Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-12-05
SOME RARE AMERICAN COINS.
Many Cents Highly Valued BY collee

Many Cents Highly Valued BY collee.
| tors.
premiums on old coins have ad-
vanced from IS. to 100 per cent dur
ing the last few years." said an old
coin dealer. ANY number of coins
that could have been picked up for
small sum a short time ago now
bring sums up to SIS and 500.
This is due to the tremendous re-
vival of interest that has taken place
in coin collecting. There are now In
this country more than 1000 coin COL
lectors in quest of desired rarities.
Some Of them make trips Of this char
acter every year for no other purpose
than to ransack the shops Of dealers
in odds and ends on the other side of
the ocean in the hope Of finding
treasure, which, as a matter Of fact.
| they very often do.
"Of course, there are thousands or
persons who casually gather old coins
indiscriminately, but I don't take such
the demand for old coins nowadays
that the supply does not begin to meet
It.
Most American collectors go. in for
coins of United States issue. Not
collectors into account. So great is
much interest is taken here In foreign
and in the ancient Greek and Roma:,
coins, although they are the rage
abroad.
"A good many collectors make a
speciality of gathering Colonial coins
and the private gold issues Of North
Carolina, Georgia and California, but
the larger old copper cent leads them
all in point of interest Still other col
lectors go in for die varieties and
mint marks That small letter on a
coin which shows the place of its
mintage, makes all the difference in
the world to a collector and also in
the price.
For instance, a twenty-five cent
piece of 1875 Of the Philadelphia
mint is worth just 25 cents, and yet q
coin of the same denomination Of
1877 or 1878. bearing the two tiny
C Cs for Carson City, will bring be-
tween $40 and SIS.
THE dime of 1894 is another ex-
ample. The one made in San Fran
cisco, with the letter IS is worth
anywhere from $5 to $40. whereas
those made in other mints are worth
just their face value or a trifie over.
There were only twentyfour Of the
former ten-cent pieces minted.
Would you believe dollar Of 1904
was worth $3.50? 1t is, just the same,
and that sum was paid at a recent
auction sale.
"Yet. such is the inconsistency Of
coin collecting that a dollar Of 1898,
in good condition, can be bought for
$3.50. The reason for this Is that
all 1904 dollars were struck in proof
sets. and were limited.
proofs sets are made by burnish-
ing the sheet of metal before the
coins are stamped. and they come
forth with a high polish. The low
figure of the 1898 dollar is due to the
enormous number preserved in good
condition.
MANY of the coins minted since
1850 bring premiums that greatly ex-
ceed those for coins issued during the
latter part Of the eighteenth century.
"A gold dollar of 1875 in proof con-
dition will bring SIS. The three dol
lar gold piece of 1873 is worth $50.
All three-dollar gold pieces, in fact.
with the exception Of those minted at
Philadelphia in 1855 and 1874 are
worth premiums ranging up to SIS.
1.-The four dollar gold piece Of 1879
and 1880 is worth SIS. The silver
dollar of 1858 is rated at $50. The
flying eagle cent of 1856 brings SIS,
and Is hard to get at that price.
All of the silver three-cent pieces
command premiums that range as
high as SO. The nickel three-cent
piece of 1877 is worth 81. and the
fve-cent piece of the same year Is
valued at $3.50.
"And, what will seem strangest Of
all to the general public. the commor
bronze cent of 1877, in proof condi-
ton. is quoted at $3.50. and even
those that have been in circulation
fetch an advanced price.
die varieties mean more than one
would suppose. OF the 1894 cents
alone there are fifty-five die varieties,
each one of which is held at a high
premium. and of all the big copper
cents there are S17 die varieties that
are known at the present time. with
other counties to hear from.
"And this just refers to coins Of one
denomination. 1t is easy to imagine
the work of the collector who goes
in for the collection of die varieties Of
coins of all denominations.
1.-The majority of the collectors OIL
gold coins confine themselves to de-
nominations under IS. This by no
means limits their field greatly. as
there are hundreds of varieties Of the
private gold issues Of the western
states, North Carolina and Georgia,
not to mention the varieties Of regu-
lar United States issue.
Just take the BraSher doubloon.
This was a gold piece issued in New
York city i'm 1877. On the reverse II
bears the motto 'Unum f Pluribus.
and an eagle with spread wings; upon
its breast a shield. with a bundle of
arrows in the right talon and an olive
branch in the left, while the head Is
surmounted by thirteen stars.
This coin was struck from. dies
which had been made Cor a cent,
which the maker had submitted to
the authorities for approval. but 1t
was rejected. The coin is now worth
more than $500 and is seldom offered
for sale.
"Of the California gold issues alone
there are several hundred varieties.
and some of them command enOrm-
Gus premiums.
in