Coins We Love: Where Do You Hide Your Coins?
Come see us next week at the Nashville, Tennessee IMEX Show on Friday or Saturday, or at the SCNA Show in Greenville, SC on Thursday or Friday. We’ve spread out our show locations due to the busy schedule, but we hope to run into you at one of these fantastic numismatic soirees! We’ll be bringing coins with us to Nashville, so if there’s something you’ve been wanting to see that we have listed on our website, don’t hesitate to let us know via email at coins@davidlawrence.com!
One of my favorite parts of being a coin dealer is hearing the stories that others have shared about buying collections. As we’ve discussed, no collection or collector is exactly alike, so the quirks and stories vary and can be very entertaining. I figured I’d share a few of the stories that we’ve heard over the years for your reading pleasure.
On the back porch, underneath the chair cover:
One customer of ours was missing about 20 coins which added up to a substantial value. He had searched safety deposit boxes, his house, his office, etc. and they were nowhere to be found. Lo and behold, one of his kids went to his house and was getting a lounge chair out when they found a box of 20 coins underneath the chair.
In the air conditioning vent (This one is true, I saw it happen):
A customer was moving, and as they were packing, the father went to the restroom and opened up an air vent on the floor. I happened across him and saw his arm deep down in the vent. I wasn’t sure what was happening but figured I’d keep my eye on the older gentlemen. Shortly, he exhaled “Found it!” and raised up half of a roll of one-ounce gold eagles. His son was flummoxed and I got a great belly laugh from the event!
In the ceiling of the carport (this one was too close to home):
Growing up, my father utilized a safety deposit box for his very modest coin collection. Except for this one time… I was coming home from baseball practice one day and saw my father on a ladder in the carport, reaching into the corner of the ceiling. I didn’t even know one could reach into this area of the attic/roofing. I asked, “What are you doing, Dad?” and his response, as if I should have known, was, “I’m getting my Peace Dollars out!” That made no sense to me, so I had to stick around to see what happened next. All of a sudden, a Dansco album of Peace Dollars appeared. Honestly, I still wonder why they were up there. Maybe the bank was closed on a Saturday after a show? Honestly, I still think back on this episode and wonder what was going on. But he did assure me that there were no more hidden coins in the attic, crawl space under the house, or air conditioning vents when they sold the house. Ironically, another coin dealer bought the house!
There are a number of other stories we’ve heard about collectors hiding their coins from their spouses and kids. But we’ll have to share those another time!
Worth mentioning this week, is the huge auction highlight ending this Sunday evening, The Capitol Collection! This group of coins comes to us from one of our favorite collectors in Northern Virginia. A wide array of numismatic pieces, it’s worth checking out! While they are offered with minimum bids, they all come in very reasonably and might just fill some interesting holes in your collection!
Numismatically Yours,
John Brush
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