i have a 1904 2 1/2 dollar liberty coin, still in packaging and was wondering how much it is worth. If anyone can post a estimate of some sort, i would apprectiate it very much. thanks, macams
Welcome to the forum. My 2-year-old Red Book lists the 1904 quarter eagle at $285 in condition MS-60. Chances are yours is in at least that grade, maybe even more, so post a picture if you can because in a coin of that type grade is all important.
It is in a hard plastic case,with a serial number and is in MINT condition. How much would it be then?
All the more important to see a picture. MS (Mint State) coins have 11 grades - MS60-MS70 - often with huge variations in value. Those grades depend on the surface appearance, including scratches, rubs, discolorations, strength of strike, etc. Grading such a coin from pictures is difficult, especially in the higher grades. Grading them from a description is impossible. I'm no expert in US gold, but the presence of a hard plastic case on a cardboard holder with a serial number suggests that you have either a privately created holder, which would add little or nothing to the coin's value; or some type of privately minted gold round, which would essentially be worth its bullion value of $40-45 if it has the same composition as a true quarter eagle.
I've attached a picture of what my case is; its the same coin, but not the same info, it says it's a MS63, whereas mine is a MS66. This is how my coin information is displayed on the case: 1904 $2 1/2 PCGS MS66 Series: 58 Coin: 133 7856.66/4900736 Thanks alot for your help so far, and i very much appreciate you taking your time to help me out, and i was wondering if this would be enough information for you to give me a close estimate. I'm getting a car soon, and I need every penny i can get, so, i was hoping for u to tell me a close estimate so that a pawn shop...or bidder on ebay won't try to take advantage of a teen that does'nt know the first thing about coins. Thanks much, macams2
You've got a winner my friend! It's not "still" in packaging. It has been graded as a 66, on a scale of 60-70, (generally considered to be a very high grade) by one of the highest regarded independent grading services. I have verified the serial number on your "slab" with the PCGS data base, and it checks out. As I said earlier, grade is all important for a coin like that. The PCGS guide, which is generally considered to be high retail, values an MS60 at $350, an MS63 at, $875, and an MS66 at $3,000. The highest grade they list is MS67, and it's shown as $6,250. I don't have access to the PCGS "Pop Report", so I can't tell you how many of the 160,960 1804 quarter eagles have received equal or higher grades. Perhaps someone will come across this thread who can access that information for you. Pawn shops are not a good place to dispose of such a coin. You would be lucky to get $750 from a pawnshop. EBay is a much better choice, if you are an experienced seller who can post clear photos of the coin you are selling. Otherwise, a visit to some coin shops in your vicinity is in order. Don't take any offer until you have shopped it around a bit. If you're afraid of being taken advantage of by reason of your age, it might not be a bad idea to have a parent or adult friend do the selling for you. (If you're under 18, that's actually a must, because for legal reasons many dealers won't deal with a minor on a transaction of that size.) Also, because of its high value, be prepared to explain how you came into possession at your young age.
What do you mean by explaining how I got this coin? A friend gave it to me for doing some favors for him. Would that be a good enough reason?
If you are as young as I think you are, a pawn shop or coin dealer would be hesitant to buy something that valuable from you without strong evidence that you have the legal right to sell it. It may not be fair, but that's the way it is in a world where a dealer who comes into possesion of stolen property could wind up having it taken from him by the police without compensation. Also, many EBay buyers are suspicious of sellers with little or no feedback selling valuable coins, and either don't bid, or bid quite low.
ok, my friend gave it to me for helping him move and fix up his computer and stuff, and he said he got it from his uncle, so, i assume its legit...i mean...i trust him. Would this be enough information for someone? and if not, do i need some sort of registration? macams2
Read the fifth post. The picture of a slab is an example, but the actual coin is a 66. The serial number macams2 gives checks out as a 1904 MS66 quarter eagle in the PCGS data base.
Honestly, I wouldn't buy from you. For THAT coin to be in THAT condition and in THAT particular company's holder, SOMEONE along the line must have known its true value. People who collect coins don't just give such nearly perfect examples of "Rare" coins away without being sure that the person receiving the coin knows about its value. Even if the coin was given to a non-collector at some point, that non-collector would still know its approximate value and if they ever tried to give it away they would pass on the value of the coin to its next owner. Now, in your situation, you are AT LEAST 2 steps away from anyone knowing anything about it, since you (until a short time ago) had no idea of its value, and your friend obviously knew nothing of its value. (As evidenced by the fact that he traded a $3000 coin for computer repair and help moving. He could have hired a moving company and bought a new computer for that much money!) Now, who knows if his uncle knows its value, but somewhere in this coins succession of owners I think it has probably been stolen (my opinion, and certainly not an accusation) as that is one of the most common ways that something KNOWN to be valuable gets into the possession of some one who knows nothing of its value. (The other common way for that to happen is by inheritance, but that's another discussion for another day). The problem that you have is that the coin has an individual serial number and the possibility that the proper owner has recorded that serial number is very high, meaning that it can be easily identified as stolen by its serial number. That said PLEASE don't remove it from its holder as that would greatly reduce the protection that the coin currently has and since gold is so soft it is likely that the coin could sustain damage (even very minor damage could reduce the coin's value to 1/10 of what it currently is. If I were you, I'd start doing some research and I'd try to talk to my friend's uncle, to see if he knows what has happered to the coin and also if he can provide any info on its history. I'd be prepared to have to give the coin to him though as it seems likely to me that he might not even know that it is missing from his collection yet. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it.
On macams2's behalf, many MANY things, not just coins, are passed along without knowledge of current market value. Not to say a gold coin couldn't have been stolen, but ignorance is a bigger possibility to me. I'm a yard sale hound, as well as a coin collector, and enjoy "the hunt" of it. I can't tell you how many times I've come across antiques, with easy to realize values in the hundreds of $$, priced at 50 cents or less!. If its a really gross error, I usually ask the people, "Do you KNOW what this is?" Anyway, coin collections are inherited all the time by those who don't know, and often don't care, what the collection is worth. Tragic I know, but a reality just the same. To me your choices are to either tell your buddy about the value of the coin, sell it on ebay not to a coin dealer (a coin dealer makes their living off of coins and so will typically offer less than they can sell it for, this isn't wrong or specific to coins, its just buisness) , or keep it. If you keep it, I'd strongly suggest looking into investing in a safe deposit box at your local bank. Personally, I'd keep it. You can always pick up a few extra hours at work, or odd jobs on the week end, but you won't have a coin like this given to you very often
I don'r believe this coin was stolen, but, if there is someway that i could check is validity... would you post the website? Im very surprised at how much this coin is worth, and so is my friend. Were not sure where his uncle got it, so, it makes it even more important to know its validity. Thanks, macams2
The only 2 things I can think of are 1) trace its history backwards or 2) try to trace its history forward. To go backwards have your friend ask his uncle where it came from. Then take his answer and contact that person to see where they got it. Keep doing that until you find the person who had it slabbed (put into the plastic holder it's in). The other option is to try to contact PCGS (the slabbing company) and see if they can give you any info about the person who originally sent the coin in to them for slabbing. (I have no idea how much they can or will tell you). Then, take that info and contact that person and see if you can find out if they still know where/when/to whom it was sold. Follow this process until you get back to your friend's uncle. Good luck, this won't be an easy task, BUT, it could provide you peace of mind about its provenance.
