An inherited box of coins.

[SkyMan]

In the latter 1980's I inherited a box from my paternal grandmother filled with an assortment of coins. She had never talked to me about coins previously, so my best guess is that they were predominantly my paternal grandfather's (he died before I was born) topped up with a few coins that she got. Essentially all the coins were common date stuff. There was a pretty good slug of large cents, generally all G-4 or lower, a dozen or so heavily circulated FE cents, a variety of IHC in a Whitman holder (including an 1877 in ~ G-6), a fair amount of trimes worn completely smooth, an assortment of worn nickels, about $70 face value of silver, predominantly Morgans, Peace dollars and Franklins (although including also a slug of Mercurys, Roosevelts, and Washingtons) a few pieces of heavily worn paper money, one counterfeit 1834 half eagle, and two gold coins.

 

I was just starting collecting coins back in the late 1980's, and at that point in time was not interested in large cents, so I took them all in to a coin shop and sold them for (it turns out) a decent price. Over time I've sold off the smooth trimes and the dimes. Most of the rest of the silver I've kept, although I have occasionally given a silver dollar to someone who was interested in coins. I have also given a few FE cents away to young numismatists. While the box contained nothing particularly special, it was special to me in one way... it was fun to find out that at least one of my forebears collected coins. I enjoy pulling out what I kept every now and then and looking at it. Given the condition of the coins I also enjoy giving the occasional one away to a budding young numismatist to hopefully help give them the coin collecting bug.

 

I recently sent some coins to Bob Campbell to image. Below are the two gold coins from the box. I think Bob did an excellent job of imaging them.

 

 

[WoodenJefferson]

I enjoy reading stories about hand-me-down collections and how they are kept or dispersed. Although more valuable than just sentimental reasons, you picked out 2 coins that can be cherished as a remembrance of a bye gone era.

[e1cnr]

Cool, do you still have the counterfeit 1834 half eagle? Was it obvious fake, and how soon could you tell?

[HCumberdale]

I think it is great that you have enjoyed the lot of coins given to you and have dispersed some of the coins in various ways that are meaningful to you.

 

I am a little sad to see people sell off relatively small, low value collections for less than $100 when the coins were handed down to them. I think that larger and nicer collections do warrant selling some (or even many) pieces from time to time, but keeping a highlight of the collection as a memory piece is essential in my opinion. I think sharing some of the low grade coins with kids is pretty cool too.

 

A few years back a friend who knew I collected coins gave me a low grade 1873 indian cent from her father's collection. While it doesn't fit at all in my colllection, I really appreciated having her share a piece of her father with me.

[jerseycat10]

Nice story, and nice photos!

[mkman123]

Great story

[SkyMan]

Cool, do you still have the counterfeit 1834 half eagle? Was it obvious fake, and how soon could you tell?

 

Yes I kept it. Before I got the coin, someone dug a bit of a pit in the left obverse field and there is a hint of a different metal at the base of it.

[yonico]

Nice story, and awesome coins..

[rrantique]

Always nice to see the coins passed on by others. (thumbs u