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Rare Coin Nets Vermont Man $100K

Anyone see this article? Has it already been posted?

full story and video



<< <i>SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -- After carrying around a coin as a good luck charm for 40 years, a Salisbury man learned that it was actually a rare item worth more than $100,000.

Garry Cucci bought the coin for $1 at a flea market in 1969. Cucci said that he'd long carried the coin in his wallet as a token.

Cucci, who collects coins, recently brought the coin to Martin's Coins & Jewelry where he learned that the coin is worth much more than his original $1 price.

"I said, 'Garry, are you sitting down? ... Your coin's worth a little over $100,000," Martin's owner John Martin said.

Cucci said that he was shocked, as he'd always figured the coin, that says Continental Congress 1776 on it, was a fake. Turns out it's genuine and likely one of the first coins minted in the United States.

"You never know. You just never know," Cucci said.

Martin will sell the coin to a collector or dealer for the best bid. Cucci said he's OK parting with his lucky charm, given its extreme value. >>


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Comments

  • Holy smokes!
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow still graded...

    Cert Verification #: 24516854
    PCGS Coin #: 795
    Date, mintmark: 1776
    Denomination: $1
    Variety: EG FECIT, Pewter
    Country: The United States of America
    Grade: MS64
    PCGS Price GuideSM Value: $165,000
    Holder Type: Standard
    Population: 12
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • seanqseanq Posts: 8,568 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Wow still graded...

    Cert Verification #: 24516854
    PCGS Coin #: 795
    Date, mintmark: 1776
    Denomination: $1
    Variety: EG FECIT, Pewter
    Country: The United States of America
    Grade: MS64
    PCGS Price GuideSM Value: $165,000
    Holder Type: Standard
    Population: 12 >>




    Yeah, someone showed the holder in this thread yesterday. Call me a cynic ("Cynic!") but I'm calling this story a fairy tale. There's no way someone could carry that coin as a pocket piece for decades and still have it grade MS64. Congrats to the owner / seller for working the system to get lots of free publicity for his coin.


    Sean Reynolds
    Incomplete planchets wanted, especially Lincoln Cents & type coins.

    "Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 43,793 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Better a wallet piece than a pocket piece. image
  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A little far fetched, agreed. This guy collects coins, yet doesn't know about the $100,000 payday in own wallet?

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • joebb21joebb21 Posts: 4,732 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Wow still graded...

    Cert Verification #: 24516854
    PCGS Coin #: 795
    Date, mintmark: 1776
    Denomination: $1
    Variety: EG FECIT, Pewter
    Country: The United States of America
    Grade: MS64
    PCGS Price GuideSM Value: $165,000
    Holder Type: Standard
    Population: 12 >>




    Yeah, someone showed the holder in this thread yesterday. Call me a cynic ("Cynic!") but I'm calling this story a fairy tale. There's no way someone could carry that coin as a pocket piece for decades and still have it grade MS64. Congrats to the owner / seller for working the system to get lots of free publicity for his coin.


    Sean Reynolds >>



    my thoughts as well
    may the fonz be with you...always...
  • coindeucecoindeuce Posts: 13,471 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think the owner of Martin's Coins needs to bone up on the current market for this issue. Telling the owner it is worth $100K is a bit shy of the real world. MS-63's are retailing for more.

    "Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
    http://www.americanlegacycoins.com

  • Yeah, this story smells a little fishy.
  • shorecollshorecoll Posts: 5,445 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Yeah...I had a Brasher doubloon that I thought was fake so I drilled a hole in it and wore it around my neck for 20 years...yada, yada, yada. image
    ANA-LM, NBS, EAC
  • fastfreddiefastfreddie Posts: 2,721 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Nice coin but interesting that he carried it in his wallet for 40 years yet it graded a 64? ]

    I have bought a few coins from Martin's.
    It is not that life is short, but that you are dead for so very long.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Nice coin but interesting that he carried it in his wallet for 40 years yet it graded a 64? ]

