Frequently Asked Questions

The United States changed the composition of its coins in 1965 from 90% silver and 10% copper to an all copper-nickel alloy. Dimes and quarters were 90% silver through 1964 and Kennedy half dollars were 90% silver in 1964 and then 40% silver from 1965–1970.

Never clean your coins! Think of a coin like a piece of antique furniture. Once you strip and varnish an antique piece, you have dramatically reduced its value due to the fact that it is no longer original. The same principal applies to coins. Once you have cleaned the coin you have manipulated its originality, thus lowering its value.

Yes, we do buy individual U.S. minted coins as well as coin collections. There are however exceptions as to what coins we buy so your best bet is to call first for clarification. We do not buy replica coins or tokens.

No, we are a traditional coins store specializing in U.S. minted coins and currency only.

The only foreign coins that we buy are gold related, such as South African Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leafs, Chinese Pandas, British Sovereigns, Mexican Pesos, etc. We do not buy common foreign coins or paper currency.

No. If you need this type of service you must go to a foreign exchange. Check with your local bank to see if they offer this service. Another option is Gulliver's Travel, 2800 South Hulen Street in Fort Worth, Texas. They are a licensed money exchange service. One footnote, any foreign currency that you wish to convert back to U.S. currency must be currency used by that foreign entity. Outdated foreign currency is generally not exchangeable.

In general, a coin's value is determined by the quality of the coin and how many were minted versus the age of a coin. For example, a 1904 Morgan Silver Dollar is worth substantially more than an 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar, which is 26 years older.

Since 1866 nickels have been made of .250 nickel and .750 copper with no silver. Due to their nickel composition and color, the nickname "nickel" was created. The only exception to this was from 1942-1945 during World War II. The composition of nickels was changed to 9% manganese, 35% silver and 56% copper. War nickels can be easily identified by looking at the reverse of the coin. If you see the letter P, D, or S above the Monticello building, it will be a silver war nickel. Outside of those war years all other nickels have no silver content.

Many people are under the impression that a silver dollar contains one ounce of silver. Actually a silver dollar is 90% silver and 10% copper with the actual net silver weight being .77344 ounces of pure silver.

Though silver in color, the 1943 zinc–coated steel cents have no silver in them. Due to a shortage of copper during World War II the Treasury Department authorized the use of the zinc-coated steel for cents. These coins were only made this way in 1943. Circulated, these coins are worth very little. If they are uncirculated (brand new) they will have some value.

Coins produced in Denver are shipped to all Federal Reserve Banks west of the Mississippi River. Philadelphia ships coins to all Federal Reserve Banks east of the Mississippi River. Since Texas is located west of the Mississippi River we get Denver minted coins. Eventually you will see Philadelphia coins in our area, but unfortunately you have to wait for people back east to bring them west when they travel here.

Knowledge is power! The book with the most information is the Red Book. This book offers great information regarding all U.S. coins along with historical data. For a new coin collector, understanding the basics of coin collecting and how to grade coins will take you far. For learning how to grade coins we recommend two books; ANA's “Grading Standards” and Coin World's “Making the Grade”. Between the Red Book and a good grading book you will be on your way to educating yourself about the hobby of coin collecting.

No. There is no minimum amount for online orders.

Generally we only stock NGC & PCGS graded coins. These two companies are industry leading coin grading and authenticators. C R Coins utilizes brands that help assure our customers the best return on their numismatic investment.

C R Coins stands behind the coins sold on our web site or in our retail store. If for any reason a customer is not satisfied with a graded or raw coin, we will gladly take it back and extend a full refund less shipping (with the exception of sale coins. See return policy for more information).

No. Due to the fact that we don't have pedigree data on each coin in our inventory, it is not possible to ensure that all coins will grade through one of the third party grading services. If your interest is in graded coins, we suggest that you purchase a graded coin to begin with and avoid future grading challenges. We do guarantee the authenticity of each coin that we sell. If you are not happy with a coin, please follow our return policy process and we will gladly take it back and refund your purchase price less shipping.

