Post an old friend

BustDMs

How about showing a coin that has been in your collection for a LONG time? Especially if it has an interesting story.

This lady has been with me since 1976. I purchased her at the Penn/Ohio show that was in Cincinnati that year, my first major show. I had been working at the local shop for a little less than a year and had purchased my first car a few months earlier for the “princely” sum of $750, a 1964 Rambler in a puke green color that made it look like a refrigerator on wheels.

I was looking for an uncirculated Capped Bust half dollar for my type set and found a few candidates at the show. Before making my final decision I asked the owner of the store, who was the show chairman, to look at my choices and render an opinion of the best one to purchase. After viewing my choices he led me to Joe Flynn’s table and pointed to her in a capital holder on a pad featured in his case. The price, yes, $750 same as the car! We asked for a courtesy discount and were told that the coin was priced and no discount was offered. Now, I was ready to tell Joe to pound sand but my mentor put his hand on my shoulder and suggested I pay him for the coin. Some of the best numismatic advice I ever received!

Upon returning home from the show my father asked me if I had any luck there. I proudly showed him the coin. He had no numismatic knowledge but supported me in my endeavors. He asked how much I had paid and I answered. Well, my mother was listening and proceeded to throw a fit! She was sure I had lost my mind, and money! Dad asked if the store owner had assisted me in my purchase and after seeing that I had used my resource wisely turned to mom and told her to shut up! It was the ONLY time I ever heard him say that to her. End of conversation.

I am always thankful for the opportunity to have purchased such a wonderful coin for my collection. She has been the highlight of my set from day one.

I hope you appreciate her as much as I do. She recently made a trip to Virginia beach for an updated wardrobe.

Pnies20

Great coin. Great that you’ve had it all these years.

Rc5280

Great story, thank you.

pursuitofliberty

Fantastic story, and a great coin Brad! Glad you have kept her through thick and thin!!

Having someone to tap your shoulder and remind us there is more in the world that we can see at that moment is a wonderful gift.

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To be honest though, before I opened the thread, I figured that if I needed to post a picture of an "old" friend, I was going to have to dig around and find a picture of you!

lkenefic

I plucked this 1964 Kennedy Half from circulation when I was a kid... probably from my lawn mowing days circa 1972-3. I could buy an upgrade but this piece takes me back to my collecting roots and is currently displayed in my 7070 album.

coinbuf

SanctionII

These coins have been with me since 1962, 1963 and 1979, They were graded in 2022.

1882 S Morgan Dollar, MS65+ (acquired by my parents in 1962 from a Denver, Colorado bank as a gift when they opened a bank account, my parents gave it to me and I have had it for 63 years now).

1943 D Jefferson Nickel, MS66 (one of two such coins given to me in 1963 by the father of a friend of mine after I told him I started collecting coins; when given to me the two nickels were blast white and after sitting in a Whitman Album for decades they both toned up nicely).

1830 Large 0 Capped Bust half, EF40 (purchased for $30.00 in 1979 at a coin shop in the old Cinderella City shopping mall in Englewood, Colorado and I have had it for 46 years now)

My wife has a raw 1925D Quarter Eagle that was given to her father in 1925 by his aunt when he was six years old. After he passed away in 2011 the coin passed to my wife. It has been with her and her father for a century now

Barberian

I've had her for nearly 40 years. Can she be an old friend if I'm selling her now? "Take a hike old friend!"

PCGS VF35

Barndog

some time maybe 2003, I learned about Registry Sets and thought it would be neat to have a set. I was still active Army, so I had to be careful about which set to choose, since affordability was a factor. It seemed to me that a set of Capped Bust Half Dimes in AU58 would be fun, affordable, achievable, and attractive, so I set my goals on that. I knew nothing about the coins at the time. Seriously, NOTHING. They were maybe $300 each, some as little as $275. Great choice, since I only needed nine coins for a "complete set."

My first purchase was from Harlan J Berk. An 1829 in AU58 in a PCGS holder. I was 11% complete with one purchase.

Without going into great detail, suffice to say I learned more about half dimes and things really got out of hand. A few years ago I sold ALL of my half dimes to David Perkins so he could auction them. I agreed to write the catalog for the sale and my payment was to be five cents: The 1829 half dime that was my first ever coin! I likely will own this for another couple of decades if I should live that long.

https://d1htnxwo4o0jhw.cloudfront.net/cert/15609013/medium/318061.jpg

Smudge

Got these as a kid so they are pretty old.

