[rick]

Well, I thought we were going to be great...my wife told me that her mother had left her a collection of old silver coins, both half-dollars and dollars!

So, she finally gets out the collection, of about 50 coins (mixture of half-dollars and dollars), and I go thru them...only 1 actual silver half-dollar in the whole bunch! The rest are relatively new (mid-70's) only worth face value.

Bummer!

rick

 

[Brother Buck]

Check to see if any of them are "S" code.
If they are they may still be 40%

 

[akfox]

The mint mark doesn't matter to the coins composition. Some of the newer proof sets come in 90% silver, but those don't go into general circulation. However, Kennedys from 65-70 were still 40% silver, regardless of where they were minted.

 

[Scruggs]

This happens a lot. I used to buy and sell coins and I can't begin to tell you how many people "think" that they have a valuable coin collection that in reality is a pile of junk. Just because a coin is old doesn't mean it is valuable. People went nuts when I had to tell them that their "valuable" collection of common date, beat up Buffalo nickels was not worth much and I wasn't interested in buying them at any price. Not many people know that you can get modern coinage minted in 90% silver, Even the state quarters. They are only available in the Silver Proof sets issued by the US Mint. And, to add insult to injury, I tried to use some Kennedy half dollars at the grocery store one time and the young cashier called the manager because she had never heard of nor seen a half dollar before! I had the same experience with trying to use the new presidential dollar coins in a Chinese eatery.

 

[rem243]

:Ya beat me to it scruggs!

 

[Brother Buck]

The mint mark doesn't matter to the coins composition. Some of the newer proof sets come in 90% silver, but those don't go into general circulation. However, Kennedys from 65-70 were still 40% silver, regardless of where they were minted.

Some of the Bicentennial Dollars were 40% as were a few runs of halves in proofs.
My point being he doesn't know where she got the coins and there may have been some from proofs.

 

[Brother Buck]

I tried to use some Kennedy half dollars at the grocery store one time and the young cashier called the manager because she had never heard of nor seen a half dollar before! I had the same experience with trying to use the new presidential dollar coins in a Chinese eatery.

I remember when they came out with the Susan B. Anthony Dollars how everyone either spent them as quarters or just had no clue what they were at all.
I have a bunch of them because of that.

 

[Irishwarlord]

I still collect em,

Come barter time large silver coins will make good change no matter the content of silver beats paper.Also adds a little to the barter pot. :thumb:

Keep your senses sharp and your weapon loaded and ready.

 

[Prep]

whoever inherits mine (if i cant get a kidney) is going to have a MUCH more pleasurable experience.

 

[Garra]

whoever inherits mine (if i cant get a kidney) is going to have a MUCH more pleasurable experience.

I call dibs! :

 

[Straight Razor]

The mint mark doesn't matter to the coins composition. Some of the newer proof sets come in 90% silver, but those don't go into general circulation. However, Kennedys from 65-70 were still 40% silver, regardless of where they were minted.

I did find a silver S in circulation

 

[Scruggs]

Some of the reasons I no longer deal in coins:

1) The lady that says she has "gold coins" to sell and is flies off her rocker when I inform her that the Sacagawea dollars the mint advertised on TV as the "golden dollars" contains no gold and are worth but a dollar. I drove 15 miles for this.

2) The guy that says he has some silver coins he wants me to look at. When I get there he rolls out one of them glass water cooler bottles (the huge ones). The bottle breaks when we try to lift it requiring a shovel to scoop everything up. I finally get it home and after hours of sorting there is $25.75 face value of silver dimes. I told him to do himself a favor and dump the rest in a Coinstar machine. He replied he wanted me to sort out the wheat cents. By then, I didn't care if there was a 1909S VDB in there. I printed out a list of the few valuable wheat cents and gave it to him.

3) The lady with the fake US Trade dollar that I would not sell on consignment. She accused me of trying to rip her off. Why would I tell her something is a fake and not offer her anything for it? She phoned me to tell me she was sorry after getting caught trying to sell it on Ebay as genuine.

4) The guy with a decent collection of Peace and Morgan dollars he inherited. Even a couple Seated dollars. He had scrubbed them with silver polish and ruined them. He had given his kid some and one was a nice 1889CC which I had certified and sold for him. He netted $675 for the one coin. I wound up buying the ruined coins because he found out my offer was a lot more than the local coin shop. Had a heck of a time unloading them for a meager profit.

5) The people who want you to pay high retail for a piece. Never mind that I have to drive out there and back, pay for certification from PCGS or NGC, pay Ebay and Paypal fees, drive to the refiner, pay a coin shop a percentage for consignment, or handle the sale to another collector. I should do all that for free. They really torqued me. After they find out I was honest and was offering the lowest fee to handle the piece and doing everything I could to get them the highest price for their holdings, they would call me to come back. I told them that I do not need the aggravation of dealing with them and to sell it themselves. One guy called me 5 times and begged me. No way!

