Has someone ever given you a penny from your birth year as a gift? Have you ever had leftover currency from an overseas trip? If so, you might want to know how much it is worth. The Pratt Library, Maryland's State Library Resource Center (SLRC), has many sources that can help!
This guide covers the following topics:
Basically, there are four different types of "value" for coins and bills:
At SLRC, we specialize in finding the "book" value. The book value is an average of many dealers' retail prices for a certain coin or bill - in other words, what the average dealer would sell it for. This price is called the "book" value because you would typically find it in a published book such as the Standard Catalog of World Coins (Iola, WI: Krause, Annual. XCJ1755.K7Q).
Buy price is the price that a dealer would be willing to pay you if you sold him or her your coin or bill.
Retail value is the price for which a dealer would sell a coin or bill to you. So, if a dealer wants to stay in business, he or she usually offers lower buy prices than retail prices.
Wholesale value is the price for which a dealer would sell a coin to another dealer. Wholesale value can also be a discounted price that a dealer would accept from a buyer who is purchasing in large quantities.
There are several factors that influence the value of a coin or bill:
Rarity involves the number (or "mintage") of coins or bills that were originally produced. Rarity also involves the number of those coins or bills that are still around today.
Demand varies according to the popularity and availability of a coin or bill.
The condition or "grade" is very important.
If a coin is too damaged to have value as a collectible, its metal content (the amount of gold or silver in the coin) may have a "basal" value. According to Roderick Hughes' Official Know-It-All Guide, Coins (Hollywood, FL: Frederick Fell, Annual. XCJ1826.F4 2002), you can find out the value of the metal if you:
Before you begin looking for the value of a coin or bill, you need to know:
Once you know the date, country, and issue of a coin or bill, you can look up the value in the Pratt Library's price guides!
If you are interested in coin values, try:
For pricing bills, try:
If your foreign coin or bill is only worth its "face" value, use OANDA to convert its value to U.S. dollars.
Books that cover world coins and bills usually include information on U.S. currency.
However, R. S. Yeoman's A Guide Book of United States Coins (also known as the "Red Book," XCJ1826.G84) is considered the standard reference for U.S. coin values.
Here are some other sources of information about U.S. currency:
If you want someone to grade your coins, there are several companies that do this for a fee. The American Society of Appraisers and International Society of Appraisers have searchable directories of professional appraisers.
A dealer might also be able to help. The American Numismatic Association's list offers a list of dealerships by state. You might also want to try the Professional Numismatists Guild's Dealer Directory, or the Professional Currency Dealer Association.
If you want someone to appraise your paper money, the Society of Paper Money Collectors recommends that you visit a professional currency dealer.
The Pratt Library can also help you learn about starting a coin or bill collection and finding out about clubs and shows.
If you're starting a coin or bill collection, look at some quality books, Web sites, and magazines. The resources we've already mentioned are a great start.
Here are some other recommendations:
The Pratt Library's Periodicals Department subscribes to Coin Prices and Numismatist. You could also try these magazines:
There are many other ways to get involved in coin or bill collecting:
Visit your local library and read as much about the hobby as you can. There are a lot of scams out there! The Federal Trade Commission offers a helpful article, "Investing in Rare Coins." The American Numismatic Association has a page of Consumer Awareness Resources.
Also, check the reputation of the dealer you are buying from. Though there are no guarantees, a coin dealer's membership in the American Numismatic Association or the Professional Numismatists Guild is a good sign. Both the ANA and the PNG require their members to uphold a strict code of ethics.
Another good sign is membership in the Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit organization that resolves disputes between customers and businesses. Members of the BBB must adhere to a set of standards. The BBB's Business Reliability Reports can tell you of any disputes that have been reported to the BBB over the last three years.
In Maryland, the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office mediates complaints between customers and businesses.
Although the Pratt Library does not appraise coins or bills, we are happy to provide assistance in finding the "book" value for your currency, using print and electronic resources at our library.
As Maryland's State Library Resource Center, the Pratt Library has a broad collection of resources for coin and bill collectors. What we've mentioned in this guide is only the tip of the iceberg. If you've tried these sources, and you still can't find what you're looking for, please email us, call (410) 396-5430, or contact us by mail:
Enoch Pratt Free Library
State Library Resource Center
400 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
© Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Maryland.
