Keep Your old finds they may be very valuable someday.

[Ron from Michigan]

I was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base(Albuquerque New Mexico)in the late 70's where my wife and I lived in the older base housing subdivision.The Air Force decided it was time to upgrade everyone's living quarters to newer housing.These older houses were built before the 1940's and now with them being abandoned offered a lot of good coin shooting.The yards were well groomed and I had a new house to search every week for months.(Kind of like a small ghost town)The detector I used was a Bounty Hunter IB 100 (Induction Balance TR).This detector was the latest and greatest and according to the manufactures hype was going to find everything missed by all the other competitors detectors.(Have I heard this before?) Actually the little Bounty Hunter was a great detector.Anyway having so many places to search I never checked my own yard. One day after making a grid search along my sidewalk the detector picked up a faint rounded signal.After cutting a plug and checking in the hole there was still a faint but stronger signal.Taking my screw driver and loosening the dirt around the edges I could see it was a silver coin to be exact a 1927 s Liberty Standing quarter in excellent condition. Finally the other day after checking Ebay its just amazing how much this coin would sell for.So I guess the little BountyHunter paid for itself and a Mine lab.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Definately a good one . . . but. Be prepared to have your legs chopped out from under you if you try to sell it to a coin dealer. "Eexellent Condition" is not a recognized grade. First off, he'll look at the head and say - this isn't a "Full Head" strike (doesn't matter if it is or not, he'll claim it's not). Certain designs didn't take the press strikes well and didn't fill out the dies, so the features of a coin right off the press are already not well defined. The Standing Liberty is notorious for weak strikes. This particular coin would fetch $155,000 if you had one hot from the mint with a hard strike. Reduce value by $143,000 for that "flaw". A MS-65 grade (brilliant, shiny, uncirculated) is worth $12,000. As soon as it entered the bag at the bank it becomes circulated (AU-60). Now it's worth $5,000 and it's still in the mint bag. Clerk in 1927 hands it to a customer and he circulates it for a month. Rubbing against other coins in his pocket. Now it's worth $3,300. Assuming it wasn't in with a key or something else that scratches. At this point, if you dug it out of the ground and rubbed the dirt off with your thumb the dealer will say the coin was "whizzed" (deliberately cleaned to make it shinier) and nock 1/3 off. Down to $1,100 (less if it is pitted - you can't win with cleaned or dirty coins). And, a dealer will say nhe needs to make a profit when he sells it, so 80% off is $880. Even if the coin is sharp featured the tones some soils add will lower the value . . . to some collectors. Some like the toned coins, some don't.

Still, a heck of a find! If you never try to sell it you've still got an example of a key and very rare coin.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

PS ~ I'd still be dancing and twirling my detector over my head like a baton if I'd found it.

Bad day at work and I was grumpy. Sorry.

 

[Ray(MaconGA)]

n/t

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks Charlie when I was a young Airman almost sold it but didn't.Its a keeper this is great hobby where time and patients usually pays off.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Ray your saying used car dealers and coin dealers have common traits Thanks

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Charlie you said bad day at work I have a few of those myself.

 

[Ray(MaconGA)]

n/t