If you are a GSA collector

[toneddollars]

Please post here. If GSA dollars are a main focus of your collection, please post to this thread or PM me. Looking to see how many of us are out there. Do you have a registry set? Post the name so I can look at your collection.

By the way, my registry sets are in my tag line, not listed ,but in the registry is my other set called Apple Cheeks.

[Walkerfan]

I have three but none are certified. An 1881 CC, 1882 CC and 1884 CC. The 81 CC is remarkably clean, so I plan to have it graded one day. I think it is a lock 65. I plan to own what I call 'the 7 CCs'- 1878, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884 and 1885. I have three so far and after those 7 it gets difficult and expensive. I have not bought any because my Walkers take first precedence. Sorry--I have no images.

[toneddollars]

Walker, you collect one the classic American series, walkers, mercs, SLQ, BUFF NICKELS AND INDIAN CENTS, the nicest designs o American coinage. You will enjoy a nice set of CC GSA dollars.

[nwcs]

I have about 8 sets or so. Most complete with shipping envelope. A couple by themselves. All Carson City. A few rainbow toned.

[AcesKings]

I only have 3, none certified. 2-'83CCs & an '84CC. Only one has the right cert, one has a wrong cert, and the last doesn't have any. There is an older gentleman selling a couple of certified ones (by our host) at the local flea market that I would like to pick up, but when ever I seem to get enough money together something comes up. I know he has the '78CC, 80CC, 81CC, and I believe an '85CC.

[jpcienkus]

I collect them as well for my Morgan set. They are all CC's. I also put together a GSA registry set, but will never finish it. Probably delusional to actually start one.

 

So far I have: '78 (64), 80/79 rev. '78 (63), '81 (64 DPL), '82 (64 DPL & 65), '83 (64 DPL, 65 & 65+), '84 (64 DPL & 65) and '85 (65).

 

I don't have great pictures of some of them. I plan to send them to a pro for proper pictures. I know the GSA's are graded liberally, so I was careful when buying. Here are a couple of mine.

 

 

 

 

[MarkW]

In 1973, as a semi-impoverished college student, I bid in the GSA auction. Attached is my original bid sheet and the GSA literature for that sale. You'll see that the 1890-CC that I'd hoped for was sold out and an 1884-CC was substituted. The 1890 would have been nicer to get. Also, lack of disposable income kept me from trying for an 1891-CC. I ended up with 1878-CC, 1883-CC, and 1884-CC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[toneddollars]

I collect them as well for my Morgan set. They are all CC's. I also put together a GSA registry set, but will never finish it. Probably delusional to actually start one.

 

So far I have: '78 (64), 80/79 rev. '78 (63), '81 (64 DPL), '82 (64 DPL & 65), '83 (64 DPL, 65 & 65+), '84 (64 DPL & 65) and '85 (65).

 

I don't have great pictures of some of them. I plan to send them to a pro for proper pictures. I know the GSA's are graded liberally, so I was careful when buying. Here are a couple of mine.

 

 

 

 

Very nice collection, you have a good eye. I'm not sure they grade them as casual as most seem to think. I like you look very hard before buying, and feel I have several upgrade candidates. As opposed to some that are over graded. JMHO

[nwcs]

I've never seen the bid forms before. That is so cool!

[snizzle]

Not Carson city GSA

But I like them

[jpcienkus]

Very nice collection, you have a good eye. I'm not sure they grade them as casual as most seem to think. I like you look very hard before buying, and feel I have several upgrade candidates. As opposed to some that are over graded. JMHO

 

Thanks. I'd like to add another '78, '80, '81 and '85 to my collection. I just flat out like the hard pack GSA holders and the idea that the coins went "unnoticed" in treasury vaults for around 75 years.

[#]

NLI

[toneddollars]

I have a custom set, with pics; with 26 different GSA's including VAM's. Several higher end coins and six CAC stickered. I also have three complete sets of eleven 78-91.

David

Hashtag, just checked out your set, very impressive. Nice collection.

[toneddollars]

I have about 8 sets or so. Most complete with shipping envelope. A couple by themselves. All Carson City. A few rainbow toned.

NWCS, would love to see those rainbow toned GSA's if you have pictures

[nwcs]

I plan to get some of them from the safe deposit soon now that I'm experimenting with a new photo rig for coin pictures.

[Conder101]

the coins went "unnoticed" in treasury vaults for around 75 years.

They went unnoticed because they were being kept company by a couple hundred million other dollar coins

[jpcienkus]

the coins went "unnoticed" in treasury vaults for around 75 years.

