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What's your current best purchase so far? The one that had the highest return if you sell?

hfjacintohfjacinto Posts: 872 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited July 18, 2024 11:35AM in U.S. Coin Forum

Hey all,

Reading the worst purchase thread got me thinking on what was my the best purchase. And this one was really easy. I paid $65 each for 2 2019 S Enhanced Reverse Proof American Silver Eagles. I still have mine in the OGP and based on current values, each is worth from $1000 to $1200. If I get them graded (pretty certain one is PF70) it will be worth ~$2000 so my return was 2700% just based on the OGP value and 5000% if I get them graded and one comes back a 70. Not bad for about about 30 minutes of work!

I only have a picture of both coins below.


So what was your best purchase/return on initial spend.

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Comments

  • NeophyteNumismatistNeophyteNumismatist Posts: 1,073 ✭✭✭✭✭

    In 2020 I bought a 1917 T1 SLQ in MS66FH for <$800, and the greysheet bid price has the value doubled on that coin.

    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.

  • lkeneficlkenefic Posts: 8,160 ✭✭✭✭✭

    One can defer to price guides and closed auction results, but ultimately you only find out how well you did on any particular coin when it's sold. Until then, its speculative.

    I suppose the best I did was when I liquidated my Large Cents (along with a lot of my then unfinished 7070) in 2012. As a percentage of the amount I had in a coin to the amount I ultimately sold it for... a decent G/VG 1805 LC that I purchased raw from a dealer in Albuquerque for $50 realized $150 when I sold it on ebay... as I recall, I had a perfect storm of 3 bidders that bid it up in the last 10 seconds of the auction... about double what I had into the coin...

    Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;

    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.
  • RiveraFamilyCollectRiveraFamilyCollect Posts: 630 ✭✭✭✭

    Krug for gross profit since its value has increased by some $400 on a $2k coin.
    but the "old man" from gold and silver pawn shop has the highest ROI at double its cost.

    The substantial truth doctrine is an important defense in defamation law that allows individuals to avoid liability if the gist of their statement was true.

  • vulcanizevulcanize Posts: 1,407 ✭✭✭✭✭

    For the moderns, it would have to be the 12,500 mintage limit American Liberty 2021 High Relief Gold Coin because the prices are all over the place and more than double currently.on eBay.

  • lermishlermish Posts: 2,921 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I bought my chopped 76-CC DDR T$ raw for $1200. Got it into a 55 holder with a sticker. Probably worth somewhere in the $3500 range.

  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,794 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 18, 2024 5:11PM

    Well, you never really know until you sell.....

    For me, it might very well be some bullion Krugerrands I bought back when it was cheap. I've doubled and tripled my money on collector coins a few times, but the bullion has done quite well in comparison........

    Of course, other investments have performed even better.

  • Cranium_Basher73Cranium_Basher73 Posts: 3,201 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @vulcanize said:
    For the moderns, it would have to be the 12,500 mintage limit American Liberty 2021 High Relief Gold Coin because the prices are all over the place and more than double currently.on eBay.

    It's ridiculous where the prices are now. It was about 4500 in proof 70 last fall and winter.

    Throw a coin enough times, and suppose one day it lands on its edge.

  • jonathanbjonathanb Posts: 3,590 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 18, 2024 9:13PM

    What's the biggest financial homerun you have made in numismatics?

    Selling something for 10x your cost is basically a good cherrypick. It's great when it happens, but not all that notable otherwise.

    Selling something for 100x your cost is VERY difficult. Even more so if you include slabbing fees as part of your cost. It can be done. It's not easy.

    Selling something for 1000x your cost is more than difficult. But not impossible!

  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,492 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Always losing money, not today Mr Tax Man.

  • d9lowed9lowe Posts: 311 ✭✭✭✭

    2019-S ERP for me. Those were exciting days after the release. People were going nuts. I kept mine in the original packaging for a few years, but ended up giving in. Sent it off to NGC and she came back a 70. Good times!

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 34,247 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 19, 2024 4:00AM

    @PerryHall said:

    @Cranium_Basher73 said:
    I bought a 1883-CC $20 Liberty atvthe Michigan State fall convention in 2003. Took it to one of the vendors at another fall show a couple years later and asked if it was cleaned. He said yes. My heart sank at that. Finally decided to get it graded in 2018. This was the result.......PCGS XF45.

    That's a negotiation technique that many dishonest dealers use. They criticize a coin in the hopes that you'll sell it to them cheap. I showed a B&M coin dealer a raw gold $20 Saint many years ago before third-party grading services existed when gold coins carried a decent premium over their melt value. The dealer told me it was a counterfeit and then he tried to buy it from me. I didn't even ask for his offer since I knew it was real. I told him that I couldn't sell it to him in all good conscience since it's a counterfeit. I then told him that I will take it home and pound it with a hammer and include it with some other scrap gold to send to a refinery. The look on his face was priceless. At the time, I belonged to two coin clubs and I let my coin buddies know what transpired and several of them had similar encounters with this dealer.

