Anatomy of a Coin

Anatomy of a Coin

Take a good look at your silver coin. Do you know what all those things are? You probably know that there are marking and engravings on it and how much it is worth, but what else? Let’s take a deeper look at a coin and go into some more detail.

Sides of the Coin

• Obverse: The obverse side of the coin is the side, otherwise known as ‘heads’. It’s where the portrait is.
• Reverse: The side of the coin with the portrait of a king or queen or president in charge while the coin was minted.

Anatomy of a Coin

On the Obverse:

We’ll start from the outside in here, just for ease.

• Edge: Coins are three dimensional after all! The edge of the coin is, well, the edge or the third side! It can be reeded, plain or decorated.
• Rim: The rim of the coin is the raised area around the whole coin between the edge and the rest of it. The purpose of the rim is to protect the design and make the coins stackable.
• Motto: The obverse often has a small motto, or the finished part of the motto on the reverse. For example, on American Coins, it may say: In God we trust.
• Field: The blank space around the main design of the coin.
• Portrait: The Raised design on the coin. It can be a person, a symbol, an animal or a special event, depending on when the coin was minted and in some cases, why. Examples include Lady Liberty, the caribou and the white house.

On the Reverse Side 

• Legend: The main lettering and inscription on the coin.
• Mint Mark: Shows where the coin was minted. Common mint marks are: S (San Francisco), D (Denver), P (Philedelphia), H (Heaton) and W (West Point).
• Designer’s Initials: Initials of the one who designed the coin.
• Relief: The raised design on the coin; often a symbol like the American Eagle or a portrait of a ruler such as Queen Elizabeth II.
• Motto: The other half of the motto on the coin, sometimes in Latin such as E Pluribus Unum or English such as Liberty.

What Collectors Need to Know About their Coin

Knowing the parts of your coin is only half the battle though. If you are going to sell your coins at any point, there are some very important things to know.

First, start by understanding the grade which your coin will get from a potential buyer. The Grade of a coin is based on how clear and clean the designs on the coin are. They are ranked (in order) as: Good, Very Good, Fine, Very Fine, Extra Fine, About Uncirculated, Uncirculated and Brilliant Uncirculated. Design remaining specs go as follows (in order of grade): 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 90%, 95%+some luster, 100% plus luster, 100% plus full luster.

Next, collector coins will be ranked on rarity, which goes as follows:

R1: Common, readily available

R2: Less common, available at most shows in limited quantity

R3: Scarce, somewhat difficult to find, only available in small quantities in large shows

R4: Very Scarce, may or may not find in large shows and auctions

R5: Rare, maybe find at most 5 at shows or auctions a year

R6: Very rare, hardly seen, might be offered at auction in a year

R7: Prohibitively rare, you might see it’s like once in several years

R8: Uniquely rare, or might as well be.

So, an R1 dime with a good grade will probably only be worth a dollar or so whereas an R7 Extra Fine half dollar may be worth thousands.

Other important considerations will be:

Age: Generally speaking, older coins are worth more. And some years have far fewer mintings than others.

Silver Content: More silver equals more value

Defects: This is an important one. A defective coin is worth more than its correct counterpart. For example, the 1911 Godless Nickel is worth more than the 1912 nickel because of the omission of the inscription ‘King by Grace of God’ or DIE GRATA. Small imperfections can add up to big bucks, BUT, not all imperfections are created equal. It has to be an imperfection that is noteworthy, such as the Godless coins or the sometimes omitted designer initials on the Victoria half dollar.

Where the coin was minted: Some mintmarks are worth more than others. For example, Heaton (H) is sometimes worth more because only a few coins were minted there.

There are a lot of factors which go into figuring out the value of your coin! That’s why it’s a good idea to use a coin calculator that will use the current silver spot and then talk to an appraiser about your coins before you try selling them.

Talking to Your Buyer

Once you have pulled together your coins to sell, you should talk to your buyer or silver dealer. This is a good time to talk more about your coins and answer questions. Buyers may wish to know things like where you got the coins, how much of a series you have (for example do you have the entire Morgan Dollar series?), and how much you know about buying and selling silver coins to begin with. It’s important to do your research beforehand because even the most kind hearted buyer is still out to make a profit and if you don’t want to get low-balled, you have to know what you’re doing.  Your buyer will take into account things like how fast he or she will be able to resell the coin later, how good your coin is, and the condition of the coin market overall before quoting you a price.

It’s important to do at least some baseline research into your coin before you try to sell it so that you have a good idea of what to expect from the quote. For example, if you’re pushing a coin that should be worth a few hundred dollars, you should know that it will go for that or else you may end up only getting fifty bucks and that would be awful! Think of this way: how often could you get paid up to several hundred dollars for an hour or two of work?

The world of coin buying and selling is far more complex than it may seem at face value. There are plenty of factors which go into it-some out of your control, some in it-and plenty to consider. But at the end of the day, it’s a great way to make some money, enjoy collecting, and start to invest in silver. All in all, there are some pretty good reasons to start buying and selling silver coins, so enjoy!

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