Why do you collect?
Desert Moon
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So an interesting story about a very inexpensive and low grade coin I picked up on ebay last week. It is a lowly G6 small size bust quarter that has a rarity rating R1, common as nails. What is interesting to me though about this coin is what drives me to collect cool coins. I have owned coins that cost many many multiples of this one and each has their own backstory of one type or another that I try to fill in. So here it is below. You can see that it has an interesting toning pattern and I think it is nice for such a heavily worn out quarter. When perusing ebay, I immediately recognized this particular toning pattern. It was listed as an auction with a starting bid about 30% below a Buy it Now price. I did not hesitate for a split second and hit the BIN button and here it is. Could I have saved myself $20 and fought it out with other bidders possibly over a week in auction? Sure, hey, $20 after all (LOL). But I did not want to lose it in an auction, and heaven forbid if irrational exuberance took over another bidder and won the coin:
So here is the backstory. I have 3 others with the same toning pattern:
So as you can see, it is likely that the newp was part of a set of worn quarters that lived together for probably a long time in probably some type of album, and hence acquired the same lovely toning (at least to me). The latter 3 I bought as a group from an astute dealer who recognized the eye appeal (hey even heavily worn coins can have eye appeal LOL) and had likely sent them into CAC himself (JA to JA play). I suspected he cherry picked them out of a large group that someone else had for sale. My reasoning for this was because they have cert #'s very close but not in order, so he probably did not send them in to PCGS himself, but cherry picked the nicest ones and sent those in to CAC.
So I looked up the cert #'s of the first 3, and looked at the cert # listings around them and this is what I found in cert# sequence:
25c 1815 VF Details Cleaned
25c 1818 VF Details Damage
25c 1819 Small 9 VF Details Cleaned
25c 1821 AG3
25c 1822 AG Details Cleaned
25c 1825/4 B2 G6
25c 1831 VG10 Small Letters
25c 1831 XF45 Small Letters
25c 1832 XF Details Cleaned
25c 1834 XF Details Damage
25c 1834 VF25
25c 1835 VF Details Cleaned
25c 1841-O Unc Details Environmental Damage
25c 1836 F15
25c 1837 G6
25c 1897-S F Details Cleaned
You can see that my first 3 sit within this submission of 16 quarters, mostly bust, 1 seated (and not in date sequence) and finally a barber. Interestingly, only 7 of the 16 straight graded. The dealer I bought from had acquired 3 of them. At the time (March, 2016), I wondered what happened to the others? Why was such a low grade and mostly damaged set of quarters sent to PCGS? Who owned this set and how was it collected? There were some XF's however and even one straight graded. What the heck was an Unc 41-O doing in this set, it seems out of place as does the Barber. Two of my original 3 were rare die varieties, was this by accident or design? Do all of them have the same toning pattern or do some of them look different? I should say that the next coin in sequence after the 1897-S is a 32-D Washie (Genuine - UNC Details (91 - Questionable Color)) but with one cert # missing in between. It is also a details coin, but the toning pattern was different so I interpret this to not be part of this set but maybe it was. It was put in an auction in November 2015 which is how I can view the toning from the images and interpret it as not part of the same group. Also none of the other details coins in the series were given Questionable Color like the 32-D. So this seems to be to not be part of the set or something that was different. But I can't rule it out and maybe it was part of this group. The next cert # after the 32D is a 1962 penny so I think that is clearly the end of this group for sure at that point.
In either case, when the 37 G6 came up on ebay, I recognized the toning and pounced and was thrilled to get it and was able to verify it by its cert # as well as part of the group. I would love to know what happened to the others and actually see them. I would love to see what the details coins look like and if all of them had the same toning. I would very very much love to get the 31 in XF45 if the toning is the same or similar, and maybe some of the details ones as well to build the story. So many questions about an interesting low grade, but distinctive set of quarters. Hopefully this will continue to play out and some others will surface.
So this is why I collect, great backstories about cool coins. They don't have to be 6 figures to be interesting. I love these 4 as much as I do my uber rare 1837 B5 in P62/CAC and one of the 3 finest known, or my 34 P62 avatar, or my 1818 B9 etc. etc.
Why do you collect? If you have an interesting backstory on a coin or set of coins, please feel free to post it on this thread.
