Hey coiniacs, It feels kind of odd posting here, I usually stay over in the error threads. However today I want to post my comments here as they are US coin related and not about errors. A quick history. My Grandad gave me 6 coins in 1988, I was 15. Thus it began. I was official a coin collector and there was no turning back.:thumb: The coins were: 1852 3 cent silver 1865 3 cent nickle 1855 half dime 1867 2 cent 1875s 20 cent 1863 civil war token In 1995 I had some coins stolen from my house by a HVAC company employee working on our furnace. The company was bonded and paid for the loss but one of my Grandad's coin were gone. The civil war token was no more. I have never thought about buying a new one until yesterday. July 4 2005 my Grandad was on his way here to see his great granddaughter for the first time. He never made it. He died of a heart attack after breakfast. Only minutes from our house. I'm not trying to bum everyone out, I just wanted you all to know where I'm coming from. Yesterday I received news that my Grandad's entire collection is heading my way in a couple of weeks. I am so excited that his entire collection will finally be reunited. My original 6, minus the token, will find their home after almost 20 years. This is something very special to me and I wanted to share it with all of you. When I do get the collection I would love to post what it all contains. From what I remember it consists mostly of nickles and halves. Now to a question. I know we have some fantastic civil war token people on this forum. If you could please pm me or email I would love to try and find a similar coin to the one that was stolen. I only have a crude photo I took years ago of the obverse and reverse. Thank you all for listening, Michael
Greetings, I have a question about the theft? Did the hvac company find out which tech took it? and if so,was he charged?I know this doesn't have any bearing on coins directly, but am curious how we can protect ourselves from service company theft.
Michael: How about posting the picture, crude is better than nothing. Also, describe the obverse & reverse.
Hi, If you knew who stole it and the company paid. Why couldnt you recover the coin? Was it sold before you identified the culprit?
There were only two techs that worked on the furnace. Both took polygraphs and one failed. He was then fired. After all of that is when the HVAC company would pay out the bond to cover my loss. I don't know if he was ever convicted. I don't think poly's hold any weight. Just enough to lose his job and to pay me. As far as getting the coins back they were definitely sold before I knew it. Everything was packed up when they were stolen. Several weeks after the fact when I went to unpack my coins had I noticed there were some missing. I tried to call all the area coin shops with a list. Some owners were nice, others could care less. I would love to post a pic. However I took the photo long before digital cameras. It is only a print and my scanner is shot. I'll probably post another thread with all the vitals of the token and go from there. Or maybe use my brothers scanner later. Michael
I'm sorry to hear about your grandad peachy. We may love our grandad's coin collection but we always love our grandads more. Keep his collection in the family the way he would have wanted and make a great memory for your grandkids. :hug:
Hello Michael, Your story is so poignant but yet, sadly so very common. Many, Many wonderful family members have sown the seeds of the hobby with the youngsters of their families He (your grandfather) sounded like a wonderful fellow and someone we all should aspire to be like. But to the token in question, did it look something like this? Take Care Ben
It was a capped bust with the Army Navy on the reverse. I have seen many that are close but they all, so far, have had minor differences from the one I had. Thanks, Michael
If you can find a photo of one online or post yours maybe we can help you find one---there are some dealers that I know of that has CWT and such. You might want to PM cwtokenman and ask his help in finding a dealer---or better yet just post an offer in the OPEN forum. Speedy
Just a quick update. As I type this, the coins are leaving Texas and heading to Colorado. I have spent the last several hours checking the Fed Ex website. Man I love tracking numbers!:thumb: According to the website the package weighs 23.6 lbs!! Anyone want to take a stab at how many coins that is? I smell a contest! Seriously lets do that. Go to the contests. Thanks for letting me ramble, Michael
Michael, Once you get that photo up,I'm sure one of our token experts like cwtokenman can identify the dies and locate one just like it for you.There are literally dozens of the 1863 Army-Navy tokens up on ebay at any given time and I have to tell you,that to my inexperienced eye,they all look the same.Most of them call the particular type of capped bust a "turban head" because of the odd type of cap.The reverses are all a simple wreath with the inscription in center and the crossed flags & cannons below. Good Luck and enjoy sorting through your new treasures. There are exactly 1123 coins in that package by the way.(entry #1 in the contest)
"According to the website the package weighs 23.6 lbs!!" That must be the world's heaviest CWT! Or amazing packaging.
Michael, if you get the pics scanned and posted, I will be glad to try to id them for you. If the photo is crude, I just hope its not one of the the varieties where the beads around the rim need to be counted!
