VINTAGE GOLD - Commemorative Coins

WORTH MORE THAN THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD

- ANTHONY SWIATEK 

Vintage gold commemorative coins were minted by the United States from 1903 to 1926. These coins honor persons, places or events and are sold by the U.S. Mint at prices above the face value of the coin, often to help raise funds for a worthy cause.

DETERMINING VALUE

Many factors determine the value of these gold coins. Does the coin's surface display scratches from rubbing against other coins during shipping? Unsightly scratches lower the grade, desirability and value.

Where were the coins stored? If these gold coins, which were manufactured with some copper, were stored in a moist environment such as in Florida by the ocean, the moisture can serve as a catalyst to react with the copper to cause unsightly brown spots. Some people like these spots because it shows the coin hasn't been cleaned or tampered with, but others dislike brown-spotted gold coins and will pay less money for them.

A gold commemorative coin that has been tissue wiped or lightly cleaned is not desirable. Tissue wiping causes crisscrossing parallel striations that are visible under a pinpoint light source such as a Tensor lamp.

The detail of the design that the coin designer meant for the coin to display after manufacture might lack as a result of the production process. The engraved die used to manufacture a coin might lose detail after striking many coins, and the coin might, therefore, lack important detail before even leaving the Mint. These coins are referred to as weakly struck.

A weakly struck coin has a lower value than a coin with an average strike or one which is extremely sharp and well-struck.