Coin Collecting Club

Since a mintmark is an identifier for each coin and will tell you where your coin was minted, it stands to reason that you will find the mintmark somewhere on the coin itself. And this is where it might become slightly messy. Yes, the one thing that you can rely on is that a mintmark will be on a coin, or can you? What about when there is no mintmark? What then? There are of course as things go in this world, a few reasons for this.
There is no mintmark used for that particular mint. This can happen because the mint is the original one and therefore doesn’t use a mintmark, or perhaps the coins minted elsewhere weren’t given the mintmark on purpose. For example Lincoln cents which were minted at both the San Francisco mint and the West Point mint in the early 1990’s didn’t use a mintmark, thus making it indistinguishable from the Philadelphia minted Lincoln cents.

There was something wrong with die or grease got clogged up in it and covered the mintmark symbol, thereby resulting in a coin with no mintmark or a very weak mintmark, or the mintmark has been carefully scraped away for fraudulent reasons at some point or other.

Since some coins are rarer than others and sometimes the mintmark or the lack of one is the main reason, the mintmark will be carefully removed to give the appearance of having no mintmark at first glance, Or It could have worn away naturally with the passage of time.

If there is a mintmark present on the coin however, you would as a general rule, find it on the obverse of the coin. That’s not to say that whichever side you find a mintmark is going to be the obverse of a coin. No, it’s more along the lines of the mintmark being placed on the obverse. This too can change however, and you might find that some mintmarks are actually on the reverse of the coin.

A good example of this is the nickel. Whereas normally you would find the mintmark of the nickel (five cent piece) just under the date as with most US coins, during the heyday of the Second World War, there was a shortage of the metal Nickel which was used to mint the coins. This led to silver being added to its composition and to reflect this change, for the duration of this time, the mintmark was taken over to the reverse of the coin.

The placement of the mintmark can also vary from country to country, from coin to coin and from whim to whim. Well not really from whim to whim as it does take a committee or an organization to make these decisions but you can’t get around the fact that the placement is entirely in the hands of these capable people.

So again generally, you would likely find a mintmark somewhere under the date if there is one, which is the case for just about all US coins.

Otherwise, in times gone by and in other countries, you could find the mintmark in such place as just under the portrait of a ruler, just to the side, or just above. Then you also have the variation of the mintmark being just above the date, or just above the date and just under the portrait.

As you can see there are many variations on this theme, and the only way to know for sure is to first know what the possible mintmarks are for that country and that coinage. And also whether there was a mintmark to begin with.

A mintmark is an identifier on each coin that tells you where that particular coin was minted. It’s a security feature to help curb counterfeiting. So, you would ordinarily try to find the mark that is on each coin. One thing we should be aware of though is that not all coins bear this mark on them and this is because of a few factors.
Sometimes the original mints in a region will mark their coins, and that will be the unique or stand out factor for the coins for that mint. Sometimes, the marks are also just not put on purpose. A good example of this are the Lincoln cents that were minted in San Francisco and West Point mints in the 90s. You couldn’t distinguish these coins from those minted in Philadelphia. There was a problem at the mint of some sort where grease clogged up and the dye had a problem. Some coins were left with no mintmark or a very weak one that was easy to scrape away.

So, if you want to look for the mark, where are you going to look? We are told to look on the obverse of the coin, most times anyway. Sometimes though, the mark can be found on the reverse of the coin. During the Second World War, there was a shortage of nickel used to mint the 5 cent coins (nickels). Due to the shortage, silver was instead used, and the mintmark was put on the reverse side of the coin. This was a distinguisher. The placement of the mark varies from country, mint, coin and sometimes the decision of the people concerned. You will find they can decide to change the position of the mark as they wish, or go without one.

What Coins Should I Collect?

By Robert L Taylor, JD

You should collect what you like and enjoy. This is Your Dream. Design it any way you want.

Never-the-less, . . . decide on Foreign coins or US Coins; and Proof or Mint State. If US, then decide upon a Denomination: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, dollar or other.

