Estate Sale Report (long & detailed, with pictures) UPDATE. some grades in (see recent posting).
dcarr
Posts: 8,697 ✭✭✭✭✭
There are often coin show reports posted on this forum. I thought it would be interesting to post a first-ever (as far as I know) estate sale report.
My wife searches for estate sales in this area that have coins or other interesting items. When she finds something, she forwards the sale information to me. I look it over and then decide if I want to go or not. Most of the time the sales are actually on-line-only auctions, with no in-person viewing available, and everybody in the world can bid. When there are actual in-person estate sales with coins, 98% of the time the coins are not premium items (high-priced circulated 90% silver, at best).
A recent sale, however, caught my interest. Here is the first batch of pictures shown for the sale (these were the only pictures of the coins, and the sale did not show much of anything else of interest beside these):
designscomputed.com/estate_sale/seller_pictures.jpg
Top Row, Left Column:
The first thing I noticed is an apparent uncirculated Standing Liberty Quarter and a couple Liberty Head gold Double Eagles. The holders appeared to be the type that was typical for high-end coins prior to the advent of "slabbing".
Top Row, 2nd Column:
A naked Liberty Head $5 gold Half Eagle; "Harvey's" Lake Tahoe Casino silver dollar; a Barber Quarter (possibly higher grade but heavy blackish rim toning); an unidentifiable dime; a "Mercury" Dime.
Top Row, 3rd Column:
Two Native-Head $10 gold Eagles; two unidentified coins, possibly Mercury Dimes.
Top Row, Right Column:
Two Peace Dollars; possibly two gold dollars.
Middle Row, Left Column:
Three Morgan Dollars; two Peace Dollars; one gold coin.
Middle Row, 2nd Column:
Box of worn silver dollars (Morgan and Peace) and a worn Walking Liberty Half Dollar; blue envelope for 40% silver Eisenhower Dollar.
Middle Row, 3rd Column:
Two Canada gold Maple Leafs; mangled Lincoln cent.
Middle Row, Right Column:
The same mangled Lincoln cent; Washington state quarter; Lincoln steel cents; Silver Eagle in a Littleton Coin pouch; square silver ingot (I immediately recognized it as a circa-1969 Foster "Silver Eagle" 1/4-troy-oz bar).
Bottom Row, Left Column:
The same "blue" Ike Dollar; rectangle silver ingot (I immediately recognized it as a circa-1969 Foster "Silver Eagle" 1-troy-oz bar).
Other than the more-recent Littleton Silver Eagle, and gold Maple Leafs, these looked like they might be "old time" coins that hadn't seen the light of day for a long time. So I made plans to attend the sale. The rules for the sale were as follows:
The sale started Thursday morning at 10:00AM;
No early sales or early viewing;
The zip code for the sale was provided, but the address was not going to be disclosed until after 4:00AM on the morning of the sale (to prevent people from "camping out" at the site all night);
The first people in line get let in first, and then the rest of the line in order;
Saving your place in line was not allowed except to step away briefly.
The zip code of the sale was about an hour drive away. My wife suggested that we leave at 3:00AM so that we could be in the vicinity when the sale address was posted. I thought about that, but that would mean arriving there and waiting around for six hours before the sale would start. And the address was not going to be posted until 4:00AM or after. So we decided to depart after we had the sale address. The address was posted a few minutes after 4:00AM and we departed at 4:30AM. We arrived at the scene of the sale (a circa 1960s house) at 5:30AM. We were the first ones there. We beat the next person to arrive by less than one minute ! I was #1 in line, and that would turn out to be important. We brought our own lawn chairs and took a seat by the front door, with a four and a half hour wait ahead of us. Another hour passed before a fourth person arrived. Then a few more people trickled in. Several of the people in line knew each other as estate sale "regulars". Nobody was talking about what they were looking for. It was obvious that several people were there for the coins. One fellow (the forth person in line) had a loupe-style magnifying glass around his neck. I did not recognize him from any coin shows or anything. During casual conversation I gleaned that he was a jewelry guy, but I bet he was also interested in the gold coins. The general atmosphere was sort of like a party, or camping out with other people for "door-buster" deals on Black Friday. The discussion was that this particular estate sale company did not offer the best deals and the lady running it was pretty strict (and that would also come into play a short while later). The whole time I was waiting in line, I wondered how they went about pricing the coins. Did they have some expert appraiser look at them ?
