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5 Valuable U.S. Coins In Circulation Today

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Coin StashFinding rare coins in your pocket change can be fun and profitable. Once you start to develop coin-checking habits, identifying valuable coins in U.S. circulation will become easy. That is, if you are ever lucky enough to come across on of these extremely rare coins. Here are five coins to keep a keen eye out for:

1969 Double Die

Before you get your hopes up, this coin is exceedingly rare. The earliest copies were confiscated by the Secret Service until the U.S. Mint admitted that it was a genuine coin. In order to detect a 1969-S double die Lincoln cent, you have to examine the “heads” side. Take a close look at the phrases “In God We Trust” and “Liberty.” The strike doubling damage is what coin experts commonly refer to as a “double die.” However, if the mint mark is doubled, it’s probably fake as mint marks were punched in the dies separately in 1969. If you’re lucky enough to find this coin, you hit the lottery as this one-cent piece’s value exceeds $10,000.

1943 Copper Penny

During the 1940s, the United States was in the midst of World War II. Therefore, all pennies made during 1943 were supposed to be minted as the steel pennies in order to save copper for the war efforts. According to coin experts, copper plates may have been tested or left mixed among steel plates from 1942 and thus the error. Whatever the cause, these rare beauties sell for about $100,000. Fair warning: there are many fake 1943 copper pennies out there. Be careful, and make sure your coin is certified!

1982 Roosevelt Dime

While most dimes made at this time have the “P” mind mark, this rare 1982 Roosevelt dime has no mint mark. During this time, when coins were made the dies were sent to the individual brand mints which would be punched with the proper mint mark letter for that branch. This rare coinage came about because one or more non-punched dies were used to make coins. It’s very easy to detect. Just look for a 1982 dime with no mint mark on it. If you find one, it’s may be worth $30 or $50, depending on condition.

2004 Wisconsin Quarter

This rare coin could be in your pocket right now and you don’t even know it! This 2004-D Wisconsin State Quarter has an extra leaf one it. Look on the lower left-hand side of the ear of corn on the “tails” side. This leaf is very obvious. It’s also known in two different varieties, the high leaf and low leaf type. Hurry home and check your loose change, this little beauty can be worth between $200-$300.

Presidential Dollars

Ever since the Presidential Dollar was created back in 2007, there have been errors associated with the lettering on the edge of these particular coins. In some cases, the lettering was missing entirely. In other instances, the edge lettering had been placed there multiple times (double die). You can detect this error by looking at the edge of the dollar. The inscription should appear fully stamped around the circumference of the coin. But, missing or doubled inscriptions are rare and very valuable. If you find one, it can be worth $50 to $3,000, depending on the President.

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Katelyn Porter is a freelance writer and avid coin collector. Among her favorite coins to collect are 90% silver coins, which she’s been collecting for more than 10 years! In her spare time, Katelyn studies rare U.S. coins.





6 Ways To Decorate Your Apartment On A Budget

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home decorating 2009Apartments come in all shapes and sizes, and they also come in all types of conditions. Whether you’re living in the ideal space or a temporary place, it’s important to make it look and feel as homey as possible. The problem is that home decor can be quite pricey, and if you don’t have the budget to buy the nicest pieces of furniture and accent pieces, most people leave their apartments not fully furnished. That’s why I’ve put together this list of ways to help you decorate your apartment and make it look great, even on a budget!

Sales

Sales have always been the best way to find great home decor on the cheap. Whether it’s a yard sale, garage sale, from a discount store or something similar, you can find some really great pieces of furniture for your apartment for a fraction of retail costs.

Online Classifieds

Aside from looking at yard sales and other store sales, another great option is to look at websites such as Craigslist and other free online classifieds as resources for finding decor. These websites are used frequently when people are either moving out of their homes and are trying to sell items quickly or people are just trying to get rid of items they no longer need. It’s a great place to find items that have great value but are being sold for much less than their worth.

Do It Yourself

DIY has never been easier than it is today, especially with the plethora of online tutorials and DIY ideas that you can easily find on Pinterest. Creating anything from tables, chairs and entertainment centers can be as easy as re-purposing old furniture and it can save you enormous amounts of money. Another DIY option is to buy inexpensive furniture from companies like Ikea who sell brand new furniture that you have to pick up and assemble yourself.

Loft Beds

If you’re working with a small space and a lot of people, a loft bed is a great option for you. Loft beds are an inexpensive way to help accommodate several people in a small space. Similar to bunk beds, loft beds help to take advantage of vertical space and loft beds can be bought at furniture stores, garage sales or quick sales. Even if you’re not working with a lot of people in your space, a loft bed can help save valuable space in your bedroom or studio.

