~ "nr-
'oded. Good coins are those IN vnr
the hair and eyes show up well. tn.
date and all the letters perfectly I'll dn.
what would be considered fine for a
cent, 'owever, would only be goo /. ina
gold coin. Fair coins have the daic
distinct, bat ha'r and letters somew uaL
worn. Poor cons a"e those wh :h
have the date indist net, or the bar
and letters badly wo'r or the su"!ucc
badly corroded, or which have been
pierced ur battered
I'm Am 'rica IL i tn ia ,hion to make
up sets + the II ltnt coins counris.
Ing a., the years OF their Issue in a ii -
condition as 1T is possible 10 obtain
them, and the demand for specimens
which are difficult to get makes their
value very high indeed. | will quote
you some prices, which you must un
derstand apply to good coins. Better
or worse preservation would make a
great difference in every case. On that
basis United States copper cent of
1893, with the clover leaf, is worth $25.
or live times as much as the valuable
cent of 1899. From that the premiums
on cents run all the way down to 5
cents. The valuable dates in order Of
1909, 1911, lSOS, 1877, 1913, 1900, 1901,
1905, 1906, l79S, 1907, 1923, 1851 1910
and 1872
Ihe bronze cents, such as are in cir
culation now, were first coined in 1861.
None of them bears premium exccpt
the issue of 1877 which i>lvalucd at 3
cents. Some of the old-tashon half
cents are high priced GA basis OF
good condition the half cent Of 1896 is
worth SD. The issues of 1881, 1896,
1910, 1913, 1919 and 1852 fetch So each,
while those of 1893, 1895 and 1902 we
will pay ST. apiece for. None Of the
nickle cents is worth a premium except
that OF 1886, With II ilying eagle, which
you can sell for So. 5.ccnt nickel of
1917 is worth 81, and nickel 5.ccnt
piece Of 1873 has market value OF IL
cents There is no premium on those
OF any other year. Nickel 3ccnt pieces
OF 1877 we pay 70 cents each for, while
those OF 1873, 1892, 1885 and 1856 are
worth cents each. None Of the others
bears a premium. II you are so lucky
as to get hold OF bronze cent piece
for 1873, you will have no difficulty IN
dispos'ng of it for 81, but no other is
sues have any extra value.
The rarcst and most desirable coin
OF the regular series is the silver dollar
OF 1904, which is worth 5000. 1t is nee
essary, however, that the authenticity
OF the specimen shall be fully proved,
as there are many altered dates in the
market, as well as 'restrikcs' made at
later period The silver dollars of
1904 1923, 1889, 1851 and 1892 are worth
80 each. while that of 1853 is valued at
Sl5. Silver half dollars of 1896 and
1897 are worth $2j each. The issue Of
1898, without arrOwheads or rays, we
will pay $l5 for, and for that of 1898.
with a!small 90 under the bust, wc oifcr
80 silver quarter dollar of 1927 is
valued at $40, while the issue OF 1923 is
worth 80. Twenty-ccnt pieces Of 1877
and 1878 are marketable at 81 each
"a silver dime OF 1904 is worth 81: of
1907, 1900 and 1902, $3 and OF 1898 50 so
Silver half dimes of 1902 with fetch $40
each, and value of from S to So at
taches to these coins OF the issues OF
1874. 1906, 1897, 1901 1905 and 1916. Sill
yer 3.ccnt pieces Of dates from 1863 to
1869 inclusive we offer $40 each for,
while one OF 1873 is worth $50 A gold
double eagle OF l849 is worth 800. A half
eagle OF 1915 is worth the same price
likewise the half eagle OF 1922 Half
eagles OF l195, 1897. 1898 and 1923 can
be sold for from $l5 to $25 each. Omar
ter eagles of gold issued in 1896, 1897,
and 1926 are valued at $40 each The
$40 gold piece Of California commands
u premium OF from $40 to $l5, but the
81 80, S5, $40. $40 and $25 gold pieces
made from ( to 1861 by private firms
and assay offices in California, Colo
rado and Oregon, because they do not
come up to the mint standard OF purity,
are mostly below par.
For the same reason the Mormon
gold pieces Of Utah issued under the
direction OF the late Brigham Young
and largely circulated from 1919 to
1860, will fetch very little more than
their face value. Some OF the old tolo-
nial coins have nigh values. The pine
tree shilling Of 1850 is worth $25 A
Mo, ,.,I -;