At about 9:30AM the "jewelry guy" stated that he was going to get cinnamon rolls at a local place a few minutes away. Shortly after he left, the estate sale personnel arrived and went into the house to set up. About 5 minutes later the jewelry guy came back and offered us each a cinnamon roll. They were very good. Then before I knew it he stated he was going inside to offer the estate sale people a cinnamon roll. He walked right in the door and closed it behind him. "That Dirty Dog" I thought, it was all a ploy to get inside first ! But, unfortunately for him (and fortunately for me) the "strict" lady kicked him out and he had to go back to his 4th place in line. But his ploy did give him the advantage of having a first glimpse of what was there and where things were.
During the last few minutes of waiting I heard a discussion about another estate sale 5 minutes away that was going to open at 12:00 noon that day. My wife looked on her phone and found it. So we planned to go to the other sale later if we had time.
At 10:00AM there were about 20 people in line and the door finally opened up. The lady came out to state the rules before entry. The important facts were:
1) Credit Card payments ONLY (no cash or checks accepted). I assume that was for security reasons;
2) Coin viewing would be one person at a time. Since I was first in line, that meant I could look at every coin and buy or pass on each one, until I was done looking at all the coins. Only then could the next person step up to the case to look at the coins. So being first in line was a huge advantage at this sale.
I went inside and finally I was there at the case of coins. The first thing I noticed was a Standing Liberty quarter priced at $5,000. Whoa, that is a lot. Then I quickly glanced around and saw that the Double Eagles ware priced at $3,100. So not a good indication so far. I asked to see the $5,000 Standing Liberty Quarter. My first impression was that it was uncirculated, and fairly well struck. The date was 1929-D. I remembered that 1929-D quarters have a huge price jump for full head over non-full-head. According to price guides and sale history, to be worth even close to that $5,000 price, the coin would have to be MS-64 or better AND have a definite Full Head. I graded it MS-62 and close to, but not quite, a full head. So it missed on both counts. No sale. That told me someone with some knowledge (but perhaps not a grading expert) had priced these coins. But then I saw a Liberty Head quarter eagle priced at a reasonable $450. It was a 1903, and nice. I bought.
After my first pass, I had picked out three coins and three small silver ingots to buy. Other notable coins that I did not buy were:
1) The Double Eagles (two Liberty Head and one Saint-Gaudens, common dates, decent uncirculated, but only MS-63 or so - not worth the asking price);
2) The two Native-Head $10 Eagles (common dates, decent uncirculated, but only MS-62 or so - not worth the $1,900 asking price);
3) A 1880/79-CC (reverse of 1878) Morgan Dollar for $1,300. I liked this coin, and would have bought it, if not for a rather large scrape/scuff in the field in front of Liberty's eye.
4) A 1921 Peace Dollar that was inexplicably priced at $3,100. It may not have had any wear on it, but it was extremely dark toned (see above, middle row - left column).
5) The two gold dollars (1862 and 1889). Decent coins, but too high priced for the grade ($1,000 each).
I had been there a while and I felt the line behind me getting antsy. So I decided to relinquish my hold over the case and look around the house to see what else was there. I didn't find anything else. So I went back to the coin case and had to wait a little while for another turn. The person in front of me didn't seem like the type who would be interested in coins, but he bought one of the gold dollars and the "naked" $5 Liberty Head (which was a common-date 1882-[P] in EF).
When I got my second turn at the coins, one that I had thought about and was going to look at again was already gone (sold). it was a 1903-O Morgan for $600. At that price it would have to be a MS-64+ or MS-65 to be worth it. I graded it a MS-64 the first time, but I wanted to evaluate it again. But I did buy two more coins on my second turn.
I went outside to sit and look up some prices. I decided that the none of the other coins I was thinking about were the right price. There was a 1920-S Mercury Dime that had absolutely full bands and was uncirculated. For the asking price it would have to be MS-63 or better. I went back to the coin case for a third time. I looked at the 1920-S dime and there were just a few isolated wispy hairlines under the toning, so it was close to MS-63, but not quite, in my opinion.
