Baby Boomer Pocket Change

Coin Terms You Might See on Ebay-What is Extra Fine?

If you ever visit Ebay to purchase or sell coins you will see a lot of different coin terms. Now,  especially if you are buying a coin you should become familiar with some of the coin terms.

So this series will share definitions of some of the terms often seen in the headlines of an Ebay Sale. So to get the ball rolling here is a title on Ebay. Let’s examine it as closely as possible.

1892 COLOMBIAN HALF DOLLAR COMMORATIVE EXTRA FINE

Wikipedia states the following :

The Columbian Exposition half dollar commemorative coin, commonly referred to as the Columbian half dollar, was minted for the Columbian Exposition1892 to 1893. It honors the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America.

Now it is important to know that the better condition the coin is in the better the collectability. This is additional info I found on Wikipedia:

Most coins can be had in mint state grades, and can be had for a nominal sum. Due to creditors dumping many half dollars used as collateral for loans, some coins are sometimes encountered with signs of circulation wear.

So what condition is this coin in according to the title? Extra Fine

What is the Extra Fine Grade?

The definitions below are according to the Professional Grading Association.

Extra Fine

Alternate form of Extremely Fine.

Extremely Fine

The grades EF40 and 45. This grade has nearly full detail with only the high points worn, the fields rubbed often with luster still clinging in protected areas.

Of course if you would like to add to this discussion it is more than welcomed!

Tags: coin terms, extra fine, half dollar

2009 Lincoln Penny Errors

As I sit down at the table with a magnifying class examining a 2009 Lincoln penny, found in my pocket change, I am in total awe. I have a few pennies that are the Lincoln Professional.

Coin errors are not easy.I usually refer to a few error books like the Cherrypickers’ Guide This book comes in two volumes and extensive guide on errors.
I also simply love Strike It Rich with Pocket Change

Be sure to get a magnifier with at least 7x up to see some of this errors.  It can be relaxing to look at each coin. So come along with me on this journey of learning. Remember, I am using this site to share some of the things I am learning. I hope it is helpful.
Now get out those new Lincoln pennies. If you don’t have any yet you can get them at your local coin dealer, Ebay or directly from the mint. As of this writing some of the rolls are sold out but you can get them in the 2009 Proof set.

The Mint News Blog has an insightful article about possible double die errors on the 2009 Lincoln Formative years cent. The Lincoln Formative Years cent is the second in the four new coins released this year. Be sure to read the engaging comments at the end of the post.

A bootstrap error has been reported on the Lincoln Formative Years Series. This was featured on a CoinLink. It appears that you may not need a high magnification to see this error.

I will revisit this later I am sure. Meanwhile, I will keep learning so if I see one in pocket change I will know what I am looking at. Please share anything you might know with this babyboomer. Thanks

Tags: 2009 Lincoln penny, 2009 Lincoln penny errors, baby boomer, Error Coins, pocket change

What is a Double Die Coin Error?

I recently saw this error coin being sold on Ebay. It is for one of the new Lincoln pennies. The error shown is a double die. Ok, if you are new at this, like I am, you want to know what a double die error really is right?

Well according to coin expert, Susan Headly

A doubled die coin is a coin that was struck from a die that had a partial or full doubled image on it. The doubling comes from mistakes in the die hubbing process, where more than one image is transferred from the hub to the coin die. The 1955 doubled die Lincoln Cent (see photo) is the classic example of a doubled die, and sparked the start of the error coin collecting hobby in the U.S. Although no other doubled die types exhibiting the remarkable degree of doubling seen on the 1955 cent have emerged from the U.S. Mint, noteworthy doubling has also been found on 1972 and 1995 Lincoln Cents.

I also checked out a great resource site for double die coin errors. So I will be referring to it. The site is called Wexlers Die Varieties .

I especially like this site because it shows and explains die errors for current coins like the Lincoln penny and others that came out in 2009.

So keep looking at that pocket change.

Tags: double die variety, lincoln pennies, Pennies

Stop! Don’t Throw Silver Into Those Automatic Coin Machines

Many folks are using automated coin machine to flip their coins into cash. I am hoping that there are coin collectors helping to count the change that comes out of those machines.

I wish I could get a part time job counting that change. I would find a way to purchase all the old quarters and dimes that contain silver. The only point I want to make is to look through your coins before you dump them into those machines.

Ok, here is a very quick short list of coins to look for before you dump that are worth the value of silver. Of course how much you get is based on the value of silver that day. I have a page tabbed on this site that will give you the price.

• Nickels-1942-1945 (They have 35% silver
• Dimes 1946-1964 have 90% silver
• Quarters 1032-1964 have 90% silver.

