Dream Coins You Got To See
FlyingAl
Posts: 3,222 ✭✭✭✭✭
In my few years in the hobby, I've developed a list of sorts of coins that I want to see before I die. A numismatic bucket list of sorts.
I've been able to check off a lot of those coins, and only a few remain. Stuff like Matte Proof Saints and Deep Cameo $10 Libs will take a bit, but that's why they're one of the few items left.
Post those "bucket list" coins that you either got to see or own! Here are a few of mine - not necessarily in the order I'd prefer to see them in.
Bucket List Item #1 - A Matte Proof (Lincoln/Buffalo). I got to see two recently when they showed up for imaging. 
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Bucket List Item #2 - A Satin Proof (Classic). I got to see one, and was super lucky to own one too. 
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Bucket List Item #3 - A Proof Morgan Dollar. I've seen a couple now!
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An older photo of one of the nicer Proof Morgans I've seen:
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Bucket List Item #4 - A HR 1907 $20 
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Post away!
Coin Photographer.
Comments
I was in Baltimore in 2003 when they declared the 5th 1913 Lib Nickel found. To see all 5 of those Nickels in 1 display was amazing.
Later, Paul.
Coolest stuff I've held raw... All in the past 2 years.
1926 China $10 pattern that later graded 65+ and sold for almost half a million.
A $50 Pan Pac Octagonal that graded 65.
A complete in original box Pan Pac Set. Just wow!
Five 1907 $20 High Reliefs at once.
Some other stuff I can't talk about yet.
The Sheldon Pedigreed S79 1795 Large Cent is probably the #1 coolest thing, though.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
Awesome shots Buddy! Bucket list indeed! Those are some big boy coins. I've got a couple favorites that I never thought I would have the chance to see in person let alone own in my collection:
James Stack's beautiful MS-66 1901-O Half
Duckor's finest MS-67+ 1907 half
No need to introduce this one: PF-64+
Half disme VF/XF is at the top of the want list. Would like to see one in high MS in person. Also The Coin in person.
Pan Pac slugs are my number ones by far. I did see a pair at FUN just over 20 years ago but the memory has faded. It’s needs renewal.
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
Please don't make fun of me yet honestly one of the top coolest things I've seen was back in the early late 1980s at the Long Beach coin show was a dealer who had a Library of Coins early Commemorative album pages with ultra Lowball silver half dollar commemoratives. I think about 2/3rds of the four or so pages were filled and each coin was problem free and attractive with smooth and (heavy) even wear.
It is what got me so interested in Lowball Commemoratives and then later on, Lowball modern coins.
peacockcoins
I don't know that I have "bucket list" coins (except for the Judd-1776 $20), but these were memorable. I held several of these raw.
Gobrecht's Engraved Mature Head Large Cent Model
https://www.instagram.com/rexrarities/?hl=en
Oh, also an 1854 Kellogg $20 graded SP69.
Gobrecht's Engraved Mature Head Large Cent Model
https://www.instagram.com/rexrarities/?hl=en
I'm probably not going to beat this anytime soon, and it's been 20 years...
Top row: 3 1804 dollars
Bottom row: Double Eagles: 1849, 1907 UHR, 1933, 1933
Am I reading this right? You own a satin proof 1921?
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I saw the 10 pieces of 1933 gold at one of the ANA shows, that was really amazing!
Since I am Canadian and use to attend shows here up north the coin I saw and held in hand for a few moments was a 1936 dot dime in PCGC SP68. Only 5 known and the one I was lucky enough to hold for a minute is worth about
250 000$+ yes not much compared to rare US coins but that is a lot of money for a Canadian coin (one of the top rarities in Canadian coinage).
And then the minute passed and had to hand it back over to the actual owner. I could not even afford the taxes on such a coin.
At the 2019 Spring show in Baltimore, then-owner of the 1870-S half dime let me put it with my registry set of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, which was on display as part of Seated Fest II. See the middle of the bottom row.
Collector of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, including die pairs and die states
Fantastic coins everyone!
Yes, I do own the bottom coin. I was lucky enough to find it "in the wild".
Coin Photographer.
Do you have better photos of the coins?
Two 1933 St Gaudens?
Many years ago at one of the ANA shows I was lucky enough to hold two 1792 Half Disme's at the same time. An XF in the right hand and VF in the left.
So much good stuff is still available for seeing at the ANA Money Museum...
Been there too many times to count. Plenty of favorites still on display even though the Harry Bass Gallery is gone.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
DCW, there was a thread about this
Alex, post a link to the thread for DCW
Mike
My Indians
Danco Set
Lot viewing at big auctions (Summer ANA, Winter FUN) is the way to do this, respectfully and discretely. If you do it right and time it so you're there when it isn't insanely busy, it's a stellar opportunity to calibrate your eye, play GTG, get a feel for what's "out there" and just enjoying hundreds or even thousands of graded coins. You might need to ask nicely and be patient, but you can usually have access to the top-end rarities box for a few minutes. Expect careful scrutiny by the security folks. It's really fun to handle multiple $1,000,000 coins within a few minutes.
I've been able to hold and examine several proof Peace dollars, small eagle half dollars, half dismes, Stellas, PanPacs, Pioneer gold, and just about anything else cool that's been featured in Heritage and Stacks auctions over the past many years. In some ways it's interesting to consider that people will bid an average Joe's lifetime earnings on a single small chunk of metal......
Being led on a guided tour of Harlan Berk's ultra-rare ancients by the man himself in the upstairs office was also a treat.
I remember seeing the Eli Lilly collection of US and world gold coins in the Smithsonian Institution in the 1960's. When the pharmaceutical magnate died, special legislation was passed in congress to allow his estate to donate his extensive collection of gold coins to the SI in exchange for credit toward what they owed in estate taxes.
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
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1098763/gtg-1921-peace-dollar-pr62-satin-backstory-and-grade-in-comments
Thanks for posting that link @yosclimber and @alaura22
Missed it the first time around, and it was a fantastic read!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Me too.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
Somewhere I probably do... unedited, shot without special lighting, and 20 years old, so not the best quality by any stretch. I'd have to look around to try and find them.
This is not the one I saw in hand but this is what they look like 1936 dot dime one of Canada's greatest rarities:
it's hard to get very excited about that dot
Agree. It looks like a microscopic die chip.
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
They key is that you need to put it next to one that doesn't have the dot so you can compare and really appreciate the difference
Agreed I much prefer the 1921 50 cent (75-100 known most were melted) or the 1911 dollar (3 known). The king and emperor of Canadian coinage. I have seen both in person (when I got a chance to visit the currency museum up here in Canada) so I guess they would be more important than the dot dime. Been that rare dates should outweigh rare varieties.
Images I found online of each one show lots of toning:
Mint state 1921's are extreme rarities even in low grades they sell for 50 000$+. As for the 1911 dollar well one sold for over 1$ million (private sale) and the last sold over at HA in 2019 for 552 000$. All 3 are now in the currency museum so no one will ever be able to own one.
Dollar did not start until 1935 so these 3 are patterns I believe. Two are silver the other in lead. That is all they produced 3 total.
It is the story behind the dot cent and dime of 1936 I think that makes them dream coins for Canadian collectors. You can see the story on HA they have sold each the cent and dime. Some people fall in love with stories and will pay up a whole lot for the coin associated with them. Generations of kids hunting for them in change will do that as well.
Rarity is a factor as well only 3 1936 dot cents exist and 5 of the dimes.
Seth Chandler had this on display @ a local Santa Clara CA show some 5 years ago. It attracted a big crowd; lucky for me I have long arms:
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
I got to see a MS 66 round gold Panama Pacific $50 piece at a Santa Clara show about 15 years ago. That was pretty amazing to see.
Due to the places I’ve worked during my career, I’ve been badly spoiled and extremely fortunate to have seen pretty much any coins that would have been on my list.
This particular set is as good as (or better than) any other for me to note:
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Geez @MarkFeld! Was the set raw when you saw it?
Coin Photographer.
If my memory serves me correctly - and it doesn’t always - long ago, I saw the coins both in and out of holders.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
@FlyingAl, Mark is so old (about my age) that he caught the coins off the minting press after they were struck!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Jeremy, is that a "HARVARD...'Cause everybody can't get into MIT" tee?
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Coin Photographer.
That’s a rather decent tray of coins, Jeremy.😉
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
You bet it is! Still have it.
All this time I thought you used to be a grader, and now we find out you were just the guy who puts the coins in the holders.
They had all 10 33 Saints on display at I think it was the 2008 World's fair of money when I was at the show in Denver.
Again, these were shot 20 years ago with poor lighting--the white balance is for sure off
And not that you asked, but they're cool...
At the end of the show, by prior arrangement, I accompanied the ANA Curator into the Security Room where he took the exhibit apart and, before packaging each one up to return them to their owners, let me play with them for five minutes. They were in Kointains.
1943 copper penny
I do not recognize the small gold piece on the top right next to the Eagle? Would someone comment ?
OMG ... My Mother was Right about Everything!
I wake up with a Good Attitude Every Day. Then … Idiots Happen!
It's a small medal showing Andrew Jackson's portrait.
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
@FlyingAl Fantastic coins and as always exceptional photography!!!!!!!!!
And it replaced whatever was once in the presentation case in that space, but which sadly, was lost. The 1834 Half Dime is also a replacement for the original 1834 Half Dime that was part of the original set.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Bucklist 100%
Later, Paul.