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Moon money kennedy halves at auction
Rob85635
Posts: 1,230 ✭✭✭
I went to an auction today that consisted primarily of jewelry. There were also some lots of stamps, coins, knives and other collectables. I did my usual pre-auction inspections and wrote down what I wanted to bid on. The auction was held at a church and if I had to guess, the lots were donated by church members but I am not positive, I didn't ask. Most of the items were lower end pieces and perfect for someone like me who is of somewhat modest means. There was not a single piece of gold jewelry that was not plated, there were a small amount of silver lots (maybe 25) and the rest was costume, beads, etc.
I decided to bid on some of the jewelry, a lot of 12 kennedy halves and an Ike dollar, a bag of circulated coins all modern and a few other items.
It became apparent almost immediately that ( to me ) the stuff was going for more than it was worth and there would likely be no bargains but I held out hope for the half dollar and Ike lot. It was sealed in a baggie and there was not a lot of wiggle room to inspect the coins but I did manage to make out 5 1964 halves with a possibility of a 6th. The rest of the halves were all clad and the Ike was a common date. Inspecting for varieties was not really possible because I could not get a good look even through the bag.
When the lot came up and the bidding began I told myself I would bid no more than $50 for that lot, I figured I might get lucky and pick it up at slightly better than melt. That was not to be. When bidding hit $60 I stopped, there were three people left interested. At about $80 it was down to 2 people who went back and forth. When the price was final I was in shock. $185 or $190, I don't remember which. I was dumbfounded. I am by no means an expert but that lot could not have been hiding anything worth that kind of money, this stuff was banged up and hard for anyone to tell anything other than it was all circulated. Looking for varieties would have been hard because of the way it was bagged.
To further prove there was something nutty in the air, the same two went back and forth over a 1 gram rectangular gold piece. It was stamped ".417 Fine Gold". That one went for over $160 with the winning bidder being the same guy who got the halves. If I am not mistaken that gold piece is worth about $20.
Oh well, I didn't win anything I wanted but I did pick up some stamps. I know nothing about stamps but I might give them to my mom if she wants them, she collects stamps a little and it was only $7.00, I could not go home empty handed
editted for spelling / grammer
I decided to bid on some of the jewelry, a lot of 12 kennedy halves and an Ike dollar, a bag of circulated coins all modern and a few other items.
It became apparent almost immediately that ( to me ) the stuff was going for more than it was worth and there would likely be no bargains but I held out hope for the half dollar and Ike lot. It was sealed in a baggie and there was not a lot of wiggle room to inspect the coins but I did manage to make out 5 1964 halves with a possibility of a 6th. The rest of the halves were all clad and the Ike was a common date. Inspecting for varieties was not really possible because I could not get a good look even through the bag.
When the lot came up and the bidding began I told myself I would bid no more than $50 for that lot, I figured I might get lucky and pick it up at slightly better than melt. That was not to be. When bidding hit $60 I stopped, there were three people left interested. At about $80 it was down to 2 people who went back and forth. When the price was final I was in shock. $185 or $190, I don't remember which. I was dumbfounded. I am by no means an expert but that lot could not have been hiding anything worth that kind of money, this stuff was banged up and hard for anyone to tell anything other than it was all circulated. Looking for varieties would have been hard because of the way it was bagged.
To further prove there was something nutty in the air, the same two went back and forth over a 1 gram rectangular gold piece. It was stamped ".417 Fine Gold". That one went for over $160 with the winning bidder being the same guy who got the halves. If I am not mistaken that gold piece is worth about $20.
Oh well, I didn't win anything I wanted but I did pick up some stamps. I know nothing about stamps but I might give them to my mom if she wants them, she collects stamps a little and it was only $7.00, I could not go home empty handed
editted for spelling / grammer
Rob the Newbie
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Comments
a lot of people think any kennedy half or ike is valuable.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
Local unknown artist but the money went to the building fund of the Elk's hall when we were founding the local chapter were I was living then.
Should of seen what some of the pies and cakes went for.
The people there were mostly older people that didn't seem to know much about coins! go figure!
<< <i>Charity auctions are not normally going to go for what the item is worth. I have a 7 1/2" country scene painted saw blade on my wall that cost about a hundred dollars twenty some years ago.
Local unknown artist but the money went to the building fund of the Elk's hall when we were founding the local chapter were I was living then.
Should of seen what some of the pies and cakes went for.
I'm on a Traditional Hot Rod/Custom car site (HAMB) and they just had a Charity Auction for Joplin... some cookies went for hundreds.
<< <i>I had 15 common ikes laying around from my childhood. Figured they were just sitting around taking up space, so I would deposit them (am getting a mortgage, so I was just going to have the mortgage person's assistant do it for me so I didn't have to explain to the 20 year old behind the counter they are "real money"). Was telling this to the guys at work, and they all wanted to buy them from me. They wanted to pay $3-$4 each for them. I kept explaining that they are not worth that, and I finally convinced them to pay $1 for each (I have to work with these guys every day, I do not want to rip them off). These are not "dumb" guys either. They are all PhD's in math/physics from Top Top schools. >>
That IS weird!
I kinda like the folks who insist that the coins are worthless and not worth the time or effort to examine them.
Otherwise, I couldn't have gotten either of these for around $10 each!
"Dissing!......................It's good for the pocket book!
The name is LEE!