Was there ever a time.....?

[RockMyAmadeus]

So this is for the older collectors among us. I started collecting at 10 in 1982, and of course, silver was long gone from the normal channels of commerce.

 

But was there ever a time, say the 50's, 60's or so, when Seated and Bust coinage was found in dealers' "junk" boxes on a regular basis?

[Walkerfan]

I'm six years older than you---you are my brother's age.

 

I remember buying G-VG Barber coinage & Liberty nickel coinage for about 2-4 bucks when I was about 10.

[wheat'swheats]

I remember when my grand parents would give me FE cents out of the old coin jar and had a neighbor who would give me Barber dimes for cutting the grass because he knew I liked older coins. This was also a time when you still got SL quarters, buffalos and indian cents in change on a regular basis (the 50's). Except for Key dates, indains were about a nickel and barber coinage was just a little over face. The first 1909 s vdb I ever traded fore cost me $15.00 in VF condition, and yes Bust and seated coins (common date) were in the junk box.

[TomB]

My father was a milkman from the late 1940's until the early 1990's and it was a nearly all cash business with respect to deliveries and payments for private homes. Each day he would come home with a small bank bag of change and a large wad of bills. The wad of bills might be two inches thick and the bag of change filled out to be a little larger than a softball. I was allowed to go through all of this stuff from the early 1970's onward. I never found an IHC, SLQ, Buffalo, WLH, Franklin or similar coinage, but once a month or so there would be a silver Roosevelt and perhaps twice a year there would be a silver WQ. By the mid-1970's there was never silver in the change.

 

However, my folks had pulled out interesting change from the era prior to when I reviewed the daily cash and the coins they saved were low grade, late date SLQs, WLSs and Buffalos as well as some Franklins with meat. Even though they were taking this change out in the 1950's and 1960's they still were not finding Barber coinage or IHCs.

[jtryka]

I remember in the late 70s and 80s, it was pretty routine to find common, worn seated liberty and barber coins in dealer junk silver bins, then in the 1990s when silver got really cheap I started looking through rolls of halves from the bank and found lots of Franklins and silver Kennedys just for face!

[James_OldeTowne]

So this is for the older collectors among us. I started collecting at 10 in 1982, and of course, silver was long gone from the normal channels of commerce.

 

But was there ever a time, say the 50's, 60's or so, when Seated and Bust coinage was found in dealers' "junk" boxes on a regular basis?

Yes, they were. For that matter, they showed up at my local flea market in a dinky town in the middle of Missouri on a regular basis.

 

The very first "early coin" I ever owned stands out clearly in my mind: an 1830 bust dime in Good condition. The coin was well worn, but had a strong, bold date, and to me it was the most incredible coin ever!

 

My cost? $5. Mind you, this was in the summer of 1982, but even then, that was a "Good" deal .

 

Incidentally, that same day, I bought an 1883 "no cents" nickel in perfect EF-40, and it cost me $10. Go figure.

 

Edited to add:

So this is for the older collectors among us. I started collecting at 10 in 1982, and of course, silver was long gone from the normal channels of commerce.

My Dad was a taxi cab driver for a few years, then a barber for a number of years. Tips were always cash, of course, and I would go through every single coin, compiling quite a few decent partial sets of early Jefferson nickels. Naturally, I thought all of them pre-1964 were silver of course, until I learned better. I DID find silver on a decent basis. I'd estimate that I'd pull out one silver coin per month, mostly Roosevelt dimes, but very occasionally a Washington quarter, and to my memory, I found a single Franklin half. These finds occurred in the years of about 1980 - 1984. The oldest coins I ever found were the 1938 Jeffersons, but I did get a number of wheat cents from the 1940s, perhaps half a roll overall.

[Ashcan Bill]

So this is for the older collectors among us. I started collecting at 10 in 1982, and of course, silver was long gone from the normal channels of commerce.

 

But was there ever a time, say the 50's, 60's or so, when Seated and Bust coinage was found in dealers' "junk" boxes on a regular basis?

 

I started collecting in the 60's and I don't actually recall bust coinage in junk boxes, though a well worn seated coin was occasionally seen. I do remember standing liberty coinage, along with buffalo nickels and mercury dimes, being very common in everyday change. I darn near completed a set of mercs from circulation. Man, I'm getting old......

[Oldtrader3]

I still remember getting silver war nickels in change during the 1950's. Once in a while a well worn Barber Dime or Liberty nickel would surface in change. Buffalo nickels were still pretty common. A lot of people in Maine had piggy banks of loose change back then.

[WoodenJefferson]

 

I realize this is a pre 1948 (no Franklin halves) cash register drawer, but back in the 50's the 50¢ slot was well worn. I can remember back in the 50's going to the A&P and watching the lady ring up my Mom's groceries. When she'd pull the handle on the cash register, the drawer would spring open and I'd be on my tippy toes looking in to see what was in there. If you were due back say 79¢, you'd get a half dollar, a quarter and 4 pennies. My Mom would put the change in her snap purse and off we'd go.

