Spare change? Coin appraiser sizes up old money
Arizona Coin Collector
http://www.irontontribune.com/news/2009/apr/01/spare-change-coin-appraiser-sizes-old-money/
Spare change? Coin appraiser sizes up old money
By Benita Heath
The Tribune
Published Wednesday, April 1, 2009
PROCTORVILLE - What about those old coins tucked in a
drawer? Are they a real numismatic find or some spare
change that belongs instead in your pocket.
(STORY IMAGE)
http://media.irontontribune.com/img/croppedphotos/2009/04/01/coins_-_LEAD_t725.jpg?
Rich Giedroyc, a numismatist with HCC, looks over
coins brought to him Tuesday for appraisal at
WesBanco in Proctorville. The rare coin firm sends
a representative to Lawrence County twice a year
for appraisals or purchases.
That's what area residents got to find out Tuesday when
an appraiser from HCC, a rare coin management company
based in Toledo, came to the WesBanco branch in
Proctorville.
Representatives from the firm come to the Proctorville
branch twice a year, spring and fall, to do free
appraisals. They will also buy coins on the spot. HCC
says it is the only buyer of coins that exclusively
works out of banks instead of other venues such as
hotels. Right now HCC appraisers offer their services
in seven states besides Ohio.
The first thing a prospective treasure seeker should
understand is when it comes to coins old doesn't
immediately translate into big bucks, according to
Rich Giedroyc, a numismatist with HCC.
"The most common mistake is to think it is rare
because of its age," he said. "It has to go along
with the condition of the item and its scarcity."
For instance, a 1906 Barber-designed quarter could
bring $12, if in a condition that is better than
normal.
However, an 1851 large cent might have been
worth $5, if it weren't for a hole drilled at the
top, possibly so someone in a past era could have
a conversation piece for a watch fob.
Then, of course, there are the coins Giedroyc
handed back to the "collector."
"That one you can put in your pocket and spend
it," he said.
Rarity in coins comes in as many shapes and sizes
as the variety of denominations of American
currency throughout the decades. At one time coins
were described as specie, meaning they were worth
the actual amount of metal in them. A large cent
penny was a penny because it contained a penny's
worth of copper.
However, nowadays, coins are fiat or there is no
intrinsic value in them. Their value comes from
the faith and trust held in the government and
economy.
Often the value of a coin rests in an unexplainable
change of mind by the powers that be. Take the case
of the 1921 silver dollar. Originally the dollar
circulated was called a Morgan, named again for
its designer.
However for one week after Christmas, the government
inexplicably switched to the peace design and
continued producing that look through 1934. For
those who have one of those post-holiday dollars in
hand that mercurial act of the treasury could
translate into some money.
Giedroyc has fancied coins since he was a child and
today gets paid to pursue an activity he calls a
business, a hobby and a science, depending on the
level it's taken to.
His joy in going out to do appraisals comes from the
pleasure of handling precious coins.
His most treasured?
A $4 gold Stella that originally was minted in 1879
and 1880. When that particular Stella that showed up
across his appraisal desk Giedroyc put a $300,000
price tag on it.
The Stella coins were never minted for general
circulation, but rather given out to U.S. Senators
as a kind of souvenir. The provenance of that
particular coin, Giedroyc didn't offer except to say
if it didn't come originally from a prominent
politician, there might be a less savory possibility.
"Some of the senators spent the coins at the
local bordello."
..