Thursday At Long Beach (the edited edition)
Elcontador
Posts: 7,522 ✭✭✭✭✭
In a nutshell, though I did not buy anything (couldn't even find the book I wanted), I enjoyed the show. I did not see a single '83 No Cent Liberty NIckel in PC 6 on the floor.
A few surprises. I saw six or seven Liberty Nickels in PC MS 66 & a lot more NGC coins of the same series in the same grade. Lots of proof Liberty Nickels and Barber coinage in grades up to PF 67. Most of these coins were type.
I saw a surprising number of scarce, high grade Seated Dollars. Thanks to Legend Steve and Bill Stein of U.S. Coins for letting me look at them, even though there was no way I could afford any of them. Also, thanks to Steve for letting me see probably the nicest Bust $ I will probably ever lay my eyes on.
Another surprise is that I saw more high end early copper than ever before at Long Beach. It was not hard to find Braided Hair Large Cents in 4 & 5 in all color designations. Even found a few Half Cents in 4 BN & RD and one in 5 RB, evenly split between Classic Head and Braided Hair types. RB & RD IHCs were plentiful in MS 64-5, and high end SLQs were also readily available.
One dealer had about 50 Capped Bust Halves in his / her case in grades ranging from mid-grade AU to mid-grade Unc.
Gold was very popular and I saw more dealer to dealer transactions than from collectors like me.
The thing that made the show for me was seeing a bunch of familiar faces. Saw Nucklehead & his girlfriend (or is she his wife?), Greg Margulies (and thanks for looking at my moderns), JOM, Tom Killian, Carl and Braddick.
A number of other dealers were happy to show me some material which was way out of my league because they also knew that I'd appreciate these coins. I found it educational to compare a FH 6 SLQ I have with the same date & grade of one in a dealer's case. There are several tiers re grading FH standers, and if you are considering buying any of them, you should learn about this first.
I also want to thank Harry Laibstein for letting me look at a few of his Large Cents. He had a PC 5 RD 1850 and a PC 4 RD 1853 which I compared. As to be expected, the 1850 had a better strike. Both coins were similar re marks, carbon, etc (minimal problems with both coins). However, the 1850's color was beginning to mellow, and IMO the color on the 1853 was superior. Bottom line, I thought the 4 was a nicer coin. This is one reason I'm glad I collect, and not deal coins
A few surprises. I saw six or seven Liberty Nickels in PC MS 66 & a lot more NGC coins of the same series in the same grade. Lots of proof Liberty Nickels and Barber coinage in grades up to PF 67. Most of these coins were type.
I saw a surprising number of scarce, high grade Seated Dollars. Thanks to Legend Steve and Bill Stein of U.S. Coins for letting me look at them, even though there was no way I could afford any of them. Also, thanks to Steve for letting me see probably the nicest Bust $ I will probably ever lay my eyes on.
Another surprise is that I saw more high end early copper than ever before at Long Beach. It was not hard to find Braided Hair Large Cents in 4 & 5 in all color designations. Even found a few Half Cents in 4 BN & RD and one in 5 RB, evenly split between Classic Head and Braided Hair types. RB & RD IHCs were plentiful in MS 64-5, and high end SLQs were also readily available.
One dealer had about 50 Capped Bust Halves in his / her case in grades ranging from mid-grade AU to mid-grade Unc.
Gold was very popular and I saw more dealer to dealer transactions than from collectors like me.
The thing that made the show for me was seeing a bunch of familiar faces. Saw Nucklehead & his girlfriend (or is she his wife?), Greg Margulies (and thanks for looking at my moderns), JOM, Tom Killian, Carl and Braddick.
A number of other dealers were happy to show me some material which was way out of my league because they also knew that I'd appreciate these coins. I found it educational to compare a FH 6 SLQ I have with the same date & grade of one in a dealer's case. There are several tiers re grading FH standers, and if you are considering buying any of them, you should learn about this first.
I also want to thank Harry Laibstein for letting me look at a few of his Large Cents. He had a PC 5 RD 1850 and a PC 4 RD 1853 which I compared. As to be expected, the 1850 had a better strike. Both coins were similar re marks, carbon, etc (minimal problems with both coins). However, the 1850's color was beginning to mellow, and IMO the color on the 1853 was superior. Bottom line, I thought the 4 was a nicer coin. This is one reason I'm glad I collect, and not deal coins
"Vou invadir o Nordeste,
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
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Comments
Thanks for the great report. I am surprised that you found so much high end copper available at the show as there has been a scarce amount available lately for us internet guys.
I went to Harry Laibstein's website to look at the images of the two large cents and they both appeared to be pretty nice. Your opinion that the 53 was the better coin seems to be sound. Evidently Harry thinks so too, as the spread between his asking prices is very narrow with the 53 being priced very close to the 50. He gives the 53 his highest rating for appearance and pronounces it undergraded.
well-struck head, not only are these features there, but they are bold, have detail,
and appear to have depth as well.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Mike said that it would probably make the FH designation for NGC & ANACS and maybe also for PCGS...
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Thanks for your help with my coins. I did end up buying the 1891-S Seated Quarter, but I bought the 1870 indian from Rick Snow (with his new book).
Good seeing you and the others.
Tom