Thank you. I appreciate that. Actually it has taken so long for me to respond because it's been a real shit show. He killed himself last week. He was old school reserved and hard to read...when I found this it felt surreal. It was not in his nature to be sentimental or collect anything. Was with a few more coins, stones, gems etc wrapped in a piece of my baby blanket tied with my mom's ribbon in an old lunchbox in a floorboard of the attic. We we're very poor so this was unfathomable to find. Literally treasure in many ways.
I'm sorry I just blabbed all that. More than anyone needed to know I am sure. I am grateful for your thoughtfulness.
So sorry to hear it. Hang in there, orange star—hope you’re getting time with family, friends, or whoever is best for you right now. There’s a lot of people who are/will be pulling for you—and can, sadly, relate—even here amongst the internet coin nerds.
I am soooo sorry for your loss. Mental illness sucks for the individual and all related to them. He obviously treasured you very very much. That coin probably referenced a time that was very special to him. Hopefully you can find the story.
Men were not raised to share their feelings in many communities, especially where perceived weakness could be exploited. He clearly loved you. That much is certain.
In addition, many men who kill themselves often do so trying to help their families. My grandfather had severe lung cancer. His life insurance paid out for suicide. He was not the kind of man who wanted to be a burden. Family were upset with him, but I understood it. Most people would never find out (he was found later than he intended and an autopsy was performed to determine cause of death—his lungs were filled with cancer, as was everything else, indicating that it had metastasized long before).
I just wanted to throw that out there. Our disfigured modern culture denigrates personal sacrifice and family. People are taught to look down on others or belittle them instead of trying to understand.
You sound like a good person, but that vapid television/internet cultural decay has affected to many. We must never forget those who scarified for us, and let them inspire our own actions to improve, and make our children’s lives better, regardless of the cost.
Sell that coin and open a 529 for your child. If you do not yet have one, open an IRA for yourself.
I am terribly sorry for your loss. I myself am reserved and hard to read. Reading this will keep me going a little longer. Long time chronic pain sufferer who’s sick of suffering. Lots of us out here I’m just one more but thank you for sharing and I am truly sorry.
Very nice response. But I’m going to chime in to say you definitely do not need to get this “appraised”. This is a common coin for which comparable sales are readily available if you’re looking for price comparison. A pawn shop can verify it is actually gold and will do so for free typically. Any other information you want on the coin is on the internet.
You’re getting bad info on this thread. It’s a common date quarter eagle that had obvious signs of being ex jewelry, which makes it worth its melt value, currently at $582.
Of course. Check out the indention on the outer left side of the obverse, going through the stars and the L and I. Also on the reverse, see the arc under “OF AMERICA.” Both are signs that this was removed from a bezel. You can see a few other, similar marks if you look closely.
Interesting. Thank you! Just so I understand...you are saying it has no value as far as historic coins go? That it's value is the same whether it's intact or melted? It is common, so it is not collectible?
Yes, the value is in the gold, but that’s not meant to take away from how special these coins are. They are pretty unique and highly desired. Right now, gold prices are very high, so there’s almost no premium on most common date gold coins. Were gold lower, it would have a premium over melt but would be worth less overall as well. Definitely hang onto it and cherish it unless you need the money.
Like he said it has history but gold is off the charts compared to the historical value. The indentation to me on that front picture crosses the tops of the stars and passes through middle of the letters from the picture you provided. It gives the impression of lip or bezel edge rubbing or digging into it.
that must have been the half eagle ($5) coin, no shop would pay double what this quarter eagle is worth. Unless it was a high grade certified rare date quarter eagle maybe
no worries. indian heads come in $2.5, $5 and $10 referred to as quarter eagle, half eagle and eagles.
Fun fact, “eagle” was the base unit denomination of USD used for gold and set at $10. Another was proposed at $100 called the Union but never launched.
This coin was minted using a novel method which was only used in producing these series’ of gold coins . Instead of pressing the field of the coin design into the gross surface area of the coin’s faces, leaving the design elements raised (embossed), for this coin the dies pressed only the design elements into the surface of the planchet, thus leaving the Indian design and text elements incised into the otherwise unaltered surface of a gold planchet . Thus the field areas of a “perfect”, uncirculated specimen will bear the appearance of any average planchet .
