For me, it was one of those eBay "original" silver half dollar rolls. Thankfully, everyone else who knew better was only bidding up to the silver value, so it wasn't too much of a loss.
The roll contained one AG common date Barber, 18 Walking Liberty from 30s-40s, none higher than VF, and an XF Franklin.
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
Back in the 70’s when I was a know it all teen I bought 3 2.50 Indian gold pieces from a shop in the Caribbean. Cheap😀( don’t remember what island ). Got back from the vacation showed it to my mentor friend he told me counterfeits. However they were gold so only lost a few dollars but learned a lesson.
I had to pay some tuition as a YN. A dealer with whom I foolishly thought I had developed a good relationship sold me a common raw Morgan as an MS65. I only paid $120 for it, but that was a big deal for a me at the time.
ANACS returned the coin as an MS63 worth less than half what I paid. That knocked me out of collecting coins for over 20 years, and I have never bought a BU not in plastic.
I naively thought that dealer would want to continue to develop me as a profitable client, as I had been in the past and certainly would have been in the future. I have learned much more about the hobby and dealers since then.
I think I posted earlier on this thread... other than miss-timing the PM market, I think the most "tuition" I paid was on a 1909-S VDB to finish off the Lincoln Cent collection I started as a kid. I spent ~$1100 on the raw coin from my local B&M shop and sent it into ANACS. It came back in a straight-graded XF40 soapbox holder... so far so good. The tuition came when I sold this coin... I believe I got just over $900 in 2012... deducting the ebay fees, etc, I lost ~$250 total. Not nearly what some others have lost but it definitely stung. In the end, I walked away with the knowledge that 1909-S VDB's are not really all that rare...
Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;
I bought two 'expensive' coins as a high school kid at a George Bennett auction in the late 1960s. One was a solid 1936 S Walker that I eventually got into an PCCS MS 66 holder with a sticker.
The other one was a blazing 1931 D Dime that looked like it was all there, except the lighting was so bad, I missed a light scratch on Miss Liberty's cheek. What otherwise would have been an MS 67 was an MS 63. Think I got what I paid for it 30 years later.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
@NeophyteNumismatist said:
I am still pretty new. I have never sold a coin... so all my losses remain "unrealized".
The single greatest attribute of this forum in my opinion, is the mixture of old timers and newer collectors that frequent these kind of discussion sites, who are willing to listen and learn, and most importantly, share their experiences. The resources available to people who are just starting out are unprecedented in our hobby. There will always be people trying to rip other people off, but for that kid who's just starting out, he or she has amazing resources available today to keep them from getting suckered, that weren't really there in the past. I'd highly recommend that you do try selling some of the pieces you aren't too attached to NeophyteNumismatist. Even if you take a loss, it will add to your experience and understanding of how to navigate through this hobby.
@bennybravo said:
...I'd highly recommend that you do try selling some of the pieces you aren't too attached to NeophyteNumismatist. Even if you take a loss, it will add to your experience and understanding of how to navigate through this hobby.
You are the second collector to tell me this. The first is one was one of my local mentors.
My issue is, I don't have a lot of coins (I have 149 certified coins). I only buy the coins I need for my sets, and I don't upgrade. I identify the grades and associated prices for the coins in those grades when I set-out to start a project. I have never duplicated a coin purchase.
The only coins where I have duplicates are coins found in change that I stuff in albums. This is for fun, and I don't expect any coins to be worth above face (so those are not really salable). Anybody want to buy a circulated State Quarter Dansco? (nope, didn't think so )
What do you think? Should I look for a "deal" that I can flip for profit? I have passed-up deals that don't fit my collection because I don't want to be a dealer. Every dollar I spend on a "deal" is a dollar I cannot spend on a legitimate coin I want. But, you make a solid point... and when I hear a point twice, I should probably pay attention.
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.
Most of my mistakes have been timing where I sold before a boom. I put a stable scratch into a 5$ lib when I was a kid that cost me a few $$$ and I had an ANACS 65 83 DDR 1c stolen from my book bag in middle school. I
"What do you think? Should I look for a "deal" that I can flip for profit?" If you've managed to procure items that are below market value that you can now sell for a profit, then by all means do that if it's your driving force in the hobby. No wrong answers. We all have different motivations for anything we do.
