A canvas bag containing 2,000 silver half-dollars struck in 1963 at the Denver Mint and sewn shut there 60 years ago will bring a pretty penny for an elderly northeast Oklahoma woman who received the coins as a gift from her father a half-century ago.
"This original, mint-sealed bag contains $1,000 face value of fifty-cent denomination coins, but each 1963 half-dollar depicting Benjamin Franklin contains about $9 worth of silver. Also, mint condition 1963 Denver Mint half-dollars usually sell today for about $50 each, so I would not be surprised if this bag sold for $100,000 or more," stated Rick Tomaska, co-founder of Rare Collectibles TV (www.RareCollectiblesTV.com) of Los Angeles, California.
The firm will offer the bag of half-dollars at auction on national television on July 27, 2023 with bidding starting at $69,000.
"The owner of the coins, an elderly woman who wants to remain anonymous, received the bag in the 1970s as a gift from her father, a Denver dentist, who purchased bags of silver half-dollars for each of his four children. The woman’s siblings eventually sold their coins over the years, but she kept hers for five decades," explained Tomaska.
Printing on the bag reads in part: "U.S. MINT DENVER HALF DOLLAR $1,000 1963."
In addition to the mint’s original stitching to seal the bag, there is an American Airlines tag dated April 20, 1967 when it was shipped to Oklahoma where the retired father then lived.
"This is undoubtedly one of the last if not the very last known surviving, mint-sealed bag of 1963 Denver Mint Franklin half-dollars. The woman told me she kept it all these years because she loves silver," said Tomaska.
"This is the first time I’ve seen an original, mint-sealed bag of Franklin silver half-dollars in almost 40 years in the rare coin business," he added. "The person who wins this auction will be a custodian of a super rare numismatic artifact. I hope the next owner never opens it to maintain the bag’s Mint-sealed heritage."
The United States Mint began producing half-dollar denomination coins in 1794. The 90-percent silver half-dollars depicting early American patriot Benjamin Franklin were struck from 1948 to 1963, and the design was changed in 1964 to honor assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
The live auction will be on DirectTV channel 222, Dish channels 85 and 224, as well as online at https://www.rarecollectiblestv.com/watch-live-tv at 8 PM Eastern/ 5 PM Pacific on Thursday, July 27, 2023.
For additional information, call 800-581-7273 or visit www.RareCollectiblesTV.com.
Here comes the tax man
Oh brother Rick, you hitting the tequila or just puffing,$50 each, yeah I got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale Jack. No wonder people buying from this joker get schtupped and never want another coin. Not more collectors more Pissed Off people whe they find out reality…. Cool bag tho
1963 from Denver was rare (eyes rolling).
Antonio-
It seems to me the rarity is having the still-sealed bag from the Mint, not so much the individual coins.
Kaiser, How do you know it’s a one of a kind item? For all we know, there could be hundreds of sealed bags out there somewhere. Now I can hear you saying that’s highly unlikely, but there are folks who are convinced aliens are visiting our world, and yet, I’ve never seen one! Personally, I’d be much more interested in an original roll of Franklins rather than a bag of them (who knows how dinged up and tarnished these coins have become after 60 years.) It will be interesting to see how much this bag goes for tomorrow. And let’s… Read more »
Frankie Fontaine,
Do you know where I can get schtupped for a silver Franklin half dollar?? Lol.
NumisdudeTX
Kaiser,
How about “Ripoff Rickmeister”?
NumisdudeTX
Absolutely, always. My brother found a 1956-D in our front yard some years ago. It’s in average condition. That’s the sum of my experience with Franklin Half Dollars. My mom gave it to me for some reason and when he came here for a visit, I returned it to him. I don’t know what he thought of it. It was his and frankly I didn’t want it. I have enough coins, although I’m still buying from the Mint. I wish this woman all the best, should be enough to take care of her for the coming years. That’s the way… Read more »
So overjoyed for her !
TV coin huckster Rick Tomaska probably offered this elderly lady spot silver on these silver half dollars in sealed original bag…You know he probably didn’t give her the $50 each he said they are normally worth in average Uncirculated condition. Sad!
NumisdudeTX
you gotta open it
How does anyone know for sure what’s in there? X ray?
a CT scan should work. maybe go to the airport and ask the nice TSA folks to scan it
Major D,
Yes, the cat in the bag is in two states – The State of Oklahoma & the state of decomposition…
NumisdudeTX
Kaiser,
You think making possibly $99K ($100k – $1k initial cost) is worth it after 60 years? That is assuming someone is willing to pony up $100k for a bag of dinged up Franklin Half Dollars and don’t forget about the tax man. Joe sure hasn’t, or should I say his handlers haven’t. Also, I wonder how this bag was stored for 60 years as humidity would certainly alter the condition of these silver coins. I see they didn’t address this issue in the article…no surprise there!
Hi Craig,
When I started investing in stocks, I was told you are doing good if you double your money every 10 years. If I figured this right, this original $1000 investment in coins 60 years ago, doubling every 10 years, would be worth $64000 today. So it looks to me like it was a fine investment if they can get $100000 out of it.
Yes! I agree with you Jeff Legan
Kaiser, I would be thrilled if someone gave me that bag for free. However, as I live in the real world, I don’t plan on ever seeing that bag and I sure wouldn’t pay a huckster like Tomaska anywhere close to $100k. But we do live in America, and there is always someone who will pay a ridiculous price on the hope of finding the holy grail. And the bag is sealed no less! That makes it a unique item and so it must remain sealed. I do agree with you that it would be cool to own a bag… Read more »
The elderly lady who had this old bag of silver coins is now known as “The Bag Lady of Oklahoma” – I thought it was Okra-homa as a young kid… I loved fried okra my grandma made.
NumisdudeTX
Good looking ahead for the future!
Soft sell Rick but still a snake oil salesman as far as I am concerned. As well as the considerations mentioned in the previous comments on this subject, consider the following before breaking out that checkbook. The 1963D Franklin Half Dollar shattered all previous half dollar production numbers by a long shot. 67,069, 292 minted that year from the Denver mint alone. Almost double the previous record of the 1962D at 35 million +. Being the last year of issue for the type, they were hoarded by the public in rolls and bags and therefore there are abundant numbers of… Read more »
FYI,
Sold at $75,000.
NumisdudeTX
Thanks for that information.