"Modern Crap" in 1934

Tonelover

This is an except from a page of the New Rare Coin Book , a comprehensive work on numismatics, coin premiums, numismatists, coin collecting, copyright Elder Coin & Curio Corp 1934. Basically it's one of those old buy lists where 1794 Dollars in uncirculated are $50 and what not.

There are all sorts of instructions on how to ship coins and all that, including this list of "coins we do not buy". Maybe there's hope for moderns after all.

morgannut2

Pretty good list when you think about it--plus it looks like they'd consider a 1921DorS half or 1932D or S quarter "modern"

partagas

Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing. I guess we all collect a bunch of modern crap, or at least it was to someone.

relayer

BillJones

The thing you have to remember is that this is was during the Great Depression, and few people had any money to spend on silly stuff, like coins. They were too concerned about their next meal.

RYK

I don't know...it looks like a list of "widgets" even now.

cladking

These coins were quite common in that day. Indeed, even on an absolute scale they were (and some are)
more common than many of the moderns now. The perception that moderns are common is caused by the
fact that we spend them and there are piles of them at the coin shops. Those which we spend are circulated
and those which are piled up at coin shops are common. It's the other moderns which can be scarce or rare.
This even includes some of those circulated coins that are kicking around in pocket change.

When you factor in a few more decades of attrition on the moderns and the wholesale destruction of the cir-
culating coinage in the future, it appears that (worldwide) latter half of the 20th cntury coinage will be the
scarcest since the 16th century. Obviously there will still be some common 20th century for a long long time
unlike the 900 to 1600 coinage which has very few common examples like the earlier and later coinage.

cladking

B Max Mehl's Rare Coin Encyclopedia lists hundreds of rarities for which they'll pay
a premium but many are world or ancient coins. Modern was 1836 and later and
even the earlier coins often sold for little over face in uncirculated condition.

The 1927 edition is my favorite though I've seen only a few.

Hedger

What was worthless then is still sort of worthless now.

BillJones

I might add that when Stack's was putting out a wholesale "buy list" in paperback book form, they had much the same thing. They would put an asterisk (*) beside the price, which indicated that the wholesale price was the number shown, but they did not need any of those coins at this time.

Tonelover

Around the turn of the 20th Century Proof $20 Libs were modern crap. Mintages were small as they were made to order and they traded for such a small premium that some people just threw them back in circulation rather than sell them.

DickyBetz

<< <i>Around the turn of the 20th Century Proof $20 Libs were modern crap. Mintages were small as they were made to order and they traded for such a small premium that some people just threw them back in circulation rather than sell them. >>



It sickens me to think about that.