The economy, I fell so sad for some people!

Hello all,

So I've shopped on ebay for a two weeks or so now and have a good idea on what passes for BU, and anyway, here's where the title comes in.

So I went to the bank today, got two boxes of cents. One box was sealed and had LP4 in it, the second box had 13 bank rolled LP4 and the other 12 rolls were rolled by the banks customers (and no, this isn't a sales pitch, LoL).

My wife came home from work today, and after she and I had opened the first 8 rolls that were rolled by a customer, we had a pile of bright and shiny 50's, 60's, and 70's cents. There were NO 80's or younger coins in those rolls! Given what I'd seen on eBay, any of those coins could have gone for at least $5.00 each.

So, given that those 400 coins were in such prestigious condition, I couldn't help but feel guilty for now owning them as obviously they were a part of a collection. I'm thinking perhaps a widow because no living collector would let them go for a straight swap for $4.00 in paper money.

Anyway, the point of this post is, does anyone ever feel guilty for something that they stumble across? Is it a dog eat dog world in this hobby?

P.S: Is this the wrong section to post this in?

Thanks,

Chas.

 

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Great Find that's what roll searching is all about. As far as feeling guilty NO, I always wonder the story is behind the coin.

 

I bought over $200 of copper cents hand-rolled by date and mint mark from my local bank a couple months ago. None were BU rolls,but most were definitely above average mostly AU coins. Sure, I felt guilty that someone had put so much time into building such an extensive collection of rolls, but then I also felt that the person who assembled them probably had quite a bit of fun doing this. I'd like to think that the collector died and now they've gone to someone else who will appreciate them. I would feel worse if the collector them self felt they needed to get rid of their collection due to financial hardship. Even if the latter were the case though, I feel somewhat better knowing they will be appreciated in my collection more than in circulation.

 

Too true, too true.

 

when i was trading my antique tv to a older person for some large cents of his he didnt really have an idea of what some of his coins were worth. im also kind of new to large cents myself but im more then certain some of his coins alone were worth more on ebay then what i was even asking for the tv. if theres anything to regret its that i couldnt get more of his collection or the whole thing (hahaha) but its not like id be selling the coins either.

 

I've never found a lot of great coins roll searching, a surprise every now and then. I always have a tendency to think they have been in a coin box or coin jar for years. I tend to think if they were actually part of a collection the collector would have some idea of their worth. Regardless I do realize whether from a collection or from a money jar they wound up in the rolls probably due to hard times.

Like someone said at least the coins are going to be well taken care of now.

It is hard times that is for sure. One of my neighbors is a manager of a big apartment complex. People move in groups of three to four that had their homes forclosed and people move out in groups that bought the homes that were forclosed on. I hope 2010 is a better year.

 

I have heard it said many times that we are merely custodians of our coins for a short time ...

 

Guilty?

Why?


Did you force them to roll up the coins and drop them at the bank?

Silly question.

 

The market is amoral: it gives you whatever you want.

There are egregious examples out there, but this is not one of them. For one thing, I have no idea what an LP4 is. If you look at some of the other forums here, you will see that there are many niches in this hobby. For many collectors a Lincoln Cent is just 1/100 of a dollar. I mean I have a few frosty proof Lincolns in a tin of US junk, Mercuries, Buffalo Nickels, that sort of thing, even a slabbed Proof 70 Roosevelt Dime, but you have to go a long long way to make a modern American coin worth holding on to.

If you are an eBay regular, it might seem obvious to you or easy to do, but I find eBay a pain in the neck just to look at; and I would never go through the headaches of signing up as a seller and dealing with all that nonsense from Paypal.

So, if you got some rolls with coins that make you happy, then that's what the hobby is for you. Enjoy it.

 

We all go through our ups and downs. Take advantage of the good times, 'cause they don't last forever.

 

Sure the widow story is a classic one but so is the one about the kids who raid dad's collection or the theives who cash in rolls of coins that they stole. Coin collectors die every day and ofcourse they don't tell their family about what they have so yeah ..they just cash it in for face. That is a fact of life. Most collectors are mostly solitary antisocial loners but those are the breaks. A shame but I dont see it changing anytime soon.


