Just Bob

Clarence Hossley operated a billiard parlor inside the Carroll Hotel in Vicksburg, MS in the early 1900s. Two types of tokens were issued in 5 cent denominations. Both were round brass, 21 mm in diameter. One had a 2mm center hole, the other type did not. Both are listed in Chatham's Mississippi token book as R9 (2 -3 known to exist). Those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, since the book was written in 1990. It is possible that more examples have been found since the book was written. Still, I have been collecting and following Mississippi tokens for over 40 years, and I can recall seeing only one other example of this piece in all those years. As far as value, that depends entirely on who wants it and how bad. It could sell for $25 or it could sell for several hundred. That may sound odd, but that is the token market. The venue, current market conditions, seller, demand, and condition of the piece all can play a part in the final price. I can tell you this: I bought my example off eBay in September of 2008, during a lull in the market, and I paid $45.44 plus shipping.

Thank you for those pictures of the tiny indentations. I have never done any plating myself, so I did not know what to look for. Learned something new today.

I would list it on eBay or one of the other online selling platforms. You can do an advanced eBay search for "sold" listings of similar tokens to get a feel for what it might bring. I am not able to read the letters very well, but it looks like it says "DFS." From what I have read about these, the middle initial is usually the first letter of the last name, especially if it is larger than the other two letters. The initials can be the name of one person, or the outside two can be first letters of the names of two people. So, if I have the letters right, this could have been made for a name like Daisy Sue Farmer, or, if for a couple, Dan & Sally Fields.

Definitely damaged.

... which, if you think about it, makes absolutely no sense. After all, the definition of "laminated," when referring to metals, is "composed of layers." But we call a section peeling off an alloyed coin a "delamination," while on a clad coin it is called "cladding separation" among other things. (My favorite is "clamshell.") Makes no sense to me.

Unless there is some error or indication of a scarce variety that isn't showing up in the pictures, your coins are only worth face value. In other words they're worth a dollar each.

If this were my coin, I would contact Variety Vista, and also post pictures on the Coneca die variety forum. If it turns out to be nothing, you've only wasted a little time and effort. If it happens to be the real deal, and no one else has found one, you can be listed as the discoverer of a new variety. Please let us know if you decide to pursue this further, and what the results are. I would love to have a reason to do a happy dance for a new discovery.

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry for the loss of your stepfather. It is nice that he was able to pass along his coins to you. One word of advice: be very careful when watching YouTube coin videos. Many are created just to get clicks and likes, and are full of misinformation and outright lies. This is particularly true of the ones that claim that you can easily find valuable coins in your pocket change. While it has happened in the past, the odds of finding something valuable are so small they are almost nil. Your time and effort will be much better spent learning about the coins you like. Happy collecting!

I don’t see how that would have an effect on the weight. The planchet would still weigh the same as it did before the coin was struck. Assuming an accurate scale, I see the three most likely reasons for the low weight as: underweight planchet, counterfeit, or some gold having been removed. If it is one of these, I hope it is the underweight planchet.

A half eagle minted between 1873 & 1929 has a tolerance of plus or minus .016, so acceptable weight would be 8.343 to 8.375, assuming an average weight of 8.359. Figures from the Coinworld Almanac. Your coin appears to be a good bit underweight.

He is asking for an evaluation. The coins are only worth face value, which is one cent US (1/100 dollar) each.

Welcome to the forum. It is a shame to have to inform a new member that their very first post is of a coin that isn't what they thought it was, and even more of a shame to have to tell them that they have been ripped off, but that is the case here, I'm afraid. Your coin is not a mint error. As others have said, it was fabricated after it left the mint.

Welcome to the forum. If your question is about the unusual color of your nickel, it is most likely caused by environmental damage or damage from extreme heat.

Did I really call the Lincoln memorial Monticello? I must be slipping. Thanks for the correction.