Or, decide upon a particular Period in History, e.g.: Morgan Dollars (Lady Liberty, Following Civil War), Peace Dollars (Following WWI), War Time Cents (Steel and Shell Casing - WWII), War Time Nickels (Silver - WWII), Silver quarters and dimes pre 1965; Statehood Quarters; 20th Century; 19th Century.

Or decide upon an Historical Figure; Kennedy Half Dollars (Following his death), Lincoln Cents; Washington Quarters; Franklin Half Dollars; Eisenhower Dollars, Susan B Anthony Dollars, Roosevelt Dimes; Sacagawea Dollars. You can also choose Type Sets, Year Sets, Mint Sets, Proof Sets and Decades.

The Next Step is to decide upon the Quality of coin you want to collect. Your choices are: a) pocket change; b) bank rolls; c) US mint and proof rolls and sets (new and used); d) Buy from Coin Shows and Clubs; e) Buy on the Internet; f) Buy from coin dealer; g) Buy from coin magazine or ad. Each has their benefits and advantages. Pocket Change and Bank Rolls provide Circulated coins. The US Mint provides Uncirculated “Mint State” and “Proof” coins.

The Internet provides the Greatest Selection from private Web Sites, e.g.: www.ThePerfect-Coin.Com to the big Auctions like eBay, Yahoo, Heritage and TeleTrade. And With the advent of PayPal.com (free) it becomes very quick and easy to pay for purchases over the Internet and by Phone.

The one thing that is important in all of the above choices is the Grade of the Coin, which is closely related to Value (a topic for another article). But which leads to the next choice: Buy Slabbed or Raw? Raw coins are what you find in pocket change. Slabbed coins are those that are Professionally Certified and Graded by an Independent Third Party. The coin is then placed in a “slab”, made of plastic, identified, labeled and sealed. It actually takes 3 Professionals to decide upon the Grade of a Coin. If Buying Raw Coins, You need to Know How to Grade a Coin. Even then, there will be Disputes about the Grade. When Buying a Slabbed coin, You Know the Grade. The Grade Becomes Virtually Undisputable! All references to Price in any resource are Based on Grading, which follows the Guidelines set by the ANA American Numismatic Association. Currently, there are only Four Companies that are Recognized for Strictly following these Guidelines: PCGS, NGC, ICG and ANACS. It is from these Professionals that one should buy slabbed coins. Buying Slabbed Coins is the First Rule of Serious Coin Collecting.

Obviously, one will be very limited in the years, mints, and varieties available from pocket change and bank rolls - both being local in nature. Even if starting with these means of collecting, always keep an open mind about other resources. So, a little future insight helps to decide that better resources will yield better coin collections. Most collections will span a greater range of years, than either pocket change or bank rolls can possibly produce. It is therefore imperative to investigate other resources.

Your Budget will usually determine the Grade of coin that you can afford to collect. MS63-MS65 is an Ideal range for collecting, not only because of the excellent condition and detail of the coins, greater availability, lower costs, and because coins in this range tend to Appreciate faster than other Grades. There item is very simple, and it has to do with the quality of the coin or how much you want to Spend per Coin - for an average coin, for an exceptional coin, or a perfect coin. Your budget will usually determine this factor, or, how much per month you can spend (per month?) for your new Investment. Never doubt that Coin Collecting is an Investment. Although it is easy to overlook the amount of time spent on this Endeavor because two of the main ingredients are Pleasure and Enjoyment. Confucius Say:

“If you enjoy what you are doing, you will never work another day in your life.”

Think of it as a Fund. You are trading Money for . . . Money that Grows and Gives Pleasure! Properly attended, this Fund can quite possibly put someone through college.

Lastly, decide whether to collect all of the coins in your Group including varieties and errors or just the Regular Issue Coins. Errors and Varieties can become extremely expensive and difficult to find. Most people will avoid them.

