Mint Sewn Bag of Morgan Dollars.
Flyfishguy
Posts: 333
I haven't seen these yet, but I received a call from an elderly lady that has two bags of Morgan Dollars. She says they are "sewed closed" just like they were when her late husband bought them back in the mid 1960's from the "government".
Let's assume for a moment that these really are mint sewn bags of common date Morgan dollars. What would you do? Open them and look for high grade coins? Sell the bags as is? What kind of premium do you think an unopened bag would bring?
Interesting questions!
Let's assume for a moment that these really are mint sewn bags of common date Morgan dollars. What would you do? Open them and look for high grade coins? Sell the bags as is? What kind of premium do you think an unopened bag would bring?
Interesting questions!
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Comments
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
The name is LEE!
Will’sProoflikes
<< <i>Well, you're going to have to open them and see what's inside and make sure it is the real thing, or you can gamble 40-50 grand on it. >>
Did you see the part where the owner is a widow, and these belonged to her husband? I was thinking more in terms of $2-$3k per bag...
<< <i>Yes Amanda, bags of $1,000. >>
Well then, 2000 common date Morgans at MS 63 ish would be worth about 80K. That's a lot of Morgans.
Did the Mint sell CC's in bags?
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
<< <i>Ever try to sell 2000 MS63 raw common date Morgan Dollars at the same time?? >>
It would probably take a while. Not to mention the fact that it would flood the market for such coins.
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
<< <i>Here where I'm located is a HUGH retirement area, so the elderly widow part doesn't concern me at all. I get them every week. I think you could get an idea by looking at the bags and by "touchy feely" of the coins through the bag. >>
Maybe put a very small hole in the bag and try to shine a small pen light or something similar through the
hole to see if it is a bag of all the same dates or whatever is in there.
I heard that this was done often in the early 1960s when huge numbers of silver dollar bags came on the market
and it was uncertain as to what dates were inside.
Will’sProoflikes
lol
I firmly believe in numismatics as the world's greatest hobby, but recognize that this is a luxury and without collectors, we can all spend/melt our collections/inventories.
eBaystore
There are MANY dealers who would be more than happy to buy them, sealed or opened. And, those who are interested in buying them only if sealed, feel that way because they want/hope to buy them cheaply and score, big-time.
<< <i>I would assume that they are all MS-60's. (Assuming they are unc. bags.) The present owner has put no effort into finding out what they are worth in the 40+ years that they have owned them and, as a result, hasn't earned any premium. >>
That would be against the odds and potentially extremely unfair to the owner/seller.
<< <i>
<< <i>I would assume that they are all MS-60's. (Assuming they are unc. bags.) The present owner has put no effort into finding out what they are worth in the 40+ years that they have owned them and, as a result, hasn't earned any premium. >>
That would be against the odds and potentially extremely unfair to the owner/seller. >>
I agree with you!
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
This same couple has 2 more bags that they plan to sell over the next couple of years. Guess which Dealer will get first shot at them
<< <i>I would assume that they are all MS-60's. (Assuming they are unc. bags.) The present owner has put no effort into finding out what they are worth in the 40+ years that they have owned them and, as a result, hasn't earned any premium. >>
Your endless negativity is a broken record.
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Imagine would a mint bag of CC or better date coins would bring at auction?
This seems like an ideal scenario for a cooperative arrangement.
For example, the dealer could pull the promising pieces out and
eBay them (after making good slabs) for a profit-sharing deal.
The rest could be wholesaled raw on eBay (rolls perhaps) or
wholesaled to another dealer.
Everybody wins, but it takes some time...
John
SFC, US Army (Ret.) 1974-1994
<< <i>
<< <i>I would assume that they are all MS-60's. (Assuming they are unc. bags.) The present owner has put no effort into finding out what they are worth in the 40+ years that they have owned them and, as a result, hasn't earned any premium. >>
Your endless negativity is a broken record. >>
What is negative about this? Please explain what this seller has done to enhance the value of these coins over the years. They probably bought these bags for face during the 1962-63 silver dollar release, put them in the basement, and never looked at them again. Just why would you, as a buyer, want to assume that they were better than MS-60.
The amount of "happy talk" on this forum has been on the rise lately. "Happy talk" now leads to disappointment later.
I say treat them like an unopened mint set found on FleaBay.
Open er up and then sew it back closed again.
I know a feed store with that kind of sewing machine.
[/sarcasm]
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>I would assume that they are all MS-60's. (Assuming they are unc. bags.) The present owner has put no effort into finding out what they are worth in the 40+ years that they have owned them and, as a result, hasn't earned any premium. >>
Your endless negativity is a broken record. >>
What is negative about this? Please explain what this seller has done to enhance the value of these coins over the years. They probably bought these bags for face during the 1962-63 silver dollar release, put them in the basement, and never looked at them again. Just why would you, as a buyer, want to assume that they were better than MS-60.
