Provenance and new coin purchase

Dahlonega

Offered a 1859-D quarter eagle NGC-55 by my dealer this week he thought it had been in the Garret[t]? collection. Tracking found the coin was in a PCGS-55 holder in 1999, Fairfield collection earlier and does go back to the Garrett collection [Stack's]...apparently with documentation that it had been purchased from Chapman decades earlier. Also coin has small nondistracting marks obverse and reverse that allow this to be confirmed visually. Coin is nice and original but otherwise not an extraordinary specimen certainly higher grades are available. However I prefer this coin to the others, enjoy the quest and detective work...just makes its purchase more special and unlike a commodity purchase. Are their others who enjoy researching their coins [even if modern] to get as much of their history as possible? Or would you prefer a coin with no provenance in a higher grade?
Now to try and get it reholdered with pedigree in a PCGS holder. Apologies I am computer illiterate but will try and get one of my friends to post a picture later.

kranky

I've never owned a coin that had any traceable provenance, but it would be cool to be able to ferret out the previous ownership of a coin. A coin like that would be appealing to me (ex-Chapman and Garrett) but not if the seller wants to soak me for the privilege.

RYK

Dahlonega,

I am with you. I like the coin with the story. I once owned a (common) Pittman Eagle of little consequence. I also owned a Rainy Day Collection Carson City Double Eagle. I am not sure that Rainy Day was anything more than a marketing coin--it was a very mediocre example of a fairly common date.

How does one go about getting a slab with the Garrett tag on it? And who is your primary dealer? (Is it DWN?)

Robert

Dahlonega

RYK...
Al Adams [Gold Rush Gallery] and Doug Winter are my primary dealers...amazingly they even work together when it's in the interest of their client. More important they are men of integrity and definitely gentlemen. I have found when I purchase even an extraordinary coin from someone that is not I inevitably regret it. Shades of the Ancient Mariner I made a purchase 2-3 years ago of a nice coin for the wrong reasons and the wrong dealer which I refer to as my Albatross. Seems like I just can 't get rid of it and I've never enjoyed it.
Re: pedigree you have to submit documentation with the coin to PCGS...sometimes gets overlooked so always make extra copies.

Dahlonega

RYK
addendum have you checked your Pittman coin to see if it came from Farouk? He purchased a number of his coins at that auction. I have a friend who traced his 58-D G$5 to Farouk and it was reholdered with the pedigree.

RYK

Thank you for your advice. I have parted with the Pittman coin because it does not fit with my collection and was frankly nothing special. I have bought my best coins from Doug Winter and expect to deal with him exclusively. He is a great guy, a pleasure to work with, and has spent a fair amount of time getting me up to speed with rare gold coin collecting. I am a newby to rare gold, and he has helped point me in collecting directions. Unfortunately, patience is not my strength, and I am eager to get all the coins on my want listASAP! If I can restrain myself, I expect to buy most, if not all, of my significant purchases from Doug going forward.

So what is this "albatross", anyway?