One Coin From your Collection that Shouts Joy to You
Catbert
Posts: 7,349 ✭✭✭✭✭
This thread is a challenge for you to identify ONE coin in your collection that makes you joyous that you're in this hobby or that brings a mental association with another factor in your life that does the same. I know we like many coins in our collections, but I ask that you post one coin and also describe why you find it joyous! 
I recently bought a commemorative from GC of a design that I've always liked. I don't collect commems, but the Bay Bridge Bear is a fun representation and one that makes me think of my grandkids whom always make me smile. I wanted one with some toning because I think it accents the design and makes the coin even more compelling. Accurate photo by @robec
I have 5 grandkids and one of my objectives is to find 5 raw Bay Bridge commens for them to place in their piggy banks. We can talk about the bear too. If anyone knows where I can find these, please send me a PM.
I was playing around with my phone screen saver and used these pics of my 3 granddaughters and 2 grandsons. None are older than 4. This way I see them every day although I must travel to see them in person.
Life is good!
OK, let's see your one coin and why....
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Comments
Well... That is a tough situation. I have a lot of coins/tokens that make me happy, for various reasons. That being said, one that always makes me feel good, likely due to the nautical theme and the date, is this one. Cheers, RickO
I know that this is an expensive piece, but this one brings joy to me because, for years, I never thought that I would have this type, Capped Bust, Small Eagle $5 gold. The reverse design is unique to U.S. early gold. In other words, it did not appear on any copper or silver coins that would have been cheaper. I found this at a Baltimore coin show. PCGS graded it AU-55.
It always makes me smile.
Posted this previously and the reason this puts a smile on my face is because this coin was one that I always wanted throughout my life. I learned about this coin when I purchased my first 1857 Flying Eagle cent as a young teenager. I’ll enjoy it every day.
Probably this one. When I first saw it a few years ago when another forum member owned it, I thought, wow, that's a coin I would love to have one day...or something similar. I never really thought I would though. Then several months ago it came on the market and bounced between a couple people temporarily. I was on a mission , chased it down and bought it. I then acquired several of that forum member's other coins, really only missing out on one that I wanted. This set me on the clear path I am on today and I have built a nice mini-collection of toned Mercs 1934-1945...and I have the hopes of doing this entire set 1934-1945. My father also got me started in Mercs when I was a kid when he handed down to me 8 folders full of Mercs (minus the 16-Ds). He passed away earlier this year. For months now, I have been working extra hard to make sure I have some cash available for when something nice becomes available. This has driven me to work harder and work a side gig harder to support my collecting goals. I have seen multiple benefits to this since. Now I just have to find more.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
This one for sure. Never thought I would own it, and then something quite amazing happened....Simpson auctioned his collection.
Along with a really nice SLQ, I purchased this coin from the late David Poole. The commem is in an earlier holder and the TrueView is outstanding. Love the buffalo nickel, so what could be better than a BIG buffalo nickel in cameo'd proof?
This might not meet the full criteria of the thread, but......
Many Indian Head Cents dated in the 1890's and 1900's in high RD grades look "brand new", even some from the 1880's. However, this 1864 Bronze cent puts even those of mine with full cartwheel luster in later dates to shame. This photo doesn't even do it justice. I even think I have to warn people to put on their sunglasses to avoid getting blinded when they see it in hand. You'd think it truly was minted just yesterday! It's amazing, and gives me tremendous pleasure just looking at it!
If you're attending FUN, take a moment to see my Educational Exhibit of Indian Head Cents, based around my "Unique" Registry set. This coin will be there! (See all of the exhibits, and make sure you VOTE for the exhibit you like best for the "Peoples Choice Award")!
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
@Catbert
This one always makes me smile ... and considering your post, I thought I would share it. It's doesn't get shown as much as some of my other half dollars.
About as pristine and original a Commen' as I've ever owned it has been with me since 1994, through thick and thin, 3 kids raised and grown, a business, and a long career in a state that wasn't my home, and still doesn't always feel like it, but this piece reminds of some of it's charms.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
The Bay Bridge is a great coin; especially, a well struck one showing off the design. The grandchildren are wonderful to have and admire.
Sincere good luck in finding 5 raw Bay Bridges for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, we will need to agree to disagree on the merits of a toned Bay Bridge. I like mine bright and shining with slight toning and a CAC.
There's others in my collection I like, but I like this one a lot, since I met her in 1992. It also fills an important spot in the registry set, 100 Greatest Women on Coins.
