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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,485 |
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New Member
United States
23 Posts |
My mom has been buying coins left and right and spending $1,000s of dollars thinking they will be worth something when she passes away and leaving me with them. I'm looking at her 'collection' and I see coins with 'copy' on them, also commemorative from American Mint, coins in sealed bags from a Littleton coin co., and those are saying uncirculated, including coins I've never seen before. Will these will be worth much? Thank you
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
 To CCF , Oh boy ,I hate to say this but most of the coins that you just mentioned will not be worth much . Especially the ones marked Copy . The others are just as bad .  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19108 Posts |
Sounds interesting. Please post some photos--large and sharp--of some of the collection--suggest one coin, or small group of coins per discussion thread. There are several community members who could offer sound advice after seeing some of what you have.
For starts, coins with COPY stamped on them aren't likely to be highly collectable.
Good luck!
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
21580 Posts |
to the Forum. It appears your mom has been spending good money on something she knows nothing about. Any coin marked "copy " is just that, a copy that has no value. Coins from American Mint are not true coins, they are usually some kind of commemorative made outside of the US Mint and are hard to hold much value above the metal content. Littleton I would not personally deal with. Please post photos of some of the coins you have questions about and we will be able to help you further. Most of all, get your mother to stop buying coins until she gains some knowledge on the subject. If she insists on buying, then post pictures here and get an opinion from some of the experts on this site as to whether it is a good buy or not. Edited by JimmyD
10/22/2021 8:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3207 Posts |
Those from Littleton are likely real coins originally made by the US mint, but available elsewhere at lower cost. Anything with "copy" has no collector value beyond whatever metal is in it. Some of the copies could in part be silver which would at least give them a value by the weight of the silver.
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Moderator
 United States
34393 Posts |
@lenna, first welcome to CCF. Second, if you search this site with the keyword LITTLETON, you will see that this seller of coins is generally not highly regarded here. As @nick mentioned the coins from them are likely real, but overpriced.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
The Littleton company is a leech on the hobby that has been suckering novice collectors for three generations. They've been hyping their junk since the Mr. Atlas kick-sand-in-your-face ads on the back of old comic books. You name it - gold plated worn Buffalo nickels, counterstamped Lincoln cents, overpriced beginner sets, it's endless. The Sundman family has been feeding on this hobby for years. Edited by Coinfrog
10/22/2021 9:48 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10635 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6988 Posts |
Please break it to your Mom softly, her intentions are good but her purchases are just a waste of money. Maybe you could learn the hobby and purchase something together, letting her know "with this coin I will remember the time we......"
Best of luck on getting her to stop.
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New Member
 United States
23 Posts |
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New Member
United States
23 Posts |
Sorry I wanted to post the pictures but I was called away and had to post them when I got home. Hi to all the people who replied. I forgot to mention that she has dementia and getting her to listen is harder so I'm going to have to write a note and tape it up around her Not to buy fake or copy coins from anyone and commemorative coins are not worth the price since they have no value. I'm going to have to find a buyer just for the the fake coins so I can see her get something back from them. I'm going have to research the Littleton coins and see what she's got for value and show her the difference of worth and paid for. I know some of them are very old but she has many of the different gold colored $1 coins.
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New Member
United States
23 Posts |
I came across this coin in a book hard to make out   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3207 Posts |
The "coin in a book" is a Standing Liberty quarter, but due to wear it is worth only its silver content, $4 to $5 currently. The 1967 half dollar is worth $3 to $4 for its silver. The 1914 penny looks to have a mint mark nelow its date. If that mark is a D (which is very unlikely) that's a $100 coin, if an S, then maybe a couple dollars. All other coins depicted are worth perhaps a few cents over face value. The non-coins (tokens, copies) that lack a precious metal have no value today because there is no demand for them. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19930 Posts |
I'm sorry to say she is not "investing" properly. If she's looking to leave something behind, she should buy graded, slabbed key date coins (PCGS/NGC). Those will go up in value.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2280 Posts |
That's unfortunate, she is getting ripped off. Let her know and attempt to prevent it with the sticky note idea. That should work (hopefully).
You realize when you know how to think, it empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Valued Member
United States
442 Posts |
Agree with everything said so far. Would also add, it is tough to make money buying and selling coins, even if they are decent coins. You see coin shops go out of biz all the time. And those are professionals. The ones that make it are able to buy tens of thousands of dollar of coins at 40% below retail and sell at retail. Coin collecting is supposed to be about the enjoyment of the person doing the collecting. Biggest problem you are going to have is where to sell them. Coin shops only want the good stuff. And pay below retail for that. Local auctioneer? Usually 20% commission and you won't get much for the "copy" or non US mint stuff unless its silver or gold. ebay? Takes a while to get established enough to get a good price. And you generally sell in smaller lots, rather than one big collection. Which means lots of time packaging and shipping. Plus ebay takes 12%. Huntington's disease runs in my family. So I've dealt with a parent and aunts and uncles with dementia. So I know conversation with them are tough. But maybe just ask her. Where does she think you are going to be able to take this collection to sell it. One good online resource for pricing US coins she got from Littleton is Numismedia.com. But don't trust the grade Littleton put on the outside to be accurate. PCGS, a reputable coin grader, has a Photograde section. With examples of pretty much every US coin on it at various grades. The one good thing I will say about Littleton. I've never seen or heard of a time where they knowingly packaged counterfeit coins as real. So if authenticated and in their bags, probably legit. Just over priced and maybe over graded. |
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,485 |
Posted 10/22/2021 3:40 pm
I agree with the Frog. Littleton has done more harm than good to the hobby. Best to avoid dealing with them altogether. I know personally of someone who was taken in by them and unable to recoup funds spent over several years worth of "investing". Just say "no." 
