Old time Georgia Hoard(no BS), need advice

toners

My grandfathers sister recently died under Hospice care, she was 89, as the family paramedic I stopped by the house daily to check on her and cheer up the family. She was staying at her only childs house (Hollis) who is my mothers best friend. During these visits one day we started talking about her father who passed away in 1977, I told Hollis that the coins and stories about 3 legged buffalo nickels and gold plated 83 V-Nickels had gotten me started collecting when I was 12 years old back in 72 and that I still had the coins that he had given me. I told her that collecting was now a passion, especially toned coins and showed her some of my toned coins and explained some of the different types of toning to her. I new that her dad was an astute collector, but had never really thought about what had become of his coins or really new what he concentrated on in his collection. Well, Hollis told me that she still had his coins and had been wanting somebody that she could trust totell her about his coins. She said they were still in a tin lock box that she had not opened since the year after his death in 1977 and that there were some Dalonaga and California Gold peices and over 900.00 in face value of various US Coins. I was about to wet myself trying to contain my excitement over getting to veiw these coins and my imagination was running wild over what could be in the tin box, Morgans, SLQ, DBL Mint sets, Silver rolls and being a toning freak the types of toned coins that could be found. I could tell that she was uncomfortable about talking about the coins, so I told her that I would gladly look over the coins whenever she wanted to. Over the last couple of months I have kept in touch, eaten lunch a couple of times checked on her well being, but I have not mentioned the coins. I guess Im waiting on her to bring them up again, because I dont want to seem to anxious, (which I am) and have the coins sit for anoter 30 years and not get to see them. The quesion I have is this the right approach and is there any advice that some of you senior collectors or dealers whom might have had a chance to be the first to view a hoard could give me. I am a person she can trust, but I just don't want to scare her off by being to anxious to see the coins. There are not any dealers with in a 100 miles of our location in NE Georgia for her to show them to. Thanks in advance! This is fact and is not a Bull #*@*#*$ story.
Allen

Placid

If she is a freind of you mother maybe ask you mother to talk to her about it and suggest that someone should check on them to make sure they are still there and that they are being stored in proper a container to aviod harm to them.
If you feel asking you mother would be breaking the womans trust then just ask her yourself.

agentjim007

edited because I didn't get story straight, mothers friend. Ya try to get your mother to talk to her, definately keep the soft sell approach.
Wait a second I was right, wouldn't you be related to your grandfathers sisters daughter? seems like more than a friend to your mom.
Just had another thought, your not down in one of those towns were your grandfathers sisters daughter could also be your brothers wife?

prooflike

Tell her that you were reading the internet and somebody else had a similiar situation which reminded you of her situation and that if she decides to do anything(like selling) with the horde, to let you look first so she doesn;t get ripped off. Just a thought.

MICHAELDIXON

I would not wait for her to bring it up again. You might wait until she is gone and somebody totally rips the family off. Then, you'll be one of those guys who tell the story: "I knew this woman..." "If only I would have..." Then it's too late.
.
My advice is to be aggressive and view the coins. Don't be overly excited when you do, because when you are, you have a tendency to overgrade. Think with your head and not your heart about the condition of the coin. That way, you will give the person the correct amount each coin is worth. I'd take a Greysheet and quote BUY prices, as this is what she can realistically expect to receive. Don't give her the prices from NN, CW or the likes, since she'll be disappointed when trying to sell and she'll think you don't know what you're talking about.

kranky

You need to have a reason to bring it up. As Placid suggested, go with the "proper storage" concept. You could explain that whatever value they might have could be hurt if they aren't stored properly. You could then ask if she would want to know the value of the coins. If she says yes, you have a reason to suggest that you both agree on a time when you could have a couple hours to properly evaluate them.

Since you've been patient for a couple months, you won't appear overeager to mention it again, IMHO.

KlectorKid

grand fathers sister is your great aunt and here daughter is ur moms cousin so she is ur 2nd cousin right???

dorkkarl

i'm sure that russ & a bunch of other cynics are going to get in on this thread and rant and rail on about the infamous "husband's estate" and "harold" and such, but bottom line is, stories like yours and "debs" are still out there, and despite the aversion of certain people to certain words , like "hoard", there are a lot of old-time hoards still in existence. i enjoyed your story very much.

if you are not an experienced dealer yourself, i think you must find a dealer you can trust to help you out, even if your a very experienced collector. one approach to broaching the subject w/ you friend might be to start out saying something like:

"ya know, deb, i was at so-n-so coin show last weekend, and it got me to thinking about harold's collection. did you ever decide what to do w/ all those coins? i was going to buy a couple from a dealer, but remembered that you mentioned some similar ones. would you have time to show me some of the dollars/pennies/etc this weekend?"

would that work? i've never actually bought a hoard, or tried to, myself, but maybe something along those lines would open up communications.

at any rate, i'd love to hear about what you find. these are the types of collections where extremely rare coins sometimes show up. rumor is that a dealer in Springfield, IL, has latched on to an old hoard that was literally kept under the bed. supposedly, the eccentric old man would buy rolls and toss the best coins into the drawer, & had been doing that for 50 years. just a rumor i heard at the last central-states show, but you never know!

good luck

K S

BlueCole

OFF TOPIC

Toners, turn on you PM!!! my wife & i run a paramedical business, and we might need someone in your area. We're outside of Atlanta.

ON TOPIC

I think you've handled it right so far, but just mention it in passing. If she appears interested, good luck!!!!

B

EDIT: i understand what you mean about not having a dealer near you. My closest one is awleast 30 min away!!

truthteller

If the good Lord wills it so, it will come to you. All you can do is not bother with the topic and keep being a good person to her.

TRUTH

shirohniichan

If you really want to see them, ask her about them.

I've had a couple of instances in which people "forgot" I was interested and sold or gave away what I was interested in.

toners

Thanks for all the advice, Agentjim, I'm sure that there are some of those relations here in NE Georgia, I think my family tree is pretty normal though. Yep she would be my second cousin and my moms first, should have made myself more clear when I said she was my moms best friend, they are the same age and were raised next door to each other. I think I will approach her with the idea suggested about the storage and that I was worried about the coins and the way her father stored them back in the seventies, hope he had some good albums or more likely envelopes, who knows. But I will keep the board updated because I am pretty sure that I am the only one that she will let near the coins and one of very few who know about them. My mother said that he started the collection for Hollis when she was a toddler and she is 65 now. Again thanks, alot of great advice posted.
Allen

coinkooky

I am by no means an expert in the field of toning nor coin collecting for that matter. However, I am in sales and I know that you will never know or never get the chance to see how she will react if you simply don't ask. "ALWAYS ASK FOR THE ORDER!!!" I would try a little different approach. Rather than beating around the bush, or questioning how they are stored. Simply ask her if you could look at them. Tell her it has been eating at you ever since she mentoned it, and you didn't want her to misunderstand your intentions. You are an avid collector and a trusted member of the family. She should respect you for that. She is old right? She probably forgot. Maybe she thinks you won't come around and visit with her after she shows you the coins. I would try the honest approach. Tell her exactly how you feel. You didnt have a problem telling a bunch of strangers. Go see her face to face and ask her if you could see the coins. What is so wrong with that? Maybe she wont have a problem talking about them after she shows you and you talk with her a while. After she shows you the coins and there is something of real value there you can discuss her thoughts or plans with them. Who better to deal with the matter than someone as honest as yourself(you said she could trust you, I am taking you for your word) and who is knowledgable about coins. Don't wait any longer! And if you don't mind, PM me when you post your results.

Good luck to you!