Coins Guide

What was the last year that pennies were made entirely of copper?

I know pennies are now made of a mix of different medals, because copper is too expensive, but when did they stop using 100% copper?

1982 was the last year for copper pennies. And the first year for the zinc pennies. They made both types that year, and the only way to tell them apart is by weight — the zinc pennies are lighter.

Answer
100% copper Pennies were last minted by the US in 1857. These were large cents, about the size of the "golden" dollar coins. The Flying Eagle and Indian Cents from 1856 to 1864 were 88% copper and 12% nickel. Beginning in 1864 Indian Cents, and later Lincoln Cents, were minted in 95% copper and 5% tin, technically this is bronze.

How to tell different 1982 pennies apart?

I’m starting my coin collection and there are 8 spots for 1982 pennies. The problem is I can’t tell them apart! Does anybody know how to tell 1982 Pennies apart?
They are made from different medals. I dont know how to tell what kind of medals are witch.

There are three different mints and the mint mark would tell which came from which. A D under the year date means it was minted in Denver. An S means San Francisco. No mint mark at all means Philadelphia. In addition to that, there are pennies where the date is small and where the date is large. They only made large date in Denver. By comparing them with a magnifying glass you would be able to tell the difference. In addition to that, they changed the metal content of the penny in 1982. At first, it was mostly copper, later on they switched to mostly zinc (with a copper plating on the outside). The only way to tell this is to cut open the penny, drop it and listen to the sound it makes, or weigh it. The copper coin makes a higher ringing sound and the zinc coin makes a lower dead sound. The mostly copper penny weighs more, 3.1grams versus the 2.5 grams for the mostly zinc. I have a digital scale that only weighs in grams but it does show 3 for the copper and 2 for the zinc. San Francisco only made the copper ones.

So I’m guessing your 8 are:

Copper Philly Large date
Copper Philly Small date
Copper Denver Large date
Copper SanFran Large date
Zinc Philly Large date
Zinc Philly Small date
Zinc Denver Large date
hmm, that’s only 7.

what is the best way to clean old pennies with regular household items?

i have a couple old Pennies that i have saved over the years and i would like to make them shiny and clean. What are some household items that work?

Lemon juice with salt or ketchup.

Want Risk-free Fixed Returns-are Fmp’s the Answer?

Want risk-free fixed returns-Are FMP’s the answer?

Introduction

Fixed Maturity Plans (FMPs) have significantly gained popularity as interest rates in India have increased and equity market returns diminished substantially.

To define, “A fixed Maturity Plan is a closed-end fund that invests in debt and money market instruments of the same maturity as the stated maturity of the plan. The focus of a fixed maturity plan is to provide a stream of income through interest payments, while exposing the investor to a lower level of risk.”(Investorwords.com)

An FMP is an investment avenue that yields reasonable return with minimum risk, adequate liquidity and tax efficiency and has gained popularity with investors waiting for the markets to become stable again.

Features

Ø      Composition: FMPs generally invest in fixed income instruments i.e. government securities, Commercial Paper (CP), Certificate of Deposit (CD),   bonds, money market instruments etc. So they are among less risky investment options, considering highs and lows of share market. These are closed-ended funds, meaning that one can only enter them when they are launched and exit them when their term is over. One can also exit them earlier generally after paying a load that is very high

Ø       Predictable return: Fund companies offer an ‘indicative return’ for FMPs. FMPs invest in debt instruments with the intent of holding them to maturity. This means that regardless of any ups and downs in the market value of the investments, the final earnings are predictable. Therefore, the indicative returns that FMPs provide to investors reflect the reality

Ø      Tax efficiency: If one is looking at a fixed income product FMP’s score over FD’s in terms of tax efficiency, especially for people falling under the highest tax bracket. When you put money in a fixed deposit, the interest gets added to your income. In FMPs longer than a year, if you wish to take all your gains as capital appreciation, the taxation is merely 10 per cent without indexation benefit or 20 per cent with indexation. Even for investments less than a year, there’s a tax advantage if the investor takes the option of receiving the gains in the form of dividends. In this case, individual investors will get taxed at 12.5 per cent of the returns and corporate will get taxed at 20 per cent 

*Indexation is a technique to adjust income payments by means of a price index, in order to maintain the purchasing power of the public after inflation.

