Continuing to dig through the box of coins my uncle left me. I see that he ordered quite a few coins from Littleton over the years. Many are still in the little plastic Littleton Coin Co packets (see picture for example). Most of the older ones like the Indian Cents and Buffalo nickels are obviously circulated but most are in good condition. But many of the more modern coins are in brilliant condition and are actually labled on the little packets as uncirculated (UNC) or proofs. I'm no coin grader, but all of these coins look brand new like they've never been touched by human hands (as they should since they've been sealed in these little packets for who knows how long). My question is how should I handle these coins? Should I open them up and rescue them from these little packets and maybe place them in something else? Or is it better to just leave them alone and sealed in these little packets? I'm sort of new to this and these coins look so pristine.....I don't want to risk mishandling any of them and end up doing more harm than good. I'm not worried about the obviously circulated coins.....those I am sure are safe to remove from the packets and place into an album or something. Any suggestions? Here's the list so far of the uncirculated and proof coins I have found in these little individual Littleton packets: 1951-D Lincoln Cent - Unc. 1955-S Lincoln Cent - Unc. (pictured) 1963 Lincoln Cent - Proof 1969-S Lincoln Cent - Proof 1962 Roosevelt Dime - Proof 1960-D Roosevelt Dime - Unc. 1959 Washington Quarter - Unc. 1962 Washington Quarter - Proof 1979-S SBA Dollar - Unc. 1979-P SBA Dollar - Unc. 1979-D SBA Dollar - Unc. 1978-D Eisenhower Dollar - Unc.
I would suggest you leave them in the packets. Until you know exactly what you are doing, they offer a great deal of protection against any mistakes you may make.
I agree, I would leave them until you educate yourself on handling.. I was left 50 or 60 foreign coins from littleton. They were in small yellow envelopes with the description on each. I have several pair pairs of white cotton gloves that I use for protection...
I bought about a half a roll of 1962 (? not sure of date right now) Washington quarters, all packaged that way. Promptly cut 'em out, they take up too much room.
Thanks for all the great feedback. And I am aware of the basic coin handling protocols. I should have been more clear in the point I was trying to get at. I guess what I really meant to ask is whether or not removing them from the packets would damage any perceived value of the coins. In other words does having them in the little packets add to the value of the coin because it proves they haven't been handled since they day they were packaged? Does removing an "uncirculated" coin from this packet all of a sudden make it "circulated" and thus less desirable? These are the types of concepts I'm still trying to wrap my mind around.
No the packaging does not make the coin. So removing it from the package does not make it circulated or less desirable. The only reason to leave them in the packaging is to figure out your path forward - something like maybe putting them in an album or in airtites.
I am not sure where you are getting your "value" of the coins from. If you are trying to sell them sight unseen to someone, the fact that they have been acknowledged as uncirculated by another party might well add value. If you are trying to sell to a collector/dealer in hand, the packets will do nothing to the value. However, nothing you have listed there has any great value either way.
No, not looking to sell anything. I look at this as a hobby, not an investment. But I do want to get this collection moved and organized out of these dirty old boxes its in now into a well organized and proper collection that I can share with my family. I just want to go about doing it the proper way without detracting from anything. Lol. Well I guess that answers all my concerns then. Thanks again for the help and advice.
I wouldn't worry about the packaging contributing to the value. I would however, take the more valuable coins and have them slabbed. I don't see too much in the way of rare coins on you list but maybe the Susan B's might be worth the cost of slabbing.
You can check the 79-P to see if its a near date or far date. The 79-S has 2 different types of "S's". T1 is a filled S, T2 is a Clear S.
I am a bit alarmed by the responses from CoinTalk members. The important thing to realize is that all the coins you list are really not interesting. MY TAKE on this and I'd love for others to disagree is that you SHOULD DEFINITELY KEEP THE LITTLETON designation on each coin. Quite honestly, the list you provide is just a list of common (very common) coins. The Littletown company gets hit all the time for CHARGING TOO MUCH for their coins. Well, this is obviously NOT your problem - you inherited this. What people DO say is that Littleton plastic encased half dollars, quarters, etc. are all graded VERY, VERY, ACCURATELY. Treashunt, Clembo, and all the rest of my CT heros can verify that Littleton gives accurate grading - just forget about how much your grandmother or whoever paid!
No problem with Littleton grading, but these coins were not graded other than to say they were proof or unc.
Easy - I disagree. The coin will speak for itself to a collector no matter what littleton put on the coin(I would say this for TPG coins also). I also would not call the coins uninteresting - maybe not super rare, but they are special since he inherited them from his uncle. What a great uncle. He has a start to a variety of collections. I think a nice dasnco or intercept album of wheat cents, washington quarters or SBA dollars is a great way to go. Or even a 20th century type set. Plus it would give him time to learn how to add appropriate grading to the individual coins. That is why I said figure out where you want to go and then remove them from the littleton holders. He has already said he is not selling.
And that is just an opinion. In fact in many, many instances items of all kinds are increased in value if in a package, box, container of some kind from a reputable sourse of the original manufacturer. Naturally contrary to that is the really poor reputation of Littleton. If you were to go almost any other coin forum and type in Littleton, you'ld see mostly really negative comments. Some really nasty ones too. Many do say they are accurate at grading but so what. So are many everyday dealers and coin shops. Regardless, there are always those that will pay extra for items in some kind of package. Take Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars, kids dolls, Lionel Trains, etc. One price for the item and sometimes many times more in an original pagage. Of course Littleton would not be considered an original packager for coins but there are some out there that really like that place. I met one guy that really swears by them and he would be glad to lay his hands on those.
I bought some silver dollars and some walker halves from a lady at an antique shop. She had some of those littleton coins in their little packets. There was not anything special but she gave them to me to sweeten the deal. I really do not see any advantage or disadvantage to keeping them in the packets, at least for the coins I received. Little easier for me to keep up with and adds some protection. Turned out to be one of the best coin deal I ever made.
