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A while ago, I had a hobby of learning old currency and its value in American numismatic history. During that time, I collected several samples of old pieces of money ranging from wheat pennies to mercury dimes, but the hobby soon died out since general specimens of currency before the 1950's rarely enter circulation in our modern economy. Today, I found a 1957 US silver certificate dollar while receiving money from a customer:
The image isn't very clear because I took it from my camera, but you may notice the blue seal marking instead of the usual green. For those who aren't familiar with US money, here is a google image of a regular dollar bill and an image of the same 1957 bill:
Regular dollar bill
Silver dollar certificate
If you notice the markings, the silver certificate dollar has along the upper and lower middle that the payee is assured payment of the bill value in silver. This is a sample from a representative money system that the United States used earlier before the mid 1900's. As denoted in the silver dollar, the bill would be redeemable for one dollar's worth of silver. Other certificates then were backed by representative metals such as gold, silver, or copper at a bank reserve.
Now, we use the fiat money system, which is legal tender issued by the government with no representative backing. In other words, such old pieces from the representative money era are considered the same and spent the same way with the amount of the face value; you cannot receive pieces of silver or gold as you would have back in those days. The cashier might give you a weird stare, though. With certain rare specimens of currency, however, you may find its numismatic value to range from a little over face value to hundreds of dollars, or even multi-thousands such as in the case of a 1943 copper penny (worth around half a million if I remember correctly.)
Rarely, but once in a while, you may find currency from a history long past. Look through your change once in a while. No, you will probably not strike it rich from hoping for a goldmine in your pocket change, but a little research and some luck, it's not impossible that you would find a valuable piece one day. All for a few minutes of your time at max. For others like me, I find it fascinating that something went through so much and still lives through circulation on a daily basis. I have something historically valuable to hold - the same piece of money that lived in a different era and silently witnessed great events such as World War II and continued until it arrived into my hands. So the next time you pay at a cash register, search through the change you receive. What do YOU hold in your hands?
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Do you have any idea where that dollar has been? I'd seal it and wash my hands with disinfectant if I were you 
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I just looked at 5 quarters I found lying around. Oldest one is from 1990. It's great to remember the history behind the money your using, and I sometimes like to imagine whose hands touched these very same coins. Good stuff.
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Gotta take the bad along with the good. Yea, the money's pretty dirty but all currency in circulation gets dirty at some point, just that the older currencies go through more. I've been collecting for a year or so, but didn't get sick yet
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On November 25 2009 04:30 ilovezil wrote:
Today, I found a 1957 US silver certificate dollar
I have something historically valuable to hold - the same piece of money that lived in a different era and silently witnessed great events such as World War II and continued until it arrived into my hands.
You forgot to mention that the dollar bill can travel back in time as well.
Nice article btw.
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Was my wording off? The bill was printed in 1957, and I found it today
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Belgium6774 Posts
That poor bill will die now in your possession.
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Did you ever get that book I told you about a while back, and if so, did it have this bill's value there??
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On November 25 2009 04:49 ilovezil wrote:Was my wording off? The bill was printed in 1957, and I found it today
I think he's just stupid.
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On November 25 2009 04:56 Hawk wrote:
Did you ever get that book I told you about a while back, and if so, did it have this bill's value there??
Was it the red book? Yea, I purchased the current version of one at the time, which was 2007, I think? It only had coin values though 
I doubt the silver bill's worth anything more than its face, though. Maybe another dollar at most haha
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Thanks, Nixon for screwing the gold standard........
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On November 25 2009 04:49 ilovezil wrote:Was my wording off? The bill was printed in 1957, and I found it today
How could it have "seen" WWII if it was from 1957?
I think that's what he's talking about.
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On November 25 2009 04:49 ilovezil wrote:Was my wording off? The bill was printed in 1957, and I found it today
World war II ended in 1945 silly 
On November 25 2009 04:56 BalloonFight wrote:
I think he's just stupid.
Oh I didn't realize that a dollar bill could be in existence today when it was printed in 1957, therefore I was stupid to think it must have time traveled.
