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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Very rare coin. British West Africa One Penny coin

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Expert: - 12/13/2009


Question

One Penny 1956 (1)
Dear Sir.

We get in contact with you to get your professional advise on the following item.

We would like to know the value of the One Penny coin from British West Africa. The coin is very rare, because I know there was a mistake in the date shown in the coin. It says 1956 and at that date the Queen was Elizabeth II (we have several coins to confirm that).

Thank you in advance.

Kindest regards

This is the first answer we had from All Experts and therefore we kindly get in contact with you.

Miguel,
I am totally not sure but I am guessing it would be worth around 60,000. You may want to check with some of the other experts in coin collecting.

                                             Your coin expert,
                                               Charlie M

Answer
Miguel,
I am sorry that the first expert gave you such an incorrect figure, especially admitting it was based on a guess.
This coin is listed in my coin books, it is indeed rare, but no coins from British West Africa were ever worth nearly as much.
Your coin, in the condition shown, would fetch $200 to $250. The best examples of this coin usually top out at $300 to $400 if they have full luster and no handling marks.
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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