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Antique Coin Collecting

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Old and New Shop

The hobby of coin collecting has existed since at least the 12th century, and it remains a popular pastime for many people today. The practice of collecting rare and antique coins can also be a lucrative investment strategy. Still, the world of antique coin collecting can seem daunting to outsiders first stumbling into the space. Perhaps you have just inherited a large coin collection and are wondering how to determine its value, or maybe you have just been inspired to start your own coin collection. Either way, the Old & New Shop has compiled this guide to antique coins to help budding collectors and others new to the field understand antique coins.

Tips for Antique Coin Collecting

“Buy the book before you buy the coin.” The saying is a popular adage in the numismatist (coin collector) community. The book in question is The Guide Book of United States Coins, also known as the Red Book. The book will share the basics of coin collecting and get novices ready to begin their coin-collecting journeys.

Know the categories. There are several notable categories of coins sought after by collectors, including circulating coins, error coins, commemorative coins, bullion coins, ancient coins, proof coins, brilliant uncirculated coins, and foreign coins. Different collectors are drawn to different categories based on their interests, budgets, and collection themes.

Pick a theme. Coin collecting is more fulfilling when you pick a specific theme. It’s best to go with an inexpensive and simple theme when you first start. Coin collecting themes involve focusing on a specific category or characteristic. For example, collecting a specific set of coins like US state quarters, a specific minting year, national origin, coins depicting a specific place or animal, a historical era, commemorative coins about a certain event, or anything else you can imagine.

Store your coins safely. While we may typically think of objects like metal coins as durable, the surfaces of coins are actually very delicate and can be damaged easily by things like human contact, the weather, and even prolonged exposure to air. Store your coins in a safe coin tray, coin envelope, coin album, or cabinet.

Handle them correctly and do not clean them. Collectors should only handle their coins along the edges, not on the face of the coin. Valuable coins should only be handled while wearing cotton or latex gloves. You should never clean your coins because this can lower their value and possibly even make your coins monetarily worthless.

Engage with the antique coin collecting community. The best tip for getting into antique coin collecting is to engage with the numismatist community. Join a collecting club, attend coin collecting shows, or visit your nearest rare coin shop. Inhabit spaces where you can interact with and learn from other coin collectors. If you are serious about coin collecting, you should also build a relationship with a reputable coin dealer.

Valuable Coins To Look For While Antique Coin Collecting

Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle was a gold US coin minted between 1907 and 1933. It was once worth only $20, but examples of this coin minted in 1933 are valued at over $20 million. The coin was rapidly taken out of circulation in 1933 as part of a gold recall, which explains its rarity and high value.

1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar: The Flowing Hair Silver Dollar depicts a woman with flowing hair on one side and an eagle on the other. It was the first silver dollar coin minted in the US, minted between 1794 and 1795. Its value today can be up to $13 million.

1787 Brasher Doubloon: The first gold coin to be minted in the United States actually predates the establishment of the US Mint, and was instead created by George Washington’s neighbor, Ephraim Brasher. Only seven of these coins are known to have been produced, and only one of these coins bore the initials of its creator. That specific Brasher Doubloon is worth $10 million today.

The 1343 Edward III Florin: The 1343 Edward III Florin is an English coin also known as the Double Leopard. Only three of these coins have ever been uncovered, two in 1857 and one in 2006. These coins are valued at almost $7 million.

The 723 Umayyad Gold Dinar: The Umayyad gold dinar was minted in the year 723 AD by the Umayyad Caliphate. Only about a dozen of these 1,300-year-old coins are known to exist today, and they are each valued at over $5 million.

1913 Liberty Head V Nickel: According to the official records of the US Mint, these coins never existed, yet five specimens of this coin have nevertheless been discovered. The coin depicts Lady Liberty on one side and the Roman numeral ‘V’, for five cents, on the other. These rare nickels have a value of over $5 million.

1943 Lincoln Head Copper Penny: In 1943, during the height of WW2, most pennies were made of steel because copper was being redirected to the war effort. However, one batch of pennies was mistakenly minted with copper. About 40 of these pennies are known to have survived to the present and they can be worth between $100,000 and $500,000, with one unique specimen even selling for over $3 million.

The 1787 Fugio Cent: The Fugio Cent may have been the first coin circulated in the US after the revolution, but this is disputed. The coin is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. Rare variants of the Fugio Cent in pristine condition can be worth tens of thousands of dollars today, while others can be worth just hundreds.

Old & New Shop Can Help!

If you are looking to determine the value of your coin collection, liquidate your coin collection, or start your own antique coin collection, call the Old & New Shop for help!

Antique Toys Guide

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Old and New Shop

The holiday season is coming to a close and your children have probably unwrapped all their presents, although you’re probably still dreaming about all of them. Maybe you have been thinking back to all of the Christmases of your childhood and the toys you received. Perhaps you are even thinking about trying to recapture some of that youthful holiday magic by taking up antique toy collecting as a new hobby. Maybe your child was just given an old toy by an elderly relative and you are wondering if it might be valuable. Thankfully the Old & New Shop experts have compiled this guide to the world of antique toys.

Determining The Monetary Value of Antique Toys

In antique toy collecting, accurately assessing the value of an item before purchasing or selling it, is critically important. Collectors can make use of online resources to help determine the value of antique toys, in general, but they should also look at a specific antique toy and determine its value. The monetary value of antique toys is determined by their condition, authenticity, and rarity. Authentic antique toys that are in better condition and rarer than other antique toys, will be more sought after by collectors, and therefore, more valuable.

