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After a 20+ year hunt, I landed my white whale... UPDATED with pics and props, first post
seanq
Posts: 8,732 ✭✭✭✭✭
...thanks to the incredible people who make up this Forum.
I've been looking for this coin since 1993. In all that time, I've never seen one offered, even after searching through decades of obsolete catalogs and auctions and newsletters. I've never known another collector with an example, or spoken to a dealer who had seen one. It was the coin I'd always mention in every "white whale" or "what's your goal" or "things you never see" or "post your want list" thread I'd participate in.
I mentioned it again last week in this thread, and a few hours later I got a PM from a Forumite who took the time to look at a few obscure sites he'd bookmarked. The message stated simply, "This guy has one advertised here" with a link. Less than 24 hours later, I bought the coin sight-unseen. As I type this, the coin is sitting before me on my desk.
It is spectacular.
I can't remember the last time I was this happy about a purchase, I'm sure it's been years. Unfortunately, you all have to wait until tonight to see it.
I'll update the thread with the date of the coin, lots of pictures, and the identity of the Forum member who sniffed it out.
UPDATE Thank you all for the great comments and your patience. Here she is:
I sincerely thought that were I ever to fill that hole in my set, it would be with a low-grade example with a tiny disc clip; never in my wildest imagination did I expect to find a coin as nice or a clip as prominent as this one.
My sincerest thanks to the dealer who offered the coin, Paradise Coin of Paradise, CA, and most of all to Forumite "goodmoney4badmoney", aka Travis, for finding it and sending me the link. Thanks also to everyone who looked for one of these for me over the years.
Sean Reynolds
I've been looking for this coin since 1993. In all that time, I've never seen one offered, even after searching through decades of obsolete catalogs and auctions and newsletters. I've never known another collector with an example, or spoken to a dealer who had seen one. It was the coin I'd always mention in every "white whale" or "what's your goal" or "things you never see" or "post your want list" thread I'd participate in.
I mentioned it again last week in this thread, and a few hours later I got a PM from a Forumite who took the time to look at a few obscure sites he'd bookmarked. The message stated simply, "This guy has one advertised here" with a link. Less than 24 hours later, I bought the coin sight-unseen. As I type this, the coin is sitting before me on my desk.
It is spectacular.
I can't remember the last time I was this happy about a purchase, I'm sure it's been years. Unfortunately, you all have to wait until tonight to see it.
I'll update the thread with the date of the coin, lots of pictures, and the identity of the Forum member who sniffed it out. UPDATE Thank you all for the great comments and your patience. Here she is:
I sincerely thought that were I ever to fill that hole in my set, it would be with a low-grade example with a tiny disc clip; never in my wildest imagination did I expect to find a coin as nice or a clip as prominent as this one.
My sincerest thanks to the dealer who offered the coin, Paradise Coin of Paradise, CA, and most of all to Forumite "goodmoney4badmoney", aka Travis, for finding it and sending me the link. Thanks also to everyone who looked for one of these for me over the years.
Sean Reynolds
Incomplete planchets wanted, especially Lincoln Cents & type coins.
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
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Comments
I just got (one) of my white whales a few weeks back with the 1962 Six cent piece that I didn't even know existed a month ago.
This Forum proves to be awesome once again ....
Congratulations.
Andrew
Please visit my website Millcitynumismatics.com
I'm guessing it's more interesting than a full set of state quarters.
Congratulations!
Freddie
<< <i>A clipped 1933-D cent? >>
That was my first thought because I think Seanq mentioned it in a previous thread. I actually looked for one in a bunch of Lincolns at my local B&M shop yesterday, but to no avail.
Congrats.
Too many positive BST transactions with too many members to list.
I didn't know you were serious about the 1933-D clip. I have 4 or 5 that I picked up for a couple of bucks each a month ago. Oh well.
Seriously ... congrats. I know the feeling as well and it's a good place to be. I look forward to the images. If you have been looking for one for almost two decades, it MUST be a tough coin! Way to go and it's nice that a Forumite hooked you up!
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
<< <i>ErrorsOnCoins - what is a 1962 Six cent? Is it a mule? (Pics perhaps?)
No it is when a struck cent get struck by nickel dies resulting in a copper jefferson with underlying detail from a lincoln cent.
Here is my thread about the coin ....
1962 Six Cent Piece
I do remember you were looking for a 1933-D clipped Lincoln cent. To complete your collection! Congratulations on finding it, and please post a pic when it arrives!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
. . . this
No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
I will say that it is a 1933-D clipped cent (I didn't make it hard to figure out
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
To the person who asked for the story behind the coin - it's just flat-out rare. I've been collecting clipped cents for just over 20 years and after looking at thousands of error coins, and searching thousands of eBay auctions, and reading through hundreds of auction catalogs and sales brochures, both current and some dating back to the 1960s, some key dates emerged that I did not expect. One thing that became apparent early on was that for Wheat cents, Denver mint clips were much harder to find than either Philly or San Francisco. As I built the date set, I found that Denver coins from the late 1940s and 1950s were available with a little patience, as were most dates in the teens, but from 1924 to 1943 (or 1944), they are very hard to locate.
