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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/civil war token/silver 1953s wash. bust quarter

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Expert: - 1/26/2010


Question
What is a 1863 Civil War token with an Indian head with stars around it on the front and WHITE HATTER BROADWAY on the back worth?  Also the worth of a 1953s  silver Washington bust quarter?  Both in circulated condition.

Thank you

Answer
Hi Mona:

Thanks for your question.

It is hard to give you a precise answer without photos or actually examining the pieces. Your Civil War Token is likely a New York Store Card identified as 630CG-1a, with an R-3 rarity, and is relatively common. Rarities for tokens range from R-1 with over 5000 to R-10, a unique token, 1 known. Civil War Tokens came into being when copper and silver coins were hoarded and there was no way to make change. There are thousands of different varieties, patriotic and merchant tokens. They were normally struck in copper, and the size of a small cent, but some were large cent size, and others were struck in brass, German silver, lead, tin, and silver. They were made by private mints, and quality control often took a back seat in their manufacture. The value of your token in circulated condition would be in the $10 to $15 range.  

Your 1953S silver quarter is .900 fine, and contains .18 troy ounces of pure silver. With silver trading around $17 a troy ounce, your coin had a melt value of about $3. There is no added numismatic value to a common date, circulated silver quarter.

You may want to check eBay listings in the exonumia and quarter categories under coins and currency from time to time to see if items like yours are listed and what they are going for.

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.

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Ronald Fern

Expertise

I can answer most all questions relating to US coins, tokens, and currency. I'm not strong on world coins or ancients. Primary field of expertise is errors and varieties. Over 55 years experience in coin collecting. Part time dealer since 1976. Employed by McDonnell Douglas/Boeing for over 34 years as an Industrial Engineer/Technical Specialist before retiring in 2002.

Experience

Worked weekends for "Lonesome" John in the late 1960's to mid 1970's processing error coins, packaging, and preparing orders. Worked with John Devine and Fred Weinberg on several California Error A Rama's in the early 1970's. Served as display judge at annual Error-A-Rama coin shows. Opened and operated mail order coin business DBA "CAL ERRORS" in 1976. Contributer to Alan Herbert's "Official Price Guide To Mint Errors" and Fivaz/Stanton "Cherrypickers' Guide". Worked Saturdays at Huntington Beach Coin Exchange 1980-1999. Had table and sold coins at a number of coin and gun shows in So CA, AZ and NV. Sell coins, tokens and currency currently at my space in the Pomona Antique Center. Past "Errorscope" Editor. Presently CONECA Examiner.

Organizations
ANA, CONECA, CWTS, NLG

Publications
Errorscope, Numismatic News, Civil War Token Journal, Error and Variety News

Education/Credentials
AA Degree LBCC pre Engineering, 1964 BS Degree CSULB Ind Technology, 1968

Awards and Honors
1st Place EAR Trophy for Civil War Token Errors, NLG Author of Year Award for best monthly coin column "Error News and Views" in small Numismatic paper, owned and published by Ray Anthony.

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