Thinking out of the box for fun and profit.

[Epicurean Pariah]

Prologue, the following is nothing more than one example , not advice, a hint or a brag. Just a POV.

After being discharged from the service around 1971, I found that my military training had very limited value in the civilian world. Aspergers was a relatively new diagnosis at the time and I was nearly a near hermit eccentric until a few months ago.
I was emotionally cool/ cold depending who was the critic.
Clearly, I did not play well with others and 95% of those I met were like grazing sheep and I was a wild wolf.
Even wolves must make a living. I walked away from a scholarship and proceed to think.
I wanted to think hard and not work hard. I wanted to work my own hours and I wanted to work alone. I did not want to make a living by doing illegal activities.
In 1964 the US stopped minting silver coins, some of the astute collected coin silver out of the pocket change. By 1971/72, coin machines and laundromats culled most quarters. Dimes were chump change and unlike when I was a kid, I could not get a silver dollar for a paper dollar. No one wanted half dollars. Cash registers did not have a spot for halves.
I started the game with $300.00 ( about $3K+ now, inflation)and an attaché case. I went to banks, gave them paper and asked for as many rolls of halves that they had on hand. Then I would jump on the bus, sort our the 90% and 40% silver out and return the clad non silver halves to another bank for paper, and repeat. Within a week I was buying bank bags of halves, selling off the rare and collectible halves to coin dealers. I was also selling off the 40% silver to whoever wanted it. I hoarded the 90% coins. I had tripled my investment in less than a week, and not working too hard. I did this and other similar things for years. That was just the first step. I am sure this plan does not work now!
If one is happy in the world of drudgery, compelled to living in the isolation or a small community of struggling friends and equals, criticizing and condemning those that do as they like, that think for themselves, and are true to their nature and values, that is fine with me. I prefer to think.....out of the box.
End part 1

Part 2 prologue.
How to I turned free dirt into gold and then double that in a couple of weeks.

I am not saying this path is for you, but I will say it subsidized my existence and that I was the master of my destiny. I was happy enough to be me, the rest of the world seemed to revel in misery.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

Part 2, I think that a small part of part 2 has been previously told. The up shot being that my wife de jour and I worked on the road for 4-5 years and had a regular gig for about 2 years, in today's terms we made and spent, reinvested millions in and on ourselves, that is another interesting story. Anyway since we traveled all over the country and worked nights I learned a lay mans level of geology, and would spend some days prospecting for rocks and minerals.
At about 30 the wife and I grew apart. A amicable split, she took cash and I took house.
I had to do something to keep afloat. One of my mentors was a hobby level lapidary, rock cutter. I spent a few evenings and learned to cut different stones into cabochons. Then I bought standard findings like belt buckles, pendants, that were attractive and inexpensive, because they were made of base metal. It hit the local flea markets, tack stores with the horse set for clients, and western wear stores with the goods at price points that everyone could turn a buck. As I traveled around I showed my goods, and increased my venues. Business was very good and I was very busy. I don't like being very busy. It is too much like a chore.

I picked up a well used faceting machine with the associated laps and materials for about $ 300.00 now perhaps $1-3K. I had all the stone, turquoise, petrified wood, garnets and many others that I had already collected, and started.
So where are we, free stones and gold and cheap silver.
And a few hours work and, voilà, income. The gold needs to have silver added to make 10-14- 18 kt rings. A 10 kt ring sells for about 1.5 time it's gold weight, 14kt, 1.75 gold weight and 18kt sells at about 2x gold weight, 18 kt is 75% gold. That is to say a gold ring is worth more than its weight in gold. With coin silver 90% one must add some.999 silver to cast sterling .925and it sell at 2x value wholesale but 5-6x retail. Do you get it.

Let me clarify, I wanted to enjoy life and dealing with people were for me, a critical pain. As I have related above, this was my path to easy living. At least in this aspect. There were others.
If you are happy doing what a million others can do and can't figure a way out of the box you are in, by all means, please continue. If you are unhappy and ready for a change, it may be time to think and try a different path.

