Unopened GSA Morgans

[CC-Hunter]

In a dealer ad in Coin World magazine I saw GSA Morgans for sale that were in their original sealed outer packaging (supposedly), such that you could buy one and get lucky with a key date, high grade specimen or both. When I went to compare the price on eBay I found a bunch of the same for sale and that had been sold. They typically sell for more than the common, lower MS GSA Morgans but less than better GSA Morgans.

Are these for real? Or, are they a clever way to repackage lower-value GSA Morgans? I can't imagine that so many of these would have been ordered in the 70s and then never opened.

 

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[Joe777Cool]

In a dealer ad in Coin World magazine I saw GSA Morgans for sale that were in their original sealed outer packaging (supposedly), such that you could buy one and get lucky with a key date, high grade specimen or both. When I went to compare the price on eBay I found a bunch of the same for sale and that had been sold. They typically sell for more than the common, lower MS GSA Morgans but less than better GSA Morgans.

Are these for real? Or, are they a clever way to repackage lower-value GSA Morgans? I can't imagine that so many of these would have been ordered in the 70s and then never opened.

"I can't imagine that so many of these would have been ordered in the 70s and then never opened."

 

[huntsman53]

As Joe777Cool eluded to, you answered your own question! Some Dealers purchased up GSA Morgan hoards, pulled the higher grade coins from their' holders and sent them into PCGS or NGC for certification and grading. They then have all of those left-over empty GSA holders, so why not purchase lower grade "CC" Morgans, insert them into the empty holders and then resell them with a BS story attached. GSA holders are actually very easy to open and I am pretty sure that I have one tucked away somewhere in case I ever needed it.


Frank

 

[CC-Hunter]

Thanks all.

Frank - to be clear, I am talking about the original cardboard packaging that the GSA shipped the Morgans in in rather than the plastic slabs themselves. I understand that back in the day some dealers cracked Morgans out of the plastic slabs, but doing that and replacing the coin inside was a level of dishonesty I wasn't contemplating! See the link below for what I was talking about:

Rare Carson City Unopened GSA Uncirculated Morgan CC Silver Dollar $1 Sealed

Again, really hard to imagine that buyers would not have opened the boxes to see what coins they got back in the 70s. I also understand that when buyers submitted bids to the GSA back in the 70s they could buy multiples of the common Morgans at once but had to bid separately for the less common ones. So, even if these unopened Morgans are the real thing, the seller may know whether they came in a lot that only contains coins from 1882-1884.

 

[boristhespider88]

Thanks all.

Frank - to be clear, I am talking about the original cardboard packaging that the GSA shipped the Morgans in in rather than the plastic slabs themselves. I understand that back in the day some dealers cracked Morgans out of the plastic slabs, but doing that and replacing the coin inside was a level of dishonesty I wasn't contemplating! See the link below for what I was talking about:

Rare Carson City Unopened GSA Uncirculated Morgan CC Silver Dollar $1 Sealed

Again, really hard to imagine that buyers would not have opened the boxes to see what coins they got back in the 70s. I also understand that when buyers submitted bids to the GSA back in the 70s they could buy multiples of the common Morgans at once but had to bid separately for the less common ones. So, even if these unopened Morgans are the real thing, the seller may know whether they came in a lot that only contains coins from 1882-1884.

I always am a bit leery dealing with "unopened" boxes of coins. I feel like there is a catch to it.

I know if I would've bought some GSA Morgans back then, I would've wanted to see them.

 

[huntsman53]

Thanks all.

Frank - to be clear, I am talking about the original cardboard packaging that the GSA shipped the Morgans in in rather than the plastic slabs themselves. I understand that back in the day some dealers cracked Morgans out of the plastic slabs, but doing that and replacing the coin inside was a level of dishonesty I wasn't contemplating! See the link below for what I was talking about:

Rare Carson City Unopened GSA Uncirculated Morgan CC Silver Dollar $1 Sealed

Again, really hard to imagine that buyers would not have opened the boxes to see what coins they got back in the 70s. I also understand that when buyers submitted bids to the GSA back in the 70s they could buy multiples of the common Morgans at once but had to bid separately for the less common ones. So, even if these unopened Morgans are the real thing, the seller may know whether they came in a lot that only contains coins from 1882-1884.

What is supposed to be "Unopened GSA Uncirculated Morgan CC Silver Dollars" may not always be the case. Just like the ease of opening the GSA plastic cases used to holder the GSA Morgan "CC" Dollars, some Dealers more than likely have found ways to open the cardboard boxes, reseal them and buyers would be no more the wiser. It is possible that after opening the cardboard boxes, some folks would be or are able to tell that they were tampered with. However, once purchased and if opened, there is likely no returns allowed for a refund!

I know of some Coin Dealers who have the Stitching Machines and rolls of the original thread used to stitch Bank and U.S. Mint bags of coins so that they can be restitched and appear to be unopened and unsearched. I also know of some Coin Dealers who have Coin Rolling Machines and Coin Rolling Paper from the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's for re-rolling coins so that they appear to have been unopened and unsearched. Yeah, it is a sad world we live in with many crooks!


Frank

 

[coinsareawesome]

If you get the box and it's lighter than a pound, it's not for real. Really! I would probably still buy it, since there are returns, but there is no way for anyone to tell if there are even coins in that box!

 

[CC-Hunter]

Frank - yes, I agree it would be easy to carefully open an original cardboard box and re-glue it, or even find a replacement box and wrap it around an already opened GSA Morgan.

I assumed the ebay listings could be bogus, but I guess I gave the dealer in Coin World too much credit. The more I look into it the dealer I saw isn't all that reputable.

So sad that there are so many dealers out there looking to rip people off (your examples of bags and rolls are depressing). Makes you wonder where you can find legit rolls, bags, old sealed mint products, etc..

 

[huntsman53]

Frank - yes, I agree it would be easy to carefully open an original cardboard box and re-glue it, or even find a replacement box and wrap it around an already opened GSA Morgan.

I assumed the ebay listings could be bogus, but I guess I gave the dealer in Coin World too much credit. The more I look into it the dealer I saw isn't all that reputable.

So sad that there are so many dealers out there looking to rip people off (your examples of bags and rolls are depressing). Makes you wonder where you can find legit rolls, bags, old sealed mint products, etc..

On occasion you can find some at Yard Sales, Estate Sales and occasionally at Estate Auctions! However, lately I have been finding that the Auction Companies are going through the bags and rolls that they are contracted to put up for bidding in Estate Auctions. Also, at times, I have gone to Estate Auctions that clearly stated that certain coins, coin rolls and bags of coins would be in the auction, only to get there and find out that these items were pulled from the Auction. You might try requests to buy these items via Craigslist or Facebook and possibly get an honest elderly person to contact you. However, be safe and ensure that whoever you meet, that you meet them in a local place such as a restaurant.

Good luck!


Frank