Go read my post again dumbass, or better yet, stop posting here.
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I was referring to my general collection of old money in the WWII reference. I found the silver dollar printed in 1957 TODAY but I have other pieces from older times like 1934. I assumed it would be fine since they were in separate paragraphs but I'll edit if it's confusing.
EDIT: No flaming in my blogs! Moderate yourselves please, no need to fret over a misunderstanding
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What´s your oldest bill/coin ?
My grandpa once found a coin from 1865 or so in front of his house, which is weird because it was in the middle of forest before 1960 and the coin had been worthless after about 1890. Nowadays it´s probably worth atleast a few thousand €.
He also has old bills from 1920-30 too but they aren´t quite as valuable.
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well today i was finishing moving stuff from my old house to my new one and i found this coin
Pics arnt the best...my camera just wouldnt focus on it any better
i just dont think iv ever seen this coin before
EDIT: Maybe i should open my eyes and see it says 2002 v-_- FAILED
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Braavos36390 Posts
On November 25 2009 04:56 BalloonFight wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2009 04:49 ilovezil wrote:Was my wording off? The bill was printed in 1957, and I found it today I think he's just stupid.
On November 25 2009 05:10 AcrossFiveJulys wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2009 04:49 ilovezil wrote:Was my wording off? The bill was printed in 1957, and I found it today World war II ended in 1945 silly Oh I didn't realize that a dollar bill could be in existence today when it was printed in 1957, therefore I was stupid to think it must have time traveled. Go read my post again dumbass, or better yet, stop posting here.
Don't turn this cool blog into a flame war, consider this a warning for both of you.
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EDIT - whoops, posted again instead of editting this response!
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That's pretty cool. My father is a coin collector and some of the stuff he has is pretty interesting. I don't know if it's real or if it's worth anything over its face value, but he has a gold half dollar coin.
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On November 25 2009 05:16 HwangjaeTerran wrote:
What´s your oldest bill/coin ?
My grandpa once found a coin from 1865 or so in front of his house, which is weird because it was in the middle of forest before 1960 and the coin had been worthless after about 1890. Nowadays it´s probably worth atleast a few thousand €.
He also has old bills from 1920-30 too but they aren´t quite as valuable.
My oldest bill is a 1934 $10 silver certificate. My oldest coin is a 1911 wheat penny, but it's pretty beat up.
Also, your grandfather was very lucky to have found a piece before the 1900's. That would be definitely worth a great deal of money, in any grade.
On November 25 2009 05:17 StalinRusH wrote:well today i was finishing moving stuff from my old house to my new one and i found this coin Pics arnt the best...my camera just wouldnt focus on it any better i just dont think iv ever seen this coin before EDIT: Maybe i should open my eyes and see it says 2002 v-_- FAILED
Haha, that's fine I sometimes mistake strange looking coins for something valuable too. Who knows, you might find something valuable if you keep searching. If you do, please post or pm me!
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Pretty cool stuff. My mom liked collecting coins, and at one point had a ton of genuine silver coins from the 50s and such. She had to pawn a lot of it though. We still have some, maybe I'll go through all the coins one day and see what we have.
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On November 25 2009 05:20 ghostWriter wrote:
That's pretty cool. My father is a coin collector and some of the stuff he has is pretty interesting. I don't know if it's real or if it's worth anything over its face value, but he has a gold half dollar coin.
Hmm, that's interesting, are you sure it's a gold half dollar? You can check coinsite.com, which is a quick reference site I sometimes use. Here's a list of values along coins of half-dollar to gold dollar values:
+ Show Spoiler +
Half Dollar - Flowing Hair - 1794-1795 $2,000 - $4,000 Rare
Half Dollar - Draped Bust -Sm Egle-1796-1797 $10,000 - $30,000. Rare
Half Dollar - Draped Bust -Heraldic-1801-1807 $200 - $600. $5,000 -$10,000.
Half Dollar - Capped Bust - 1807-1836 $30 - $85. $500 - $700.