Assess what you have and what you would like to do, not what others tell you to do, should or must do.
Hang with those that appreciate the one of a kind and that have a few bucks to buy discretionary stuff. Your talent may be rewarded, handsomely.
I hope this encourages those who are adaptable to new ideas to think and dare to be great.
Try thinking out of the box, for fun and profit.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

Part 2, I think that a small part of part 2 has been previously told. The up shot being that my wife de jour and I worked on the road for 4-5 years and had a regular gig for about 2 years, in today's terms we made and spent, reinvested millions in and on ourselves, that is another interesting story. Anyway since we traveled all over the country and worked nights I learned a lay mans level of geology, and would spend some days prospecting for rocks and minerals.
At about 30 the wife and I grew apart. A amicable split, she took cash and I took house.
I had to do something to keep afloat. One of my mentors was a hobby level lapidary, rock cutter. I spent a few evenings and learned to cut different stones into cabochons. Then I bought standard findings like belt buckles, pendants, that were attractive and inexpensive, because they were made of base metal. It hit the local flea markets, tack stores with the horse set for clients, and western wear stores with the goods at price points that everyone could turn a buck. As I traveled around I showed my goods, and increased my venues. Business was very good and I was very busy. I don't like being very busy. It is too much like a chore.

I picked up a well used faceting machine with the associated laps and materials for about $ 300.00 now perhaps $1-3K. I had all the stone, turquoise, petrified wood, garnets and many others that I had already collected, and started.
So where are we, free stones and gold and cheap silver.
And a few hours work and, voilà, income. The gold needs to have silver added to make 10-14- 18 kt rings. A 10 kt ring sells for about 1.5 time it's gold weight, 14kt, 1.75 gold weight and 18kt sells at about 2x gold weight, 18 kt is 75% gold. That is to say a gold ring is worth more than its weight in gold. With coin silver 90% one must add some.999 silver to cast sterling .925and it sell at 2x value wholesale but 5-6x retail. Do you get it.

Let me clarify, I wanted to enjoy life and dealing with people were for me, a critical pain. As I have related above, this was my path to easy living. At least in this aspect. There were others.
If you are happy doing what a million others can do and can't figure a way out of the box you are in, by all means, please continue. If you are unhappy and ready for a change, it may be time to think and try a different path.

Assess what you have and what you would like to do, not what others tell you to do, should or must do.
Hang with those that appreciate the one of a kind and that have a few bucks to buy discretionary stuff. Your talent may be rewarded, handsomely.
I hope this encourages those who are adaptable to new ideas to think and dare to be great.
Try thinking out of the box, for fun and profit.

Karin, go ahead and share our little story. It may motivate and let others know that I am not blowing smoke.
By the way you never commented on your opal?

 

[Karin]

Yes! Let's give the story the full attention it deserves!

During a private conversation I told Epicurean I had opals on my list of gems I really wanted to own some day. He asked if I would accept a small pendant for me and my daughter Ida as a gift, cut by him. Thankfully I'm the kind of person who says "yes, please!" when life offers me presents. I was super excited and so was Ida. It's not the first time Mommy picks up kindness from strangers so she's reasonably relaxed about it.

It took a while for the package to reach us. It was in the country but got delayed, mislayed, etc. and finally made it just before being returned. In it was two amazingly pretty pendants. One was a really large topaz for Ida in her favorite blue color and for me there was a round, white facetted lab created opal! If you know about opals, you know they are almost never facetted to round and I can only say it's a pity. Both stones are beautifully cut and we feel so blessed.

It can surely be a coincidence but right after Ida and I finally got the pendants, something shifted for her and she felt able to stand up with me for the first time since early April.

