Going through dead uncles attic found coins

Given the American propensity to litigation, the situation looks tricky. If it comes out that you found something worthwhile, all those verbal agreements like 'help yourself to what's left' are liable to be forgotten in the greed of the moment. If there was a will and the terms of it left the house contents to the adopted children, they would be in a good position to dispute your possession of anything you found. In the case of intestacy, the children would still be in a strong position.

I hate to feed the leeches but it may be an idea to get lawyered up first, explain all that has happened as you stated it above, and have copies of the will, if any, handy. It may be that all involved are saints who will say, 'Fair enough, good luck to you', you know the people involved best.

Simply keeping quiet may work, and from what you said you have a clear moral title to whatever you found, but it would be a shame to find a real treasure only to spend twice its value on legal wrangles with only the lawyers profiting.

No point doing all this till it is positively established that you have a big deal on your hands, but from the coins shown so far, more of a pack rat hoard than a collection, it does seem likely that among the heaps of junk and a few decent and desirable coins of reasonable value sheer chance has hoarded and preserved a real rarity for you.

 

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"Take what you want" does not exist in the real world. An uncle is a pretty distant relative and moral rights are a long way from legal rights. Has the estate been closed? Has proper notification been made in the paper and to all potential heirs, etc. I hope you get rich from "uncles attic" but it is a slippery slope. I wouldn't even discuss it on the internet given the archiving going on with every word you type.

 

What you have is the dime. Not the half dime. This one is from Stacks and Bowers.

 

Man that is a beautiful coin.

 

Yep. Dime.

 

I see the same die marks on my coin as the one just posted...

We just researched the weight and size...

My coin has the Weight and size of the half dime, but the casting of a dime....

Wth?

 

Never mind...
figured it out...

Its a dime.

 

as long as the probate is overbthan yo have full legal right to ownership. i was in the same position when my father died fortunately i am an only child and my afathers siblings didnt dispute it that after probate even a major debt collector likenancredit card company cant legally get money from the estate. the best bet is, and idk your states laws, lay low. ive heard horror stories about families tearing eachother apart over an estate.

 

I realize you have had many responses to this thread, but if you simply read my posts you would have a good handle on this coin.

 

I will go back and reread your posts Tom.

Thanks to all that replied.

 

I am very late to this thread. First, Shaner, welcome to CT. I hope that your stash of coins will pique your interest in this great hobby.

Lots of great advice on the thread, but I did not see where you were told to buy a Red Book. Go to a Barnes & Noble and get yourself a Red Book. It will help in identifying your coins. Don't pay attention to the values as it's a compilation of opinions 1-1.5 years in advance of printing. The main reason for buying it is to help in coin identification.

I agree with all about contacting either Tom B. or Matt (Lost Dutchman) to help assess what you have and which should be graded, conserved or just stored in a flip/airtite.

Document every coin you have in an excel spreadsheet. You'll be happy in the long run you did this as it sounds like you have quite a stash and quite a variety.

Good luck with your venture. I hope you stick around and congratulations! I also agree that if you do decide to get coins graded, you submit to either NGC or PCGS. The money you spend to get them authenticated and graded will most likely be returned in spades when you go to sell them.

Joe

 

Did you ever do anything with this coin?

 

Great looking coin! I would not clean it because it could dramatically lower the value. I would also go ahead and have it graded.

 

Nope. Kind of just sitting on it. Maybe we would sell for the right amount...but no real desire to do anything.

 

OK! I was just curious, it was just interesting to see such a nice coin found. Youve gotten all kinds of comments and ideas from the members here, if you get tired of just sitting on it I would send it in to get graded. Very safe and secure and I love submitting coins, its always fun seeing what they come back graded as. Sometimes its like scratching off a winning lotto ticket if you hit the right grade. But with that coin your ticket would be a guaranteed winner haha

 

True...we have thought about that...grading...dont know what route to take right now. Easier to just let it be and save it for a rainy day.

 

Well enjoy it! Its a neat coin and has some cool history. On that rainy day just take a look at the PCGS and NGC websites and read a little about them, and just dont do anything until you are comfortable. You will feel alot better that way. Thanks for showing us!

 

"Easier to just let it be and save it for a rainy day."

While that is definitely the easier thing to do, I can guarantee it is the more risky thing to do in terms of preservation, value and liquidity. A few of us have given you good advice, but of course it is up to you to follow it.

 

The die cracks around, and through the date, are mesmerizing.

 

Please don't Clean!!!