I have never collected coins before. However, while remodeling my kitchen I found a false back to my cupboard. Behind it are hundreds of coins. Some are 1970's silver dollars with Eisenhower on them. Several are Susan B. Anthony coins, one is a Ben Franklin half dollar. Then there are minted coins. I don't know what these are worth or what to do with them. Other websites talk about grading. None of them are in bad shape. Where do I start?
if you could get pictures of what you have, i would be happy to help. i am sure others would be too. what i can tell you right now is, the franklin halve is silver! 90% to be exact, worth around $6. the silver ike dollars are probably not silver, unless they are from '71-'76 and have the S mint mark on them. then they would be 40% worth around $5. if they are not silver they are worth a few bucks at most. the susan B's are not worth much even if uncirculated they are only worth so much. they were not a popular design and they made a ton of them. if you can't get pictures i could probably help a LITTLE bit with a description of the coin(s). either way, that would be pretty exiting to find that! and welcome, but i will head over to your intro post for that.
U say hundreds. Is that an exact amount? Or excited exaggeration? And what do U mean by minted coins? Just run of the mill what u find in ur pocket or different?
Hundreds is not an exaggeration. It is all coins and there is several hundred dollars if you just count each coin for it's value. By minted they are in boxes and wrappers with certificated documents. Those are not as old as the ones that are not in boxes. The boxed ones are easy to find the value of on the internet since they are in a case and look like what I see when I googled it.
I think that u found both mint and proof sets. And loose coins. What other type of coins are there? u said FRANKLIN SBA and IKE. What else?
I would get a red book first and start cataloging all your coins,dates, and mints. Next take try a couple coin dealers to see what they think. If they don't answer your questions try and take a couple pictures and post them here so the folks and help you as well. Congrats on your find.
Thank you so much for pointing me in a direction! The Ike coins are from 71-78 Im looking for the S. There is also 1/2 dollars with I think JFK? The IKE's have different backs as well as the JFK's. There is even a 1908 penny with an Indian Head on the front and One Cent on the back. Just out of curiosity there are over 125 Susan B Anthony coins alone. What do I do with them? You said that they are worth face value, do I just take them to the bank? I know Im really green at this.
See if the 1908 has an s on the back. Its on the lower part of the coin. If it does that coin would be worth a pretty penny. As for proof sets if they have toning on them, they're worth a lot more. If the ikes are silver pm me, I'll take them.
what year are the jfk halves? 1964 are 90% silver and worth the same as the franklins '64-'70 are 40% and worth around $2.50. i have a ton susan B's also, probably around the same amount you have. honestly most people will tell you to spend them, i keep them just for my collection. i know they will probably never be worth much more then face value. the coin "sets" you have.. are they just one coin or multiple. like 1 coin of each denomination(1 cent,5,10,25,50, and some years dollar coin) for the year? they could be either mint or proof sets. the proof sets are struck better and are for collections, not spending. they will look nicer then the average coin. if you have just one coin or 2 of the same face value, they could be commemorative halves or dollars. really we would need pictures or at the very least a strong description of each. like what the box/wrapper look like, what year the coin is, what mint mark the coin has, and strong description of whats on the obverse and reverse. then we would be able to tell you what it is. as for what the coins are worth, most we would have to see, to grade them. if you have mint/proof sets or comems, we could give you a ballpark price as long as they are still in the packaging. the mint mark "s" on the ike dollars will be under his neck but above the date. actually right above the "7" in the date. you may see a "D" and that would be for Denver mint, if there is no mint mark, its a philly minted coin. both the denver and philly coins are worth about face.
Congratulations! It sounds like you're going to have a lot of fun (and unexpected profit!) going through those. Welcome to the neighborhood! Chris
The recommended Red Book can be found as "A Guide Book of United States Coins" by RS Yeoman. The 2011 edition is out now, and costs +/-$15 or so. Available at just about any bookstore or on line. Next you need to read the book cover to cover. You will get a short history of US Coinage, and an idea of approximate values. A word about the values listed. "Unrealistic" Keep in mind that the Book is put to press well before the year on the cover. For more realistic pricing information learn to search eBay completed auctions, or auctions from ha.com, or teletrade.com. Sounds like you're going to have some fun learning about what you have. Enjoy, and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Bags of 100 Ike dollars are retailing for $45 over face value around here. Take them to a coin dealer near you and have them graded.
