Antique Show Coins

[SEANO]

It's been boring as hell here on the weekend with no sales (Cold weather). So I made my annual trip to a decent size antique show in town. I mainly go to get an idea of items to look for a garages sales as well as prices and I usually buy nothing. This time I found two booths selling a decent amount of coins. One had carded Morgans, which I passed on, but also had a bag of 24 various dated Morgans marked "scrap". I pick those up for $23each. Most were in the AU range (not scrap), with a couple of minor flaws on a couple. Should be able to Fee-bay those for a ok profit. The next table had coins in plastic folders within books. Looking through those I picked-up twenty US coins marked below scrap, most in good shape. Morgans for $22, Liberty Halfs for $8, Mercury dimes for $1.50. Also went through the foreign coin book and picked-up some silver there, not priced at all like silver. Bought eight early large Great Britain silvers (.900 silver) for $4.75 total. I may have missed more, I got there late in afternoon and he said he had a lots of sales. Should make enough to easily cover my $5 entrance fee..

So my advice.
1. Check those coins at the shows, look for not updated pricing for the silver and gold. And check for the foreign silvers (I think this has big potential).
2. If bored like me, head to some shows for a little educating on items to look for and prices for your future garage sale hunts.

Hope this was interesting.. Seano

 

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[creeper71]

Check your Morgans for VAMS http://www.vamworld.com/Morgan+VAMs+By+Date

 

[jerseyben]

Great advice. I too, picked up a decent sized lot of silver coins at an antique store for a decent amount under SPOT. Additionally, I buy Morgan and Peace Dollars from a precious metals dealer for $23/22 each. Some are decent dates/mintmarks and others are AU+. I now look for good VAMs too.

 

[SEANO]

Great advice. I too, picked up a decent sized lot of silver coins at an antique store for a decent amount under SPOT. Additionally, I buy Morgan and Peace Dollars from a precious metals dealer for $23/22 each. Some are decent dates/mintmarks and others are AU+. I now look for good VAMs too.

Definition: A VAM is a Peace or Morgan Dollar die variety that has been identified in an important book called The Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis. The term VAM derives from the first initials of Van Allen's and Mallis' last names.

The great popularity of noting the many die varieties found, especially on Morgan Dollars, has led to the term VAM being used to describe practically any deviation from a "normal" Morgan for that year and mint, such that people talk about having found a "VAM" when the variety they note hasn't even been assigned a VAM Number.

GOOD HUNTING!!

 

[Damon64]

Great info.

 

[Rodbuster209]

Sounds like you should easily make your entrance fee back. It would be wise to do your homework before buying silver looking foreign coins, I ended up with a gallon zip lock bag full of silver looking coins before becoming proficent.............Scott

 

[clovis97]

Great advice!

There are quite a few dealers that pack a van of full of stuff, and only bring it out at shows, which could be just a few times a year.

Nice finds, BTW!