Grandma's Collection- New pics posted 9:45amMST, 2/1

maryhm · January 30, 2007 3:02AM

Hello everyone,

I just got back from Texas where my husband and I cleaned out his Grandmother's estate. In her safe deposit box, we found a huge stash of coins. I know absolutely nothing about coins, and Grandma has Alzheimer's and can't help. I'm working on cataloging everything and would appreciate any information- history, neat facts, value, etc... that you might have about any of the coins. We plan on keeping the collection for our sons.

View the pics at:
http://www.monshaugenfamily.com/coins.htm

If there are any coins you'd like to see better pictures of, let me know. Most are going in to the safe deposit box this afternoon, but I'll be able to go there and get specific pictures as needed.

Mary

commoncents05 · January 30, 2007 3:04AM

Linky

-Paul

Barndog · January 30, 2007 3:07AM

if you don't have one, go to a book store and purchase a "Red Book" for US Coins. It will help.

maryhm · January 30, 2007 3:09AM

I'm in a pretty remote area. Went to Wal Mart today at the suggestion of some people on other boards, and they didn't have the book. I'll probably have to order it online.

Russ · January 30, 2007 3:10AM

Russ, NCNE

Bochiman · January 30, 2007 3:10AM

Don't clean any.
Not with a cloth, not with a liquid solution, not even with your thumb.

TwoSides2aCoin · January 30, 2007 3:14AM

Hi Mary. Thanks for sharing this information.
Don't clean any of them... just let them be. They are fun to put in folders or type set albums. They look like they might keep you busy for a while. How old are the boys ? This can be an excellent source for teaching about art, history, minting practices and the metals prices. How the value of each piece of silver is almost 9 times face value in worth, or that certain coins hold greater value.

There are many here who will help you and yours along the way.

Welcome here, too.

Joe

Russ · January 30, 2007 3:14AM

Just looked at your site. I can tell already that you're going to do just fine figuring things out and getting the collection organized. You're off to an excellent start.

Russ, NCNE

cincycoin · January 30, 2007 3:15AM

I sure wish I had a grandma like yours.
Welcome to the boards.
Joe

Animalkeeper · January 30, 2007 3:17AM

Be very careful to not touch the surfaces of the coins with your fingers. The ones you identify as "new and shiny" are particularly sensitive to oily finger prints. Some of those coins are probably quite valuable depending on their condition. Try to learn which ones before doing anything with them. Any coin collectors in the family?

richardshipp · January 30, 2007 3:24AM

Looks like Grandma was busy !

Super opportunity for the kids to learn alot; not only about coins but history as well. As stated already. Don't clean, wipe, soak, scrape, anything. Get ahold of some books that can help you identify what you have. The Redbook is a good start; although there might be certain varieties among your coins that could value the coin at a higher value than one of the same year / mint mark which was a different variety.
Figure out if you have any "key" coins by type. If you do; some folks will be trying to get them from you.

Have fun, go slow, and enjoy.

Oh BTW,

RichieURich · January 30, 2007 3:34AM

to the Forum, Maryhm! Good job so far. In addition to not cleaning anything, the coins that are in holders should not be removed from them. Change the word "vial" to "tube" to the term familiar to collectors. Other than that, you're doing fine so far. You might want to offer the items on the Buy, Sell, Trade Forum here.

lkrarecoins · January 30, 2007 3:34AM

We plan on keeping the collection for our sons. Good Idea! Enjoy them...

ajaan · January 30, 2007 3:37AM

The Philip I Roman coins are worth about $25 each

Midus1 · January 30, 2007 3:39AM

Very nice collection for the boys!!

ricko · January 30, 2007 3:56AM

Welcome to the boards... nice collection... and excellent catalog effort ... Thanks for sharing .. Cheers, RickO

mhammerman · January 30, 2007 4:10AM

Nice Grandma! Excellent job of photography and organizing the collection. Order your books on-line. You have months of fun ahead of you. Remember, don't clean the coins. Maybe while you are on-line you can get some safe flips (non-pvc) and they come with some little paper inserts you can write the date, mintmark, and denomination of the coin. You have the start of a very nice collection.

Coin ON!

