Unsearched Bags

bosox

Have any of you guys bought the so-called "unsearched bags" of darkside coins? How unsearched are they? Can you actually find neat stuff, or just everybody's castoffs? What's the going rate per pound or kilo?

I am thinking about buying one to go through with my 13 year old daughter, who has shown some interest in collecting. I figure anything that's helps bonding with a teenage daughter is worth doing.

MadMuffin

I have never bought such a bag myself - not on Ebay, that is. It is too hard to get a decent impression of the contents from a picture. Besides that, I must say that I am sceptical that such bags are actually unsearched. Most people would not miss the chance of making some extra money if there was a good coin hiding somewhere in the lot. Personally, I would never sell coins unsearched.

But if your daughter just wants some different coins to look at such a grab bag would be a good thing. In my opinion it should be interesting for her if the lot contains many different types. In this case it is not that important if the coins have been searched or not.

Marcel

danglen

OK guys, here is the definitive answer on your question. I buy bulk world coinage from Europe to sell in my shop and at shows. To get the best deal, I have to buy 120 kilograms (264 pounds) at a time. The shipping charges from Europe to the US are more than what the coins cost me. I get the coins in twelve 10 kilo (22 pounds) bags. The coins come from counting houses all over Europe that do the daily money counting for mass transit systems, large retailers, amusement parks and the like. A lot of material is found that is not "coin of the realm", especially since most of Europe shifted over to the Euro. All this material is gathered and wholesaled off to a guy in Great Britain, that sells it to coin dealers like me.
I don't have the time, patience or inclination to spend time going through what's in the bags. I keep a "treasure chest" in my shop, and fill it with this tyoe of material. I sell the coins out of the chest at 25 cents each, or 5 for a dollar. Occasionally, someone will come in and buy a 22 pound bag, which I sell in the shop for $150.00.
I have never seen anyone find any gold coins in the chest. What I have seen are several silver coins, some dating as far back as the late 1700's and early 1800's. Most of these are in AG condition with an occasional G in the mix. I have had someone find a Civil War token in XF, and the best find I can remember was someone who found a ladie's brooch with what looked like a cameo. There are generally lots of telephone tokens, some trade tokens, and the usual smattering of fake coins (replicas) of ancients, etc. Lots of duplicates, and the country of origin will be affected by where the counting house was located. Genrally speaking, you can expect to find between 2500 and 3000 pieces in an average bag.
I have one customer that comes into the shop on a regular basis and spends about 2 or three hours going through the chest. A couple of months ago, he bought $11 worth of coins and took them to the library to see if he could find them in Krause. He reported back that according to his research, he had over $65 in catalog value on the coins he found. Of course, you have to take into consideration that he cherry-picked the chest, so it wasn't just random material he bought. Then again, I'm sure he didn't go through all the coins in the chest.
In any event, that's my story and I'm sticking to it . Whether the "unsearched" lots you see on eBay are the same as the ones I sell in the shop, I really don't know, but you may be able to draw some conclusions from the above.

ajaan

I've gotten a lot of 'unsearched' poundage of coins. Pretty much as Dan says. Some old coins, mainly 19th Century copper, and some newer stuff. Very seldom is there silver. I don't get it from eBay, there is a part time dealer in the area I get it from. He should have some more this weekend at the Niagara Falls show if you are interested.

earlwbollinger

I have one customer that comes into the shop on a regular basis and spends about 2 or three hours going through the chest. A couple of months ago, he bought $11 worth of coins and took them to the library to see if he could find them in Krause. He reported back that according to his research, he had over $65 in catalog value on the coins he found. Of course, you have to take into consideration that he cherry-picked the chest, so it wasn't just random material he bought.

He thinks he has $65 dollars worth. I doubt anyone would pay the $11.00 he spent.

Of course my son does love to rummage through the boxes of darkside coins at the shows.
When I was a kid I loved it too.

earlwbollinger

Oops I forgot. . .
I am thinking about buying one to go through with my 13 year old daughter, who has shown some interest in collecting. I figure anything that's helps bonding with a teenage daughter is worth doing.

I suspect your daughter would rather make imaginative jewelry out of some. So it might be a lot of fun then.
Pendants, bracelets, earrings, belts, buckles; all sorts of neat things to make.
Some of the coins look really unique as jewelry.

danglen

<< <i> He thinks he has $65 dollars worth. I doubt anyone would pay the $11.00 he spent. >>



Actually, in the nine months since the shop opened, I have sold over $1700.00 worth of material out of the "treasure chest", so obviously some folks are willing to pay what he did. I would also suggest that if you are going to make those kind of statements, you might want to consider frequenting some of the other forums that lack the civility of the Darkside.

danglen

<< <i> I suspect your daughter would rather make imaginative jewelry out of some. So it might be a lot of fun then.
Pendants, bracelets, earrings, belts, buckles; all sorts of neat things to make.
Some of the coins look really unique as jewelry. >>



Is that because girls aren't intelligent enough to enjoy coin collecting or because coin collecting isn't feminine enough?

MadMuffin

I love junk boxes and "treasure chests". I have made some pretty good deals on such treasure hunts in the last few years. It may take a couple of hours to dig through a big box, but it's great fun and occasionally you do find something interesting.

My best junk box find to date is a Danish silver coin from the 1520s, nice VF with no problems whatsoever. Price: 5 Danish kroner or a little less than one dollar.

Marcel