Condition

The condition of an antique toy is the most important aspect of determining its value. If you are purchasing one you should make sure that all of its parts are intact. If an antique toy has even moderate paint loss, its price can plummet from thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars, in some cases. Antique toys that are sold with their original packaging, are also more valuable than those sold without their original packaging.

Authenticity

When purchasing an antique toy, it is very important to make sure the toy in question is authentic, and not a replica, being passed off as an actual antique. Always check the manufacturer’s markings, logos, stickers, and other indicators, to asses its authenticity, before making a purchase.

Rarity

Rare antique toys are more sought after and expensive than more commonly available antique toys. Specific rare items like the cast iron Arcade Yellow Cab can even sell for $20,000. If you believe that a toy is a rare model, you should determine its authenticity before making a purchase.

Building Your Antique Toy Collection

Antique toy collecting can be a very rewarding hobby, but there are a few things that every novice toy collector should understand before launching their collection. Knowing how to estimate the financial value of an antique toy is important but there are also other important considerations.

First of all, antique and vintage toy collecting should not be done as a simple investment. Many antique toys are very valuable, but it is often much more fulfilling to collect toys for their own sake and to treat any profit made as a bonus. Second of all, new collectors can both start their collections and learn about the world of antique toy collecting, by attending trade shows, fairs, and auctions, online and in person. Finally, you can find more enjoyment from antique toy collecting once you have a theme in mind for your collection. Adopting a specific theme like model trains, a specific manufacturer, a character, or anything else, will focus your collection and make the process of building your collection more fun.

Buying Antique Toys For Your Children

If you are planning to buy an antique toy for your children, there are two additional factors that you should consider. If you are gifting your child with an expensive antique toy, is important that your child understands what makes this toy different from their other toys. It would be a shame to give your child an expensive and rare toy only for them to break it during a rough play session or lose it on the playground.

Additionally, antique and vintage toys were manufactured during an era with much more lax safety standards, so in some cases, they can actually be dangerous to children. Parents should always make sure that any antique toys given to children (particularly young children) meet modern standards set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Old & New Shop Can Appraise Antique Toys

If you have an antique toy, or other antique item, that you want appraised contact the Old & New Shop today!

Missing American Artifacts

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Old and New Shop

The exciting thing about antiquing is the thrill of finding a piece of the past to call your very own. But some pieces are a lot more valuable and important than others. Sometimes true treasures and priceless historical artifacts slip through the cracks and end up out in the world where any antiquer can find them.

Four Dollar Frame

Sometimes artifacts can be found by happenstance. For instance, in 1991 a man bought a thrift store painting for four dollars because he liked the frame. When he opened up the frame he found a copy of the Declaration of Independence printed in 1776 that later sold at auction for seven million dollars. We cannot promise that you will be that lucky when you come and shop with us at the Old & New Shop or elsewhere on your antiquing journey. However, just in case, there are a few missing national treasures that you should be keeping an eye out for as an antiquer.

Stolen from The National Archives

One major way that historic artifacts become lost to time is theft. The National Archives in DC, for example, has had many of its priceless records and artifacts stolen over the years and maintains a website dedicated to educating the public about what’s missing. The missing documents include numerous letters, and pardons documents signed by presidents George Washington, John Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, and more. Other presidential artifacts currently missing include FDR’s official painted portrait, LBJ’s class ring, and several swords bejeweled with precious gems gifted from the Saudi royal family to Truman. However, perhaps the most significant artifacts stolen from the National Archives are some of the original maps used during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WW2. It is likely that they were stolen for sale on the black market but it is very possible that you may come across them while antiquing.

Other Missing American Artifacts

Some irreplaceable and historic artifacts never made it to the National Archives or any other museums or archives. The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, also known as the Seneca Falls Declaration or simply The Declaration of Sentiments, is one example. The document started the American woman’s rights movement and nobody knows what happened to it. The original copy, signed at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Frederick Douglass, and 97 other women’s rights pioneers, has been lost to history. The Declaration borrowed the language of the Declaration of Independence to declare that “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal.” The Obama administration launched an effort to find The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments and compared their efforts to the National Treasure franchise but their nationwide search was unsuccessful. Antique collectors may have more luck. Sometimes a shopper is just in the right place at the right time and successfully runs across this national treasure.

Missing American Artifacts – Pop Culture

Not all of America’s missing historic artifacts involve presidents, wars, or suffragettes. Many involve America’s artistic heritage and the missing pieces of cinematic history are among the most interesting. In the early days of Hollywood, most movie props were simply repurposed, thrown out, or burned after shooting. In the 1970s MGM started auctioning off movie props to private collectors exposing the lucrative money-making opportunity of the collectors markets. Today movie and TV props from popular works are often held in private collections and even museums. However, even in recent years valuable props are put out on the open market, thrown away, or even stolen. This means that keen antiquers and collectors can make money or lifelong memories by snatching up the right prop. Many stolen and missing film props could be in a local antique shop. For instance, of the four known surviving pairs of ruby slippers worn in The Wizard of Oz one pair was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005 and the museum has offered a $1,000,000 reward for information on its whereabouts. Other valuable collectibles missing include the suit from Iron Man, the map from Goonies, and costumes from the original Star Trek series.

Antique and Vintage Finds

Shopping for antiques, vintage and retro collectibles can be exciting, and finding a valuable missing American antique would be even better! But for most antiquers, it’s best to practice and love antiquing for its own sake. You may not find a multi-million dollar artifact, but you can definitely find beautiful and unique items that link us to our collective past. You can definitely find a piece of the past that you and your family can cherish and call your very own. If you do find an antique item you believe to be valuable you can have it appraised at the Old & New Shop.