Expert: Brad Swain - 3/25/2010

Question
I have a 1944 Canadian Penny which is tarnished.  The writing on the front is hard to read due to the tarnish.  There is a picture of a man and the lettering that is readable is as follows:
GEORGIVS VI, again tarnish covers up the rest.  I plan to keep it as is different and old.  Any idea of it's value today?  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Paula, There were 44.1 million of the 1944 cents minted that year featuring King George VI (1936-52). Collector value may be worth about .10 with heavy wear to around .20 with moderate wear to maybe .35 with light wear.
Cleaning coins that leaves them shiny or scratched, even if only by looking with a magnifying glass, will reduce a coin's value by at least half.
You might try Ebay.com for similar pieces for comparison.
You might also try a library for copies of the Standard Catalog of World Coins, Coins of Canada, or Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad