GIVEAWAY: Crow Eating Contest: FINAL UPDATE

seanq

Just got some economy grades, including the coin below;

9 21537695 1954 25C USA MS64


This coin was the subject of an earlier thread in which I said:

"If my coin comes back anything less than a 65 I'll give it away here in the forum. I'm that confident I'm right, and it will be worth that little if I'm wrong. "

(By the way, mad props to 1956Quarter, who said " Sorry, the 54 shown is no better than a 64 at best" Nice call from a lousy picture.)

True to my word, I will give the coin away to the forum member who replies to this thread with the most entertaining, humbling, humililating, and/or pathetic example of numismatic crow-eating. Fellow sufferers of foot-in-mouth disease, here's your chance for a small measure of redemption. I will be the lone judge and jury, to give the folks at Long Beach a fighting chance entries will not close until noon Eastern on Tuesday June 8.

Misery loves company, so come on in and sit a while!


Sean Reynolds

BigE

seanq, hold off on eating crow and tell everyone that you are sending it in for Presidential Review (just like the government does)-------------------BigE

nOoBiEeE

What is numismatic crow-eating...

BillJones

Your 1954 quarter is a nice original coin, but that mark that runs from Washington's cheek and down his jaw is the give away. With that mark in that location, the coin could never make anything higher than MS-64. It's just too obvious.

morganbarber

This isn't the best story, but falls into the correct category. When my father passed away, he had a small hoard of coins. I was given the task of liquidating them. I took about thirty common date raw Morgans to my local dealer who went through them quickly and said "These are all low grade, common coins, I'll give you eight dollars apiece for them, these are nicer, I'll give you twelve dollars each, and I'll give you fifteen each for these two which are nicer." One of the coins was a gorgeous 1886. I asked why it was in the pile with the eight dollar coins. He said that it had altered surfaces, and that he could not sell it retail. I told him that for eight bucks I would keep it. I sold one of my own common, low grade Morgans in it's place and put the 1886 in my Dansco. When I got four free submissions with my membership last year, I decided that for one of the coins I would send my best Morgan. The 1886 I thought was a lock at 65 with a slim shot at 66. PCGS BB'd it for altered surfaces. I still feel like I owe that dealer an apology for not trusting him.

seanq

The camera saw it easily enough, I either couldn't or didn't want to see it with my eyes. I can't wait to get it back in hand and give it another look.

By "numismatic crow-eating" I mean post a coin-related story where you had to eat your own words, like my MS65 guarantee, the more egregious or embarassing the better.


Sean Reynolds

nwcs

When I first got back into collecting 2 years ago I didn't know all that much. I thought ebay would be reliable. I bought 12 "BU" morgans from a person that was from an old horde (yeah, got suckered -- learned my lesson!) with the intention of sending them to PCGS. I wasn't expecting MS-68 but I was thinking MS-62 to MS-63. Of the 12 sent in, 2 were bagged for cleaning and the rest were AU-55 to AU-58. I spent $21.95 each on those and then the grading fee on top of that. I ended up selling the 10 slabbed ones for around $140 or something. And the other two I sold to a dealer in town for $10 each.

It's going to be hard to top this one. But I remember this one when I need to stay humble.

LALASD4

Well, one time I crackout a ms65 and a pr64 3 cent silver pieces and send them back for grading, the pr64 came back the same but the ms65 came back AU58 !!!!

JrGMan2004

Hmm... I really can't think of anything........

Russ

HMM...I suppose I could dig up some of my very first submissions where I boldy predicted the grades and was not even close; and I mean NOT EVEN CLOSE. When I first started, I really sucked.

Russ, NCNE

Neptune

Don't feel too bad - sometimes if we really like a coin, we just don't see those little problem areas.

One time when I was at an auction downtown, we had arrived late, and I had just gotten back into collecting coins. They started auctioning off some coins, and I bid way to high ......... without even viewing closely - I only glanced at them/didn't have time for much else. I can't see well even with glasses, and ended up with a BIG pile of kaka. I got screwed big time. Boy did I feel stupid when I got home and saw what I had bid on .........THEN I had to explain this to my husband, who wasn't real pleased at my purchase. (They start throwing more coins in the lot to get the bids up, so it was quite a few coins.) I don't think I ever did tell him the whole truth. .......It has been over a year now, so I am now in the process of packaging up to take BACK to the auctioneer to resell.

relayer

I heard about this guy who submitted a 1954 quarter that he was sure it was a MS65.

He wound up giving it to me when it came back MS64

barberlover

I don't collect Ike dollars but my wife has some and asked me to look at some of them earier this year, among them was a ver lusterous & what appeared to me to be realitvly mark free bicenntenial piece that I thought was a solid 66 and it came back from pcgs last week a 64 !!!.

Go ahead and laugh but my 92 S barber half graded 66 by pcgs has a "hit" in the hair the size of someone jamming it with the point of a pen and their is nothing remotely close to that large of a mark anywhere on the 64 graded Ike. That is the biggest mis to the downside I've had in submitting a coin to pcgs since I got back in the hobby in 99 .

