Have you ever paid 4 figures for an ugly coin?

UtahCoin

I have.
This is one of (if not the) rarest Capped Bust Half Dime in the series. If memory serves, only 5 or so examples exist. A year or so ago a previously unknown example showed up in a Heritage Auction. It graded PCGS MS65, and sold for 60K, which put it light years ahead of the others.

Ronsanderson

Not four figures, but I paid $720 to complete my collection.

After some careful cleaning conservation with acetone and Q-Tips, I ended up with this, so I think it was worth it to buy an ugly coin.

messydesk

Almost everyone who has bought a 4-figure Chain Cent would be in this club.

Meltdown

Hell, I've spent that much on a bunch of ugly girls!

oldabeintx

Yes. Vermont Baby Head comes to mind.

jacrispies

Holed, cleaned, counterstamped... and triple struck.

UtahCoin

Well done!

lermish

Yes, something like a quarter of my primary registry set fits the bill. Or, if one dislikes chopmarks, nearly all of my registry set.

TheGoonies1985

In my opinion if you cannot afford a very rare coin in higher grades buy the one you can afford in lower grade even if it is not a beauty. You will enjoy owning it. Most of us cannot afford a 5 figure coin let alone a 6 or 7 figure coin. So if you find one for 4 figures you can buy and need for your collection buy it even if she is not a beauty.

I own 2 coins (at the moment) in the 4 figure price range and one is the 2nd highest graded (numerical) and the other is also very rare with about 12 known and is NGC authentic. I truly enjoy owning these 2 coins they are my trophy coins.

Glen2022

Does $12.50 qualify? LOL

BillJones

I paid four figures for this one. You might call it ugly. It's a lettered edge 1795 cent which is good deal scarcer than the Plain Edge varieties. I bought it to go with a much nicer plain edge example as part of an exhibit of 1795 coins.

This 1795 half cent would never get a straight grade from a TPG, but it's sold several times at auction for four figures. It's got lots of undertype from theh Talbert, Alum and Lee cent which was the host coin for it.

When I was collecting half cents, I bought a really ugly example of the rarer 1805 half cent with the small 5 and stems. There are two minor varieties of it. The prices are in the Red Book are for the more common one. I sold it for a modest profit when I let my half cent collection go.

jacrispies

@BillJones Your ugly coins are my pretty coins

Meltdown

Dang @BillJones ... those are UGLY.

golden

Decades ago, I bought an 1838-D $5 that had damage. I kept it awhile and finally sold it for a profit. Probably the worst coin that I ever bought.

TomB

@BillJones is in the wrong thread!

Colonialcoin

I bought an extremely rare Vermont colonial that was so ugly that I hated taking it out of its flip. I was giddy when I sold it for a decent profit. One lesson I learned from that is not to buy something that is not enjoyable to look at.

oldabeintx

@Colonialcoin said:
I bought an extremely rare Vermont colonial that was so ugly that I hated taking it out of its flip. I was giddy when I sold it for a decent profit. One lesson I learned from that is not to buy something that is not enjoyable to look at.

The only early copper that I can’t look at has been obviously cleaned, otherwise messed with or has serious corrosion. So many early coppers have flaws that I consider them charming, not ugly (rationale). One becomes accustomed, up to a point.

ChrisH821

While not "ugly", but plain, the 1936 Satin Proof cent is really unremarkable but quite expensive.

Colonialcoin

@oldabeintx said:

@Colonialcoin said:
I bought an extremely rare Vermont colonial that was so ugly that I hated taking it out of its flip. I was giddy when I sold it for a decent profit. One lesson I learned from that is not to buy something that is not enjoyable to look at.

The only early copper that I can’t look at has been obviously cleaned, otherwise messed with or has serious corrosion. So many early coppers have flaws that I consider them charming, not ugly (rationale). One becomes accustomed, up to a point.

I agree with you so long as the flaws are natural without being overly distracting. We are not talking about late date Large cents. The coin that I’m speaking about had man made damage so extensive to the point that I just wanted to get rid of it.

BillJones

Well I do have something that is REALLY ugly. It is probably the worst known example of the CSS Virginia token which was made of iron recovered from the wreck of the ship. Rust has pretty well taken control of it.

The trouble is the price paid, $60, is well under the 4 figure number which started this thread.

I have wanted a better one, but have never been lucky enough buy one. The last one I saw in an auction had strated to rust again, and I didn't want that.

PROMETHIUS88

@BillJones said:
Well I do have something that is REALLY ugly. It is probably the worst known example of the CSS Virginia token which was made of iron recovered from the wreck of the ship. Rust has pretty well taken control of it.

The trouble is the price paid, $60, is well under the 4 figure number which started this thread.

I have wanted a better one, but have never been lucky enough buy one. The last one I saw in an auction had strated to rust again, and I didn't want that.

Not if you add the zeros after the decimal point! You are all good now!

UtahCoin

@TheGoonies1985 said:
In my opinion if you cannot afford a very rare coin in higher grades buy the one you can afford in lower grade “

In this instance, the 1835 LM-12 is exceedingly rare. Most of the few examples are locked away in private collections.

TimNH

Was right around 1K, she's pretty to me

OKbustchaser

By definition anyone who has bought a 1K + Morgan dollar qualifies since ALL Morgan dollars are the epitome of ugly

Barberian

I dropped mid-five figures for an ugly coin. I would not buy this coin if it was a common date such as an 1878-P.

