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RockyMtnProspector
Posts: 754 ✭✭✭✭✭
A recent auction featured an unopened box of 5 GSA dollars marked "5 MIX"--there were also two others marked with two of the common years available, 1883 and 1884.
I've taken a look back at some of gsaguy's old posts and done some searching online, but couldn't find a specific answer to this scenario. What years/mints were available in the 1980s "mix" category? I'm wondering what was possible AND what was plausible or more likely in a box of this type.
I'm familiar with the divide over the gambling aspect, as well as the bait-and-switch some have warned about, but let's assume this was authentic and unopened for 36 years (I was 2 when this last, original sale occurred).
GSAs, OBW rolls, Seated, Walkers. Anything old and Colorado-focused, CO nationals.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
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Directly from a GSA brochure:
Mixed CC Dollars: These coins have never been circulated by the US Government. The years 1879 through 1885 plus 1890 and 1891 are included. These are the coins that have been culled out of the entire Government holding of CC dollars since they do not meet the numismatic standards for "uncirculated classification".
Hope this helps.
bob:)
So someone was speculating on a 79/90/91 or multiple 80/81/85s? $4620 with the juice or $925 a pop is quite the bet.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
I was watching that auction as well. I believe around 91% of coins in the mixed category were 1882-1884. A tiny fraction of a percent were 1879, 1890, 1891. It was something like .015 of a percent (can't remember but I did look it up). The odds favor (3) '82-'84 coins.
That said there may be some nice toner in there or maybe you get really luck.
I gave this one a run and came up short. I would have opened those suckers.
Yeah, $4200+ was a leeetle outside my budget. I was following just to see how high it went.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
I was surprised by the strong bids on that one, but if the winner grabbed a toner 79-CC then all is good. More of a gamble then I could do.
That would be quite the score, but those are long odds, it seems, based on all I've read (the old gsaguy threads are really cool).
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
I was bid out relatively early (well, Sunday mid afternoon early) and yes, plans were to open those! Absolutely agree that this was unopened as well. I thought it would top out at around 2500, but obviously there were two strong bidders!
A big...very big.. gamble.... years ago I purchased quite a few unopened GSA Morgans from GSAGuy.... Great coins but did not hit the jackpot. Cheers, RickO
I think that one should take into account how many of each date were in the GSA sales. As a percentage the '79 accounts for .00137 of the total CC's and the 90 and 91 together account for .0032 of the total CC's. So put them all three together and you have 1/2 of 1% chance of hitting a jackpot. Add the '85 (which is .05 of the total) and you increase your odds significantly to 5.5%....
Probably not worth the chance. You just have to hope for 65's and 66's, or monster toner.
Interesting numbers, so if you bought 1000 of these, you might get one 1879-CC. The auction price is totally whacked for what will end up being some beat up 82-84 GSA's.
In my life, I have opened about 10 of these, and have yet to find a coin outside of the 82-84 dates, and that was not beat to all heck. My best finds have come from opened boxes by collectors who bought a bunch and kept the good ones years ago. I found a 66 DMPL that way.
I participated in one of the last GSA sales. The mixed coins were sold for $15 each. I ordered 75 of them and the GSA cut all the orders to a limit of 5. Many didn't get any at all since they were way oversold. I was lucky enough to get 5. In the package I received was 1 1882CC, 1 1883CC, 1 1884CC, and 2 1885CC. I was very fortunate I think and all were $15 each. I still have 4 of the 5. I sold one of the 1885CC for $850 several years ago. Here is a pic of the 85 I sold. Regretted it ever since.
Wow, what a nice coin! Thank you for sharing this information. When you say 75, you mean 15 boxes of 5?
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
That 1885 is very nice.... I had one of those in an unopened box....still have it. (My coins stay with me...) Cheers, RickO
They were sold individually. You could order 1 coin or more. When the GSA cut the orders to a limit of 5, the most you could get in a package was 5 per address. They sold for $15 each since they were considered tarnished and not brilliant.
where all 5 you received attractively toned? do you have pics of 4 you still have?
I also ordered three of the mix and got an '82, an '84, and an '85. Still believe it was one of my best buys ever--and wish I'd gone all in on whatever they were selling.