Posted on 05/30/2005 1:03:54 PM PDT by wagglebee
Linda Stafford has been going to garage sales for 30 years, and taking good-natured ribbing from her family all the while.
Now, the tables have turned.
Stafford has found more than $3,000 in bills dating from 1928 to 1953 in the bottom of a high-backed chair she bought at a garage sale for two bucks.
"When we found the money, they could probably hear us screaming all over the neighborhood," said Stafford, 57.
She made the discovery while trying to make room in her garage for more furniture. When one of her daughters, Mandy Rath, heard something rattle in the chair, they removed the bottom. Placed inside a compartment were two paper packets, one with $10 in coins, the other with $3,060 in bills.
Stafford remembers what she paid for the chair, but not where she bought it.
"I know that I've had it out in our garage for at least a year, maybe two," she said.
But, Stafford was not sure how she would spend the money.
"Who knows?" she said. "I might spend it all at garage sales."
You are correct because she, the buyer, and the seller thought the transaction was made for a chair, not for old currency. This is awfully close to someone accidentally writing a check with an extra zero.
For example, your wife sells an old couch and while she is helping to load it in the buyers truck, her diamond ring falls off and into the sofa. This case is very close to that.
Common ground at last. :-)
Reminds me of a story back in the 70s in SoCal. Seems this guy hit a flea market and picked up this 5 lb. lead statue of an eagle, painted black. Cost him $5 or so. He bought it because it reminded him of the bird in the movie "The Maltese Falcon".
Got it home and began cleaning it up. Found a piece of paper taped to the bottom that said the bird was made up of the first gold taken from the "Eagle" mine. Turned out he had bought five pounds of refined gold for $5.00.
Dilettante coin collecting used to be worthwhile. That era passed long before '89...unless you just in it for "fun".
During the end of the BOOM years,many more crooks got into the business and with the sealed coins and exaggerated valuations, what was once not only a "fun" hobby, but also an investment, became a feeding frenzy of the gullible and the crooked.
An appreciation, as I've said, depends upon what you consider to be worthwhile. An uptick of a penny or three, isn't much to speak of.
Sorry, no, can't quote it.
LOL....silly offer. :-)
A local ordinance then?
You would win that bet.
The collectable nature of older US coins and paper money varies, but folks who have any questions should be careful.
I'd suggest checking with a "reputable dealer", if you know one, (good luck with that BTW).
But the best thing would be to check what your items are bringing at e-Bay. Remember that collectors are crazy in a way. One small variation can sometimes mean BIG bucks when setting a price to sell an item.
They wouldn't be worth all that much more and you and I started out talking about paper money. :-)
Got any old Silver Certificates you would like to exchange, face value? I will send you a stamp.
TT ;^}
I have some from the late 1800s, which I am saving in case someone ever developes a time machine, so nope, you can't have them. ;^).
Your mom sounds like she was a wonderful woman and you are a wonderful daughter. It was a blessing for me to be with my mom before she died. Unless you've been there you can't understand. I gave their generation a lot of credit for making it through tough times and still offer so much love and fun!
dang it!
Well, taking care of my mom could be funny one day, and then so sad the next...that Alzheimers is one nasty condition...but I have never regretted bringing her into my home, and taking care of her there, until she died...
It could be hard at times, but my hubby and son were so very supportive, and that made a big difference....mom lived with us, made us laugh, made us cry, and then she left us, to be with dad and with the Lord...
But I am so glad, ,that I made the decision to keep her at home with me, rather than put her into a nursing home...I have worked in nursing homes for years...and I worked mostly with the Alzheimers patients...I felt so bad for them, because they had to spend their last days in an institution, rather than at home, with their family...its all very sad...
:-)
ping
So I guess that a couple of thousand dollars in coins dated pre-1950 are worth more than face value then?
Oh I think you know the answer. :)
If nothing else the added value of what it would cost to collect and roll them up increases their value, right?
If any Freeper has a bunch of them just laying around and wants to sell them face value I will pay shipping.
LOL! That's OK, we'll just keep what little we have.
dang it #2
You don't have to melt down the coinage yourself. Just take it to the local coin shop and trade it in for the metal content. Pre-1964 coins are 90% silver. One ounce of Pre-1964 coins = .9 ounces of silver. Five quarters = about an ounce = .9 ounces of silver. Silver is roughly at $7 an ounce. $7 x 0.9 = $6.30 for five quarters, or roughly $1.26 each.
That's just the silver value. There may very well be some XF/AU coins in that hoard. XF isn't great, but in some select coins it's better than the value of the silver content.
One time I was at the convenience store, and the counter person asked if it was ok to give me change in 50-cent pieces. Somebody paid for gas with them, and she didn't have a place for them. Money is money, so I didn't care. I got about $3 in coins (I forget exactly), all pre-64. I paid for gas and beer and came out ahead! How often does that happen?
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