CONA July 2019 Newsletter

July Meeting

When: 7 p.m., July 17, 2019
Oakstone Academy: 939 State St. Westerville, Ohio 43081
Topic: Peace Dollars
Speaker: John R.

July Presentation

On March 10 or 11, 2015, out of a lark, after seeing a 1921 Peace dollar on eBay going for a rather low price, I decided to bid on it. I always had had an admiration for the Peace dollar series, and since I had recently gotten a copy of the 2013 Guide to US Coins: Prices and Value Trends: in part edited by CONA’s own Tony Cass and Gerry Tebben, I decided to go for it. To my surprise, I won it. A few days later it arrived and was much nicer than the photos had indicated. I put it in my rudimentary collection of Peace dollars consisting of two 1923-D dollars acquired by my wife when a lady had cashed in her husband’s silver dollar collection for $1 each. 

After a few days, the three dollars looked like a lonely bunch, and looking in the book, it seemed that a great number of Peace dollars were going for what seemed to be ridiculously low prices for the degree of rarity than the mintages indicated, I bought a few more. The snowball began to roll downward. By My birthday, May 13, 2015, I had gotten a complete date and mint set of all the Peace dollars, plus a number of true rarities. For a total cost of 1,995.16, including shipping costs and the $2 I paid my wife for the two 1923-D silver dollars. – John R.

June Presentation

“Slabbing was actually invented by the United States government. I bet you didn’t know that,” John Roberts said during his presentation on the General Services Administration (GSA) sales. 

Between October 1972 and July 1980 the GSA sold nearly 3 million uncirculated Carson City Morgan dollars and a scattering of other Morgan, Peace and Seated dollars that had been sitting in Treasury vaults for up to 100 years. 

For the most part the dollars were packaged in hard plastic holders resembling today’s third-party grading service slabs. 

He said, “GSA dollars should stay in their holders … There are unplucked cherries to be found among the soft packs. Between stunning toners, remarkable varieties and better dates, there are treasures waiting to be found.” 

By: Gerry Tebben

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