    I have bought a few coins from Martin's, the guy seems a little off to me. >>



    Leather holds moisture and pewter (mostly tin) is very reactive to moisture so the story doesn't add up. After 40 years it would be heavily inflicted with tin pest and would never get a 64 grade.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • CoinRaritiesOnlineCoinRaritiesOnline Posts: 3,638 ✭✭✭✭
    Bingo. Continental dollars are quite reactive, and are also easy to damage or bend. You couldn't carry around an MS64 Continental Dollar in your wallet for a week -- much less 40 years -- and have it still grade MS64.
  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 27,410 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>A little far fetched, agreed. This guy collects coins, yet doesn't know about the $100,000 payday in own wallet? >>

    yeah, whats up with that anyway?
  • Timbuk3Timbuk3 Posts: 11,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I like a happy ending to
    a story !!!
    Timbuk3
  • DennisHDennisH Posts: 13,963 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A least some part of this story is bogus, and my guess is more than one. And I don't trust any non-numismatic reporter to get things right in a coin story, either.
    When in doubt, don't.
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,305 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have a whole collection of about 25 different of the fake pieces. You don't suppose one is...

    image
    Tempus fugit.
  • robkoolrobkool Posts: 5,934 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I could never ever see that dollar grade MS64 after being carried around for 40 years. Something about this story doesn't add up. Perhaps it was stored for all those years, then have the coin professionally graded, and about the other story of this coin being bought at a flea market for $1, that also doesn't add up. Plenty of fakes out there...
  • dorkbardorkbar Posts: 425 ✭✭✭
    My default now for anything I don't see with my own eyes is disbelief.

    I'm talking about everything, not just coins. Seamless fakery is everywhere.


  • << <i>

    << <i>Wow still graded...

    Cert Verification #: 24516854
    PCGS Coin #: 795
    Date, mintmark: 1776
    Denomination: $1
    Variety: EG FECIT, Pewter
    Country: The United States of America
    Grade: MS64
    PCGS Price GuideSM Value: $165,000
    Holder Type: Standard
    Population: 12 >>




    Yeah, someone showed the holder in this thread yesterday. Call me a cynic ("Cynic!") but I'm calling this story a fairy tale. There's no way someone could carry that coin as a pocket piece for decades and still have it grade MS64. Congrats to the owner / seller for working the system to get lots of free publicity for his coin.


    Sean Reynolds >>



    Hi, the story is actually completely true! I was at the store when the customer brought it in, and I helped package it to send in to PCGS.

    John
  • I've bought from Martin's before. I'm a young inexperienced collector and he cuts me a lot of deals.
    Great store but the other employees have little knowledge on coins.
    image


  • << <i>A little far fetched, agreed. This guy collects coins, yet doesn't know about the $100,000 payday in own wallet? >>



    What the news media cut out of their interview was that the guy had brought it to a couple of dealers over the years. The first dealer told him it was a fake and the second one just said he really didn't know. I interviewed the guy when he came back in to see the coin all certified in its PCGS holder, and the "complete" story will be in the March 19 issue of Coin World next week. John Martin of Martin's Coins handled the sale of the coin-it was sold the other day for over $120,000 to a rare coin dealer in Massachusetts.

    I agree it is an amazing story too, and would find it hard to believe myself, had I not been there. I'm attaching a photo I took of the coin in the PCGS holder so you can see it better than from the news video, although the image sizing is limited on this forum to only 50KB.

    John Meyers


  • John,
    no one i believe is denying that this coin in fact brought into the store and submitted to pcgs, but what I do think is that the story of carrying it around in a wallet for 40 years is most likely made up for darn good reason. >>



    Hi Sean,

    I actually asked him about that on Monday, given folks like yourself who are questioning the "carried in wallet" claims. I put an article in Coin World (3/19) about the find, and my understanding at the time I wrote the article was that he kept it in some kind of envelope in his wallet. I was wrong about it being paper. Garry corrected me Monday and said he had it carefully placed in a very small "jewelry pouch" of some type of soft cloth to protect it (but yes,in his wallet!), and that he really did carry it with him for 43 years. So unlike a traditional "pocket piece," the coin was well protected. He did say he recently stopped carrying it on him, as he was becoming more convinced through research that the coin might just be the real deal. But that was only the last three months before he brought it in to Martin's Coins.

