What is the longest period of time you have waited to acquire a rare coin you truly wanted?
TheGoonies1985
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Will do it both ways how long have you been waiting if you have yet to locate and purchase said coin?
For me been waiting so far about 2 years.
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
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Waiting twelve years so far for a few hard to Pobjoy mint coins. I doubt I will ever see them. The rare metals don't trade at all and only perhaps 100 were made
My problem is, I'm simply not a "Wantlist" kind of guy. I mean sure, I have a wantlist, because 20 years ago eBay encouraged me to construct a wantlist via their "saved searches" option. But I'm simply not the kind of person who doggedly hunts down the wantlist items until they are found. This is mainly because my collecting tastes are so broad, I can always find something "that I want", without needing to resort to the top-end hard-to-find items.
I've had "Tannu Tuva" on my saved search list since 2002, and wanted one before then; in the stamp collecting world, Tannu Tuva's triangle stamps are famous, and I wanted a coin from there ever since I switched from stamps to coin collecting back in 1980. Seen a few Tannu Tuva coins for sale here and there, but they often tend to be somewhat corroded as they're all made of cheap Soviet alloy, and I can't make myself pay hundreds of dollars for something with active corrosion on it. Uncorroded examples are hard to find and usually outside my price league.
"Gold Coast", likewise, though I had to take that one off the list ten years ago due to a flood of fakes.
In terms of length of time to wait until I actually bought the target, probably about 20 years? I know I'd wanted a West Irian (Indonesian) coin ever since seeing the entry in the Yeoman catalogue back in the mid-1980s, before finally getting one in 2004 off eBay. Wanted a Riau Archipelago coin too, for the same reason, but haven't got one yet, though a coin club friend told me once that I can have his once he passes away.
In terms of an actual rarity that's both wanted by me and objectively difficult to find, I've wanted a Neutral Moresnet unofficial 1848 2 franc pseudo-coin since I found out about their existence back in 2002. I actively hunted for one for quite a while, but have never yet found one for sale anywhere.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
25 years. And still waiting....
The positive side is I continue to save up for the coin I want so if it takes say 10 years maybe I will be able to buy a much nicer grade. I still buy 2-3 coins per year while I save up so the wait is not so bad.
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
From the time its acquisition began to emerge as an ember of potential on a very distant horizon until today? Yeah, probably 25 years. Still waiting. But I'm standing next to the bonfire now.
--Severian the Lame
19 years for a friend to sell this particular coin to me. After several more years, I sold it back to him when he wanted it back- but only because we're pretty close friends. (You see, it is an Aethered II penny, and @Aethelred was the friend. So it was his namesake coin. I couldn't believe he sold it to me when he did. When he later came to his senses after I'd owned it several years, I relented and let him have it back.)
15 years of wanting a Roman gold aureus. Never thought the day would come, but I made that happen this summer.
I waited 12 years for a SUITABLE (and affordable!) columnario from Santiago.
I first bought one at a HA auction in 2008. That example unfortunately turned out to be a fake, and was a big dissapointment for me. The next suitable one turned up in 2021, which is the one that I bought. I am happy now.
Still waiting
Latin American Collection
Since 1978……..
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
My problem is that I get too distracted playing catch and release with minnows (to keep the numismatic itch satisfied) and I miss the occasional whale swimming by due to lack of funds or lack of attention.
Almost 50 years!!
I was in Fred Weinberg’s office in 1975 purchasing the unique $20 1851 on a Large Cent planchet, that is plated in the Judd book 50 years ago.
Fred and I were both admiring the unique $1 1795 on a copper planchet, plated on the same Judd page!
I instantly wanted it and swore that if I ever found it and bought it, I would keep it forever! I would never sell it!
Fast forward almost 50 years to 2022:
Andy Lustig calls me and offers me the $1 1795 in copper. I instantly purchase it.
So what do I do? I pick up the phone and in ten minutes, sell it to a customer in the mid six-figure range.
I made the identical ‘mistake’ almost 50 years ago selling the $20 1851 on a Large Cent planchet that I should have kept as well.
But had I kept every amazing mint error, I would be a collector, not a dealer.
Why is it that whenever Andy Lustig ( @MrEureka ) calls me, it's wooden nickels or something?
Oh, what a familiar tune. Me too, though some of my "whales" would be minnows or carp by other people's standards.
I want his 1798 bust dollar 15 stars PCGS 62+ I think CAC
I really do 😘
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
20 years, many of the most treasured come by some serendipity . Be ready to recognize what you are seeing and the opportunity before you. Trust your gut and your accumulated knowledge. Act fast as others will if you dont.
Well, you did buy them!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I don’t know how rare, but always wanted a CA 1967 $20 since in high school. One showed up in unimpaired condition at a local dealer and got it for bullion. Only had to wait 30 years.
The meter is still running... but the good news is I am not paying by the hour
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Note: US coin. I began collecting Lincoln cents in 1955 when I was in kindergarten. I never found the 1914-D and 1909-S VDB, and by the time I was able to afford them, there were too many other less expensive coins that I wanted. In the late 1960's, the 1909-S VDB seemed to be common as dirt, and I felt it was overpriced at around $200 for an uncirculated coin. Over the years, the price kept going up to the point that I couldn't justify the expense. In retirement I've tried to fill in the holes in several sets, and finally found an attractive MS65RB piece in 2020, 65 years after starting the set. (Bought a '14-D, too, but not MS). Today there are still some scarce coins that I've been looking for that I would buy if the right pieces came along.
It took 20 years to find this;
Gorham Lady’s pattern c.1868-70, original box, too!
My YouTube Channel
10-12 years looking for a nice 20C piece, finally got this one a few weeks ago:
My first ever example...
My YouTube Channel
As a type collector, I was after all of them, but some are so expensive that they are no better than the back of your mind. I suppose I could say that 22 years could be a number. I saw a Draped Bust, Small Eagle (1796-7) at a show circa 1988. The price was $8,000, and the coin had AG sharpness, was polished and holed. It was awful, but the desire to fill the hole darted through my mind. It would have taken every dollar I had in my coin budget and then some. I passed, thank goodness.
I acquired this one in 2010. I would have preferred it in VF, but this one is a Fine-15.
Nice example of a tough date!