Half Dollar - Reeded Edge - 1836-1839 $35 - $100 $600-$800.
Half Dollar - Liberty Seated -1839-1891 $20 - $200. $300 - $500.
Half Dollar - Barber 1892-1915 $4. - $100. $300 - $600.
Half Dollar - Liberty Walking 1916-1947 $2. -$5. $15 - $20.
Half Dollar - Franklin 1948-1963 $1.50 - $3 $5 - $10.
Half Dollar - Kennedy 1964 .36169 ASW .36169 ASW(Bullion)
Half Dollar - Kennedy 1965-1969 (40% silver) .1479 ASW .1479 ASW(Bullion)
Half Dollar - Kennedy 1970-D $3 $5
Half Dollar - Bicentennial dated 1776-1976 face value face value
Half Dollar - Kennedy 1971- face value face value
Dollar - Flowing Hair 1794-1795 $1,000 - $25,000. Rare
Dollar - Draped Bust -Small Eagle -1795-1798 $500. - $1,500. $15,000 - $20,000.
Dollar - Heraldic Eagle 1798-1803 $500 - $1000. $6,000 - $8,000.
Dollar - Heraldic Eagle 1804 n/a $1,825,000
Dollar - Gobrecht - 1836-1839 $3,000 - $5,000. $8,000 -$10,000.
Dollar - Liberty Seated - 1840-1873 $150 - $500. $1,000 - $1,500.
Dollar - Trade 1873-1885 $50 - $300. $400 - $1,000.
Dollar - Morgan 1878-1921 $8 - $15. $20 - $80.
Dollar - Peace 1921-1935 $8 - $15. $20 - $50.
Dollar - Eisenhower 1971-1978 face value $1.50 -$2.00
Dollar - Susan B. Anthony 1979-1981,1999 face value face value
Dollar - Sacagawea 2000- face value face value
Gold Dollars - 1849-1854 $100 - $250. $300. - $1000.
I thought gold only came in dollar coins. If that's the case, your dad's got a very valuable piece in his collection.
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On November 25 2009 05:17 StalinRusH wrote:well today i was finishing moving stuff from my old house to my new one and i found this coin Pics arnt the best...my camera just wouldnt focus on it any better i just dont think iv ever seen this coin before EDIT: Maybe i should open my eyes and see it says 2002 v-_- FAILED
That's some kind of Euro coin I think. I got one at home.
On November 25 2009 04:58 ilovezil wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2009 04:56 Hawk wrote:
Did you ever get that book I told you about a while back, and if so, did it have this bill's value there??
Was it the red book? Yea, I purchased the current version of one at the time, which was 2007, I think? It only had coin values though I doubt the silver bill's worth anything more than its face, though. Maybe another dollar at most haha
Yeah, probably not, but it's cool just on age alone. Age typically doesn't matter much for value. Roman Empire coins are worth jack. Value is generally determined on the amount of a certain coin or bill minted and then the quality of the selected piece.
The gold coin can range from being totally worthless (Sacagewea coin) to being a lot (Krugerand or something like that). It's totally impossible to tell without seeing
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haha i just arranged all of my change.. it was ranging from 1974 to 2009 
strangely, my dirtiest coin is from 2000 (i could barely make out the numbers of the year)
maybe one day ill find something cool the only inconsistency i find in my coins so far is all my quarters usually have a year printed in the front (like 1979, 2003 etc..) but one quarter doesn't have a year printed on it, just 1952-2002 in the back. i imagine that's a special 50 year anniversary coin or something. pretty cool
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Belgium6774 Posts
That's some kind of Euro coin I think. I got one at home.
It looks a bit like a 2 euro coin (ring colors) but the design and measurements aren't the same
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On November 25 2009 06:12 JeeJee wrote:haha i just arranged all of my change.. it was ranging from 1974 to 2009 strangely, my dirtiest coin is from 2000 (i could barely make out the numbers of the year) maybe one day ill find something cool the only inconsistency i find in my coins so far is all my quarters usually have a year printed in the front (like 1979, 2003 etc..) but one quarter doesn't have a year printed on it, just 1952-2002 in the back. i imagine that's a special 50 year anniversary coin or something. pretty cool
No year printed on the front? oO
It probably is a bicentennial quarter commemorating the half-century like you said, but the one I'm thinking about still has the year printed on the front, with a drummer design on the back.
