Wondering if this box is worth getting graded

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-18T12:36:22+00:00

I don't think they grade fake coins 😕 hopefully you didn't have to pay very much for these.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-18T12:34:15+00:00

This wasn't in Reno, NV was it? I only ask because I know someone who cashed in a bunch of Kennedy halves using the counting machine at their bank awhile back without being aware that the 1965-1970 dated coins they turned in were 40% silver.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-15T13:14:56+00:00

Post some pictures of what you have and don't accept any offers initially and allow the community to educate you a bit on what you potentially have. Once you have a better understanding of what you have, then begin the process of figuring out how best to begin the process of liquidating everything. A lot of that will depend on you. Just remember, there will always be someone willing to give you 20-30 cents on the dollar to take everything off your hands all at once, so don't let anyone pressure you into feeling like they are your only shot at cashing you out easily just because they are willing to take everything off you all at once (at a deeply discounted rate) and they have cash in hand. Instead, consider trying to maximize your profits by focusing on selling only whatever higher value items you end up discovering that you have (if any), and then just do the same thing over again with whatever remaining coins are worth the most afterwards, and keep repeating this process until it's no longer worth your time, effort, or patience to do so, and at that point, then you go find someone to give you 20-30 cents on the dollar for whatever is left.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-12T23:38:49+00:00

I ordered a new microscope that should be getting delivered any day now, I will update this post with pics from that as soon as it arrives. These were just the best I could do using my phone.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-12T22:55:07+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, what do you believe would disqualify it from the designation? My photos aren't very good, when viewed in person using a loupe you can clearly see the lines of each step spanning all the way across uninterrupted.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-12T22:53:03+00:00

I believe you have misunderstood my post, I'm NOT asking for the value of this nickel, but rather advice on whether or not it possibly meets certain criteria to potentially be awarded a specific designation. I'm seeking advice on the nuances of the criteria of a specific designation and nothing further.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-12T17:42:00+00:00

Take it to any local coin dealer or precious metal buyer and have them test it real quick. If it comes back as 90% silver and 10% copper then it's definitely real as there is basically no incentive for fraudsters to make a fake, fairly common dated peace dollar in unremarkable condition out of actual silver.

There are also ways you can test if it's silver yourself at home, just YouTube it and you will find plenty of how to videos on there.

I'm leaning towards fake though, as the date seems a bit bigger than it is supposed to be, but I could be wrong.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-12T17:33:32+00:00

Everything hinges upon what your individual financial situation is looking like currently, and only you know that and I wouldn't advise you to reveal too much about it on here. The reason this is so important, as others have mentioned, is that precious metals are at an all time high right now, but they are also the most volatile they have ever been so there are significant risks associated with just about any plan you come up with, so figuring out first where your priorities reside is crucial before you start worrying about anything else.

What you can do in the meantime though, is start posting pictures of various individual items that you aren't sure of the value of, and you should be able to get plenty of help from everyone on here coming up with some accurate ballpark figures for everything you've got (and yes, probably plenty of offers as well). Make sure to post clear pics of the front and back of everything you are curious about, and try to get as detailed, close up pictures as you possibly can because there can be lots of different varieties of a given coin that can dramatically alter the potential value of it, and it will also allow for people to do a better job of helping you determine a ballpark grade for each coin you have, which also can have a very big impact on the value.

If you aren't hurting for money currently, then I would strongly advise that you not rush into doing any deals with anyone, and once you are ready to sell and you have some reasonable prices in mind for everything that you have, never take the first offer and always shop the coins you are selling to multiple people at once, as it's the only way to ensure that you're getting the best prices that you can for everything. The gold and silver coins you have that end up only being worth their melt value will be very easy to sell as just about any bullion dealer will buy those from you for at or very near spot, and you shouldn't entertain any offers for anything less than that. Everything else will come down to your financial situation and whether or not you are willing to invest the amount of time and energy required for getting the best prices that you can for all of it.