But on this third (and last) trip to the coin case I finally noticed a Native-Head cent. Why hadn't I looked at it before ? Probably because I was distracted by the gold and silver coins. The cent was priced at $50. I took one look at it and knew immediately that it was an 1882 proof. So I bought that one as well. And hiding under the junk steel cents I could see some sort of token. So I asked to see it. I was not familiar with it. It had a hippo on it and looked somewhat old. There was no price and so when I asked the gal she decided on $2. So I bought.
Still remaining for sale were two gold Maple Leafs priced at $1,800 each. A pretty good price (better than current coin shop price) but not a screaming deal. I was about to buy them and then I realized I had better ask if there was any sort of buyer's premium. I was told it was 5%. So $1,890 (net) was a no-sale.
Finally it was time to check out. There was the issue of sales tax. I told them that there is no state sales tax on coins or bullion. They didn't seem to know anything about that. But, no matter, I produced a copy of my sales tax license so I wouldn't have to pay any sales tax since the items were for resale (eventually). At that point the lady stated that they waive the 5% buyer's premium for "wholesale" buyers (those that have a sales tax license). So I said, ok then, give me those gold Maple Leafs too.
By now it was about 11:15AM. We left the first site and drove to the other nearby estate sale and got in line. There was about 15 to 20 people ahead of us. This house was in a fairly expensive neighborhood (although this was perhaps the smallest house in the immediate vicinity). There were some art dealers in line since this sale had numerous paintings and prints (which I know little about). My wife showed me on her phone that there were some silver dollars in this sale. The rules for this sale posted in view of the line indicated that, unlike the earlier sale, cash was "preferred", but credit cards were also accepted. We waited in line about 45 minutes and then got to go inside. I went straight to where the coins were supposed to be. There were some junk Morgans priced at $25 and a larger number that were priced at $30. All were common dates. I picked out two at $25 and one at $30. I looked around the house and there were some items I was mildly interested in but nothing I decided to buy, except a little box with a few wooden nickels in it for $1 (for the whole box).
While waiting in the checkout line my wife was looking at the paperback books (priced at $3 each) and she found an older US Treasury pamphlet about how to identify counterfeit money. I added that to my purchases.
By 1:00PM we were dead tired and came home.
The following day I evaluated and self-graded my acquisitions. Here they are (in the order I bought them):
($450) 1903 Liberty Head gold Quarter Eagle. I grade it MS-65+ or maybe even MS-66 with a bump for the nice color:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/libr_quar_1903_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/libr_quar_1903_rev.jpg
($100) 1917-D Mercury Dime. This one has a really sensational unblemished appearance and just barely makes Full Bands. I grade it MS-66 FB. I really don't know why it was priced at only $100. This one was the deal of the day, I think:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/merc_dime_1917D_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/merc_dime_1917D_rev.jpg
($125) 1928 Standing Liberty Quarter. I grade it MS-65 Full Head:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/stan_quar_1928_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/stan_quar_1928_rev.jpg
($30 for 1.00 oz) | ($20 for 0.50 oz) | ($15 for 0.25 oz) 1969 Foster Hercaimy Silver Eagle ingots. These sell for a decent premium on eBay (typically $75 to $100 for the 1-oz, $40 to $70 for the 1/2 oz, $30 to $65 for the 1/4 oz):
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/foster_1.00_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/foster_1.00_rev.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/foster_0.50_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/foster_0.50_rev.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/foster_0.25_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/foster_0.25_rev.jpg
($250) 1930-S Standing Liberty Quarter. Very close to Full Head, but doesn't quite make it. But I think the grade is MS-65 and with a little premium for having head details it was a decent deal for the price:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/stan_quar_1930S_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/stan_quar_1930S_rev.jpg
($175) 1912-D Barber Dime. It has a soft original tone. Looking under the toning there is only a couple very small ticks and no trace whatsoever of any rub or any hairlines. The greenish stuff appears to be wax, not PVC. Regardless, I will use acetone to remove the residue. I think it will grade MS-66:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/barb_dime_1912D_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/barb_dime_1912D_rev.jpg
($50) 1882 Native-Head Cent. The best thing about this one is that it is free of splotches and spots. I couldn't find a single hairline on it anywhere. I think PR-66 RB:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/indi_cent_1882_obv_01.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/indi_cent_1882_rev_01.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/indi_cent_1882_obv_02.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/indi_cent_1882_rev_02.jpg
($2) Lotus the Hippopotamus token. Lotus was a famous Hippo that toured with the Barnes Circus for some 40 years. "PESCO" was a manufacturer of aircraft parts (fuel pumps hydraulic pumps, etc.). After I got home I noticed the small "STERLING" mark near the rim on the heads side. It is 28mm in diameter and weighs 11 grams (so about 1/3 troy oz net silver content). These come up for sale very infrequently - I believe it is fairly rare. This one has a bisecting die crack from the "OT" of LOTUS to the "F" of FORE. The die probably didn't last too long:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/hippo_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/hippo_rev.jpg
I do not know what the connection between Lotus and PESCO is. I assume the purpose of this token is for flipping (heads or tails). I found a record for one that sold a few years ago for $30, with the original PESCO box (which I do not have):
https://liveauctioneers.com/item/65533685_pesco-aircraft-co-sterling-silver-lotus-token
There is a place for personalized engraving below the front feet. The one that sold for $30 had such engraving - mine does not.