Best, SH
Comments
Fantastic story and a great read. I especially like the 1834.
I’ll have to think about a unifying theme for my collection beyond type. I’m afraid it would be boring.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
No such thing, speak out - why do you collect? You have awesome coins, tell us a story about them.
Cool story indeed. I wish I had one that interesting and detailed. But alas I just enjoy collecting shinny round disks of metal with designs pressed on them.
I do enjoy the history behind the designs and faces and that is the main reason I collect Lincoln cents as I have always been a fan of President Lincoln.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Great Story!
I like history and a beautiful design. I wonder what was going on, in this Country, when these coins were being produced, in such small numbers and being USED?
I am really enamored by the combination of absolute and condition rarity.
What unnatural circumstances had to occur for this coin to not only have been produced, in such high quality, but to also have been PRESERVED, as such?
I like owning something that may be a hedge to inflation.
I also like the 'completeness' feeling of finishing a set.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
You sir are a very sick sick man....but I absolutely love it. Great post
It was my paperboy experience back in the sixties when coins were going from silver to clad. The Kennedy halfs, the rarity of the Franklins after about 1965. I donno. I saved coins and had nothing better to do, ecept read Boys Life magazine and wonder why I lose at chess.
Just because of my imagination and the love for historical events.
When I hold a gold coin in my hand, my mind seems to roll back to the gold rush time of the old West. I just think about others going on long journeys in search of the yellow metal and perished a long the way. Whoever survived had to work hard to earn a living and putting aside months of saving in order to accrue an equivalent of $10 or $20 in gold. But here I am, more than 100 years later, holding this beautiful piece of history preserved by my predecessors and protected/encased by PCGS. Just think of how much Life in the US has changed (after wars and natural disasters), I am very thankful to be the owner/keeper of the gold coin and I do appreciate that opportunity each and everyday 😊
What a great post! How cool is it to find one of the long lost siblings on eBay. That is so cool.
One of the reasons I started collecting is my grandmother gave me a glass jar full of wheat cents when I was about 7 years old. My uncle also bought me a subscription to Numismatic News which came weekly back then if I remember correctly. I was going through the cents with the Numismatic News price guide and figuring out what they were worth. I then put them in a blue Whitman album. One day I came across a 1922 no d Lincoln cent in the glass jar. I couldn't believe my eyes when I checked it in the price guide. For a young boy, I now was RICH! I put it in a 2X2 and held onto it until I was in middle school. I then took it to a coin show that my parents drove me to and asked around to see if it was real and they all said yes. I then got the coin graded when I was in my thirties and it came back VF-20.
My grandmother also gave me a 1786 New Jersey copper that I had in a 2X2 until I was in my forties. I actually posted pictures of that coin on the forum and was told it is a Maris 25-S with a rarity rating of R5+ by 2 different dealers who specialized in colonial coins. Once again, I couldn't believe what my grandmother had given me. What are the odds she gives me 2 rare copper coins?
She is long gone but she lit a fire that still burns to this day. I have now passed this coin collecting bug on to my children one of whom is still collecting into adulthood.
I have similar thoughts about any old US coins... liberty nickels from 1905? The golden times... that nickel may have purchased a bottle of pepsi, or a hot dog, or maybe admission to the cinema... My Grandfather was born in 1898; maybe that liberty 5 cents was part of his allowance
am
I got a very worn quarter in change as a kid at a movie theater and thought it might be worth something. It was a 32 S in what would be VG 10 today. I wondered what else I could find. I'd find an occasional IHC, Liberty Nickel, Barber Dime, dateless SLQ and very worn Walker. Once found a beat up Barber Half.
Pre 1964, coins circulated until they died, and you could find all sort of things. I discovered George Bennett auctioneers in Van Nuys, where you could find everything from very expensive coins which I could not afford, to circulated IHCs at $8 or $9 each. Got a set of Unc. Silver Roosies for $15; no one wanted them.
I went to college, forgot about it all, and then the GSA CC dollar horde went on sale. Bought 12, put them away and forgot about them. The SS Central America auction took place at a hotel literally across the street from my office. I went over there, was fascinated by it all, and started collecting again.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Very interesting story and the way you look into the events like a detective is exactly how i like to do it too. Good luck in founding all the other coins !
