Guides
Guides
Plain-language answers to the questions collectors ask most — what a coin is worth, how to identify it and how to look after it — plus silver content by country and mintage figures from the mints and central banks that struck the coins.
Value and selling
What Is My Coin Worth? How to Find a Coin’s Value
A step-by-step way to research what a coin is worth: identify it, judge its condition honestly, then check the Red Book, world coin catalogues, auction archives, eBay sold listings and your local coin shop.
How to Tell If a Coin Is Valuable
The signs that make a coin worth more than face value: key dates and low mintages, the mint mark, condition, errors and varieties, precious metal and demand — with the classic wheat cent key dates as examples.
Face Value, Melt Value and Numismatic Value: What Is the Difference?
The three ways a coin can be worth money: face value (what it is worth as money), melt value (what its metal is worth) and numismatic value (what collectors will pay) — and why an old coin can be worth far more, or less, than the number on it.
Are Silver and Gold Coins Worth More Than Face Value?
Which US coins contain silver or gold, how much pure metal each holds, and how to work out melt value from the spot price — including the 0.715 shortcut for 90% silver and how to spot a silver war nickel.
Are Old Foreign Coins Worth Anything?
Most old foreign coins from jars and travel stashes are worth little, but some are worth more: silver and gold coins, scarce dates and coins in top condition. How to identify world coins, sort them and find out what they are worth.
Inherited a Coin Collection? What to Do First
A calm, step-by-step plan for an inherited coin collection: what not to do, how to inventory and sort it, how to find out what it is worth, how to get fair offers, and when to involve an appraiser or a tax adviser.
Where to Sell Coins: Local and Online Options Compared
The main ways to sell coins — local coin shops, coin shows, auction houses, eBay and online dealers — with the strengths and trade-offs of each, and how to prepare so you get a fair price.
Identifying coins
Where Is the Mint Mark on a Coin? A Guide to US Coins
Where to find the mint mark on Lincoln cents, Jefferson and Buffalo nickels, Roosevelt and Mercury dimes, Washington quarters, Kennedy and Walking Liberty halves, and Morgan and Peace dollars — with what each letter means.
Key Date Coins: What They Are and Which Ones to Look For
What makes a key date, why scarce dates command premiums, and the best-known key dates in Lincoln cents, Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Washington and Standing Liberty quarters, Walking Liberty halves, and Morgan and Peace dollars.
Error Coins: What They Are and How to Spot Them
Doubled dies, off-center strikes, clipped planchets, broadstrikes, die cracks and missing plating explained — and how to tell a real mint error from machine doubling and damage done after the coin left the mint.
Proof Coins vs Regular Coins: How to Tell the Difference
What a proof coin is, how it differs from a regular circulation (business) strike, how to recognise mirror fields and frosted designs, and what prooflike, reverse proof and Special Mint Set coins are.
How to Spot Fake Coins: A Practical Guide
How to check a coin for counterfeiting: weight and size, the magnet and ping tests and their limits, cast-coin seams, added mint marks and altered dates, fake gold and fake grading holders — and when to rely on a professional.
What Does a Coin’s Grade Mean? MS65, AU50 and the 1–70 Scale
Coin grades explained: the 1-to-70 Sheldon scale, what MS65, AU50 or VF20 mean, how proof grades work, and what the Plus, Star, Cameo and Details designations on a PCGS or NGC label tell you.
Care and grading
Should I Clean My Old Coins? Why the Answer Is No
Why cleaning a coin almost always lowers its value, how graders spot it, how to handle and store coins safely, and the professional conservation services offered through the grading companies.
How to Store and Protect a Coin Collection
Safe coin storage: why soft PVC flips damage coins, which holders are safe (Mylar flips, 2x2s, capsules, albums, slabs), what to keep away from coins, how to control moisture, and how to keep a collection secure.
Should I Get My Coin Professionally Graded?
How to decide whether a coin is worth grading: weigh the full cost of grading against the coin’s value, see when certification pays (value, a key grade, authenticity, selling) and when it does not, and what to do instead.
How to Send Coins for Grading
Which service to use for US, world and ancient coins, how submission works, the declared-value trap, and whether your coin is worth grading at all.
By country
Which coins are silver, year by year:
Panamanian Coins: A Collector’s Guide to the Balboa and Its Silver
From the 1904 “Panama Pill” to the silver balboa, the 1966 switch to clad, and the 1975 gold 100 balboas: weight, fineness and silver content for every Panamanian silver and gold type.
How to Read the Date on a Thai Coin
Thai coins are dated in Thai numerals and in Thai eras. A step-by-step guide: the ten Thai digits, the three eras on Thai coins (BE, RS, CS), how to convert each to a Western year, and a short history of the Thai calendar.
Mexican Libertad mintage figures by year
Silver and gold Libertad mintages by year, size and finish, 1981 to 2025 — from Banco de México’s own coinage statistics.
American Women Quarters Mintage by Design and Mint (2022–2025)
All 20 American Women quarters: who the women are, why Washington faces right, how many of each were struck at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco, the silver proofs, error coins and what they are worth.
Costa Rica’s New Coins: Every Design, Mintage and Collector Edition (2021–2026)
All of Costa Rica’s new coins: the ₡25, ₡50, ₡100 and ₡500 designs, how many were struck according to the Central Bank, the collector editions, and which old coins stopped being legal tender.
Costa Rican Banknotes by Series: Quantities, Serial Numbers, Signatures and Dates (2010–2024)
Every run of Costa Rica’s current banknotes according to the Central Bank: series, quantities, serial ranges, president and manager signatures, dates, and which old notes are no longer legal tender.
A Short History of Costa Rican Money: From Cacao to the ColĂłn and Polymer Notes
The history of Costa Rican money by date: cacao as currency, the first coins of 1825, the first banknotes and banks, the colón of 1896, the Central Bank of 1950 and today’s polymer notes.
Keeping track
How to Track a Coin Collection: Beginner’s Guide
What to write down for every coin you own, why each field matters, and how to keep the habit going as your collection grows. Written for new collectors.
What to Record When You Buy a Coin: A Checklist
Mint mark, total cost, grade, cert number, source, photos. Field by field, with the situation where skipping each one costs you later.
Best Coin Collecting Software in 2026: How to Choose
Spreadsheets, desktop programs and web apps compared for cataloguing a coin collection: export, photos, cost tracking, phone access and price — and exactly what Numistify does and does not do.
Keep track of what you own
Numistify is a catalogue for coins, banknotes and bullion — what you own, what each piece really cost you once fees and grading are counted, and what you made when you sell it.