Apparently, the imagery on this token is based on famous photographs from 1937:
https://kihm2.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/lotus-the-hippo/
A 1937 postage stamp from Barbados features the heads-side photograph:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/419819996502937954/
($1,800 each) Two Canada gold Maple Leafs. I will use the gold at my mint, since I had none to use prior to buying these.
[Not Shown]
So that was it from the first sale - a pretty good haul and definitely worth the effort.
Here are the (relatively mundane) items I bought at the second sale:
($25, $25, and $30) Ordinary Morgan silver Dollars which I will probably use as host coins for over-striking at some point:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/morgans.jpg
($1 total) Group of wooden nickels. The Disneyland Frontierland piece typically sells for about $2 to $10 each on eBay, so that is where these are headed. I grew up in the Denver area and I went to all the coin shops. I even remember going to Dan Brown's shop in Denver. But I don't remember ever going to "Coin City" on Champa Street:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/wood_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/wood_rev.jpg
The four East Tincup woodies are interesting since I grew up near there:
http://www.colfaxavenue.org/2016/01/east-tincup-on-west-colfax-avenue-in.html
And there are a couple listed So-Called Dollars from East Tincup:
https://so-calleddollars.com/Events/East_Tincup.html
($3) 1948-dated "Know Your Money" counterfeit education pamphlet produced by the US Treasury Department:
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/money_01.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/money_02.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/money_03.jpg
($ FREE) Inside the pamphlet (held in place with a paper clip) was this interesting "Money - Phoney" paper money counterfeit detector from 1951. I tried using it on some newer notes and it failed. But it seems to work on older notes.
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/phoney_obv.jpg
http://www.designscomputed.com/estate_sale/phoney_rev.jpg
Comments
Nice haul, Dan! I wish I could stumble on some deals like those. It just goes to show that knowledge is power or, in this case, $$$.
Dan Fun report…. guess one never knows what one might find.
Thanks for the write up. Nice finds and can't wait to see what the gold Maples Leafs turn into at your mint.
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Thank you very much for sharing, really interesting report. I have never been to an estate sale. Sounds like maybe worth checking out if the opportunity comes up. I dont know how I feel about getting up before 6am though. lol.
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This was a fun and enjoyable thread, some wonderful coins were bought.
Hopefully, others get the bug to share estate sale reports.
Wow, thanks for sharing the details and nice pictures of the estate sale buys. I’ve never been to one but I guess it can be very exciting not knowing if you’ll fined some gems in the mix of clutter. They should make a program like Storage Wars for estate sales (staged of course
). Kudos on your finds.
You have to plan ahead, like me
I stayed up all night and went to bed at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Then I got up at 2:00 the following morning ready to go to the sale.
But that doesn't work so well if you have a regular day job.
Nice report and I like the look of '03 $2.50 gold. Good pickup.
Very enjoyable read and great score!
Thank you for sharing.
Educational write up too!
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Great report and pictures. Nice trade - sleep for some great values.
I've given up on estate sales; like the OP, most of the coins I've seen at these are very optimistically priced bullion.
Thank you for the time and energy you put into this report. There is still good stuff out there and it pays to do a little homework and be knowledgeable. Nice job Dan!
Very nice report. Thanks
That was most interesting @dcarr I have never had the opportunity to go to an Estate Sale looking for coins. Went to quite a few looking at farm equipment and older handmade furniture 50 years ago. Never for coins. Looks like the 82 Indian Head Cent paid for the trip and most of the purchases less the gold. Congrats and thank you for the sale report. Very detailed, makes one feel they participated.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Nice report, Dan, sounds like you had a great time and you did well with your pickups.
