Surprise! Couple Finds Out Their Gold Coin is Worth $100,000+
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An Ohio couple who had recently inherited a coin collection took a few $20 gold double eagles to Toledo Coin Exchange. Among them was an 1870-CC Liberty Head Double Eagle, a six-figure ultra-rarity with a mintage of only 3,789.
The example that walked into Toledo Coin Exchange was recently graded by PCGS as a VF30, a grade point at which the handful of other similarly graded examples have traded for nearly $200,000.
It’s certainly not the type of coin that Toledo Coin Exchange Vice President Nick Karpinski sees walk into his shop every day. “The couple brought in three $20 gold pieces,” he recounts. “Our employee checked each coin, and when he saw the "CC," he pulled it aside.” After verifying the authenticity of the coin and its six-figure market value, he sprang the good news on the unsuspecting couple, who were shocked.
Read the whole story here: https://www.pcgs.com/news/couple-finds-out-their-gold-coin-is-worth-250000-dollars
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Comments
Great photography, well done capturing the color and condition.
Sometimes it's better to see a coin that lived a life in the wild, its rarity unknown or immaterial to the people who caught and released her, as opposed to a manufactured rarity whisked off the coin press and into a cabinet that never really saw the light of day.
--Severian the Lame
I am really glad to see they went to an honest dealer. There are several around here who wouldn't have told them a thing and bought it for 2k.
there's something refreshingly wholesome about seeing an extreme rarity like this, moderately circulated and in the hands of average, blue-collar people.
Nice looking coin.
Excellent!
The sad truth, They would have patted themselves on the back and said it was because they were experts and they deserved it more than the owner. More like sleazy opportunists.
that is a hell of a coin
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Way cool story!
That coin is very pleasing to the eye. Thanks for sharing the story PCGS!
Very cool! Love toned gold too!
I have alerted Diogenes.
Always nice to see a windfall coming to unsuspecting non-collectors through an honest dealer.
It's doubly refreshing and wholesome to find a coin shop who wouldn't have simply offered melt.
“I’d love to give you $2000 but I have to eat too. The best I could do is $1700..”
Lol, I’m glad for the owners and it is sad that people are so surprised that the dealer did the right thing. Still, a great outcome for all.
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
It's nice to find a place that is actually honest and offers them more than less than melt.
Good for them, great story.
Many successful BST transactions with dozens of board members, references on request.
Or....more likely....$1600.....
Awesome!
It's exciting to know that there are still treasures out there waiting to be found!
Great story!
Amazing for such a rarity to come out like this!
Looks like someone in the family was a collector. Given that they inherited a few double eagles. I wonder if the parents knew what it was or about the CC mint.
Also nice that @BrettPCGS has a peresonal connection to this sshop:
And a fairy tale ending! Congrats to Nick Karpinski and the former owners!
A deal like that 70-cc walked into my local B&M about 15 yrs ago. 3 rare choice BU gold coins worth about $100K. The seller (original owner's family) received $30K. It shouldn't work like that. Glad this 70-cc made it to the right shop. Probably 75% of shops would have ripped the coin. Still, it's not that hard to look up what an 1870-cc $20 gold piece is worth. Would take about 5 minutes before you knew you had something potentially special....if REAL. There's the rub.
Would also not be surprised if the couple checked some of those dates before bringing them to a shop. And they might have walked out if offered the typical $1700-$2000 based on current gold price.
I have seen quite a few 1870 $20’s from Carson City, and I really like this one a lot. It’s a nice piece.
Thanks very much to our host for sharing this wonderful story.
If the original owner knew what he had he should have been sure to have documented it such that others in the family knew what it was should he pass. It really is incumbent upon collectors of any valuable collectibles that they take the time to document what they have and that they are sure that trusted friends or family have such documentation should something happen to them.
I think there is little doubt that the vast majority of shops would have offered them melt or a little above melt and laughed all the way to the bank. Kudos to this business. It's wonderful to see.
I could not agree more with the earlier comments that it wouldn't have taken that much for the couple to have researched what they had. That said I have seen within my wife's family that folks whom you would think would know better do not necessarily think anything of coins that they inherent w respect to value. I was at my in laws home for Christmas about 2 years ago. My brother-in-law had recently inherited a portion of his father's coin collection. The 3 siblings divvied up the gold coins apparently randomly. He put them out on a table for me to take a look at. There was one billion peace after the next nothing special, and then there was a 1799 half Eagle. I looked at it in disbelief. I was like do you have any idea what this is??? Obviously he didn't but I was just astonished. He said they just randomly divvied up the coins and no one looked at what any of them were (obviously). Ironically he is a serious history buff. I would have thought if nothing else that a coin dated 1799 would have gotten his attention when all the other ones are from the past 30 or so years. I really wanted to see the coins that his siblings had but unfortunately none of them really get along so he had no way to get photos. I think in most hobbies there are countless instances of people that unknowingly have very valuable items but they don't take the time to research them at all.