Are you able to take a picture? I'd like to see it if you can upload a pic!
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On November 25 2009 06:18 Xeofreestyler wrote:It looks a bit like a 2 euro coin (ring colors) but the design and measurements aren't the same
Do you have a coin collection at all? I'd love to see samples of foreign currency as well
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When I was a kid, I used to examine every coin and bill I had very closely. Nowadays, I don't really do that although from time to time, when I do notice something odd about the currency I'm using, I'll take a look. The most interesting things I ever found were:
1927 Wheat Penny
1954 Canadian penny (found in California)
A very poorly counterfeited $5 bill.
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Mercury Dimes look really cool:
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I have a German coin from the late 19th...
Dunno if it is valuable.
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Yeah, mercury dimes are pretty neat. I was fortunate enough to find two of them in the cash register while working. They're like the dime counterparts to the Indian pennies.
Speaking of which, I could never find an indian penny
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I have a 1917 silver quarter and a 1882 dollar coin.
I also had a 24k gold coin from like 1800's but that one disappeared :C
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On November 25 2009 06:21 ilovezil wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2009 06:12 JeeJee wrote:haha i just arranged all of my change.. it was ranging from 1974 to 2009 strangely, my dirtiest coin is from 2000 (i could barely make out the numbers of the year) maybe one day ill find something cool the only inconsistency i find in my coins so far is all my quarters usually have a year printed in the front (like 1979, 2003 etc..) but one quarter doesn't have a year printed on it, just 1952-2002 in the back. i imagine that's a special 50 year anniversary coin or something. pretty cool No year printed on the front? oO It probably is a bicentennial quarter commemorating the half-century like you said, but the one I'm thinking about still has the year printed on the front, with a drummer design on the back. Are you able to take a picture? I'd like to see it if you can upload a pic!
im canadian remember, our quarters have moose and the queen on them
possibly its a common thing for canadian 50yr quarters. i only have a cellphone camera either way which would make a shitty closeup pic
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On November 25 2009 06:44 JeeJee wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2009 06:21 ilovezil wrote:On November 25 2009 06:12 JeeJee wrote:haha i just arranged all of my change.. it was ranging from 1974 to 2009 strangely, my dirtiest coin is from 2000 (i could barely make out the numbers of the year) maybe one day ill find something cool the only inconsistency i find in my coins so far is all my quarters usually have a year printed in the front (like 1979, 2003 etc..) but one quarter doesn't have a year printed on it, just 1952-2002 in the back. i imagine that's a special 50 year anniversary coin or something. pretty cool No year printed on the front? oO It probably is a bicentennial quarter commemorating the half-century like you said, but the one I'm thinking about still has the year printed on the front, with a drummer design on the back. Are you able to take a picture? I'd like to see it if you can upload a pic! im canadian remember, our quarters have moose and the queen on them possibly its a common thing for canadian 50yr quarters. i only have a cellphone camera either way which would make a shitty closeup pic
I completely assumed you were talking about the US quarter, how biased of me :p
If you can, it'd still be cool if you can take a pic. The quality doesn't matter too much, so if you can just upload one and pm me or something
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On November 25 2009 06:18 Xeofreestyler wrote:It looks a bit like a 2 euro coin (ring colors) but the design and measurements aren't the same
it actually says "Estadis Unidos Mexicanos" which kind of makes sense even though i dont really live near mexico
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I found a 1918 3 pence coin in front of my house randomly, it's not in very good condition though
I do have a small collection as well from various countries.
And yeah that's definitely not a Euro coin, you can clearly see the dollar sign on it.
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I had a regular customer at one of the restaurants i used to work at. He would come in every few days and ask to look through all the one dollar bills I had for the day. He would pay me 5-10 dollars a piece for these rare dollars. He sold them on ebay I think.
