Gold coins placed in jewelry: should I take them out of holders or leave in?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by kookiez, Jun 22, 2019.

  1. kookiez

    kookiez New Member

    I'm organizing a family members' coin collection and found 3 gold coins inserted in holders to be used as jewelry charms. Two are on a bracelet and one is a necklace. Should I remove them or leave them as is for a professional to remove? I've stapled them into coin flips so I can catalog them—photos enclosed.

    @Burton Strauss III @Randy Abercrombie @thomas mozzillo I would love your opinion here given your thoughtful responses to my other thread!

    Thank you in advance for your help!
     

    Attached Files:

    Randy Abercrombie and Tlberg like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Can you provide a closer shot of that Indian quarter-eagle so we can read the date, and shots showing the reverse of each coin so we can look for mint marks? (The gold dollar, the tiny one, has its date and any mint mark on the back.)
     
  4. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    I would personally leave them as is. Right now, they're what I would consider an heirloom, because previous members wore this jewelry. How cool would it be to hold the pendant your great grandmother wore, for example. Anyway, the coins appear to be cleaned and will likely suffer from being mounted, so they're worth more to me as pendants than as scrap gold coins. Just my two cents. Would love to see better photos of each.
     
    Randy Abercrombie and spirityoda like this.
  5. Tlberg

    Tlberg Well-Known Member

    Lean towards @Seattlite86 comment if they have Family history. It does look like the coins could be unaltered - just in ring type holders.
     
    Randy Abercrombie likes this.
  6. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Gold coins placed in jewelry: should I take them out of holders or leave in?

    Lemme put it this way - you're not going to gain anything by removing them. In other words, removing them will not increase the value in any way. Once coins are placed into jewelry the damage is already done and there is no fixing it.

    So, if it is your intention to keep the coins as family keepsakes, then leave them alone. It would only cost you money to have a jeweler remove them and you won't gain anything by it. If you plan to sell them, I'd still leave them alone because the value of the setting itself may help increase what you get. And, there are a certain number of people who favor jewelry like that, so it may actually help make it easier to sell them and bring ya a bit more money.

    But a coin dealer, as is or removed from the jewelry settings - makes no difference at all to him. Jewelry coins are simply jewelry coins and bought and sold for melt value alone.
     
    imrich, Santinidollar and kookiez like this.
  7. kookiez

    kookiez New Member

    I will try to post better pics over weekend but what I’m hearing is they are likely not going to grade well since they are in the holders and probably have been cleaned? Is that right?

    The holders look like they are held by tension (not altered) if that’s what you meant @Tlberg ?
     
    PlanoSteve likes this.
  8. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    You misunderstand, they are not going to grade at all. Placing coins into jewelry forever makes them problem coins - and problem coins cannot be graded.

    The one point that was made was to point out that if the coins are a particularly rare or scarce date, then yes the value may increase somewhat, even for a problem coin example. So it's worth knowing to determine that much. But even then removing the coin from the setting will not increase that value in any way.
     
    Santinidollar likes this.
  9. Tlberg

    Tlberg Well-Known Member

    Yes @kookiez - that they had not been drilled or soldered
     
  10. Burton Strauss III

    Burton Strauss III Brother can you spare a trime? Supporter

    Of all the jewelry mounts, a bezel is the best - as in does the LEAST damage (soldering a loop or drilling a hole is worse). But the bezel will damage the rim and a TPG will grade them as "Ex Jewelry, AU Details" or similar.

    Unless they are a super rare date, they will resale essentially at just the gold value ("melt").

    Given the damage is done, if there is anybody in the family who would enjoy them as jewelry and for the family connection, keep them as they are, love them and pass them down. It's a connection to the great-great-great grandfather they never knew.
     
    Tlberg and Randy Abercrombie like this.
  11. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Please leave them the way they are as removing them adds no value. Just being mounted in a jewelry type holder has damaged the coin. One of your relatives may have worn these at some point so it should mean more to you as jewelry than the coin.

    They are damaged, you can't see that until they are removed from the holders. They will not grade and that would be a waste of money. The holders themselves may add to their value.

    Leaving them be is the only option in my opinion. Welcome to CT.
     
    Randy Abercrombie likes this.
  12. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    All good info. And coins can easily be removed from a bezel simply by turning the tiny bezel set screw near the pendent where the chain loops through. Yes, these will always be damaged coins that won’t grade. But, keep in mind too that the bezels themselves are likely gold... I recently purchased a gold bezel to mount a half eagle for my mom. The bezel cost me as much as the value of the coin! I would wager those bezels are gold.... As others have said, these may hold more family heirloom value remaining as they are. Because from a numismatic standpoint they will always be damaged.
     
    Burton Strauss III likes this.
  13. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    The jewelry coins have been heavily cleaned. Unless there is
    a super rare date they are bullion. If you remove them they will
    be damaged worse than they already are.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page