David C. Harper - 2017 U.S. coin digest: the complete guide to current market values

Since 1952, Krause Publications has built its business and reputation by serving the needs of coin collectors. Three questions dominate every collectors thinking.

The first is: What is it? We hope the photographs in this price guide will help you identify the coins you own.

The second question is: Whats it worth? The prices contained in this volume are intended to serve as a retail guide. That means if you want to buy a specific coin in a specific grade, the price listed will be approximately what you would have to pay at the time this book was compiled. The prices listed are neither an offer to buy nor an offer to sell the coins listed. They are simply a guide assembled for your convenience by the authors. Remember that prices fluctuate. What dealers will pay to buy coins from you is a question beyond the scope of this book.

The third question is: How do I buy a specific coin? There are several thousand coin dealers across America who are ready, willing and able to serve your needs. To find them, you can consult the phone book in your local area, but beyond that, there is a whole hobby world out there and newspapers and magazines that feature advertisements by dealers who want to fill your needs. For more information on numismatic products and pricing go to www.numismaster.com.

We wish to thank the following auction houses and individuals for the fabulous color images contained within these pages.

Mike Locke

Jay M. Galst, M.D.

Chester L. Krause

Heritage Numismatic Auctions, Inc.

www.HeritageCoins.com

Stacks

www.stacks.com

Ken Potter

www.koinpro.com

Professional Coin Grading Service

www.pcgs.com

The authors have organized this book in a manner that we hope you will find both logical and useful.

Values listed in the price guide are average retail prices. These are the approximate prices collectors can expect to pay when purchasing coins from dealers. They are not offers to buy or sell. The pricing section should be considered a guide only; actual selling prices will vary.

The values were compiled by Krause Publications independent staff of market analysts. They derived the values listed by monitoring auction results, business on electronic dealer trading networks and at major shows, and in consultation with a panel of dealers. For rare coins, when only a few specimens of a particular date and mintmark are known, a confirmed transaction may occur only once every several years. In those instances, the most recent auction result is listed.

Values are listed for coins in various states of preservation, or grades. Standards used in determining grade for U.S. coins are those set by the American Numismatic Association ( for more on grading.

Throughout this book precious metal content is indicated in troy ounces. One troy ounce equals 480 grains, or 31.103 grams. This is followed by ASW or AGW, which stand for Actual Silver (Gold) Weight.

The dates listed are the individual dates that appear on each coin. The letter that follows the date is the mintmark and indicates where the coin was struck: C Charlotte, N.C. (1838-1861); CC Carson City, Nev. (1870-1893); D Dahlonega, Ga. (1838-1861), and Denver (1906-present); O New Orleans (1838-1909); P Philadelphia (1793-present), coins without mintmarks also were struck at Philadelphia; S San Francisco (1854-present); and W West Point, N.Y. (1984-present).

A slash mark in a date indicates an overdate. This means a new date was engraved on a die over an old date. For example, if the date is listed as 1899/8, an 1898 die had a 9 engraved over the last 8 in the date. Portions of the old numeral are still visible on the coin.

A slash mark in a mintmark listing indicates an overmintmark (example: 1922-P/D). The same process as above occurred, but this time a new mintmark was engraved over an old.

See , U.S. Minting Varieties and Errors, for more information on overdates and overmintmarks.

United States coins are often given nicknames based on their obverse design. This Type Identification Guide is a start for coin identification. It also shows the changes in the sizes of various denominations over time.

Liberty Cap

Draped Bust

Classic Head

Braided Hair

Liberty Cap

Draped Bust

Classic Head

Coronet

Braided Hair

Flowing Hair

Flying Eagle

Indian Head

Lincoln

Shield

Silver 3 Cents

Coronet