Lost or misplaced coins
What is the most valuable coin that you have lost or misplaced and have yet to find?
Comments
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I know I have a 1983 proof set with a no S dime laying around somewhere. I haven't sold any sets since I bought it so I know it's in the pile somewhere.
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$179
I sold a toned Morgan on eBay, but then couldn't find it anywhere.
The only thing I could think of is I sold it earlier and it didn't get updated???0 -
Just a nice Columbian Exposition SCHD - Eglit 245.
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Someone here accidentally threw a $4 Stella in the garbage, never to be seen again.
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I hid three gold coins worth about $10,000 just before going out of town once. I forgot about them for a few months and then realized they were gone. I thought I shipped them to someone who bought some silver coins by mistake. I sent an email to approzimelty 1,000 eBay buyers asking if anyone had seen it.
Fast forward a long time, I found them hidden behind books on a bookshelf.
Coins I know I have that I can't find; 1999 wide AM cent in ms condition. I found most of the other coins I was missing when I recently moved
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I lost a cool error Lincoln for over 4 years now. I have misplaced 10 pistols but I expect to find them
Mark
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"0 -
Paging Fred Weinberg........
Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.0 -
Me. Stella. Trash. Thrown Away. 1986.
Retired Collector & Dealer in Major Mint Error Coins & Currency since the 1960's.Co-Author of Whitman's "100 Greatest U.S. Mint Error Coins", and the Error Coin Encyclopedia, Vols., III & IV. Retired Authenticator for Major Mint Errors for PCGS. A 50+ Year PNG Member.A full-time numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022.2 -
@FredWeinberg said:
Me. Stella. Trash. Thrown Away. 1986.Just think, it's under a diaper in a landfill somewhere. Someone with a metal detector may find it in a few thousand years.
I have a green, tab toned BU Morgan that I can't seem to find anywhere. I've looked everywhere. Even inside a pillowcase.
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Two coins that I received as birthday presents when I was 10, an MS63 1932-P Washington and an MS63 1948-P Franklin. Both mysteriously disappeared. Not worth a lot per the market, but sentimentally, they were worth quite a bit.
If common sense is so common, why is it so uncommon?0 -
I have told the story here before... of my $5 gold Indian... disappeared for three and a half years.... found it by accident, in a place I cannot imagine it being.... Should not, could not have been there... and yet, there it was. I will never figure that one out. Cheers, RickO
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Not yet knock on wood
however after friends and family visit I always seem
to have misplaced DVD's
Steve
Promote the Hobby0 -
I'll let you know when I find it.
Hoard the keys.0 -
I had set aside a $1 1878 8TF and an 1880-CC dollar for grading about 10 years ago. I have yet to find them.
Jim Hodgson
Collector of US Small Size currency, Atlanta FRNs, and Georgia nationals since 1977. Researcher of small size US type - seeking serial number data for all FRN star notes, Series 1928 to 1934-D. Life member SPMC.0 -
I recently lost an $800 coin, a PQ 1889o Morgan in pcgs 64, for a few weeks. I knew it had to be somewhere and after a few days of tearing things up I realized I needed to stop looking and it would find itself. Kind of like trying to remember something and when you stop thinking about it, it pops into your head. It really does work for finding this too even though that seems unrealistic. Anyway, after a couple of weeks my pillow fell behind my headboard and boom, there was the coin. I don't even remember having it anywhere near my bed and wouldn't have looked there unless as a last resort like checking the freezer for the remote but hey, at least she's back in the safe now.
The more you VAM..1 -
@ricko said:
I have told the story here before... of my $5 gold Indian... disappeared for three and a half years.... found it by accident, in a place I cannot imagine it being.... Should not, could not have been there... and yet, there it was. I will never figure that one out. Cheers, RickORick, did she have some nice toning to her after all that time?
The more you VAM..3 -
@CascadeChris.....no...but she should have...I found it in a box of ammunition.... Cheers, RickO
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I 'lost' a 1864-L AU that I was going to get certified, I had three but when I went to submit I could only find 2.
Bought in the early 70"s...not a real dollar loss but still very frustrating.Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
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When I was at ANACS we once had a package come in with a lot of postage on it, and when the two people opening mail that day opened it they found a padded mailer inside but no coin. The submission form listed some rarity (can't remember what it was now) and the declared value was somewhere in the $45-50K range. They immediately called the Office Manager over, and she called me, and we ransacked the area including the trash looking for the coin. Nothing.
I called the submitter and asked if perhaps he had accidentally sent an empty mailer and still had the coin, as happened with other people a few times. He said no. We later found out that he had then immediately gone down to his local post office and filed a claim for the loss.
We then called the postal inspector's office and they sent over an agent. He interviewed the two people opening mail and the Office Manage and I, and we described to him our careful procedure for opening mail. He believed us.
