Always check your change!!!

MiddenMonster

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Just a reminder to never forget to check your change when it's handed to you. You never know what treasures you might get. I was at an estate sale recently and bought some tools. I paid for them, got my change back and headed home. While I'm not big on coin collecting, I do separate my quarters from the other change. As I was tossing coins in their respective cans I noticed something strange. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was a very rare Ghost Coin, as seen in the picture below. More rare than the 1932 Double Eagle, it has no known denomination, no date and no mint mark. Note the eerie beauty of the obverse side and spectacular design on the reverse side! As I said, I'm not really big on coin collecting, so I could be persuaded to part with this one for the right price. But please, serious inquiries only...

Ghost Coin.jpg
 

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smokeythecat

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Good idea. Haven't checked mine in awhile. I never heard of a ghost coin before. However, I have seen colonial flat buttons that have been run through a sorter more than once come out looking like this. I found one about 6 weeks ago. It was a surprise.
 

bowwinkles

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I think that if you were to rub it down with a bit of used toilet paper, It will soon take on a little more degree of ID.:icon_thumleft:
 

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MiddenMonster

MiddenMonster

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Looks like an electrical box knock-out.

That's what I thought when I first saw it. But there are no rough spots where it was attached to the box and no grind marks that could have smoothed it out. So in the absence of evidence that it is something else, I'm sticking with Ghost Coin that's worth a fortune...8-)
 

smokeythecat

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I'm guessing an old button that's been run through a coin sorter machine once too many times.
 

Dozer D

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Give us some weight thickness & dimensions to go on. Compare it to some current coins.
 

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MiddenMonster

MiddenMonster

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Give us some weight thickness & dimensions to go on. Compare it to some current coins.

Not sure about the weight, but the diameter and thickness are virtually exactly the same as a quarter. In fact, you'd probably need a micrometer to determine the differences. The thickness is the same as the highest points on a quarter, though it is smooth all across and on both sides. But the Ghost Coin has no rolled edge, which is one of the things that make it so valuable. From what I've heard, there may be only three in existence.
 

fistfulladirt

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Cool find.
Been checking my change every time since I was a youngster in the early 1970’s.
We used to get silver halves back.
Over the years, I’ve received hundreds of wheats and dozens of silvers.
 

devldog

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Getting change back is "like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna git." ( Sir Forrest Gump). A lot of truth to this.
 

Megalodon

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Not sure about the weight, but the diameter and thickness are virtually exactly the same as a quarter. In fact, you'd probably need a micrometer to determine the differences. The thickness is the same as the highest points on a quarter, though it is smooth all across and on both sides. But the Ghost Coin has no rolled edge, which is one of the things that make it so valuable. From what I've heard, there may be only three in existence.

Good observations on the rarity. With so few known, and those being poorly described, there is an insufficient supply to meet any real demand. A pity for such an attractive specimen.
 

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MiddenMonster

MiddenMonster

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Good observations on the rarity. With so few known, and those being poorly described, there is an insufficient supply to meet any real demand. A pity for such an attractive specimen.

Yeah, I thought about running a VM test (Vending Machine Test) on it, but for obvious reasons thought it was too risky. It would really suck to lose a $20 million coin to a soft drink machine...
 

Megalodon

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Yeah, I thought about running a VM test (Vending Machine Test) on it, but for obvious reasons thought it was too risky. It would really suck to lose a $20 million coin to a soft drink machine...

That is understandable. Also the soft drinks are not good for you. i suggest that you stick with beer or better, tequila and be sure to use enough. Much safer than the VM test, though possibly more time consuming, would be for you to do more research. Attribution and provenance could easily double or triple the value.
 

ohp733

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If it is an unstamped blank that missed the dies at the mint it's considered an error coin. Not sure if has much value. If there are only 3 in existence i have two. One is a 5 cent blank planchet and the other is a quarter blank planchet .
 

PetesPockets55

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Out of curiosity, what does the edge look like?
(PS- If you keep pulling our individual legs about the value of ghost coins much longer, there will be an epidemic of mostly old farts stumbling in circles.)
 

Megalodon

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Nice to see you getting into the spirit of ghost coins. I suspect the OP is either consulting with experts or doing additional research before weighing in with conclusions that could be an apparition.
 

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