This weeks Deal of the week is:

• 2009 Pennies From the mint website. A fair price at $8.95 for the P&D Set. I would pick up a few they should be worth a pretty penny in the future. http://catalog.usmint.gov/

The P&D set. Pick Up a few while they last

For more information check out the mint web page:

• An 1913 MS 63 red Wheat Penny in my change from Dunkin Donuts
• About 14 Silver Roosevelt Dimes
• A bucket full of Wheat pennies that I have collected over the years
• A silver proof 1976 Drummer Boy quarter.
• A Seated Liberty Half Dime that I found in a Coin Star machine
• Asked for some half dollars at the bank and got a BU roll of 1964s (all silver)
• In my change once from a vending machine a 1936 Buffalo Nickel
• An 1816 large Cent that someone bought to the bank
• Five silver certificate $10 bills I purchases for face value from my bank.

And here are some of the best stories I have heard from people about coin collecting finds:

• A friend was cleaning out his grandmother’s apartment when he found a false wall in the bathroom and a safe behind the wall. The safe was filled with bank bags of silver coins. We pulled out countless rare Barber Half dollars and built ten full sets of Walking Liberty half dollars. There was thousands of Mercury Dimes…
• A coin shop owner from Massachusetts told me that him and his wife bought a painting from an auction house for the beautiful antique frame. When they got home they peeled off the craft paper and found about 30 $2.5 gold quarter eagles taped to the back of the picture. The tape damaged many of the coins but it was still a great find that got them around $20,000. (One of the coins was a rare quarter eagle from the Dahlonega mint).
• A close friend that owns a restaurant went to crack a roll of pennies from the bank and it was full of $1 gold pieces about 40 in total. He thought they were fake but I ensured them he had struck gold.
• A coin shop owner told me that he had a family full of Russian Immigrants bring in 20 uncirculated St. Gauden’s double eagles they had brought over from Russia. He sent them to a friend at an auction house because he did not have the cash on hand to buy the full lot. After a few months the family came in and gave him $1,000 for not taking advantage of them and for sending them to the proper place. He believes the coins brought in over $75,000 at auction.

If you have a story about finding treasure with coins please post it as a comment to this story.

Happy Collecting!

This is a nice MS-66 Mercury dime

One aspect of coin collecting that can take years to get a knack for is grading. Every coin has many focus areas you must look for to assign the proper grade to a coin. The difference between a coin being Mint State and about uncirculated can be impossible at first to spot but with time you will learn to grade like a pro. The value of a coin not only lies with its relative rarity but it also has a great deal to do with the grade or condition a coin can be in. Coins are graded on a scale from 1 to 70 and they have designations from about good  (AG 3) gem uncirculated (MS 70). The difference in one grade point can be in some cases thousands of dollars. Coins can be very common in one grade but virtually unseen in higher grades.

The best was to stat is to know the breakdown of the grading. Coins grade as follows:

• AG-3 About Good
• G-4 Good
• VG-8 Very Good
• F-12 Fine
• VF-20 Very Fine
• EF-40 Extremely Fine
• AU-50 About Uncirculated
• MS-60 Uncirculated
• MS-63 Choice Uncirculated
• MS-65 Gem Uncirculated
• MS-70

Each coin has many various middle grades between those major listed about. Each coins also has their own set of standards for each coin.

Here are my tips to learn to grade:

• Get your hands on an auction catalouge. Cover up the grades of the coins then guess what you think it is. After you have your guess look at the actual grade and figure out why you are off.
• Get a copy of The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards of United States Coins (Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins)
• Look at dealer inventories of coins you collect. The guess what they are and ask the dealer how you did.
• Pick a coin like the mercury dime and obtain examples from all ranges of grades so you know what to look for in that coin.
• Always look first with you naked eye, then once with magnification. Scan the coin for wear or scratches, always check for rim chips, think about color and tone. Ask yourself if you think the coin is original.
• Always think what did this coin look like when it was first struck then work backwards from that point.
• Look for strike detail and compare this to wear. Do not mistake a weak strike for a worn coin.

It is very hard to learn how to grade every coin out there so pick a few at first and learn them inside and out then slowly expand. When you are grading a coin do not forget to think if the coins is authentic and if the coin has been cleaned.

The coin pictured is a nice MS 66 Mercury dime. The coin shows a nice as minted luster, the coin has good color, but the strike is a bit weak leaving the coin at MS 66 rather than MS 67 or higher. This is a good example of a gem uncirculated coin.

Good luck and happy collecting. Get out and grade.

