underground numismatics

with
daniel rizea,
razvan rizea.

Director
george dorobantu

Probably everyone at one time or another has collected coins. Some people save old wheat pennies they find in change and throw them in a jar. Other people collect state quarters, and some others collect certain coins like nickles or dimes, and try to build a complete collection over time. A lot of folks think coin collecting is the hobby of king’s and truthfully, it’s often called that. A king may be able to build a giant collection of coins, but I promise you, that the small collection a young boy has that may only be worth a couple of dollars, is worth just as much to that boy as a King’s coins are worth to him.

I can tell you right now, anyone can collect coins and you don’t have to be rich. In fact I have quite a large coin collection, and I have had a very low paying job all my life. There are a lot of ways someone can build a great coin collection over time, while still paying the bills.

Coins are so neat looking, I remember when I was a young boy, my grandad would go upstairs and open a safe we had, inside was a metal drawer containing some old Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars. My grandad would let me sit and play with the coins often. I would hold one by the edge on the table top and flip it on the side with my finger and the coin would spin wildly around on the table like a toy top. The coins were frosty silver or whitish colored and were beautiful to look at, they were large and heavy, not like the little coins we have today. I often wondered how many folks actually carried these things around in their pockets everyday, it only took a few of them to weigh quite a lot.

After my grandad passed away back in 1969, my dad sold the old silver dollars, I don’t think he really wanted to, but my grandad had left the family farm pretty deep indebt, so dad had an auction and sold about everything except our house and the barn, to pay off the huge bills. It wasn’t too long after that when dad got bitten by the coin collecting bug. At first it wasn’t coins but paper money that got dad started. I remember dad saw an ad in the back of some magazine, where a guy was offering to pay $2 for every dollar bill you sent him that had a certain treasurer’s name on it, that name was: ” Joesph W. Barr “. My dad looked in his wallet at some dollar bills he had, and sure enough he had one that had the signature ” Joesph W. Barr ” on it. Dad took the dollar from his wallet and kept it in an envelope in his old roll top desk, and after checking his money for several days afterwards, dad found some more of them. Sometime later dad mailed the dollar bills to the address in the magazine ad, and sure enough he soon got a check for the dollars plus an extra dollar each. Dad continued searching and sending in them ” Joesph W. Barr ” dollar bills for awhile, then after a period of time, the guy no longer was accepting them.

Dad then started buying a few Indian head cents and some buffalo nickels. Then as he got older and money seemed to get a lot more tighter, dad quit buying coins and turned to a new hobby, doing sweepstakes. But by this time, I was hooked, I just loved the look of the old coins, the silver ones and the old copper large cents, they just seemed so neat compared to the boring coins of everyday use. Now as I am writing this article, I stumbled across an interesting article about the ” Joesph W. Barr ” dollar bills from the ‘American Numismatic Association’ it said, the following: “At one time, it was speculated that the notes signed by Treasurer Joseph W. Barr would eventually hold a high numismatic value since he was in office for only 23 days in 1968-69. However, during that period, a total of 484 million notes were produced with his signature. The high quantity produced dictates that the notes will never be considered rare in our lifetime. Interestingly, in 1995, numismatic author Alan Herbert stated, “A $1 Barr note deposited in an interest-bearing account in 1969 would have been worth over $4.00, figuring 6% interest compounded annually. A circulated Barr note kept in a safe-deposit box for 26 years is worth $1 today.”

So that explains why that guy probably quit buying the ” Joesph W. Barr ” dollar bills, it seemed they might of been collectible for a little while, but they just never caught on. Today you can still buy them on eBay and other places, sometimes for slightly more than $1.00. Oh well, it is something that has stuck in my mind every since I was a little boy, I will always remember dad checking his wallet for ” Joesph W. Barr ” dollar bills. Now as I wipe the tears from my eyes, yes I am sad to say dad has been gone a few years now, and I still miss him very much, especially when I sit here alone and think about the times we spent together in the years gone by, oh well, at least it’s always great memories when it comes to you, dad.

Now as I regain my mental composure, if I ever had one, I want to say that I never lost the desire to collect coins. And as I got old enough to work full time, and live on my own I started and built a fairly large coin collection. I didn’t have much money as I never went to college or trade school, and I have always had a job working as a laborer, so I had to fine ways that I could build up my coin collection cheaply.

One day, I was looking in the back of a Coin collecting magazine that I had purchased at a local news stand, and I found an ad where you could join a coin collecting approval service. They would send you certain coins once a month, and you could select the ones you wanted to buy and keep, and if you didn’t want them all, just mail the others back to them, and the next month they would send some other coins for you to examine. What made this program better than the other approval services I had often seen was, you could tell them what type of coins you were interested in, and what price you were willing to spend monthly. I selected miscellaneous U.S. coins, everything from old large cents from the 1800’s to silver mercury dimes and buffalo nickels etc. And I chose to only spend $20 a month, for me this was perfect and for about a year or more I stayed in the program and over time I got a nice bunch of coins from them, then something happened and the company folded or went out of business, as I never received any more coins from them and I no longer saw their ad in the magazines.