JJM · January 30, 2007 4:37AM

nice lil stash !!!!

lathmach · January 30, 2007 6:22AM

You have the best idea, keeping them for your children.
I sure wish my grandpa would have had some 50 to 100 year old coins when he died, and I'd have been left them. That woulda been so cool.
My grandpa died in 1906.

Ray

BECOKA · January 30, 2007 6:27AM

Wow that is quite a set. That must have been a pretty big safety deposit box.

I agree get the redbook and you should be able to identify 99% of the coins.

Dennis88 · January 30, 2007 6:28AM

pendragon1998 · January 30, 2007 6:45AM

You might find the following link useful: What You Need To Know: Inherited Coin Collections

SanctionII · January 30, 2007 7:10AM

Welcome.

It seems like over the past month there have been many persons such as yourself who find themselves with a parent's or a grandparent's coin collection and who do some research and end up here. Helping these persons out is gratifying to us regulars.

I will restate what has been said and add a few other thoughts. Do not clean the coins. Buy a Redbook as it is a great resources with loads of information and pictures on coins. The Redbook is invaluable to persons who are new to coin collecting. Read up on property storage and handling of coins.

Once you complete your inventory of the collection and have it organized and stored properly, you can then, at your leisure, learn about what you have. Many books are available on the hobby. Some are general. Some are narrow in focus (i.e. US $20.00 gold coins). Further, coins which may appear at first glance to be common (i.e. a 1945 P nickel or a 1955 P cent) can turn out to be uncommon and valuable (i.e. a 1945 P nickel which has a double die reverse, or a 1955 P double die obverse cent). For example, I recently bought a set of uncirculated nickels from 1938 to 1964 for a little over $100.00. After looking through the individual coins I found a 1945 P double die reverse nickel. That one coin is probably worth twice what I paid for the entire set. A great book on this topic is called "Cherrypickers". The book is in its 4th edition and is 2 volumes. Vol. 1 covers half cents tthrough nickels. Vol. 2 covers half dimes through $20.00 gold coins. Both books are very good.

Once again, welcome. And, have fun with the collection.

maryhm · January 30, 2007 9:55AM

Thanks to all of you for the warm welcome and the great advice!

Posted pics of vials #36-#54 (name has been changed to tubes as I was told this is the hobby term). Everything that is currently posted is now in the safe deposit box, but if you want a better picture of something let me know and I can get it to you in a couple of days.

PrivateCoinCollector · January 30, 2007 10:03AM

If you have a hard time finding the Red book you can buy it on Amazon.com. Looks like you have some nice things there, especially the older dimes and halfs. Neat stuff. Hope the boys take to it.

numisma · January 30, 2007 10:38AM

Welcome to the forum! I am sure most people here are impressed by the images, layout and information found on your web site. Nice job!

Regarding the coins, I agree with the others that you should buy some books and take your time while evaluating your newly found coins. Now that you know how to find us, I would suggest that you post larger images of certain coins on this forum for a coin-by-coin analysis by forum members. Of course you wouldn't do that for every coin in the collection, but rather just the ones that you think may be interesting.

The Red Book (Guide Book of United States Coins) will give you information on certain dates that also have known varieties that can be valuable. For example, check the 1917 cent for a doubled die obverse (front of the coin) and check the 1937-D nickel for a 3-legged buffalo error. Finding such an error would be a long shot, but it happens. Involved the kids in your search of the coins. Maybe they will become coin collectors!

The best coin that I can see after a quick glance through the collection is your 1838 No Drapery Dime. It does look AU, but we would want a better image of the coin to be sure. It looks like the "Large Star" variety, which is the more common of the 2 varieties, but if it is an original AU coin, it would have a retail value of $200 or so. The Carson City silver dollars you listed are common dates, but they look like they are nice. Maybe in the future you could post images of just those coins here and we can take a guess at the grade. Condition is very important when trying to determine value.

A lot of the coins that you listed will only be worth their silver value, which is just about 10X face value at this time. The collection you posted is very similar to many of the collections that I have appraised or purchased over the years. They usually have some proof/mint sets, silver dollars, silver coins, wheat cents, etc. They usually have a bit of paper money too.

Anyway, thanks for showing us your coins. I enjoyed looking through all of them!