Ø      Double Indexation Benefit: For calculating capital gains, we reduce the cost from the sale value. For calculating long-term capital gains, such cost can be enhanced by the inflation multiple. For this purpose, government releases the index figures for each financial year. Such an index is known as the Cost Inflation Index (CII).With the  increased cost  after the effect of inflation , the capital gain figure is reduced and therefore the tax on gains is reduced .Also, one can have double indexation benefit by keeping the investment for little more than one year . For example, the date of entry is 27th march 2007 i.e. FY- 06-07 and date of sale is 4th of april2008 i.e. FY 2008- 09.thus by keeping the investment for a small period of the next financial year ,  an investor can use the facility of the CII for two years                                                                                                                              

Ø   Credit Rating and Safety. FMPs have been predictable and safe.  FMPs invest in high quality instruments, which have been rated. In case of investment in unrated papers, prior approval of the board of directors of the AMC or the Trustee has to be obtained.  They invest in debt having different levels of risk but they usually stick to relatively low-risk debt issues.  However, to enhance the overall yield FMPs may assume high credit risk and run the risk of default. As the liquidity and credit conditions are tightening, some of the companies in which FMP’s have invested could be relatively unsafe. In case of such an investment the actual return will be lower than the predictive return, also there are chances of a capital loss.  

Ø      Lower cost: FMPs involve minimum expenditure on fund management, as there is no requirement for rebalancing of portfolio according to the market conditions. Since these instruments are held till maturity, there is a cost saving in respect of buying and selling of instruments

Ø      Dual benefit of equity linked FMP: This is structured in a way that you get some share if markets perform very well and also your capital remains reasonably protected. You get the benefit of both the worlds as these have both debt and equity in their fund composition. Generally the ratio tends to be 70-80% in debt and 20-30% in equity.  FMPs having equity exposure are structured in such a way so that investors’ capital remains protected.

Is FMP investment risky?

Ø      Default Risk: FMPs are not totally risk-free options as they appear to be. This is because they invest in commercial papers issued by companies, which is an unsecured debt. In bad times, some companies, with whom the asset management company places the funds, could default on their commitments. This could put the principal amount at risk

Ø      Exposure to volatile sectors: Fixed maturity plans (FMPs) do not disclose their asset portfolios to their investors, unlike other mutual funds such as equity funds. Because of this the fund manager sometimes invests in risky sectors. (According to SEBI, there is significant exposure of FMPs to “volatile” sectors such as realty and NBFCs)

Ø      Mismatch in the portfolios: In order to attract investors, fund houses promise returns superior to those offered by other funds for fixed income products  To deliver these returns, fund houses would invest the money in those debt securities that have a maturity period longer than that of the scheme as these give higher returns . For example, one-year FMP scheme would invest in debt securities with a maturity period of 18 months. But a few days from the expiry of the first FMP, the fund house would launch a second FMP. At the time of repayment, the older investor would be paid by the money received from the investors in the new scheme.

Starting October 2008 , for reasons like tight liquidity conditions and concerns about the quality of the debt instruments held by these FMP ‘s , many institutional investors started pulling out their funds .As a result of this,  the fund houses came under pressure of increasing large volume redemptions

It was this practice that the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) wanted to put an end to, when it revised rules to ensure that close-ended schemes cannot have assets with a maturity beyond that of the scheme

SEBI’s recent measures:

To solve this crisis (SEBI) is drawing plans to make early withdrawals from Fixed Maturity Plans (FMP) difficult by blocking this route in case of close ended schemes. Earlier there was a liquidity provision with direct redemption of closed ended funds instead of listing them. Now, SEBI has forbidden this ‘early redemption’ route making listing compulsory  for close ended schemes of mutual funds, and disallowing early exit from these schemes.

For investors who want liquidity before maturity there is an option for sale in the secondary market.