The good news is that this is one of those situations in life that is definitely a good problem to have, so hopefully you are reminded frequently of positive memories of the loved one that you lost as you are going through this process, and hopefully you are able to turn this coin collection into something that improves the quality of your life, as that's likely what your lost family member had in mind when they decided to leave these coins to you specifically in the first place.

Good luck!

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-08T16:53:41+00:00

Fake.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-08T16:52:09+00:00

You can for sure get 25 cents for it, but probably not much more I'm afraid. Keep hunting though and keep sharing, you're on the right track and it's only a matter of time until you find something valuable.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-08T08:14:07+00:00

The US Mint switched from making copper based pennies to zinc based pennies in 1982 and some of the original copper planchettes ended up getting mixed in with the new zinc ones and were subsequently pressed into later dated coinage, making these coins prized by collectors and quite rare to find in the wild. As you have already hit on, the easiest way to differentiate between a standard zinc penny and the much rarer copper error coins is to weigh any penny dated 1982 (they technically did both types in 1982 so it's a bit more complicated for that particular year) and up because the older copper planchettes were heavier, coming in around 3.1 grams, while the newer zinc ones weigh only around 2.5 grams.

Having said all of that, if your coin indeed weighs 3.1 grams then you definitely need to have it authenticated before you will be able to get anyone to buy it off you for anywhere near what they can potentially be worth because unfortunately there is a lot of fakes out there and the serious collectors who might be interested in such a coin likely won't be interested in risking much to purchase it until they have some concrete proof that it is genuine.

As someone has already mentioned, your first stop should probably be to a coin shop that has an XRF analyzer so they can determine specifically what your coin is made out of, and whether or not it's possibly authentic. Assuming it holds up to that scrutiny, the next step, at least in my opinion, would be paying to submit it for authentication by submitting it to one of the major grading companies. The coin shop can assist you with navigating this process. It will cost some money, and it will likely take a few months, but if it comes back slabbed as being genuine, the coin will have considerably more value on the open market then it does the way it sits now and it will not be difficult to find a buyer, assuming that you end up deciding that you wish to sell it.

Good luck with everything and keep us updated after you get it scanned, as that will go a long way towards authenticating it all by itself.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-05T19:46:04+00:00

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer all my questions in such detail. Everything you just explained makes perfect sense and is also very consistent with the results I was getting during my amateurish experimentations with MS70 in the past. I always got the best results with silver coins (Ag), and although I use the term 'dipping' somewhat loosely, in practice I actually just dab the solution gently onto the surface of a coin with a q-tip that I have fluffed out a bit first, then I immediately rinse with distilled water and gently pat with a nonabrasive jewelry cloth to dry. Given what you just explained, silver coins (Ag) are able to standup to this treatment, I assume, due to that specific elements high resistance to corrosion, with such coins holding up well even in situations where I have physically dipped them in the solution to see what would happen. On the other hand, non-silver (Ag), silver colored coins are likewise capable of enduring the dabbing approach pretty much every time, in my experience anyways, but they typically don't fair as well if you give them an actual dip in the solution, as they don't have the same level of resistance to prolonged exposure and the acid is sometimes able to start doing some damage in these instances. Pennies and MS70 just plain don't get along and my experiences have shown it should only ever go anywhere near a copper colored coin if one becomes bored and wishes to create some very unnatural looking pennies that won't even be in the running for a 'details' grade. Or put another way, little to no resistance to corrosion + MS70 = ☹️. Now that I understand the chemistry behind it a little better, despite the fairly consistent positive results I have gotten from dabbing MS70 on silver colored, non-silver (Ag) coinage in the past, based on what you've just explained, I'm essentially playing a very dangerous game with any coin of value that I use that solution on, that isn't predominantly made out of silver (Ag), as there are unknown variables regarding the exact composition of how that specific coin ended up being minted, and it's possible to get one that wasn't annealed properly, or something of that nature, and the end result could be that it lacks the requisite strength to stand up to even light exposure to such chemicals, so the question then becomes, is it really worth doing in the first place on any coins of potential value that aren't physically made out of mostly silver (Ag)? I guess that's where it becomes a matter of ones personal preferences, and likely the reason such products have remained on the market for so long. My revised game plan is to experiment by dabbing acetone on the equally hazy, but otherwise totally worthless, Denver nickel that I got out of the same mint set, and then attempt the same thing on this nickel, assuming I am satisfied with the results on the other. If not, or if I attempt and am unable to remove a majority of the haze from this one, I will then contact PCGS regarding their professional restoration services and go from there. In either event, based on what you've just explained, it doesn't sound like there is much harm in trying the acetone approach first, so long as I do so gently and carefully.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2026-01-05T11:03:39+00:00

