If you are a Shop Owner or a grunt like me, what unusual items have come across the counter??
keets
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One of the benefits of working full-time in a B&M is that there always seems to be some unusual item that shows up. I am in NEOhio and it amazes me what is out there, some known and in the hands of collectors, other stuff in the hands of heirs who don't really have a clue.
Over the past 1-2 Years we've bought Gold coins from the 17th Century, French and British medal from 1700-1900 which included a King George coronation medal, a group of Paramount Dollars, complete Sets of slabbed Buffalo Nickels and SLQ's, almost complete Sets of Morgan Dollars and a near score on an MS65 Set of Classic Commems.
There are lots of other really great coins that "walk in" with no warning and we are a small shop. I should also mention that we are a Pawn Shop which means the strange and unusual get offered to us. That can catch me off guard, like the time a woman was offering a Breast Pump!!! And no, I didn't ask her to show us how it worked, we declined but thanked her for stopping in. There was also one guy that came in and wanted to know if we'd buy an Elephant tusk.
So, who cares to come clean on some oddball things that have been offered to you at your shop?? I'm sure with this mix of members there are bound to be some real Lou Lou's.
Al H.
Over the past 1-2 Years we've bought Gold coins from the 17th Century, French and British medal from 1700-1900 which included a King George coronation medal, a group of Paramount Dollars, complete Sets of slabbed Buffalo Nickels and SLQ's, almost complete Sets of Morgan Dollars and a near score on an MS65 Set of Classic Commems.
There are lots of other really great coins that "walk in" with no warning and we are a small shop. I should also mention that we are a Pawn Shop which means the strange and unusual get offered to us. That can catch me off guard, like the time a woman was offering a Breast Pump!!! And no, I didn't ask her to show us how it worked, we declined but thanked her for stopping in. There was also one guy that came in and wanted to know if we'd buy an Elephant tusk.
So, who cares to come clean on some oddball things that have been offered to you at your shop?? I'm sure with this mix of members there are bound to be some real Lou Lou's.
Al H.
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Bought a Breitling watch last month, now in my personal collection. Its a Korean War(i think) era pocket watch/stop watch, a navigator's pieces from the US military.
I passed and instead gave the collector extended terms to sell them on his own.
On the weird side, someone came in with a 5 oz 14 kt gold ring that was in the shape of the devil with ruby eyes. The woman who brought it in said it was a gift from an ex-boyfriend. I can't imagine why it was her ex.
As soon as she walked in an old gentleman walked in and he had a cloth tobacco sack. I figured coins or something. He emptied the bag on the counter top and there were 30 gold teeth he had taken out of dead Japanese soldiers after some big World War II battle. I had to get out the dental tools and pick all the teeth parts out of the gold, weighed up the dental gold and he walked out with a couple hundred bucks. Took a lot of hand washing on my part to feel clean enough to eat with my hands again.
Did have one family come in with granddads coin and stamp collection. Lots of early gold, PL 95-s Morgan and tons of early proofs. He also had sheets of the Zep stamps, all 3 denominations plus a sheet of the baby zep (C18 if you are into that). Neatest thing was a shield that contained examples of all the different kinds of fractional currency. Evidently they were used in banks to check for counterfeits when someone wanted their dime for the paper. It's the only one I had ever seen and it was quite expensive at that time.
Lots of other stories but those are the ones that stick in my mind the most
Yes those fractional shields are rare. I've only seen three of them, two not for sale.
I think there were two different types: One with a pink background and one with a green background.
... like the time a woman was offering a Breast Pump!!! And no, I didn't ask her to show us how it worked...
sounds like a missed opportunity.
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A lady brought in a cremation urn and it felt heavy so I opened it and it was full of cremates in a plastic bag. I told her I couldn't buy it since it had an occupant. She asked me if she could use the bathroom. I said sure. She went back, came back out and threw away the plastic bag and had flushed the ashed down the commode. I asked her why she did that and she said she hated the SoB anyway.