This Concept of “Trading Money for Money” is critically important because most people shy away from spending a little more, just to get the best. And I am talking about the best in quality of coin, no matter what the Grade or Price. In other words, get a Coin with the Grade it is Supposed to Have. This is the Only way to be sure of the Value of the Coin. Spend your Money Wisely. Get what you pay for. Until you become a Professional at Grading, rely on the Professional Graders. Whether you choose to collect Kennedy Proof Half Dollars, or Jefferson Nickels from pocket change, thanks to the Internet, you will find a huge selection available, on many different web sites, to give your Coin Collecting efforts a boost. Internet Web Sites will Forever Change Coin Collecting! Why? Because Top Quality Coins can be easily Bought and Sold by any body - since they are Slabbed!

Always Know Your Grade!

Robert L Taylor, JD

Copyright 2006, Robert L Taylor, JD

Key Coin: A coin that is among the toughest and Most Expensive to obtain within a series. In the Lincoln Cent series, for example, the 1909-S VDB would be considered the key, as would the 1914-D and often the 1922-Plain.

A coin somewhat lesser in stature but still among the tougher in a series to collect is called a semi-key; the 1909-S and 1931-S fulfill this role within the Lincoln Cent series for many collectors. Both key coins and semi-key coins are in great demand due primarily to the limited supply of coins available. Since this increases the demand for such coins, the results are higher prices for all such coins. Coins with higher grades are even more difficult to acquire.

The grade of a coin is everything in coin collecting. This entices the rogues and cheats to misrepresent a coin’s grade or quality. But this only works with raw coins. A certified and graded coin - by PCGS, NGC, ICG or ANACS - stifles the would be cheat and insures authenticity. In fact, these companies guarantee the coin’s Authenticity, Identity, and Grade. I have seen company representatives, at trade shows, pay immediate cash reimbursements where a coin was mis-graded, or had a questionable identity or grade. The extra protection offered by a sealed slab, helps to maintain a coins condition and grade, which in turn keeps the value at a higher level than raw coins. Many people have had their entire collections sent in for certification and grading for the protection and value alone. It certainly increases a coins marketability, and eliminates any doubts about what is being bought or sold.

Other “Key” Dates include the following:

Lincoln Cents: 1909 S, 1909 S VDB, 1914 D, 1922 no mint, 1931 S

Jefferson Nickel: 1938-D, 1938-S, 1939-D, 1939-S and 1950-D

Roosevelt Dimes: 1949, 1949 S, 1950 S, and the 1951 S

Washington Quarters: 1932 D, 1932 S, 1934 - with Double Die Obverse (DDO), 1935 D, 1936 D, 1937 - with Double Die Obverse (DDO), 1937 S, 1938 S, 1939 S, 1940 D, 1942 D - with Double Die Obverse (DDO), 1942 D - with Double Die Reverse (DDR),1943 - with Double Die ?, 1943 S - with Double Die Obverse (DDO), 1950 D/S Over mintmark ( coin is a ‘50-D, with underlying S mintmark ), 1950 S/D Over mintmark ( coin is a ‘50-S, with underlying D mintmark ), and the 1955 D

The Concept of “Key” may also apply to the Type or Purpose of the coin collection, rather than the individual coin. For example, if a collector is putting together a collection of Walking Liberty Half Dollars, without regard to the Condition of the coins, then the “keys” are the 1921, 1921-D, and 1916-S.

But, if the Collector is putting together the same set, in Gem BU Condition, the 1919-D and the 1921-S would be considered the “keys” and the 1916-S likely would not, because the 1916-S either not available at all, or is plentiful. Also Key Date may be a replaceable term.

Another example, using Lincoln Cents: The “key dates” for the Lincoln Pennies, from 1909 -1958 (wheat cents) are: 1909s, 1909s VDB, 1914 D, 1922, and the 1931 S.

The “semi-key” dates are: 1910 S, 1911 D, 1911 S, 1912 S, 1913 D, 1913 S, 1914 S, 1915, 1921 S, 1922 D, 1923 S, 1924 D, 1926 S, 1931 D, and 1933 D.

Certain Sellers use the term “Key Date” to generate interest in a coin, whose date may be “Key”, however, the Condition of the coin is usually less than desirable. Pay Attention!

Have fun collecting your Perfect Coins!

Robert L Taylor, JD

Copyright © 2006-7