SEBI also revised rules to ensure that the predicted and the initial portfolios are similar; it suggested that close-ended scheme cannot have assets with a maturity beyond that of the scheme. Fund managers will have to structure their portfolio by buying assets that will mature as per the tenure of the scheme, i.e debt investments must be made only in those fixed instruments whose maturity date is not beyond the funds’ own redemption date.

Is FMP the right choice in this volatile market environment?

In this volatile phase of the stock market, one would like to stay liquid so that he can buy as and when a suitable opportunity arises. One may not like to lock in his funds in order to take advantage of a buying opportunity. Or perhaps, one is a risk-averse investor who expects a reasonable return through fixed income investment. Or one has excess funds that are required at a later stage but are looking to temporarily park it somewhere safe and gainful. Recently there has been heightened apprehension about the quality of the FMPs’ investments and reports of investors seeking premature redemptions even by paying substantial exit loads

But investing is all about diversification in various asset classes and FMP’s is one of the means for the same with stable returns and security vis-à-vis equity investments.

Jasjit Bhatia
http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/want-riskfree-fixed-returnsare-fmps-the-answer-694238.html

Minting Facts Revealed – Learn More About Minting Money

As a precatice coins generally have some identification mark indicating the mint where it was struck. These are refered to as mint marks. This practice appears to be quite old — coins from the Roman or Greek civilizations also show marks.

In united States, the mint marks were stamped on the reverse side of the coin prior to 1965, however, after 1967 they were got shifted to the front side. Looking at the mint marks, one can tell where they got “manufactured”.

The rules for categorizing and differentiating coins produced in different US mints are set by the Director of the Mint via the march 3, 1835 Act. He is also responsible for setting standards for quality as well as quantity of coin production in the US.

Mint marks were introduced at the Philadelphia mint in the year 1979 for the dollar coins; the earlier coins from here did not bear mint marks. Later the marks were introduced to other denomination coins also.

The mint marks are placed on the coin discs before they are shipped for producing the finished coins at the designated mint locations. The exact placing of the mint marks can vary slightly depending on the force and location of the punch.

Utility of mint marks

You can judge the worth of a coin by looking at the condition of the mint mark along with other factors. Another important use of mint marks is that they identify the location (of the mint) where the coin originated. Sometimes this can also be a factor in determining the coin’s worth.

The minting process

1. Preparation of the metal strip with correct thickness: For pennies, zinc strip is used while alloy strips are used for coins of one dollar, half dollar, dime and nickel. Half Dimes are made by coating a copper thin strip with alloy on both sides — kind of copper sandwich.

2. Preparing round blanks: The strips are cut into round discs, roughly the size of the finished coins

3. Softening the blank rounds: The round blanks are the softened and cleaned by exposing them to higher temperatures in an annealing furnace, putting them in the tumbling barrels and finally into moving cylinders containing some chemicals.

4 Making raised rims: After washing the blanks are dried and fed to an upsetting machine to make raised rims.

5. Making coins: Finally, the finished coins are produced by inserting the blanks into a holding collar and striking with high pressure. Pennies are pressed with a pressure of roughly 40 tons. Higher pressure is required for larger coins. Both sides of the blanks are stamped simultaneously with the upper and the lower dies.

Design of the US coins

The design of the US coins is selected by the Director of the Mint, followed by approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. the US Congress can also suggest or recommend a design. Once approved, the coin design can’t change for next 25 years unless the Congress approves it.

Currently all US coins feature past presidents of the country, eg., the one-cent coins feature President Lincoln since 1909; the five cent coins feature Jefferson since 1938; Franklin Roosevelt was introduced on the dime in 1946; the Half Dollars show Kennedy minted first in 1964; washington on the quarter dollar coins since 1932.

The “fifty States Quarters Program” or “Act of 1997″ allows the Quarters to be redesigned . The back side of the quarter dollar coin will feature emblems of all the US states one after the other. During 1999 to 2008, each year five states will be honored by issuing quarter coins with designs created by them — the states being chosen in the same sequence they signed the consitution

“In God We Trust” was first used on a US 2-cent coin in 1864. By 1866, it found its way on to US nickel, quarter, half-dollar, dollar and on the five-, ten- and twenty- dollar coins. It moved on to the penny in 1909 and on the dime in 1916. Now you find this phrase on all US coins.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/collecting-articles/minting-facts-revealed-learn-more-about-minting-money-739665.html

Is there a quick way to corrode pennies? Are there certain years that corrode better than others?

