David C. Harper - 2013 U.S. Coin Digest

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.