It's not a show stopper and it's not the worst but I feel dumb and it gets under my skin! I preordered this back in May for $49.30, it was shipped yesterday and today I see it selling on eBay (FROM THE WHITMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY) for $39.95?!?!?! Whether it helps of not, I'll be jumping on someones desk at Whitman! Buyer beware!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
@OAKSTAR said:
It's not a show stopper and it's not the worst but I feel dumb and it gets under my skin! I preordered this back in May for $49.30, it was shipped yesterday and today I see it selling on eBay (FROM THE WHITMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY) for $39.95?!?!?! Whether it helps of not, I'll be jumping on someones desk at Whitman! Buyer beware!
I pre-ordered mine for shipping today at $39.95. I hate to think of those who bought the ones selling for $300+.
Edit: My order is for a volume 1, not a 3. I bought the vol. 2 months ago.
God bless all who believe in him. Do unto others what you expect to be done to you. Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24. Founding member of CU Anti-Troll League since 9/24/24.
This has been my worst financial buy, an 1877 Twenty Cent Piece. There was a big market manipulation on these about five years ago, I got caught up in it. Somebody drove the prices through the roof. They bought the piece I had purchased in a Heritage auction. I never cared for this piece because of the planchet issues on a Proof coin.
I bought this one at an inflated price, and I am totally buried into it financially.
I have always been a sucker for Twenty Cent Pieces, since high school. As a group, I'd lose a small fortune on the collection of them I have.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
@NeophyteNumismatist . I don't know if this pertains, or if concrete action is required, but a coin dealer named Dick Osburn gave me this advice many years ago. "I don't care if you are the type who say they will never sell a coin. While you are building your collection try to look at each coin through the eyes of the "next" buyer. If you see certain flaws, so will they. This isn't an easy thing to do, but if you can master it you will build a far better collection." Close as I can get to word for word circa 1998 Dick Osburn. Hope that helps. James
Unlike what others have said about proof/mint sets, I collect mint sets — sentimental reasons. I’m back in the years that they are pricy for pieces of cardboard where the coins aren’t anywhere near the “value” of the set (along the lines of buy the coin, not the holder). But it’s an addiction/tradition.
I’ve never been keen on proof sets. But one day I stumbled onto a Prestige Set at an antique store in early 2000s and figured why not. Then stupid me decided that it wouldn’t be a stretch to “collect them all”. Stupid decision. I mean 13 stupid decisions. Hindsight.
Comments
For me, it was one of those eBay "original" silver half dollar rolls. Thankfully, everyone else who knew better was only bidding up to the silver value, so it wasn't too much of a loss.
The roll contained one AG common date Barber, 18 Walking Liberty from 30s-40s, none higher than VF, and an XF Franklin.
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
Back in the 70’s when I was a know it all teen I bought 3 2.50 Indian gold pieces from a shop in the Caribbean. Cheap😀( don’t remember what island ). Got back from the vacation showed it to my mentor friend he told me counterfeits. However they were gold so only lost a few dollars but learned a lesson.
I had to pay some tuition as a YN. A dealer with whom I foolishly thought I had developed a good relationship sold me a common raw Morgan as an MS65. I only paid $120 for it, but that was a big deal for a me at the time.
ANACS returned the coin as an MS63 worth less than half what I paid. That knocked me out of collecting coins for over 20 years, and I have never bought a BU not in plastic.
I naively thought that dealer would want to continue to develop me as a profitable client, as I had been in the past and certainly would have been in the future. I have learned much more about the hobby and dealers since then.
This is a great thread. Guess we all got stung.
In 1965 I was 15 and came across a 1895s morgan raw. I took it to stacks in NYC and got $17.
FWIW I have silver proof sets from 1956 to 2024. I like having them irrespective of gain/loss potential. It isn't always about profit.
I think I posted earlier on this thread... other than miss-timing the PM market, I think the most "tuition" I paid was on a 1909-S VDB to finish off the Lincoln Cent collection I started as a kid. I spent ~$1100 on the raw coin from my local B&M shop and sent it into ANACS. It came back in a straight-graded XF40 soapbox holder... so far so good. The tuition came when I sold this coin... I believe I got just over $900 in 2012... deducting the ebay fees, etc, I lost ~$250 total. Not nearly what some others have lost but it definitely stung. In the end, I walked away with the knowledge that 1909-S VDB's are not really all that rare...
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
I am still pretty new. I have never sold a coin... so all my losses remain "unrealized".
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.
Maybe you won’t have any! Don’t sell!
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
I bought two 'expensive' coins as a high school kid at a George Bennett auction in the late 1960s. One was a solid 1936 S Walker that I eventually got into an PCCS MS 66 holder with a sticker.