    I hate when people do that.

    I had a guy recently message me about a $5000 comic on eBay. He said "UGH.... "and listed all the defects. Then he offered $4000.

    I replied that I could not, in good conscience, still him such an ugly book. Lol

    As for the coin mentioned here, it actually does look cleaned in the photos. So I don't think that was so much a negotiating technique as an honest opinion. Look at the date.

  • DocBenjaminDocBenjamin Posts: 1,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PerryHall said:

    @Cranium_Basher73 said:
    I bought a 1883-CC $20 Liberty atvthe Michigan State fall convention in 2003. Took it to one of the vendors at another fall show a couple years later and asked if it was cleaned. He said yes. My heart sank at that. Finally decided to get it graded in 2018. This was the result.......PCGS XF45.

    That's a negotiation technique that many dishonest dealers use. They criticize a coin in the hopes that you'll sell it to them cheap. I showed a B&M coin dealer a raw gold $20 Saint many years ago before third-party grading services existed when gold coins carried a decent premium over their melt value. The dealer told me it was a counterfeit and then he tried to buy it from me. I didn't even ask for his offer since I knew it was real. I told him that I couldn't sell it to him in all good conscience since it's a counterfeit. I then told him that I will take it home and pound it with a hammer and include it with some other scrap gold to send to a refinery. The look on his face was priceless. At the time, I belonged to two coin clubs and I let my coin buddies know what transpired and several of them had similar encounters with this dealer.

    Langbord would have benefitted from your plan.

  • GaCoinGuyGaCoinGuy Posts: 2,761 ✭✭✭✭

    $5 1969 proof set from AHCollectibles on Ebay. The Washington made 69DCAM (Pop 24/0 at the time), sold it for a bit more than that.

    imageimage

  • erwindocerwindoc Posts: 5,094 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Jinx86 said:
    The quarters, all three of them came from melt. The dime came from sorting 90%, sold the dime for 11k.



    That 16D dime is exceptional! Great find!

  • vulcanizevulcanize Posts: 1,407 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Cranium_Basher73 said:

    @vulcanize said:
    For the moderns, it would have to be the 12,500 mintage limit American Liberty 2021 High Relief Gold Coin because the prices are all over the place and more than double currently.on eBay.

    It's ridiculous where the prices are now. It was about 4500 in proof 70 last fall and winter.

    And a dealer had offered me less than purchase price at the Baltimore show in 2022.

  • braddickbraddick Posts: 24,002 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PerryHall said:

    @Cranium_Basher73 said:
    I bought a 1883-CC $20 Liberty atvthe Michigan State fall convention in 2003. Took it to one of the vendors at another fall show a couple years later and asked if it was cleaned. He said yes. My heart sank at that. Finally decided to get it graded in 2018. This was the result.......PCGS XF45.

    That's a negotiation technique that many dishonest dealers use. They criticize a coin in the hopes that you'll sell it to them cheap. I showed a B&M coin dealer a raw gold $20 Saint many years ago before third-party grading services existed when gold coins carried a decent premium over their melt value. The dealer told me it was a counterfeit and then he tried to buy it from me. I didn't even ask for his offer since I knew it was real. I told him that I couldn't sell it to him in all good conscience since it's a counterfeit. I then told him that I will take it home and pound it with a hammer and include it with some other scrap gold to send to a refinery. The look on his face was priceless. At the time, I belonged to two coin clubs and I let my coin buddies know what transpired and several of them had similar encounters with this dealer.

    To be fair, it DOES look cleaned.

    peacockcoins

  • alefzeroalefzero Posts: 971 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The best one already sold was probably the 1901 PCGS MS61DMPL Morgan dollar. Of current holdings, I would think the 1796 BB-62 NGC VF Details Bust dollar.

  • SmudgeSmudge Posts: 9,525 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Never know for sure until you sell it.

  • seatedlib3991seatedlib3991 Posts: 720 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Smudge. You are so right. I can point to an 1840 Seated dollar I sold for 3 times what i paid as my best so far. I own an 1846-O Seated Dollar that is in a PCGs 35 holder but is better looking than any AU 50 coin I have ever seen. I paid $325 for it and would be stunned if it did not sell for 4 times that. However, it is to this day the prettiest Seated coin in my collection and I would have to actually SELL it.
    On a different note, our family has decided to get smart phones in the fall so I might actually post a coin picture some day. guess which coin will be first? James

  • CatbertCatbert Posts: 7,167 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I've shifted my collection priorities and much of my collection has been purchased during the run up of the last few years in the hobby. So, I don't have any home runs to report. Will have to wait many years and hope the market will value my collection down the road. If not, so be it.

