i was reading my metal detecting mag, and in one of the stories. There was a articulate how a guy had to give up a 1974 aluminum cent he inherited. He was planning showing the coin, then auctioning it off. They had to give it back to the government. They claimed it was worth 2 million. How do they know it has a value when its ellegal to own. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-penny-idUSKCN0WK05Q
Good question. I think it was based on the rarity and how rare coins like it had been selling. Unfortunately for the guy, the coin was not legal tender and should never have left the mint. I feel for him but what can you do?
The story I heard was that the aluminum cents were shown to members of Congress, but some of them didn't return them like they were supposed to. Just another instance of a crooked politician, I guess! Chris
I do believe they left out an important detail. IIRC the coin the San DIego man has is a Denver issue that were supposedly never struck http://www.coinworld.com/news/us-co...nst-government-in-1974-d-aluminum-cent-c.html
Is there an instance of a truthful one - OH - ain't supposed to talk about - but thank God I liked my Doctor and I was allowed to keep her!!
I was at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC this month and drooled over their coin display with a 1974 aluminum cent, 1913 Liberty nickel, 1933 Double Eagle, and three (!) 1804 silver dollars (including the one-and-only Type II). They tossed in a real-deal $100,000 bill just in case a tourist doesn't recognize the rarity of the coins. Amusingly, the note was printed in 1934 ... two blocks away at the BEP.
Be sure to look in the drawers under the displays. The three 1804 silver dollars are by themselves in an unmarked drawer. Twenty Million Dollars worth of coins in an unmarked drawer!
The 2 million is basically a guess based on rarity and the amount of publicity the coin's gotten. You can just make numbers like that up if it's never been sold before... kind of like how PCGS made up a price of $150K for the 1974-P aluminum cent they authenticated.
Different Cent Chris. This was the 1974-"D" Aluminum Cent supposedly given to a retiring Supervisor of the Denver Mint. The US Mint has no records of aluminum cents being produced at the Denver Mint whereas the 1974 Luminum Cents produced in Philadelphia number close to 1.5 million coins.
I don't see how it makes any difference. It's my understanding that the aluminum cent was never officially monetized, and they were supposed to be destroyed. Why didn't the feds charge those congressmen who kept them with theft? Chris
Talking about aluminum cents, I wonder if anyone know what this white 1968 penny is? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Larssten, it appears to be a plated penny. This occurs when someone takes a regular coin out of their pocket and puts it through a plating process. Many coins have been plated and, while they may look interesting, they have no collector value.
Well, maybe they didn't keep records of who got what? I expect that this is what may have happened. They did, after all, produce more than a million of them. And yes, it does matter which mint the coin was produced from and how many were produced.
The recordkeeping for the 1933 double eagle wasn't very good either. Maybe they should just forget about it, too! It doesn't matter if one or one million were made, and it shouldn't matter which Mint produced them. Congress still needed to approve the change, and they didn't. Chris
Why should we worry about Congressional approval - I here that all you need to change things is a "pen and a phone"! PS: just replying, nothing political here, move along people!