Expert: Jim Lawniczak - 6/3/2007

Question
QUESTION: I have a bicentennial double headed half dollar.  I have kept it for over 20yrs myself.  I seen the trick coins and this has no seems.  I had a friend from the Mint in San Fran look at it, he explained that it was possible to have a actual error coin, that they can make it out, but he suggested a Xray as my next step.  If it is actual, could would the value be?

ANSWER: Jeff, you don't ask me any information as to whether this coin is indeed a mint error or not, and that's good as I would have no idea.  You only ask what its value would be if it indeed were a legitimate mint product.  I cannot say with definitiveness because these types of error are extremely rare and so there aren't a lot of examples out there for sale.  The price would be set by the market, but I suspect, though I don't know, that it would be quite high, likely into 5 figures. But that is because these pieces are so very rare, which suggests that despite the lack of a seam that you can see, your piece may still be just a trick piece.  Jim Lawniczak

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jim, Sry my question confused myself after I read it again.  One part of my question was how do they xray coins can a local medical place do the same type, or it there a special way they do it.  Or how can it be determined an actual piece

Thank You

Answer
Jeff, before I'd start xraying (I doubt if a medical place would do that unless you knew someone there pretty well), I'd show the piece to an expert either at a coin show or at a coin shop and see what they think of it.  Try going to www.google.com and doing a search for your city and coin show and then your city and coin shop and see what comes up.  Or try going to coin world or Numismatic News websites and get information on shows or shops near you, Jim