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AC_Dwyer

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AC_Dwyer

U.S.

Personal Website: acdwyer.com

I am an avid collector who started out collecting beer cans as a kid, and worked his way up to collecting gold coins from shipwrecks today. What really interestsI am an avid collector who started out collecting beer cans as a kid, and worked his way up to collecting gold coins from shipwrecks today. What really interests me is the history and stories behind the coins. Check out my interview with Collectors Weekly: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/double-eagles-and-shipwrecks-an-interview-with-u-s-gold-coin-collector-a-c-dwyer (Read more)

Posts

See all 13
1837 1¢ Merchants Exchange Hard Times Token (HT #293) - US Coinsin US Coins
7 years ago
Controversial 1991 Colt45 PowerMaster Malt Liquor 16oz (Pint) Beer Can - Brewerianain Breweriana
7 years ago
4077th M*A*S*H Beer Can Has Been in the Fridge Since 1984 - Brewerianain Breweriana
7 years ago
World War II First Aid Handbook (U.S. Office of Civilian Defense) - Booksin Books
7 years ago
World War II Air Raid Warden's Handbook (U.S. Office of Civilian Defense) - Booksin Books
7 years ago
Mark Twain's The Mysterious Stranger (First Edition: Harper & Brothers, 1916) - Booksin Books
7 years ago
1865-S $20 Gold Double Eagle from the S.S. Brother Jonathan Shipwreck - US Coinsin US Coins
7 years ago
1843 $5 Gold Half Eagle from the S.S. New York Shipwreck - US Coinsin US Coins
7 years ago
1864 Two Cent Piece with Small Motto IN GOD WE TRUST - US Coinsin US Coins
7 years ago
1854 $20 Kellogg & Co., San Francisco, Double Eagle Gold Coin - US Coinsin US Coins
7 years ago

