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 Replies: 11 / Views: 2,631 |
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Valued Member
United States
61 Posts |
I'm currently in Nebraska on vacation visiting my family. All of my cousins are coin collectors and we were comparing our recent finds at an antique store we went to earlier in the day. My grandmother had told me earlier that day that she had paid for her wedding with $300 in silver dollars. Apparently, her father used to bring them home from his bar and just give them to her. At one point my great-grandmother was buying groceries with the dollars. After seeing this my grandmother confiscated them and has kept them in a bag ever since. She brought the bag down to reveal hundreds of Peace dollars and about 50 Morgan dollars. All were in GREAT condition. She gave each of us a Morgan so that we would "remember her after she passed." Here is a picture of it. I am not really able to grade (I use a "custom" grading system just for personal reference). If anyone has any insight let me know. NOTE On the Photography: I am terrible at taking pictures of coins. The darker spots on the coin are not tarnish, but just the shadow of me standing over it. I also linked them do to the size. Links to Photos: http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/...HPIM0906.jpghttp://i370.photobucket.com/albums/...HPIM0907.jpgEdited by Greckel
07/04/2009 5:19 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3098 Posts |
Let me help you    Wow! So these were kept in a burlap sack and stored in the cellar? |
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Valued Member
 United States
61 Posts |
Pretty much. They were just in some big bag she had and had been in the basement (that is constantly flooded) for at least 20 years. I put them in the cardboard, but before they were all just clumped together.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3098 Posts |
Haha you numbered them? How many were there?
So these coins have the shine of new coins, or did the flooding get to them?
I would think these are high MS since these were kept from circulation, but you can try taking another picture. Make the focus macro, or with the flower symbol, stand to the side (not directly over) the coin and take another one.
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Valued Member
United States
61 Posts |
They don't have the shine of new coins, it is certainly dulled, but the flooding didn't touch them. I think she probably had them in the rafters so no one would find them. I think there were 53 Morgans and I didn't even attempt to count the Peace dollars. Almost all of them were from 1910-1921 and all were in the same or similar condition. I do know that they were circulated, but probably only used in a single transaction before she got a hold of them. I will be sure to get new pictures up as soon as possible. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
there isn't allot of high dollar coins in that time period when you are talking about date/mm combinations but there are some VAM's in that time range that have really grown in popularity over the past few years in both Morgan and Peace dollars. The 1921 Peace dollar is one of the keys of that type because of the high relief it was struck with, it is also one of the more popular of the series. Each Morgan nd Peace dollar have a VAM number assigned to them and it can make a rather easy date/mm combination to find one of the scarcest coins to acquire and the price usually reflects this with true VAM collectors |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2049 Posts |
Pretty cool story...thanks for sharing. Keep in mind that there were no silver dollars made from 1905-1920, and then the Morgan dollar was resumed for one year, and in the same year they switched to Peace dollars. So you're date range of 1910-1921 is a little off. Keep us posted if you come across any good finds from the lot! |
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Valued Member
United States
61 Posts |
I went back and looked through her coins and you were right about 1910-1921. I obviously messed up when looking through them :P. So here is a much more accurate report: All of the Morgan's were from 1921 (which I knew). My grandfather has one Morgan that he carries in his wallet that is from 1891, but is in terrible condition. The Peace dollars (which I was less interested in) were from 1922-1927. She also had some V nickels and Buffalo nickels in the bag, but those were in bad condition. I bet I just recorded the earliest coin date and the Morgan date to date the bag, once again disregarding the Peace dollar. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
632 Posts |
What surprises me about the coin in this condition is the words 'burlap sack' and 'cellar'.
We've seen several examples of cellar kept coins here on the forum and usually the coins are literally black. The high sulphur content typical of cellars tones the coin with a dark usually unattractive tone. But this coin is really nice. I wouldn't be able to give you a grade though.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
It's always nice to have a "find" like this, especially since they're all worth above face now. However, keep in mind that almost no matter how nice the dollars look, 1921 Morgans are basically worth melt to dealers.
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Valued Member
United States
155 Posts |
Cool Story - Thanks for sharing...
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
I know the value of that particular coin. Priceless  |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 2,631 |
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Posted 07/04/2009 5:18 pm
