Treasure Hunt by Peter Rexford

It continues. The legions of print and broadcast advertising begging to buy your gold coins and "unwanted jewelry" are all but incessant. Even during the gold boom of the early-1980s, dealers didn't promote the purchase of gold as much as now. But that's understandable.

The economic climate back then wasn't as dire. Personal finances now are such that many individuals might be considering parting with heirlooms or coins they own. But what might you be selling? As regular readers know, my eternal mantra has been "Knowledge is both power and profit."

Since almost the beginning of coins being minted, gold has been considered the premium medium. Most modern gold coins are not and won't be rare. Conversely, older coins with low mintages, rare dates or mintmarks command substantial premiums well above their inherent gold content.

Happily, most coin dealers are reputable and will readily identify a rare variety if you happen to own one. Still, it's best to know before you go.

There are dozens of books available from dealers or good libraries that call out scarce coins. Insofar as those struck from gold, one of the best is "Gold Coins of the World," considered the definitive encyclopedia. The 800-page tome lists 21,000 coins dating as far back as 600 B.C. through modern issues. Accompanying each are detailed descriptions, prices and weights along with 8,000 photos — some of which are otherwise available only in out-of-print books.

Published by The Coin & Currency Institute, the price is $89.95 or $79.95 on CD. It's not inexpensive but could be considered a bargain should it help potential sellers increase the amount they realize on their coins by hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Now for the flip side of the coin. What if you're not fortunate enough to own gold? Instead, you may have a collection of lowly pennies you collected as a youngster or were given by a relative.

When the price of copper skyrocketed a few years ago, the government made it illegal to melt pennies for their metallic content.

So, a penny is just a penny … right? Not so fast.

Depending on your age, you may recall sorting through change to find the elusive Flying Eagle or Indian Head cents produced between 1856 and 1909. As recently as the 1940s and '50s, many of them circulated regularly along with the more modern Lincoln pennies. That allowed kids and adults to extract and collect them. A goodly number of those collections surely still sit on dusty shelves or stuffed in boxes under the assumption that their worth is minimal at best.

In truth, the least dealers will pay for Flying Eagle cents in only "Good" condition (which really isn't visually appealing) is $20 apiece. For an 1856 Flying Eagle penny the value ranges from a low of $4,000 to over $45,000.

Even common date Indian Head pennies in average condition bring a minimum of $1 each. Of course, the higher the grade, the higher the price. And, those that are more scarce — minted between 1858 and 1878 — have substantial value from $4 to $600 in average condition to hundreds or thousands of dollars if they are in mint condition (uncirculated).

So, in reality, that paltry penny could very well be worth more than a hefty gold coin. Moreover, one of those once plentiful cents once used to purchase a newspaper or candy bar might now have enough collector value to fill up a gas tank or even buy a new car.

Because of prices and opportunities such as these, a new edition of the book "A Guide Book of Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents" has just been released. The full-color, 288-page guide includes updated pricing, market data and photographs. It also includes expert advice on collecting and interesting background information.

Priced at $19.95, it, too, is available through many dealers and major booksellers or directly from the publisher online at www.WhitmanBooks.com.

So, whether it's gleaming gold or common copper, you may be sitting on a small fortune. The question is, do you know it? The answer is, you can.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the cover of the book, "A Guide Book of Flying Eagle and Indian Heads Cents" has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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