    Of course, the collector in me wonders what it would have graded ad it never been handled and been "properly" stored away in a collection someplace. MS67? Who knows?

    John
  • kazkaz Posts: 9,052 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow, an amazing story. Just imagine what else is out there waiting to be discovered.
  • Mr. Martin is probably the biggest coin dealer in Vermont and very ethical IMO. Some great coins have come out of VT, including the 1804 dollar that turned up around Brattleboro many years ago.
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well, while an amazing story - and doubted by many - it turns out to be absolutely true. Nice when that happens. Cheers, RickO
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Well, while an amazing story - and doubted by many - it turns out to be absolutely true. Nice when that happens. Cheers, RickO >>



    The story wasn't doubted by that many. What was doubted was the original story of how it was kept. And it appears that the doubters were correct.
    Whatever story and publicity ultimately goes with the coin will help sell it for more dollars.
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • ColonialCoinUnionColonialCoinUnion Posts: 10,087 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Well, while an amazing story - and doubted by many - it turns out to be absolutely true. Nice when that happens. Cheers, RickO >>



    The story wasn't doubted by that many. What was doubted was the original story of how it was kept. And it appears that the doubters were correct.
    Whatever story and publicity ultimately goes with the coin will help sell it for more dollars. >>



    The coin is a great find and the end result was a big success for the owner.

    And while I believe VermontJohn is relaying the story exactly as it was told to him by the owner, that story still defies belief. Do you know how soft and easily bent / damaged these coins are? There is no chance you could keep one in a "jewelry pouch" in your wallet without doing it serious harm in a very short time.
  • sonofagunksonofagunk Posts: 1,349 ✭✭
    So is he paying capital gains on $99,999?


  • << <i>

    << <i>Well, while an amazing story - and doubted by many - it turns out to be absolutely true. Nice when that happens. Cheers, RickO >>



    The story wasn't doubted by that many. What was doubted was the original story of how it was kept. And it appears that the doubters were correct.
    Whatever story and publicity ultimately goes with the coin will help sell it for more dollars. >>



    In another area I play in when a biggie is 'found" several provenances are run up the flagpole at once. The one saluted by the majority becomes "real". The ones who could say something usually keep quiet lest their own flag stories get attacked. Presto. It sells. It is like some art forgeries. If the forger clears the technical, material and Freudian hurdles (not so easy anymore, and we are not talking hacks like Elmyr, Wacker and van Meegeren), and it hangs on an established wall long enough - it also becomes 'real."

    Eric


  • << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>Well, while an amazing story - and doubted by many - it turns out to be absolutely true. Nice when that happens. Cheers, RickO >>



    The story wasn't doubted by that many. What was doubted was the original story of how it was kept. And it appears that the doubters were correct.
    Whatever story and publicity ultimately goes with the coin will help sell it for more dollars. >>



    In another area I play in when a biggie is 'found" several provenances are run up the flagpole at once. The one saluted by the majority becomes "real". The ones who could say something usually keep quiet lest their own flag stories get attacked. Presto. It sells. It is like some art forgeries. If the forger clears the technical, material and Freudian hurdles (not so easy anymore, and we are not talking hacks like Elmyr, Wacker and van Meegeren), and it hangs on an established wall long enough - it also becomes 'real."

    Eric >>



    I certainly understand everyone's points about how Garry kept the coin, and since I interviewed him, I can only report on what he told me. That said, I can think of no good reason to doubt him-he truly came across as genuine and honest in my discussions with him. If his story is inaccurate in some way, I can't detect it from the face-to-face time I spent with him. It certainly makes for an interesting provenance story, as you point out, and I'm sure it will over time become accepted as the "real" story. And maybe I am biased-I would like to believe that things like this can happen to average people-it gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, someday I too will come across such a find.

