AboutKevin Av Expertise I can answer most world coin questions in general 1800s and later, and specialize in Canadian and British commonwealth coins. However, I do not deal with gold coins, errors, tokens and medallions, or paper money in general, and will politely turn down most questions regarding such.
Experience 8 years in world coins, 11 years in Canadian.
Expert: Kevin Av Date: 5/11/2008 Subject: found coin
Question QUESTION: Can you tell me what this coin is? It has GEORGIVS VI D:G:REX ET IND:IMP and the bust of someone on one side, but the other side looks just like an ordinary U.S. penny that is dated 1938. I really don't know what it is. Could you also tell me how much it's worth?
ANSWER: Hi Megan,
It sounds like you have what is known as a magician's coin. Such pieces are usually made by taking two genuine coins (in this case, an American cent and a Canadian cent), cutting them each in half, and combining the two.
Some better made pieces are made by hollowing out one coin and fitting an altered second piece into the slot so that the seam is hidden along the inside of the rim.
As a novelty item, it's probably worth $5 or so.
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QUESTION: I found out that the bust on the Canadian side of the coin is the same one as the bust on a U.S. dime. Does this change anything?
Answer No. However, it makes the piece more interesting as it appears that it is made of three coins rather than two. Value may be a bit more, but still limited as it is considered to be a novelty item.
(Roosevelt's bust from a dime, the "obverse/heads" side legend from a Canadian cent, and the Lincoln Memorial "reverse/tails" side)