@DisneyFan , is this the kind you like? If you look hard at the top of the obverse, you will see very slight toning.
I bought it three years ago as a 66 w/CAC, but I liked it so much I sent it back to PCGS via Reconsideration, and sure enough they agreed, and added a "+".
@ricko, does it merit your cherished "Blast White" sticker?
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
Waaahhh
I didn't get no plus!
@FrankH , maybe it was the toning, lol (yes, I recognize the TPG's and most "knowledgeable" dealers and collectors prefer "original" toning, and strongly dislike my coins, which have previously been gently dipped, but often show blazing luster, like they looked when they were just minted.)
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
I have posted this coin numinous times over the years, and I smile every time I drop by the SDB to look over the collection. This is the very first slabbed coin I bought and marked my first step on the path to my registry level Lincoln set. I have more expensive coins than this in the set, but this coin is what started it all. Photo taken by Mark Goodman.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
I can't stand bright white coins! ugh ugh ugh
Try as I might, I could NOT get a decent photo of the reverse. My old camera couldn't handle the glare.
@winesteven... Based on the pictures, yes - though your statement regarding the top of the obverse concerns me.... However, I do not have the coin in hand, and the pictures are not showing anything.... Sooooo Here it is.... Cheers, RickO
And I just love 'em (and apparently a large amount of silent others do too, as the auction bidding on these gets ferocious too).
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
Okay, since we are drifting I'll go to a "joy" coin.
As a kid, this was the ULTIMATE coin that I knew I'd never have. Even though it's worn to a nub and I waited til I was an old fogey to get it, it still has that "click" that takes me back to the first desire.
I may have rarer and better, but this one still has the click.
Nice one Frank!!
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
To find an example of my hometown even in a token is difficult at best. To find an example of a coin club from the town I went to grade school and next door to where I grew up was an incredible find for me.
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
30th birthday present to me from Stewart Blay. Always brings me joy
I apologize twice. Once because i have no pictures and everyone in the 21st century knows it never happened without pictures. Second because I have 2 coins. (To be honest I would be ashamed to have ANY coin in my collection appear in the group of beautiful rare coins that have bee posted so far.)
Coin 1 is an 1880-o Morgan dollar/ slider/Unc. that i purchased with my vast paper route fortune when I was 11 or 12. Thought it made me a REAL collector.
Coin 2 is an 1814 Bust Half Dollar, Die marriage O-104a,that I purchased from Bowers. At the time I called their company with a list of coins I was interested in. A man named James Ruddy was kind enough to describe each coin to me. I haven't a perfect memory but it went like this:
"This 1814 is in my opinion the last coin ever struck using these dies. there are so many Die cracks on either side that I can't imagine that both dies didn't fly apart shortly after striking this coin." I told him it was perfect.
I bought the coin to commemorate the purchase of our first house. I can still remember showing the house to my wife. She examined everything and than stood in the living room looking up, (As if the ceiling my fall in on her any moment) and said, "I suggest we both give up sneezing or surly we will all die when the house collapses."
We still live there but now I call it our RE house. Reroofed, refloored, rewired, etc. James
My maternal grandfather was born in Jan. of 1916 and had a HUGE influence on me because he travelled a lot in Europe after working as an Engineer for the Railways in pre-independent British India, regaling us grandkids with those stories while growing up. My cousins and I have tried to go to the very same spots where he had been, using only the old B&W photographs as a guide, making it very interesting to figure out where they are/used to be since the face of most cities/towns have changed over time.
Cobbled together a set of coins - penny, nickel, dime, quarter and half minted that year (none of the gold though, since it was way out of my league at that time) and found that it was the year for many firsts like the Mercury dime, SLQ, WLH etc.
Budget was really tight, so ended up getting the really lowball coins and somehow the totally worn down 1916 SLQ in a CAC stickered PCGS PO 01 slab seems to really stand out the most (I sometimes imagine the stories they could tell, if only they could talk). The following images have been posted on other threads earlier.
Cheers.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/quarters/PCGS-2020-quarter-quest/album/247091
That's easy! This is neither particularly valuable, relative to many others in my collections, nor particularly gorgeous. But, after a lifetime of lusting after one, I finally sprang for a pretty nice one, and it still gives me huge pleasure every time I look at it!
I personally love looking at this one, and it's my highest graded coin thus far...
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
My favorite Morgan, this ALWAYS makes me smile when I see it. I love the satiny luster and the reverse color is spectacular!
