Gems are Still Out There
CharlotteDude
Posts: 3,047 ✭✭✭✭✭
Wanted to share a pretty cool story about this pair of exceptional quarter eagles I recently purchased from a fellow co-worker (an older gentleman) a couple months ago and had submitted to CACG at last month’s B’more Whitman show. My co-worker explained that his wife received them from her mother, who received them from her mother (wife’s grandmother), whose grandparents had purchased them directly from a Massachusetts bank to commemorate her birth year (1907) and again on her 1st birthday (1908), respectively. Both QEs had been sitting in the couple’s SDB for decades, and after doing some downsizing, decided to sell them. While I would’ve normally been skeptical about the whole background story, I was reassured when the co-worker pulled the coins out from their original boxes, looking the same as the day they were purchased from the bank back in 1907 & 1908.
Whenever someone contacts me about “old coins” they have to sell, I’ve learned to approach with caution as most turn out to be common wheat pennies, junk silver, or on the infrequent occasion that they’re actually old gold, exhibit significant wear, marks, and/or other processing problems, (or worse - are counterfeit) and certainly have no “history” to go with them. These two are the exception and in my opinion are examples of undiscovered gems “still out there, waiting to be found”.
The 1907 has screaming luster… a total bomb of orange-peel brilliance, exceptional for even CACG’s MS65 grade.
The 1908 exhibits a soft, original luster glow, as is typical of a freshly minted, incused Indian design, and is quite lovely for the CACG MS64 grade. 
And let’s not forget the boxes… the green one has “Blackstone National Bank Uxbridge, Mass” stamped on the inside top cover. This bank served the Uxbridge community from the 1865 until at least 1935.
Comments
This period (first decade of the 1900s) was the height of popularity for non collectors to obtain a small gold coin from the local bank to give to a newborn. Quarter eagles seem, by far, to be the most popular denomination, probably because of their affordability and lack of gold dollars available after 1900. Many coins were spent or mishandled but, yes, there are still some lucky gems out there.
I really like the 1907. Outstanding luster.
Oh my...
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Great finds in the wild!
Latin American Collection
Fantastic looking examples ... thanks for sharing the coins and the story @CharlotteDude
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Excellent coins. My very first coin was a 1907 QE, not as nice as yours, but in a PCGS MS65 holder. It was given to me as a birth gift. But unlike most coin collectors, I'm not quite 117 years old...
Collector of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, including die pairs and die states
Exciting acquisitions and the boxes are so cool. Peace Roy
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You made our day with these beautiful coins.
I'd love to catch @PeakRarities reaction when he opens this thread.
peacockcoins
Fantastic coins and history!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Beautiful coins and great history. Any temptation to put them back in their original holders?
Thank you for sharing.
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
Great story! Lots of cool stuff has come to light in the last few years.
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
Super story and very nice coins!
Great looking coins & a great story to go with it! CONGRATULATIONS!
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
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Copperindian
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Copperindian
Amazing coins AND story! WOW!!!!!
Dave
Great everything
Awesome story! That 1907 is a luster bomb! Im still waiting for a find like this to show up at my office!
Wow! Fabulous coins and the backstory is also amazing; thanks for sharing these with us.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Congratulations! I'm sure many more "Birthday" coins are out there. You were in the right place at the right time. I'm sure you will be a good steward of those gems.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
(Following the language of the OP post, but not necessarily the above comments, and since we are deep enough down the thread, few will ever see it.)
Several years ago at a major show (Portland, OR), I hung out at a table along the back wall in the cheap area with a local dealer. Just watching the fun and how the guys were doing along the back row, when a trio came slowly up the aisle. Middle aged couple pushing a wheelchair with an elderly gentleman. They appeared to come directly back to us, although I am not sure why they bypassed the entire room (if they did?). They pulled up right in front of our 8' of real estate and were greeted.
The elderly man mentioned he had a few coins he wanted to sell, but was unsure of how much he could get. He pulled a PCGS slab out of his pocket and handed it to our table leader . . . '56 Flyer in MS63 (not PR). That got some attention. Then he drew out 3-4 envelopes indicating these were examples of the bulk of his collection. I immediately recognized the old style of envelopes and he slid a large cent out of a cotton liner inside each envelope. I saw several of the most spectacular raw large cents I have ever seen in person, auction, or my wildest dreams. The planchets were so 'hard' they looked like glossy proofs. We recommended he get them graded (offered to assist in any way he needed), gave him a card, and never heard back again. I have always looked for those cents, all across my numismatic world . . . and have never seen them again.
There ARE amazing coins (gems) still out there.
Drunner
I took my friend to a Long Beach show a few years ago. We submitted three uncirculated1886-S half eagles that were sitting in his father’s SDB for years. Apparently his father got them when he was born. His father is from New Jersey so I have no ideas how he got coins from SF. PCGS graded two 64 and one 63.
My wife’s father was born in 1919. In 1925 when he was six his aunt gave him a newly minted 1925 D quarter eagle. It passed to my wife when her father died 13 years ago. In 2025 it will be a century in her family.
In 2004 I took my father in law to a Long Beach show, bought him a single coin Capital holder, took his quarter eagle out of the envelope it had sat in for decades and put it into the Capital holder, where it remains today.
It has been and is a hidden gem.
Beautiful coins.
Having original, period correct boxes only adds to the value. And no, not only monetary. That in it's self is a gem find!
Those are splendid! What a great story!
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Oh I'm a believer, that's for sure. I always appreciate reading about finds like this, and it's remarkable when the coins weren't molested somewhere along the way. After the Brown Bros auction with the $50 Assay slug, I'm convinced that anything is possible no matter how unlikely.
An interesting point by @sellitstore, I hadn't thought about this before but it's true. The vast majority of cool finds "in the wild" that I've seen had been gold from the early 1900's. In the past year I've seen it happen with a couple proof Indians (incuse), Pan-Pac gold set, a few more I don't remember, and then one that I would not have believed had I not seen the pictures. The gentleman told me his great aunt's brother in law was a mint employee and was excited about the new coinage in 1907. He brought home two $20 pieces, and a $10, which had eventually bee left to him. I looked at the $20 picture and saw a wired edge high relief in gem, but my attention was swiftly pulled from that when I saw the $10 was no ordinary no-motto 1907......
Unfortunately, he said that the other $20 had been lost somewhere along the way, but based on the circumstances I just cant help but wonder....
I suggested he get them in plastic, at least the $10, for protection if nothing else. I never saw it show up in CoinFacts, I try to check it as often as it can remember lol.
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I'm also one that values the story and the history. I'll gladly pay "too much" as it think it ties in to what numismatics is truly about. Sometimes amazing finds can come up locally from generations finally discovering or deciding to sell family heirlooms. It can be sad that they are leaving the family, but there is a silver lining if they end up protected and in the hands of someone who appreciates them and knows their value.
I was able to acquire a 1829 $2.5 that was bought at the bank as a birthday gift and stayed in the family almost 200 years. It came from a family of political significance and I was able to trace back each heir over the 200 year period. I have the envelope and coin cabinet it was stored in (I had a post a few year ago about it). Just amazing that it was preserved. There were several proof morgans as well but I spent it all on the $2.5.
Congrats on your finds. Those are beautiful coins and I hope you cherish them.
Thanks for sharing DD. What an amazing piece to walk in the door!
Thanks PM. I recall when you first posted about that find and would love to see pics of that ‘29 QE again.
Very well may be the only time in my life at least, that a HR Saint in gem was the least interesting one in the group
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Great story and thanks for sharing.