You have $4K in virtual cash, now. Would you go for this? Yea or nay?

lordmarcovan

1891 Seated Liberty Half Dollar, NGC PR66. Pinnacle, $3875.

Yea or nay, and if nay, why not?



The PCGS priceguide says $3800 on it in PR65 and $5600 on it in PR66.
So the price is near the priceguide's PR65 retail level, but I have learned
to take what the priceguide says with a grain of salt. Numismedia says
$3560 on it in PR65 and $5,470 on it in PR66. I realize, of course, that
the prices of coins at this level are usually set by auction; I just use the
priceguides as a general reference because I don't have the Greysheet.
(If anybody could give me the various Greysheet values and the PCGS/NGC
pops, I'd be most grateful).

So- taking into account that the coin's mirrors do not show in this picture
and are somewhat subdued by the color, does this coin "do" it for you?
I normally have been shopping for cameos, but the colors on this com-
pensate for it not being a cameo, don't you think? Pretend you're me and
have caught a terminal case of earlyproofitis. Yea or nay?

I am willing to spend some bucks, but I demand an absolute jawdropper
for the money. The choice is primarily an emotional one, made as a collector,
not as an investor. But is important to me that whatever I choose perform well as an
investment, too. I want to have my cake and eat it too.

airplanenut

If you could afford it, how could you turn it down? That is GORGEOUS!

airplanenut

I also think it is even nicer than Anaconda's proof bust- the colors flow much better (not that I could afford $135,000, or even $4,000)

Jeremy

PS- BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY!!!!!!!!!

gmarguli

It's ver nice. Not monster, but nice. However, the coins design is ugly. I don't like the obverse spot where there is a fingerprint looking pattern. These coins also frequently come with nice toning.

kieferscoins

Yea. Awesome coin, but that is alot of money. Don't get stuck or go bankrupt.

Cameron Kiefer

FC57Coins

Its a nice coin, but it's not a howl at the moon coin, as such, I would think I would hold on to the money and see if I could find one with better looking toning. It seems to me that for that kind of money you should be able to find something really special!

Frank

Maybe something like this!

lordmarcovan

Greg, I also noticed that "brushed" look at 3:00, in the field to the left of stars #10-13. The person I spoke to at Pinnacle says that the toning is a little deeper color there, but it is not a scuff on the metal or anything. My ideal coin would have this kind of toning AND cameo contrast.

BNE

I agree with Frank. It is not a "Katie bar the door" coin. The two cent piece was more of a stunner. I think something may have clicked with the two cent pieces for you, and it sure is a neat set to collect. If you like the design, maybe hold out for another primo two-cent piece. . . ? If you like the two-cents, maybe you'd like the Shield nickels, too, which seem to present really good bargains for killer coins these days. (I'm working on a set of proof Shields, myself.)

The Teletrade brochure that I received yesterday had some really, really pretty Shields pictured in it. In CAM or DCAM, these are really nice. I like the way the light plays on the horizontal and vertical bars.

Clankeye

It's got the colors of a painting by Monet and you guys don't think that toning is that special? Wow. Tough crowd.

lordmarcovan

Thank you all for the advice... keep it coming! I have fallen in love with the picture of that half, but I know I am in a vulnerable state and have learned to look before I leap. I would have snatched that PR66 RB 2c piece from Pinnacle, but wasn't fast enough. I am still high bidder on a PCGS PR64 RD 2c piece on eBay, though. I'm still vaguely kicking around the idea of a proof 2c Reg set. Two-centers might be a better investment in Mint State, but I gotta have proofs. Like I said before, I caught a terminal case of earlyproofitis when I bought that CAM Barber half.




<< <i>Its a nice coin, but it's not a howl at the moon coin >>



That's what I want. I like the sound of that.

A howl at the moon coin is what I'm after.

AROOOO!

BTW- thanks, FC57coins, but I didn't like that 1877-CC. Not only is it not a proof, but it looks like rusted steel to me. I want even, pastel colors, not mottled and not brown. Helluva strike on it, though. Too bad there aren't any branch-mint proofs- not in my price range, anyway.

Russ

LM,

I think you should use the money for Two Cent pieces. As long as you stay in the proof department, that is.

Russ, NCNE

lordmarcovan

Thanks, Russ. I might just do that. There is still a very good chance I will. But before I get married to a proof 2c Registry Set, this is my "bachelor party", so to speak. One last look around.

There was this PCGS PR67 25c on the Legend site for $4,975, but it is a smaller coin (less visual impact, maybe. Then again, maybe not. Arooo!). Higher grade and higher price. I am assuming that the little arched hairline to the right of stars #2-3 is a mark on the holder. This coin has "the look" also, and really "does it" for me. But the price, while barely within my reach, would be stretching my resources to their limits, which is probably not such a good idea.