Thanks for posting!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Report is not complete without a pic of the cinnamon roll.
There's several quite nice items you picked up. I'm retired so I have plenty of time to go to these things but the problem is I don't get around too well any more and I don't drive much anymore.
Well done! Great score on the 1882 Cent proof!
Great report and nice nice pickups! Congrats on the coins and thanks for taking the time to post!
Very fun to read your report.
Just strange that they had raw coins priced at full retail in a general sale like that. That seems so 1970’s! I hope they had “security”.
Glad you scored some nice things.
Estate sales in my area are all run by dealers who essentially stock the home with tired inventory of their own to supplement whatever old sofa and used stuff is there from the actual deceased.
Great report. I’ve been to a couple estate auctions with coins. Like you say, mostly junk silver & similar. Lots of shills standing around in a true auction format. Hasn’t ever worked out for me so far. Glad you found some great stuff.
"($175) 1912-D Barber Dime. It has a soft original tone. Looking under the toning there is only a couple very small ticks and no trace whatsoever of any rub or any hairlines. The greenish stuff appears to be wax, not PVC. Regardless, I will use acetone to remove the residue. I think it will grade MS-66:"
Great tale - been to a lot of estate sales; but never seen coins offered - maybe a book on coins once in a long while.
Just curious - would CAC consider the Barber dime "messed with?"
Fun times - thanks for the report!
Very interesting write up! Sounds like fun except the waking up and driving a while and waiting parts. Don’t forget to add ESTATE SALE L@@K!!!!!!!! To the eBay titles when you list them.
Looks like a good haul. The 1882 Indianhead cent doesn't look like a proof to me - rims are not squared or fully struck, but nice early piece.
Excellent write up. Thanks for posting it.
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I used a little solvent on the 1912-D dime to get the greenish stuff off. Here it is now (only a minimal change, but that is all I was after). I don't think this coin has ever been "dipped". I think that is the original toning. I think any grading service (including CAC) would consider it to be unmolested:
designscomputed.com/estate_sale/barb_dime_1912D_obv_02.jpg
designscomputed.com/estate_sale/barb_dime_1912D_rev_02.jpg
The 1917-D dime is very tough to photograph just right. Here is another attempt which shows a little more like how it actually appears in person:
designscomputed.com/estate_sale/merc_dime_1917D_obv_02.jpg
designscomputed.com/estate_sale/merc_dime_1917D_rev_02.jpg
Fascinating report, thanks for posting. I’ve been to hundreds of estate sales, and only once have I seen coins of this quality (they were slabbed and fully priced). Usually there are accumulations of common silver, recent proof sets, partially filled Whitman folders and similar common coins. The importance of getting there early can not be overstated, and it’s not unusual to wait in line for several hours. I’m surprised there were only 20 people when this sale opened. I’ve seen sales with well over 100 in line.
It’s typical for estate sale pricing to be erratic, some items ridiculously overpriced and some practically given away. The “regulars” are there for the latter, and I’ve seen several low four-figure items priced at less than $10. I think my best coin finds were a low grade 1912-S in a small bag of Liberty nickels for $5 and a 1922 no D cent in a partial penny board.
Coin looks really nice! Great picture too.
Quite the adventure. You did good. It's nice to be able to sift thru your knowledge and experience on the fly. Thanks for sharing this trip in great detail. Peace Roy
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Thanks for a great report Dan.... Excellent detail and pictures. Cheers, RickO
Terrific report! I think you did extremely well. The 1903-5dollar gold piece and 1912-D Dime were great buys. The 1882 Proof Indian Head Cent was an absolute steal.
Check out some of my 1794 Large Cents on www.coingallery.org
What a pleasant way to enjoy a morning cup of coffee! Your report is a great read, and all the pics you have posted add tremendously and were thoroughly enjoyed. As someone mentioned earlier, knowledge is power and you exercised your knowledge (and you're blessed to have the support and encouragement of your wive with her involvement as well).
That MONEY - PHONEY computer seems to be a bunch of HOOEY. I looked at a few images of Series 1950 notes online and came up with this:
https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-zpoww3/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/18624/217099/IMG_4284__73158.1542755420.JPG?c=2
The digits add up to 41 but the plate position A is not right according to it.