Les

66Tbird

<< <i>pathetic example of numismatic crow-eating >>



I bought some signed state quarters thinking that they would make a little profit within a few years

Hows that for pathetic?????????

seanq

<< <i>I heard about this guy who submitted a 1954 quarter that he was sure it was a MS65.

He wound up giving it to me when it came back MS64 >>



I meant your story should be pathetic, not your attempt to win the coin.

Come on, people, I know you've all done worse. Fess up!

Sean Reynolds

LALASD4

Well, how about this? I bought a coin for $700.00 and a year later sold it for $100.00

cosmicdebris

I bought one of those picture frame type coin holder thingies for a 1951 Coronation set. Everybody warned me not to but I did anyway. Every single coin was cleaned and whizzed but they sure were shiny. I did not send it back either I kept it and hung it on the wall where I can see it in plain view to remind me of one of the grossest purchases I ever made.

Geoman

True story...

When a friend of mine learned I collected coins several years ago, he told me he had a big bag of old wheat pennies that I could have. After agreeing to pick them up the following weekend, I stopped by and he was just taking them out of socks. I asked him what was up, and he told me that they were all dirty, and decided to wash them for me in the WASHING MACHINE!!! He put a bunch in several pairs of socks, tied the ends, dumped in a lot of soap, and washed them. He also PROUDLY told me he DRIED THEM in the DRYER for me so the would be all nice, clean and shinny. I didn't have the heart to tell him he ruin them; instead, just took them and thanked him.

Edited for spelling.

ursabear

OK, I'll play!

My first "certified" coin purchase was an ACG PR70 Deep Cam Silver 1999 Kennedy. It was really inexpensive. I was quite proud of it and told my wife I would make quite a bit on it.

Then I sold it at auction. As cheap as it was when I bought it, I STILL lost $5 plus eBay fees when I sold it.

I had to admit to my wife that I had a lot to learn about a hobby and business to which I had just returned after 20 years.

Myqqy

I didn't eat crow on this, but it keeps me hungry to learn more and laugh at myself once in a while- when I got back into the hobby about 4 years ago, I purchased an 1886-O morgan from a piece of crud ebay seller who had it advertised as an ms-60. I figured that I would score a nice coin at a nice price, and I didn't know any better then. What was actually sent was a cleaned turd that probably grades ef-40 on a good day and has the eye appeal of week old roadkill. But here's the most classic part of the whole deal- this yahoo actually wrote on the 2x2 holder "ms60 weak strike". The more I learned about morgans and coins in general, the more I realized what an inhumane jerk this guy was- he disappeared from ebay (I think ) but I kept the coin as a keepsake.

Proof69Eagles

Here is the best TRUE Story ever, both humbling and humiliating. I gave my MOM two rare date Morgan Silver Dollars, an 1884-S and an 1878 8TF. My little sister had some friends over playing and they somehow got into my mom's coin box where she kept all her silver coins and stuff. Well, they took the Morgan Dollars and went and bought two of those $1 candy bars from those candy drives with them. You think that is the worst part?? NOT!! They gave the candy bars to these two boys they liked. Now if that aint crow-eating, then I don't know what is!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes you just gotta wonder what kids are thinking???????????????????

Elcontador

I've only made one big mistake, but I still think about it. In the late 60's, I was a high school kid and I'd go to the occasional auction. Like most people, I was into 20th Century coins & spotted a nice 1931 D Dime. Great luster, good strike, full bands, etc. Bidding was fierce, but I got the coin for $75.

I got interested in women, went to college, got into my career. Flash forward 30 years, and I get back into collecting. I take my pride in joy into a local dealer, because I wanted to know how it would grade / what is was worth. He showed me a long, thin, scratch going down the lengh of Miss Liberty's jawline which I did not see before I bid on the coin. It limited the grade to MS 63 & I sold it for $50.

To put things in perspective, I paid $35 that year for a 36 S Walker that now resides in a PC 6 holder.

At least I didn't make THAT mistake again.

razorface1027

When I first started, I really sucked

When grading...I suck...PERIOD. However, I am learning SLOOOOOOOOOOOWLY. Thanks to fellow forum members.

paigowjohnny

Geez you want some crow....I had bought a bunch of Morgans from Coast to Coast...and used to recommend them to folks and tell them how wonderful the service was, etc. They knew better, but I didn't. Then I learned more, took my losses and learned my lesson.

Myqqy

I had bought a bunch of Morgans from Coast to Coast...and used to recommend them to folks

My wife sees their ads in the Coinage magazines and says "aren't those the guys that rip people off??"

Shamika

Five or six years ago when I first started buying off of eBay, I won a "1917-D Lincoln cent MS64BN" from ctnumisaut@aol.com. When he suggested that I include the cost of postal insurance with my payment I baulked and told him the coin would never get lost. Guess what. I'm still waiting for that coin to arrive.

Then about three months later I won a "1929-D MS63RB Lincoln Cent" from dfinkel@mediaone.net. Again, I baulked at the postal insurance. Can you again guess what happened? Yep. I'm still waiting on that coin too.


