Old Coin Identification

[LightNing]

This coin is very thin and bent a little in several directions and has a slight crease down the middle. It's about the size of a quarter, and I can see something that looks like an eagle on one side, with its wings spread, and I see what looks like lobster claws or perhaps the eagle's talons. Then on the other side I can see a date with a number 8 in it, but it seems like there's too many numbers, perhaps the 8 is a B as in LIBERTY. On the side opposite the eagle, there's a tall shape down the middle. I thought it might be a standing liberty, but not sure. What else could it be?

 

[Tim LeBlanc]

It could be a 1837 token. No half cents were struck in 1837. Because of the great nEd for small change,however ,a large number of tokens similar in size to current large cents were issued privately to businessmen who needed them in commerce. Additionally , thousands of half cent tokens were issued. Just a little history. This may be your find. I hope this helps. HH. Tim

 

[2000nkb]

Looks more like this one to me. On the left side of the first picture you posted the eagle's wing on the the left of the coin looks higher than the wing on the right. My guess is a nickel composite 20 cent piece 1875? With a coin in that shape, I'd say clean it, it can't make it any worse.

 

[Ant]

Could you lick or use a wet sponge on the coin and then angle the camera so that we can see the image. An easy way to find the best image in by using your eyes. When you see the best image get the camera and aim and angle the lens the same way your eyes saw the best image. You might be able to see the detail on the camera screen or through the aperture.

 

[Tim LeBlanc]

Looks more like this one to me. On the left side of the first picture you posted the eagle's wing on the the left of the coin looks higher than the wing on the right. My guess is a nickel composite 20 cent piece 1875? With a coin in that shape, I'd say clean it, it can't make it any worse.

I believe you found it. I didn't think about a 20 cent piece. Nice.

 

[LightNing]

Thanks Tim. There was a small section that was bent along the edge that I thought looked like copper in the light, but come to think of it, it did read in the nickel range on my E-trac.

 

[LightNing]

Thanks 2000nkb. I thought I did see what resembled ocean waves. This looks like it might be it. As I said to Tim, it did read in the nickel range. I'm seeing more details that seem to fit the twenty cent piece.

 

[LightNing]

btw, how do you suggest cleaning it? What's a good non-invasive way?

 

[dave5710]

I thought all 20 cent coins were 90% silver. Nathan your picture shows a trade dollar obverse. Granted both coins have the same reverse. I am using Yeoman's blue book as a source.

 

[LightNing]

Could you lick or use a wet sponge on the coin and then angle the camera so that we can see the image. An easy way to find the best image in by using your eyes. When you see the best image get the camera and aim and angle the lens the same way your eyes saw the best image. You might be able to see the detail on the camera screen or through the aperture.

Hey Ant, I tried all different angles and the ones I posted are still the best. The coin is just in very bad shape.

 

[LightNing]

I thought all 20 cent coins were 90% silver. Nathan your picture shows a trade dollar obverse. Granted both coins have the same reverse. I am using Yeoman's blue book as a source.

I was just looking at that too. Actually, in his picture above there's a ship on the ocean, but all the pics of the trade dollar obverse I've seen don't have the ship.

 

[2000nkb]

I'm using the Standard Catalog Of World Coins 1801-1900. It has 50000 illustrations with actual sizes of the coins listed. It also tells the coins composition. And yes there is a nickel composite 20 cent piece. I didn't know it either until I looked through the book attempting to find a coin resembling the one shown. These are great reference books but kinds pricey at $65 bucks for each book. You can get them a little more reasonable through amazon.

 

[LightNing]

I'm using the Standard Catalog Of World Coins 1801-1900. It has 50000 illustrations with actual sizes of the coins listed. It also tells the coins composition. And yes there is a nickel composite 20 cent piece. I didn't know it either until I looked through the book attempting to find a coin resembling the one shown. These are great reference books but kinds pricey at $65 bucks for each book. You can get them a little more reasonable through amazon.

Thanks for the excellent info. I see that the silver 20 cent piece itself is something of a rarity, and quite valuable in the higher grades. I'm wondering how rare is the nickel composite version of this coin, relative to the silver? I can't find any mention of it on the internet, except what you found in this catalog.

 

[2000nkb]

After further investigation it appears that there was a copper 20 cent piece, aluminum 20 cent piece, nickel 20 cent piece, and of course a silver 20 cent piece. Some of these can catch some hefty prices.