I know...new member, first post but I swear I'm not trolling. My grandmother appears to have been a bit of a hoarder and I recently came across her coin stash. I guess she was going based on silver content, because they're almost entirely quarters (gotta be $500 face worth of them) from pre 64. There are also 50 or so Franklin Halves from the 50 and 60's, a few rolls of Standing Liberty quarters, 2 Morgans, a few Merc Dimes, and some random ones I am not familiar with. Clearly I don't want you all to evaluate every coin and I know that most of these are going to be worth their silver content alone. My question is are there key dates I should look for on the quarters and halves? I've searched with google and everybody seems to have different ideas for what is rare or scarce. Any help would be appreciated. Joey
Quarters 32d and 32s And you should get a Red book, read up on them. It has alot of info you could use. Congrat's and welcome to the forum.
Yes, there are key and semi-key dates you should be looking for. For Washington quarters, the best dates are 1932-D and 1932-S. The condition of the coins also matters because some coins can be common in low grades, but rare in higher grades. For the Standing Liberty quarters, there are a ton of better dates: Basically, everything from 1916-1924, plus 1926-D, 1927-D, and 1927-S. Franklin halves have to be in pretty decent condition to be worth much. If they are, the best dates are 1949 P, D, and S, 1951-D, 1951-S, 1952-S, 1953, and 1953-S. My best advice would be for you to purchase or borrow a copy of the "Red Book" -- available for $10-$15 at any major bookstore, and probably free at the local library. This will not give you accurate pricing information, but will allow you to get relative values.
Thanks for the help. This is why I posted here - several sites said that a 1938s Washington Qtr was a semi-key date, but none of you (those who would actually buy one) mentioned it. Read the same thing about 1962d Halves and was skeptical right away as I have probably 20 of them. Guess I'm off to the bookstore. Thanks again. Joey
Welcome. Yes, get the redbook. And, the silver content alone makes all of these well over face value. If you have questions about a certain coin, post a pic here so we can give a look see.....
Here are the 2 Morgans - I haven't sorted the others yet 1921S - I understand these are quite common 1880S - Can you folks estimate a grade? http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyprice/4327573281/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyprice/4328306708/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyprice/4327573921/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyprice/4327574179/
AU on the 1880, and maybe EF on the 1921-S. The 1921 appears to have been cleaned. Something is also funny about the 1880, but I don't know what yet.
How can you tell if they've been cleaned? I'm told you can tell even if it was cleaned a long time ago -these coins have been sitting in a box in a box since the 1960's
I went through the older half dollars because there weren't as many of them. This one is in the best condition, not any special year and no mint mark - can somebody make a stab to help me with my benchmarking? http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyprice/4327870533/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyprice/4328603268/
I would say AU details on that walker. Not much mint luster makes me wonder if it has been cleaned. Luster could be washed out by camera flash though.
yeah...not too sure what people are talking about as far as luster, but it looks a little flatter in the photo than it does sitting here. Don't know how to tell about cleaning. I would expect a cleaned coin to look new, this one for sure doesn't look like that, it was also in a roll that had been sitting in a box for at least 40 years.
Cleaning coins was acceptable, and somewhat of a common practice 40+ years ago. researching the history of numismatics I have come across many articles, even for the experts of the day that describe how to clean coins. Today everyone strives for "original" coins, and cleaned has become a four letter word. I have examined several accumulations that have not seen the light of day for decades and found cleaned coins. This does not mean the accumulation you have is worthless, it just means they are normal. The advice about a red book is the best start, key dates are clearly identified. The pictures show some really nice coins, you have many enjoyable hours ahead as you work through the collection. You may have just found a lifetime of enjoyment, keep searching and you might find a valuable surprise.