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Here's one from my collection... of stolen TrueViews!
I honestly have no idea where I sto- I mean, borrowed this picture from, or why I did so. Apparently it's a PR-68 CAM. Looks really nice.
Here's a coin I do own. Unc details, came in a lot.
Young Numismatist
I see why it makes you smile. It makes me smile too. In addition to the satiny luster and spectacular color on the reverse, I also like the little bit of green color on the obverse, just under the grade and above the cert #, lol.
Great coin!
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
My 'joy' is on top of this heap.
Same coin is in my av.
fka renman95, Sep 2005, 7,000 posts
Unless I'm much mistaken, that 1880 belongs to @Floridafacelifter. I've ..ehm... hijacked a few TrueViews I liked every now and then.
Coin Photographer.
Haha that 1880 is indeed mine- hijack all you want!
Would love to learn the why behind what posters select to add to this thread!
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
This one for me:
It was a realization that there are really nice coins out there that can be had on a YN's budget. I knew they must be out there, but this was the first coin that I had bought that really fit in that category. I consider it the centerpiece of my 1942 Proof set.
Coin Photographer.
A coin never shouted JOY to me, but raising ducks sure have! It's just rotten that God takes them for his own flock every now and then.......but then again I will be seeing them shortly.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
What a bunch of quacks!
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
I have owned this coin for about 6 hours. It is my first ancient and it is bringing me great joy.
Very nice for grade you picked - a PR65 is +3X $.
This is by far the one coin that took me the most time and patience to finally aquire..
They show up infrequently at auction, dealers who have them generally want moon money, and counterfeits out number real pieces by a large factor.
The authentic pieces were made with punches produced from Maundy penny dies, (there's one sitting on top of my coin above).
I'm still searching for one or two contemporary counterfeits to go with this legit one.
Perhaps a Charles III portrait and a 4 reale c/s piece also
one day if the opportunity arises 😄
This coin still shouts out to me after buying it raw, for cheap, off of eBay in its original cardboard container back in about 2006 right before So-called dollars started getting popular again. Just the way it looks, like a crazy super high relief Morgan dollar, always amazes me. Takes me back to that period in time when I was still living in Charlotte and my wife was the secretary of the Charlotte Coin Club and we were having so much fun with coins and with our coin collector/dealer friends.
Mr_Spud
Owned this beauty for 20 some years and thanks to CHD for photography. Also, sorry but I've shown it many times as it is my favorite. Thanks Joe.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
It's not my rarest, or most valuable, or the highest grade. But it's a pretty coin, I think, with nice surfaces and appealing color. It's evenly and well struck. And has a CAC endorsement.
It's also one of the very scarce PCGS AU58+ grades. And a R5 rarity to boot.
Lance.
This is the first Large Cent I ever saw. I walked into a coin shop not knowing anything about coins (all I did was save modern coins from change). I could not believe "pennies" were so big, and how something so old could be in such good shape. I asked "how much?" and almost fell over. I knew nothing about the coin market, nothing at all. That will be three years ago in April 2023.
I have since learned a LOT. I now know this is an N-10 from the Randall Hoard, and what I thought was a "crazy" price was actually a good deal. I thought about this coin from the day I first saw it, until the day I finally bought it. It marks my beginning in numismatics; and I still love it!
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.
I had a Julia Donna denarius sewn inside the hem of my wife’s wedding dress. It’s still there, so no pictures.
@NeophyteNumismatist
Beautiful coin!
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Difficult choice. The 1874-S WB4 and the 1851 half were an exciting discovery and purchase, respectively. I don't have any photos of my 1886 half in ANACS VF35 (a joyously overgraded VF30), housed in a small ANACS holder or I'd post that gem.
Oddly enough, this overdate (left in 2nd photo along with another 55/54 picked a week later) brings me joy because it represents the first fruit from researching varieties and die marriages of Seated Liberty halves to cherry pick. Hunting for and identifying scarce varieties has been a lot of fun.
This is the one that shouts joy for all the wrong reasons.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
My V75 AGE.
It brings great joy to me every time that I see it.
It is, by far, the luckiest score that I ever got from the Mint. However, being that I'll never sell it, its monetary value will never be realized.
It also makes me think about the ever fewer WW II veteran patients that I'm privileged to treat. They were indeed the greatest generation - they saved the world.
Indeed!
Plus, it’s my first ever 67 Morgan. I started out right.
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