Found These in My Basement.... Need Some Info!

Hello,

I was cleaning my basement out (house built in the 1890s) and I found these in an old mason jar with some nails, bolts, and other odds and ends! I am mainly a currency and half dollar collector so I have absolutely ZERO knowledge on Large Size Cents.

What do you guys think? The dates are 1833, 1852, 1856, and the worn-smooth one on the bottom is 1801. Do these years have any interesting die variations I should look for? I figure in their conditions they aren't worth more than a couple of dollars a piece.

 

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Not sure of the worth of these pieces but I'd sure as heck drop my jaw if I ever found something like this. Accolades dear fellow. Hope what you found is significant. The community (sure as the devil) will chime in.

 

My house is definitely interesting. I looked into the history of it and found out the builder and original owner was named William Fowler. I even was about to find a photo of him. (My wife won't let me print it and frame it... she thinks it would be creepy). He was a lawyer in town just like me, and I was even able to pull some of his cases from the 1890s and 1900s to see his level of expertise, way of thinking, etc. Pretty neat.

 

More like at least $100 for all 4 if sold on eBay. Awesome find.

 

You should put your picture and some coins in a jar for the next guy.

 

Nice!

 

Keep looking and maybe you'll find his pocketwatch.

The three later coins are pretty nice for found large cents. The 1833 looks F-VF, perhaps worth $50 unless there are problems.

 

Is that a Draped Bust dollar ?

 

Cent.......

 

1833 if one of the die variety
or
1856 is also a variety as 6 looks large but a closeup view would help. 1801 & 1852 are gravy just found.
I think you could not find one like any you found even on eBay for less than $60.00 that what eBay ending price page price range the last 7 days.

 

If you do take a picture of yourself, you should dress up like Mr. Fowler. That should really creep out the next owners....lol.

Nice find. I'd put them all in airtites.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they were used as washers for the nails in the jar. It was quite common in the 19th century.

Chris

 

I'll be happy to give you twenty usd for them right now! Seriously,just watch this thread as the folks here are quite knowledgeable/helpful in cases like this. It was sure worth cleaning up the cellar this time! Congrats on the great finds and you will want to get/rent /borrow a metal detector to go over the accessable(dirt) areas before giving up the quest,I bet there's a mason jar with silver/gold coins down there somewhere!!!...

 

Cool find. I don't know varieties too well, but the 56 is the upright 5 variety. I don't think there is much if any premium above the slanted variety, but it is considered a major variation. This my 56 slanted 5.

 

One thing not to do is use as washer.
But do have someone look at them with a lop that Knows large cents. I hope you find more good free items that home owner may have put somewhere.
Bye

 

If the original house had an outhouse before indoor plumbing, examine the path halfway between the two structures. Money tended to be hidden where there was a lot of foot traffic, and constant disruption of the soil to hide any evidence of access. It was not buried deep, so as to allow quick in-and-out movement. Another favorite was the dog run, if any, or in the horses' stalls. Chimneys, unlikely. Old T-H tips.

One more, a cut-off fence post. You could lift it up, retrieve your stash, etc., then set it back down again, and leave no sign of tampering. The posts are long since rotted, but you can usually tell where the fence-rows were, especially around the house.

Until the Civil War and its mechanization of hardware manufacturing, it was MUCH cheaper to drill a hole in a large cent than to buy that size washers.

 

You found the them in the basement. Is the basement dirt? If so, get a metal detector and check the floor out. You may be surprised at what you find. If you do use one, let us know what you find. Also check on the outside of the house. If you can find the old out house, dig it up and you may be surprised what you find.
Nice find.

 

What information do you need, Urban?

 

1801 is a S-224, a common variety, it has some problems but it is a fairly decent coin, probably worth $40 or more by itself

 

I would be quite surprised if used as washers . First washers aren't used with nails they are used with nuts and bolts. Second at this time period 1 cent was a lot of money! Even to a lawyer.
The wages or monthly salaries during this time were less than $2.00 @ month . Of course cost of living was cheaper also.
During the 1930's a beer was a nickel and came with a free lunch! So go back another 75 to 100 years and your at a time where coinage was hard to come by, and hoarded to the extent trade tokens were in use.

One dollar in 1890 money would be worth $26.33 in today's money.