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
When I was about 8 years old one of my uncles came to live with us. He was really sick and had to stay in bed most of the time. One day he ask me to help him sort out a bag of wheat cents. It took us days and we had a blast. After that my dad would take me to work with him about once per week. He parked me in the cash office of a really large department store and the gals would watch after me.
My job was to count and roll all the cents. I got paid one dollar each day in wheat cents. I was hooked on the hobby. That was about 56 years ago and still have all those same cents put away.
I collect because I like coins and history. Cheers, RickO
I collect, therefore I am 😉
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
I collect coins specifically because a. I love history and these are a tangible way to build a unified collection of actual historical objects that cover a very large period of human history, something none of my other hobbies can do, as none of them existed pre 1860s. (Why I prefer circulated to mint fresh, unless I got them new that way) b. I really enjoy learning about places and cultures I'll never get to visit first hand, in fact, some may not even exist any more. That's why I love to collect world coins, each one is a new opportunity to learn something new. And c. I have an interest in metallurgy and they are metal.
As for collecting in in general, I have been collecting things my entire life. Collecting defines me, without my collections, I am nothing.
Collecting coins is my third or fourth string hobby at best. NASCAR diecast is my #1 hobby, trading cards are #2. Numismatics, scale models and comic books fluctuate between third and fifth in my life. Stamps come in sixth. Tying them all together is the documenting of them, with either photos or scans, that I do in all my hobbies.
Right now numismatics is in 4th place after models.
I collect because I enjoy collecting things, I seemingly have collected various things since I was 10 or younger.
History of the coins is cool and they are purty to look at too
I collect because I don’t know how to crochet 🧶
My mom called it my “ didn’t I tell you to stop dragging home all this junk? “) Bless her she did and I didn’t listen very well 😂
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
I collect coins, because that is what I have been doing my whole life. Although I have many key coins acquired many years ago, I have for the most part, collected nice circulated, problem free silver coins. I am hopelessly addicted to this hobby, as evidenced by my logging on to this forum many times a day.
I would say history is one of the main reasons for my collecting. For instance, a couple of times I was at the New Orleans Mint. So, when I look at one of my O mint coins, I would imagine a mint worker arriving at the Mint on his horse, and during his daily duties, striking the coin, such as the one pictured below. And here I am, 132 years after the fact, holding this coin! It seems amazing to me.
I love collecting.
No matter what type of item it is, I really enjoy the research that I do to understand as much as I can of the items history.
In coins it is my goal to get the best grade that I can at the most reasonable price.
I do not sell or trade coins so I can pass on items that do not fit into my criteria as I am not looking to make a profit.
There is a tremendous drive for me to upgrade my sets.
I do not have deep pockets but I do have pockets. lol
Coin collecting keeps me active and prevents me from being a couch potato.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
I like history and coins allow me to hold history in my hands.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Fantastic find spacehayduke.
For me, I can sum it up with:
My coin collecting was inspired originally by my grandfather, so there's a powerful ingrained connection that transcends his mortality; my love of history; and admittedly the sheer intoxication I feel from the dopamine created in my brain when studying a beautiful coin.
For me it’s about the history (what was happening when this coin was minted), the minting process (refining the metal, creating the dies, variety of die pairs, problems and errors), art and design (who created the design, how the design was chosen, design changes to accommodate the limitations in the minting process), etc.
I like to fill albums-gives a feeling of accomplishment.
Great thread! I can relate to many of you!
My brother (12yo) and I (7yo) got started collecting coins in 1962 when we received some Whitman coin folders for Christmas. We were immediately hooked and regularly checked our parents' and grandparents' change and change jars. I think it was filling the holes and learning about grades and mintages that was fascinating at the start.
A few years later, my maternal grandparents pulled out a small jewelry box with coins my grandfather had found in his garden on Long Island, including a 1782 Mexican Real (PO1), an 1809 half-cent, and 1854 large cent, and a large 1829 Brazilian 40 Reis counter-stamped copper. That blew our minds! When I was 10, I started hitting the banks and searching through rolls of coins. I also joined my JrHS coin club and searched through bags of pennies for coins.
