There's always a chance of a rare date or silver (I've found almost two ounces of silver in mixed coin bins, for much cheaper than its spot price). Can you post a closer picture, where each coin is readable? Both sides would be preferred (some coins, like the
Buffalo nickel, have the date and mintmark on opposite sides - both must be seen to fully value the coin).
Also, most coins are worth almost nothing if they're very worn or damaged - except if they're silver or gold, in which case they can be melted down for their valuable metal content. So any gouged, scratched or bent coins are no good, and coins that have been cleaned are also mostly worthless. It takes practice to spot a cleaned coin, but the difference becomes pretty obvious eventually.
I can identify a few:
- British pennies: big copper coins. The large pennies were made until 1967, when the pound sterling was decimalized - changed from a confusing system to an easier one where 100 pence equalled one pound. (Before, there were 12 pence to the shilling and 20 shillings to the pound, and most coins had their own names that gave no hint towards the value: confusing!) However, these were made in that size in the UK and Australia: British ones have a seated lady, Australian ones have a kangaroo. The other side has the monarch. The older they are, the more they'll be worth: the newest have Queen Elizabeth II, then George VI, then George V, then Edward VII, then Queen Victoria.
- Half-Penny and Farthing: Fractions of the penny. The farthing is a quarter-penny and about the size of an American penny. Again, it's all about the monarch: ones with a bird are from either George VI or Elizabeth II, and are maybe worth 10 cents each.
- American coins: the
Buffalo nickel and Lincoln cents. Any
Buffalo nickel is worth at least a quarter, unless seriously damaged. Lincoln cents have looked the same for over 100 years (at least on the heads side), so nobody can value these without a date (however, a
Wheat cent is worth at least 5 cents).
- The coin with a "V"-shaped area of missing metal in the middle is probably a transit token from someplace. As far as I know, these distinctive shapes are easy for machines to read, and it makes it more difficult to defraud the machines that count them by putting in washers and the like. It'll have some novelty value to it.
- Spanish Peseta: it says 1 PESETA, surrounded by a geometric design. These were made in a variety of years, and Spanish coins bear two dates: the date the design was finished and approved, and the date they were actually made. The date of actual production is usually very tiny, located in one or two little six-pointed stars. This peseta is from before Francisco Franco's coup of Spain, which happened in the 1940s. (I also see an aluminium 10 cents from the same era.)
- 1, 2, 5, 10 Pfennig: From West/Unified Germany. These are worth almost nothing when worn, but early 1949 issues are a bit more valuable. There'll be a mintmark: a little letter between the ears of wheat.
- 20 rappen: From Switzerland, there'll be a lady with a hat that says "LIBERTAS". The design of these coins has stayed the same for over 100 years, and the older ones are worth more (I have one from the 1880s that looks just like another one from the 1980s). The Swiss Franc is about at par with the dollar, so 20 rappen (like 20 cents) is worth such. If you have a friend going to Switzerland, try selling it to them.
- 2 Pesos: It has 7 sides, from Mexico. However, this is an old peso coin, and is only worth 1/500th of a new peso: or 1/50th of a cent! Its collector value might be a bit higher, but like most of these coins, it's a 10-cent item.
I could keep going, but the blurry picture makes it very hard to spot a coin that could be more valuable. The biggest gray one interests me, but I don't recognize it offhand. Most of the ones I can identify aren't worth much, but again, it's all a matter of how good the pictures are.
Posted 08/08/2013 7:58 pm