The next day two postal inspectors showed up at the submittor's home with a warrant, and asked to see the area where he had packaged the coin. It was at a work desk in the submittor's bedroom. As a postal inspector later told me, one of them searched the desk while the other kept an eye on the submittor. After a few minutes he began to wander over towards the bed, and suddenly "discovered" the coin on the floor under the bed. He said that his son must have been in the room as he was packaging the coin. The inspectors got a statement from him confirming that the coin was not lost and left.
We also found out that when the postal inspectors asked his for some documentation of the value of the lost coin, he had shown them an ad for a similar coin of a similar value, that he had ordered as a replacement coin right after filing the postal claim for the lost coin! Didn't even wait to see if it would turn up. Obviously he knew that it would not.
TD
Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.6 -
@CaptHenway said:
When I was at ANACS we once had a package come in with a lot of postage on it, and when the two people opening mail that day opened it they found a padded mailer inside but no coin. The submission form listed some rarity (can't remember what it was now) and the declared value was somewhere in the $45-50K range. They immediately called the Office Manager over, and she called me, and we ransacked the area including the trash looking for the coin. Nothing.I called the submitter and asked if perhaps he had accidentally sent an empty mailer and still had the coin, as happened with other people a few times. He said no. We later found out that he had then immediately gone down to his local post office and filed a claim for the loss.
We then called the postal inspector's office and they sent over an agent. He interviewed the two people opening mail and the Office Manage and I, and we described to him our careful procedure for opening mail. He believed us.
The next day two postal inspectors showed up at the submittor's home with a warrant, and asked to see the area where he had packaged the coin. It was at a work desk in the submittor's bedroom. As a postal inspector later told me, one of them searched the desk while the other kept an eye on the submittor. After a few minutes he began to wander over towards the bed, and suddenly "discovered" the coin on the floor under the bed. He said that his son must have been in the room as he was packaging the coin. The inspectors got a statement from him confirming that the coin was not lost and left.
We also found out that when the postal inspectors asked his for some documentation of the value of the lost coin, he had shown them an ad for a similar coin of a similar value, that he had ordered as a replacement coin right after filing the postal claim for the lost coin! Didn't even wait to see if it would turn up. Obviously he knew that it would not.
TD
Wow. Seems like he was pretty confident he'd get a payout. I wonder if he used that tactic elsewhere previously with success. So did you guys revoke his ability to submit after that?
The more you VAM..0 -
I hid a raw $5 Indian in the house a few years ago and still have not found it.
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Misplaced a GSA softpack containing a 1878-CC. Nothing great but the price was right.
It disappeared out of my pack at a show; my guess is that it wormed out and fell out at a bourse table.Successful BST: dmwjr, ike126, bajjerfan, morganman94, sonoradesertrat, 12voltman, duiguy, gsaguy, gsa1fan, martin, coinfame, zas107, bothuwui, gerard, kccoin, jtwitten, robcool, coinscoins, mountain_goat, and a few more.0 -
@RickO,
Do you believe in 'poltergeists' , ?
They can be very mischievous. Hiding things and then making them reappear in open, common, obvious places.
Dealt with therm a lot as a child.@ricko Edited to ad : Closed ammo container might be an obvious place for some.
at least you found it.Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
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@1630Boston...No, I do not believe in poltergeists, ghosts, goblins, zombies, vampires or werewolves....
Cheers, RickO0 -
@ricko said:
@1630Boston...No, I do not believe in poltergeists, ghosts, goblins, zombies, vampires or werewolves.... Cheers, RickOYes but packrats do exist and coins are shiny
The more you VAM..1 -
I had a Danny Kaye regency slab once that I haven't seen for a couple of years. I don't remember selling it, but I can't find it.
I was throwing away an old briefcase once and looked in it to make sure it was empty. I found a 1/2 ounce and a 1/4 ounce gold eagle that I have no idea when or where I bought them.
....must be getting old.
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Yep... Packrats do exist.... However, this was in a 2x2 and found inside a closed ammo container....
Cheers, RickO0 -
I was on the other end of the lost coin.
I related the story earlier, so I will condense it. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of automotive hardware at a swap meet, and a year or so later, I dumped it out to send the bolts out for chemical strip and plating, and inside was a canvas bank bag, with about $250 to $300 face value silver coins. Sadly, there were about 10 more buckets at the swap meet, and I always wondered what was in the other ones, as the person who was selling them had gotten them at an estate sale.
Restored automotive bolts, with unique lengths, thread counts, head markings, etc. can bring, relatively speaking, a lot of money.
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I had a $20 Liberty gold piece I had left in a car accidentally that I gave to a friend; fortunately his nephew was honest, let me know and returned the coin to me.
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The two that haunt me are a proof 1938 Jefferson nickel that I'd cherrypicked and purchased as BU, and a low grade but very rare 1864 two cent piece with a dramatic repunched date. I still hold out hope that I'll find them in the bottom of a box somewhere.
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'Connor0 -
Once had a lady come into the coin shop with her mother's needle box from her sewing kit, which had a common $2-1/2 Liberty in it. I gave her a price for that, then asked if I could see the needle box. I hefted it, then shook it and felt something move. I asked her permission to pull up the lining of the box, which she gave, and I found a $5 Liberty under the lining.
Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.1 -
Another time in Chicago I had two young Hispanic men come in. They had been working in a scrapyard breaking things down so they could get more metal in a truck headed to a blast furnace over in Indiana, and inside the shell of a washing machine they found 30 or so gold coins wrapped in tin foil and taped to the inside of the washing machine,
Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.3 -
Just before I started working at Rarcoa in 1968, one of the owners, Ben Dreiske was at the Metropolitan NY show and lost an 1841 "Princess" quarter eagle, probably in the garbage by the backup table. We had photos of it and checked everyone that appeared for sale and it has never shown up
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Last night I was examining a Seated half dime at my sister's and turned the sofa upside down trying to find it, she told her friends I was going nuts....I found the coin; it would be nuts not to try to find it.
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Found it!
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I lost a 1955 DDO in XF about 10 years ago. It was in a 2x2 flip and all I can think of is that, without looking, I pulled it out and threw it into a bag of wheat cents that went to auction.
Thanksgiving 2026 National Battlefield Coin Show November 27 & 28, 2026 at the Eisenhower Hotel Ballroom, Gettysburg, PA. No Early Bird passes for this show. WWW.AmericasCoinShows.com0 -
I managed to lose a GSA Carson City silver dollar which I bought during the sales of the early 1970's.
I noticed the coin missing in the early 1980's although I still have the GSA certificates and cardboard box.
I don't know the date of the coin as the coin was one of the lower grade uncirculated ones where the certificate did not state the date.
The GSA certificates that came with the silver dollar:
GSA Certificate 1
GSA Certificate 2https://www.brianrxm.com
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television0 -
Just thought of this.
About 4 or 5 years ago purchased some junk silver on craigslist.
Counted it at the sale but while driving tried to open the bag and coins went flying.
lost 2 Washington........never found them..............sold the car.............probably ended up in China with the car as scrap metal.
@ricko Another reason why parking lot finds help to make up the difference.Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
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1915 S $2.5 Pan-Pac gold coin.
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@CaptHenway said:
When I was at ANACS we once had a package come in with a lot of postage on it, and when the two people opening mail that day opened it they found a padded mailer inside but no coin. The submission form listed some rarity (can't remember what it was now) and the declared value was somewhere in the $45-50K range. They immediately called the Office Manager over, and she called me, and we ransacked the area including the trash looking for the coin. Nothing.I called the submitter and asked if perhaps he had accidentally sent an empty mailer and still had the coin, as happened with other people a few times. He said no. We later found out that he had then immediately gone down to his local post office and filed a claim for the loss.
We then called the postal inspector's office and they sent over an agent. He interviewed the two people opening mail and the Office Manage and I, and we described to him our careful procedure for opening mail. He believed us.
The next day two postal inspectors showed up at the submittor's home with a warrant, and asked to see the area where he had packaged the coin. It was at a work desk in the submittor's bedroom. As a postal inspector later told me, one of them searched the desk while the other kept an eye on the submittor. After a few minutes he began to wander over towards the bed, and suddenly "discovered" the coin on the floor under the bed. He said that his son must have been in the room as he was packaging the coin. The inspectors got a statement from him confirming that the coin was not lost and left.
We also found out that when the postal inspectors asked his for some documentation of the value of the lost coin, he had shown them an ad for a similar coin of a similar value, that he had ordered as a replacement coin right after filing the postal claim for the lost coin! Didn't even wait to see if it would turn up. Obviously he knew that it would not.
TD
amazing, what people will do for a buck
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Back in the early 90's I bought a 1884-S Morgan that was advertised as "Brilliant Uncirculated", and from what I remember it was a really nice coin. Five military moves later I still can't find it in one of those fire resistant boxes (Sentry Safe). Knowing my luck I would be better off not knowing if it was "whizzed" or garner a "details" grade today...if I found it.
oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...1 -
I misplaced a $20 High Relief Saint Gaudens in PCGS MS62 that I had won in an auction. Had forgotten I even had it when several year later it fell out of some papers that I had filed away.
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That is a nice re-find.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
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Lost an ICG 1950 MS64 FBL Franklin about 12 years ago. Completely forgot about it. Found under my desk area which is rather heavy L shaped while searching for a coin sold on ebay which I later found.
Upon finding the 1950 half memory jarred and gladly added it to inventory / online store, an $85 MV coin. The old cost sticker / code still on it an showed I had $42 in it. Still have it and won't take less my asking price.
Investor0 -
The post office lost these two beauties. Monetarily about $500, but toning wise, not replaceable.
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@jwitten
When did they lose them and did you have any recourse. Just curious.Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
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@FredWeinberg said:
Me. Stella. Trash. Thrown Away. 1986.Ok I guess I'll be the one. I've been on here a few years but this story is all news to me and I must know the story here.
I have plans....sometimes0
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