Dollar Stores

Dollar stores generally have a bad reputation, but they’ve come a long way since they were only selling cheap soap and car air fresheners. There are many dollar stores now that sell inexpensive home decor that might not look great on the shelves but can be created into something excellent, for only a few dollars.

Add Color

Don’t be afraid to add pops of color here and there throughout your apartment, especially if you can’t change the colors of the walls. This includes coordinating bed linens with your bedroom curtains, a couch color with other accent pieces, etc. Matching colors in your apartment will not only make your space look brighter and cleaner but it will make you feel more like you’re at home as well.

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Felicia Walkins is a freelance writer and home decorating pro. She loves finding the perfect accent pieces for different apartment spaces, and she hopes to someday be able to decorate her own space in the new Jackson 21 community.

Choosing Window Blinds For Your Home – How To Do It

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Window blinds may seem like just another home accessory, but these do more than add visual interest to a space. The addition of blinds can add dimension, dramatically altering the character and in turn the overall appearance of any room. This is why choosing the right blinds for the home is very important. If you are considering choosing blinds as the window treatment for your home, you must choose wisely, and to do so, you need to consider a few things.

Main Considerations

When choosing blinds for the home, there are four main things you have to take into consideration: the function of the room where the blinds will be placed, the size of the room, the furnishings inside the room, as well as the overall theme of the house.

Function of the Room

When shopping window blinds for your home, do not assume that one kind will work in every space. Every room is different and each has a different function. How the space will be used will dictate what blind type you should be getting.

Take the kitchen, for instance. This is one area with a lot of activity, as this is the place where you cook and prepare meals. Because working in the kitchen makes spills and splashes inevitable, it is a must for you to choose something easy to clean, especially for windows by the sink. Moreover, the blinds you choose for the kitchen must be able to withstand the constantly changing temperature as well as humidity. The most ideal choices for the kitchen are aluminum blinds or faux wood blinds. The latter looks like wood but is actually made from both wood and vinyl, and the vinyl is that which makes it moisture resistant and low maintenance.

Size of the Room

Blinds come in different slat widths and types (either vertical or horizontal). Before you settle on a particular slat width or type, think about how big or small the room is. Wider slats are best for bigger spaces while narrower slats are more ideal for small spaces. If you choose wide slat blinds for a small space, expect the space to look even smaller. As for the slat type, it will depend on how you want to enhance the existing space. Vertical slats force the eyes to look from top to bottom, causing an illusion of length; on the contrary, horizontal slats compel the eyes to look from left to right, causing an illusion of width.

Furnishings Inside the Room

The kind of furniture to be found in each space also matters when choosing blinds. Naturally, wooden blinds are ideal for spaces dominated by wooden furniture. If a space has a lot of wrought iron furniture, aluminum or vinyl blinds are good choices.

Theme of the House

Of course, the blinds you pick must complement the overall theme of your house. Do not opt for anything that will clash with the look of the space. Having PVC vertical blinds in a Victorian style house will be unsightly and do nothing for the space’s aesthetic value. So before you shop, remember the theme and use this as a basis as you look through your options.

This article was penned by Ericka for Style Rite Blinds, a reputable company and preferred source of blinds in West Lothian.

3 Tips For Finding Honest, Reputable Contractors

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Are you dealing with a leaky faucet in your bathroom or kitchen? Do you need some shingles replaced in that old roof that was still on the house when you bought it? Maybe you need a new front door installed, or even a new fence put up in your backyard? Or maybe your furnace has stopped working? Or maybe your air conditioner is making a funny noise?

Like it or not, there are a myriad of things that can go wrong. And you know what they say… if it can go wrong, it will! Well, even if you have better luck than that, odds are very good that, at some point down the road, you are going to find yourself in a situation where something is going to break down. Maybe it will be minor, or maybe it will be major, but there is one thing that you can be sure of: unless you are interested in fixing it yourself, you are going to need to hire a contractor to get it done for you.

If you think that hiring a contractor is kind of a scary thought, I don’t really blame you. All of us have heard horror stories about unscrupulous ‘professionals’ who did a poor job and charged more money than they had estimated, only to leave the homeowner confused, frustrated, and in a tough situation. Is that how all contractors are? Of course not! The key is to figure out how to weed out the bad ones so that you can hire the good ones!

Here are 5 tips that will help you to do just that.

1. Ask Friends and Family

One of the best ways to find a contractor is to ask people close to you who they have hired before. Getting someone referred to you by a friend or family member that you trust can be one of the best ways to get in touch with an honest, reputable contractor. As a precaution, you should still check into what kind of a job they did, just to make sure that the results are similar to what you have in mind.

2. Check the Newspaper

The business section of the newspaper is a great way to find contractors in your area. A lot of professionals use the newspaper as an advertising medium, especially in smaller communities.

