Someone who posted some amazing Bowers and Ruddy Gallery coins he inherited...
Kurisu
Posts: 1,983 ✭✭✭✭✭
I messaged him and suggested he come show the more expert folks here and that he should really consider getting these graded by PCGS... They look absolutely stunning to me... Hopefully he decides to show up here 
He's posted them on Reddit in r/Coins in a thread called "Follow up on my last post, these coins appear to be already identified and priced but you guys wanted to see them so here they are."
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
31
Comments
Nice
I like them. For sale?
UGH! Some crazy high prices there. Must be from the late 1980s.
I would worry about PVC with those flips.
Yes, the Bowers and Ruddy prices were really high in those days although they did issue some nice catalogs. They also had the oxymoron grade, “BU, light rubbing.”
Those coins in flips look nice.....but hard to say without straight on pictures out of the flips... Nice display set. Cheers, RickO
If the owner of the coins thinks they’ve already been “identified and priced”, he has a lot to learn and is almost certain to be greatly disappointed.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
~40 years and zero appreciation.
I see comments about these being over priced but as someone that collected Standing Liberty Quarters several years ago I am not sure that you can get a Full Head 1917-S for under $595 these days. I would take a roll of those at that price. Maybe it is only 65, but that is still cheap.
Maybe the other coins are different. I have never collected any of those and have moved to only Pre-33 gold now.
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 37 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
He replied to me and said he would likely come check things out here...I don't think he'll be disappointed because it sounds like he's willing and wanting to learn, and does want to properly take care of them. I'm just encouraging him to learn in a better forum than Reddit
I didn't tell him he'd be rich lol! I told him that he ended up with some beautiful stuff there...So you all BE NICE if he pops in lol!!!
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
I hope that things turn out well. However, I wouldn’t make any assumptions regarding how the coins might grade.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Nice flips for long term storage ......
Only people who already know a bunch of coin stuff understand that, and yes, we know this...that is why I suggested he learn more... be helpful if he shows up...sarcasm won't be understood to those who are just learning about even the coins themselves...I already said, BE NICE!!!
Reading whole threads helps too
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Great coins and an inheritance. Makes me smile
when this happens. Hope that they are again passed on and not sold. 
Kennedys are my quest...
Those flips will not do those coins any favors in the long run. Would definitely recommend getting them out and into pcgs plastic. Maybe even an acetone bath prior.
Hard to tell from the pics but some coins look NICE for the listed grade. That '47 walker for instance... Maybe your friend will get a pleasant surprise or two from PCGS.
Aercus Numismatics - Certified coins for sale
Even if they grade at the level indicated on the flip, which is questionable, those prices are still high on many of those items - 35 years after originally purchased!!! [Cue the coins as investment people.
]
The 1947 Walker is only $150 bucks in 66 and probably under $100 in 65 and it is priced at $195 in 65.
The Maine Commemorative is at $395. It would have to be at least 66 to be worth that.
A 1937-S Washington Quarter in 65 is a $250 coin today and was $425 on the flip.
Some of them would be okay if they hit the grades on the flips. But that's zero to negative return after 35 years. That was my only point.
I'm sure grading some of those would be the smart move for him...don't know him, it was a random Reddit post by someone who knows little about coins. That was my thought though...the first thing I told him is to get the coins properly protected...I absolutely trust he'd get some good input here.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
It's 100% return for him, he inherited them
But as mentioned if he wants to keep them or pass them on...this is the right place to be I would say.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
LOL.
Absolutely!
Best job in the world is heir!
I was just commenting on the prices for the sake of the prices, not your friend.
I hope he takes the good advice offered here... Out of those flips, get the more valuable ones graded... show them here first for input. True, since inherited, sales would be all profit. However, if the previous owner paid those prices, 35 years ago, it is a sad thing. That being said, in my experience, there are many, many people, who, though not knowledgeable about coins, fall for the hype and spend mostly unrecoverable funds on coins they dream will be a legacy for their heirs. Cheers, RickO
Those coins appear to have been collected during the "Blast White" craze.
Did the MS67 Superb Gem grade exist then? If not, I'd consider if some of these "MS65" coins are today's MS67. Each looks beautiful in its own right.
peacockcoins
When he replied to me on Reddit he said his grandfather gave them to his Dad and now he has gotten them.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Some of those RD coppers aren’t RD anymore...
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
Earlier than late 80's. By then, firm was operating as Bowers & Merena. I know, as I bought an 1895 PR IHC from them in 1987 and yes, it was overpriced. Sold it for noticeably less in 2006.
Which subreddit?
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
I mentioned it at the very beginning of this with the name of his thread
r/coins
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Oops. Yeah, good call redirecting him here. That sub jumped the shark a few years back. I used to be a regular contributor but now I hardly ever post there. The discord server is much better than the sub, since it is kind of hidden and generally has more involved/active hobbyists.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
40 years and DEPRECIATION........In most cases
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
Dipped
Dead you read the thread? It's depreciation for the ones that don't grade higher, I'm guessing some will as they are from the early or pre-days of PCGS...but more importantly it could be considered depreciation if it were the original owner...Grandpa, to Dad, to the current owner. A few here seem to be consumed with the prices on those tags.
