Questions about coins and currency? Have them answered by Marc Rosner, a true numismatist! [NOTE: Due to the exploding craze in errors and many related misleading postings on the Internet, we respectfully ask that before you inquire about modern varieties, you kindly read through our existing Q & A's, to rule out the kind of damage or wear we have already addressed.]
They are all steel. Some may look like they are a different metal because of oxidation. We buy these for 1.5 cents apiece, and sell them for 2 cents. We can pay more for a large number, such as ten or more rolls ($5 face value).
This is possibly the most common question we get asked. Your 1943 cent (Britain has pennies, not us!) is worth a cent. The confusion arises from the fact that these cents were made out of zinc-coated steel. While there are a few copper 1943 cents (and a few steel 1944's) out there, I'm confident you don't have one. You'll know because you can lift your steel cent with a magnet. If it were copper, it would not do that. And even if by some miracle you a bronze 1943 cent, and it was worth $100,000,...
This depends on the grade and mint Mark, I have to see them. Also a full sovereign and a half sovereign they look exactly the same and so it should be weighed or measured. An uncirculated Australia sovereign of that date can retail for &400. A worn common one scraps at $250. That's your range. It was made as a bullion product and it remains the same and if it's worth more than gold that's the dealers profit and it's usually not a large margin.
Odds are it's worth $15-20. The U.S. government made millions more silver dollars than were ever needed because of a powerful silver lobby. Hundreds of thousands have been found in modern times in uncirculated bank bags. Your early dollar may look great, but the dies were sharp back then and many people set them aside. It's harder to find a dime from that year! With silver around $17 per troy ounce, we buy most circulated Morgan and Peace dollars for $13-15 and sell them for $16-20 at shows. Of ...
All dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars minted 1964 and earlier. Many were set aside from circulation around that time, and as of today (March 13, 2018) they are worth about twelve times face value. So a dime is worth $1.20 in silver.
Susan, your half dollars are probably worth $12-15. If the 1921s are the newer style Peace Dollar, they are somewhat more. The paper currency and cents are probably so close to face value you should give them to kids. Perhaps you can get them off the smart phone for a minute and develop a hobby. The other things are probably worth more for their memories, but you can always send photos.