Dollar Coin Hunting

[hursst]

No one uses the modern dollar coins, since our gov't refuses to stop making the dollar bill. However, there are a few of these that are worth some money, such as the '79 Susan B. with wide rim, any '81 Susan B. or any of the Presidential series without edge lettering, for starters. Since the gov't has billions of these things sitting around, they disseminate them through public transportation kiosks to try to get rid of them. I live near the DC metro and MD metros, both of whom give out dollar coins as change. When taking a trip, I usually put in a $20 bill, put $10 on my fare and get $10 of these coins back. I have found a couple 1981 Susan B.'s and a James Monroe with no edge lettering, worth about $100. This market is completely untapped, as these coins usually have never been searched, since no one wants them.

 

[Generic_Lad]

Untapped also comes with the fact that selling these coins is very hard. Most coin shops don't want them because (aside from the no edge lettering coins which are fairly popular) no one really wants them. Bullion is really easy to sell right now, everyone and their brother wants to buy silver coins. If you sell things at spot on Craigslist you can expect to have a few offers within hours. With coin and bullion dealers, you can usually shop around and get 90-95% of spot no problem.

On the other hand, just take a 1981 Susan B. Anthony dollar, when the entire proof set sells for $3 on eBay and when a single 1981-P coin fails to sell for just $2.50 on eBay, what coin dealer wants to really buy them? Let alone buy them for any more than a slight increase over face value when they'll sit in their shop for months or even years.

 

[CC-Hunter]

Now I feel better about passing on all the Susan B's and presidential dollars I see.

 

[hursst]

Good points. I've just been building my own collection; haven't sold any of them.