So if you wanna pick up the hobby again befriend a waiter or two ^^
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Wait, just exactly what did he find among these one dollar bills? oO
Also, I'm surprised he was allowed to even search through the ones. Did you watch him closely while he counted through them?
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This was a few years ago, and I never really asked too many questions about them, but if I recall correctly - the main thing he was looking for was "serial numbers" (or whatever they are called) in a certain order like 3456 or something for example. Also he looked for defects.
He worked a couple doors down from the restaurant and I knew him fairly well - I would just hand him a stack of fifty ones and he'd look through em.. (it was the cash I had been paid throughout the day, not from the cash register or anything)
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It's not that dirty...
.. most of the bacteria is dead already.
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On November 25 2009 05:25 ilovezil wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2009 05:16 HwangjaeTerran wrote:
What´s your oldest bill/coin ?
My grandpa once found a coin from 1865 or so in front of his house, which is weird because it was in the middle of forest before 1960 and the coin had been worthless after about 1890. Nowadays it´s probably worth atleast a few thousand €.
He also has old bills from 1920-30 too but they aren´t quite as valuable. My oldest bill is a 1934 $10 silver certificate. My oldest coin is a 1911 wheat penny, but it's pretty beat up. Also, your grandfather was very lucky to have found a piece before the 1900's. That would be definitely worth a great deal of money, in any grade. Show nested quote +On November 25 2009 05:17 StalinRusH wrote:well today i was finishing moving stuff from my old house to my new one and i found this coin Pics arnt the best...my camera just wouldnt focus on it any better i just dont think iv ever seen this coin before EDIT: Maybe i should open my eyes and see it says 2002 v-_- FAILED Haha, that's fine I sometimes mistake strange looking coins for something valuable too. Who knows, you might find something valuable if you keep searching. If you do, please post or pm me!
Yep, fairly valuable coin you got there. Mexican peso.
2 pesos are approximately 15 United States Cents.
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Is it a red seal note? I'm assuming a gold certificate from 1928 would be somewhere along those lines. In fact, I remember you talking about receiving a gold $5 note last time I posted about numismatics. It's in almost perfect grade, right?
Hold onto that yo, that would be worth a really valuable price. Or give it to me :D
Friends, right?  ]
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Austin10833 Posts
Zil how would I find out if a certain coin is real? I found this old Spanish coin when I was like 8 years old, buried in this park that was really active during the American Revolution. On one side it says FERDND VI - D - G - HISPAN - ET IND - RHX and on the other VTRAQUE VNUM - M - 1748. I never actually bothered to check out if it was real, I liked the idea of not knowing and having this ancient coin just sitting in my wallet.
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On July 18 2007 19:02 ilovezil wrote:Show nested quote +On July 18 2007 15:53 BuGzlToOnl wrote:I have a 5 Dollar Bill from 1928 B it says: REDEEMABLE IN GOLD ON DEMAND
AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY,
OR IN GOLD OR LAWFUL MONEY
AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK. The bank gave it to me a while back, its in mint condition, the back is really different it's like a Jade Green color. How much gold do you think I can get with that. Hmm, I didn't know a 1928b gold specimen existed. The only 1928 kinds I know are exclusively red. Can you show me what that bill looks like? You musta either been a hella good customer at the bank, or they're just jipping you.
Haha I never answered your old question, but I think you're misinterpreting. It's not made from actual gold... just says redeemable in gold. My parents got it from the bank by "mistake". The lady said she would get a new one because she hadn't noticed it was so old/ruined. But my parents said the bill was fine and now its here with me.
Pic:
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u296/ilovezil/SSPX0097.jpg?t=1259084963)
![[image loading]](http://www.qsl.net/w5www/dollarbill.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://quotationsbook.com/assets/shared/img/7542/722px-SilverCertificate1Dollar.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i46.tinypic.com/oft2xd.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i50.tinypic.com/nwirkg.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://coinbuyingshop.com/old/Coin_Types/images/Mercury_dime.jpg)
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