Hello everyone, well today I finally went to my local pawn shops to see if they had any coins and one of them did:smile. Of course I came just before 5pm so they were putting some coins away. I will have to come back, because the guy said they had several morgans (no key dates though... as in 1921's IS ALL HE HAS). One thing that caught my eye was a 1986 (I believe) proff set for $5, is that a fair price worth picking up? They also had some random date state quarter proof set(s) (I think they were proofs) for like $6. Should I snag these while I can? Also, what is melt price for morgans if I could get good deal on these? Thanks, Any suggestions Mike B
Another thing, my local antiques mall supposidly has a good spread of coins there... Off to the antiques mall I go...:whistle:
http://www.coinflation.com/ Has your melt prices and as to what you should buy is a book Study what you are buying before you throw your money away, Pawn Dealers do not buy anything with out having the knowledge to know what it is worth Usually. The prices you listed seem reasonable if you plan to collect those things, but are not very good prices if you think that you can turn around the same day and even break even if you sold them.
Be wary of buying coins from places like pawn shops, antique malls, flea markets, swap meets, yard sales etc. etc. unless you know a good deal about coins yourself. And that knowledge must include the ability to grade accurately, detect counterfeits, altered coins, and problem coins of all kinds. You must also know the market, meaning the values of the coins you are looking at. The reason you neeed to have this knowledge is because the majority of coins you will find at these places fit into one of those categories. In other words, buying coins from these places is a good way to lose your shirt !
But that is not what he said. I understood that to mean the pawn shop owner thought 1921 Morgans were the key date. To paraphrase, I understood the owner to have said, "I have Morgan Dollars but I don't have the key dates, such as 1921." I simply wanted to warn the OP not to buy 1921 Morgans thinking they were key dates. Sorry for the misunderstanding. We can move on now.
No, it isn't rare at all. It's quite common. It is fairly expensive though. There is a difference between rare and expensive. For example, there are many coins that actually are quite rare, but they are not expensive at all.
Shoot the piano player for not phrasing it properly. I'm sure he meant, " The guy said he had several Morgans, like 1921's, but no key dates." Chris
I edited the post so there is no confusion... Sorry for the confusion????? Anyways, yes I have been doing a little homework on morgans.... YES I REALIZE 1921's ARE NOT RARE AT ALL. My thinking was if I could get them for a few dollars over melt (as of today a silver morgan would go for $18.90 according to coinflation (todays price)... it would be worth getting them and saving them (if and only if I could get them for a good price). As for the proof set it would be something I would buy and keep for a while. I wouldn't buy this wanting to sell in a week or two. If I sold it it would be 10 years from now (knowing I still wouldn't make much off the sale). Furthermore, as for the pawnshops and antiques mall I am just going with what I have in my town for now, nearest coin shop is 50 miles away. I was just going to see what my local resources had and then get feedback from you guys... Thanks to all who replied... sorry for the confusion Mike B
Also, being new to this I would for sure ask for opinions before buying; such as those proofs... Maybe I'll hold off on any morgans until I travel to a coin shop. Thanks for your time Mike B
Dur, Thanks for the clarification. Like Doug said, you should familiarize yourself with coins, grading and pricing before buying coins on your own, especially from a pawn shop. The coins you find in pawn shops are more likely to be problem coins (or even counterfeit or altered coins). Knowledge is power.
Thanks, Our local book store closed, so I am hoping our Commie-Mart will have a redbook, if not it will give me an excuse to go to Peoria; get a redbook and browse some local coin shops. Thanks for the suggestions, Mike B
This was the first thought that went through my head when I saw this thread. When it comes to silver dollars, I only buy from reputable sources this day and age. The counterfeits (and altered coins) are so hard to detect, that you many times need to examine them at home where you have the proper lighting and equipment to make an informed decision.