How to Value a Coin
Coin is a mobile app that rewards users with in-app currency for validating geospatial location data while traveling, commuting, or jogging. They can then exchange this currency for digital or physical items. The app has been downloaded over a million times. The company has partnered with the XYO foundation to ensure that coins are only awarded to people who are really in their claimed location. This prevents location spoofing and makes the coin economy more trustworthy and fair.
The value of a coin is generally based on its metal content or on its specific historical significance, rarity, beauty of the design and general popularity with collectors. It is also possible for a coin to have no face value at all and be used solely for its metal content. Some bullion coins have nominal face values that are less than the value of their metal, but these face values do not affect the underlying market price.
In most ages, coins were valued as precious metal and as tokens of authority or national identity. As a result, they were prized and often hoarded or buried for safekeeping. They have proven valuable to scholars as well, especially when paired with literary and archaeological evidence. They reveal a wide range of information, from the names and images of rulers to the year of minting. They also show how wealth and power were distributed among cities and regions and can help define the geographical extent of colonial rule.
Most coins are made of a precious metal like gold or silver, although some are made of non-precious metals such as cupro-nickel (copper and nickel in equal proportions), nickel-brass (copper, nickel and zinc in equal proportions), bronze or plain plated steel. The obverse of the coin contains an image or symbols of its country and the reverse usually contains the date of minting. Most coins are also rounded in shape and many have reeded edges to distinguish them from paper money.
There are a number of different ways to store coins, depending on the type and style of coins you collect. Some of the most common methods include storage albums, paper rolls, and cardboard coin holders. The best way to store a coin is in a plastic slab, a plastic rectangular box with grooved slots in the sides that hold the coins upright. There are also snap together slabs available that will protect your coins for a reasonable cost.
If you are a new coin collector, there are many resources available that can help you get started. A good place to start is with a starter kit, which includes 2×2 coin holders, mylar flips, coin tubes and an album. Some of these kits come with a magnifying glass, as well. Some of these are sold at coin shows and others are available online. However, be careful when buying coins online because some may be counterfeit. Also, be sure to research the history of the coins you want to collect so you know what to expect.