Seated Liberty Dime Tokens.

No doubt that these are real. These are called love tokens whose heyday was in the Victorian era. Dimes appeared to be the coin of choice though other denominations are seen less frequently.

I'd say if you feel comfortable wear the bracelet or necklace as it isn't going to hurt the value in my opinion.

I would say DO NOT try disassembling the bracelet or polishing any of the coins as the end result would destroy the coins and any value.

I cannot give an exact what it's worth answer other than personally $3 isn't a bad investment. The website I used to look at doesn't have any for sale now which is how I looked for a comparable asking price.

Others may have different opinions.

-MV

Excellent purchase on this engraved, Victorian era, silver dime bracelet. Personally, I'd leave the coins intact. IMHO, this bracelet is worth more as vintage jewelry. Multiply the number of dimes times $7, and that should give you a fair market value, methinks. Figure the 1884 dime at $7, too. A dealer will likely offer less than that.

These dimes are engraved with intertwined initials; possibly, initials of some mother's children. When history can be attached to a specific "love token," the value increases. Also, higher denomination love tokens tend to be valued higher. Love tokens bearing pictorial images generate higher value, too.

To view a large variety of these, visit ebay and enter "love token" within quotation marks.

Mighty retraction here. I had not noticed that the coins were soldered together in groups of two. Problematic.
Probably OK to get a jeweler to split them up and clean the edges. The people who buy these items are not coin collectors, nor do they have our inhibitions. These are jewelry pieces and will still sell well as such. You just need to find a decent artisan to split them up.

I see what you mean about the soldier. I do have a couple of acquaintances that are jewellers. I can ask their thoughts and price on it. 2 of the coins have solder on the faces of the coins . Which seem to be not worth it, but the others may clean up well. It may be worth having it separated cleaned up and soldered in a cleaner way not so offensive to coin collector and jewelry collectors alike. Thank you both. I am very green to all this so I am grateful. I'm not sure if it's permissible, but exoguy you seem to be knowledgable in vintage jewelry as well. If you are interested in helping a newbe email me please.I have a few pieces I would love your thoughts on. Any advise is valued. If this was a no-no to ask of you I apologize in advance, no disrespect to anyone or the forum. Thank you, PamV

@ PamV .... I'm not particularly knowledgeable about jewelry. Like you, I've rubbed elbows with a few friends who are, and I've a fair knowledge of antiques in general. Over the years, I've bought a good many antiques and assisted auctioneers with estate appraisals. It was a great learning experience. I've encountered a few dozen bracelets or coin pendants, chains like yours. When I speak to value, I do so on a wholesale level. Marketed as antiques, these bracelets, and old coins in general, can fetch multiples of their base value.

Personally, I'd not bother with the solder issue or otherwise spend money on upgrading the condition. It's just not worth the investment, unless YOU want to wear it as jewelry. If the ultimate goal is to sell it and the single dime, you might try putting them in a well-attended antique auction. Given but a $3 investment, there's no downside. It could be a good learning experience for you. Solicit the opinions of your acquaintances on the other vintage jewelry, to gauge the value. Keep in mind that there are large, retail mark-ups on jewelry.

Many years ago, back when I would periodically buy coin collections, I tended to accumulate lots of low end material that didn't suit my collection. There was even some coin jewelry and love tokens that would pile up. At one point, when I had a box of that that stuff, I decided to put it all in an antique auction. By my estimate, the coins and such had a wholesale value of about $700. There were many silver coins but no gold. There were around three hundred folks at the auction, some of whom were antique dealers looking for stock. Thus, I figured I'd at least recoup my expense on the stuff. After the auctioneer took his commission, I got back $2,800. The lesson from my perspective was that perceived value can far exceed real or base value. Antique coin and other vintage jewelry will likely fetch a higher than average return in such a venue.

Glad to see you're pleased. IMHO, that ebay price realized on the bracelet is fairly indicative of its market value. On other days, one might sell for $60 or even $100 to someone who likes vintage jewelry.

There are lots of treasures out there, awaiting discovery. This $3 find may lead to many more, perhaps!

A longtime, coin dealer buddy of mine, getting up there in years, has been liquidating his stock and stuff he's accumulated. I received a package from him on Monday, containing a hundred or so tokens that he wants me to liquidate. Most of the "stuff" was low end, worth $5 or less. There were a some $10-$20 or so tokens. One a few Civil War tokens turned out to be a valuable piece. Indeed, I owned one a few years ago that realized $2,000 at auction. His token is in better condition than was mine! I told my buddy that I'd put it in a top auction for him. He was overjoyed! One man's trash can indeed be another's treasure.

You're right, PamV. Florida's a great place for pickers on the hunt. The huge Webster flea market was a favorite of mine. I made a few, unbelievable finds there, coin and token-wise. Knowledge is key. There's a good deal of that, here on the CCF.