I was lucky that I was able to build on the work of a couple of collectors who broke up date sets. The first was very early on (probably 1997 or 1998), when New Jersey dealer Lou Perlman sold me about 30 coins from a set he'd begun in the 1970s (and abandoned in the early 1980s). The second was a private collector who I befriended in the late 1990s after competing for the same coins on eBay. About two years ago he retired and began selling off his clipped planchets, which he'd been actively collecting for over 40 years. I was able to acquire a handful of very rare coins, including the Denver mint issues of 1938 and 1939.
To the person who asked what my new "white whale" would be, I still have five coins to go toward my goal of a 100-year date set. The 1909-S VDB is occasionally available but will likely be forever beyond my means. The other four are modern zinc issues: 1982 SD, 1982-D LD, 2006, and 2008-D. I know a collector in Hawaii with at least one of the 1982s, I've been after him for at least 15 years to sell one to me. I dropped him another note a couple of days ago to see if he'd softened at all since we last spoke.
Over the next couple of months I really want to photograph the set properly and put it somewhere online for others to appreciate. Thank you all again for the positive reinforcement and support the Forum has given me as I've worked on this project.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Does this mean you have a complete Lincoln date and MM set with clip??? If so, pretty awesome!
A dingo ate your penny...............MJ
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Lance.
Question about a 1909SVDB clip? Wouldn't such a coin be more of a white elephant than a white whale? By which I mean, collectors of the coin for its key day are going to want as nice an example as they can find (and that wouldn't be one with a clip). Error collectors generally wouldn't want to pay the premium that the 09SVDB commands to get the clip.
I've encountered this situation before with key dates that had some additional special situation. The market seemed to be pretty thin.
http://www.shieldnickels.net
<< <i>If you don't mind, please tell us the story of why this coin is (was) your white whale. >>
Agree! Story time! Such an awesome coin
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<< <i>Question about a 1909SVDB clip? Wouldn't such a coin be more of a white elephant than a white whale? By which I mean, collectors of the coin for its key day are going to want as nice an example as they can find (and that wouldn't be one with a clip). Error collectors generally wouldn't want to pay the premium that the 09SVDB commands to get the clip.
I've encountered this situation before with key dates that had some additional special situation. The market seemed to be pretty thin. >>
I agree. This is often the worst case for key dates. Regular collectors don't want what they see as a "problem" coin. But the seller of such a coin sees it as a key date and thus believes it should be priced high. The error collector is left out in the cold not willing to pay the price demanded by the seller.
P.S. Great score Sean. Beautiful example of a clipped cent!
I explained why the coin was a "white whale" in my post further up on this page. I'd gotten so desperate that this year I've been looking at all 1933-D cent auctions on eBay hoping to cherrypick one, which is real needle-in-a-haystack material. when I'd allow myself to believe the coin existed, it was a tiny rim clip on a low-grade example, maybe a coin that someone else had dismissed as damage.
Addressing the 1909-S VDB and the difference between a white whale and a white elephant: the latter is probably more apt, as I know clipped '09-S VDB cents exist. For example, in the course of researching certified populations (years ago, the friend I mentioned previously and I briefly entertained the thought of writing a book on the subject of incomplete planchets), I found four coins listed in the ANACS population report, three in mint state and one in XF.
My issue with the '09-S VDB is that I've never had the funds available the few times I've seen one offered for public sale. Mike Byers briefly had one of the ANACS coins in his case at an ANA show, but sold it before I was tipped off by a friend who saw it. Maybe ten years ago, I bought a low-grade example in an ANACS holder attributed as "rim damage," thinking ANACS might have missed the attribution. In hand, they had gotten it right, so I flipped the coin back on eBay and went back to the hunt.
I missed my best chance when my friend sold his NGC AU58 example (along with most of the better material in his clip collection) to Northeast Numismatics; had I known he was including the coin in that sale, I would have counter-offered and moved the heavens to raise the funds. NEN had the coin for about 18 months, they marked it up considerably and eventually sold it in an unreserved eBay auction. I recall the hammer price was in the $1150-$1200 range, which is a little low for a certified AU58 and lends credence to the perception of the coin as a "white elephant".
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Lovely example. Congratulations Sean.
So that's what a white whale looks like, eh?
I'd heard rumors of their existence but haven't head of too many folks netting theirs. It must be a rush.
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USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
President, Racine Numismatic Society 2013-2014; Variety Resource Dimes; See 6/8/12 CDN for my article on Winged Liberty Dimes; Ebay
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