The other one was a blazing 1931 D Dime that looked like it was all there, except the lighting was so bad, I missed a light scratch on Miss Liberty's cheek. What otherwise would have been an MS 67 was an MS 63. Think I got what I paid for it 30 years later.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
The single greatest attribute of this forum in my opinion, is the mixture of old timers and newer collectors that frequent these kind of discussion sites, who are willing to listen and learn, and most importantly, share their experiences. The resources available to people who are just starting out are unprecedented in our hobby. There will always be people trying to rip other people off, but for that kid who's just starting out, he or she has amazing resources available today to keep them from getting suckered, that weren't really there in the past. I'd highly recommend that you do try selling some of the pieces you aren't too attached to NeophyteNumismatist. Even if you take a loss, it will add to your experience and understanding of how to navigate through this hobby.
https://www.ebay.com/mys/active
You are the second collector to tell me this. The first is one was one of my local mentors.
My issue is, I don't have a lot of coins (I have 149 certified coins). I only buy the coins I need for my sets, and I don't upgrade. I identify the grades and associated prices for the coins in those grades when I set-out to start a project. I have never duplicated a coin purchase.
The only coins where I have duplicates are coins found in change that I stuff in albums. This is for fun, and I don't expect any coins to be worth above face (so those are not really salable). Anybody want to buy a circulated State Quarter Dansco? (nope, didn't think so
)
What do you think? Should I look for a "deal" that I can flip for profit? I have passed-up deals that don't fit my collection because I don't want to be a dealer. Every dollar I spend on a "deal" is a dollar I cannot spend on a legitimate coin I want. But, you make a solid point... and when I hear a point twice, I should probably pay attention.
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.
Most of my mistakes have been timing where I sold before a boom. I put a stable scratch into a 5$ lib when I was a kid that cost me a few $$$ and I had an ANACS 65 83 DDR 1c stolen from my book bag in middle school. I
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
"What do you think? Should I look for a "deal" that I can flip for profit?" If you've managed to procure items that are below market value that you can now sell for a profit, then by all means do that if it's your driving force in the hobby. No wrong answers. We all have different motivations for anything we do.
https://www.ebay.com/mys/active
Here's a head scratcher. Collecting circulated commemoratives is the road to ruin.
It's not a show stopper and it's not the worst but I feel dumb and it gets under my skin! I preordered this back in May for $49.30, it was shipped yesterday and today I see it selling on eBay (FROM THE WHITMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY) for $39.95?!?!?! Whether it helps of not, I'll be jumping on someones desk at Whitman! Buyer beware!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
I pre-ordered mine for shipping today at $39.95. I hate to think of those who bought the ones selling for $300+.
Edit: My order is for a volume 1, not a 3. I bought the vol. 2 months ago.
God bless all who believe in him. Do unto others what you expect to be done to you. Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24. Founding member of CU Anti-Troll League since 9/24/24.
This has been my worst financial buy, an 1877 Twenty Cent Piece. There was a big market manipulation on these about five years ago, I got caught up in it. Somebody drove the prices through the roof. They bought the piece I had purchased in a Heritage auction. I never cared for this piece because of the planchet issues on a Proof coin.
I bought this one at an inflated price, and I am totally buried into it financially.
I have always been a sucker for Twenty Cent Pieces, since high school. As a group, I'd lose a small fortune on the collection of them I have.
@NeophyteNumismatist . I don't know if this pertains, or if concrete action is required, but a coin dealer named Dick Osburn gave me this advice many years ago. "I don't care if you are the type who say they will never sell a coin. While you are building your collection try to look at each coin through the eyes of the "next" buyer. If you see certain flaws, so will they. This isn't an easy thing to do, but if you can master it you will build a far better collection." Close as I can get to word for word circa 1998 Dick Osburn. Hope that helps. James
.... but so damn hard to do.
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 bought a 3rd edition Mega Red Book for $20 and only thumbed through it a couple times.
I don't remember a measurable loss on any bought coins.
Unlike what others have said about proof/mint sets, I collect mint sets — sentimental reasons. I’m back in the years that they are pricy for pieces of cardboard where the coins aren’t anywhere near the “value” of the set (along the lines of buy the coin, not the holder). But it’s an addiction/tradition.
I’ve never been keen on proof sets. But one day I stumbled onto a Prestige Set at an antique store in early 2000s and figured why not. Then stupid me decided that it wouldn’t be a stretch to “collect them all”. Stupid decision. I mean 13 stupid decisions. Hindsight.