Omega · January 30, 2007 10:55AM

Welcome! Wow, that is great! Sounds like you have already received some great advice. Good Luck and thanks for sharing.

morgansforever · January 30, 2007 11:26AM

1. Whitman Redbook, color pics, great info, a must have, buy a copy!
2. Take the time and research your coins, knowledge is a powerful tool.
3. Don't walk into a B&M and say, "whats it worth", with no idea what you have.
4. Handle coins by the edges.
5. Don't clean anything, original coins are more desirable.

Good luck, and sorry for your loss.

cladking · January 30, 2007 11:32AM

Welcome aboard.

maryhm · January 30, 2007 11:25PM

numisma- Thank you for the information. Everything I posted yesterday went into the safe deposit box, but I'll be going back tomorrow and I'll get that 1838 dime out and get better pics for you. My problem is that I don't know what coins are "good" and which ones aren't, so it's hard for me to decide which ones to try to get better pics of. If you see anything of interest, just let me know.

Just posted pics of some proof sets. I'm back to the pocket album, and that's the stuff I find interesting! I posted pages 3 and 4. Don't lynch me, but I can only look at so many half dollars and silver dollars before I get a little bored! Glad those tubes are done!

numisma · January 30, 2007 11:47PM

Mary, We would be interested in getting a closer look at the 3 Bust Halves you posted to your web site. That 1836 half looks cool. Other coins worth getting a better image of are the 1914-D Dime and 1905 Nickel. You list the 1905 as a proof, but it looks uncirculated.

You can also check the following Proof Sets for errors: 1968 - look for a dime missing the S mintmark. 1970 - same thing. 1971 - look for a set with the nickel missing the S mintmark.

For the Walking Liberty Halves dated 1938, be sure to check the lower left of the reverse for a mintmark. The 1938-D is worth a big premium.

maryhm · January 31, 2007 12:07AM

Please forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what a bust half is. Could you tell me which tube I have them listed in? I'm making a list of things to retrieve tomorrow. Thank you so much!!

guitarwes · January 31, 2007 12:27AM

The Bust 1/2's are the 50 cent pieces dated pre-1838.

looks like you have a nice collection and have started cataloging them very nicely!

Get smart before you sell! There are alot of people who would probably want to talk you out of all those coins for a song. unless you have to sell them quickly, (i.e. to pay inheritance tax, property tax, funeral bills, etc.) keep them until you know what they're valued at in the current market........

I like people finding new stuff....it's neat...............wes

RYK · January 31, 2007 12:32AM

Cool hoard. Enjoy.

TwoSides2aCoin · January 31, 2007 12:44AM

<< <i>Please forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what a bust half is. Could you tell me which tube I have them listed in? I'm making a list of things to retrieve tomorrow. Thank you so much!! >>

Mary have you gotten a red book ? They are less than 20 dollars including shipping. You should get that first so you can actually SEE a photo of what coins are which. You really need that book, okay ?
Knowing what you have will take some time.

I took this picture off of ebay as an example to show you :

maryhm · January 31, 2007 12:53AM

Yes, I know I need the book. Problem is that I live in the middle of no where. Wal Mart didn't have it. My boss used to be into coins and he said there's a coin shop about 50 miles from here, so if this white stuff ever quits falling out of the sky, I'm going to head over there!

cheezhed · January 31, 2007 12:57AM

Nice little collection.

Thanks for sharing.

It seems like your Grandmother was quite a numismatist.

TwoSides2aCoin · January 31, 2007 1:02AM

<< <i>Yes, I know I need the book. Problem is that I live in the middle of no where. Wal Mart didn't have it. My boss used to be into coins and he said there's a coin shop about 50 miles from here, so if this white stuff ever quits falling out of the sky, I'm going to head over there! >>

Mary, you can find one right here on the BST (buy sell trade forum) ... just post over there that you would like an older redbook. I would send you my old one but I used the back of it for girls phone numbers and I can't give this information out. It would get your husband and me in trouble

just kidding... enjoy the boards,...

