GSA Morgan's

[texasrichard]

I recently received the Encyclopedia of US Morgan and Peace Dollars VAM book that I've been reading. There is a very interesting section on the GSA dollars, along with some great pictures.

 

As the coins were sorted and classified they ended up being put in wooden boxes of 1000 coins. I was wondering, is there any record of any of those boxes of 1000 coins being left in tact?

 

I'm not a Morgan collector, in fact, I just sold the only one I had but I do find the history surrounding them quite interesting.

 

Anyway I would recommend the book for anyone interested in not only Morgans but numismatics in general. There is great info on the mints, minting processes, and history of the US.

 

It makes for a good time to sit with my daughter and have some quality time together with both of us learning.

[WaxonWaxov]

Wasn't that all part of the Benny Binion Horde? (Benny Binion, founder of the Horseshoe Casino and World Series of Poker)

[texasrichard]

If I remember correctly (I'll double check later) it was the remnants of what was left from the public sale of ones that had been stored in the US Mint vaults. The article goes into a lot of detail on how the coins were counted, sorted, graded, and what not. Can you imagine grading millions of morgans over a fairly short timeframe?

[TomB]

I don't know that the coins were graded in the way that we would grade coins. However, I do believe that the pieces that showed more than a little toning were sold at lower prices because they were viewed as inferior quality or as less desireable.

 

There is a member of the PCGS boards who goes by the name gsaguy and he knows as much about this niche as anyone I have ever met. He is also a truly fine person and would likely be happy to share some of his knowledge with you about this hoard.

[WoodenJefferson]

But, do not go by gsaguy's picture...he could scare Miss Liberty and the Eagle off the coin! Nice guy even though he looks like a class one, bad to the bone biker dude!

[ArtR]

As Tom mentioned the coins were not graded in the way that we grade coins, but were sorted, scratches, toning etc. The damaged coins (GSA opinion) were put into GSA Holders without the Uncirculated Designation.

 

As far as the 1000 coin boxes, this was the last step prior to the coins being placed in their GSA Holders. I doubt that any of the 1000 coin boxes still exist as the GSA Sales were sell outs.

 

Next to Leroy VanAllen, Gsaguy has the most knowledge on this hoard of any one I have ever met.

[RWB]

There is a large file on the GSA sales in the archives. I leafed through it at one time and noted considerable discussion about "grading" the coins so that buyers got an uncirculated vs circulated coin.

[Stanley]

http://www.coinresource.com/articles/gsa.htm

[WoodenJefferson]

Better late than never...when I read this, I remembered a question posed about original boxes of 1000 that may have been left over. Although it does not answer your question, this does present some interesting facts.

 

The first task for government employees was to sort and stack the coins into 1,000 coin wooden trays. The vast estimated majority, 2,825,219 coins were Morgan type, minted with the unique and famous CC mint mark. The coins were then individually graded by white-gloved inspectors using two groups of silver dollars.

 

The first group of coins were judged as extra-ordinary Uncirculated Specimens by a criteria set by the GSA numismatic panel.

 

The COA Card had a unique light blue eight digit number with a large light blue watermark of the Great Seal of the United States on the background of the card.

 

The first two digits of the COA number represented the last two digits of actual date on the silver dollar.

 

The second group of coins were judged as the Special Mixed Category by a criteria set by the GSA numismatic panel. These coins were either tarnished, nicked with scratches or bag marks.

 

The GSA did NOT issue numbered COA Card with mixed category silver dollar group.

 

The actual number of GSA HOARD United States Carson City Mint Morgan Silver Dollar coins sold by the GSA has never been officially published into the public record by the U.S. Government. The following are estimates.

 

1878-CC ..........60,993

 

1879-CC ...........4,123

 

1880-CC .........131,529

 

1881-CC .........147,485

 

1882-CC .........605,029

 

1883-CC .........755,518

 

1884-CC .........962,638

 

1885-CC .........148,285

 

1889-CC ...............1

 

1890-CC ...........3,949

 

1891-CC ...........5,687

 

1892-CC ...............1

 

1893-CC ...............1

[Oldtrader3]

I was one of the bidders that underbid in the first round of the second (1979-80) GSA sale. I was not notified until after the sale that I had underbid and would not get any coins at the GSA published bid price. I had only ordered a couple of MS coins and bid over the minimum GSA bid, but won nothing. I was pretty ticked off at the lack of communication and last minute upping of the bid price. I thought the second sale was a public relations disaster.

[rrantique]

I also made a bid on 3 of cc's back in the 70's, unsuccessfully. The GSA held my money for quite a while, before notifying me that no more were available.

[Oldtrader3]

rrantique: The GSA also held my money for several months before telling me that I had not bought any coins and refunding my money. I always thought it ironic that the GSA, the entity that audits and rates the performance of other government agencies, could do such a poor job of customer service (for taxpayers) themselves.

[cpm9ball]

rrantique: The GSA also held my money for several months before telling me that I had not bought any coins and refunding my money. I always thought it ironic that the GSA, the entity that audits and rates the performance of other government agencies, could do such a poor job of customer service (for taxpayers) themselves.

 

I thought that the General Services Administration was responsible for procurement and disbursal while the General Accounting Office was responsible for audits and ratings. Of course, it really doesn't matter. If you've seen one lazy government worker just sitting around waiting for the retirement benefits to come rolling in, you've seen them all.

 

Chris