Absolutely. I a, taking a guess at souvenir sets in one and commemoratives in the other. I have two boxes of each so will open one of each and keep the other sealed. Probably tomorrow. Will post.
You could have the contents of the box scanned by a X-Ray Inspection Machine (like those in use at airports). A good one should be able to tell you the contents AND composition of any coins present.
Or this cute handheld scanner:
PxbZJ8-keyo
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I appreciate the x-ray comment. I'm actually an interventional pain management physician and we use fluoroscopy all the time. It has crossed my mind. However I think it is best that I at least open one sample of each just to confirm for any potential buyer what is in them. I'll repost with photos once I do. I will do it tonight or tomorrow. Thank you everyone for your comments. My mom was a 60+ year collector and taught me when I was a child. She had hundreds of various types of sets many of which have not been opened but had just been stored away. Some of which I know the contents and some are unknown. The Mint has codes that they put on some of the exterior boxes but this typically did not occur until the 1990s.
I'm still going through everything but the oldest sets I've seen so far are about 10 sets of 1956 proofs. She was a sharp cookie - found her auction records of buy and sell dates and prices. She knew all the local auctioneers and would attend weekly auctions in the 1960s- 2000's -buy and flip some and keep some. In her 70's she began liquidating some of her collection on ebay. Not one slab, was of the prior generation that "bought the coin." Wish I could be sorting with her now...
I don't know, it all depends on your plans. Unopened mint packages can bring some surprising auction values. However, if you're not selling them, I would have said open. My grandfather left me a lot of those sealed mint mailing boxes. But, being a collector, I opened them all.
Wow...looks like Mom was a sharp cookie! She left you with some great responsibility to carry on. Just those 10 sets of 56 proofs have some great potential...each coin in that set has some kind of potential variety from the cent to the half. Do your due diligence with this collection...ask questions...
Hi Smat -Thanks for the sentiments and kind words. She and I used to roll hunt (primarily for dates and silver) when I was a kid in the 1970's. I did not realize the extent of her collection at the time. In her notes I learned she was a variety hunter too. Since her passing, I've rekindled my interest and not only love collecting, but my wife would describe me as obsessed. Spent thousands of hours on YouTube (so many great channels for collectors), reading books, and joining forums like this. My mom had thousands of raw coins so it has been a great adventure and as you said, very connecting. I feel a stewardship for my moms efforts and her collection. She was as perfect s mother as my siblings snd dad could have ever wanted. So this has been cathartic for me as well as you can probably tell from my replies... Thanks again for you kind words!
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Posted 11/05/2020 6:56 pm
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