I have a penny I'd like to sell.
DEALER: That is-- whoa--
not a penny.
DANIEL: It's not a penny?
DEALER: Uh, no.
The United States has never made a penny.
Most people don't realize that.
Those damn Brits made a penny, but we've never made a penny.
We've always made a cent.
And the reason why it's called a cent is because it's 1%--
two different things.
So we made cents.
[laughing]
It's an American coin, and it was
minted just after we got our independence
from England, so very old--
1791.
I bought it from an individual about 30 years ago.
I'd like to get at least $2,200.
I don't think I'll take any less than that.
DEALER: Early American coins are an absolute nightmare to judge.
You really have to know what you're doing,
or you can make an expensive mistake.
But if it is real, we could be talking a lot of money.
Did you have an idea what you wanted for it?
DANIEL: Well, I had an offer--
it's 20 years ago now--
but from a man who I think is still around.
And he offered me $2,000 for it.
Who knows?
I mean, quite frankly, it's worth anywhere between nothing
and God knows how much.
So I'm going to give my buddy a call.
I'm going to have him come down here,
and he's going to look at it.
And he's going to explain it to me and you.
Because I don't know anything about it.
I just don't. I think you got a few minutes.
Look around.
Maybe there's-- see if you can spend some of your money.
DANIEL: Thank you.
I'm a bit excited.
I think a second opinion is going to be great.
It is a real coin.
It is an American coin.
It is early.
And hopefully, he will see the value in it that I
see in it-- or maybe more.
DAVID: Oh, fantastic. OK.
Well, this is kind of interesting.
OK, this is neither a coin nor American,
but it's very important to the early coinage
history of the United States.
This was actually struck in 1791, as the date indicates,
in Birmingham, England. DANIEL: Really?
DAVID: Yeah. - Birmingham, England.
DAVID: This was actually manufactured with a very
specific commercial motive.
The United States Mint was not founded until a year
after this was struck.
In 1791, the United States Congress
was working with all sorts of ideas
about establishing a US mint.
And one of the possibilities was that they were going
to contract out the striking of coinage to an enterprising
Englishman of the name Walker.
He created the dies for this, and then they were
struck at a mint in Birmingham.
They shipped a keg--
we know of one keg--
to their agents in Philadelphia, and they
distributed them to all sorts of congressmen, senators, VIPs.
In other words, they were trying to win a government contract.
And the king didn't chop their fingers
off or anything for that?
DAVID: No, surprisingly.
DEALER: So is it real?
DAVID: Well, I'm going to check it with a loupe
just to make sure.
It is-- it's struck rather than cast,
and it has the engrailed edge.
The surfaces are correct.
Everything about it is absolutely correct.
This is genuine. - OK, sweet.
And now, is it worth a million dollars?
No. [laughing]
DEALER: What is it actually worth?
DAVID: Based upon condition, they
range from $200 or $300 or $400 up to $3,000 or $4,000
or $5,000 if you get one that is just in amazing condition.
This coin falls quite a bit short of that.
This is the kind of coin that retails
somewhere around $750, $800.
And it will very actively sell at that level.
OK.
Hey, not a problem. Thank you.
OK.
All right.
Best of luck. Thank you.
- Thank you. - See you soon, man.
As with all collectible coins, condition is incredibly
important to determining value.
This is a very nice coin, and it's
worth a respectable amount.
Actually, it's worth a lot more than I thought it was.
I'd give you $500 for it.
I've still got a $2,000 offer on the table for it.
And if I do, I have to check on that first.
To negotiate at this point would be moot.
Because there's no way I would come near that.
So see if the guy is still willing to pay you $2,000.
If not, come back, and we'll talk.
I'll give it a try.
We may see each other again. - OK.
Have a nice day, man. - Thank you.
I think, since I had a better offer before, hopefully,
it'll still be out there.