Don't go crying over spilled milk and rejoice in the fact you came along at the right time when one of these scenarios played out in real time.

 

I'd like to think this isn't the case. I don't have any proof otherwise, but I suspect you don't have proof to back up that statement either.

 

He's probably right for the most part. Maybe somewhat out of necessity and maybe some are just that way. The collectors who are very open, outgoing with lots of friends and care free, are the ones who get robbed.

Regardless, it's an interesting hobby that transcends across many different personalities. Some have a tendency to do that. And that can be pretty neat because you can meet people you never would have known before. You can get an idea of what the average collector is like but not really peg anyone perfectly. For the most part, collectors will like being around other collectors.

To the OP........ if you're worried about that, it will be a long life. Also, what you think they're worth and what you'd actually get *and then be left with* after a sale, is likely two different things. I wouldn't feel bad about it. They had about a 99.999% chance of going back into circulation before you showed up.

 

Yikes . . . a whole lotta folks apparently disagree with you and are telling you it's a dog-eat-dog world.

I have the opposite view . . . a little extra compassion now and then, being sensitive to the condition of others, even strangers, is a good thing. We can sure use more of that in this world.

FWIW, I also liked the comment above that somebody wrote that we are only temporary custodians of any coins that happen to be in our possession.

 

On the contrary, I have all the proof I need. I've been to coin shows, coin shops and talked to many a collector and heirs. My years of associating with collectors has provided me with the data required to make that observation.

I've been to more than enough estate sales and talked to enough widows to know that the lost family member was not all that communicative and spent hours socked away in the garage, basement or spare room ..looking at cents through a magnifying glass. Looking for a die clash or a third finger on Lincolns hand. They all told me the same types of stories. "He so loved those coins." Now with the advent of the internet, chat rooms and blogs have also taken up their time as they tend to congregate with other like minds who smile when told of their latest discovery.

Not that there is anything wrong with this. It's the nature of the beast and of the hobby and thats why widows and heirs will continue to turn collections in for face or get bought out by the low bidding dealer down the street. Thats the way it is and the way it will be for time ever after.

Collecting is a joyful hobby and brings hours of joy to collectors but when the time comes to be called home. The joy ends and the coins become spare change.

These are my personal observations and opinions and its ok that you dont subscribe. I hope you work to turn the tide.

 

They'll be plenty more stories like this for at least 5 more years. Why? Because there were 3,200,000 foreclosure notices in the US in 2009. The forecast is 4,000,000 foreclosure notices in 2010, and 4,000,000 in 2011. In other words we haven't begun to see the bottom.

 

I don't know about that. I'm hoping in this day and age that the word is getting out more and especially now that computers are more common with the current generations, that collections are being better documented these days. At least you would hope so. There's no excuse not to have a valuable collection well documented. I don't care how much of a hermit somebody may be.

I've also seen many people come to our What's it Worth forum here and receive valuable information on inherited collections, by talking directly with anonymous collectors. Info that wouldn't have been as easily obtained 20 years ago.

With the info available at people's finger tips these days, there's just no excuse. Anybody selling a collection at face without doing any investigating, deserves face.

 

you should not feel gulity
But the gulit you feel is haveing a chouce maby i seplled that wrong but it is up to you
Dave

 

If the shoe were on the other foot wouldn't you be glad another collector got ahold of them before they hit the hands and pockets of careless people?

They also might have sat in a bank vault since the last date found,I've gotten rolls of nickels with the 64 being the most current date,that had just been at the bottom of the pile in the banks vault for years and years,not being handled and worn down,found a handfull of war nickles and alot of other good stuff too.

 

No i once found a collection, im guesing, someone turned in, it contained just about the whole jefferson nickel collection (minus war nickels), lots of nice 1950's, 20 + buffaloes, and a couple rolls by date from the mid sixties! My guess is that someone turned in their hoard, a widow, maybe their child cashed in some of the collection, or worse maybe theft but i doubt that.