Each of our coins on our site is photographed and given a specific product identification number to assure you are receiving the exact coin you viewed and selected.

We are an A+ accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. Our reputation is important to us. If you look up coin stores in Tarrant County, TX, you will discover that we are easily identifiable and encourage you to look at the reviews from local customers that interact with us on a regular basis.

Absolutely, C R Coins uses a secure encrypted payment gateway provided by Authorize.net via Heartland Payment Systems. Any personal information collected by Authorize.net is never sold or shared with any outside person(s) or company.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express cards (online or by phone), PayPal, personal checks, cashiers checks and money orders. When paying via a personal check or money order, a waiting period will occur to ensure that funds clear. Normally that process will take 5-7 business days. Once the check or money order has cleared the bank, the coin(s) will be sent out immediately by USPS priority mail.

Unfortunately things happen and we understand that. If you know for a fact that a check won't clear, contact us and let us know what your solution is to solving the problem. However, if we have already deposited the check, you will be liable for reimbursing us the fee from our bank which is $35.00 for an insufficient funds check. The purchase will be held until full payment including the $35.00 fee is funded. A second occurrence will cause us to no longer accept your checks.

Most orders will ship within 48 hours. The one exception will be orders paid via a personal check whereby a 3-5 day waiting period for the check to clear will be imposed.

We use USPS (United States Postal Service) with insurance on all orders. Please note that we can not ship to Puerto Rico or foreign countries with the exception of active military persons using and APO, FPO or DPO addresses.

Our return policy is located here for your viewing.

C R Coins is located in North Richland Hills, TX a suburb of Fort Worth, TX. Our physical address is: 7511 Boulevard 26, Suite B, North Richland Hills, TX 76180. We encourage customers in the area visiting to stop by and say hello. Click here for a map and directions.

The value is based on the purity of the gold (karat), the weight, and the daily spot price of gold.

Spot price of gold or any other precious metals is the current price that it's being traded for on the stock exchange. You can (and should) check spot prices before selling your gold or silver to any company. Spot price is available from hundreds of sources via the internet including www.kitco.com. You will often see a “Bid” price and an “Ask” price. The bid price is what you should use.

Troy ounces are used in buying and selling of precious metals. It is a bit more than a standard ounce. While there are 28.3 grams in a standard ounce, there are 31.1 grams in a Troy ounce. However, if you want to calculate the current value of your gold items, you must figure in the purity (karat) as well. For instance, 10k gold is actually 41% pure gold and 14k gold is actually 58% pure gold. The "spot price" for a Troy ounce of gold on the NYSE is for 24k gold (pure gold).

Retail stores mark up jewelry many times more than it's actual metal value. We pay for the “scrap value” of your jewelry only. That is the actual value of the gold and/or silver itself once it has been melted down at the refinery. Aesthetics and craftsmanship is not a consideration when assessing the value of your items.

Unfortunately, not always. Although most countries require manufacturers to stamp the purity of the gold contained in their jewelry, very few countries (including the U.S.) really enforce these laws or require an independent third party to evaluate the items before they reach the consumer. The stamp on your jewelry may be correct, but we'll still test your items in plain sight to be sure as well as explain the process in simple terms.

Our testing consists of the acid/scratch test and/or use of an electronic tester to verify the gold purity of your items.

We accept gold and silver in many forms. The following is a partial list of items we accept.

Any time you require products or services from a business you should do research to ensure your dealing with a reputable organization. We have been a member of the Better Business Bureau since 2007 and have earned an impeccable local reputation over the last five years.

Furthermore, we do all testing and weighing in the presence of our customers explaining the process in plain english. We also use the same mathematical formula based on the current price of gold, the karat or purity and the weight of scrap metal items so that every customer gets treated exactly the same.