This is so sick and so funny all at the same time!
Was working the counter one day when a guy came in with a gold tooth that had still-liquid blood on it. I declined to make the purchase.
I wonder if he needed some quick cash and pulled his own tooth. I remember the story you told about the guy that brought in the 1000 oz silver bar that he painted green so he could hide it in plain sight as a door stop.
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
So... ...I have some oddball collections from telephone tokens to '30's era amusement tokens as well as strange coin and other collections. Some of my favorite items come from coin collectors' "decoy collections". Many coin collectors keep a book of various unimaginable doodads and odds and ends (along with cheap old coins) with "rare", "valuable", "$20,000" and other misleading information on the inserts. The thinking is thieves who bust in and look in the most obvious place will take the loot and run. It seems to work sometimes since these can be the only thing that walks into the shop. Of course heirs can bring them in too.
Anyhoo, I've got my own misc box that I call "the Mother of Collections" since every once in a while something new can be identified from it.
One of these days I'm going to put together the next collection from it which will be token and medal planchets (I think).
Generalism is a hoot but it can be confusing sometimes.
5 years ago or so, I went to appraise a coin and stamp collection and ended up buying 20,000 board feet of OLD growth cypress lumber.
I keep waiting for one of you guys to find me a 1923-D or 1930-D Soviet-issued Mercury dime!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
The most unusual ?
Probably the guy who walked in and proceeded to pull a complete set of loose 1901 Proof Gold coins from his pants pocket.
BTW keets, you're not a grunt and neither am I.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.american-legacy-coins.com
^^ Totally agree. One of my favorite guys lets me do this now and then, and I've come away with some fascinating, weird stuff.
Was working the counter one day when a guy came in with a gold tooth that had still-liquid blood on it. I declined to make the purchase.
I wonder if he needed some quick cash and pulled his own tooth. I remember the story you told about the guy that brought in the 1000 oz silver bar that he painted green so he could hide it in plain sight as a door stop.
This reportedly happened in the shop I once helped out in, though not in my presence. A man supposedly came in and asked if they bought dental gold. At the time they did, so upon hearing that, he went back out of the shop, and in full view of the front windows, he got into his car, spoke to a woman in the car (presumably his wife), went into her mouth, yanked out a gold tooth or two with a pair of pliers, and brought the bloody proceeds in for sale.
I did once see a dealer banging dental gold with a ball-peen hammer to bust out all the old amalgam and tooth material and flatten it out. Ugh. You'd wanna wear goggles when doing that. Not the sort of thing I'd like to have fly into my eye!
As to big silver bars, the dealer I worked for once had me take an 80-pound bar to a metal shop to be sawed in half, since the USPS max weight was 70 pounds and he needed to ship it to the smelter. The guys in the metal shop were kind of fascinated by the whole thing when they put int on a big band saw, and so was I. I don't think they charged us anything. I told 'em to keep the shavings. Forget how much got wasted in the sawing.
Another story I was told (possibly apocryphal, but who knows) was about a customer who brought in a high-AU or Mint State Flowing Hair dollar, and cheerfully mentioned, "I just Tarn-X-ed it for you, so it's all nice and shiny now." He was not happy when told he'd just probably reduced the coin's value by five figures.
Last but not least, there was an interesting bulk Buffalo nickel purchase I personally witnessed.
I call the tale ...
Poetic Justice: The Scammer Who Scammed Himself
A few coin club newsletters even asked permission to reprint it.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
I would love to be in your position.
5 years ago or so, I went to appraise a coin and stamp collection and ended up buying 20,000 board feet of OLD growth cypress lumber.
Timber is and has always been one of the primary cash crops here in coastal SE Georgia. They used to collect the logs together into giant timber rafts upriver and float 'em down to coastal ports like Darien. Some must have sunk in the process somehow, because there are now people who specialize in bringing up these 100+ year old sunken logs. It's apparently worth their while. I guess the stuff that grows nowadays doesn't get as big as the old virgin timber that was cut in the 1800s?
