The best way to tell if something is silver plated or if it's sterling silver without using special equipment or ruining it by scratching part of the surface off to tell is just to look at the side to see if part of it's core is exposed.  This is easiest to do with coins, especially … Read more

It's probably just gold plated, which the gold plating was done after the coin was made, so it's just novelty item that's just fun to have, so to answer your question, your mom probably paid more for the coin than the gold plating is worth as that is how most novelty items are, you pay … Read more

It depends on the year, if it's a 1964 Kennedy half, it'll be worth $9 in MS60 condition, but if it's a lower grade the minimum value will be $5, since that's the melt value since 1964 is the only year in which the coin was made in 90% silver. From 1965 to 1970, the … Read more

As a dealer, I wouldn't pay more than 25 to 50 cents for a 1935 buffalo nickel in AG3 condition, since I'll only be able to sell it for a dollar to $3, but of course, $3 would be the absolute most I could get for it as a dealer. If it were in G4 … Read more