GSA certificates of authenticity

The grade is pretty irrelevant since being the only one it will always be stupid in demand but I think I read it's probably a high AU coin. Is that correct or am I remembering wrong?

 

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I know this post was from a while back but I was hoping to find some help on my late fathers collection particularly the three GSA coins that came to the house in 1980. I have all three still in original perfect boxes with the outer box with the USPS delivery tracking card and the PO number from GSA to our address (the house that I now live in) I have Dads GSA letterback to him stating je won the auction and the three would be shipping and it has his name (my name too). and my address on it. I have two of the three serial number cards, one I misplaced last month and most likely threw away. I was wondering if anyone knew how to get US govt records of the serial number s, at least to note the 83cc card missing so it cant be misused and also have the number for the person wishing to buy these. I have full traceability documented except that one missing card. I am thinking about donating to one of the historical groups who can appreciate the historical condition if they dont end up with a buyer interested in keeping them together and not reselling immediately just to lose that. Did GSA record/issue the number or US Treasury departmnt. Any help is appreciated

 

@Mariaaggie , the 1883 cc was widely sold so if you are missing a cert, you can buy one on eBay for minimal cost. The only thing you want to make sure of is that the serial number starts with "83".

The 3 dates you own are the most common. Can you take pictures of the actual coins? From them, we might be able to help you with their value. As a pure guideline '82 - '84 cc in MS63 are worth between $180-$210 each. They go up in value if they are in better condition.

 

You'd be surprised. Some of the cards will bring several hundred dollars on their own.

 

Agreed. When I bought my 1878 CC GSA, it didn't have a cert. I paid ~$50 just for a cert. My OCD wouldn't let me have the coin without the cert....lol.

 

That is a smart purchase, because it will be easier to sell if it is still in the GSA holder.

 

Thanks. I agree with you about re-sale. Not that I'm going to sell it any time soon, but when I do buy them, having the correct cert is part of the buying decision (coin condition/ eye appeal being equal).

 

I think I was trying to get the actual serial number for the one I have. I have all the paperwork and the letter to my Dad with my name and address and the other two coins have their actual serial numbered cards. I figured they would be registered with General Services Administration or the Treasury if they were issueing serial numbers and not just authenticity cards. I have the purchase order/lottery letter to Dad and the USPS tracking number fr 1980 as well. I just did not know if anyone had ever tried to get that from GSA. I want to keep them all together too so that whoever takes tgem from here has some valid historical records that can be traced back to the original date of production and since we have been the only owners other that the US govt, I figured it would be a cool unique peice of traceable and valid history for someone. I guess its not common though. Once the serial number is issued I mean, as far as who issued it and keeps track.

 

Do your two GSA certs match up with the paperwork? I don't know whether the GSA went into that level of detail or not. Those certs do not trace back to the date of production. These coins sat in bags in multiple places for multiple decades. I'd like to here other opinions, but I see the GSA printing the certs and then randomly sticking them in the blue boxes. No rhyme or reason. I'll bet they just made sure the first two digits matched the coin date. I highly doubt they documented which cert went to which lottery winner.

As for contacting the GSA to get the information, I wish you luck. If you are successful, please let us know. I'm very curious, but am very skeptical.

 

Sorry I am having issues loading the pictures. I guess I need to go feed the hamsters. By the time a photo loads I forgot which photo I loaded. And I must be getting old...

 

The GSA has a huge depot about 3 miles from me (they actually have the car that Kennedy was shot in mothballed in one of the buildings there. They actually have pretty good records on microfilm of everything the US govt has (you just have to have a lot of patience and someone who works there with security level to walk you around) I would not know how to go about getting a formal inquiry if they came from the Fort Worth Depot or one of the others (ours has scaled back to about 4 warehouses so it may be centralized). I can sure ask and if I hit a dead end it would not the first time. It just seems odd to serialized them and then not available to collectors. I can trace the number on the letter that Dad got and its recorded in all the subsequent correspondence from them and they even formally tagged that on the box. Maybe its burried in that number somehow. Nixon must have been busy on other correspondence I guess.

 

Dang!!!! Wish I wouldn’t have read this thread.... My grandfather bought me two of these when the auctions were held. Of course they are the most common dates, 83 & 84. And as a kid the packaging was in the way of me viewing my prize pieces and were unceremoniously discarded. Now I find the certificates probably hold more value than the pieces! Drats!!!

 

This sounds like something that might be a worthwhile endeavor for sentimental reasons if you plan on keeping these coins yourself. However, unless your father was a famous numismatist and/or he had a notable collection, I don't see much outside interest. If anything, forcing the coins to be purchased as a group limits your potential buyers.

 

@Randy Abercrombie , don't forget to get the blue clam shell boxes as well. There was also some other document included. But GSA collectors mainly want the blue clam shell box, appropriate cert and of course, the coin in it's original holder.

From your pictures, I'd say you have two very nice examples. Your certs won't be that expensive. It's the "rarer" GSA dates that cost you a lot for the certs.

 

That's why one of the most valuable cards in a baseball or football pack is the checklist. Who wants that stupid card with no pictures - just names and boxes? That is the first one to go in the spokes on my bike.

 

Mariaaggie, coins that you still have certificates of do the numbers on your certificates appear anywhere on any of the other paperwork you have. I think you'll find they do not. And if they don't then getting another certificate with the same serial number is of no importance because you won't know what the original serial number was. The order number that you showed on the box label and the registered mail number do not correspond to the certificate numbers. Most likely you have no other paperwork contains the certificate numbers.