went to the flea market yesterday. this is what i found 1899 indian head cent-$2 1902 indian head cent-$1.50 1908 indian head cent-$1.50 1961 washington quarter-$2.25 1961D washington quarter-$2.25 1962D washington quarter-$2.25 1963 washington quarter-$2.25 1963D washington quarter-$2.25 after we left the flea market, we went into a farming supply store where my brothers girlfriends mom works and she asked her manager for $300 in 10's and 20's. well, being a collector, you can't help but look and i saw a old style $10 bill right on top. before i could react, she put it into the cash register, mixed them all up, and closed the lid!:headbang: some lucky customer will be getting that in change!
This is one of my best flea market finds. Here's the story.... When I was a kid, there were only two coin dealers in the local area. One was an extremely patient and very nice. The other, was the typical, I don't want to talk to someone who doesn't have at least $100 to spend, was grouchy most of the time and wouldn't budge from his inflated prices. Well, both used to set up at a local flea market. Needless to say, most of my business went to the older/nicer gentleman. The other had decent deals on unsearched/left over lots. As I got older, around 25 or so, I returned to the area and found out that my favorite coin dealer had retired and the flea market had closed. I wound up tracking down the dealer and met up with him for old-times sake. We had about 10 years to catch up on. He informed me that the other dealer had moved to a new flea market for the summer. So, over the weekend, I made the 45 min trip, not necessarially to see him, but just to spend some time looking at "stuff". As was stated, the dealer was there...surprisingly, he remembered me. I scanned his prices, and sure enough, he was still overpriced. After talking with him, he confided in my that he used to hate dealing with "younger" collectors, but now since he had his first grand-children, he changed his perspective. At the moment, I was looking for some common/cheap silver dollars. He didn't have any, but did state he had a few slightly nicer ones he'd let me have for only .50 cents more. I took the offer and picked up two nice XF 1880s. Before paying, I noticed a coin in the same tray. The coin looked terrible in the bright sunlight. Basically, it looked like someone ran over the Morgan with a car a few times. Since it wasn't labled, I asked for a price...he looked at it and made a similar comment about the condition. So, he let me have it for .50 cents less then the other "nicer" coins. When I got home, I placed the coins on the table, and didn't think any more of the transactions. My Dad came home and started to look at the recent purchases. He pulled one, and had asked how much I had paid? Around $24 for the lot. Are you sure if these are real? He asked. Currious, I went over to see.... The pics don't do justice. The fields have deep mirror prooflike surfaces that reflect about 16 inches deep. Not only that, its cameo. I know the scratches and marrings take away from the coin, but overall, I've always liked the look of the coin. BTW: The next year, I returned to the flea market and told the dealer about the purchase and offered to make up the difference (shutter..he was never a "fair trader"). He wasn't concerned but made a counter offer...if I were to purchase a collection for $35 more then he had purchased, he'd consider it even. So for $200 I got three Unc. local broken bank notes, 20 rolls of unsearched wheats (netted 3 rolls of steels), 3 rolls of undated buffalos (10 V-nickels were in a roll),and one roll of Indian pennies (2x1860), $50 face of circulated silver certificates, 5 pounds of foreign coins, two rolls of 40% silver halves, a handfull of medieval Polish coins and about $100 of brand new Witman supplies (tubes/books/flips). Here's what started it:
I'm an old-school grader and tend to grade lower then higher. Times have changed, so I'll ask the question... Based on the photos, what would these grade out at? I'd say MS-63, Deep Mirror Frosted Proof like. My original notes from a while back was that an MS-62. Thoughts?
The coin certainly has the DMPL look to it, but there are some things that bother me about it. First, it looks like it was cleaned, and then it either toned naturally or it was artificially toned in an effort to cover up the cleaning. Next we have the two pictures I've added - I have no idea what is going on around the date, possible planchet flaw I guess. But around what would be the mint mark area on the reverse, I'd say someone tried to alter the coin. Bottom line, I don't think it is gradeable. You guys tell me what you see. edit - by the way, I did not add that arrow
