Buying, Selling & Redeeming
Are proof sets, uncirculated sets, and other special commemorative sets being issued with the new quarters? How much do they cost?
Can you provide me with a list of coin dealers or banks?
I have an old coin and want to know what it is worth. Can you tell me its current value?
I have some coins that were damaged and the bank will not redeem them. What can I do with them?
I have some old coins that are tarnished. How can I safely clean them?
How do the new quarters circulate?
Where do I send my coins for authentication?
How many coins does the U.S. Mint produce and where are they made?
What are commemorative coins?
Will the Mint buy back my old coins?
What happens to United States coins that are no longer fit for circulation?
 Each year beginning in 1999 until 2008 the United States Mint will introduce five new quarters that will be included in the United States Mint Proof Set®, the United States Mint 50 State Quarters Proof Set™, the United States Mint Silver Proof Set™, and the United States Mint 50 State Quarters Silver Proof Set™. Each set also includes the Lincoln cent, the Jefferson nickel, the Roosevelt dime, a Kennedy half dollar, and a Sacagawea dollar coin. Beginning in 2006, the United States Mint Silver Proof Set™ and the United States Mint Proof Set® will also contain four Presidential dollar coins. Each quarter in the United States Mint Silver Proof Set® and the United States Mint 50 State Quarters Silver Proof Set™ contains 90% silver generally referred to as coin silver. Prices are available at www.usmint.gov.
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A list of American Eagle and American Buffalo Gold Coin Program retailers is provided at www.usmint.gov/bullionretailer as a sample of local, as well as national, American Eagle and American Buffalo Gold Coin Program retailers. Additional companies may be found in your local telephone book under “Coins” or “Gold.” The companies that appear on this list are neither affiliated with, nor are they official dealers of the United States Mint.
The United States Mint does not keep lists of banks, nor do we endorse any. You can check your telephone directory to find banks in your area. You can also contact a coin collecting or numismatic society or check the numismatic section of the library.
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The Treasury Department, through the United States Mint, produces coins for general circulation. The Mint also produces numismatic issues. Without examining the coins, it is impossible to verify their authenticity. The Mint redeems only those coins that are authentic, but does not consider any numismatic or intrinsic value, so redemption is only at the face value.
Private coin collectors and dealers can offer such appraisals, and will usually examine a one or two coins free, but may charge when examining several coins. In this regard, you should contact several coin collectors or dealers in your area. Listings are available in the telephone directory under the headings of COINS and HOBBIES.
You should be aware that coin dealers and collectors consider the grade, condition, date, mint mark, mintage, and other factors when evaluating a coin to figure out its numismatic value. Each coin is different from every other. In addition, coin grading is not an exact science, varying from dealer to dealer. Therefore, it is possible to have the same coin appraised at different values. There is sometimes a wide range (both above and below the market price) in the values that they quote when buying and selling coins. This also may be due to the dealer's current inventory and the availability of similar coins in the marketplace.
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The Treasury Department has prescribed regulations regarding uncurrent and mutilated coins. Let us explain the difference. Uncurrent coins are whole, but are worn or reduced in weight by natural abrasion. They are easily recognizable as to genuineness and denomination, and they are such that coin sorting and counting machines will accept them. Merchants and commercial banks will generally accept or refuse these coins at their discretion. However, Federal Reserve Banks and branches handle the redemption of uncurrent coins.
Mutilated coins, on the other hand, are coins that are bent, broken, not whole, or fused or melted together. The United States Mint is the only place that handles redemption of mutilated coins, and they should be sent to the Mint at Post Office Box 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
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Once a coin has been tarnished, there is no way to completely restore the newly-minted luster. The United States Mint does not recommend cleaning of coins and it should be noted that the condition of a coin plays an important part in its valuation as a collector's item. The finish could be inadvertently destroyed or seriously affected by the indiscriminate use of a cleaning agent. If you believe that you have coins that are, or could be, of numismatic value, you should seek advice from a coin dealer or advanced collector regarding methods currently being used by them to clean coins.
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The United States Mint distributes each state quarter for about 10 weeks. State quarters began circulating as change through commercial transactions in late summer 1999. The United States Mint also offered special collector sets containing state quarters that same year. Contact the United States Mint Customer Care Center at 1-800-USA-MINT (1-800-872-6468), to purchase and receive more information about the special collector sets, or visit our online catalog at www.usmint.gov/catalog.
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To any coin grading service. You can find information about these services from numismatic trade publications, local coin dealers or numismatic associations.
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In 2006, the United States Mint produced approximately 15.5 billion coins for general circulation. These are made in the United States Mints at Philadelphia and Denver. While most of the coins the United States Mint produces are for general circulation, the United States Mint also produces bullion coins and limited editions of coins sold to collectors as numismatic items. The United States Mint facilities in Philadelphia, PA; Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA; and West Point, NY produce numismatic items. Bullion coins are produced at the Mint facilities in San Francisco, CA and West Point, NY.
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What are commemorative coins?
Commemorative coins are authorized by Congress to celebrate or honor American people, places, events, or institutions. Surcharges from the sales of these coins help fund a variety of organizations and projects. The restorations of Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, for instance, were both funded in part by funds from commemorative coin sales. Newly minted United States commemorative coins are only available directly from the United States Mint for a limited time, although they are subsequently available from collectors and coin dealers on the secondary market.
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No, the United States Mint does not repurchase any issue coins. It will redeem mutilated coins for their scrap metal value and will replace uncurrent coins with new coins of the same denomination. Numismatic items (coins) may be resold in the secondary market. You may wish to contact a local coin dealer if you are interested in selling your coins.
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"Those coins are classified either as uncurrent or as mutilated. Coins that are chipped, fused, and not machine-countable are considered mutilated. The Mint redeems mutilated coins at the value of their metal content.
Mutilated coins are only redeemable through the
United States Mint at:
United States Mint
P.O. Box 400
Philadelphia, PA 19105
(215) 408-0203
Uncurrent coins are worn, but machine-countable, and their genuineness and denomination are still recognizable. Uncurrent coins are replaced with new coins of the same denomination by the Federal Reserve Banks, then forwarded to the United States Mint. All uncurrent or mutilated coins received by the Mint are melted, and the metal is shipped to a fabricator to be recycled in the manufacture of coinage strips."
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Last Updated:
August 10, 2007
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