My Books Page 2

Here you find more information and images of some of the things that are within the books that I am working on. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

If you are interested in a particular coin, and would like to acquire a "portfolio" complete with pricing charts from date of issue to current date, history of the coin, specific grading characteristics, and trend analysis/future potential, please let me know, and for a reasonable fee, I can send that information to you.

Please contact me at

t_gravatt@yahoo.com

Individual Coin Data Charts.

Now, a few things that I must necessarily mention, certainly, there are coins that I have chosen not to include in this reference guide. The reasons for this are, to me, quite simple.

By far, most of the much older coins have gone completely out of circulation, say pre-1900, yet they may be obtained in various ways such as a trip to your local coin dealer, via the internet from some common and respectable dealers online, or as many folks are doing, using eBay. Some of us may be lucky enough to have acquired them from a friend, a relative or some other source.

The much older coins, I am choosing to save for the “Complete Quick Reference Guide” which is underway and in the process of completion. The newer coins, such as the Jefferson nickel “Westward Ho!” series, the Eisenhower dollars, Susan B. Anthony dollars and the Sacagawea dollars, have for the most part, only face value at this time. The exceptions to these coin types of course are noted within the text of this book, or likely to be “discovered” in the somewhat near future. (New error coins are a market within themselves and are popping up in nearly all areas these days.)

Appreciation charts that appear “missing” in this book are absent simply because the value of the majority of the coins affected have a limited history and/or minimal value by relative comparison to the others that are listed. An example would be the Roosevelt dimes. If this is an issue with you, please, let me know and I would possibly consider (by what the majority consensus is) including these items/issues into the next edition of this book.

For the most part, this book is concerned with circulated coins. Circulated coins are the most commonly available to most people who may have an interest in coins. There is a vast and lucrative potential for circulated coins. Much of the information contained in this book deals with that very same potential and how an average person with a slight to avid interest in coins may realize and therefore take advantage of the opportunities at hand. You see, our generation has inherited these opportunities from our forefathers, who were abundantly alive at the turn of the century, which is why I have chosen to select coins for this book starting from that general point in time.

Mint State and Proof coins, while mentioned here and there throughout the book represent another opportunity both for you and for the ideas that I have about their publication in future and subsequent books currently resting anxiously on the “back burner”.

Here is a thought, just because I do not have any particular coins listed in any of the “Top Picks” sections, does not mean that it isn’t worth something or even quite a lot. It is just that for some series of minted coins, there are so many years that they were issued that it would be outside the realm and intention of this book to address that issue. If you happen to own a coin not listed in any of the “Top Picks” sections of this book, and you have a reasonably concluded that it may be worth more than face value, I can only suggest that you have it appraised and valued by a professional.

Here are but a few examples not listed in the applicable “Top Picks” sections. A 1926 S Buffalo nickel, which is currently listed at $80.00 in grade F-12. It has a relatively low mintage of only 970,000. Yet there are other issues in this series that rate higher. Compared to a 1927 P Buffalo nickel, which has a mintage of 37,981,000, the 1926 S is still a valuable coin to own, especially in the higher grades.  

Yet another example of a coin not listed in its applicable “Top Picks” section would be a 1928 D “Mercury” dime, which is currently listed at $44.00 in grade XF-40. Of course, there are many, many more good examples of coins that may be valuable, yet do not rate to the quality and extent of those I have chosen to list in this book.

Now, about the charts listed throughout the book. Since I decided to select a starting point of 1900, you will find that most of the charts begin on the coin’s year of issue and then jump to 1900. The explicit reason for this is that for most coins, many years passed from the mint date until their value started to increase beyond the mint issue value. Some, of course would begin later, such as the 1916/16 over date error Buffalo nickel.

The intention of the charts is to document and track the history of pricing for applicable coins expressed in graphic form. I have also taken the liberty to add trend lines to the charts. These trend lines are mathematically calculated using the specific pricing history for each coin displayed on its applicable chart.

Unfortunately, in many cases, there is not enough room on the charts to display each and every price for all of the years that are listed. I have tried to provide enough displayed values to represent significant highlights of the history.

After all, it isn’t that each price for each year is so important, rather it is the overall contribution to where each particular coin has been, and where it is likely to go in the future that matters more. Each trend line is the result of that particular coin’s pricing history, and as such, it is possible to mathematically project what values a particular coin is likely to be in future years and is extended to as far as 2015, all of which is based on a specific coin’s past performance.

From some of the prices realized for some of these coins listed on the following pages, you won’t think that they are “Small Cents” at all! For a handful of some of the coins, a person could work their whole life and never earn as much as that particular handful of coins would be worth. “Small Cents” indeed!

All things in order and in a logical sequence as far as U.S. Minting sequence of years and series types, we begin with The Flying Eagle Cents and subsequent information and data.

The Flying Eagle Cents- a brief history

The Flying Eagle one-cent coin was produced by the United States Mint from 1856 through 1859. It was designed by James Barton Longacre,  an American engraver, who was the Chief Engraver for the United States Mint and worked in the Philadelphia Mint until his death in 1869.

The obverse of the coin shows UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, the date minted, and an Eagle, which is “flying” in the right to left direction. The coin's reverse side shows ONE CENT within a lavish laurel wreath.

By the mid-1850s Mint officials had concluded that the large copper cents struck since 1793 were too unwieldy, too cumbersome and to the general public, quite unpopular. For the U.S. Mint, they were becoming increasingly uneconomical to make. (About $1.06 for every 100 minted)  Meanwhile, the United States was being in jeopardy of being overwhelmed with the large numbers of small Spanish colonial silver coins (Spanish double-reales, reales and medios) in use throughout the United States, that it became necessary for the smaller cents had to be struck, and not necessarily of pure copper.

Public officials desired to see all foreign coins driven out of the mainstay of commerce in the United States, so the Congress passed a new law on the subject on February 21, 1857 which allowed that desire to materialize and progress. The new law also specified that the new cent would weigh 72 grains (4.6700 Grams) and be composed of 88% copper and 12% nickel. Included in this new law was a provision that required the Mint and the Treasury Department to convert Spanish double-reales, reales and medios at the rate of 25, 12-1/2, and 6-1/4 cents, respectively. All other government offices would only convert these three denominations at the rate of 20, 10, and 5 cents. Having a newly created and enticing profit motive, banks were very interested in exchanging as many of the foreign silver coins as possible for these new coins nicknamed “nicks," as the Flying Eagle cents were called.

Flying Eagle cents are very popular with many coin collectors, which  seems to go far beyond the more limited scope of "penny" collectors because from the beginning, they always have been valuable. Even in the late 1850s, 1856 cents were worth a dollar or two depending on condition.

Design problems were the eventual cause of this short-lived series and led to the Indian Head Cent beginning in 1859. (In most cases, that flaw being that the relief was raised too high and made minting difficult.)

Flying Eagle cents have been the subjects of extensive and many counterfeits. These counterfeits have been made by altering numbers in the date, and manufactured fake dies have been produced to strike the counterfeits.

If you are unsure and have any doubts, or are considering a purchase of an expensively priced Flying Eagle cent, save yourself a potential headache and have the coin's authenticity expertly verified.

In the image below, you will find "Distinct Grading Characteristics" listed for each and every coin listed in the 2006 Quick Reference Guide, as well as the Golden Appreciation Guide, and the Silver Appreciation Guide. While these grading characterstics do provide information on grading, it is pertinent that you should ALWAYS seek professional assistance when ascertaining the grade for a particular coin.