I would like any and all, biases or unbiased opinions about the so called "unsearched" hoardes of coins. Have any of you bought in and gotten any bags of coins and if you did, what did you get? Just curious. JD
When buying coins you need to keep something in mind - the seller is trying to SELL them. They will use all sorts of terms and adjectives in order to attract your attention. I would say that 99.999% of the time if a seller uses any of the following words - they should be ignored. Focus only on the coin ! Unsearched - in my opinion there is 1 time and only 1 time that a bag of coins can be considered unsearched, that is if it still has the mint's seal on the bag. The same can be said of rolls unless you purchase them directly from the mint and most of the time when you get them from banks. Searching through bags & rolls can be a very enjoyable part of the hobby. So if you enjoy doing this - by all means do so. It is a great way to fill the empty spots in your collection and have fun at the same time. But do not expect to make any great finds. THAT is rare. Rare - ignore this word ALWAYS ! Key - if you know a coin with a particular date or mint mark is a key - fine. Otherwise ignore it.
1. What GDJMSP said. What kinds of coins are these? Are you refering to the Roman coins sold for $1 each or so? I can tell you that it only takes a little practice to see the coin through the dirt. They are not that surprising. A dealer can turn 1000 coins into 20 similarly distributed lots in about three hours. Also, these so-called "unsearched" lots have been turning up salted with modern fakes. I cited a Celator article from about this time last year in my talk about fakes at the Pittsburgh ANA convention.
The only good thing about "unsearched" is that MAYBE they were not searched for the things you are looking for. For exampke, if you have an empty folder and are looking to fill it with wheart cents, by all means buy an "unsearched" lot and plug away. You will certianly find a lot of what you need. But, if you are thinking that you might find a 1909sVDB, forget about it. That sort of "searching" has been going on for almost a century, so any that ended up in rolls/bags/cans will already have been searched.
What GDJMSP said What MMarotta said What JBK said Now, if you still believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Unsearched Hoards, please contact me off forum about a couple of bridges in New York, and some waterfront land in Florida, that I have for sale.
