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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Inherited Coin/Medal collection

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Expert: - 10/15/2009


Question

Gold president token?

I have 2 questions here:

1. I have tried to find a value for a series 36 total of gold(Plated?) presidential coins we have inherited.
I am an Architectural metal fabricator, the surface is not brass it is gold.

I have collected casually for 40+ years and cannot find these anywhere on the web.

They are beautifully struck but kind of simple.

They do not have any weight or grade info on them.

The one I have out is John Tyler.

It is dated 1841 his year in office, it also has a small "D" beneath his cameo.

His name and President of the United States is printed around the edge. The edge is smooth.

The back has "Peace and Friendship" in words and what looks to be a 'peace-pipe' and an long-handle axe between the words.

These coins appear to be in "proof" condition but the cameo is not frosted.



Question 2: A couple of these coins have what appears to be black mold on them. What should I do with that problem?

Attached is a poor pic of a molded piece I speak of.
I can get a much better pic if it helps
Thank You

Dean Stewart  

Answer
Hi Dean,
This is a vintage privately minted set. I would assume Lydon B. Johnson is the last president in the set? This means it was created during the years of his presidency.
The Franklin Mint made such sets, as well as several other private mints. Franklin Mint pieces will have a small letter F stamped somewhere on each piece.
These coins are gold gilding over alloy base metal, copper or bronze. The dark areas are most likely remnants of the coins being stored in a velvet lined case, which is a common practice for packaging these sets for sale. Solid gold would not be affected by this environment.
You can probably remove some of the green "verdigris", which is basically disease that eats away at the metal, with a diluted acentone solution. I would suggest common nail polish remover. Pure acetone can permanently discolor the surface of coins and medallions. After a 30 second soak, gently wipe away the green spots with a soft, non-abrasive cloth. You will not be able to remove the underlying brown areas, but much of the green should begin to come off. This will also slow down the deterioration process.
Also, if they are still in the original velvet lined case, you may want to consider encapsulating them in air-tight plastic coin holders.
As far as value: sets like this are quite collectible, but also pretty common. Current value is in the $20-$25 range.
Thanks for the question! =)

Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

Experience

Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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