Overtime I discovered other cheap methods to aquire some nice coins, one of the methods I still use, is something that anyone can do to start building a nice coin collection. Just start searching and examining your pocket change, I still find wheat pennies and silver war nickels, and many pre 1960 nickels, and sometimes a silver coin in pocket change. One time about two years back, I was at a local store and got some change back, I noticed two of the quarters I received looked kinda white in color, examining them closely after I got back home, I discovered they were both pre 1964 silver Washington quarters. I figured somebody must of needed money to buy some cigarettes or milk or something, and must of used some of their old coins, I was just lucky enough to had been there at the right time and place to get them in my change.

One place to find a lot of nice coins is to go to different banks and buy rolls, search through them carefully, and you will be surprised of the neat finds you may come across, plus just add a few out of your pocket change to replace the ones you want to keep from the rolls, and you can turn them back into a different bank for some different rolls of coins to search through.

Another place that is fairly good for finding some rare coins is at local flea markets, be careful though as many of the folks at these places are very aware of a coins value, and they often ask for much more then what the coins are worth. Read up on the coins you are interested in buying, or better yet, take along a pocket coin price guide with you when you go to buy coins, it’s better to be thrifty then foolish.

Anyway, now after collecting coins for fun over the years, I have almost every Lincoln cent that was made from 1909 up to present, and I have every Jefferson nickel from the first one that was made in 1938 to present, and I have a nice sized wooden chest full of miscellaneous U.S. coins, including silver dollars, mercury dimes, buffalo nickels, Large Cents and many more unique and rare coins. I figure the coins will make a nice gift someday, something to leave to my daughter and her children, and maybe I can spark that fire in them, that my dad started in me, the joy of coin collecting. So start checking your pocket change today, you just never know what rare finds you may come across.

There are several different types of computer software that are made for coin collecting. One program that stand’s out is ‘ Coin Collector Professional ‘, it is made for any coin collector, from novices to professionals, and it cost under $20. ‘ Coin Collector Professional ‘ may be downloaded and tried for free at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/ccp

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

A savvy and smart sales person will offer you after sales service so that you keep coming back to them. Coin dealers aren’t left out either. After sales service begins from the moment you walk into the store. How? The way you receive your customer will determine if they will keep coming back, and if you do make that sale, then they just might come back. We’ll look at a few things your dealer can do to keep you happy as a client.

Your dealer can give you advice on your coins. For example if you’re a first time collector, you can get advice on how to care for them in terms of cleaning, storage and displaying them. Your dealer can also keep their ears on the ground, and let you know when coins you might be interested in are in the market. They will also find buyers for any coins that you might want to sell. They advice you on the highs and lows of the coin market and will tell you when to hold on to your coin or when its time to sell. In some instances, your coin dealer will even go out of his way to find coins that you expressed interest in,

When you are a collector in a big city, it could be a bit hard to find a dealer you can establish a rapport with, because life is simply too fast and for many of them, it’s just business. It’s about money changing hands. If you want a dealer who pays attention to you and your needs, you might want to put some research into finding a small scale coin dealer.

When is the perfect time to sell coins? This may be a dumb question if asked of a coin collector however timing really does make a difference. There are times when a collector wakes up in the morning and suddenly makes a decision to sell his precious collection of coins. There are also times that a collector needs to give up his coin collections due for personal reasons and the idea of selling his precious coins may be the most difficult part. No matter what the reasons are, it is a fact that this does occur in the life of a coin collector.

There are many reasons why coin collectors sell their coins – there are coin collectors who are dealers at as well. Selling coins is their option and they may use it to generate income so that they can acquire other coins that they like.

Some collectors travel in search of a coin they want and during that travel, they may encounter coins that may not be qualified for their own collection but they buy them anyway. Upon returning home, they sell the coins they have purchased and make use of the money to buy the coins they are looking for.

There are also coin collectors who gather coins not just as their hobbies; these coin collectors use the coins as their source of income. They make a living from selling the coins that they collect. Sometimes they sell the coins to other collectors and price them higher than the usual price of the coins and this is appropriate if the collector owns limited edition or rare coins.

On the other hand, some collectors sell their coins because of other factors. They may sell coins because of personal reasons. Collectors sometimes decide to “give away” their collection because they no longer have any option but sell their coins. This is the most difficult situation for coin collectors as they often value their coins and as much as possible would not want to give them away – the coins may be memorabilia or may have sentimental value to the collector.

Once a collector has decided to sell his coins, he must consider if it is really the right time to sell the coins. Is the collector ready to give away his coins? Is the coin at higher price now? Will it do well and will he benefit from selling his coins? These factors should always be considered.

There are other options available to determine where a coin collector could sell his coins. He may want to sell the coins at auctions. Many people now prefer the option of putting their belongings up for auction and this is not limited to coin collections.

There is also a higher chance of having the coin sold at a higher price since auctions include bidding processes. Buyers may bid for a higher price especially if the coin being sold is of rare quality and has a higher value.

