why arent indian heads and wheat pennies worth anything?

[Ragnor]

I have been going through a jar of old coins I inherited. I figured they would have some value. When I look them up on the internet they seam to only sell for a couple bucks each. Are 1800's coins really so common? Granted I occasionally see the same coin listed for $1500 in on place and $1.50 in another, but I figure that's more like laundering than actual value. Like the wrecked ford pinto for $5800 in the clasifieds.

 

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[JunkShopFiddler]

Hey Mr. Ragnor...My humble opinion on low value of the cents you speak of is the mintage numbers and average conditions. Hundreds of millions of most dates exist, and most of those are badly worn. If the mintage is high than it is the rarity of a coin in perfect condition that becomes the valuable one. Silver and gold coins can come out of the ground in mint condition and retain their high values but copper deteriorates more and the value suffers.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Reality sometimes suxx.

 

[l.cutler]

Simply supply and demand. It is a common misconception that coins are worth a lot of money just because they are old.

 

[ajaj]

Hard to tell without more information. You don't want that 1877 one, do you?

aj

 

[Beans]

Flee market vendors think they are worth a fortune but only when they are selling them.

 

[Peyton Manning]

I love all the old stuff

 

[enamel7]

You are seeing different values because different conditions decide value. You seem very new at this so I suggest you study, study, study about grading of coins. A coin that's not a key date in circulated condition just isn't going to have a high value. If they did you wouldn't find any wheaties in circulation. I can get 4 cent apiece for common wheaties at my monthly coin club auction. That's just the way it is.

 

[Peyton Manning]

they are all worth more than when they were lost

 

[enamel7]

they are all worth more than when they were lost

What do you mean lost? These aren't md finds he's talking about.

 

[A2coins]

don't ever sell to a coin shop you go in not one customer no matter what u bring in its worth a couple bucks till they resell it

 

[Whiplash00]

Check out U.S. mint errors. Some are worth a lot, might be worth going through your coins again

 

[ivan salis]

the rarer ones are worth a good bit since they are needed to "complete" a set --like the 1877 indain head cent ...what keeps down the value of most wheat and indain head cents are 3 fold ... first their copper based (not silver or gold) second their high mintage numbers ..so there is lots of them out there to be had still for the most part and third the general lack of demand --who do you know that collects cents ? often improperly called "pennies" ....because as a former british colony we used the English copper "penny" coins ..but American coins have been "cents" all along..

 

[kingskid1611]

I happen to collect cents and have a few wheats missing from my collection but I will diligently search until all are found......

 

[CaptEsteban]

the rarer ones are worth a good bit since they are needed to "complete" a set --like the 1877 indain head cent ...what keeps down the value of most wheat and indain head cents are 3 fold ... first their copper based (not silver or gold) second their high mintage numbers ..so there is lots of them out there to be had still for the most part and third the general lack of demand --who do you know that collects cents ? often improperly called "pennies" ....because as a former british colony we used the English copper "penny" coins ..but American coins have been "cents" all along..

Yep !

 

[mope540]

toss the 1982 and older pennies/cents into a bucket.

 

[Dozer D]

toss the 1982 and older pennies/cents into a bucket.

Not ALL 1982 are copper, half are zinc. Therefore they need to be weighed or run thru a rydale sorter. I save all 1981 & priors in one group, and put all of 1982's in a separate bucket to be gram weighted later.

 

[jerseyben]

Not ALL 1982 are copper, half are zinc. Therefore they need to be weighed or run thru a rydale sorter. I save all 1981 & priors in one group, and put all of 1982's in a separate bucket to be gram weighted later.

Saving copper memorial cents seems like a waste of time. But going through the trouble to sort out copper 82's is just...

 

[toolmanbutch]

When it comes to the value of coins I have no "Cents"

 

[coinsareawesome]

Actually, sorting through copper '82s is not all that hard. You just have to know which ones to look for. For example, for all of the Lincoln cents you will notice that after 1982 the reverse and obverse get flatter, with less dimension and relief. Pretty much all of the copper cents will have raised busts that stand out more than the zincolns. Also, the dates on the copper cents are blockier (I know: improper English) and stand out more than the zinc cent dates, with which the numbers are thinner and the dates are a little larger. I am hoping that you all get what I am saying. It's all a case of studying coin books for years.