Comments

  1. @ David - I can't really say whether or not it was a fair price without knowing more about the coins. Based on the price of gold at the time, you paid about a 50% premium to their bullion value. B...
  2. @EricB - It's very easy to explain. You apparently didn't search their archives correctly. Here is a direct link to the coin in their archive: http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1129&lotNo=1788...
  3. @ Cristina - The good news is that with the rising price of gold, and the fact that double eagles have almost an ounce of gold in them, your coin is worth at least the value of its gold content which ...
  4. @AR8Jason - Below is a link to one of the best articles I've seen discussing the "original" coloring of gold coins. It was written by Doug Winter who in my mind is the top numismatic expert in the cou...
  5. @AR8Jason - What a great question. The reason is because this coin has original surfaces and has not been "dipped" in a chemical solution to brighten it or make it shiny. Many collectors, myself inclu...
  6. @ Susana Unfortunately the word COPY means that it is a replica coin. They aren't worth anything to collectors and usually sell for under $20.
  7. Believe me when I say I hope you are right. No matter how high gold goes, I'll never sell all of mine. My heirs will have to do that. But all the new Cash for Gold (or their competitors) stores t...
  8. As a collector of gold coins, I'll be the first to admit the past 10 years have been pretty good. But I also remember the 20 years prior to that. I sure hope you are right about the future directio...
  9. I wouldn't care if it's fake, it's very cool. It makes you wonder about the story behind it. Was it some sort of novelty cast from an impression of a real coin? Or was it some really bad attempt a...
  10. I couldn't agree more!
  11. Apparently a true first edition, first printing would have a K-Q designation which translates to October 1916. I believe E-R translates to May 1917 and unfortunately mine is sometime after that. So a...
  12. One thing to add, as the years went on these tokens contained less and less gold with many simply being gold plated.
  13. @ Nanned, Just to add a little to the conversation. The reason the denomination disappeared from these small gold coins is that the Coinage Act of 1864 made private coinage illegal. However, it didn'...
  14. Clearly the hope would be that the coin is an O (New Orleans) mint mark as it is one of the rarest Indian Head half eagles with a small mintage. Plus it would command a premium just for being from New...
  15. Thank you Soulman! I just realized you solved a mystery that my family has had for a couple of years now. My brother found a coin hidden in a wall of the cellar of his 19th century house. I posted a s...
  16. I like the date of 1837 when it comes to large cents. The Panic of 1837 caused coins, including large cents, to be hoarded. Due to the need for small change, the U.S. Mint struck more than twice a...
  17. @Alec - I love stories like yours. It's very possible all the coins are real, especially if they have been handed down from generation to generation. Whatever you do, don't clean the coins. As they sa...
  18. Great pictures. Although the necklace could have been made much later using older coins, I'm sticking with late 1870s or 1880s as the date it was made. Since the Indian Head cent continued much lo...
  19. If you want to take better pictures, try turning the "macro" setting on if your camera has one. This will allow you to take close-ups that are in focus. Also try setting the necklace on a surface ...
  20. I like it. It looks like the necklace is made up of Indian Head pennies, Shield Nickels, and possibly some 2-cent pieces. If I'm correct, then I'd guess that your necklace was made in the 1870s or ear...
  21. A few years ago, one of these in not so great shape (graded VG-8) would have got you about $50 to $75. Really nice ones ran as high as $500. There is one variety that's pretty rare and runs into t...
  22. That is very cool that you have both the Honolulu location and the date 1941. Leaves no doubt about the time frame and location. My father was in the navy during WWII also, but if he kept any mementos...
  23. I'm curious, what's the date on the penny? These encased cents were real popular during the first half of the 20th century. The ones from prior to 1909 have the Indian Head cent in them. After that...
  24. One more thing, if still in doubt, flip the coin over and look at the letters for ONE CENT. The 1843 to 1857 large cent had larger letters for the words ONE CENT than earlier dated large cents.
  25. Even without noticable toolmarks, it is definitely an altered 1845 Braided Hair Large Cent. Take a look at the curls under the neck truncation. They end just above the 8. This is a feature of the "mat...
  26. I always feel bad when I answer questions like this. The good news is that the 24k refers to pure gold. The bad news is that mil is a term companies use when they are referring to things like gold ...
  27. @ Tom - I believe you have a replica coin that is not real. The U.S. Hobby Protection Act requires replica numismatic items to have the word COPY prominently displayed on them, but yours could have be...
  28. @katiejean - If your coin is real, then it's worth about the price of an ounce of gold which has been hanging around the $1,400 range. Once you get to "about uncirculated," the coin starts to add a nu...
  29. Medals have a different alignment than coins because they are frequently hung from ribbons and tend to flip sideways. Apparently people tend to flip coins from top-to-bottom which is why there is the ...
  30. According to some contemporary reports at the time, when the small cent replaced the large cent it was well received among the "ladies." Apparently, the Large cents made your fingers stink so much ...
  31. If it's off by 180 degrees, then your coin was struck from dies with a medal alignment. This was not uncommon with 19th century coins. I recently bought an 1839-O quarter eagle with a medal alignment...
  32. The last 1865-S to be auctioned at Heritage from the SS Brother Jonathan in this condition sold for over $20,000. (Lot # 1788 on Sept. 10, 2009)
  33. I believe it is "play money." I have seen plastic versions of that same goofy image of Lincoln on play money. They probably made a metallic version of it too. If I recall correctly, the play money wa...
  34. On Sept. 26, 2010 Heritage Auctions sold a proof example graded PCGS PR69 for $2,760 which included a buyers premium (Lot #12235). They also auctioned a few uncirculated versions graded NGC MS69 for ...
  35. Numismatist Ken Potter is undoubtably one of the experts on error coins. He frequently writes articles for Numismatic News that describes newly discovered errors. His website is at http://koinpro.trip...
  36. Just another thought. David Sundman, President of the Littleton Coin Company in New Hampshire, is a huge collector of historical stereographs. I once went to a lecture he gave on stereographs and ...
  37. Here's some of what I know about Mathew Brady and the "War of the Union" stereograph series. Maybe it will help you to authenticate your slide. The original photo that your slide was made from was ...
  38. Very nice. What you have is Gould, Inc's pattern dollars that were part of a project by the U.S. Mint to replace the Eisenhower dollar. Private companies submitted various pattern coins in different a...
  39. @Joanne - The word COPY on the reverse means that you have a replica coin. National Collectors Mint (among others) sells replicas like this that they call "Gold Clad" and "Tribute" coins. They sel...
  40. Very nice! Are you able to read what it says under the blacked out portion of the Rudyard Kipling envelope?
  41. @ Brandon - Here's a link that will help you to check current values on your coin: http://acdwyer.com/pcgs.aspx Near the bottom right under the heading Territorials, click on California Gold which ...
  42. Please don't shoot the messenger. You're going to be very disappointed at its actual value, but its a cool story about how you found it. Here's a link to find its current retail value. http://ac...
  43. @ Brandon - That's a very cool story about digging one up in the backyard. It kind of makes you wonder what else might be buried there. If it's real, your coin is at least worth the price of its go...
  44. Nice job getting them all! I'm still missing a couple to complete my set. Now that they've started a new state quarters program with the National Parks quarters, are you ready to start all over ag...
  45. @Jane - I'm sorry I have some bad news for you. That word COPY on the reverse means that you have a replica coin. National Collectors Mint (among others) sells replicas like this that they call "...
  46. @ Phil - These coins run a very wide range from just a few thousand dollars in "fine" condition to over $16,000 in AU-58 like the coin above. Uncirculated examples (mint state) are a minimum of $28,00...
  47. Very nice! What you have is a nickel 3 cent coin from the first year of issue (1865). It was a replacement of the silver 3 cent coin as the silver coin tended to be hoarded by the public during the Ci...
  48. Very cool poster! Definitely WWI, but can't be Rosie the Riveter since she was a WWII invention. Your poster is from 1918 and the artist was Adolph Treidler. I've seen replicas sell for about ...
  49. Ah, this book business is trickier than I thought. As I go through some of the volumes, I'm finding that although the copyright page looks like a first edition, the title page lists a different pu...
  50. Do you also have a box of Krusty-Os cereal in the cupboard? I remember when they made up some of the 7/11's around the country to look like the Kwik-E-Mart. That was a great marketing campaign.
    51. See more

Loves

1930'S FOLK ART STAMP COLLECTION Pair of 1889 Liberty Head V nickels with a family story Factory Postcards PROTOTYPYE COINS 1815 U.S. Large Cent that is not supposed to exist. Comments please. Trime & Postal History Dr. Parsons $5 Colorado Territory Gold Federal Equipment Co. Post Office Box Bank

Likes

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Sterling Silver Money Clip 1853 $5 Gold Piece AKA "Half Eagle" Type One 1854 one cent reversed image 1909 D Gold Five dollar Indian Head 1837 Large Cent 1813 Mexico 2 Real's Coin Necklace FABULOUS GREETING CARD Silver Franklin Half Dollar Necklace 1941 Wheat Penny From Hawaii 1893 Liberty Head "V" nickel Paper 25 cents 1856 lg. PENNY Way Off Axis 1865 Three Cent Nickel misstruck coin from 1917 Virgil "Fire" Trucks

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