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
maybe the hardest thing for me to assess is Foreign and Ancient coins. last week a husband/wife came in with three Silver hammered coins(drachmas?) they said were from about 400B.C. and the best I could do was direct them to Heritage. they said they had inherited them from the wife's father and placed a value of $10-12k on each one.
about three months ago two women showed up with what we dubbed "The Cat Piss Hoard" of foreign coins, about 25 binders full of 2x2'd coins that were meticulously ID'd in alphabetical order. it was another inheritance that I think was stored in a damp basement and the cats found them!!! it took us several hours to go through them, at one point I had to get up and find something to put under my nose, Listerine was the solution.
it was nasty, the girl who runs our jewelry counter refused to help and she's a cat owner.
This reportedly happened in the shop I once helped out in, though not in my presence. A man supposedly came in and asked if they bought dental gold. At the time they did, so upon hearing that, he went back out of the shop, and in full view of the front windows, he got into his car, spoke to a woman in the car (presumably his wife), went into her mouth, yanked out a gold tooth or two with a pair of pliers, and brought the bloody proceeds in for sale.
They could have been drug addicts who were really desperate for a fix. Really sad.
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
lets not let this thread die
Agree. This is a great thread with a lot of interesting stories......a few of which are quite disturbing.
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
all the "dental gold" stories creep me out because it's one of the tasks I inherited. the easiest way I have found to remove the non-gold is with a torch, then a slight tap and maybe a pick with something sharp. it is quick and less dangerous but can sometimes smell.
That is the easiest way to remove the amalgam, to be sure, but avoid breathing the 'smell' as it contains the mercury vapor.
My shop was in an area of large Jewish population. A guy came in with a Nazi dress dagger. Thank God, he had it in a large paper shopping bag. The store was crowded at the time. I was able to examine it while it was in the bag and purchase it without it coming into view.
Count me among those that would love a fractional shield too !
- Buying a PCGS graded AU coin and cracking it out , so it would match the raw couple of $10 gold AU Indians , to fill an order by TDN's request. (first time I felt guilty about cracking a coin out. Okay, maybe the second time. But that's PAR for the course. Not an omen that he's going to have triplets or anything
-Mitch Ernst (Coinhusker) visits were my favorite. Nothing unusual. Straight talk about coins and the business. The ANA and what's new. And that's when I learned about the 'sower' and his affinity to certain things. He is one of my heroes and a fine ambassador.
-The other day the phone rang. It was a man who just moved to the area. He was looking for a "club" to join. I hope Coinhusker didn't mind me giving out his number.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
it was nasty, the girl who runs our jewelry counter refused to help and she's a cat owner.
I wonder if you could have them custom slabbed by PCGS as the "Cat Piss Hoard" coins?
They always leave the box.
The box collectors may have the last laugh on all us.
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My one question though is how do you authenticate old gold coins that are loose without damaging them? I know on jewelry you can do tests that involve scratching a small spot, but what about coins?
Fun stories. I would love to spend a week in an old-time B&M.
My one question though is how do you authenticate old gold coins that are loose without damaging them? I know on jewelry you can do tests that involve scratching a small spot, but what about coins?
Maybe one of these or something similar if you own a shop?
Fun stories. I would love to spend a week in an old-time B&M.
My one question though is how do you authenticate old gold coins that are loose without damaging them? I know on jewelry you can do tests that involve scratching a small spot, but what about coins?
There is a machine that does it. I think it is called an XRF analyzer. I had some Celtic gold ring money analyzed to establish composition several years ago.
Tom
My YouTube Channel
When she left I saw what looked like a grain of rice laying where her purse was.
It moved! It was a maggot!
My YouTube Channel
A B&M I worked at a few years ago, we had a woman come in to inquire about an item (which wasn't gold) and had her purse on the counter.
