1976 Gold Colored Penny? 0

[madyvoz]

On 3/23/2022 at 7:00 PM, The Neophyte Numismatist said:

I can explain it.

I never cared about coins.  They were nothing but a pain in the neck... worthless items that i find on the floor or in my couch cushions.  The buying power is negligible, and all I really knew were coins that I found in change.  After all... all coins in change are the same, right?  

But... then a coin grabbed my attention.  It was a 1943 steel cent.  It was a grayish-white cull coin, and nearly worthless.  But, I had not seen one before.. and I saved it.    Then, I found it was steel and stuck to a magnet... again, I thought it was just the weirdest thing I had seen... and I thought I had something valuable.  Of course I was wrong, but I was interested.  I learned coin roll hunting and started doing that to find more (which I did not, further fueling my impression that the 1943 was rare).  However, I found that I could find a 2017 P penny... again... very neat and different, but worthless.  I didn't know if it was valuable or not, so I saved those, too.  I didn't know about coins, grading, or even that forums like this existed (frankly, I didn't care).

The "coin shortage" occurred, and suddenly I could not get rolled coins to hunt.  At this point I was accustomed to hunting change, and was enjoying it... my little kids enjoyed it, and that made it even more fun.  But now... it seemed to be over and I was disappointed, so I called a coin shop (thinking I would buy rolled coins from them, because I had never stepped foot into a coin shop).

When I got to the coin shop, I was shown a large cent.  I was amazed that a "penny" was this size of a half dollar... and how could something so old be in such great shape (my 1943 cent was the oldest coin I ever saw)?  I was "star struck" by these old beautiful coins.  I asked the price, and I almost fell over.  What?  $1000 for a penny?  These guys are nuts!  But, I never forgot about the coin... and I started reading on them.

Today, I own that 1818 N-10 that floored me in the coin shop.  I also know that what seemed like I was getting ripped-off on price was actually a good deal.  Then I learned that all "MS64" coins are not created equal, and why one 64 and the next 64 can be drastically different in price.

This hobby is extremely nuanced.  Any newcomer will not know these nuances, and many of you will forget more about numismatics than I will ever know.  However, I do know that many collectors start with a coin that they find, and find interesting.  99.999999% of the time it is not very rare or valuable... just like my homework was as  valuable...I even remember having difficulties finishing college if this site didn't help me I doubt i'd even finished it...It helped me with gathering useful informations and thoughts on topics i've got to make essays and assignments,It was really stressful working and studying without this team of experts helping you all the way to the good mark! and the love for coins is one that is cultivated over time.

Hope this helps, as I know that many of the seasoned collectors forget what it is to be new in this hobby. 

It clearly helped me,and I am amazed about your collection!

Edited September 4, 2023 by madyvoz

[powermad5000]

I have enjoyed reading the several stories and perspectives in this thread. Back to the OP's color comment and question, the coin looks to be in good shape. While you did not include a photo of the reverse, nor is the photo of the obverse closer up and well cropped, it is hard to say if it is basically nearly uncirculated. The date has less to do with the color of the coin than its storage and handling since it was struck at the Mint are. I have seen many early Lincoln wheat cents, as well as Indian Head cents dating back into the 1800's with rich red color. For coins that old, they had to be much less handled and very well stored and protected to maintain that color after 100+ years.

The thing about coins is none of us really know the true story of them once they were ejected from the press. Were they bagged, rolled, spent, put into a cash register, and then received by another person who put it into a quality album in a good environment? Were they rolled, and stored in the roll for decades? Were they nearly uncirculated, kept by a collector and properly stored for decades, only for the collector's son or daughter to knowingly and intentionally take it from the coin album and spend it resulting in a decades old coin to suddenly be thrust back into circulation with "amazing" details and color? We will never know, and things do happen.

Aside from the color, one could check out the year and mintmark in a price book or online such as the Price Guide on this website to see what superior examples are worth and weigh that value against the costs of submitting coins to a grading service. I am describing in the most basic what coin collectors do when we find something or buy something. While some in this forum will state that it is not worth submitting to a grading service a coin that is less in value than $300-400, I do not necessarily share that same viewpoint as I have coins in values from $50-200 in slabs. Many of these were less about the value of the coin and more about protecting the coin in it. A lot of those who do not submit to grading services are exercising their right to weigh the value of the coin against the cost of slabbing most likely thinking about resale value and considering the cost of the slab as a loss of overall value upon selling. If they paid $100 for a coin that is valued at $150 and it costs $75 to put it into a slab, that is equated as a loss. For modern coins (those dated after 1965), however, most have little value even in excellent condition and it makes little sense to submit these to a grading service. For a coin that had over one billion minted, even in its most excellent condition, may only be worth a few dollars in the marketplace. The cost to put that same coin into a holder as a single submission when shipping to and from and all charges are considered, it could cost $50-70 to have it slabbed. That is a great disparity between actual value and cost of grading, making the plastic holder worth much more than the coin inside it.

I am trying to explain in basic why some of the members here are quick to say no to sending your coin to a grading service. Hopefully my post here helps you understand some of the reasons behind the replies.

[JKK]

On 3/26/2022 at 12:16 PM, Hoghead515 said:

They lost their mind. 

A year and a half later they're still pushing it. They dropped the price to $800.