An interesting aside is other people's reaction and this ties in with your story above, Epicurean. I showed the pendants to two other moms here at the ward and their distrust at the mere thought of being offered a kind gesture from a friend, you haven't met before, was very clear. I told them of a few other instances when I have accepted gifts and the good things that has come of it (never ever anything bad) and I could see them mull it over. I hope they pick up the lesson that when the Universe offers gifts, accept. I know I am passing on gifts myself in different shapes and forms. Giving is a joy and receiving is a joy

I promise I will try to take a picture of the pendants later though I know I won't be able to do justice to the opal.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

Yes! Let's give the story the full attention it deserves!

During a private conversation I told Epicurean I had opals on my list of gems I really wanted to own some day. He asked if I would accept a small pendant for me and my daughter Ida as a gift, cut by him. Thankfully I'm the kind of person who says "yes, please!" when life offers me presents. I was super excited and so was Ida. It's not the first time Mommy picks up kindness from strangers so she's reasonably relaxed about it.

It took a while for the package to reach us. It was in the country but got delayed, mislayed, etc. and finally made it just before being returned. In it was two amazingly pretty pendants. One was a really large topaz for Ida in her favorite blue color and for me there was a round, white facetted lab created opal! If you know about opals, you know they are almost never facetted to round and I can only say it's a pity. Both stones are beautifully cut and we feel so blessed.

It can surely be a coincidence but right after Ida and I finally got the pendants, something shifted for her and she felt able to stand up with me for the first time since early April.

An interesting aside is other people's reaction and this ties in with your story above, Epicurean. I showed the pendants to two other moms here at the ward and their distrust at the mere thought of being offered a kind gesture from a friend, you haven't met before, was very clear. I told them of a few other instances when I have accepted gifts and the good things that has come of it (never ever anything bad) and I could see them mull it over. I hope they pick up the lesson that when the Universe offers gifts, accept. I know I am passing on gifts myself in different shapes and forms. Giving is a joy and receiving is a joy

I promise I will try to take a picture of the pendants later though I know I won't be able to do justice to the opal.

Karin, thank you for the kind words. Yes, I am a firm believer that the more kindness one gives the more kindness one receives, and that kindness must be rewarded. You are very welcome.

An anecdote. I was talking to a neighbor lady down the mountain and mentioned that my favorite pie was strawberry/ rhubarb pie.
Two days later she presented me with a piping hot S/R pie.
Later I ran into her husband so I gave him a small sealed box and asked him to give the box to his beloved.
Within the box a small, but nice colorful ruby earrings. Now I have S/T pies all season probably for the rest of my life.
My thinking is, at our age, if we can't eat it, or drink it, what good is it.
The more stuff and people we are closely involved with, the more complicated life becomes in the golden years.
With younger folks, if one has little, one has little to to give to others.
Talk is very cheap and actions make a difference.

 

[Warmheart]

I can tell there is magic here. I sense it. EpicureanPariah, Karen, Miss Ida... wishing many positive things flowing your way.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

I can tell there is magic here. I sense it. EpicureanPariah, Karen, Miss Ida... wishing many positive things flowing your way.

Warmheart, not magic, but rather basic human compassion, the ability and the will to change the world for the better in a small incremental way.
Magic is expecting the world not revert to chaos, if one wishes on a star or expects fairies to improve things for us.

 

[Nitro]

I have a quite similar story that involves antique model airplane racing engines. I buy,sell and trade new old stock model engines based on rarity and price of course. I have been trying to corner the market on super rare cox .010 cubic inch engines,or more importantly,the smallest mass produced nitromethane engines ever sold.I have never spent more than $100 for one that is new in the original box and decided that trading in used units was too risky as an investment The L.M.Cox TeeDee .010 was produced from 1961 to the year 2000 in various packaging and coloring. I have not yet claimed and original bubble packed engine from the first generation yet,but have many fine examples of all the other packages and colors. I have already seen some of the latest versions pull figures over $250 during the holiday season when money is of no object for some people.
My second generation jeweled cased units packaging are in pristine condition in all manners,so they are like gold to me.