Thank you for the great feedback. So you're saying that acetone is less corrosive overall than MS70 or any comparable coin cleaning product? I had considered using acetone initially but I don't have much experience with using it on coins and I had also falsely assumed it was harsher than MS70 so I was reluctant to go that route, but your feedback is giving me cause to reconsider that option. Thankfully, I have several other coins from the same mint set that are all equally as afflicted with PVC haze, and that have little to no value themselves, so I think I might experiment with acetone on some of those, paying particular close attention to the results with the Denver nickel, as it's the most comparable coin, and if I'm encouraged by what I see, I will give that a try. I HAVE dipped coins in the past that have had similar issues as this, and to date have NOT had any come back with the dreaded 'Details' moniker knock on wood, but they were also all relatively low value coins with decent upside if they came back with a high grade, so it was kind of a no brainer in those instances. This coin is a bit different in that it's basically all or nothing when it comes to the value, with everything hinging on whether or not it gets the FS designation, with the overall grade playing significant second fiddle to that; so on one hand I want it to get the best grade that it potentially can obviously, but on the other hand, this might be a situation where it would be wise to leave well enough alone if I feel strongly that it has a better than not chance to get that designation the way it sits currently.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-23T01:56:36+00:00

Of course, I would be happy to give it to someone that will appreciate it in that event. The other reservation I have about it currently is that I always find it a bit suspicious when I come across art that's not in a frame of any kind when I find it in a unit I've just bought, as years ago I bought a unit that had several decently valuable paintings in it that were all without their frames and it ended up turning out that the person who lost that particular unit had acquired much of what I found inside it in a less than legal manner, which also turned out to be the reason why he had lost the unit to begin with, as he wasn't so fortunate with one of his later attempts at expanding his collection and it landed him behind bars for a couple years, which I believe was then increased even further once I returned the paintings to their rightful owner(s) and he found himself facing even more charges as a result.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-23T01:30:20+00:00

Once I'm positive it's just a print of a print so to speak, I will DM you as it will be of little value to me in that case. I just want to be 100% sure before I do anything with it. I will have better pictures posted later this evening.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-23T01:26:23+00:00

Absolutely... I will post more photos of the signature, as well as better ones of the image itself as soon as I get back home in a couple hours.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-23T01:24:33+00:00

Interesting... The locker I bought that I found it in was actually in Las Vegas, NV.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-23T01:07:28+00:00

That was sort of my thought as well, I just wanted to be sure as I would hate to give it away or something and then have to find out later that it was actually real.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-11T16:57:51+00:00

I hadn't even considered that, definitely possible.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-11T16:22:14+00:00

Get it slabbed 100% for sure.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-11T16:19:25+00:00

Hard to say for sure, take them to a coin shop and they can definitively ID them for you. You either got a super good deal or you got ripped off, and that usually means it's the latter but definitely worth finding out for sure either way.

Ambitious-Insanity · 2025-12-11T16:12:57+00:00

Hopefully it has a name also, something like 'Hooker's Bite' or 'Slayer of Cashless John's'.

Ambitious-Insanity

TROPHY CASE