They went unnoticed because they were being kept company by a couple hundred million other dollar coins

 

I know. I just can't believe that many bags of coins could go unnoticed. My understanding is they were in vaults behind doors and sealed, so that when they did inventories over the years, they just checked whether the seal to the vault was broken. If not, to paraphrase, they just checked a box.

 

 

[GoldFinger1969]

I have an ungraded 1883-CC that I won on Ebay. At the last Westchester show, I saw someone buy 10 GSAs -- not sure if they were graded or not.

 

I'd like to get some more including graded NGCs, but they can be pricey. Commons graded on Ebay seem to go for about $250, ungraded just under $200.

[Conder101]

It wasn't that they didn't know they were there, it was just that One, no one cared, an Two they were backing for silver certificates. If they were distributed the silver certificates would have to be withdrawn, and people preferred to use paper rather than heavy silver dollars.

 

The silver dollar stockpile was tapped regularly every Christmas because people liked to give silver dollars as Christmas gifts. What caused the rush on the silver dollar stockpile was once again two things. One, rising silver prices were making it look like the coins would soon be worth more as metal than their face value, and Two, during the annual Christmas distribution bags of 1903 O dollars turned up. At the time these coins were worth $1,500 or more each, and that is in 1962 dollars. Something like $15,000 each in today's money.

 

It suddenly became a treasure hunt. Take a silver certificate to the bank ad have a chance to come away with a really valuable coin, and even if it wasn't it was still worth more than the paper note you gave them.

 

 

[jpcienkus]

It wasn't that they didn't know they were there, it was just that One, no one cared, an Two they were backing for silver certificates. If they were distributed the silver certificates would have to be withdrawn, and people preferred to use paper rather than heavy silver dollars.

 

The silver dollar stockpile was tapped regularly every Christmas because people liked to give silver dollars as Christmas gifts. What caused the rush on the silver dollar stockpile was once again two things. One, rising silver prices were making it look like the coins would soon be worth more as metal than their face value, and Two, during the annual Christmas distribution bags of 1903 O dollars turned up. At the time these coins were worth $1,500 or more each, and that is in 1962 dollars. Something like $15,000 each in today's money.

 

It suddenly became a treasure hunt. Take a silver certificate to the bank ad have a chance to come away with a really valuable coin, and even if it wasn't it was still worth more than the paper note you gave them.

 

 

Thanks for the additional background. I understand the silver certificate backing. I remember reading about the 1903-O situation. I've read about certain people who quickly flew over the England to unload the recently found treasury coins hoping to capitalize slow news of the day.

 

How many coins were distributed in the early '60's? I thought the mint opened up some vaults and would allow people to exchange paper money for bags of Morgans. I thought the catch was they had to buy one 1K piece bag.

 

I can see how a frenzy could have been created by the allure of exchanging a silver certificate and possibly getting a semi-key date Morgan. Kind of a '60's lottery.

[Conder101]

How many coins were distributed in the early '60's?

Tens to hundreds of millions. The Treasury had 400 million on hand in 1954. By the end of 1963 they were down to three million, the coins that ended up in the GSA sales. Most of those dollars were distributed between 1960 and 1963.

 

I thought the mint opened up some vaults and would allow people to exchange paper money for bags of Morgans. I thought the catch was they had to buy one 1K piece bag.

At the treasury in Washington you could get the $1K bags, I don't know if they handled smaller requests there are first (hey must have later after March 1964 when they stopped handing out silver dollars and handed out bars and silver granules instead, But it was a madhouse, people lined up with carts, dollies, even toy wagons ad baby strollers to haul away their bags of dollars.

 

Some people went into it in a big way. Silvertowne had a van that they kept on a continuous round trip between Washington DC and Indiana. Arrive, load up the van, drive back to Indiana, where the van would be unloaded at the bank and the dollar coins used as collateral for a loan to fund the next round trip, and another van load of dollars would arrive every two or three days.

[GoldFinger1969]

How many coins were distributed in the early '60's?

Tens to hundreds of millions. The Treasury had 400 million on hand in 1954. By the end of 1963 they were down to three million, the coins that ended up in the GSA sales. Most of those dollars were distributed between 1960 and 1963.

 

They distributed the coins as I recall from 1962-64, then stopped. The remaining 3 million went on sale (auction) from 1972-74, with a smidgeon released in 1979-80.

[jpcienkus]

Thanks Conder and GF. Always nice to learn more details.

[mhomei]

love those GSA's

great read