A collector may also want to put up a website to advertise the coins that he would like to sell. The Internet is the easiest way for collectors to search for coins. In addition, putting the coin on the Internet will make the selling an easier task. The collector may put up his own website and place the pictures of his coins and some brief descriptions on it. He should also note how much he is willing sell them for.

There are other options too: the seller may want to do a dealer-to-dealer negotiation. He can go directly to coin dealers and sell his coins. The dealers then can sell the coins that they purchased to other dealers.

It is important to compare prices between one dealer and another as there is always a chance that one dealer may buy the coins at a higher price than other dealer. It is wise to shop for dealers and then decide which you one you want to deal with.

It is also recommended that collectors who decide to sell their coins use a coin grading service. It is very important so that the seller not end up a loser when he sells his coins. By using a grading service, the seller will be able to set a price that is based on the assessment made by the grading service who will determine the actual value of the coins.

Most importantly, coin collector should not clean their coins once they have decided to sell them. If they do, the value of the coins will depreciate.

Coin Hunting or ‘Coin Shooting’ as it’s often called, is not only very fun to do, but it can easily be very profitable. Finding just one gold piece or any rare coin can easily pay for the cost of the metal detector. When it comes to Coin Hunting or ‘Coin Shooting’, there are some places that I call ‘hot spots’, or the best places.

Riverbanks – Ponds – Lakes – Swimming Holes: These locations are true treasure hunting top spots. The Riverbank is a huge area that can provide a lifetime of detecting. River banks were used as ferry crossings, and some had covered bridges with toll stations. The local old timers may be able to tell you where the local fishing and old swimming spots were. Remember many of the old fishing spots were also drinking and partying spots, and at the swimming holes a lot of people took off their outer clothes, losing change as they did. And going back even earlier in the years, folks would take their clothes to the riverbanks to wash them in the water. The same goes for old farm ponds, many were used as a favorite summer time swimming spot or picnic area. The banks and shores of rivers, ponds, streams, lakes etc, are great locations for coins, jewelry, trinkets and more.

Schools – Churches: These are also ‘HOT’ areas for metal detecting, most towns or even rural areas have a school, some have multiple ones. Schools that are currently open during school season are a great place to find modern coins and even a few clad coins, also numerous trinkets, diecast cars, and cheaper jewelry items can easily be found on modern school grounds.

If you are as lucky as I am, then you live in a rural or country area that keeps a lot of their old buildings. I know where there are two old buildings that served as one room school houses, these places were open in the late 1800’s to the early 1940’s. Just imagine the wonderful finds these old grounds may be hiding. The old one room school houses also served as churches, social halls, farm grange buildings, and as meeting places for scouts, ladies aid societys and more.

Many old Churches and one room school houses had there own treasure chests, that’s right. When these buildings were constructed, the local kids and adults would bury a chest on the grounds or under a corner stone of the building. The chest was a sort of time capsule containing coins, newspapers and other unique items from the time when the building was erected. Many of these old buildings rotted away over time, and folks forgot about the buried time capsule located near the corner stone.

Searching the land a church is on is like searching for a pirates loot, you never know what you may find. And a lot of churches are very old, even many of the modern ones are like schools, they are built on the grounds where old ones stood. Churches were often the first buildings built in many towns. Right here where I live are numerous churches, and one was built in the early 1700’s. Church buildings not only housed people on sundays but, most were wedding sites, reception halls, dance halls, dinner sites, ice cream social locations, group meeting spots and much more.

Woods – The woods can be awesome for metal detecting if one knows what to look for. Look for old paths, those are great places to detect along. Old paths in the woods served as shortcuts to open fields for farmers to get their equipment through, or for cattle to follow and more. In a wooded area not far from where I grew up as a child I know where there is an old path, now grown up with trees and bushes, most folks would overlook it or not know it’s history. My grandfather and dad built the road by blasting stumps with dynamite and by hand cutting trees. They used the path to quickly get tractors, and other farm machinery to another open field below the woods. Just imagine the number of times my own dad and grandfather probably sat along that old road, eating their lunch or sipping some cool lemonaid underneath the shade of a large tree. Any time someone sat along a road eating lunch, they would often pull an old cloth hanky from their pocket to blow their nose or even wipe their mouth, often losing some pocket change at the same time.

Another rare but great metal detecting site that can often be found in the woods is old stone foundations and old stone chimneys, each has the potential for a rare gold coin or a jar of old silver dollars. Remember at one time this old stone foundation or fireplace was part of a familys home, with kids playing, parties and numerous outdoor activites.

Some other great Metal Detecting sites are – Parks, Beaches, Old Ball Fields, Playgrounds, Fairgrounds, Camping Sites, Camps, Ghost Towns, Battlefields, Old Picnic Spots. Make sure that you have permission to search and dig in any location you are going to do your detecting at.

There is Computer Software that is made just for the hobby of Metal Detecting. The software is called: ‘Metal Detector – Treasure Hunter Professional’, and may be seen at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/md/meal.html

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.