Expert: Brad Swain - 10/28/2009

Question
My mother found a Turks and Caicos 1974 50 Crown Gold issued to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill in my deceased fathers belongings. We wonder what the value is.
Thanks for your assistance.

Answer
Hi Harry, this 50% gold coin was issued to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Winston Churchill and it should weigh 9.0 grams and would contain .1447 of an ounce of gold.
Gold and silver values: http://www.kitco.com/market/ .
There were 30,000 minted with a matte Uncirculated finish and 4,000 minted with a Proof finish. Matte means that the portrait surface is non reflective. Proof coins have mirror fields that allows reflecting newsprint to be read at least 6 inches away.
Collector value may be a little over the gold value depending on amount of wear and collector demand.
You might try Ebay.com for similar pieces for comparison.
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad