Bag - o - pennies???

[adirondackjim]

I'm not a coin collector but am thinking this not a hot deal since it's been sitting in a shop for some time now. It's been discounted and can be purchased for about $155 including tax. I was considering it for a winter time project to sort and resell with the thought of covering the $105 cost with maybe a few dollars left over.

It does appear to have some type of band/seal on the bag but I have no idea if it's authentic, if it's all been searched, if they're all 1964 P dates, etc.

Would you take a chance on it for a winter project?

 

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[cudamark]

I'd do it. You might get some high grade unc's in there or some mint errors that would put you well into the plus column.

 

[port ewen ace]

it all comes down to ---do you trust the seller?? maybe it isn't what it is. would be good to see what's "in the bag" before the exchange of money for________

 

[adirondackjim]

Appreciate the replies. Thinking it might not be too big a stretch to break even while gaining some coin experience.

Item is in a bigger antique mall with many, many sellers and paid staff so getting a look in the bag isn't going to be an option...unfortunately...

 

[huntsman53]

As someone who has purchased many so-called and some genuine sealed bags of Cents, Nickels and State Quarters, all I can say is that it is a "Craps Game Shoot"! Who knows what actual Cents are in the bag, are they all 1964-P Cents, Wheat Cents or a mixture of Wheats and Memorial Cents up to 1964. Well, only the person that sealed them knows or knew as they may be deceased! I can say that I know of some Coin Dealers that have and have used the OBW (Original Bank Wrap paper) and Old Bank Bags for 5,000 Lincoln Cents as well as the original heavy thread (actually string) used to seal them to deceive unsuspecting buyers into thinking rolls or bags of Cents that they are purchasing from them, have been sealed since the 1940's or 1950's and have not been searched. Many of the rolls and bags of Cents offered on eBay as "Unsearched", have likely been searched and quite possibly by the Seller that is selling them.

Now with the "Doom and Gloom" out of the way, I will say that there are a lot of Doubled Die Varieties for the 1964-P Lincoln Cents but the bag may contain all Wheat Cents with a lot of high grade coins as well as some Doubled Die and RPM Varieties and Errors. It is your choice as to whether to take a chance but in any case, it will give you something to do on those cold winter days to come and at the same time, you can learn a lot about Lincoln Cents!


Frank

 

[kcm]

I'd probably be willing to pop on it, but for just starting out, don't be too hasty. Hold on to ALL of the cents, at least until you've had a chance to go through several boxes from a bank. Do lots of research on what constitutes and error and what doesn't, which years are key or semi-key (lowest minting numbers), learn about grading coins, etc. You don't have to be proficient at it all - just have a good working knowledge. Otherwise, you WILL go through the bag and will throw out something that you might later regret.

I'm working strictly from modern bank boxes. I find lots of Canadian cents, which is BY FAR mostly copper coins. A few wheaties, but not all that many here. And absolutely NO Indian head cents......yet! I'm hoarding the copper for now. Haven't really been that into posting my errors, as many of the coins I had originally set aside thinking they might be worth something, I would later look at again and throw them back into circulation without another thought.

I know I'm also throwing back actual errors, but they are so very small that I just cannot justify trying to figure out if they are actual "errors" or just interesting coins. Anything too trivial to me I don't mess with. I use a high quality magnifying glass with 3 lenses (never use the most powerful), a 10x loupe (very old and high quality), and a USB microscope. I can scan quickly with the magnifying glass, do a quick spot inspection using the loupe, and then go back over them all with the USB microscope at a later time. ...But then everyone has their own setup.

 

[adirondackjim]

Appreciate the replies...at the least I figure it will be good practise for not too big an investment.

I've never tried to search this big a lot, any general tips on working and sorting this volume of coins?

 

[kingskid1611]

If you have different years then separate by years. either way it will take a while. I would probably do the deal just because I like the thrill of the hunt as much as the find. Good Luck and happy hunting

 

[kcm]

Obviously you can't sort out the new shield cents(!!), but if it were me, I'd work at it systematically. With a bag that old, you "should" still find some Indian Head cents, so toss them in one bowl (I like using empty margarine bowls). Next sort out the wheaties, then the Lincolns. You can then further sort the coins by year. In any case, at least you'll have NO ZINCOINS to mess with!!

As I'm hoarding the copper cents for copper content, I'd be keeping the entire bag.....sorted, of course
...Then again, you could always just use it as a conversation starter as well.