I heard about someone who had 290 dimes  with silver in them.They were planning to dump them into the coin machine and did not feel fooling around with rolling or looking at them. A friend convinced them to go to a local coin dealer.  They were able to get  $320 dollars that day based on the price of silver. You do the math.

Tags: pocket change, sliver in pocket change

What’s In The Pocket Change Today? 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar

Look what was in this pocket change. That’s right a 1984 Kennedy Half Dollar. Is it worth anything?

Tags: coins, half dollar, kennedy half dollar

Will Your State Quarter Be Valuable in the Future?

I was wondering about the future value of single State quarters in the future.  I know that the should be in excellent condition and is based on the number of coins made. There is a guide that uses an interesting calculation to determine the future value of a quarter based on how many were minted.

View this article and look for your State to see if you should be saving those quarters.

Tags: collect state quarters, state quarters, value of state quarters

What’s In The Pocket Change Today?-Steel Pennies

New coin discoveries in pocket change. Check out what was found today.

Tags: baby boomer pocket change, baby boomers, coins, Pennies, steel pennies

Breaking News, Seller Offers Refund On My Coin Purchase

Kudos, to the Ebay system of communication. Just when I tried to leave a negative feedback about my coin purchase Ebay forced me to communicate with the seller.

Actually that was a good thing. The seller explained why the specifics about the weight and size was omitted and offered a refund. That was very good.

My lessons still stand because I am responsible for asking questions and I did not. So there is now a new catergory on this site called “Coin Communication.

Tags: coin sales, ebay, gold coins

They Were Not Gold! But Gold Plated

If you read the post made yesterday about my gold buying adventure you know that the fool mentioned is me. Well, today I found out that the little tiny coins weighed a little over 1 penny weight but failed the test for real gold. I was told it was probably gold plated.

Now, I was hoping for at least $8.00 to cover my investment. But it just did not happen. What did happen was a wonderful education and I will hold those coins to share my story. And yes, I will still use Ebay to buy and sell online but with much more wisdom.

I also decided to start a series called “Cool Coin Tips”. This will be recordings by coin experts on buying, selling and collecting coins. The series should start next week.

Would you like that?

Tags: coin tips, coin tips by experts, coin tips recording

Fools Gold-Buyer Beware! Plus-Don’t Let Lust for Gold Get in Your Eyes

Picture of tiny gold coins compared to penny

what you see is not always what you get-these are very tiny

Just the other day I was driving in my car listening to the radio. The financial news reporter announced the gold was 1,049. I sucked the air through my nose and let out an audible gasp. I was almost afraid to exhale because I excited about the rise in gold prices.

But then it a little voice of sanity and reason said “Why are you so excited? You don’t have any gold.” So, in the middle of bumper to bumper traffic I laughed as if I was listening to a Bill Cosby tape.

I realized I was just excited for other that might be able to benefit from this good news. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Anyway, that night, after my hubby was in bed and I was finished working, I went to Ebay.

There, at a sleepy 1:00 am, I saw a really low priced ad for 22 karet gold coins with only a  $2.00 bid. I looked at the picture and saw the coins spread out unorganized on a kitchen counter top.

I also read the ad closely to determine if they said things like, “looks like real gold”, “feels like real gold,” “gold toned” “as well as ”gold clad”. No, it seemed really legit. “But why so low?” I said to myself. “Self did not answer me.

So, I proceeded, in my lust to actually own a real gold coin, to bid on that item. It was only 2 minutes left and I was still the highest bidder at $4.00. Certainly, this must be a mistake or a very unhappy wife dumping her husbands gold. ” I said to myself.

I won the bid!  I quickly paid for the item and went to bed. “Won’t my husband be surprised,” I said as I quietly slid in the bed besides him. I was about to wake him up to tell him the good news but decided to tell him later.

Well, I told him the next morning and we both laughed about the possible reasons why it was so low. We covered every reason except the real reason. The camera shots did not show the actual size. Nor was there a mention of the size in the ad.

When my coins arrived, very timely I must remember to say in my feedback, they were the size of my finger tips.  I finally had real  gold coins.

So, I decided to share this with all my readers that as you dip in this world of coin exploration keep learning, asking questions ask questions.

I spoke to my coin dealer the day after I purchased the coins and he predicted that they would probably be very tiny coins. He was so right.

Hope this helps someone who is still learning like me.

So, what are my lessons?

1. Don’t get greedy, sometimes if it looks too good to be true it is!

2. Ask questions from from someone who knows more than you before you buy, if they are not around-let it go

3. Ask the seller questions about the size of your coins

4. Chalk up mistakes in judgement and learn from them, just try not to make it expensive.

Ok, if you gleaned some lessons from this let me know.

Tags: gold coins, gold coins on ebay, scam gold