    Seated Half Society member #38
    "Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
  • TheGoonies1985TheGoonies1985 Posts: 5,492 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 22, 2024 2:53PM

    @tcollects said:

    @DCW said:

    @tcollects said:
    I once cherrypicked a beautiful one of these for $10... but it turned out to be my little deal with the devil and I almost destroyed myself with the windfall.

    Alright, we want to hear more! Deal with the Devil? Do tell

    spent over a year of my young life blowing the money on sex, drugs and rock n' roll, it wasn't as fun as it might sound, I don't recommend it

    What is important is you were able to see threw it all and get your life into a better place. A lot of us have been down dark paths in life many never come out but the few that do are stronger for it and could teach many a thing or two. Some people think it is cool to live that way it is not it is very empty in those darkest moments. The Devil (whatever you want to call him) only offers illusions nothing else one way or another those illusions come to an end. Either by ones own reflections or by time.

    Threw pain there is gain. Sometimes it takes a long time to see that gain with clear vision.

  • hfjacintohfjacinto Posts: 872 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I once purchased a $20 gold certificate from a dealer that was graded f12, when I went to sell it a few years later it was a VG8. I walked away and stopped using that dealer. It is what it is. You can still say no and not sell it.

  • DCWDCW Posts: 7,328 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @tcollects
    Thanks for explaining. Sounds like you straightened yourself out, and I wish you the best!

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,144 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @hfjacinto said:
    I once purchased a $20 gold certificate from a dealer that was graded f12, when I went to sell it a few years later it was a VG8. I walked away and stopped using that dealer. It is what it is. You can still say no and not sell it.

    This is why the major third-party grading services are so popular. Before third-party grading, many coin dealers would undergrade coins when buying and then overgrade those same coins when selling them.

    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

  • tcollectstcollects Posts: 1,058 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @DCW said:
    @tcollects
    Thanks for explaining. Sounds like you straightened yourself out, and I wish you the best!

    thanks for the kind words guys, I'm lucky to have made it out and I'm grateful every day, you learn a lot about humanity walking on the wild side

  • rheddenrhedden Posts: 6,626 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 24, 2024 4:37AM

    If I were to answer this question, my short list of best purchases would be headlined by cherrypicked varieties. For example, I bought an 1888-O "Hot Lips" Morgan in XF out of a dealer's junk box for $11 back in the 1990s. Nobody cared about VAMs yet. I pointed out the variety, and he said, "OK, it's $11 instead of $10." It's in a PCGS XF45 holder now. PCGS price guide is $375, so 34x the purchase price 30 yrs. later.

    Following the cherrypicks would be lower grade "key date" Bust and Seated coins in the AG03-F12 range that I bought many years ago - e.g., 1796 quarter in PCGS AG03 and 1822 25/20 Bust 25C in PCGS VG08. These coins have provided large returns, percentage-wise. You know, because AG03 is "investment grade" material. :D

  • CopperindianCopperindian Posts: 1,482 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ldhair: wow - that’s the toughest variety in the FE series (1857&1858). There are no MS examples known. Congrats!

    “The thrill of the hunt never gets old”

    PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
    Copperindian

    Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
    Copperindian

  • CopperindianCopperindian Posts: 1,482 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My best deal was the sale of a set - not only for the $$$$ but it was also unexpected. I had just finished a FE Complete Variety Registry set (20 coins). A fellow Registry collector asked if I would consider selling 3 of the coins to improve his set. I declined, but committed to selling the coins to him in the future when I retired the set. He persisted, knowing that I planned to retire the set in a year or so. Finally, he asked if I would consider selling him the whole set & what was my price, if so? I gave him a price & he accepted. I figured I could always build another set (I did). Another side benefit was I discovered Hugh Wood (HWI). We used them to facilitate the transaction. I still use them today.

    “The thrill of the hunt never gets old”

    PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
    Copperindian

    Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
    Copperindian

  • ChrisH821ChrisH821 Posts: 6,506 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I've mentioned it before, but a 1958 Franklin Half bought for under $100 in NGC PF66 CAM. I cracked it out, removed the haze and PCGS graded it PR68 DCAM, and CAC agreed. I ended up selling it for a little over $6k. I probably should have kept it since it will be difficult to replace if I ever want to.

    Collector, occasional seller

  • D808LFD808LF Posts: 483 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Back in 2008, I found six 2008-W $1 ASEs, Rev 2007 for around $35 each at a local B&M - news was just breaking on these. Had 'em graded; four 69s and two 70s. Sold the 70s for $1k each and set aside the 69s, one for each of my kids.

    fka renman95, Sep 2005, 7,000 posts

  • scubafuelscubafuel Posts: 1,850 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That’s amazing. Did the seller ever explain how they had come to own it?

  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,228 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 26, 2024 8:16PM

    I have done well procuring material at shows. Recently super deal from walkup seller off bourse with nice stuff to sell at show. Some sold have achieved super margin others average. Depending on the venue at times sales results can vary. Lately servicing client want lists from show purchases. Fun.

    Coins & Currency

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