[coin 366 entered Fri, 10-Apr-2009 03:14:25 GMT, visitor 3460] [Show Singly]

[Appraisal ok, reviewed by CoinQuest, be sure to use the current value of gold Fri, 02-Jul-2010 13:58:17 GMT]

Nice coin, Mark.

A US $2.50 gold piece contains 0.121 Troy ounces of gold. Multiply that by the current spot price of gold (you can find that number at Kitco.com, it changes daily) then add $100 US dollars to get a ballpark retail value for your gold piece.

For instance, if the spot price is $960 US dollars per Troy ounce, then Mark's coin would be worth about 0.121 x 960 + 100 = $216. The $100 added value can be more if the coin is fully uncirculated.

DO NOT CLEAN YOUR COIN. CLEANING RUINS VALUE.

Just about all quarter eagles are very similar to Mark's coin in value. Here are some rules for finding more valuable coins:

1. 1841, 1854S, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1875, 1881, and 1885 are better dates. The generally are worth 1000s of dollars. Write to CoinQuest for a quote is you have one of these.

2. Coins with C (Charlotte) and D (Dahlonega) mint marks on the reverse under the eagle, are more valuable than coins with O (New Orleans), S (San Fransisco), and no (Philadelphia) mint marks. Figure about $1000 catalog value for C and D mint marks.

3. Coins dated before 1847 are a wee bit more valuable than later dates, even without a mint mark.

Few people know that we have three, not two, official coin denominations in the United States. There are 100 cents in a dollar, and there are 10 dollars in an eagle. So cents, dollars, and eagles are our three monetary denominations. You have a 2 1/2 dollar, quarter eagle, gold piece.

The value of your quarter eagle depends directly on its condition, or numismatic grade. If the coin is truly uncirculated, it is worth much more than circulated examples. The presence or absence of luster is the best way to tell if a coin is approaching uncirculated state. The coin in the picture has some luster near the outside, that is, near the rim. But the luster has been worn off toward the center. This coin is in Almost Uncirculated (AU) condition.

Luster is is best described as 'creamy' rather than 'shiney' or 'polished.' In fact, shining or polishing a coin destroys its numismatic value.

If you think you might have a truly uncirculated coin, feel free to start an e-mail exchange with CoinQuest using the Contact Us link at the upper left. Via e-mail you can send us a picture of the coin and we can give you a better appraisal.

As with all valuable coins, you must recognize that counterfeits exist. This picture shows a fake US $1 gold piece. It is an obvious replica, not the real thing. Many counterfeits are not obvious at all.

We have a few other specialized appraisal pages that address these coins, here:

- A damaged quarter eagle

- Special quarter eagles 1859 to 1861

[coin 343 entered Sat, 04-Apr-2009 16:53:09 GMT, user 3092] [Show Singly]

[Appraisal reviewed by CoinQuest, appraisal ok Fri, 02-Jul-2010 13:13:35 GMT]

After several weeks of being stumped, we have an evaluation of Jessica's piece. She sent us this picture. Isn't it a gorgeous item?

To find a value, we got as far as identifying it as a gold Shooting Medal from the Ninth German Federal Shooting Festival of 1887 in Frankfurt. As such, Jessica's 'coin' is not really a coin, but a medal. Such pieces are called exonumia, and we enlisted the services of Rich Hartzog of exonumia.com. Here is Rich's reply to our inquiry:

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I don't have any books on German shooting medals, sorry. A lovely piece. However, it suffers the same problem as do all gold medals, a high intrinsic value. Consequently the number of collectors decreases greatly. And, selling it brings up the same problem. If the gold melt value is $500, the seller needs to realize more than that, or it would be easier to melt it. If consigned to auction, it has to bring $625 or more, at a 20% commission, to net the melt value. While I've never had any gold SM to sell in my auctions, I'd be doubtful it would bring 20% over melt in my sales. Obviously the best venue would be a German auction house that has had success in the past, in selling such SM. I regret I have nobody I can recommend. There are a very few dealers would pay full melt or a bit over, just for the beauty, and then attempt to make 10-20%. Jonathan Kern comes to mind. I have no collectors for it, sorry.

There is one specialist in Swiss SM in the USA that I know: NumiSwiss. You might contact him.
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Best of luck, Jessica. And thanks for a terrific inquiry!

[coin 334 entered Sun, 29-Mar-2009 21:17:59 GMT, visitor 2852] [Show Singly]

[Reviewed by CoinQuest, appraisal ok, be sure to apply current gold value Fri, 02-Jul-2010 13:08:03 GMT]

Hi Gramma! These are beautiful coins with plenty of numismatic (coin collector) appeal. They contain 0.4823 ounces of pure gold. As such, you can compute the bullion value of the coin by multiplying the spot gold price by 0.4823. Let's say the current price of gold is $920 per ounce, that's about 0.4823 x 920 = $440 US dollars base value for the coin. Use a web site such as Kitco.com to get the current price of gold. It changes every day.

This coin is old and beautiful. That means it carries more than just the basic gold value.

Gramma's coin is slabbed by NGC, a highly reputable coin encapsulation service. This adds to its value. The AU58 grade means it is just shy of perfect uncirculated. This, too, adds to value.

My guess for the 'addition of value' to Gramma's coin is about $35, making the coin total value about $475. In a good eBay auction with lots of bidders, the coin could easily pull over $500. It would never go for less than bullion value.

Gold dealers generally charge a small percentage commission to buy and sell gold coins. If you are selling, subtract the commission from the raw value above. If you are buying, add a commission. Shop around for the best commission.

All the dates in this series of coins carry about the same value as Gramma's.

[coin 333 entered Sun, 29-Mar-2009 14:24:26 GMT, visitor 2827] [Show Singly]

[Reviewed and updated by CoinQuest, appraisal ok Fri, 02-Jul-2010 12:59:36 GMT]

These are grand old coins, Asher. They come from a time when one cent was WORTH something!

All Canadian large cents are worth about $2 to $5 US dollars in worn condition and they rise in value to $50 or so in uncirculated condition. This is true for all dates except 1858 which is worth $50 in worn condition, and for dates after 1908, which are worth $1 or $2 in worn condition.

Your 1886 date is a date that is a tad less common than other dates, so your coin might be worth 10 to 20 percent higher than most. If your coin is in well preserved condition, like the one pictured, the value could approach $10 US dollars.

Most coin dealers would pay you $5 or less for a Canadian large cent they will try to sell at $10.

The 'heads' side of the coin changes portraits of the reigning British monarch. George V and Edward VII join Victoria on the Canadian large cent series.

[coin 270 entered Sun, 08-Mar-2009 09:03:58 GMT, visitor 1825] [Show Singly]

[Reviewed and updated by CoinQuest, appraisal ok Fri, 02-Jul-2010 12:56:58 GMT]

These are beautiful coins. For all but a few dates, and for coins in worn condition, they are worth a few US dollars. In Extra Fine condition, like the one shown in the picture, the value goes up to $10 or a little more.

Like all but two special dates, 1917 is a common date for Newfoundland Large Cents. Values go up slightly with age. 1865 is a little more valuable than 1936. If you have a coin dated 1885 or 1888, the value is ten times this one. All other dates, except 1885 and 1888, are worth the same as the 1917 example.

Like most British coins, the reigning monarch is shown on the front of the coin. So your coin may have a different king or queen.

The values shown are catalog values. Use our Important Terminology page to find out what this means.