Edited to add: About 8 or 9 years prior to inheriting these coins my brother-in-law purchased a $20 lottery ticket in a vending machine and won a million dollar scratcher. Good luck just seems to find him.
Unless a specific dealer is proven dishonest, I think the negative comments about dealers should be withheld. I like that dealers visit this site and enjoy their input.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
I mean, I'd let someone know if it were a CC Morgan...
It is exciting to think that coins like this are still out there.
Latin American Collection
What a great story.... I am happy for the couple that had the coin. It is stories such as this that keep the treasure hunters spirit alive and burning. They are out there... perhaps in attic trunks, old collections, buried in an old garden, a cave or ocean reef....Keep hunting...
Cheers, RickO
Cool story and great for them.
Cudos to the dealer and congratulations to the lucky couple. Whom ever saved the coin had a good eye.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
You have much to learn young Skywalker.
In the hey days of coins shops the odds were highly stacked against you. Same thing when you were picking out a dealer from the glory days of Coin World ad. Sorry, that's the way it was...and mostly still is. The majority of shops will justify that they have pay the expenses (lights, security, rent, employees, etc.). And getting a couple big rips each year gets that done.
Holy Toledo!!!!!
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
what does 24 agrees (so far) to this post tell us about the general perception of (not all) coin dealers by coin collectors? Room for image improvement?
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
Most of the New England coin dealers I know would have probably have assessed the coin as real and valuable but if times are lean they may play games offering a lot less than it is worth claiming not that it isn't genuine but that it is "cleaned" or otherwise a problem coin only worth $50K, etc.. I have heard about collections walking into NE shops with offers in the low thousands where just one goes for a third million at auction.
What would Rick at "Pawn Stars" do? Yikes, don't answer that!
Also, without mentioning names, I am sure members recall a certain well-known So. Cal. PNG member who got into only a little trouble after ripping off senescent customers......
Well, just Love coins, period.
Just from watching the show, Rick seems to make offers at a point where he is guaranteed a decent payday if he consigns it to auction. It's not strong money, but it's not pennies on the dollar either.
After 65 years as a collector, I could relate some pretty discouraging stories, such as being ripped off at 11 or 12 years old as a buyer, wasting my paper route money on the local kindly old B&M dealer. On the other hand I have gotten to know some great dealers over the years whom I trust(ed) completely. Finding people one can trust in business takes time and experience.
nice find and honest dealer
COINS FOR SALE, IN LINK BELOW
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KCJYQg9x5sPJiCBc9
"That was certainly the case when an Ohio couple who had recently inherited a coin collection took a few $20 gold double eagles to Toledo Coin Exchange. Among them was an 1870-CC Liberty Head Double Eagle, a six-figure ultra-rarity with a mintage of only 3,789."
Questions here that would add much interest is how the coin was acquired, by whom and what the history of this great rarity was?
My father was from Toledo, his father died in a service station job on a call in 1919 tragically.
Great sacrifices are usually tied up in coins like this.
I do agree with you that the owner of any object should at least try to do their due diligence before selling.
While it seems trivial to us to do the research and realize we have something good, I think we as coin collectors sometimes forget that we have a basic knowledge of the subject above the general populous. My point being that it’s not always easy to “do the research” and know in 5 minutes (or even days) for the average person.
For example, think of a collectible that you have no knowledge in but the general population knows is a collectible. Let’s say stamps or an autographed baseball (with an illegible signature) . I know that my ability to research a stamp or a baseball would be limited by my general lack of knowledge on the subjects.
Choice Numismatics www.ChoiceCoin.com
CN eBay
All of my collection is in a safe deposit box!
If one is at all internet-savvy and the item in question is somewhat widely collected, it's hard to excuse ignorance. Stamps or a signed baseball would be easy to research on the internet, to at least give one an inkling of value. Of course not everyone is internet-savvy and not all things of value are readily researched. Informed buyers need to act ethically,
😂😂😂😂 with the solemn, honest look too.
There are some folks that are old and not computer savvy and they do get ripped off! Ethics is what it's all about!