PCGS VG8

retirednow

My contribution ... as only 4 specimens have been traced to date, I am very OK to own this pattern. Plus, this was part of a couple of notable collections before I picked it up in auction. The obverse is a bit of a distraction to me. Even though this is piece is rare, surprisingly I had a couple of opportunities to pick up nicer looking examples (Still in the same grade), however, I elected to use my cash to acquire different patterns

J243

Barberian

Here are some more 4-figure uglies.

VF details, cleaned

PCGS VG8 - grease-filled die and the horrible Trueview. The coin is dark brown.

PCGS VF details. cleaned
Edited to offset color imbalance to better approximate the color of the coin. In other words, a horrible Trueview.

davewesen

@jacrispies said:
Holed, cleaned, counterstamped... and triple struck.

I love how the hole is reenforced on both sides. Not your typical drill job.

Copperindian

This one’s my “ugly” leader, but I love it:

TV is terrible; look at your own risk!

oldabeintx

If you can’t be with the one you love……

erscolo

No.

ARCO

Yes, quite a few coins actually, I didn't think they were ugly based on the pics, but in hand...hideous. They go out the door as fast as they come in.

Walkerguy21D

Was in a genuine holder, environmental damage. Careful inspection indicated the “damage” could be removed with some blue ribbon and TLC. It was also unattributed as the scarce lettered edge variety. It was four figures, and still four figures, but now it’s bigger numbers.

Joe_360

I'll let you know after I purchase my 1955 DDO Lincoln...

jfriedm56

This one is kinda fugly, and it did
cost me 4 figures (25.00) raw years ago at a garage sale.

VKurtB

Ugly is one thing. Damage is a totally different thing, no?

Cougar1978

No not even 10c - just put zero for the item on my estate offer Calc form lol.

Bikergeek

Hey @UtahCoin I've paid 4 figures twice for your coin's siblings! lol! (Sold the VG deetz one when I bought the XF deetz one).

alefzero

Yeah. I got a 1901-S MS62DMPL Morgan dollar for four figures (maybe just below $1000, since it was a long time back, I forget). It was all there with respect to DMPL and lack of circulation, but it was a pancake strike. Really flat.

wev

@jacrispies said:
Holed, cleaned, counterstamped... and triple struck.

Morgan B. Agard (1830-1867), tin smith (1860 census) Elkhart Township, Elkhart, Indiana

In case you did not know.

TheGoonies1985

Best to be in the game that sitting on the sidelines for us that are not rich. Buy what you can and upgrade later if you want better and can afford better. Otherwise you may just miss the boat and simply never own the coin again due to prices rising for rarer coins.

UtahCoin

@Bikergeek said:
Hey @UtahCoin I've paid 4 figures twice for your coin's siblings! lol! (Sold the VG deetz one when I bought the XF deetz one).

Show off😆
And you didn’t get the MS65 example for 60K?

Bikergeek

@UtahCoin said:

@Bikergeek said:
Hey @UtahCoin I've paid 4 figures twice for your coin's siblings! lol! (Sold the VG deetz one when I bought the XF deetz one).

Show off😆
And you didn’t get the MS65 example for 60K?

Truth be told, I bid pretty hard on that MS65 one... but I couldn't hang with the big dogs so I got back on the porch. :-)

coinkat

Ugly is subjective. Seems the better question is whether one has compromised buying a lesser coin- perhaps one that may not straight grade- based on the surviving population and accepting the probability that a compromise just might be as good as it gets.

VKurtB

@coinkat said:
Ugly is subjective. Seems the better question is whether one has compromised buying a lesser coin- perhaps one that may not straight grade- based on the surviving population and accepting the probability that a compromise just might be as good as it gets.

THAT is the trigger that I haven’t yet been able to make myself pull. I’d rather have an empty spot in my collection than put an inferior coin in there. “Ugly” is such a loaded term. For many, a completely pristine PF70 Susan B. Anthony dollar is “ugly”.

jacrispies

@wev said:

@jacrispies said:
Holed, cleaned, counterstamped... and triple struck.

Morgan B. Agard (1830-1867), tin smith (1860 census) Elkhart Township, Elkhart, Indiana

In case you did not know.

No way!! I did not have a person associated, thank you. Are there other examples to verify this is the person?

HillbillyCollector

Yep, wouldn’t you like to see her!😂
>
Actually a 5 figure coin and I wouldn’t make that mistake again, today. It’s a very respectable MS-CAC coin that I’m sure many would like but currently she’s not up to my standards, so I don’t care for her.
>
Not ugly but if I don’t like her…………you get the message!😉😆

rec78

A lot of the coins so far in this thread are not ugly unless you change the meaning of ugly. I would be happy to own any of them.

JimTyler

@rec78 said:
A lot of the coins so far in this thread are not ugly unless you change the meaning of ugly. I would be happy to own any of them.

Let’s change ugly to fugly.

humanssuck

Define "ugly". I cringed when i bought this, but I've come to like it over time.

TheGoonies1985

One of my 2 coins I paid over 1000$ for this one cost almost 2200$ (a lot of money for a small time collector like myself). There are less than 15 known (these are well documented so I doubt many more exist). Owning any early milled coins from Chile or Colombia is a big deal for early Latin American collector. They are all very rare. Chile has no 1 reales and Colombia only has the year 1760 for this denomination. Since I collect only 1 reales this was a huge addition to my collection. Most are holed.