By monitoring popular auction sites for them,I have scored some fairly important units from Cox history,my favorite one being the most popular Babe Bee .049 cubic inch engine from the second run of production in late 1957 in new condition and extremely rare even to collectors. The Babe Bee was introduced in 1956 but was not sold until early 1957 but was prone to failures that prompted the design revisions that were made mid year.
I could easily fetch over $500 for mine I got for $35 on any day of the week that originally sold for a mere $4.95 in 1957.

Being in the right place at the right time has many advantages for a successful venture,being able to recognize it is even better.

Pictured below is one of my Cox .010 engines on a keyring

 

[Mia]

Another thing I did was help a friend of mine who was looking to start a home run business several years back; she's a single Mom and even with two part time jobs found it difficult to keep two jobs, one during the week and the other on weekends. She wanted more time for herself and her two children. We brainstormed one night as I was making one of these from silk flowers for my Grandparents gravestone:

It's called a flower saddle and sits on a form that straddles a gravestone. Usually placed on a relatives gravestone in lieu of fresh flowers for the summer. I've made several of them for relatives and when I went to a flower shop to price them, they were one to two hundred dollars depending on their complexity. The materials can be bought at a dollar store for less than twenty dollars. I showed her how to make them and she slowly began a business that took several years to get off the ground. She advertised at funeral parlours, notice boards at church halls, and supermarkets and undercut florist's prices. She makes them by order now, and places them on headstones in the summer and removes them by the fall, she also sometimes makes winter ones for those who want them. She's done well with this business as a sideline, that we brainstormed one day over tea in my kitchen.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

I have a quite similar story that involves antique model airplane racing engines. I buy,sell and trade new old stock model engines based on rarity and price of course. I have been trying to corner the market on super rare cox .010 cubic inch engines,or more importantly,the smallest mass produced nitromethane engines ever sold.I have never spent more than $100 for one that is new in the original box and decided that trading in used units was too risky as an investment The L.M.Cox TeeDee .010 was produced from 1961 to the year 2000 in various packaging and coloring. I have not yet claimed and original bubble packed engine from the first generation yet,but have many fine examples of all the other packages and colors. I have already seen some of the latest versions pull figures over $250 during the holiday season when money is of no object for some people.
My second generation jeweled cased units packaging are in pristine condition in all manners,so they are like gold to me.

By monitoring popular auction sites for them,I have scored some fairly important units from Cox history,my favorite one being the most popular Babe Bee .049 cubic inch engine from the second run of production in late 1957 in new condition and extremely rare even to collectors. The Babe Bee was introduced in 1956 but was not sold until early 1957 but was prone to failures that prompted the design revisions that were made mid year.
I could easily fetch over $500 for mine I got for $35 on any day of the week that originally sold for a mere $4.95 in 1957.

Being in the right place at the right time has many advantages for a successful venture,being able to recognize it is even better.

Pictured below is one of my Cox .010 engines on a keyring

View attachment 19723

Yup, thinking out if the box and betting on yourself seems to work as often as not.
I had a p38 flying tiger? plane on strings when I was a kid, I'd fly that thing and spin in circles like a whirling dervish. When I headed home I would plot a spiral course because I was dizzy.

 

[Nitro]

Yup, thinking out if the box and betting on yourself seems to work as often as not.
I had a p38 flying tiger? plane on strings when I was a kid, I'd fly that thing and spin in circles like a whirling dervish. When I headed home I would plot a spiral course because I was dizzy.

Cool...

The Flying Tiger squadron was equipped with Curtiss P-40 single engine single seat fighters with an Allison V-12 and the only squadron that ever had the shark mouth paintjob was during the Burma campaign before the US entered WWII. The Warhawk/Kittyhawk series of airplanes were slow but dependable and saw use both in the Pacific and European theaters.
The P-38 was a single seat twin boom with two of the same engines that were primarily a low level fighter and light dive bomber with a very unique design.