When using the newspaper to find contractors, always get more than one bid. It is never a bad idea to have at least three different professionals bidding on the same project. This will allow you to gauge the professionalism of each one against the others, which will most likely reveal who the most experienced. When it comes to contracting out repair work for your home, it is important to go with someone who knows what they are doing… not just the guy with the lowest price!

Here is a brief checklist that can help you to further investigate any possible contractors that you might be considering for your project. If you can answer yes to these questions, then there is a good chance that you are on the right track to the right kind of professional!

  • Does this contractor seem qualified?
  • Are you getting a competitive price?
  • Does this contractor have references available?
  • Have you gotten good reviews from any references?
  • Does this contractor seem to have a detailed, general knowledge of the industry?
  • Is this contractor legally registered and licensed to do the work needed?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you are probably headed in the right direction with your choices.

3. Look on Angieslist.com

Angieslist.com is an online review service where you can find and leave reviews about local professionals. The best thing about Angieslist.com is the fact that it is completely consumer driven. This means that companies and businesses are not allowed to advertise or leave themselves reviews. Plus, this feature is policed and monitored by the website, because they need to follow up and verify with every review before they will allow it to be posted to the website.

Whether you are looking for a professional to install cedar fencing in your yard, a carpenter to add onto your house, or an electrician to fix that broken porch light… you will be able to find honest, fair reviews of local professionals on Angieslist.com.  We also used the great resources and advice found at www.a1-fence.com where there are lots of design ideas.

Finding a contractor is not always easy, but with a little bit of fact finding and investigation, you can make the process a ton easier on yourself by eliminating so-called ‘professionals’ who might make your problem worse!

Melissa Cameron is a wife, a mother of two, and also a successful freelance writer. She lives in Austin, Texas, and enjoys yoga, fitness, eco-friendly living, and staying in shape! She actually got inspired to write this article while utilizing websites to research the price difference between professional Milwaukee fence companies and those from her hometown of Austin.  Because she’s thinking of doing home project, Melissa decided that she wanted to impart some helpful tips to her readers for finding reputable, honest contractors.

DIY Tips For Remodeling Your Kitchen

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Keeping your kitchen up to date and in style has several advantages. It makes your home look stylish, more comfortable, and more appealing to guests. Companies are constantly coming out with newer appliances with special options and features that make food preparation go much more smoothly. Also, an up to date kitchen is a high priority for many home buyers, so if you are thinking about selling your home and are looking for a way to make it stand out, a kitchen remodel can really go a long way. Right now, DIY is all the rage. With a plethora of internet resources that give insight and direction as to the best way to do your own projects, reliable information is more available than ever before. As you plan your kitchen remodeling project, here are a few ideas that you might want to consider.

A New Backsplash

Kitchen backsplashes are useful and attractive. Not only do they protect the walls during food preparation and cleanup, they also add a splash of color or intrigue to a room. Glass tile for a kitchen backsplash is a great option. Not only does glass make it easy to wipe up spatters, it also has a glossy sheen that provides a luminous reflection. When choose glass for the tile that you use in your backsplash, you add depth and dimension to the room. It looks especially attractive when you install lighting underneath your cabinetry.

Accent Pieces

When you choose the colors for your cabinetry, backsplash, and other things in your kitchen, you have to strike a delicate balance between neutrals and accent colors. Usually people go with countertops and a backsplash that is fairly neutral, although they may choose a mosaic pattern for their backsplash that uses a bright color or two. When you select your backsplash and counter, look for subtle similarities in the colors. You could use the same tile for each of these areas, or use different tile.

Once you have established the neutral background in your kitchen, you can make the room look really impressive by adding in small pops of color here and there. Try using brightly colored towels, curtains, picture frames, vases, or even a fruit bowl.

Basic Installation Tips

One of the most common misconceptions is that each tiny tile in mosaic backsplashes has to be installed individually. Thankfully, it is possible to buy sheets of mosaic designs that are the size of standard tiles, which is usually 12 inches by 12 inches. When you install kitchen tile, whether it is the mosaic or another style, following a few basic tips will help you ensure that the tile looks nice when you are finished.

  • Carefully clean the wall underneath the backsplash. Kitchen walls can accumulate particles of dust and oil, but adhesive sticks a lot better to a clean surface.
  • Before you start putting up any tile, lay out your tiles exactly how they will be spaced so that you can get an accurate measurement.
  • Use a starter board and a level when you install your first tile. This will help to ensure that your entire backsplash goes in straight and level.

When you work carefully and choose tile that will look great in your kitchen, your DIY remodeling project can look professional. To check out some great tile options, visit the Glass Tile Store website.

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  •  License: Image author owned

Article courtesy of the GlassTileStore, where you can get the best selection of tile for your kitchen and bathroom.

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