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I inherited some blue books with coins in them...
Do they have value?
By David Gonzales - August 8, 2018
The answer is maybe...
There are many different levels of coin collecting. People collect anything that looks interesting. Perhaps they put those interesting coins in an old Folgers coffee can, or an old cigar box. A person might advance in their interest in coins and buy some blue Whitman coin books. There are many differnt kinds of books, from pennies to silver dollars. The whitman books help people understand mintage numbers and rarity. I have written about the value of coins being based on overall rarity versus age, and the Whitman books often times show the mintage numbers. An example of this is found in the Wheat penny Whitman book. If you look at the 1909S VDB, you will see a mintage number of 500k, which is a low number of coins compared to say the 1918 Philidelphia mint wheat penny which has a mintage number of 288 million. Pretty easy to figure out which coin has more value. The 1918 might have a value of 10 cents, whereas the 1909S VDB in circulated condion might be worth $500.
Also, when a person discovers a key/rare date, they will begin to investigate the value, which will lead them to the question of what greade of the coin. Anotherr value dtermining factor is the metal content of the coins in the book. A Whitman book full of pre 65 half dollars could be worth several hundred dollar just in silver value. Add in some key dates and your Whitman book could be worth thousands!
Go Back There are many different levels of coin collecting. People collect anything that looks interesting. Perhaps they put those interesting coins in an old Folgers coffee can, or an old cigar box. A person might advance in their interest in coins and buy some blue Whitman coin books. There are many differnt kinds of books, from pennies to silver dollars. The whitman books help people understand mintage numbers and rarity. I have written about the value of coins being based on overall rarity versus age, and the Whitman books often times show the mintage numbers. An example of this is found in the Wheat penny Whitman book. If you look at the 1909S VDB, you will see a mintage number of 500k, which is a low number of coins compared to say the 1918 Philidelphia mint wheat penny which has a mintage number of 288 million. Pretty easy to figure out which coin has more value. The 1918 might have a value of 10 cents, whereas the 1909S VDB in circulated condion might be worth $500.
Also, when a person discovers a key/rare date, they will begin to investigate the value, which will lead them to the question of what greade of the coin. Anotherr value dtermining factor is the metal content of the coins in the book. A Whitman book full of pre 65 half dollars could be worth several hundred dollar just in silver value. Add in some key dates and your Whitman book could be worth thousands!