The amount of "happy talk" on this forum has been on the rise lately. "Happy talk" now leads to disappointment later. >>
The odds are that most coins in such bags ARE better than MS60. Additionally, the circumstances under which they were bought and maintained don't mean the owner shouldn't be paid a fair price. Ditto if the current owner had received them as a gift and had no $ or effort into them.
https://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/collectors-showcase/world-coins/one-coin-per-year-1600-2017/2422
<< <i>What's the date on the bags? Maybe you can get them into "First Strike" holders.......... >>
My omnicoin collection (or how my coin photography has progressed)
TD
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
<< <i>What's the date on the bags? Maybe you can get them into "First Strike" holders.......... >>
"Jan. 30, 1895/U.S. Mint/Philadelphia"
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Once sorted, the best coins will have to be slabbed by a major service. This can take a lot of time and a lot of money.
The current owner, in the twenty years since PCGS began slabbing, hasn't spent a dime.
Perhaps the current owner had a third bag which they did open. They found that 40+ years of being stored in the basement had damaged a high percentage of the coins. They are now playing dumb and are trying to get someone to pay a big premium for an unopened bag of coins they suspect has a high percentage of damaged coins.
Perhaps, and perhaps not. Most replies have suggested that the bags be unsealed however, so that shouldn't be an issue.
<<The current owner, in the twenty years since PCGS began slabbing, hasn't spent a dime.>>
I still don't understand what that has to do with the owner receiving a FAIR offer/price. If you found a $100,000 coin in change and therefore "hadn't spent a dime" on it, would that mean potential buyers shouldn't offer you a fair price for it?
Edited to add: Opening the bags is, by far, the fairest option for both the owner/seller AND the buyer.
<< <i><<Perhaps the current owner had a third bag which they did open. They found that 40+ years of being stored in the basement had damaged a high percentage of the coins. They are now playing dumb and are trying to get someone to pay a big premium for an unopened bag of coins they suspect has a high percentage of damaged coins.>>
Perhaps, and perhaps not. Most replies have suggested that the bags be unsealed however, so that shouldn't be an issue.
<<The current owner, in the twenty years since PCGS began slabbing, hasn't spent a dime.>>
I still don't understand what that has to do with the owner receiving a FAIR offer/price. If you found a $100,000 coin in change and therefore "hadn't spent a dime" on it, would that mean potential buyers shouldn't offer you a fair price for it? >>
A fair price for these would be the MS-60 price. We're not talking about known, single rare coins here.
We'll use our hands and hearts and if we must we'll use our heads.
Sorry, but that's incorrect. If the bags can be opened and the coins inspected (which would provide information about the "known, single rare coins"), a fair price would be dependent upon the dates and the quality of the coins, sight-seen. There has been no indication that this would/could not be an option.
Even if, for some reason, the bags couldn't be inspected first, based upon the odds/typical grade distributions within bags of silver dollars, an MS60 price would likely favor the buyer and be unfair to the seller.
<< <i>Regardless of what may be in the bags, I'd sure like to be there when they were opened. That would be a treat. >>
I agree. I would volunteer to sort them just to say that I had 1000 morgans pass through my gloved hands :-)
<< <i><<A fair price for these would be the MS-60 price. We're not talking about known, single rare coins here.>>
Sorry, but that's incorrect. If the bags can be opened and the coins inspected (which would provide information about the "known, single rare coins"), a fair price would be dependent upon the dates and the quality of the coins, sight-seen. There has been no indication that this would/could not be an option.
Even if, for some reason, the bags couldn't be inspected first, based upon the odds/typical grade distributions within bags of silver dollars, an MS60 price would likely favor the buyer and be unfair to the seller. >>
How much are you going to charge for your time and expertise to examine the coins?
MDWoods: I agree with you 100%. I've never seen a virgin bag of Morgans or Peace Dollars opened, and would love just to be part of the process. Wouldn't this make a great coin reality webcast show??
A bag of 1921 Morgans would be the downside, unless they were PL/DMPL, but a 1921 bag of Peace Dollars would be very cool, as would other scarcer date Morgan or Peace Dollars.
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
<< <i>A fair price for these would be the MS-60 price. We're not talking about known, single rare coins here. >>
Hard to say. It seems that if this really is a never-opened mint-sewn bag, the minimum grade these coins could have is MS-60. Many of them are probably considerably better. They might average 62 or 63.
Maybe making an initial offer based on the MS-60 common-date coin would be fine if you also paid an additional amount to the seller after opening them and seeing either a better date or a decent number of the dollars in considerably better condition than 60.