I am doing a science project and I wanted to corrode some pennies then I am going to see what cleans the Pennies the best. So any ideas to corrode them?

Try to lay them in hydrochloric acid for a couple hours, that will definately corrode them quickly!
If it is going too fast then dilute the hydrochloric acid, if it is too slow then use/find more concentrated hydrochloric acid.

Don’t put them in water with salt (saline water) because this will still take ages for them to corrode, for that to work you would need to put electricity on your pennies that will speed it up.

By the way any other acid will also work like sulphuric acid (battery acid).

3 Great Joys Of Collecting Coins

That is, the Old ones. Try to look under the old cupboard, or up the loft where grandmother or grandfather’s things might be cached away with patience awaiting you to reveal them all. Who knows, you may find a coin there, an aged coin that – at present – may worth some dollars; probably 3 or 4 or 5, even 10 times the coin’s was back then.

1. A cent a day, is deserving

Luckily or unluckily, there was a deficit of copper on 1943 and all coins made at that point of time were coined using steel. However, there were some Lincoln coins which were incorrectly minted using bronze that came out to be the blanks. A couple of years – or even some decades later -these types of bronze coins became rare and are worthy. The steel ones, since they are common, are worth in between one to 3 dollars only.

Be careful and be on one’s guard as there are systems where naive numismatologists are traded coins which are plated with copper in an effort to make these coins look like bronze. Also, be aware at anytime when someone gives you and circa 1943 coin made up of white metallic alloy.

2. Old is good

Coins, especially the silver dollars which were made and spread during 1878 and 1935, are worth between 12 dollars and 25 dollars for the spread coins. The coins that are not circulated now are worth more.

Meantime, the Quarters, Dimes, or fifty-cent coins made and distributed before 1965, are commonly made out of 90 percent silver and so worth as very much like present day’s silver (with an extra premium, albeit minuscule, put on the penny’s nominal value).

3. Wrong is right

There’s a Lincoln cent issued during 1972 in which the letters and the date on it appear to be doubled. This uncommon coin is presently worth about 60 dollars, presuming the coins are in acceptable condition. The Mint of Philadelphia during that time misaligned the die, which was used in coining the coins making the portrait of Abraham Lincoln to look like, doubled, accidentally. Luckily or unluckily, 80 thousand of these coins were diffused before the fault was known.

In compact, numismatics is similar to accumulating trivia and bits of history from the ancient times. In summation to the nominal value it’s valuable as a treasure – coins, dimes and Pennies – often are more valuable in the longer run.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/collecting-articles/3-great-joys-of-collecting-coins-739695.html

What is the easiest way to tell the difference between all of the 1982 pennies?

I was wondering because I have tried some ways that i’ve heard of and they didn’t work. Anything that might work will help because those slots are the only thing open in my volume 3 collection of Lincoln Pennies.

You can tell by the weight. pre-1982 cants are 3.11 grams. post-1982 are 2.5 grams. The whitman coin albums used to have a coupon for a cheesy cardboard balance scale you could use to tell the difference,

Are we getting rid of pennies in the US?

They are supposedly not going to be making pennies anymore and I’ve heard people say that means they are taking them away all together and everything is going to be rounded up to the dollar. I thought they were just not making anymore and we’d use the billions of Pennies floating around in circulation already. Whats the truth?

This rumor gets dragged out of mothballs every few years. There is no truth to it. They are not stopping production or taking them out of circulation.

What is the best reference book for collecting wheat pennies?

My grandfather left me his old coins. There are many different kinds, but i have a lot of wheat Pennies and would like to carry on the collection. I want to learn more about them and have a reference. So I’m looking for a book that will tell me everything I need and want to know.

The first link below has a very good list of Lincoln cent reference books, and the second and third links are relatively new reference books. I would also recommend the Red Book in the fourth link for information on all US coins. I hope that helps.