I enjoyed your report.
As I attended several of these a decade or so ago, I thought that as a non-dealer this is probably as close to what dealers must see and feel as these coins walk into their stores each day. (anticipation, excitement, often disappointment )
Yes, it fails on that one. But to be fair, the copyright date on the back of the detector is 1951. Series 1950-A notes were printed after 1951. Every genuine small size note that I checked (about a dozen or so) passed the test, if it was series 1950 or earlier.
I gave up on estate sales long ago. They rarely had any coins and, if they did, were wildly overpriced. I suspect many were planted by the estate sale company in an attempt to make the public think they were really a part of a high quality estate.
So far as the "ordinary" estate sales/yard sales go I have found them to be a complete waste of time.
I commend you and your wife for putting in the time and effort to make this a success! Thanks for the report and hope I get to read some more in the future. I plan to enjoy these sales vicariously as I completely lack the initiative and willpower to get up before the buttcrack of dawn and sit waiting for hours. Hats off to those of you who do!
Thank you, a nice read.
Thanks for the post and congrats!
Folks don’t realize how difficult it is to look at a coin in a less than ideal setting with poor lighting and through a flip with the pressure of other people waiting and then having to make a quick decision.
Really nice report. Been 2 years since I've been at a estate sale. Most in my area don't have coins but sometimes I can find overlooked gold for cheap.
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This. Some estate sale companies routinely add stuff from inventory to get turnout at otherwise bland estate sales. Sounds like this one was very much the exception. And @dcarr definitely put in effort. Congrats!
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I am semi-retired and am off my part time job 2 days a week, Wednesday and Friday. I usually hit up 3 or 4 estate sales each Friday morning. It doesn't take me long to go through, pick up what I want and pay and be gone. A lot of times I will go back on Saturday when everything is usually 50% off and pick up a few things.
I was at one sale a couple of weeks ago. I had known the guy was a shooter and a Ham radio operator. While he had sold his tower and big antennas and most of his HF stuff in the months prior to his death he left behind quite a bit of VHF gear, test equipment, ammo reloading stuff and black powder pistols. This is where a little general knowledge comes in. His black powder pistols had all been taken apart, cylinders removed for cleaning and he never got around to putting them back together. People looked at the bare frames and a pile of cylinders and walked on by. I picked them all up for $200, took them home and put them together and they are all functioning replica black powder Army revolvers worth at least $100 to $200 each. Folks didn't recognize most of the reloading dies and since they sale company hasn't priced anything in the basement where all this stuff was they were open to negotiations and took any offers that sounded reasonable. I got quite a few handi-talkies, crystals, HF parts, a couple of vibroplex keys and spare parts cheap.
Upstairs I rambled through some boxes of covers and quilts and found 12 boxed Lionel train cars and engines. They weren't priced and no one else had seen them so they came home with me for $5 each.
While he had no rare coins I did pick up 5 Morgan Dollars and 5 Peace Dollars at $20 each. Not a great deal but something to add to my silver pile since they ranged from XF to AU.
You can have a lot of fun at estate sales, not so much fun at yard sales, but deals are out there.
I'll keep going, I don't mind getting there early and I bring breakfast and water (they usually won't let you use the bathroom so go easy on the water).
Nice looking group of coins but I have to agree with @thefinn about the IH cent. Sharp strike on the feathers but doesn't look like a proof to me either.
This one is certified by PCCGS as a proof, and it has the same rims:
https://coins.ha.com/itm/indian-cents/small-cents/a/132052-27046.s?ic4
And the date placement matches exatly.
Nice going, congratulations !
Thanks for taking the time to write up...great fun almost felt like I was there...congrats on your purchases...the thrill of the hunt!!
Dan, your report was a very interesting read. It sounds like the estate sale company had done some research on the value of the coins but it also sounds like they were also overgrading many of the coins? With your broad experience you did OK. For me I would still prefer the auction format so that hopefully the underbidder knows more than I do.
OINK
That Barber dime looks AU to me.
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
You might post that on the currency board. I know there are small-size collectors who pay attention to check letters and stuff like that, and might have some idea if the algorithm makes any sense or not. (I don't follow those details to have any idea.)
The IHC and Quarter Eagle … wow. Very well done. ⭐️