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Jeff Garrett: Great Stories Make Coins Great

Jeff Garrett: Great Stories Make Coins Great

By Jeff Garrett for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) ……
Jeff GarrettShortly after finding out that I am a rare coin dealer, new acquaintances will often begin to ask about coin collecting. One of the first questions many people ask is: What are the most expensive coins?

Most are astounded when told that a gold coin made during colonial times by Ephraim Brasher sold for nearly $10 million about a year ago. The 1787 Brasher Doubloon graded NGC MS 65 shattered all expectations. They usually then ask how a coin can be worth so much.

The short answer is the story.

It was because of questions like this that many years ago I authored the very popular 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. The book is now in its fifth edition. For nearly every coin in the book, it is the story that makes it great! The 1787 Brasher Doubloon is a prime example. This coin is the only gold coin issue from US Colonial times and was struck by one of George Washington’s neighbors! The coin’s history traces to the very founding of our country.

There are many, many coins in the United States series that are very rare but lack a compelling story to make them highly desirable. On the other hand, there are quite a few coins that are relatively common but find themselves on the want list of most serious collectors. The 1907 High Relief Double Eagle is a good example. The coin was saved by the thousands and can be found in quantity at nearly every coin show. I have personally handled hundreds of examples over the years.

The 1907 High Relief Double Eagle is fervently sought after because of its great story and incredible beauty. President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the nation’s greatest artists to redesign the cent, the $10 eagle, and the $20 double eagle. The United States Mint struggled mightily to bring the artistic genius of Augustus Saint-Gaudens to reality. The final result is one of the most beautiful coins ever produced.

Coins have often been referred to as “history in your hands.” Old coins were objects of value, and they were seldom discarded. Although most were melted and recoined, some managed to survive, enabling their new owners to appreciate and to better understand the society they served. Many of the most historic events in human history can be found on a nation’s coinage.

Greek gods and Roman conquerors are immortalized on some of the earliest coinage struck. Roman emperors used coins for propaganda. One can easily trace the advance of civilization through coinage. As a matter of fact, the invention of coinage itself around 600 BCE was a seminal moment in the history of the human race.

The history of the United States is very clearly illustrated by its coinage. From the 1652 Pine Tree shilling struck in colonial Massachusetts to the 1792 half disme (most of which were personally distributed by Thomas Jefferson), coins are a tangible link to the formation of our nation. The early monetary system of the United States was closely tied to this coinage. This was before paper money, and at a time when a silver dollar had a dollar’s worth of silver – what a concept!

The expansion of the United States is also easily found through rare coins. With the discovery of gold in California, the gold dollar and the double eagle came into being. Even today, coins play an important part in commemorating our nation’s history. Every year, several interesting commemorative coins are produced to mark important events from the past.

Interestingly, even common coins can sometimes become very desirable because of the story attached to them. Some great examples of this are the many shipwreck coins that have been found over the years. Coins from SS Central America, SS New York, SS Republic, and SS Yankee Blade are all highly sought after. Decades later, collectors are still excited when told of the vast treasure found by Mel Fisher when he discovered the Atocha shipwreck off the coast of Florida. Other great hoards that collectors clamor for include the Redfield Silver Dollars, the GSA Carson City Silver Dollars, and the Wells Fargo Double Eagles.

A coin’s pedigree can also have an important impact on its value. Many collectors would much rather own a coin that was once part of a famous collection. Early large cent collectors carefully study the pedigree of almost every important large cent offered. Coins with such illustrious pedigrees as Garrett (no relation, sadly), Clapp, Eliasberg, Ford, Pittman, Bass, etc. will always bring more than coins with little or no history. Many great collections are being formed today, and in the future, coins from these collections will undoubtedly bring a premium.

It is not difficult to understand how a compelling story can make a coin so desirable. This can be important knowledge when making a purchase decision. Remember, the value of a coin is much more than rarity and condition. Today, fantastic sums are sometimes paid for ultra-high-grade examples of relatively common coins. It is my guess that in the future, coins with a great story will be the ones that stand the test of time with collectors.

Jeff Garrett bio

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Rare Coin Gallery

 

Jeff Garrett
Jeff Garretthttps://rarecoingallery.com/
Jeff Garrett, founder of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries, is considered one of the nation’s top experts in U.S. coinage — and knowledge lies at the foundation of Jeff’s numismatic career. With more than 35 years of experience, he is one of the top experts in numismatics. The “experts’ expert,” Jeff has personally bought and sold nearly every U.S. coin ever issued. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t call on Jeff Garrett for numismatic advice. This includes many of the nation’s largest coin dealers, publishers, museums, and institutions. In addition to owning and operating Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries, Jeff Garrett is a major shareholder in Sarasota Rare Coin Galleries. His combined annual sales in rare coins and precious metals — between Mid-American in Kentucky and Sarasota Rare Coin Galleries in Florida — total more than $25 million. Jeff Garrett has authored many of today’s most popular numismatic books, including Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795–1933: Circulating, Proof, Commemorative, and Pattern Issues; 100 Greatest U.S. Coins; and United States Coinage: A Study By Type. He is also the price editor for The Official Redbook: A Guide Book of United States Coins. Jeff was also one of the original coin graders for the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). He is today considered one of the country’s best coin graders and was the winner of the 2005 PCGS World Series of Grading. Today, he serves as a consultant to Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), the world’s largest coin grading company. Jeff plays an important role at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Department and serves as a consultant to the museum on funding, exhibits, conservation, and research. Thanks to the efforts of Jeff and many others, rare U.S. coins are once again on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History. Jeff has been a member of the Professional Numismatic Guild (PNG) since 1982 and has recently served as president of the organization. He has also served as the ANA President and as a member of the ANA Board of Governors.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. I have to admit that yeah those old coins are nice and very high priced to be getting for a lot of us. But for Long time I have set my sights and goals in studying of Coins and all that there is to be knowing about them. To many times I heard the same old ass shit from people who makes videos of the happening and what people are looking for so on . But I don’t appreciate that when there is a lie about certain stuff that gets under my skin. I have put a lot of year’s in the understanding of what a true coin collector is really and with my having to do a few different things that I have realized that I am the one True person who knows that True collecter of coins is going to be wanting all the kinds of different ways that the coins go into when they are toneing stage’s and tell you what as much as I have one that is special to me is that the copper Coins for reasons I have learned something more than the grading companies has ever known and how they are sadly grading basic is based on on self opinion and how they look at them only it is a unfair grading standard and I think that there should be someone like me that has the right to grade coins to a knew way and at Fair level of that allows people to be able to get grading of there coins that lot of them is unfairly graded and time has changed with what I have personally found out that is real truth and they don’t want no one knowing what they like to say that I will say it and prove that I have a good way to put it is cleanse and retone naturally occurring by two simple things that I have experiment with.

  2. I agree. A story behind a coin is great to have. I purchased my first Trade Dollar with a light China – trade stamp on the rear. Why? For me it’s history in my hand. I know this coin was developed to compete with other coin currencies of the World. Trade wars? The stamp tells me this coin was
    in China at one point, and was traded back to the U.S. Perhaps when silver prices were low. What we still need is someone to research all the trade stamps that were used by merchants. Provenance.
    Regardless, like other coins, it’s history in my hand. And I also believe that the Early Coins of our Country belong in a museum as they are priceless. At 10million, the Brasher Doubloon was a bargain.

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