Joe.

coppercoins · January 31, 2007 1:19AM

Mary - You can send me a private message or an email and I can pass some information to you regarding some rarities that could possibly exist in your 1970 and 1971 proof sets. If they are there they should be noted for your sons, because they could be easy to miss. In some cases this can turn a $10 proof set into a $2000 proof set. These anomalies are rather minute (to the unaided eye) so I'll have to get you some close up photos and a bit of instruction in what to look for.

Others...I will be instructing Mary to look for:

1970S small date cent
1970S no S dime
1970S doubled dies
1971S doubled dies

maryhm · January 31, 2007 1:26AM

I'm not sure why I'm so dumb, but I can't figure out how to send a PM on this board! I really do know some stuff (I swear!)- just not stuff about coins and using this board's functions.

fastrudy · January 31, 2007 1:31AM

You send a PM to somebody by clicking on the little lock icon on the upper right hand side of this post.

Darth5oh · January 31, 2007 1:33AM

You have your PM function set to "off" in your profile...

fastrudy · January 31, 2007 1:34AM

And you see if you have any PM's sent to you by going to the top of any page. Look at the upper left under "Collectors universe message boards" and you will see a small box with a lock inside it. If you click on the small box, it will go to all of the PM's people sent you. I'll send you one so you can try it.

fastrudy · January 31, 2007 1:39AM

Hi Darth5oh! How are you doing! She has her PM on.

But she is now offline.

messydesk · January 31, 2007 1:40AM

Go to Brent-Krueger, look on the right edge of their home page, and you'll probably see both the 2007 "Red BooK" and the ANA Grading Standards. Start with those books. They will not only help you to figure out what you have, but also to ask more detailed questions.

Welcome to the board and in case it hasn't been said enough, don't clean anything.

guitarwes · January 31, 2007 1:42AM

Mary, when you want to PM someone, just go to a message they've written and click on the little lock icon in the upper right hand corner of their post, it is between the lightbulb(which if it's blue tells you if they are not logged-in, and if it's yellow they are currently logged-in) and the printer looking icon.

maryhm · January 31, 2007 1:44AM

Figured out the PM stuff. Thanks guys. I seem to get the idea that I shouldn't clean these coins...

If I had a dollar for everytime someone said that, I could start a new collection! You guys are all great and I'm really enjoying and appreciating your comments.

Darth5oh · January 31, 2007 1:45AM

<< <i>Hi Darth5oh! How are you doing! She has her PM on.

But she is now offline. >>

Hey - doing fine. This thread is Deja-Vu for me! lol...

BRdude · January 31, 2007 1:45AM

aww, cmon guys, looks like a bunch of circulated junk....I'll give ya $1000 for it

No, just kidding you

You have a great feat ahead of you just figureing out what you have!!!! Lots of good advice already given. FOLLOW IT!!!! It will probably mean a lot of $$ for you if you do. If you do decide to sell anything, if it were me and mine, I wouldn't sell anything except the common junk silver, (and at 9-10 times face, there is a considerable amount of $$ there) All the "circulated" Franklin halves, kennedy halves (64 or earlier) most of the walking liberty halves would probably also be in this catagory. One thiing is, common circulated stuff is only worth the silver value of it so no since wasting a bunch of time seeing if there are any rarities. Probably aren't.. Some of the proof or mint sets (if you have the ones with the known errors) and the bust and seated coinage, and the uncirculated silver dollars are where most of the $$ is. Like most said. Thanks for showing it to us. Nobody has said it so I will "most of us are GREEN with envy" at just the chance to go thru a collection like that is almost better than SEX!!!! LOL there is plenty of good people here to answer questions, check out scans and give you advice, or just anything we can do for you....Just hollar, and good luck.....Kory

cartwheel · January 31, 2007 1:54AM

It's taken a little time and a lot of effort, but I've managed to decipher the code spelled out in the arrangement of you grandmother's coins in the photos. It says: "Send them all to Cartwheel."

Don't bother thanking me; glad to be of service.

Cartwheel

P.S.

to the boards!

maryhm · January 31, 2007 2:27AM

Just finished posting the rest of the coins in the Pocket Album- pages 5-10. I definitely need some help with a few things in there. Up to almost 1500 coins now! My paltry original estimate of 500-600 is just a little off.

http://www.monshaugenfamily.com/coins.htm

Grandma's Collection- New pics posted 9:45amMST, 2/1

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