    The CW article I mentioned has been published online, by the way:

    http://www.coinworld.com/articles/1-purchase-from-1969-proves-windfall/

    Cheers all,

    John
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 30,977 ✭✭✭✭✭
    pictified any number of forum members here will host pics for you if you have larger images that you'd like to show.

    image
  • magikbillymagikbilly Posts: 6,780
    John,

    I meant only to convey some general information about provenance retro-engineering as I call it and have seen it at auction houses. I meant no disrespect to you, the shop, the coin or anyone image

    Eric
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>Well, while an amazing story - and doubted by many - it turns out to be absolutely true. Nice when that happens. Cheers, RickO >>



    The story wasn't doubted by that many. What was doubted was the original story of how it was kept. And it appears that the doubters were correct.
    Whatever story and publicity ultimately goes with the coin will help sell it for more dollars. >>



    The coin is a great find and the end result was a big success for the owner.

    And while I believe VermontJohn is relaying the story exactly as it was told to him by the owner, that story still defies belief. Do you know how soft and easily bent / damaged these coins are? There is no chance you could keep one in a "jewelry pouch" in your wallet without doing it serious harm in a very short time. >>



    Agree---also, pewter is highly reactive (more so than copper) and a wallet is one of the worst places to store a coin.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • I had it fixed securely in the soft jewell bag between two of my old American express cards thus creating enough rigidity to prevent bending and the jewelers bag kept it from
    obtaing friction marks from the cards. So Ha Ha Ha to all you doubters.
    NumbersUsa, FairUs, Alipac, CapsWeb, and TeamAmericaPac
  • magikbillymagikbilly Posts: 6,780


    << <i>I had it fixed securely in the soft jewell bag between two of my old American express cards thus creating enough rigidity to prevent bending and the jewelers bag kept it from
    obtaing friction marks from the cards. So Ha Ha Ha to all you doubters. >>




    If you said "charge plate" instead of American Express card you might get further. AE cards were plastic in 1959. Charge plates were aluminum or other white metal, and considerably harder than pewter. image

    Eric


  • << <i>John,

    I meant only to convey some general information about provenance retro-engineering as I call it and have seen it at auction houses. I meant no disrespect to you, the shop, the coin or anyone image

    Eric >>



    Eric,

    I did not take any offense to what you were saying-it's all good.

    John


  • << <i>pictified any number of forum members here will host pics for you if you have larger images that you'd like to show.

    image >>



    If someone here is interested in the full-sized images, let me know and I can give you the obverse and reverse images to post. Just tell me how to get them to you.

    Thanks,

    John
  • seanqseanq Posts: 8,568 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I had it fixed securely in the soft jewell bag between two of my old American express cards thus creating enough rigidity to prevent bending and the jewelers bag kept it from
    obtaing friction marks from the cards. So Ha Ha Ha to all you doubters. >>




    Wait, are you the original owner of this coin, or are you quoting him from some other source? If I had a browser obsolete enough to get the Search function to work, I'd go back and see if you ever posted about this coin here before, with 973 posts in almost five years I'd have to think your pocket piece of 40+ years would have come up in conversation previously.


    Sean Reynolds
    Incomplete planchets wanted, especially Lincoln Cents & type coins.

    "Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor


  • << <i>

    << <i>I had it fixed securely in the soft jewell bag between two of my old American express cards thus creating enough rigidity to prevent bending and the jewelers bag kept it from
    obtaing friction marks from the cards. So Ha Ha Ha to all you doubters. >>




    Wait, are you the original owner of this coin, or are you quoting him from some other source? If I had a browser obsolete enough to get the Search function to work, I'd go back and see if you ever posted about this coin here before, with 973 posts in almost five years I'd have to think your pocket piece of 40+ years would have come up in conversation previously.


    Sean Reynolds >>




    You took that post seriously? One of us is very wrong...

