Collector’s Corner

By Ron Schmidt on May 25, 2019.

With so many people using plastic, finding change in anyone’s pocket is hard. Fewer people have change or bills at all in their purse or wallet. This is reflected back to the banks where they are not requiring to bring in any change for distribution, therefore the newer coins are seldom seen in our city. This is very disappointing for those of us who have fun sifting though the coins you receive at the teller to see if there is something new, or something you do not have. The 2019 coins are or will be in circulation very soon. The 2019 Loonie Equality coin is now available and I’m sure the others will follow shortly.

As far as the older coins goes it is nice to have at least one of each year, however there are a few that may be a little more difficult to find or more costly to purchase. In the pennies from 1922-1926, these are difficult to find and may cost you around $124 or more for those five coins alone. Sometimes the whole set may come up for sale and may get the whole set for around that same price. In 2006 there were six different types in magnetic and non-magnetic and a couple of varieties could reach $100 eg: 2006P non magnetic. In the five-cent coins there are only a few to watch out for. The 1925 five-cent coin is worth about $80 and the 1926 far could be worth about $200.

Two coins that are not seen often are the 1942 and 1943 Tumback nickel. They are of a copper colour and one has the “V” on it. Should you be very, very lucky and find a 1921 small nickel it could be worth about $4,000. In the dimes there are not many varieties and you should be able to find them without to much trouble or having to pay too much. The quarters is a whole new ball game. There are years when they made more than 12 different quarters in one year. Examples are 1992, 1999 and 2000. these are common and should be easy to find. The more difficult quarters are 1936 with a dot under the bow and the 1947 dot. In 1973 there was a Large Bust and Small Bust. The Large Bust is mostly found in sets and is harder to find, in decent condition could be worth around $200. The 1991 and 1992 traditional quarters are harder to find as mintage was low for those years. There were no quarters made from 1997 to 2000, so to purchase these they would have to come out of a set and may have to pay around $10 each. Since then there have been many colour coins and in uncirculated condition they could be worth in the upwards of 50 cents each.

Besides all of the commemorative loonies there has not been many that have gone up in price. The 2012 (old design, without security feature) in both the loon and townie have a higher price tag on them again because of low mintage. For the toonie in 2006 there were four different types and one particular type is hard to find. The 2008 Quebec design also brings a premium. Most recently the 2017 colour northern lights, and 2018 colour armistice may cost around the $6 to purchase. They are in circulation but very scarce.

The prices stated above for older coins described would be in the average circulation but the newer coin prices would be uncirculated condition. There are many varieties in some years but that would be too many to explain in this column. If you are interested in varieties or even just the different types the Charlton Volume 1 is a good book for description and pictures. This cam be purchased at the coin club or coin dealers.

Collector’s Corner is contributed by the Medicine Hat Coin & Stamp Club. For questions or comments about coin or stamp collection email medhatcsc@live.com

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