Discover if your old coins are worth big money

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Monday, September 11, 2023
Discover if your old coins are worth big money
Is your penny worth a small fortune? Experts at U.S. Coins share tips on what to look out for and why you should never clean them.

HOUSTON, Texas -- Kenny Duncan Jr remembers when a woman walked into his business with a Ziploc bag filled with old coins. Inside was a special Morgan silver dollar that was worth thousands of dollars.

"She literally sat there and wept as I was telling her the story in why that coin was worth $9,500 bucks," Kenny Duncan Jr said.

Kenny and his brother Matthew run U.S. Coins and Jewelry. Their father founded the business in 1985 and both brothers were introduced to the rare coin industry at a young age.

"The cool thing about coin collecting is the history behind the coins, its the story that those coins tell, " Matthew said.

People can have their coins evaluated at the store, but Kenny reminds customers just because the coin is old it doesn't mean its valuable.

"What makes it valuable is the amount of pieces that were struck for that year and that mint mark combination, " Kenny said. "Then you have what they call condition rarity, where it could be a common coin but its so nice and so original that it commands a premium for its condition."

If you suspect your coin is valuable, Matthew urges you to keep it as is "with coins, you definitely do not want to clean them because 99% of the time you are going to damage that coin."

U.S. Coins and Jewelry is located at 8435 Katy Fwy.

The business also specialize in rare paper money, fine art, sports memorabilia and comic books. You can view their inventory here.