I actually have three vintage models that are U-controlled,one that is built up already and two more kits that were designed by Jim Walker who held the US patent for U-controlled flight. The model that is in the original drawings at the patent office are his famous Fireball almost ready to fly aircraft that was designed around the Ohlsson & Rice .23 spark ignition gasoline engine. I have two that are gasoline and five that run on nitromethane.
I have dozens of antique engines and models in stock at the present time...A 42 inch wingspan P-38 Lightning aka the forked tail devil with two Cox .09 inchers,a 27 inch span North American P-51D fighter and a Fox .29 and an older 32 inch span Cosmic Wind with a Fox .19 inch engine. are some of my favorites.
U-Control is the way to go in my opinion,because you get the feedback of the flight in your hand instead of an expensive video game you can only watch with radio control.
https://www.aspiescentral.com/media/american-junior-fireball.1407/
https://www.aspiescentral.com/media/ohlsson-rice-23.1410/
https://www.aspiescentral.com/media/baby-fireball-and-a-cox-td-051.1411/

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

Cool...

The Flying Tiger squadron was equipped with Curtiss P-40 single engine single seat fighters with an Allison V-12 and the only squadron that ever had the shark mouth paintjob was during the Burma campaign before the US entered WWII. The Warhawk/Kittyhawk series of airplanes were slow but dependable and saw use both in the Pacific and European theaters.
The P-38 was a single seat twin boom with two of the same engines that were primarily a low level fighter and light dive bomber with a very unique design.

I actually have three vintage models that are U-controlled,one that is built up already and two more kits that were designed by Jim Walker who held the US patent for U-controlled flight. The model that is in the original drawings at the patent office are his famous Fireball almost ready to fly aircraft that was designed around the Ohlsson & Rice .23 spark ignition gasoline engine. I have two that are gasoline and five that run on nitromethane.
I have dozens of antique engines and models in stock at the present time...A 42 inch wingspan P-38 Lightning aka the forked tail devil with two Cox .09 inchers,a 27 inch span North American P-51D fighter and a Fox .29 and an older 32 inch span Cosmic Wind with a Fox .19 inch engine. are some of my favorites.
U-Control is the way to go in my opinion,because you get the feedback of the flight in your hand instead of an expensive video game you can only watch with radio control.
https://www.aspiescentral.com/media/american-junior-fireball.1407/
https://www.aspiescentral.com/media/ohlsson-rice-23.1410/
https://www.aspiescentral.com/media/baby-fireball-and-a-cox-td-051.1411/

Ok , I had a model p 40 flying tiger plane that I flew by strings until I was so dizzy I could not walk. Remotes are better but unavailable to me 50 years ago.

One of my buddies was the son of a " square D" exec. At 14 he had a real aircraft 1938 Aironca ? plane and a real s seat Sisu? glider that his dad would cable between Caddy and the glider and tow us up at a local airport .
I loved gliding. The game of finding up drafts was a hoot.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

And I have, its how I've made my way in the world.

I've made some costume jewellery for a time, semi-precious, bead and beach glass, stone (fossils) and driftwood, also re-purposed and deconstructed bead and glass jewellery bought for a few dollars at second hand stores.

Figured out that the only place where I didn't have to compete with others prices were women's hairdressing salons, they have a fixed clientele, predominately female, who tend toward buying costume jewellery regularly, and are often stuck there having their hair done, coloured, curled or styled for an hour or more. So they are a captive audience. For awhile I made, displayed and sold this kind of thing, and made a decent bit of money doing it.