 

Prevalent then, Franklin, silver Roosevelt & Mercury dimes, silver Washington, Jefferson & Buffalo nickels and Wheat cents.

 

Rarer but still found, Walking Liberty's, Standing Liberty quarters, Liberty nickels, Indian Head cents.

 

No Barbers or Seated Liberty...if you happened to get a Barber dime in change, it was so worn and thin, it was barely recognizable.

[Timely]

My wife's stepfather just got 2 peace dollars this weekend from a lady who was spending them, a 1922 & a 1928.

 

A few months back I got a 1888 Morgan & 2 Franklin halves from another lady doing the same thing.

[DWLange]

I realize this is a pre 1948 (no Franklin halves) cash register drawer

 

Look again---the $20 note is current. It's a nice photo, but it was taken recently with carefully selected coins.

 

My mom told me how annoying it was to get three or four silver dollars in change from the grocery store during the 1950s. They still circulated quite freely in the West, most of them being brought back from the casinos in Reno (my folks lived in or near San Francisco all their lives). They stopped circulating right about the time I became interested in coins, but various family members had given me silver dollars as gifts since I was born, and I discovered this stash only after I'd been collecting for a couple of years. What a bonanza that was!

 

Half dollars were commonly received in change during my early childhood years, all of them silver, and they really didn't dry up until about 1970. I got plenty of Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes, dateless Standing Liberty Quarters and a variety of Walking Liberty Halves at face value. I never saw a single Franklin in circulation, and that was always considered by my collecting circle to be an "Eastern" coin.

[James_OldeTowne]

I realize this is a pre 1948 (no Franklin halves) cash register drawer

 

Look again---the $20 note is current.

Yep, I saw that too. Otherwise, it's a cool photo.

[RockMyAmadeus]

So, anybody haunting coin shops in the 50's and 60's find Seated and Bust coinage in their "junk" boxes?

[Conder101]

Look again---the $20 note is current.

The right hand one dollar also dates later. It has IGWT on it so it has to date 1957 or later. Same for the 20. The 20 isn't "current" though. I think two reverse designs back. Still has to date after about 1960 though.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Look again---the $20 note is current.

The right hand one dollar also dates later. It has IGWT on it so it has to date 1957 or later. Same for the 20. The 20 isn't "current" though. I think two reverse designs back. Still has to date after about 1960 though.

 

Post 1996, when they first started the large numerals for the visually impaired.

[Buffalo Head]

I realize this is a pre 1948 (no Franklin halves) cash register drawer

 

Look again---the $20 note is current. It's a nice photo, but it was taken recently with carefully selected coins.

 

My mom told me how annoying it was to get three or four silver dollars in change from the grocery store during the 1950s. They still circulated quite freely in the West, most of them being brought back from the casinos in Reno (my folks lived in or near San Francisco all their lives). They stopped circulating right about the time I became interested in coins, but various family members had given me silver dollars as gifts since I was born, and I discovered this stash only after I'd been collecting for a couple of years. What a bonanza that was!

 

Half dollars were commonly received in change during my early childhood years, all of them silver, and they really didn't dry up until about 1970. I got plenty of Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes, dateless Standing Liberty Quarters and a variety of Walking Liberty Halves at face value. I never saw a single Franklin in circulation, and that was always considered by my collecting circle to be an "Eastern" coin.

 

I think that image was shot yesterday....

 

I remember getting a Walking Liberty half dollar once a week if I got all of my work done, mowing the lawn and so on. My folks like to go to Tohoe & Reno back then like your folks did and would always bring me a couple of silver dollars when they returned. I was very young, this was back in the 50's & 60's....Life was good as I had a piggy bank full of silver dollars that so heavy, it was cool. When we moved it came up missing. One of the worst days of my life, still is.....Joe

[jtryka]

Yeah, the $20 is series 2004 or later, it's a colorized one. Still a very cool photo!

 

I am still shocked that I've received Franklins in circulation, but other who were collecting while they were still being produced never got one in change!

[Conder101]

Post 1996, when they first started the large numerals for the visually impaired.

You're right, I didn't see that. I must be one of them.

[World Colonial]

Yeah, the $20 is series 2004 or later, it's a colorized one. Still a very cool photo!

 

I am still shocked that I've received Franklins in circulation, but other who were collecting while they were still being produced never got one in change!

 

I believe it was the late 1970's (BEFORE LATE 1979) when I obtained some Franklin halves from my local bank. I asked one of the bank tellers to trade me any silver halves she had.

 

In the early 1980's, I worked at a grocery store. I once received two worn SLQ from an elderly woman as payment. I used to also occasionally receive silver Kennedy halves, silver certificates (1957 series I believe) and once I even received some worn $20 gold certificates.

[Oldtrader3]

You could still get rolls of common date (no "S") Franklin halfs at most state banks during the 1950's. Nobody wanted them much at that time.