I dropped collecting in HS but would pick it up again briefly the next few decades when coins crossed my path. For example, I played football in college and the night before games, we'd stay in a hotel. On a trip to Ann Arbor to play Michigan, there was a coin shop right across the street from the hotel. I couldn't resist going over there before the game (coin shops were magical places to me!) to see if I could purchase a nice 1911-S cent. Turned out all of his 1911-S's were altered 1941-S's and I created a small scene pointing it out to the dealer and other patrons in the shop. The football coaches didn't like my going over there either. We lost the game 69-0. They partially blamed the loss on lack of focus and held up my coin show foray as an example, even though I played OK that day. [As an aside, I gotta hit up John Agre for the "Go Cats!" discount someday.]
From there, my life crossed paths with other coin collectors (college roommate, colleague at work), and my interest would be rekindled. I always loved the look of nice, original 19th century circulated coins and will purchase low-grade coins with the right look. eBay totally blew my mind when I first discovered it, and it started a prolonged period of collecting at first Barbers and then SLH's and circulated commems to this day. Gradually, I became interested in the history surrounding coinage but I primarily love the look of nice, well-toned, original circulated coins from the 19th and early 20th century. My neighbor's bust half collection blew my mind as a kid (deep toning and a lettered edge!). Value definitely means something to me, but the 'look' is more important. For example, I have five Lincoln commems, each with a better look than the previous one that I couldn't resist buying. Same with Oregons and other commems.
I enjoy the fact that there are so many directions one can go with coins, even on a shoestring budget. In grad school, I hit junk boxes and assembled almost a complete collection of Canadian large and small cents for under a dollar per coin. I also found an original draped bust, heraldic eagle dime (1798/7 16 stars) made into a love token. There are real treasures in junk boxes if you look hard enough.
I've recently discovered searching for and collecting die marriages. Cherry-picking die varieties is like prospecting a vast landscape armed with a loupe and knowledge! The more one researches die varieties, the better one gets at scoring rarities. I LOVE IT! I've found a nice 'pay stream' that I mine daily while searching for other productive 'streams'.
For work, I'm an aquatic insect taxonomist who specializes in a very diverse family of flies called midges. My advisor in grad school noted that those who really get into taxonomy invariably were avid collectors of one thing or another as kids. He was into stamps and postmarked envelopes and would buy foreign stamps by the pound looking for new stamps for his collection. He always had envelopes soaking in the lab while searching for new stamps and midges for his collections. We were a good match, both searching for something new or rare. May he RIP.
One more thing...another reason I collect and go to shows now is because of the wonderful, interesting people I've met in this hobby. Meeting the OP and others from this board at the 2019 FUN show was such a great experience for someone who hadn't attended a coin show in 30 years. To meet and talk with the LSCC guys at Summer FUN was the highlight of this summer.
I can't help it.
tangible artifacts of history have the power to allow my imagination to time travel
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
This^ I love to think that my 19th century gold may have been won in a poker game by Wild Bill Hickock, and on top of that they are made of precious metals which continue to increase in value (somewhat) over time. They are also just pretty to look at
Founder- Peak Rarities
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We'll have to do another Big Event at Winter FUN in 2022, IF Covid does not get in the way.... Great story!
Best, SH
There is definitely a collector gene in me. I saw the below bourbon stand on sale near me (the picture below is an ad---still waiting for mine to be delivered). It is hand made and they are numbered 1-50. I'm not a big bourbon drinker (although every now and then I enjoy one) but I thought the piece was cool. But I believe alot of me thought it would be neat to have this numbered handmade edition. I just like collecting and coins check all the boxes I'm interested in.
Found my first postage stamp (of the United Arab Emirates) on a sidewalk when I was eight and that kickstarted the philately hobby which helped me learn a lot about the geographic location of the country, denominations of the various currencies of the nations in the world yada yada.
My numismatics journey began while visiting the grandparents one summer and finding a box of coins that belonged to my aunt. My grandmother then regaled me with stories, taught me about the metal compositions of the coins, showed me how to ping test and check for silver etc.
Right around the same time I stumbled across an ad for the 1943 penny in the Archies comic book which got me hooked in the search of the unicorn and the rest is history.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/quarters/PCGS-2020-quarter-quest/album/247091
That's a great story @spacehayduke! And of course, awesome sleuthing. I've found myself in different but similar situations before. Hopefully you run into another one.
I've collected a lot of things, including some coins as a youth, but got into it more later in life due to the history.
Thanks for posting that.
1TwoBits