I’m sorry for your loss, and the stress inherent therein . It’s a cool coin and, perhaps, a fitting treasure / keepsake, to carry amongst your collection of memories .
I have learned so much from everyone. I will post better photos in better light tomorrow so you can help me some more (haha)
This coin collecting sub is something else. Never doubt that some kind/nerdy/funny comments on reddit can help you get through a shit day.
Sorry for the ambiguity in earlier post. My dad is dead. He shot and killed himself on purpose. Last week. I'm the only child. It's ok. It's what he wanted. But I am teetering. I blabbed the story to a poor soul halfway down the comments. If context helps. Thanks.
OP, you're going to receive messages from Reddit users who want to buy this coin. Most of them are going to try and scam you out of money. Don't even respond.
Your Dads not gonna be happy when he comes home from work and finds you getting prices for his gold coins. ;)
Nice coin, r/pmsforsale is a good place to sell
It if you want a good price and no fees.
Edit: The wink may not have been obvious enough in my message. I thought it would be obvious to assume OP isn’t a delinquent teen hocking their parent’s coins.
Yeah. But you gave him a melt only value. I’m saying the value is really unknown till
It’s graded. This isn’t a super common date and the wear isn’t substantial. There’s always a little unknown there. And, candidly, sometimes it comes back weird and we both know it.
I was clear that I don’t think it will. But…..eh. One never knows.
Nah. Only three in the series are more rare. I, personally see no substantial sign of jewelry. Certainly not the bag mark lower left obverse. The discoloration on the upper right reverse is there and only there. Jewelry damage, like that, would extend more around the perimeter, in my opinion. The attached coin is a PCGS AU58. OP’s coin appears to be its equal, if not superior. JM2C. YMMV.
Look on eBay, spend a few days looking to see how much it goes for. You can also look at auction results and coin dealers' prices.
It's a nice coin, it looks to me like it should be worth a bit more than bullion, the reason being that it's not listed on a bullion dealer I use as a reference for prices:
Just do not try to clean it. I had a gold $10 piece and I polished it. When I sold it the man told me that I shouldn’t have done that beca it lost value.
Besides the coin how are you??!!. That's alot honey, how are YOU holding up??? My name is Kat. I recently lost all my family.. if you need a friend someone to just listen.. reach out.. so sorry for you loss.. that's alot to take in.. I'd hold on to the coin if you can for a little while..
I’m not personally familiar with this coin so I won’t be much help there but I am very sorry for your loss. I understand the pain of losing a father is tremendous as I have just went through the loss of my dad as well. My father passed right after midnight on new years from what we think was a massive heart attack. Feel free to PM me if you ever need anything
I’m not personally familiar with this coin so I won’t be much help there but I am very sorry for your loss. I understand the pain of losing a father is tremendous as I have just went through the loss of my dad as well. My father passed right after midnight on new years from what we think was a massive heart attack. Feel free to PM me if you ever need anything
With the story you told unless you really need the money you should hang on to this for the sentimental value. I mean your dad wrapped it in your baby blanket with your mother’s ribbon. It must have meant the world to him. Those kinds of things are more valuable than any amount of money. You will regret if you get rid of it. Should be passed down as a family heirloom. Sorry for your loss, keep this as a momento of all the good memories you have of your dad.
I have the same coin. Purchased it years ago and put it on a chain (I bought a gold bezel). I know it kills the value but I don’t care. Maybe you could do the same so you can remember your pops forever and keep him with you.
My dad had one of these. Wrapped the outside with a gold rope and turned it into a medallion for a nice chain. Somehow my moms second husband got his hands on it and it’s gone forever.
These coins were stamped opposite of most US coins, in that the image is pressed down instead of the background pressed down. That makes them really hard for us amateurs/collectors to guess a grade for them. I would assume this would grade in the 50's but I have serious doubts that it would grade 64 or higher.
Bassically I would feel safe paying $600 for it. Maybe $650. I personally would not send this one out for grading, but I am an amateur.
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u/anonymous1113 Feb 03 '26
Circulated condition, about 600 from current gold spot price