Mia, yes I did that also, I was surprised at how much gold and silver ended up in bags of thrift store costume jewelry. Not to mention valuable stone. If you have a good jewelers loupe, use it.
Look at every piece, every clutch(ear nut) every ear wire, every piece. All SS or gold metal sold in the US, by law, should be stamped.
I would buy bags of thrift store costume jewelry for $3.00 a bag and find a great deal of valuables in those bags.
Life is easier if you actually know what you are doing.
I suspect it is a lot harder or may be actually awfully tough if you live in the land of make believe.
Knowledge IS power.

 

[Nitro]

Ok , I had a model p 40 flying tiger plane that I flew by strings until I was so dizzy I could not walk. Remotes are better but unavailable to me 50 years ago.

One of my buddies was the son of a " square D" exec. At 14 he had a 1938 Aironca ? plane and a Sisu? glider that his dad would cable up to a Caddy to the glider and tow us up at a local airport .
I loved gliding. The game of finding up drafts was a hoot.

That is pretty awesome! I have most of my flight hours logged in my Dad's 1941 Taylorcraft BC12D.

With my old blind eyes,radio control is now out of the question unless I use the latest POV goggles and get a view like I am sitting inside the craft. The FAA is still on the wire about the regulations and may ban them.
The U-control flying is still alive,but the players are dwindling. I have had the fortune to join John Brodak's Flying Circus model club held at his home. Brodak has a model airplane factory about ten miles from my home that reproduces many of the older models using the latest in laser cutting. His home property has six flying circles and is an AMA sanctioned flying field for international competition. I have one Blackhawk models Full sized 30 inch span Fireball kit with a blow moulded fuselage that I want to make electric powered for flying circles.
My baby Fireball kit was what got me interested in finding my original planes because I flew one when I was a young boy.It is almost finished,but I already know how long a 1/2a model lasts if they get crashed hard enough.
I fly a 20 inch profile model P-51 Mustang that I mounted a mid performance Cox Medallion .049 on 25 foot lines with a ten minute fuel load onboard...you want to talk about dizzy?

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

That is pretty awesome! I have most of my flight hours logged in my Dad's 1941 Taylorcraft BC12D.

With my old blind eyes,radio control is now out of the question unless I use the latest POV goggles and get a view like I am sitting inside the craft. The FAA is still on the wire about the regulations and may ban them.
The U-control flying is still alive,but the players are dwindling. I have had the fortune to join John Brodak's Flying Circus model club held at his home. Brodak has a model airplane factory about ten miles from my home that reproduces many of the older models using the latest in laser cutting. His home property has six flying circles and is an AMA sanctioned flying field for international competition. I have one Blackhawk models Full sized 30 inch span Fireball kit with a blow moulded fuselage that I want to make electric powered for flying circles.
My baby Fireball kit was what got me interested in finding my original planes because I flew one when I was a young boy.It is almost finished,but I already know how long a 1/2a model lasts if they get crashed hard enough.
I fly a 20 inch profile model P-51 Mustang that I mounted a mid performance Cox Medallion .049 on 25 foot lines with a ten minute fuel load onboard...you want to talk about dizzy?

Ya buddy, that's what I am talking about, a p 40 I guess flying tiger model type plane with a hand thing an a couple of strings, spinning in a circle for. 20 mins.
My head is spinning thinking about it and it was more than 50 years ago.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

Another thing I did was help a friend of mine who was looking to start a home run business several years back; she's a single Mom and even with two part time jobs found it difficult to keep two jobs, one during the week and the other on weekends. She wanted more time for herself and her two children. We brainstormed one night as I was making one of these from silk flowers for my Grandparents gravestone:

It's called a flower saddle and sits on a form that straddles a gravestone. Usually placed on a relatives gravestone in lieu of fresh flowers for the summer. I've made several of them for relatives and when I went to a flower shop to price them, they were one to two hundred dollars depending on their complexity. The materials can be bought at a dollar store for less than twenty dollars. I showed her how to make them and she slowly began a business that took several years to get off the ground. She advertised at funeral parlours, notice boards at church halls, and supermarkets and undercut florist's prices. She makes them by order now, and places them on headstones in the summer and removes them by the fall, she also sometimes makes winter ones for those who want them. She's done well with this business as a sideline, that we brainstormed one day over tea in my kitchen.

