Evaluating Coins

Evaluation factors.


Even if you are someone who is into coin collecting just for the fun it is still useful to know what gives a coin its value. The general impression is that the older a coin is the greater its monetary value. This is entirely wrong. For example, a Roman denarius, minted almost 2000 years ago, is much cheaper than some strikes of U.S. golden eagles minted in the second half of the 19th century. It may be that a Texas cowpuncher was paid with one among his 40 dollars per month wages, which he then proceeded to spend in one go on a payday binge in town, but, today, there are many collectors who are willing to part with large sums of money to get their hands on one.


So! What gives a coin its value? There are many factors: rarity, the duality of demand and supply, the coinage metal, condition, and, of course, age. There are also some other external factors which you may come across as you proceed with your hobby. We shall now deal with each of the mentioned factors one by one.


Age.


First, we shall consider the age of a coin, the factor which is most commonly mistaken as being the most important one in determining the value of a coin. As mentioned earlier, there are many coins minted hundreds of years ago less valuable than some minted within the past 20 years. As we study the other factors we shall know why. Of course, it's very exciting to be able to hold in your hands a small piece of history hundreds of years old! A Roman denarius in your collection may invoke within your consciousness scenes of glory and barbarity from the ancient Roman Empire! So, age has a certain romantic value which may not be fiduciary but which, nevertheless, means something to the serious coin collector. That is why I recommend that, when you, like Uncle Scrooge, go about accumulating that wonderful moolah, be sure to include a few pieces from far back in our exciting past. Now that you know how it is with coins, let me say that the old dictum that "Old is Gold" holds true for many old coins. This is because truly old coins are very rare and, so, very costly.


Grade.