Come on, y'all- it's a bachelor party. Bring your "babes" out to play. Let's have a look at 'em. Pretend you're me, and about to marry a bunch of 2c pieces. Who would you want to play with before you were in a committed relationship?

oldcameoproofsguy

I really like this coin. I think it has excellent eye appeal. The only thing that I see that would improve eye appeal is if the amber was continuous around the periphery. It is also hard to tell from the scan if the disturbance at 3:00 in the fields on the obverse is really distracting or not. The reverse of this coin is absolutely stunning!

My opinion is that I personally would love to have such a coin in my collecion and I don't feel that the price is unwarranted.

Placid

I would love to own that coin. Most coin dealers will consider offers

lordmarcovan

Thank you, OCPG. It's not even cameo, and you like it. That is a big vote of confidence in my book.

I should also add that I have spoken to Scott Schechter at Pinnacle, and he was not only pleasant and helpful, but straightforward about the coin's appearance. He expressed a willingness to possibly accept my 1862 PCGS MS64 white quarter as a trade-in, in the $700-850 range (I paid $800 for it).

The coin's on hold for me, and he understands it could take me 2-3 weeks to get the funds.

Placid

Someone bought the 1891 pr65 from heritage.
Here a link with info 65-66 and pops.
They took away the price list but a 66 was $3800-4700 for the heritage value.
The 65 sold for $2000

Link

They have some cameo and deep cameo proof seated halfs at ricoins for $34,000-90,000.

prooflike

I like the half and a quarter a lot, but then of course a nice matched red two cent proof set would be really nice also.

1907Quarter

If you don't have one that looks like this, time to start. Jawdropping, simply put. But if your not sure in any way, don't buy it.

Jamericon

Lord Marcovan,

May 2002 is greysheet is $2550 in PR65. No list in 66.

(It is the most recent one I have.)

lordmarcovan

Thank y'all.

Clankeye, I love the "Monet painting" comment.

Placid, that 65 from Heritage was nice, but even considering the grade difference I don't think it touches this one for eye appeal. Thanks for the help with the pops there- looks like this one is only one of 13 graded over 65?

Prooflike & 1907quarter, thanks. Your opinions shall be noted.

Jamericon- thanks.

I can buy this coin and still afford one proof 2c piece (maybe the PR64 RD I am bidding on on eBay). But if I buy this half, it fits no structured sets I'm working on, and it means that if I do decide to do the proof 2 cent piece set, I'll have to be content with one piece for starters. But that's OK. I think this coin stands alone, and nothing says my 2c set has to be fast-tracked. It'll take a while, anyway, right?

As to that incredible PR67 1883 quarter on the Legend site, well, as much as I want it, I can't buy the 2c piece on eBay and that PR67 quarter as well. Buying that coin would stretch me rather thin. But if I am outbid on the 2c piece, I might postpone the set idea for a while, and then we are talking about a choice between this NCG PR66 1891 half and the Legend Numismatics 1883 PCGS PR67 quarter. That is a tough choice. The Legend coin is higher grade and higher priced, and is a quarter rather than a half, but I think its eye appeal is about as good as the Pinnacle NGC PR66 1891 half. I tend to lean toward the half, maybe because it is a larger sized coin and about one grand cheaper. But it's a tough call.

Comparison again:

Pinnacle's 1891 NGC PR66 half ($3875)
Legend's 1883 PCGS PR67 quarter ($4975)

Hmmm...
Legend also has this 1881 PCGS PR66 quarter (ex-Benson, $3875)... maybe a good companion for my PR63 CAM Benson Barber half? It is a knockout, too, and looks to have some cameo contrast beneath that awesome target tone.

Placid

Yes 11 pcgs and 13 ngc over 65. To be more accurate for ngc 66-10,67-2,68-1

CLASSICS

the so called high prices of today, will seem like a bargain in the future. i remember well when i purchased a stunning toned morgan dollar, that looked like a branch mint proof, for 100.00, yes very long ago. if memory serves me right, i beleive graysheet was 20.00 or 25.00 dollars at the time, several people looked at me like i was nuts, one guy told me..buddy you just got screwed. i later sold that same coin at the miami beach ana show, well i dont want to sound like a big shot or a wise guy, but will tell you, my 100.00 coin sold for many thousands of dollars. so look at it this way, as beautiful as this coin is and if you can afford it, which by the way seems very fair. buy it , and enjoy it, and when the time comes to sell, surely there wont be many like this one.

lordmarcovan

Just for fun, I'll think I'll run a poll on this. It's been a while since we've had a bunch of polls here, right?

Stay tuned- I will create a new thread.