Any idea what this coin is?

Well, I don't know that I'd call the story priceless. My grandmother collected them during the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's. She passed away in 1973 when I was 5 and left all the coins/bills to my parents. They were stashed away in my parents' closet since then and weren't touched. When I was a kid I knew they existed but never really took much note of them. Both of my parents passed away recently so I'm finding these containers as I'm cleaning out their house. I haven't really gone through the strongbox that has the bags of quarters, mercury dimes, nickels, etc. If I get time today or tonight, I'll dump those bags out and see if there is anything out of the ordinary in there. I haven't looked much at the red-number bills either other than the few on the top.

Incidentally, I don't need the money so am not in any hurry to unload any of this it. My teenage boys seem to enjoy this stuff so we'll probably want to keep a sampling of them but not likely to keep all of it (unless they decide they want it).

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Just a thought: There's always rare coins and rare dates and such, maybe you could find some of your coins that bear the year your grandmother was born that could be something special for you and your boys to treasure even if they're not worth a fortune by coin standards. Always a story there, Wow this coin was made the same year grandma was born!!!

 

That is a great thought...could include birth years for my parents as well. Thanks for the idea!

 

@Madams36 , get your self The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of US Coins. You can go to Wizard Coin Supply and buy one. They're on sale for ~$12 + s/h. With the wide variety of US coins you inherited, this book will help you determine if you have any rarities. For example, if you find a 1893 S Morgan dollar, it has a lot of value in any condition. I doubt you have one in the bucket, but you never know.

Based on the number and variety of coins in the bucket, I believe the "Red Book" will come in handy. The pricing is merely a guideline. If you find something of value, take good photos and post them on this site. There are many knowledgeable collectors on this site that will help value the coins.

I'm glad your boys are showing an interest in the collection. I'll bet there are a lot of cool coins in the bucket.

 

Thank you for the tip! I'll definitely give that a look.

 

Careful though. You may just get addicted to this hobby...lol. I think you'll find the book very useful.

 

I suspect your fractional California gold are all fake/fantasy pieces. One of the most common indicators of this is if there is a bear depicted on the coin. If any do not have a bear, please post pics and I will try to provide you with an id number and any other available information. Interesting pieces nonetheless, and I have a small collection of them.