Couple bucks – When I was cleaning my grandmother’s house, I found a coin that I thought was worth a couple bucks, but it’s actually worth $8.5k
Upon seeing a very old and very rare coin brought in by a seller, a COIN expert was stunned.
At his grandmother’s house, Jeff found a coin he expected to be worth at least $50
It was actually worth up to $8,500, which shocked him
He pawned the coin for $5,500
A box containing the rare coin was found by Jeff while he was cleaning out his grandmother’s home.
Despite not knowing what it was, he decided to sell it to a pawn shop to see if he could get at least “a few bucks.”
A coin landed in front of Rick Harrison, owner of the world-famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. It may look familiar to you if you’ve seen Pawn Stars.
Jeff said: “I am not certain [what it is], but it appears to be an old and perhaps valuable coin.”
The coin was inscribed with a caption from James Cook’s voyage in 1772, according to Rick.
During his time as a captain of the British Royal Navy, Cook was a cartographer. A scale of mapping never seen before was achieved from New Zealand to Hawaii across the Pacific Ocean.
He made a number of maps in the 1700s that are still used today.
Rick realized this coin would be highly valuable if it was connected to one of Cook’s voyages.
A rivet on the coin indicated that it might have been worn as a medallion on a chain.
Rick said, “It’s one of the most detailed medals I’ve seen from that time period, and that’s why I think it’s much newer. But it might be worth something.”
A coin expert, David Vagi, recognized the coin as one from Cook’s journey around Africa.
David was very impressed with the coin, as only 2,000 were made for the voyage, and each one went to Captain Cook.
Upon arriving in a new country, he would offer them as a peace offering to the local authorities.
David said, “Each of these has a proven pedigree right back to Captain Cook. He handled them all.”
It appears that this one may have been passed down through the generations or dug up years later by a recipient.
Captain Cook held this piece of history in his hand, making it an important piece of history.” Rick said.
In the beginning, Jeff wanted just $50 to $100, but after the appraisal, he increased the price to $200.
Jeff started negotiating based on Dave’s estimate of $7,500 to $8,500.
In response, Rick offered Jeff $5,000, claiming Jeff would have taken $100 without the inspection.
Jeff laughed, “Fair enough.”.
The thing was that I had no idea what I had walking in. When he said, ‘This is what I’m going to give you,’ I was pretty happy.”
ARTIFACT OF ANCIENT TIMES
Rick received an ancient coin from Jim that he had received from his grandfather.
“I’m looking to sell this coin because I want to buy two horses in Dallas, Texas, for cash.” he explained.
“The most beautiful coin ever made,” Rick said of the 1907 Saint-Gaudens High-Relief Coin.
Despite its gold and copper composition, it was worth some money just for its material costs.
Rick was skeptical, however, because it appeared to be in such good shape.
He said that he believes that the more valuable a coin is, the higher the likelihood that it is a fake.
An expert in coins, Mike Long, was able to determine the legitimacy of the coin after just a glance.
In this case, however, the coin was clean, which usually reduces its value by 50% or more.
One that has been cleaned could be worth six figures, but the one Jim brought in was closer to $18,000.
In light of that knowledge, and knowing he needed to make a profit, Rick offered Jim $12,500.
Though Jim was disappointed with the price, he was glad the coin wasn’t collecting dust any longer.
There was a sale of a $20 gold coin with an interesting historical connection for $34,000.
You can see the “holy grail” of coins, which is worth $250,000.
