Expert: PAPAJACK - 8/14/2008

Question
I collect coins and I found a 1976 silver penny with a liberty bell stamp on the left side of Abraham Lincoln and a United States stamp on the right with U.S.A. stamped in it and a D under the mint year. I wanted to know if it had any value so I searched on Google but to no avail.

Answer
Hello Joseph,                     

Since this is a modified coin, the value is questionable. It will still be worth a cent.
The amount of collect-ability for any altered and/or plated coin is negotiable only to a buyer looking for it. Most coin collectors are purists and will pay more than face value for the common version with no wear or scratches. I have seen non-numismatists buy coins like this and other people pick them up for the novelty of them.  

Recently I have seen Gold Plated 1999 Anthony Dollar at a coin show packaged with a Sacagawea Gold Colored Dollar coin. No true Coin collectors were buying them though.

These colored, Hallmarked, re-stamped (like yours) or plated coins are a gimmick. And therefore have no added value.

I am not saying not to collect these items. Enjoy them for what they are. But time has proven they will not usually sell for the price people pay for them on the secondary market. As with any Collectable it may become popular with Non-Coin-Collectors one day and sell for more.

Good Luck