silver
Collecting Finds
If there is one thing I know about coins collecting it is that, all collectors love finding a “keeper” in their change. I started collecting when I got a curious coin as change from a supermarket. After a purchase the cashier said here is your change sorry for the old quarter. I put it in my pocket without even taking a look. Later that day when I was at home I took out the “quarter” and examined it. After looking at it for a little while I realized it was not a quarter at all it was a half dollar. After a bit more research in an old coin book I had at home (A Red Book from 1983) I fould the Coin to be a 1946 Walking Liberty Half dollar. I was hooked. Here are some more finds I have had since that day:
- An 1913 MS 63 red Wheat Penny in my change from Dunkin Donuts
- About 14 Silver Roosevelt Dimes
- A bucket full of Wheat pennies that I have collected over the years
- A silver proof 1976 Drummer Boy quarter.
- A Seated Liberty Half Dime that I found in a Coin Star machine
- Asked for some half dollars at the bank and got a BU roll of 1964s (all silver)
- In my change once from a vending machine a 1936 Buffalo Nickel
- An 1816 large Cent that someone bought to the bank
- Five silver certificate $10 bills I purchases for face value from my bank.
And here are some of the best stories I have heard from people about coin collecting finds:
- A friend was cleaning out his grandmother’s apartment when he found a false wall in the bathroom and a safe behind the wall. The safe was filled with bank bags of silver coins. We pulled out countless rare Barber Half dollars and built ten full sets of Walking Liberty half dollars. There was thousands of Mercury Dimes…
- A coin shop owner from Massachusetts told me that him and his wife bought a painting from an auction house for the beautiful antique frame. When they got home they peeled off the craft paper and found about 30 $2.5 gold quarter eagles taped to the back of the picture. The tape damaged many of the coins but it was still a great find that got them around $20,000. (One of the coins was a rare quarter eagle from the Dahlonega mint).
- A close friend that owns a restaurant went to crack a roll of pennies from the bank and it was full of $1 gold pieces about 40 in total. He thought they were fake but I ensured them he had struck gold.
- A coin shop owner told me that he had a family full of Russian Immigrants bring in 20 uncirculated St. Gauden’s double eagles they had brought over from Russia. He sent them to a friend at an auction house because he did not have the cash on hand to buy the full lot. After a few months the family came in and gave him $1,000 for not taking advantage of them and for sending them to the proper place. He believes the coins brought in over $75,000 at auction.
If you have a story about finding treasure with coins please post it as a comment to this story.
Happy Collecting!
Coin Collecting 101: Type Set Collecting
A nice type set does not have to be all high grade!
When you first begin it is hard to pick a concentration for collecting. The perfect place to start is a type set. A type set is one example of every coin. The set includes every major issue from half cent to silver dollar and can even include examples of the gold coinage.
With a type set you are forced to learn a little about each coin in the set to make an educated purchase. As you complete the set you will have physical example of all US coinage and can pick what to specialize on. You may have really enjoyed the hunt for a capped bust quarter and decided these are the coins you want to concentrate on. You also may discover coins you did not know were out there like the elusive 20 cent piece.
Type sets also can be a good way to meet dealers in your area. A type set can be done with raw coins using a Dansco Album or with certified coins using a registry like the NGC registry.
When making a type set try not to combine UNCs with Proof coins because this will cause them to stand out too much. A nice proof set is well balanced and try to find a coin with something significant about it. For example: when picking a braided hair large cent for my type set, I picked a 1855 slanting 5’s, knob on ear. I picked this coin because it is a good coin to talk about. It is not that rare but it adds significantly to my type set.
Once a type set is complete it can collect a pretty premium if all of the coins fit together well. A nice completed type set can bring thousands at auction.
Good luck with your type set!!
