Coins in the Modern World

Collecting Coins

Throughout time, people have been attracted to the shiny, special allure of coins. In the modern era, there are several people who collect coins simply because they like them. There are various coins that commemorate special events or people or organizations. When news of these coins are released, there are several people who line up to ensure they can get their piece of the special item. For example, the coin in the picture was released at the Baltimore Whitman Expo. This coin was meant to commemorate the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition, this coin was one of the other 299 "Opening Day Releases" which adds to the value in both a collector's eyes and an investor's eyes. If you are interested in this coin, check it out here, "2014 Baseball Hall of Fame 50C NGC MS 70 Opening Day Release." As for collecting coins, read our page on "How To Get Started Collecting Coins", for more information.

Coins as an Investment

Today, people see coins as more than just a means of doing business. As stocks have become more and more popular in the last 150 years, the concept of investing in coins has followed. People are able to obtain coins for either their numismatic value or their precious metal content. The gains that an individual can get from looking at the precious metal content is obvious. The market prices of gold, silver and other metals can be measured against what you would be getting from a specific coin. The other aspect, numismatic investing, is a little bit trickier. There are various factors to consider when investing in a coin. Things like the coin, the date, grade, design and overall likability of the coin can affect the value. See our page about "How to Get Started Investing in Coins" to learn more.    

The Metal Content in Coins Today

Many of the coins used in modern society today contain little to no silver or gold. A good example of this is the Kennedy Half-Dollar used in the United States. It was first created in 1964 as a tribute after President Kennedy was assassinated. The coin was composed of 90% silver and 10% copper. In 1968, the silver content was reduced to about 40% silver. Eventually, all silver was removed from the Half-Dollar in 1971. This is just one example of what has happened to several U.S. coins throughout the years. The government realized that the precious metal content became more valuable than what the coin's face value stated. This is why the contents of U.S. coins have changed over the years. Another example of this is the penny. It is a common misconception that the U.S. penny is copper. Ever since 1982, coins are now 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. Before, they were 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. The melt value of these older pennies is 0.0144. This means that people could theoretically get more value, albeit small, by melting these pennies for their copper content.