High grade small eagle bust halves and a gross generalization about coin collecting

ColonialCoinUnion

There were three in the room in Baltimore that I saw - the ANR coin in NGC66, the B&M coin in SP65 (even though it looked cleaned to me - what the he11 do I know) and one in a dealers case in AU50.

While I think thats pretty cool, it does suggest that if you have sufficient funds you can complete an entire US type collection in one day at a major coin show. As well as pretty much any series by date and mintmark.

Is that a good thing? Shouldn't it be harder than that? Isn't it a little like shooting fish in a barrell?

Shouldn't it take years of driving cross country from flea-bag hotel to small town bourse in an old Rambler to find the last coin you need? Getting phone calls at 4 AM from a dealer on the coast with some obscure coin you need which will be gone to someone else if you don't buy it? Wouldn't that be better? Am I missing something here?

Or is the sport of collecting really the search for examples at the price you want to pay? Or is it sneaking them into the house without your wife knowing about it? Or finding examples with extra eye-appeal?

Because if all the coins are there, at every major show, then the real sport is having enough money to buy all of them. What kind of sport is that?

Casey

Agreed. Extra eye appeal becomes more important to me every day, and sneaking them in the house is half the fun!

tradedollarnut

There were a couple more in auction that you didn't mention - including a 1796 in MS64.

Isn't there sport in seeking value?

airplanenut

Sure you might be able to find all the coins you need in one show, but if you're looking for a look, you might not find it, even if every date is there--to match the look of the coins can be very difficult.

Also, for lower mintages, it can be a stroke of luck that one or more may be available... sometimes, you just might never be able to find a coin you need--it depends on who's there, how the market's doing, and who is ready to sell a collection.

Jeremy

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>There were a couple more in auction that you didn't mention - including a 1796 in MS64.

Isn't there sport in seeking value? >>



I guess. But isn't it uncomfortably similar to the sport of finding Laundry Detergent for $4.79 instead of $5.23? Or a really good deal on car insurance?

MrEureka

CCU - Your point is a very good one, even if an exaggeration.

It can take decades to track down just the right coins for your type set, even if you're willing to pay any reasonable price. (The Hayes, Foxfire and Braddick collections come to mind.) On the other hand, a less fussy collector will only be constrained by his budget.

Of course, the more important point is that if you pick a more difficult series, you will have to work much harder to spend your money. (If you enjoy the game, more "work" is a good thing!) Examples include virtually any series collected by die variety, most non-US coins, tokens and medals, and even sample slabs.

merz2

CCU
I think that it has become important to me to get my coins equally eye appealing and in equal grades.A nice matching set,so to speak.For instance I had(until yesterday) a PCGS 1937 PR67 RD Lincoln.In my Registry Set 1936-1942,all the rest were PR66 RD.I decided to sell it and replace it with a PR66 RD and to take the other cash and start a Matte Proof Lincoln Set.I purchased a 1909 PR64 RB and a 1910 PR65 RB.I also picked up a PCGS 1909-S MS66 Rd,that is stunning.Might even be upgrade candidate.
So just finding the grade at a major show isn't all there is to it.IMHO

roadrunner

These halves have skyrocketed over the past few months and even more so in the past month. My local dealer had a perfect orig FINE 12+ piece that had walked in off the street. He had the coin sold raw to another dealer for his personnel set around CDN ask ($33K). But it looks like the potential buyer made a big mistake in asking that the coin get slabbed for everyone's protection. Well, this delayed the situation for a few weeks and the coin got sent down to Baltimore for a one day slab at PCGS. It did indeed get slabbed as FINE12 but it also got exposed to a number of dealers while down there. And if your're a seller, more exposure is usually good.

It seems offers considerably above the $33K were made by major players. This would lead me to believe that they have retail or wholesale buyers out there at the $40K level and up.

The seller decided to pass and hold for a while longer. I'm sure he'll get some more offers in the very high 30's. For now he's holding a blue chip. Last I checked CDN bid was only $30K but the market is saying it is considerably higher.

roadrunner

roadrunner

To those that offered me an opinion as to the value of the Fine 1797 half above, I thought the final result would be interesting to you.

roadrunner

Baley

and indeed it is.

I'm finding that the sheets are way behind on ALL decent pre-1808 material.

Baley

Or is the sport of collecting really the search for examples at the price you want to pay? Or is it sneaking them into the house without your wife knowing about it? Or finding examples with extra eye-appeal?

yes to all 3!