Frequently Asked Questions

What is my coin worth?
My coin is missing words, letters or numbers. Where did they go?
How much is my 1943 cent worth?
I have a $1,000 Bank of the United States note. How much is it worth?
I think I have a $1 note printed on the web press. How can I be sure?
I have a note with a star in the serial number. Is it special?
I have a two-headed coin. How much is it worth?
I have a $5 Federal Reserve note with FW in the lower right corner on the front. Are these someone's initials?
I found a U.S. coin with a Mint mark that the books say doesn't exist. Do I have a rare coin?

What is my coin worth?

A coin's value is based on several items including: the coin (denomination, such as cent, 5-cent, dime, and so on), the year it was minted, the Mint facility where the coin was made and the coin's grade, condition or state of preservation.

Coin World offers several resources to help you determine retail prices for your coins. Online at www.coinvaluesonline.com, or in the pages of our monthly print publication Coin World's Coin Values, our valuing analysts track and report more than 50,000 retail coin prices. Coin World's valuing analysts develop marketplace values and report market direction by monitoring a variety of sources such as public auctions, transactions at coin shows, retail ads, dealers' price lists, dealer-to-dealer trading and private collector transactions.

You must know a coin's grade to look up its value in a price guide. A grade is based on a scale of 1 to 70, with 60 and higher being reserved for coins in Mint State or Uncirculated condition. Proof coins are made differently from other coins and are graded differently as well. Any coin with wear on it, such as coins pulled from piggy banks or from change, would not grade Uncirculated. To determine a coin's grade, you can buy an illustrated book such as Coin World's Making the Grade: A Grading Guide to the Top 50 Most Widely Collected U.S. Coins and learn about grading by matching your coin to the illustrations. You can also visit a professional coin dealer in your area (visit Coin World's dealer directory) or submit the coin to a coin grading service.

My coin is missing a Mint mark, words, letters or numbers. Where did they go?

Your coin most likely features a filled-die error.

A filled die occurs when grease, dirt and metal particles compact into a die. The dies that strike coins are recessed so that when they strike a planchet (a metal blank), the metal of the planchet rises to fill in the die. That's why letters, numbers, words and designs are raised on coins. If the recesses of the die fill up with sludge, (which is a very common occurrence in a factory like the Mint), this sludge will prevent letters or numbers from forming during the strike.

A filled die is a very common form of minor error and does not add numismatic value to the coin. Filled die errors are known on every series and denomination of coin ever struck by the U.S. Mint – from the very first large cent to the State Quarters being struck today.

You should also know that many U.S. coins do not bear Mint marks on purpose. All coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint from 1793 to 1978 lack Mint marks, except for some 1942 to 1945 5-cent coins. Beginning in 1979, Anthony dollars struck at the Philadelphia Mint carried a P Mint mark. In 1980, the P Mint mark was added to the 5-cent coin, dime, quarter dollar, and half dollar struck in Philadelphia. However, none of the Lincoln cents struck at Philadelphia bear a Mint mark. Also, no U.S. coin dated 1965 to 1967 bears a Mint mark.

How much is my 1943 cent worth?

First of all, look at the color of the coin. Is it red/brown, like copper, or does its color range from gray to black?

If the color ranges from gray to black, you have the common 1943 zinc-coated steel cent, which is worth less than $1 in circulated condition. During the height of World War II when these cents were struck, the country's copper supply was needed for wartime applications, specifically in the manufacture of weaponry. The prewar metal alloy for cents - 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc and tin – was changed mid-year in 1942 when tin was eliminated, and dropped altogether at the end of the year. In 1943, only zinc-coated steel cents were to be in production.

Prewar copper planchets somehow got mixed in with the new steel ones and there you have it: instant rarities. To date fewer than 20 genuine 1943 copper cents from the various Mints have been found.

To determine whether you might have the rare coin, do the following: First, see whether a magnet will pick up the coin. If it does, the coin is a steel cent plated with copper, since copper will not stick to a magnet.

If the color is red/brown like a regular cent, still determine whether a magnet will stick to it. If so, you have a common, low-value zinc-coated steel cent that someone plated with copper. Many people did this many years ago as soon as it was discovered the Mint made a mistake.

Thousands of copper-plated alterations exist. Many of the altered 1943 cents are in circulation, only to be discovered by folks who hope they have the real thing.

If a magnet will not pick up the coin, try the second test.

The 3 in the date on a genuine 1943 Lincoln cent (of any alloy) should have a long tail that falls below the digits 194. Many 1948 Lincoln cents have been altered by individuals cutting away the left half of the 8, leaving the right half to resemble a 3. Altered 1948 Lincoln cents will not have a descending tail. Compare the 3 on a common 1943 Lincoln, Steel cent to the 3 on a suspected copper specimen. The shape of the 3 must match exactly on both coins.

If a suspected 1943 Lincoln copper cent passes the first two tests, have it weighed. A copper-alloy cent should weigh 3.11 grams; a steel cent, 2.689 grams. If the weight does not fall within a small tolerance range of 3.11 grams, it might be a struck .

If the coin passes all three tests - not attracted to a magnet, long-tailed 3, proper weight – have it checked by a coin authentication service.

I have a $1,000 Bank of the United States note. How much is it worth?

Replicas of $1,000 Bank of the United States notes are widely known among paper money collectors. In fact they are so well known and there are so many of them that they are referred to by their serial number – 8894.

