A look back in numismatic history – a story too good to be true

Some called it the sale of the century, others the “great government giveaway,” which is what Jack Goodberg called it when he wrote a short article for Les and Sue Fox which they included in their 1982 book, “Fight Inflation with Silver Dollars.” Here is Jack’s story about the great government giveaway you may not know about.

NGC.

“It was spring, 1964. I had gotten up at 3:00 a.m. that morning to be among the first at the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. I had $15,000 in cash. The occasion? The first time in history that the Treasury Department was allowing American citizens to freely purchase bags of sealed and unsearched silver dollars. The price was $1.00 per coin. Payment had to be in cash and there was no purchase limit. Each bag contained 1,000 coins. Again, the price was just $1,000.00 in cash.” Mr. Goldberg bought 15 bags and stated his main concern was how he was going to move them. He drove a brand new 1964 Oldsmobile then and wondered if its springs and shocks would stand up to the overload. As he was packing up, near him was a tractor-trailer being loaded with hundreds of bags said to be for Las Vegas.

After the bags were loaded, Goodberg stated they took the dollars to his son’s apartment and anxiously began opening them and found that eight of the bags were Gem BU 1881-S Morgan dollars. The rest were Gem BU 1884-O, 1885-P, 1886-P, and 1887-P coins. Needless to say, at the time Goodberg was very disappointed as none of the dates were more than face value. This of course was in 1964 and he goes on to say “Oh, how I wish I had kept those ‘unwanted’ bags of dollars because by 1982 they were worth thousands.” After they searched the bags for better dates and deep mirror-proof likes the unwanted dollars were taken to Chase Manhattan Bank and exchanged with the organization charging a $10 fee.

As well, in the bags were coins dated 1880-S, 1882-S, 1883-O, 1885-O, and 1888-P. Some of these bags contained better dates such as 1893-S, 1895-S, and 1896-S. Ads in numismatic publications months after the sale offered these bags for $1,200. Today, very few bags still are whole. Through the years, coins in these bags were put into solid date rolls and sold that way, and presently the rolls are scarce.

Most of the coins are now graded by third parties. They receive MS-64, 65, and 66 grades and, today, a New York dealer wholesales these dates in NGC MS-65 holders for $175.00 each and MS-66 for $325.00 each. Paying face value for silver dollars was not difficult in the mid to late 1950s and early 1960s. In the next N.O.W. quarterly, I will tell the story that a customer shared about his uncle, a resident of Hicksville, Long Island in New York who owned and operated a nursery and picked up an unbelievable hoard of silver dollars, paying only a dollar for the best dollars.

One of the certificates of authenticity found inside the “GSA Dollars” sold during President Richard Nixon’s time in office. What treasures might the federal government sell off next? United States Government/APMEX

Did You Know: Aside from coins, even the containers or bags they come in can command some value in today’s market. On eBay, old U.S. Mint bags can go for as low as $5 and, in some instances, the packaging for old gold Eagle proof sets can retail for $100 or more. Start selling if you feel you need to clear some space.

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