Mia, yup that's how it works, a bit of brain work, a little sweat, guts and determination, often works better than hoping and wishing.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

That is pretty awesome! I have most of my flight hours logged in my Dad's 1941 Taylorcraft BC12D.

With my old blind eyes,radio control is now out of the question unless I use the latest POV goggles and get a view like I am sitting inside the craft. The FAA is still on the wire about the regulations and may ban them.
The U-control flying is still alive,but the players are dwindling. I have had the fortune to join John Brodak's Flying Circus model club held at his home. Brodak has a model airplane factory about ten miles from my home that reproduces many of the older models using the latest in laser cutting. His home property has six flying circles and is an AMA sanctioned flying field for international competition. I have one Blackhawk models Full sized 30 inch span Fireball kit with a blow moulded fuselage that I want to make electric powered for flying circles.
My baby Fireball kit was what got me interested in finding my original planes because I flew one when I was a young boy.It is almost finished,but I already know how long a 1/2a model lasts if they get crashed hard enough.
I fly a 20 inch profile model P-51 Mustang that I mounted a mid performance Cox Medallion .049 on 25 foot lines with a ten minute fuel load onboard...you want to talk about dizzy?

My wife built an aircraft,oh I don't know 10-15 years ago. It was a kit, a Kitfox? She is napping now but she told me it was a nightmare, with the hanger fees and everything that it entailed. A delight to sell it off more than the joy of flying.

 

[Beverly]

I collect and trade coins and bouillon too. I've got two pholios filled with minting error coins, those may or may not be some percentage of silver, and some are dollar coins but, they are all worth at least 3 times their face value because they have mistakes on them.

I've also got several thousand dollars worth of 90% and pure silver (like silver eagles, walking liberty, etc...) I started the same way, buying in bulk form the bank and sorting the coins. I still buy bags of pennies and half dollars, you'd be surprised what you find in there. I usually get 15 to 20 wheat or error pennies per bag and, about 25% 40% silver halves, and one or two 90% in a bag. People still don't know which coins to look for and, don't know what makes one coin more valuable than it's face value.

One of my clipped half dollars is worth about $500, another with a 45% offset angle on front vs. back is worth about $50.00 and those are clad coins so, even those can be valuable, if they are flawed. I think it's cool, the flawed thing is better than the normal thing.

 

[ancusmitis]

I still buy bags of pennies and half dollars, you'd be surprised what you find in there. I usually get 15 to 20 wheat or error pennies per bag and, about 25% 40% silver halves, and one or two 90% in a bag. People still don't know which coins to look for and, don't know what makes one coin more valuable than it's face value.

Interesting! Maybe I ought to start doing that from time to time. I've never sold a coin, but maybe I should try it. And of course, there's my own personal collection, which always wants to be more complete.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

I collect and trade coins and bouillon too. I've got two pholios filled with minting error coins, those may or may not be some percentage of silver, and some are dollar coins but, they are all worth at least 3 times their face value because they have mistakes on them.

I've also got several thousand dollars worth of 90% and pure silver (like silver eagles, walking liberty, etc...) I started the same way, buying in bulk form the bank and sorting the coins. I still buy bags of pennies and half dollars, you'd be surprised what you find in there. I usually get 15 to 20 wheat or error pennies per bag and, about 25% 40% silver halves, and one or two 90% in a bag. People still don't know which coins to look for and, don't know what makes one coin more valuable than it's face value.

One of my clipped half dollars is worth about $500, another with a 45% offset angle on front vs. back is worth about $50.00 and those are clad coins so, even those can be valuable, if they are flawed. I think it's cool, the flawed thing is better than the normal thing.

Beverly, great minds think alike.