1. Is the coin original? If you know it is fake or you think it is fake, keep it off ebay. You could ruin your ebay reputation which is key for all future sales
2. What is the coin worth? You should do some research using The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins 2009 Set reserve and starting prices accordingly
3. Spell everything in the coin description correctly. You would be surprised to see how many coins on ebay have spelling errors in their descriptions and because of this they do not sell for the true market values.
4. You should have a good photo of both sides of the coin. A great photo is important because coin collectors are so picky when buying coins they want to know what they are getting.
5. Stand behind your coins! Offer a fair return policy with customers and realize all sales on the site reflect you as a collector.
6. Be smart with shipping and insurance. Do not skimp on either because it could hurt you in the end. I always suggest if you are selling coins on Ebay use tracking so you know if the customer received it.
7. Do not do business out side of Ebay! If you get an email that asks to do business outside of Ebay to avoid seller fees forget. It may sound like a good idea but there is no reason to do it. Ebay is set up for a reason and it protects its buyers and sellers.
8. Use paypal!
9. Try to make lots out of common coins and sell rare coins as singles.
10. Think of a fun way to get repeat customers. One of the best ways to build up your ebay business is repeat customers. I would always suggest freebies. I used to put a silver mercury dime in with any purchase people made. I have also bought from collectors that put in two dollar bills or just a simple print out of the history of the coin. Also if you are like me and you have a coin blog invite them to check it out with a business card or a flyer.

So have fun with Ebay. Be careful and enjoy making a little pocket change.

Happy collecting!

An MS-61 Quarter Eagle

Cracking out is when a coin investor buys a graded coin and then cracks it out of its slab and sends it in for regrading in hope of upgrading the coin. This is not in any means a beginner tactic to coin collecting because it requires an expert eye and the ability to grade coins on the spot. The focus of this crack out guide will be Indian Head Quarter Eagles.

First here are some tips you should always consider before cracking out a coin:

• What is my win/loss (how much can I gain from an upgrade and how much can I lose from a downgrade)
• Does the coin have the strike, luster and detail for an upgrade?
• Is the added cost of certification and shipping worth the chance the coin comes back the same grade?
• When cracking out a coin beware of damaging the coin while handling it. (I have heard a few horror stories about people cracking a coin out then dropping it the second it is out of the holder and turning an MS 64 St. Double into a AU-55 St. Double.)
• Be kind and at the end of the year send back all your crack out slips so the coin populations can be redone.

So that is some of the basic knowledge for a more in depth look check out The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual. The book has a ton of great info and a very useful chart to learn about cracking out.

For the lesson on the Indian Head Quarter Eagle I have picked three dates I feel have a great upside/ downside ratio. The reason I picked the Indian Head Quarter Eagle is because of the way the coin is designed and the complexity the coin presents to the grader. The coin’s details are sunken in and the surfaces are leveled. The coin is graded by the ANA as follows:

MS-70: “A Flawless Coin Exactly as minted… Must have full mint luster”- ANA

MS-65 “No trace of wear except for some small blemishes. Has full mint luster. A few noticeable nicks or marks may be present.”- ANA

MS-63 “A coin with attractive mint luster but noticeable detracting contact marks or minor blemishes” -ANA

MS-60 “A strictly uncirculated coin with no trace of wear but with blemishes more obvious than for a MS-63″ May lack full mint luster and brilliance.”

From this you can notice that the difference between a MS-62 and a MS-63 would be minor if anything but the value swap is huge. Or from a MS-63 to 64.

By the numbers:

***Warning: no results are guaranteed do not do this if you cannot afford the downside risk. As always you can damage your coins easily and there is no safe way to crack coins out. Not for people who do not have expert coin experience!****

The birth place cent

The Log Splitter Cent

The Lawyer Cent

The Capitol Construction Cent (the three "c" penny)

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Cent. The Mint has decided to both honor Lincoln and the coin by creating four new reverse designs. The cent has been hard to come by and very few have found their way into circulation. For more information check out the site Lincoln Cent 2009.

The newest penny by the roll from the mint

Most people have not even noticed the redesign of the 2009 US Lincoln Cent. They have not noticed because no one has even seen one. They exist only in the hands of collectors and bank reserve vaults. With the recession in full bloom during the release of the “birth place” Lincoln cent many people did not get the chance to see new pennies from the bank. There was a influx of people turning in jars full of pennies to get some extra cash and these coins were wrapped by banks and given out rather than the new cents. There was also a lower demand for pennies because less people were holding pennies at home because of their tight money situations. So with all this many people are asking how do I get the 2009 penny?

Five ways to get the 2009 Penny:

1.       Ask for a roll at the bank. Banks hold them in their safes because they are boxed nicely when compared to the loose rolls we bring in. If you simply ask for a roll they may be able to help you out.

2.       Order a few rolls from the US Mint site. They are a bit expensive but they are worth every penny.

3.       EBAY… collectors have put surplus pennies by the box on Ebay. You can find a way to buy depending on your budget. Expect to pay $10-$15 per roll.

4.       Local coin shops. As always your local coin shop may be able to get you some shinny new pennies. Expect to pay a premium here too.

5.       Mint Tours. If you are in either Denver, CO or Philadelphia, PA you can go on a mint tour and pick up a few pennies from the gift shop.

What to avoid:

• Presales: if it says “presale” stay away from it!
• Subscription programs: just because the birthplace cent is rare it does not mean all Lincoln cents will be rare.