    Eric
  • drei3reedrei3ree Posts: 3,430 ✭✭✭✭
    I'd say it is all excellent marketing of the coin! I'm wondering why he would take such great care--jeweler's bag, etc.--when it was thought to be a worthless fake???
  • drei3reedrei3ree Posts: 3,430 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>So is he paying capital gains on $99,999? >>



    I'm really interested in seeing this answer...
  • seanqseanq Posts: 8,568 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>I had it fixed securely in the soft jewell bag between two of my old American express cards thus creating enough rigidity to prevent bending and the jewelers bag kept it from
    obtaing friction marks from the cards. So Ha Ha Ha to all you doubters. >>




    Wait, are you the original owner of this coin, or are you quoting him from some other source? If I had a browser obsolete enough to get the Search function to work, I'd go back and see if you ever posted about this coin here before, with 973 posts in almost five years I'd have to think your pocket piece of 40+ years would have come up in conversation previously.


    Sean Reynolds >>




    You took that post seriously? One of us is very wrong...

    Eric >>




    I'm not quite sure how to take it, that's why I'm asking. Besides, I've never met a pot I couldn't stir. image


    Sean Reynolds
    Incomplete planchets wanted, especially Lincoln Cents & type coins.

    "Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 30,977 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>pictified any number of forum members here will host pics for you if you have larger images that you'd like to show.

    image >>



    If someone here is interested in the full-sized images, let me know and I can give you the obverse and reverse images to post. Just tell me how to get them to you.

    Thanks,

    John >>



    You can email them to me at BAJJERFAN@aol.com

    imageimage
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>So is he paying capital gains on $99,999? >>



    I'm really interested in seeing this answer... >>




    He could conduct a like-kind-exchange for AU+ Morgan dollars or even BU rolls. Then disperse of those in a more systematic manner.
    But the IRS might want the exchange to be in coinage of the same metal....that means trying to find $100K worth in common pewter coinage. Good luck.
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • ColonialCoinUnionColonialCoinUnion Posts: 10,087 ✭✭✭


    << <i>He could conduct a like-kind-exchange for AU+ Morgan dollars or even BU rolls. Then disperse of those in a more systematic manner.
    But the IRS might want the exchange to be in coinage of the same metal....that means trying to find $100K worth in common pewter coinage. Good luck. >>



    That pretty much leaves American Plantation Tokens . . .


  • << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>So is he paying capital gains on $99,999? >>



    I'm really interested in seeing this answer... >>




    He could conduct a like-kind-exchange for AU+ Morgan dollars or even BU rolls. Then disperse of those in a more systematic manner.
    But the IRS might want the exchange to be in coinage of the same metal....that means trying to find $100K worth in common pewter coinage. Good luck. >>



    Good question for tax professionals and there may be more than one answer as there are different accounting methods. IMO the IRS has been asleep when it comes to collectibles, taxation and even law enforcement. A check for $100K goes through a bank account. The IRS is going to want a gross figure and a net figure entered on the relevant tax form. Their software is getting more advanced and frankly it is way overdue.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/business/yourtaxes/irs-steps-in-for-nonfilers-at-a-potentially-high-price.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=non-filer&st=cse


  • << <i>

    << <i>I had it fixed securely in the soft jewell bag between two of my old American express cards thus creating enough rigidity to prevent bending and the jewelers bag kept it from
    obtaing friction marks from the cards. So Ha Ha Ha to all you doubters. >>




    Wait, are you the original owner of this coin, or are you quoting him from some other source? If I had a browser obsolete enough to get the Search function to work, I'd go back and see if you ever posted about this coin here before, with 973 posts in almost five years I'd have to think your pocket piece of 40+ years would have come up in conversation previously.


    Sean Reynolds >>



    No, I'm not connected in any way, just having a little fun, But I could sure hear something like that comming from the owner as the story unfolds further. If it is a made up story, you know the very old saying; once you tell a fib you have to tell many more trying to cover the first one up.
    NumbersUsa, FairUs, Alipac, CapsWeb, and TeamAmericaPac

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