LPS (local pawn shop) comes through again...

That pawn shop along my way home from work has mastered the art of intermittent reinforcement (giving you a reward only once in a while).

A few weeks back, I found that they'd put out an 1895-O Morgan dollar, priced the same as all the others from the batch. So, of course, I've been going back almost daily -- and finding very little, other than one little baggie of five war nickels a bit below melt.

Today, there was nothing much new in the "coins" counter, but the "gold coins" counter had a few new arrivals -- 10g and 20g gold bars, a Krugerrand, and an Indian half-eagle, reverse up, obverse (and price) down.

I asked to see the half-eagle -- I can't judge grades on these worth a darn, but it didn't look too bad. I peeled the sticker (about 25% over melt) back so I could see the date:



As soon as I saw that date, I flipped it back over and looked very closely at the reverse:



Gulp. I talked them down a bit on price, but I was not walking out without this one.

The hairlines weren't nearly as obvious in hand as they are in these photos. I was hoping it might make AU, but expecting XF; after looking under magnification, it looks like a details coin. So I probably won't be able to put another zero after the price I paid, but I shouldn't have any trouble turning a nice profit. And the shop has earned at least another month or two of daily visits.

 

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Nice Indian.

 

Another current thread shows that grading these is not easy.

 

If Pawn shops went so greedy most of the time,
I'd say

 

Nothing wrong with a little redistribution of wealth.

 

amazing, congrats

 

Definitely not a weak "D!" Awesome find.

 

So assuming this is not a fake coin,
these bozos are just buying these coins below silver or gold melt and then selling them at a profit, without taking 15 seconds to look up online what they are worth?
Seems like they are in the wrong business.

 

That might be the case here. But most of the time they think they are all MS, and this would have had a 8000$ price Tag.

 

They definitely don't understand about cleaned coins, and they appear to think that soldering a ring onto a gold coin or putting it in a bezel adds value to it. They often label half eagles as "1/4 oz US gold coin". I try to explain to the sales reps about cleaned or damaged coins when I talk to them, but I imagine they just think I'm trying to talk them down on price. They did recognize a $3 gold piece as a rarity, although it was harshly cleaned and/or mounted (I don't remember exactly) -- they priced it at $900, and it was only there a few days before they either sold it or took it off display.

They tend to price silver dimes around $2. They had 1964 Kennedys at $11.88 and a 1967 Kennedy at $2.88 (as of yesterday). Common worn Morgans are $22.88, and "shiny" ones are maybe $24-25. They do look for CC mint marks.

In a fairly large store with a hundred feet or more of jewelry/electronics display counters (in addition to all the floor shelving, gun room, musical instruments hanging on walls, etc.), they've got one 3-foot cabinet for coins and even less for gold coins (usually less than a dozen items in the gold display on any given day).

It's safe to say coins are not a main line of business for them.

 

Is strong/weak "D" actually a thing for the $5 gold? I know it is for the $2.50, but I'm having trouble finding info about it for anything other than the 1911-D quarter eagle. (Which this is not, but if the shop puts one of those out, I hope I'm in the right place/right time again...)

 

I dont get this thread. Why is that coin special?

 

Very low mintage. Rare coin. Key date for collectors.

 

I think jeff's got a good bead on these.

 

Yep, you're right. It helps if I read the denomination.

The 1911-D is more valuable than the regular 1911. For some reason I thought this was a $2.5 instead of a $5. Some of the 1911-D $2.5 have weak mintmarks and occasionally members cherry pick them and post their findings here. I, however, apparently can't read and overlooked the fact that this is a $5 and not a $2.5 so the weak "D" thing doesn't apply.

 

Thank you

 

That would make one of us (who thinks that I have a good bead on these).

I'm thinking to start a more descriptively labeled thread in US Coins to ask for authentication backup. I'm also going to try to unearth my copy of the Fivaz gold counterfeit book. If this thing looks legit, I'll likely take it to the big Money Expo show in Raleigh the first weekend in June and shop it around, and/or submit it to ANACS for authentication.

 

while I am no expert on these jeff, I think this coin looks completely legit. mint mark and all.

 

My mother in law gave me a small cache (5 coins) of gold, three half eagles and two quarter eagles. Mostly common dates, but there is a 1911D half eagle in the lot. Similar condition to this one. Very happy with it!

 

You might also ask TOUGHCOINS, he knows these pretty well.