 

[russau]

I kinda have the same "problem". I posted about my fathers and my coins that we collected together for many years . I got them after my father had passed. about 15 (?) years ago I sorta went through this collection to sorta inventory it and give it a face value count . and I put it into my garage / shop to keep it from prying eyes and fingers. at the time I remeber a face value of over $600. and Ive added to it over the years. Today I got the collection out and was trying to do another inventory while recording the type of coin year and mint mark and refilling the books that we had started .Plus I was putting my extras into a baggie and a note of how many and the dates. this consisted of Indian head pennys , Roosevelt dimes. A coffee can of Lincoln pennys with 3 almost complete books of pennys , Drummer Boy Quarters , Kennedys half , Eisenhower's , Susan B Anthony dollars both silver and gold colored .and the list keeps going on and on. I still don't know if I could trust anyone to go through this collection without me standing there watching them. trust them? Not hardly! heres my dilemma, do I just bring it to a shop and pay for a appraisal or do I bring it to a shop and say "what will you give me for it? either way Im going to have to leave it and "trust them" to be somewhat honest......can I negotiate with them on the price? I really lost my time to sell at its highest some years back when sliver was $40. per OZ. But that was then. While looking through all these coins there are some that I remember collecting with my dad and it brought back some good memories. I know some coins are in the "spend' category while to silver coins aren't. This collection is right at being to heavy for me to be moveing around very much! I heard speculation that gold and silver are about to jump in price , and around election time it ought to go crazy like our socalled "representatives"! What would be my next smartest thing to do with this?

 

[russau]

I should have read this forum before I asked the question! but id still like to know what should be my next step!

 

[kcm]

Easy. Just box up all the coins (use as many boxes as needed), send them ALL to me, and then you can rest easy knowing they're in good hands.

 

[nsdq]

50 bucks in cents i would only pay 50 bucks even if it say from the mint . for all you know it was a mint bag and filled with zincs and a sealed ....

 

[Dozer D]

Kind of expensive, at $.03/each for copper cent. Copper is at $.0145/ea as of this week. You've got guts. Now if they were wheaties, I would say go for it. Just might find some real good finds. Good luck.

 

[l.cutler]

I kinda have the same "problem". I posted about my fathers and my coins that we collected together for many years . I got them after my father had passed. about 15 (?) years ago I sorta went through this collection to sorta inventory it and give it a face value count . and I put it into my garage / shop to keep it from prying eyes and fingers. at the time I remeber a face value of over $600. and Ive added to it over the years. Today I got the collection out and was trying to do another inventory while recording the type of coin year and mint mark and refilling the books that we had started .Plus I was putting my extras into a baggie and a note of how many and the dates. this consisted of Indian head pennys , Roosevelt dimes. A coffee can of Lincoln pennys with 3 almost complete books of pennys , Drummer Boy Quarters , Kennedys half , Eisenhower's , Susan B Anthony dollars both silver and gold colored .and the list keeps going on and on. I still don't know if I could trust anyone to go through this collection without me standing there watching them. trust them? Not hardly! heres my dilemma, do I just bring it to a shop and pay for a appraisal or do I bring it to a shop and say "what will you give me for it? either way Im going to have to leave it and "trust them" to be somewhat honest......can I negotiate with them on the price? I really lost my time to sell at its highest some years back when sliver was $40. per OZ. But that was then. While looking through all these coins there are some that I remember collecting with my dad and it brought back some good memories. I know some coins are in the "spend' category while to silver coins aren't. This collection is right at being to heavy for me to be moveing around very much! I heard speculation that gold and silver are about to jump in price , and around election time it ought to go crazy like our socalled "representatives"! What would be my next smartest thing to do with this?

Your best strategy would be knowledge, learn which coins are valuable and which are not. Honestly, if the bicentennial quarters, clad Kennedy halves, Susan B. Anthony's and Eisenhowers are circulated they are pretty much worth face value and dealers won't even spend any time on them. If they are in mint or proof sets or there are errors they may have some value. Learn what you have and then go from there.

 

[russau]

Thankyou for the replys ! I set up a table downstairs that's out of the way and Ive started inventorying it all. Once done Ill make a spread sheet to list everything that's easily readable. then Ill look for a source for giving a approx. value for coins , knowing that these haven't been rated yet. This will be just a estimate on my part .I know there will be lots of coins that are probly just spending change and know body will probly bother with BUt I got to start somewhere ! Thanks for all the help! Untill I count it all , I wont even know how much $$ there is to start with !

 

[diggummup]

Little high on the price in my opinion. If I did buy it, I'd make sure to grab the card that says "bagged and sealed in 1964". Promptly upon paying, I would open the bag on the counter and do a quick scan to see if there is anything newer than 1964 that pops out at me. If there was I'd ask for a refund, immediately.

 

[adirondackjim]

Now that's not a bad idea...

 

[JobIII]

I'm not sure I'd pull the trigger on this bag. I would not be happy if they were mostly or all 1960's. I found enough of those in regular bank boxes

~JobIII