Coin and Paper Money Collecting/1949 50 Pfennig

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Expert: - 2/12/2010


Question

Pfennig and Centavos
Further to my question on Feb. 10 (thank you for your quick response), I am attaching a picture of the coin.  I put a piece of tape down the center of one side to show you how it lines up on the date side.  Is the date supposed to be off-centre like this? If not, what does this do for the value? I have also attached a pic of some 1946 50 Centavo Portuguesa coins.  Can you ball-park a value on these?  Thank you in advance.  I will try to stop showing up here every day.  I am going through a BOX of foreign coins, and I am new at this  -  but learning, thank you.

Answer
Yes, heather the West German 50 pfennig piece was made as you picture it.  Actually the date lies at the bottom, you have tipped the piece to photograph it.  Perhaps the reverse is a bit "rotated" -- that happens quite a bit with coins and adds nothing to the value.  I don't see a picture of any 50 centavo piece, but the 50 centavo 1946 piece did not have particular value back in the 1990s (the year of my world coin catalog) only having any real value if uncirculated.  Hope this helped, Jim Lawniczak

Jim Lawniczak

Expertise

I will answer your questions about encased coins (lucky pennies), which are advertising and event tokens with coins, unually cents, struck with the token.

Experience

Long time collector of encased coins and author of several articles on encased coins.

Organizations
TAMS, ECI (Encased Collectors International)

Publications
TAMS -- several articles on encased coins, in particular the encased coins of the 1901 Buffalo Pan American Exposition
Casement -- many articles on encased coins

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