A lot of very valuable jewelry has been inherited in my family and a lot of it cost more new, even purchased in the 70's...it hasn't depreciated for the new owners though. I'm just sayin'.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Yes, some likely were, some are definitely from the hey-day of that little hobby.
Here's a funny side note kind of related story I saw David Q Bowers tell in an interview... King Farouk used to like to use silver polish on his pattern coins and others...many years later David knew for sure that some of those polished coins straight graded as proofs lol!
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Looking at the one piece of currency in the pictures, it's a Fr. 237 $1 Silver Certificate. Based on the centering, I would say it would slab as a 64 (assuming it's really an Unc. and not pressed, which was popular back then). It's a common Friedberg number so, I would say $125 tops.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
It would be a mistake to have those coins (in flips) graded without acetone dips beforehand. How many times have we seen PVC develop in slabs and wonder how it could happen? This is how.
If grading is not in the plan the coins should be placed in non-PVC flips. Again, acetone treatment beforehand.
I'd also tell the new owner to save the paper inserts and keep them with the coins however they are to be stored. Who doesn't enjoy knowing about a coin's past?
Lance.
That's interesting. Those prices would be insane for the early 1980s. There was the speculative bubble in the late 1980s which would at least make those prices seem reasonable for the time.
Well, it was a LIGHT rubbing.
The 2 cent piece seems to have PVC on it. I wouldn't be surprised if the Indian cent did also as the rim has gotten very dark. 40 years in soft flips...
The 1869 nickel looks like a pattern, probably J-683 or J-684.
I'd have to check but I thought the ownership change occurred no later than 1985 and maybe earlier (like 1983). I have no idea what the market price was for the coin I bought, as I had no source other than the Redbook and was more of a casual collector at the time. My suspicion though is that everything they sold was "premium priced".
The coin I bought was not TPG, raw as a PR-60. It looked nicer to me than that but then, I didn't know how to grade IHC then and not the best at it now. I sent it to NGC in the flip with their insert and that's what NGC graded it. I sold it on eBay for $114. My cost was $179.
I would be surprised if those coins were not in Kointains inside those flips.
Nice coins and back then weren't the MS grades 60, 63, 65, and 67?
I wasn't questioning your date or memory. I was just remarking at how the earlier date makes the prices look worse to me.
Bowers and Ruddy became Bowers and Merena in 1983, so they are at least 1983 or earlier.
Some prices were higher then than now with Bowers retail prices often much higher than normal retail.
Those prices look likely somewhere from 1980 to 1983.
Capital gains seems unlikely to be a concern on those compared to todays prices.
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
Nice catch on the 1869 5C ... be interesting to see the reverse and price on the flip. If a J-683 it is a very underrated piece in my mind ... Unique reverse shield design and for sure less than 7 pieces in existence (and one of those I saw on the market is below a PR60).
OMG ... My Mother was Right about Everything!
I wake up with a Good Attitude Every Day. Then … Idiots Happen!
The first coins I bought from Bowers and Ruddy were from November 1970. They still went by that name in late 1975, but sometime after that changed to Bowers and Merena.
I'm loving that huge black Capitol holder!
Depending on grades, he could average out to be ok. If that '09 cent grades out at 67RB, it's an $8k coin ($125 cost). Even if it only 66, it's a $500 coin. Would love to see the results.
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/2819
So they were market graders too.
Great post by the OP, thanks for sharing and directing the lucky inheritor here - hopefully he comes along.
Yes, when I first saw the title, I assumed we'd be seeing rarities and treasures purchased in late 60's or 70's, at prices that would appear to be great bargains by today's standards. Such likely isn't the case, but still kind of a time capsule and look back into coins offered by a large and popular dealership from a bygone era.
To add, I subscribed to the B&M Rare Coin Review for many years, and purchased many of Dave's books, but rarely any coins, as I felt the prices were generally very high relative to other dealers.
Inherited my dad's stamps when he died. Stamps took a dump worse than coins have, as you all know. Doesn't matter, I wouldn't sell them. I doubt my kids will care for them, but it's nice to have things like that from a shared hobby. To the coins here, I would get them out of those flips if the flips contain PVC, but dunno if I'd slab them unless selling them. If selling, slabbing would be a must, most likely. When we talk about depreciation, we are looking at the cash value. To the current owner, the coins may have significant non-cash value, that can never be truly captured in a sale.
Successful BST (me as buyer) with: Collectorcoins, PipestonePete, JasonRiffeRareCoins
I'd move right along on those coins.
The owner received the coins as an inheritance - in other words, he got some very nice coins for free.
The 1869 5c pattern has a rarity of R5 or R7, depending on the variety, and is a valuable coin with a beautiful design, either way. Not many people are given coins like that, out of the blue. I'd be very happy!
What is a "discord" server? PM if needed pls.