Forum advice re: unopened bag of Silver Dollars
Dahlonega
Posts: 310 ✭
Approximately 1960 my father brought home 2 bags of sealed silver dollars. We opened one bag and it contained mostly G/XF dollars with many very good dates:95-O, 95-S, 03-S?, etc. Unfortunately no 93-S, 94 or 03-O's. Also, had about 3-5% low grade or slicks. This is by memory but, I still have some of the coins with scraps of notes. Now to the present 15-20 years ago my father [now deceased] gave me the other bag which remains sealed/unopened in a safe deposit box. My adult children do not have the coin collecting 'bug' although they understand it about as well as a non-collector can.
Now the question:'To open or not to open before I kick the bucket'...how, when and where?' I want to maximize the enjoyment for everyone especially young numismatists.
One idea is to open with young numismatists helping at a coin show timed near the end of the Mayan calendar? with everyone receiving a silver dollar from the bag.
I need a better plan can you help me think of one? Maximizing the enjoyment for everyone is far more important than financial consideration.
Now the question:'To open or not to open before I kick the bucket'...how, when and where?' I want to maximize the enjoyment for everyone especially young numismatists.
One idea is to open with young numismatists helping at a coin show timed near the end of the Mayan calendar? with everyone receiving a silver dollar from the bag.
I need a better plan can you help me think of one? Maximizing the enjoyment for everyone is far more important than financial consideration.
Collect for enjoyment
0
Comments
Please visit my website Millcitynumismatics.com
Then you can do whatever you want with the rest of the coins
But seriously, I think you'd be wasting an opportunity if you didn't open the bag. It probably won't kill ya!
Would love before and after pics. Just buy enough white gloves for the kids
in case they are all UNC's!!
As a side note:
A few years ago I was offered 7 bags of 500 each bag. Client bought them for the
Y2K event, er non event. He paid top dollar for them, like $7.50 each. Said they
had not been picked through and would have good dates in them. Well, being the
skeptic that I am we opened one bag. All very worn, very common date 21 morgans
and 22,23 & 24 Peace. Not a good one in the bag.
He'd bought them at a coin shop in MN. Was told they'd never been searched and
that's how they got them. Oh, sure. Oh, one more thing: the bag only had 493
dollars in it. He was a bit ticked and didn't sell me the bags as I offered him melt.
Your's will me much better if it's like the previous bag. From the 60's, most had been
searched for the key dates. But a lot of key dates now were not key dates then. The
03-O was hard to find, until several fresh bags came on the market and was a key date
at that time. CC's were dime a dozen with the 89cc and perhaps the 93cc as the only
two that had a lot of premium. The rest of the CC's were pretty easy to obtain and the
premium was not that much.
I remember working at the Hot Springs Spa and Casino in CC in High School (60-64).
Part time in the hard count room. Got paid in silver dollars that I could find in the bags.
My collection did not amount to much as even then the keys were gone. Got a lot
of UNC common dates as we saw new bags occasionally. I never got my hands on
a MS66 or better though. Perhaps I just didn't know what to look for as a kid.
Can't wait to hear what you do find. A 93-s in VF would be a once in a million shot
and I hope you get lucky!
bob
If it were me, I'd want to supervise opening the bags to witness and confirm if there are any rarities (or scarce VAMS) which if properly monetized may provide significant value to your family (even though you said maximizing enjoyment is far more important than financial consideration).
Please let us know what you decide to do. Thanks for sharing the story with us.
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"
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
I would recommend coordinating an activity through either FUN or the ANA, in which children attending the show get a number or ticket and are referred to the GRG table (until the 1000 tickets run out). Once there, you supervise each YN blindly taking a single coin from the bag.
I think that this would maximize their enjoyment, and I know it would maximize your enjoyment.
RYK
PS If you need help with logistics or security, I am available for hire.
Do you know where the bags came from? Did your father buy them from an old hoarder or were they stashed in the back of a bank vault.
