Can any of you remember Gold Coins in change or remember your parents talking about same?

SanctionII

Just to round out the "Can you remember silver and clad" questions posted today, I have to ask about gold coins in circulation.

I am to young to remember any (I'm 50) and I do not remember my parents talking about seeing gold coins in circulation.

However, my father in law (he is 87) was given a 1925 $2.50 gold piece by his aunt in 1925 (when he was six). He still has it today, 81 years later. Pretty cool huh? I have seen it and gave my father in law a Capital Holder to put the coin in. We showed it to dealers in Long Beach a few years ago and were told grade opinions of between AU58 and MS63.

clw54

My mother remembered them. She was born in 1918.

construct

I asked my dad about this. He was born in 1928. He said that he had never seen a gold coin in the wild.

notlogical

M great-grandpa had a horse and wagon laundry route in Chicago a long time ago and my grandma, his daughter, told me that one year for christmas he got a gold coin for a tip!

RYK

Sure, I remember paying for some goods and livestock with a Wass Molitor $50 and getting an 1854-O $20 and an 1854-S $2.50 in change...those were the days...

WillieBoyd2

My dad told me that he once received two $20 gold pieces in the early 1930's as pay.

My mom's aunt recorded an oral history where she talked about receiving two $20 gold pieces a month as payment for her teaching job in the 1920's.

majorbigtime

In reality, gold coins did not circulate much. How often do you see a worn Staint?

When I was a youngster, I bought a few Indian Half Eagles from an 'ol geezer who was goung to cash 'em in at a bank.

BillJones

Gold coins didn’t get wide circulation. They were used to pay off contracts, which sometimes specified payment in gold, or people went to the bank and get them to give out as gifts for Christmas, graduations or the like. The situation was a bit like it was when I was kid when you could go to the bank and exchange paper dollars for silver dollars. You could get silver dollars, but you almost never saw them in circulaiton. I guess you could say the same for half dollars today.

My mother told about getting gold coins for Christmas. My father, who graduated as the Val Victorian of his high school class, got $75 in gold as awards. Sadly he deposited the money in a bank that went bust during The Great Depression, and lost it all.

The very first job I had when I graduated from college was an accountant at Allied Chemical. One fellow had worked for the company for 48 years. He told me about a day back in the 1920s when he was asked to go in and count a table full of $2.50 gold pieces that had been paid to the company. It's the kind of thing that would make a collector's fingers itch.

supertooth

Sanction 11-----I turn 60 in November. As a kid [9or10] I remember a couple of stories:
First----My great aunt on my grandmother's side collected coins----she had already given me a 50 cent piece of paper money and an 1804 half cent---she had gold coins also that I was to get. When she died---they vanished. Years later my grandmother went to one of her relatives 50th wedding anniversary---guess what showed up?? My grandmother was quite upset.

Second----My aunt's father--in--law had a collection of gold dollars. The old gentleman took me into his bedroom and showed them to me. WOW!! what a thrill. My aunt ended up with the whole estate. She has just died. I have her estate----but no coins. I had asked her about them a couple of times. She said that she had never ever seen them. Wonder where they went??

Third----My mother in law got a five dollar gold piece for Christmas one year [ a Christmas bonus from work]---early 1930's. Her story was that she took it into the city and bought clothes and shoes.

Fourth----I asked my parents about gold coins. We lived with my grandparents. The story went that you had to turn them in---The story also went that there was not much money to have gold coins anyway. Bob [supertooth]

1946Hamm

My father who died in 1989 at age 85 said that when he got engaged to my mother, he saved a $20 gold piece each week for the upcoming marriage. He said he was able to save 20 of them before the wedding. I asked him what happened to them. He said they went for groceries and stuff after the marriage.

My parents got married in 1930. Sure wish he had been able to save them.
Gold didn't circulate much here in Indiana and he had to ask the bank for one each week. I can only imagine what rare dates were in those 20 double eagles.

drwstr123

While going to college on S.I.N.Y., I tended bar at a place called The "Fox Hills Tavern". (this is about 1967) There was a old guy, we referred to him as Mr. Schaffer because of what he drank. He'd call the owner over and cash in some gold periodically for some good folding money. The owner loved him.

123cents

No, but I found a gold one dollar coin in a 2x2 in a parking lot in 1971.

Leiana

<< <i>No, but I found a gold one dollar coin in a 2x2 in a parking lot in 1971. >>





Was it the parking lot of a coin show?

-Amanda

123cents

No it was at a shopping center but the center didn't have a coin store.

FullStrike

When I bought a 1932 $10 Indian a few years back ( around 2000 ) I showed it to my Dad ,who was born in 1917 ; he said he'd never seen one of those before.

He related the story of some relatives wanting to give his grandparents a $50 Gold Coin for their 50th wedding anniversary. He said they tried to get one at the Bank but of course were unable to get one there. In the end they had to buy one. Couldn't provide details on where or how much it was purchased for, what it was, or what became of it.

BillJones

<< <i>When I bought a 1932 $10 Indian a few years back ( around 2000 ) I showed it to my Dad ,who was born in 1917 ; he said he'd never seen one of those before.

He related the story of some relatives wanting to give his grandparents a $50 Gold Coin for their 50th wedding anniversary. He said they tried to get one at the Bank but of course were unable to get one there. In the end they had to buy one. Couldn't provide details on where or how much it was purchased for, what it was, or what became of it. >>



I'm afraid you dad did not remember the story accurately. The only $50 gold coins were the 1916 Pan-Pac commemoratives or the "slugs" that private companies issued during the California gold rush. Both have been very expensive and hard to find for many years.

PerryHall

BillJones---You mean 1915 and not 1916.

RYK

No, but I found a gold one dollar coin in a 2x2 in a parking lot in 1971.

WWRD

Did you hire a private investigator to find the rightful owner?

FullStrike

<< <i> my Dad ,who was born in 1917

He related the story of some relatives wanting to give his grandparents a $50 Gold Coin for their 50th wedding anniversary >>




The key here was HIS GRANDPARENTS.

I'm sorry I didn't state it loud and clear but I do believe he was talking about territorial gold and I think the time period was before 1930 - not the 1970's or 1980's as you may be thinking.

FullStrike

And one other thing BillJones, my Dad grew up in Oregon. Most of my relatives were from California, Oregon and Washington State. I'm inclined to believe the $50 was not MS70 and was NOT in a PCGS slab.


Please don't state the obvious here. I KNOW PCGS wasn't around until about 1987 - although I'm not up on the EXACT date of their existence.

P.S. There were some people in past times who could afford things. Unlike some potential Legend customers we know of.