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 Replies: 20 / Views: 3,716 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1745 Posts |
Just curious, I ordered a lot of 15 proof coins on ebay and they each came in a cellophane wrapper with Littleton Coin Co printed on the wrapper. Does anyone know about that? The coins were fine and I was very satisfied by the auction, but just curious about Littleton.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Littleton is a mail order coin company that has been around since the 1950s. They mail their coins in those little cello packets. Their coins are usually decent quality but are decidedly overpriced, except for their teaser ads in newspapers and magazines.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1745 Posts |
Oh by the way, I didn't order them from Littleton (some seller on ebay) and I think I got a very good deal. Yes, the quality if fine, but you won't find any real gems. Holy Cow, I just checked out the Littleton site, their prices are very high (2 to 3x what I paid)and the shipping is expensive too (mine was free). Edited by The_Duke
08/22/2009 9:50 pm
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Hi, my grandfather, who got me started in coin collecting, had a few of these. Like biokemist6 said, they are usually featured in magazines at very low prices but when sent you usually receive a few more coins that you did not expect. You either have to buy the coins within a 15 day period or have to pay to send them back.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19930 Posts |
Biokemist is spot on as usual. Littleton has been around forever, they are a bit pricy. They have to be because they advertise pretty hard. I've picked-up some great Littleton coins in those wrappers in the secondary market. Look for them at coin shops/shows. They sometimes have some really nice coins in those wrappers!
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
It cane be a real headache for dealers though. You would not believe how many people who bring those cellophane packets into a coin store to sell them think that number up in the top right hand corner is the value or was the price dad or grandpa paid for the coin. And then when Mr Dealer offers them $1 for that 1988-S cent that says 3100. on it, BOY WHAT A CROOK Mr Dealer is. "WE KNOW what these coins are worth! It says so right there."
I know what I am talking about, I have seen it happen many times, and a few times I was Mr Dealer.
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New Member
United States
46 Posts |
Littleton helped to stoke my interest in coins as a kid. When I was 7 or so I saw one of their "5 V nickels for $2.50!" ads in a magazine and sent away with my pocket change for them. Somehow I got on a coins on approval mail order service where they would send me a few cheap coins, I would pick out the ones I wanted, and ship the rest back with payment for the ones I kept...being a child with maybe a $20/month allowance I had tough decisions, even when the coins were >$5 each  Mostly stocked up on AG/G V nickels, Barber quarters, Buffalo nickels, and the like. They also used to send me this giant catalogue printed on newspaper print that listed their prices for every coin type of every date in every condition. Looking back I'm surprised at how many people were apparently willing to buy coins sight unseen. I actually managed to get a couple of cheap proofs in the little sealed wraps from them. I think that I still have a '62 nickel from them lying around somewhere that I kept because of some nice electric blue toning. I'll see if I can't find it. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
581 Posts |
I was on approvals as a kid too.
Kind of interesting - there's another thread about the future of coin collecting and if there is a young collector base.
I'm pretty sure it was companies like Littleton, Kenmore, Myst and others with their approvals that got a WHOLE lot of kids interested in coins and stamps in the 50's - 70's.
But that's gone today or certainly is not as prevalent as it once was.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Quote:
their approvals that got a WHOLE lot of kids interested in coins and stamps in the 50's - 70's.
you might as well include the 80s so I can get in there too I grew up in a rural area 50 miles from the nearest shop so my sources for coins were rather limited. Sure, I had interest in coins before Littleton but they certainly played a role in my collection. |
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Moderator
 United States
187634 Posts |
Count me as another former Littleton approval customer. In the early 1980's I was still very young and new to collecting. I was intimidated by the coin shop, let alone a coin show, but Littleton was there for me. A good portion of my Lincoln Wheat Cents are from my Littleton days.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
Yep, me too... looking back, I can't believe what I paid for the coins, though!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1807 Posts |
Count me as a customer but it was just last year. Bought a unc. State Quarter set. |
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Moderator
United States
187634 Posts |
Quote:
Yep, me too... looking back, I can't believe what I paid for the coins, though! I am sure I overpaid, but where I lived in Minnesota at the time, the coin shop was neither conveniently located nor well stocked. It has been almost thirty years, but I seem to recall the prices at that shop being close to what I was paying Littleton. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1042 Posts |
 Found these last weekend while going through some of my fathers old boxes. I've no clue as to how he came about getting them. Noticed the thread title, and thought I'd share. Scott |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
Wow.. very cool I wonder how old those are? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1042 Posts |
xshift...they all seem to date back to the 50's and 60's...
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Replies: 20 / Views: 3,716 |
Posted 08/22/2009 9:46 pm
