You can generally consider coins that are no longer in production and more than a few decades old to be vintage. Some use World War II as the cutoff point, but some coins minted after WWII are widely considered vintage or classic, such as the Franklin half dollar.
Reputable coin dealers, Coin Auctions, eBay, and Price Guides are great places to start. If your coins are graded by one of the Top Tier grading services like PCGS or NGC, you can usually get a reasonable value estimate sight-unseen!
After independence, the Indian rupee replaced various types of coins. Today, the Indian government authorises the Indian coins, and these coins carry the seals of the Indian government. Notably, ancient coins were made out of gold, silver, and copper, whereas modern coins are made out of cupro–nickel.
This is never advised for the general public. There is no benefit to attempting to clean a collectible coin. Copper never re-tones to its original color and look anyway. Put down the polish before you destroy something historical and throw away a fortune.
Place your coins in a bowl and pour enough white vinegar to cover the coins. Let the coins soak for at least 30 minutes but no longer than overnight. Remove the coins and gently scrub the residue with the toothbrush.
Since oil and dirt cannot be removed without cleaning, a small touch can cut a coin's value in half or even more because, again, numismatists would rather have an oxidized but untouched coin than a shiny but damaged one. The bottom line for anyone looking to sell coins from a coin collection: don't clean your coins.
If you're a currency collector, you know the answer already: yes, there are some dollars and coins that carry a higher value than the U.S. Mint printed on them originally. Pennies adorned with wheat, for example, could be as worth as much as $1,500 if the date next to President Abraham Lincoln's head is just right.
Coinoscope makes coin identification and valuation easy - just snap a picture of a coin with your phone camera and the app will show you a list of similar coins. Click on the coin to see additional information in the web browser of your phone. Save search results and build your photo collection of coins.
"Many people think that the older the coin, the more valuable it is. But the value of a coin has more to do with its rarity and demand than its age alone.
Look for an inscription.
The inscription, or legend, on a coin can help you identify its country of origin and may also help determine its age if the date is missing. American coins usually state "United States of America" somewhere on the coin.
A new $2 coin commemorating the end of the Vietnam War has skyrocketed in value and is now selling for up to $1,200 online. The Royal Australian Mint released two $2 coins earlier this month to commemorate 50 years since the end of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.
Australia has some of the rarest and most beautiful coins you could imagine, particularly in the proof gold sector. The coins, proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns, have always been popular with local collectors, simply because of their inherent rarity.
Created over 2,700 years ago, but now located in the British Museum, is the Lydian Lion, the oldest coin in the world. It is a one-sided design featuring a roaring lion, the emblem of the Lydian Kings who created it around 610-600 BC.
Coinoscope mobile app makes coin identification and valuation easy - just snap a picture of a coin with your phone camera and the app will show you a list of similar coins. Fast and accurate. A must-have tool for every coin collector and numismatist! Available on Apple and Android OS.
CoinSnap is a powerful mobile application that utilizes AI-driven image recognition technology to accurately identify any coin within seconds!
Cleaning old coins might seem like a good way to revitalise the appearance of a treasured item, but could in fact reduce a coin's value significantly, and should be avoided. Particularly in the case of old precious metal coins, cleaning them is most definitely not recommended!
1803 Draped Bust Silver Dollar - This is one of the rarest and most valuable coins, and only four of them are known to exist. Each of these coins are worth around $1 million if they are in good condition.
Should Coin Collectors Clean Their Coins? Before cleaning old coins, consider that appraisers and coin experts suggest not cleaning collectible coins yourself because the coins may lose their value.
Distilled water is recommended as tap water contains chlorine. The coin is dipped into olive oil which according to Hudgeons, works best for common copper or bronze coins.
First, if you think your coins might be of any value, do not clean them at all, since you can possibly damage them by soaking in cleaners like vinegar. If you want to clean the coin for some other reason, vinegar should work fine.