Rc5280

Well, I'm a newbie around here, and my journey started in 2009 with my first USM purchase.
I sent it in last year to get a fresh new start, and I'm pleased with the results.
She's a good friend, just not that old - yet.
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pursuitofliberty

In keeping with what I think was the OP's intent, this is the second CBH I ever purchased (the first was involved in a theft). I purchased her raw from the local LCS where I lived in early 1999, and later had her certified (about 2003) as an AU50 .

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Then we have this, which goes back to the PNNA in Seattle in 1991. It is the piece of currency that has been with me the longest. She's still ungraded.

ldhair

This one has been with me for about 30 years.

Alpha2814

One of the first old coins I ever got, back in the 70s. Had to be a Christmas present. Overgraded, overpriced, but still has a place in the folder, maybe as a lesson of some kind.

ad4400

Great post that gives a moment to reflect.

The coin that I’ve probably had the longest is a 1982 penny given to me as a set of pennies with the various styles for that year. They stayed in paper envelopes until a basement clear out in my adult years, where I found they had taken on some great toning. Sold some, and had one certified for my type set. Probably not the most financially astute move, but 100% worth it for the nostalgia value.

One of the long standing purchases from when I restarted collecting as an adult is my 1917-D Buffalo which is one of a handful of coins purchased in 2006 still in the set.

lkenefic

I've had this one since I was about 12 as well... a gift from my Grandfather. It was part of a Date Set of Morgan Dollars for a while... I kept it after I sold off most of the set.

hchcoin

Great story but an even greater coin.

Steven59

For the last 25 years I've been saying I'm going to get this graded but it has only gone from an air-tite to a Dansco album.

Copperindian

This is the FE that started it all for me - both as a FE collector & dedicated variety hunter. I bought it some 12 years ago. Today I own over 50 & have the #1 rated FE complete variety Registry set:

Cladiator

Got this in the early 2000's. She started off raw, then went to a PCGS AU50 then I relinquished it to my best friend since childhood, @famousramos . He promptly cracked it out and put it in his Dansco 7070. After he passed away in 2013 it came back to me and I sent it back to our host where it got an XF45 (which I agree with). Then it went to CAC just this year and was given the green bean. If I have my way I won't part ways with this coin until I party ways with this world.

ps to OP @BustDMs , sweet to have a Brad pedigreed coin.

jesbroken

Not a great coin, but a fair story. This Kennedy Half now resides in my 3rd 7070 Album of 7 years. Each time I sold the 1st two I would keep this Silver Half because I have had it 50 years or so.
Jim

jfriedm56

So when my Dad was a young boy in the 1920’s, my grandfather gave him this silver dollar. Dad carried it as a pocket piece until his death in 1979. As a young adult, I was given this coin and have carried it myself as a pocket piece for the last 46 years. It’s a part of my dad that will never leave me.

OKbustchaser

The first coin I ever bought back in 1963...I paid 3 dollars and seventy-five cents for it. It took me 5 weeks of mowing the lawn to earn the money and then another month to convince the store owner to sell it to me. I had to prove to him that I knew why I wanted this one instead of a different large cent...or couple of mixed rolls of early wheaties like a normal 11 year old boy wanted. Imagine that. A dealer who was more interested in teaching a newbie instead of making a sale!

Maywood

@BustDMs said: Post an old friend.

It's always nice thinking about old friend @ricko. The story.....................I had become good friends with Rick here at the forum and when I took a vacation through upstate New York and down through central Pa. a number of years ago one of the stops was at Woodstock, close to where he lived. We PM'd and arranged the date/time and met for lunch. It was a memorable two hours and we never talked about coins!!

asheland

I miss Ricko

GuzziSport

This was my very first Vermont colonial, purchased raw from Tom Rinaldo back around 2000 at the Bay State show. The pics are crap, but it’s about as perfect glossy chocolate as can be expected for the grade, aside from the natural flaw on the reverse. I funded the purchase with unexpected blackjack winnings at the Foxwoods Casino the night prior to the Bay State the show, so instead of blowing my winnings I decided to buy the nicest landscape I could afford at the show. I was smitten in my youth by Vermonts, in particular landscapes and baby heads, based on Red Book pics and write-ups. I still own the coin and had it slabbed a few years ago, and now have almost 40 Vermonts, which remains one of my favorite series of early US coinage.

mirabela

I bought this at the outdoor flea market in Waterbury, VT when I was around 11 years old, so ~1982. It holds the place for the type in my 7070 and is I think the very last piece from my childhood coin collection that I've still got, the rest either having been sold or given to the young people in my life.

