Will you let me know if I have anything of value here?

Mar327

I've had these foreign coins in a little jar since my father-in-law died in 2001. I don't know a thing about the dark side, so will you give me some idea of value for these? Most are 19th century, some are in decent condition, some are poor. I'm going to a show tomorrow and will sell them if worth anything. I know this isn't the BST so I won't offer them for sell, but there's always that PM function...

THANKS in advance for any help!
Marlene

lordmarcovan

Pretty much everything there, despite its age, is fairly common and worth less than a dollar, except perhaps:

- The 1841 British East India Company 2-annas piece, struck in .917 silver, is one of several varieties made that year, the most common of which goes $3.00 in Very Fine in the 4th Edition catalog from 2004. I would call your coin a VF, personally, so figure that one's worth at least three bucks.

- The 1893 Canadian large cent I'd call a Fine. It goes $2.50 in VG, 3.00 in Fine, and 5.00 in VF, according to the same slightly outdated Krause catalog. So figure it's worth three to four bucks, at least.

- The 1899 French 50-centime piece is struck in .835 silver with a bullion weight of .0671 oz. (a little less than a US silver dime). It goes for $1.50 in Fine in that same Krause catalog but yours does not grade that high, so figure it as being worth the silver value. In any event, it should be worth at least a buck to most folks, due to the fact that it is silver and a popular design.

- The 1903 French 25-centime is monetarily worth less than a dollar in that grade (only goes 25c in Fine in the 2009 20th century volume, and a mere $1.00 in VF), but it's a one-year type, meaning those were only struck in 1903. I personally have always liked that design and thought them underappreciated. Common though they are, I think the catalog is too low on them.

Mar327

Thank you muchly, Lord Marcovan! I had a pretty good idea nothing was rare or worth much, but thought a few were pretty interesting, especially that 2 annas piece. I have no idea where he accumulated them from over the years, wish we had some history of that. There were quite a few other coins from Germany and other countries from the early 40's that I'm sure he picked up while in the Army during WWII.

Not sure I'll sell them or just pass them down to his great grandchildren.

lordmarcovan

That's the beauty of some of this stuff- it packs a lot of history for not very much money. Sure, I reckon you'd have been happier to be told it was worth a fortune, but regardless of monetary value or lack thereof, the fact remains that a lot of that stuff IS interesting. I've always liked the cheap old stuff.

lathmach

In terms of money, they're not worth much.
Do you have children that are your father in laws' grandchildren?
If so, pass the coins along as a memento of their grandfather.
I wish I had something that belonged to my grandfather. He was born in 1858 and died in 1906. He died after being dragged by a team of runaway horses.
You hardly ever hear of anyone dying that way anymore.

Ray

Mar327

Wow Ray, you're right, that's something seldom heard of these days. That's some (sad) history, too!

Yes, I have children and they have children, so I think I'll put these away for the little ones - no one else in the family is interested in coin collecting. Yes, I was hoping for a winner but expected not to have one! I have a lot of raw foreign coins that I've accumulated over the years - so many people have just given them to me. A few times, I've let my nephews go through it and pick out what they wanted. The 10 year old has a preference for Canadian coins, but I don't think I'll be giving him the cent above. I've given him every variety of 20th century Canadian cents I could find.

In the jar was also some US coinage that I went through right away. There's a Columbian Expo Half Dollar in XF, and I had an 1878-S Trade Dollar slabbed in 2006 (XF40), which currently holds a spot in my registry (type) set. They were the 2 nicest pieces and will stay in the family. We never knew he had those coins until he died, or I would've asked where they came from.

I think the moral to the story is to tell your kids and/or grandkids about your things and give them some history to go with it so they don't wonder in years to come why it was special to you. There's got to be a reason people save those things in cans and jars tucked away.

lordmarcovan

True- stuff is a lot more valuable when it has its story or stories intact. Sentimentally, if not monetarily.

1960NYGiants

What's the date of the 1st Canadian cent (5th photo) 1858 or 1859? There could be some value there. Please post a pix of the reverse.