6) Coins that people think are worth more because their "Granddad loved them". Yeah, thats why he dumped them in a coffee can and drilled a hole in some of them. One time I saw some really nice and rarer date Barber halfs that someone had drilled out to use as washers. Of course, the owners think that they are still valuable. Why did people call me if they are such experts on the worth of a piece? They nearly always refused to believe that something had little value.

7) I would always require a family member be present when dealing with an elderly seller. It ws amazing how many neglected senior citizens there are and have no one to watch over them. If the elderly person seemed broke, I would often take it as a loss and handle it for little to no profit. They often had the most desirable pieces. In cases where they would show me what other offers were made, it made me sick to see what the coin shops had offered them. Pennies on the dollar value. The rip off factor is high and I no longer wished to be associated with it.

 

[the hog]

Put them into a sock and use it as a kosh, then at least you have something.

 

[almac]

Put them into a sock and use it as a kosh, then at least you have something.

dont say that too loud... the airlines will ban coins and socks in carry ons! LOL!

 

[Sam Reeves]

Scruggs,

Why is it that cleaning old money depreciates them?

 

[ActionJackson]

Well, I thought we were going to be great...my wife told me that her mother had left her a collection of old silver coins, both half-dollars and dollars!

So, she finally gets out the collection, of about 50 coins (mixture of half-dollars and dollars), and I go thru them...only 1 actual silver half-dollar in the whole bunch! The rest are relatively new (mid-70's) only worth face value.

Bummer!

rick

LOL...that's funny. I've had similar things happen. I collect knives. My wife doesn't really know one knife from another. Before I opened my gifts on my last B-day, she told me she had gotten me a really neat knife. I was excited. When I opened it, it was one of those cheapo Chinese junk knives that are supposed to look like a Ninja knife of some kind. Of course I thanked her but what a let down.

 

[ActionJackson]

This happens a lot. I used to buy and sell coins and I can't begin to tell you how many people "think" that they have a valuable coin collection that in reality is a pile of junk. Just because a coin is old doesn't mean it is valuable. People went nuts when I had to tell them that their "valuable" collection of common date, beat up Buffalo nickels was not worth much and I wasn't interested in buying them at any price. Not many people know that you can get modern coinage minted in 90% silver, Even the state quarters. They are only available in the Silver Proof sets issued by the US Mint. And, to add insult to injury, I tried to use some Kennedy half dollars at the grocery store one time and the young cashier called the manager because she had never heard of nor seen a half dollar before! I had the same experience with trying to use the new presidential dollar coins in a Chinese eatery.

I love getting those "Act Now" adds stateing that I still have a chance to get all the "State Quarters." I wouldn't was a silver dime on all that dross. Pure junk with some so-so artwork.

 

[Scruggs]

Any type of cleaning ruins the collector value of otherwise valuable coins. Dipping them in "jewelry cleaner" to remove discoloration (toning), polishing them with rouge ("whizzing") and any rubbing at all will leave tiny scratches. The major coin grading services (PCGS and NGC) will not grade and encapsulate a coin that has been cleaned. If submitted to them for grading they will send it back to you in what is called a "body bag". There are no refunds of the grading fees for body bagged coins rejected by them. And grading isn't inexpensive. Many people buy only third party graded coins as it is insurance that the piece is genuine and, more importantly, a condition grade is assigned.

Even if a coin is sold "raw" (not graded by a third party), most collectors can spot a cleaned coin immediately. They can still be sold but a greatly reduced value. Natural and attractive toning ("discoloration") is desirable and will often add value to a coin. Some crooks artificially tone silver coins using sulphur or other chemicals in an effort to inflate their worth. They are also easy to spot if one is familiar with this ploy. If the toning is unattractive, people think if they dip them or polish them they will look "shiny" and be worth more. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you have old coins that are valuable it is always best to leave them alone despite how groady they look.

This doesn't apply to common date "junk" 90% silver coins as they are sold based on their precious metal content. Dipping coins is controversial. Some say most Morgan silver dollars on the market today have been dipped at one time or other. That said, it is always best to not do it. I have seen thousands of dollars in value go down the drain by this practice.

 

[Scruggs]

I couldn't agree more Action! I hate them. Towards the end, people were trying to get me to buy that junk and got their knickers all tied in a knot when I told them use them in a vending machine. The fancy albums they bought to keep them in were worth more than the coins! The gold plated ones too. The amount of gold in a gold plated coin is as close to zero as you can get. The only exception is the mint products. The 1999 silver proof sets I sold went for $350 each. Cost - $33. They didn't make many. When not many are made EVERYBODY just has to have 'em! I do like the new presidential dollars but I have no illusions of them ever being worth anything but face value. The state quarters are just plain ugly, with a few exceptions. Texas, for one is good:thumb:

 

[Sam Reeves]

Thanks, Scruggs.