Keep the forum informed.
It will be a lot of fun.
BTW, you referenced your kicking the bucket, but as I see it, you have another 50 years to go!!!!
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
<< <i>D,
I would recommend coordinating an activity through either FUN or the ANA, in which children attending the show get a number or ticket and are referred to the GRG table (until the 1000 tickets run out). Once there, you supervise each YN blindly taking a single coin from the bag.
I think that this would maximize their enjoyment, and I know it would maximize your enjoyment.
RYK
PS If you need help with logistics or security, I am available for hire.
A GREAT idea, and would be a real boon for our hobby. I'll bet the media would be delighted to participate, if invited.
or until you die, or until you can't see the dates, or the state sells items for missing rental fees for 10 years
maybe not, I would have opened it long ago and sold the bag after I switched out the 'good' stuff
S
a) you should open it now and enjoy an experiece many collectors here would kill for
- or -
b) you should die first and let your kids, who currently find it no more interesting than a bag of charcoal, figure out what to do
I do like the idea of doing it at a show with a bunch of YNs helping.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Or open it and put the contents on the BST; then donate the proceeds to YN. I am sure many people here would relish a shot at that bag.
You'll get free grading with expert opinions and as a bonus have a shot at the most popular thread ever!!
<< <i>D,
I would recommend coordinating an activity through either FUN or the ANA, in which children attending the show get a number or ticket and are referred to the GRG table (until the 1000 tickets run out). Once there, you supervise each YN blindly taking a single coin from the bag. >>
I need to ask what would happen if some young pup happened to pull a nice 93-S out of there? What will you do (aside from stepping outside for a little self inflicted butt kicking) ?
The name is LEE!
<< <i>
<< <i>D,
I would recommend coordinating an activity through either FUN or the ANA, in which children attending the show get a number or ticket and are referred to the GRG table (until the 1000 tickets run out). Once there, you supervise each YN blindly taking a single coin from the bag. >>
I need to ask what would happen if some young pup happened to pull a nice 93-S out of there? What will you do (aside from stepping outside for a little self inflicted butt kicking) ? >>
Knowing the OP, he will be more excited than the kid.
I knew it would happen.
Also, to draw young collectors into the hobby, a giveaway is also a fabulous idea.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
<< <i>So you're asking if:
a) you should open it now and enjoy an experiece many collectors here would kill for
- or -
b) you should die first and let your kids, who currently find it no more interesting than a bag of charcoal, figure out what to do. >>
Let me rewrite b):
b) you should die first and let your kids, who currently find it no more interesting than a bag of charcoal, take it to the local coin store and get less than melt.
I say open it now. Haven't you ever heard:
"Eat dessert first!"
"Fly first class or your heirs will."
etc.
And if you do open it, take lots of pictures and/or a video.
I am envious.
I also think it would be a great idea to open up the bag at a coin show or some other local event.
Good luck with those.
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Negative BST Transactions:
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>Open it...........remove 10 coins per day with photos to this forum.
You'll get free grading with expert opinions and as a bonus have a shot at the most popular thread ever!! >>
Ditto. That would be a fun thread.
<< <i>Btw how many coins are in your bag of morgans?
I also think it would be a great idea to open up the bag at a coin show or some other local event.
Good luck with those.
If it is a bag of 1000 then that is a large safe deposit box!
Along about 1962 or so, the 1904-O Morgans were considered rare. When the GSA started releasing silver dollars from their vaults, a bunch of 1904-Os started showing up. My older brother bought one then, because he wanted to own a rare silver dollar. Of course, he didn't pay much because by then they were no longer rare. Kinda cool tho.
I knew it would happen.
<< <i>I vote for opening it! >>
But find some young numismatists to help out, by the way, I'm 61, but I'm a young 61.
Think about this as an opportunity (just some quick thoughts) to engage the public in coin collecting. Work with a club-oriented, kid-friendly show that has national exposure, such as the ANA, FUN, or Central States. Make the event open to all kids (of a certain age range), not just Scouts, YNs, ANA members, etc.
