It's all about timing
rhedden
Posts: 6,630 ✭✭✭✭✭
Yesterday morning, I had to go downtown to retrieve the very last Liberty Seated quarter needed to complete my set of business strikes in PCGS/NGC holders from the main post office. I was unable to intercept it from the USPS because they showed up while I was at work doing one of my critical job functions. Oh well, what could possibly go wrong? I had to park about 3 blocks away in the sketchy downtown area, and I hustled back to the car with my new 1882 25c PCGS MS67, green label (1993-1998). I've been looking for an example that matches the rest of my late-date P-mints since about 2017, so this one was the result of a long search.
At 5:30 PM, I got a "public safety" email from my employer about "shots fired" at the exact intersection where my car was parked at 8:30 AM.
It's all about timing. I was on this coin within 5 minutes of it being listed for sale, and I still had to walk briskly through some questionable city streets to get it into my car without incident. If I had gone to the post office in the late afternoon instead, I might have had to dodge bullets to get it too. 
Comments
Chicago, San Francisco or Seattle? Or maybe even New York? Nice pickup.
Very nice coin, interesting story, and glad it all worked out.
On a side note, I was very surprised to see a relatively high number of survivors in gem grades for such a low mintage coin. Did a small hoard of these turn up somewhere?
Stable after all these years but almost certainly dipped before the encapsulation by someone who knew how.
Congratulations Rhedden! That is a huge accomplishment, especially when you combine the grade of GEM BU with the word Seated Quarters!
Glad you are ok! I think you are from Michigan, but not sure.
great looking coin- congrats
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I believe coin collectors knew of these low mintage dates back in the 1880s and put some away.
The even more extreme case is of $3 gold in the 1880s. There are coins with under 1k mintage's that were literally made for collectors. There were 801 1885's minted, about 500+ are known!
This 1882 quarter has had much heavier attrition than those $3.00 gold coins.
Nice example.
Luck may also be involved. right place at right time or worse, wrong place at wrong time.
Thanks.
I was thinking hoarding, apart from first year issues like the 1883 no cents nickel and 1909 Lincoln cents, wasn’t a “thing” until after the advent of album collecting became popular.
Collectors of earlier times were satisfied with the Proofs being made for them, and any hoarding of better dates was happenstance.
But now I recall something about some low mintage $1 dollar gold pieces being hoarded, so it must go back earlier than I thought.
Congratulations on a great coin!
Worth the wait ... and yes ... many days, timing IS everything!!
“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
Very nice. That one did not last long on Gerry site. Congrats on the pick up. Beautiful coin.
Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
thats a coin i wouldnt mind having, congrats on the pickup
The 1879 to 1890 business strike quarters were indeed saved in high grade at the time of issue by collectors. To get them directly from the mint, I suspect they had to walk through that part of downtown Philly with the bullets whizzing around and get back to their horse-drawn buggy as quickly as possible.
Circulated examples can be harder to find than MS examples, leading many people to pursue the circs., but it never made sense to me. First of all, why pass on MS examples when they are available at reasonable premiums over circ. examples? These dates are not condition rarities. Second, how sure are you that your 188# 25c isn't a circulated proof? Get out your magnifier and your copy of Briggs and start searching for those die markers. I've seen at least one circulated proof 1882 in a PCGS holder certified as a business strike within the last year. Even the professionals make a mistake now and then.
🙄🙄
Congratulations, Rhedden, on completing your set of Liberty Seated Quarters. That set is very difficult to complete!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Sweet coin, and an excellent accomplishment! Congratulations!
bob
Nice coin! Glad you survived the trip to the PO to retrieve it.