Gothamist: A Penny - Or More - For Your Thoughts

Rocco Camp

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 10:48:49 -0500

A musical about the witches from The Wizard of Oz breaks West End box office records, its producers say...

Noah

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:42:17 -0500

I got a nice mercury dime in my change at Starbucks a few weeks ago. It was a 1943 D variety, that makes it worth about $1.50. Probably the cheapest cup of coffee I ever will have at Starbucks.

famdoc

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:15:58 -0500

Toby: That's a sweet find. Definitely worth saving in some sort of protective sleeve. You see the color, the detail and the absence of flaws? You've got a "mint state 65" there...worth about a buck to a collector.

Toby

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 14:57:09 -0500

I got a nice shiny 1958 D penny a few weeks ago in change. It was neat to get something so old, yet so shiny.

famdoc

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 14:10:23 -0500

Sure would like to know where you uncovered that photo. The "1909-S VDB" penny you speak about (and, presumably, depict) is an iconic coin to collectors. While far from the rarest American coin produced, it has somehow acquired a cache that makes it so desirable, collectors are willing to pay more than $1000 for it, depending upon its condition. And like most antiques and collectibles (watch one episode of PBS' Antiques Road Show), the value of a coin depends upon more than its rarity: condition counts. So, in the example you feature here, the intense shine, the reddish-brown color, the absence of flaws and the detail on the wheat stalks (do you have any pre-1959 'wheaties' at home? take a look at these features on them...i bet few of them have the individual wheat stalks visible and certainly are not free of dings,nicks, fingerprints, etc.) makes this '09 S-VDB worth more like $1600. In fact, most collectors would submit such an example to an authentication and grading service, which would encapsulate the coin in a holder that would protect it from future mishandling/deterioration and assign it a grade, based upon its condition (this one would probably earn a 'mint state-65' designation, adding another several hundred dollars to its value). Happy hunting!

drewo

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 13:54:28 -0500

Here's a link to a group producing a much needed alternative to "not-worth-the-paper-it's-printed-on" US currency: The Liberty Dollar