Have a conversation with the kids about how to handle coins and the "rules" of the hunt. Open the bag and let the kids separate, sort, and play with the coins. Have a bunch of kid-friendly adults around to help the young ones and teach them as they go (and help maintain control and ensure that no coins "grow legs"). Photo-document the whole event (perhaps David Lisot would do it under contract with the show). At the end of the time, give the kids their prize (or whatever you wish to give to them for their activity).
You will be rewarded with a special place in numismatic heaven.
Sounds like this could be a lot of fun. And of course, let us know!
Lane
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
<< <i>I say open...open it now...the suspense is killing me... >>
and with the Govt. destroying the people who take risks.....I say OPEN IT!
Otherwise, if something happens to you, there will be two generations of your family that held that bag NEVER and knew what was in it!!
I'll bet there's some nice rainbow bag toners in there, let's just hope they're high grade!!
It's a bag of 1000 purchased for face at the same time the other bag was purchased [from a small local bank in 1959 or 1960] still 'lead' sealed
if a kid found a 93-S it would be wonderful and, of course, they would get to keep it
Wouldn't mind publicity for the hobby but, personally I would rather remain low key
At present I am in favor of letting young numismatists participate in opening the bag on and in a special setting/ I am less in favor of not opening the bag
Thanking everyone for their assistance but, keep on thinking
Open them now!! You have the expertise to know and enjoy what is there. Murphy's law is that they will end up at a garage sale, being sold for 1 dollar a coin, and you would be turning in your grave.
See what is there now and don't delay!!
Open it now!
How can you just sit there with an unopened bag of coins waiting for you?
Can't you hear them calling to you?
<< <i>Open it with lots of photos or a video that you can post here for our enjoyment. >>
I'm dying to see what's in it.
Why not have a "guess what's in the bag" thread and let some YNs guess (and maybe some ONs) and give something to the best guesser?
This is better than the Anrea Doria safe
1) They can take the lead and you can remain either in the background or as an anonymous donor.
2) The ANA can tie the event to a FUN show and give it tremendous publicity.
3) The publicity could spark some interest in the younger generations to collect coins.
4) The ANA can get a bunch of sponsors for the event to raise money for the YN program; I would think a lot of dealers would want to be involved for the publicity. PCGS could slab the coins for the kids. The possible scenarios of sponsors to this are endless.
5) The money raised could go into a scholarship fund in memory of your late father, or purchase other coins to allow this event to continue for years to come.
Please give this some consideration. I believe you have a chance to make a very valuable contribution to this hobby; the outcome of which could be felt for years to come.
I would open at the next family event.
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"
<< <i>
Please give this some consideration. I believe you have a chance to make a very valuable contribution to this hobby; the outcome of which could be felt for years to come. >>
Yeah, especially if it turned out to be a bag of 1895-P business strikes....or 92-S,93-S etc....
Menomonee Falls Wisconsin USA
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistr...dset.aspx?s=68269&ac=1">Musky 1861 Mint Set
<< <i> Now the question:'To open or not to open before I kick the bucket' >>
Quit worryin' about dying and enjoy life, open it!
On a more realistic note, wait until Christmas when you will be around all your children and grandchildren. Bring out the bag of dollars and tell the story of your father's purchase and how you have saved them for so long without looking, just for an occasion such as this. Hand out a couple of red books to show dates, rarity, and value. Have a couple F/XF Morgans in your pocket to show Grade/Condition/Mintmarks. You might also have a Whitman folder handy to fill in the holes. Then after all that, break into that bag. This will give you an idea if there are any potential numismatists in the group, maybe this will even help kick start one.
Sounds fun to me anyway. Whatever you do, have fun with it and enjoy. You have opportunity that some of us may never see.
a dollar in each one. Photograph each child as they open their bag. Priceless