This is one of the most widely reproduced replicas of U.S. notes. These items were most probably issued by the phonograph record company Longines Symphonette Society in Larchmont, N.Y., in 1967.

The LSS replica is of a $1,000 Bank of the United States note originally issued in the mid-1800s. The design on the face or front of the note features an impressive looking building in the center with three portraits at either end of the note.

The record firm apparently had these replicas produced as part of a promotion. The replicas were included in sales brochures that went far and wide. The replica notes were printed on imitation parchment and were treated to give them a "yellowed with age" appearance. The key is they all have the same serial number, 8894.

These replicas don't have any monetary value but they make interesting conversation starters.

I think I have a $1 note printed on the web press. How can I be sure?

These $1 Federal Reserve notes were printed on the web-fed press produced on a continuous roll (or web) of currency paper, unlike the standard sheet-fed presses.

Web notes are easy to spot because of certain adaptations made for the press. The plate location letter on the face of the notes was removed and the plate number on the back of the notes was moved to above the E in ONE, rather than below it as on notes printed by sheet-fed presses.

The web-fed press was discontinued in late 1995 and sold in 1997. Only three series of $1 FR notes were printed on the press – Series 1988A, Series 1993 and Series 1995. Check out the classified ads in Coin World for dealers who sell or buy these notes.

Few such notes should remain in circulation, since the average life of a $1 bill is 18 months.

I have a note with a star in the serial number. Is it special?

A star at the end of a serial number indicates the note is a replacement for an error discovered after overprinting. Replacement notes come from an already printed stock of star notes. Some collectors enjoy collecting notes with stars and they do bring a small premium over their face value. Check out the classified ads in Coin World for dealers who sell or buy these notes.

I have a two-headed coin. How much is it worth?

Well, it's probably worth $1.95 plus postage. The coin is a "magician's coin" – a novelty item. One can order these from the pages of novelty catalogs and magician's magazines. "You'll never lose a coin toss with this coin," the ads read. Some kid or aspiring magician accidentally spent his or her good luck charm and now you have it.

If you look carefully, one of the sides of the coin has a seam near the edge, just in front of the rim. The host coin's reverse was carved out, another coin's obverse was removed and glued into the host coin.

Besides, two-headed or two-tailed coins are generally impossible, with one or two rare exceptions. Anyone uncertain as to whether his or her coin is genuine or altered should contact an authentication service.

Such altered items have no numismatic value.

I have a $5 Federal Reserve note with FW in the lower right corner on the front. Are these someone's initials?

The FW is a facility mark to indicate the note was printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

Notes began to be produced there in 1991. FR notes printed before 1996 at the BEP's Washington, D.C. plant have Washington, D.C. printed above the green Treasury seal on the right hand side of the note.

All redesigned Series 1996 $100 and $50 FR notes were printed at the BEP's Washington plant but bear not designation as such. Series 1996 $20 FR notes were printed at both the Washington, D.C. and the Fort Worth plants and those printed at Fort Worth have the FW mark.

I found a U.S. coin with a Mint mark that the books say doesn't exist. Do I have a rare coin?

You're probably seeing a designer's initial or monogram rather than a Mint mark. New collectors often confuse the two, especially if they are unsure of what Mint marks and designers' initials represent.

A Mint mark is a letter or letters indicating what specific Mint struck a coin. For example, a coin struck at the Denver Mint will generally bear a D Mint mark.

A designer's initial or monogram is the "signature" of the artist who designed or engraved the model for the coin.

The United States Mint has used just seven different Mint marks on its coinage: P, for the Philadelphia Mint; D, for pre-Civil War 19th century gold coins struck at the Dahlonega Mint in Georgia, and for 20th and 21st century coins struck at the Denver Mint; S, for coins struck at the San Francisco Mint; O, for coins struck at the New Orleans Mint; C, for coins struck at the Charlotte Mint in North Carolina; CC, for coins struck at the Carson City Mint in Nevada; and W, for coins struck at the West Point Mint (just on collector coins; none for circulation).

While Mint mark varieties do exist, the U.S. Mint has never struck a coin bearing an unofficial Mint mark. Many coins do bear repunched/multiple Mint marks or Mint marks from two different Mints.

Not all coins have Mint marks. No U.S. coins had Mint marks until the late 1830s (until then, only one Mint existed). The Philadelphia Mint did not use the P Mint mark until the 20th century (briefly from 1942 to 1945 on Jefferson 5-cent coins; the P was reintroduced on the 1979-P Anthony dollar, and on all circulating coins struck at Philadelphia since 1980 except for the Lincoln cent). During the mid-1960s and again in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mint marks were dropped from some or all coins for various reasons.

The designers of U.S. coins did not start signing their works until the mid-19th century, and even afterward, many coins were issued without any credit for their designers. The first signed coin was an 1836 silver dollar bearing the engraver's full last name, Gobrecht, although that recognition was removed after only a few trial pieces were produced. No other U.S. coins bear a full name.

Those coins that do bear the artist's signatures may bear a single initial, as on the Indian Head 5-cent coin/Buffalo nickel and American Buffalo silver dollar, which have an F on the obverse for James Earle Fraser; several initials, as with the F.G. on the reverse of the Lincoln cent with Memorial reverse, designed by Frank Gasparro; or a monogram, such as that appearing on the obverse of the Kennedy half dollar, designed by Gilroy Roberts.

If you see a "Mint mark" on a coin that doesn't belong there, there is a good chance that what you see is the designer's signature.