Coinbert

Hi Brad, Great story. I am going to talk about my 1940 Proof set that I purchased from
FJ Vollmer in December 1974. He used to run big ads in Coin World with Proof sets from 1936 to present and sold lots of gold coins. I picked 1940 because it had a lower mintage than the 1941 and 1942 and it was in my price range. My wife and I

built a new house in 1977 and later that year a lot next door came up for sale. I sold all of my coins to a couple of local vest pocket dealers to help us raise the necessary $3500. My wife bought the set back for me the following year for my birthday. That was a great surprise and I have a wonderful coin tolerant wife to this day. I still have the set in the original capital holder. My photo is not great. Joey

jfriedm56

Purchased this Flowing Hair Dollar in 1977, when I was in college, from a guy who lived in my dorm. Said he inherited it from his grandfather and asked me if I was interested in buying it for $200. Here it is.

hedgefundtradingdesk

I haven't been collecting for many decades, but here's a different sort of "Old Friend" from the ANA in Philadelphia.

jackpine20

This is the specimen that started my love affair with coins. In 1976, I was in third grade, ankle deep in playground sand, when I spotted it. I was dumbfounded by the date! 1944 was almost as old as my parents! I hid it away in my desk after recess, only learning soon after, that I was not alone. You see, a number of my classmates had also found Mercury dimes in the same sand, that afternoon! I learned, decades later, that the town doctor from that time had a rather impressive coin collection! Thinking back, I like to imagine that he played a creative roll in my numismatic excitement, years before.

Copperindian

Below is my first IHC RD. I specialize in the series, including the varieties. While today I mostly acquire toners, I will buy an occasional nice RD. When I retired my basic set & major variety sets, many of the RD’s were sold, but not this one. I’m not sure how many years I’ve owned it, but below is a clue:

This was way back when EERC photographed their coins like this (15 years ago?).

Here’s more current pics:

Final thought: 1872 IHC’s are VERY tough in RD!

coastaljerseyguy

Not the oldest coin in my collection but the beginning of my Morgan key date purchases. Was collecting for about a year and started with small purchases. I was at the monthly Colts Neck/Holmdel NJ show in 2004 and bought a 7/8 Strong, 79CC, 92-CC, 92-S, 94-O, 95-S and 1900 0/CC. It was probably my best show for purchases. Sold some of these when acquired upgrades but still have the 92-S, 95-S and O/CC.

heavymetal

I didn't start "buying" coins until 1999 but I did previously

remove coins from circulation if they struck my fancy. I was born in '56 so I've lived during the time of circulating silver. These are the oldest coins I've ever taken from circulation personally when I knew even less about coin collecting than I do now. Every so often I open this box to refresh what is in there and receive the enjoyment from looking at the history in that box.. Now as a collector I've purchased some much older coins but these remain special to me.

jacrispies

@heavymetal said:
I didn't start "buying" coins until 1999 but I did previously

The other day, I found my great grandfather's Most Improved Average belt buckle just like yours!! He was in a bowling league and the buckle had his name engraved on it.

Sorry, not coin related but such a random item to recognize. And apologies if "great grandfather" makes you feel aged:#

RobertScotLover

@Copperindian said:
This is the FE that started it all for me - both as a FE collector & dedicated variety hunter. I bought it some 12 years ago. Today I own over 50 & have the #1 rated FE complete variety Registry set:

A couple of questions regarding your post. You stated that you have over 50, 50 what exactly? Also how rare is the coin that is the subject of your post? And lastly what is the grade of the finest known of said variety?
Appreciated

Copperindian

@RobertScotLover:
1) over 50 FE’s in various grades & varieties
2) there are 53 graded, 27 of those UNC
3) highest graded is 1 65+

jfriedm56

Purchased this $5.00 1891-CC raw at the time gold coin at an in person farm auction on May 20, 1989. Paperwork includes price paid $180.00, plus all the juice, a 5% buyer’s fee plus tax.

carabonnair

A rare survivor from my childhood collection (almost all of which was stolen from our house when I was 10). My note points out the mint mark.