My Grandfather has some old silver coins and we'd like to find out what they are worth. I picked out the best ones of each type and took a picture (hopefully attached). I have no doubt about authenticity. He's had these since he was a boy (he's 103 now) and as you can see from the photos they are well worn. The small coins on the left and bottom are slightly larger than a dime. The larger coins on the top and to the right are slightly larger than a quarter. Can anyone help me find out what these types of coins are worth.
Hi welcome to Cointalk, can I sugest that you do each coin individualy so that we can see it with some detail, that will help greatly with seeing things like the date and mint mark Have a look here as well it is full of very good info http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=14112 Hope this is of some help to you
Many thanks- that looks like some great info. I'll start digging in and trying to learn a little. Here's two pics of the 1782 Carolus III. I'm trying to learn a little about photography and sizing pictures for the message board- feedback is much appreciated.:bow:
Howdy acl - Welcome to the Forum !! The one individually pictured is a 2 reales struck in Lima, Peru. I can't see the mint marks well enough in the group pics to identify them for sure. But unless one or more of these is of a rare variety, none of the coins are worth more than $20 - $25 each at the most. A couple are probably worth less than that. But post the individual pics, I'd be happy to identify them for you
Many thanks- I think that pretty much answers my question. These are in the best shape of the ones we have- so I can pretty much guess at the total value. I don't think they'll wind up outside of the family- just a good start on my two boys coin collection.
Well said and good point. There are a total of 12 Great-grand children. I'm going to try to make sure they all get one of these coins to start their collection. Thanks again for the help.
Hello, here is alittle more information concerning your coins: all but the one in the extreme left were minted in spanish america probably either in Lima or Potosi (Bolivia). Other possibilities are Santiago (Chile) and Bogota (colombia). Coins from these last 2mints are really quite scarce. The one in the extreme left looks to be minted in Spain. Many of these coins circulated in th US up until about 1850, so that is one possibility as to how the came to be in your grandfathers possesion. Enjoy these coins, they probably have a lot of history to tell!
Thanks for the additional info. This coin, which wasn't included in the original group photo, has different letters on the back than the rest of them? Was it minted in a different location?
How much does the hole in it affect the value? A fair percentage of the coins I've got as well as others I've seen posted on the web seem to have holes punched in them. One website postulated that this was a device by which the coins could be sewn into the lining of clothes for safekeeping during travel.
A holed coin basically loses most of its numismatic value. And yes it was common to sew coins into your clothing in those days. It was also common hole older coins and wear them as jewerly, but I suspect that was not the case with this coin given the location of the hole.