When she left I saw what looked like a grain of rice laying where her purse was.
It moved! It was a maggot!
We had one guy that came in for years selling odds and ends when he needed money. Looked like an old college professor (tweedy jacket with leather patches on the elbows, etc.) and an alcoholic.
Over the years he became shabbier and shabbier, in the same tweed coat, and by the smell either homeless or just totally indifferent to his hygiene. I still treated him with respect, but the last time he came in a flea jumped off of him onto the counter. I picked up the buying pad I was using and smacked the flea before it could disappear into the store, and finished the transaction without either of us mentioning the flea. He never came back.
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My B&M has a reputation for buying unusual non-coin pieces over the years. I've been in the shop when people have brought in massive ivory sculptures, antique tools, guns, etc.
I was fortunate enough to pick up three historic newspapers recently and to have sold two of them here. 1791, 1803, and 1862.
That same seller, a history buff in his mid-80s, is liquidating many of his treasures. One item from that same batch was an indenture from the 1600s. My dealer chose to hold on to it for now. Looked something like this:
--Severian the Lame
it was nasty, the girl who runs our jewelry counter refused to help and she's a cat owner.
I wonder if you could have them custom slabbed by PCGS as the "Cat Piss Hoard" coins?
LOL, great idea! Having drained numerous cysts, abscesses and other foul appendages to the human body I can say that Vick's Vaporub is the best odor blocker out there. Just a little dab under the nostrils, and a jar lasts forever.
Not trying to derail, but I'd never heard of those fractional currency shields before. There's one on eBay right now. Somewhat worse for wear, BIN $4750. Auction 171072623166 if you're interested.
My B&M has a reputation for buying unusual non-coin pieces over the years. I've been in the shop when people have brought in massive ivory sculptures, antique tools, guns, etc.
I was fortunate enough to pick up three historic newspapers recently and to have sold two of them here. 1791, 1803, and 1862.
That same seller, a history buff in his mid-80s, is liquidating many of his treasures. One item from that same batch was an indenture from the 1600s. My dealer chose to hold on to it for now. Looked something like this:
That indenture is super cool (as is this whole thread).
I've told this story before but it's been a while. I had a dealer friend who at the time was 70 or so, about 5`6" and maybe weighed 135#. He called me that he needed help and to meet him at his house (he was a vest pocket guy that worked out of his house). He came cruising down the road about 20 mph with the bed of his little pickup almost scraping the axle. In the back was a 55 gallon drum of Barber halves. Mostly AG, but multiple roll sets. I bought 2 sets, a VG set and a VF set. I didn't have the cash to buy any more. After we got them in the house he was afraid that his dining room table would collapse, or the floor under it would cave in.
Neat story....isn't it strange how deals like that just pop up out of nowhere?
The thread is growing.... If we get enough stories, there could be a book in it for the literary prone among us....
RickO, actually a damn good idea....could also include coin show stories/interactions/discoveries etc.......
But besides us, who would buy it? lol
Same dealer that offered me 600 on 100 dollar bags of us 90 percent
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"
never heard back from the guy.
These women held a candle to me, and while I was trying to buy it at .69 times spot ( .715 is ASW) which I felt was fair, they insisted I pay full price for the silver.
They were ready to leave , so I upped the bid and bought it at full price.
Then I began the paper work of recording the seller's name, address, phone, identification, etc.,
As we neared the end of the transaction I asked these two finely dressed ladies where they came upon the coins.
One answered : " I am a teller at a bank. And she (pointing to the other woman) is the manager. An old woman came in to make a deposit and these were the coins she wanted to deposit ".
So I asked politely, "May I ask you what you gave this old woman for her coins on deposit ? "
She answered proudly, "Face value "
In light of all that, I should not have found this "unusual" across the counter. I should have expected that's "normal behavior" from all the posts I've read about dealers over the years.
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