What's that saying?

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

RGL

That cut and paste did not work worth a hoot ... Oh well, when I first got back into collecting, I thought I had come across a major score on some raw Franklin proofs at an average of $25 a pop. All of these coins were going to grade PR-66 or better and many of them would CAM. Sent a 1954-63 run to be slabbed at $15 a coin and the coins ranged mostly from 63 to 65, with a couple of 66s ... and no CAMs. A bittersweet and expensive lesson....

OKbustchaser

The dumbest thing I did as a collector? In 1979 I sold all my worn out silver Roosies at 50X face. So far, so good. Then I turned around and sank it all in Morgans. Any takers out there for an $650.00 1880 S Morgan that if I really stretch it might grade MS64? (Of course, then it was a gem BU 65. I know this because the dealer told me so!)

JimP

seanq

Just thought I'd bump this for the folks getting back from Long Beach. 36 hours left to enter!


Sean Reynolds

clw54

I found out recently the 1893-S Morgan I'd had for thirty years had an added mintmark. I'd split the cost with my grandmother and ordered it from a large ad in Coin World. The company was HR Silvermine, or something similar to that.

ealandg

I bought a 1798 Draped Bust $ in a SEGS holder for $2500 graded XF45. It was shot down by PCGS and NGC. Came back from ANACS corroded, tooled and cleaned, Net VF20. I sold it for $1500 in the ANACS holder. I thought I had made a killing and was all puffed up like a bloated marmoset.

kranky

In the late 80's I was in a position to start collecting again after years of idleness. The fact that the ANA convention was going to be held in my hometown that year got me interested again. And unfortunately for me there was a cosmic alignment of available funds and a giant market top.

Since no one sees the top until after it's happened, I was confident that the steeply rising prices of rare coins would continue indefinitely and thought this was a good time to jump in. While I knew a good bit about coins from a numismatic perspective, I was ignorant of the actual market and the business. But my wife was very supportive and told me that if I felt it was a good idea, go for it.

I had been seeing ads in CW for a company called Hannes Tulving Rare Coin Investments. Not a single client had lost money on coins bought from them - ever! They would select coins with great profit potential and send them to you in HTRCI's own slabs. And what's more, they would send you updates occasionally showing you how much you've made on your coins. So, unable to contain myself until the ANA show where I could select my own coins, I wrote them a check for $2,000 (this was a lot of money for me) and received my box of 25 coins. Everything was great, since HTRCI would buy them back at any time for the prices they published, all of which kept going up and up.

The coins were graded fairly. However, they were as common as dirt. MS63 common date Walkers, MS63/MS64 common date Morgans and MS65/PR65 Franklins and 1964 Kennedys. What did I care, since prices were going to keep increasing? And when the ANA rolled around, I took the leftover money I had saved and bought some NGC MS64 common date Morgans at around $125 each.

Well, not long after that HTRCI was charged by the FTC with creating and maintaining an artificial coin market to induce the purchase of coins at inflated prices. The buyback policy was scrapped. The $2,000 that took me over a year to save was worth about $400. But not to worry - I had those NGC MS64 Morgans to bail me out! They only went down about 50%! There was a bright side, though - luckily for me I didn't have enough money to be buying MS65s.

The loss didn't really hurt me financially as much as it did mentally. It was another eight years before I bought another coin. But I keep that box of HTRCI coins right on my desk as a reminder of my lapse of common sense.

Steve27

Well, I don't have much evidence left, because a smashed the slab. But after everyone was saying how hard it was to make a 1955 Washington quarter in MS66, I searched around at a local show and bought a raw one, which I then submitted to PCGS. Well, it came back an MS62!!! (This coin now resides in my raw 20th century type set; however, I find it hard to look at without shaking my head.)

seanq

Entries are now closed, and I've decided the winner is....

Neptune! For her over-bid auction lot full of junk and subsequent "explanation" to her husband, Neptune wins my over-hyped and under-graded MS64 Washington Quarter. Please PM me your mailing address.

Honorable mentions to morganbarber (if you had gone back to the shop owner with that bodybag, you would have won ) and RGL (for agony most closely approaching my own). Thanks to everyone for sharing, maybe a few folks can learn from readnig about our mistakes rather than by making them.


Sean Reynolds

Neptune

Sean - Wow! I am surprised, but glad I won your crow eating contest. I seriously DO have those coins packed up to take back to the auction where I got them. JUNK, I tell you it was JUNK!

However, I feel bad taking your prize coin - even tho it didn't grade up like you wanted it to, it's still a nice coin. I would feel better if you kept it.

HOWEVER ......... I am going to PM you my address, just in case you just can NOT stand to look at it anymore.

Thanks again for the recognition of my stupidity. I DID learn my lesson, though!

Pam

kranky

Great giveaway and I'm impressed by how many entrants there were for a contest no one really wants to win! Congrats, Neptune, and kudos to seanq for the clever idea and generosity.

seanq

A final update:

Neptune really did feel bad accepting this prize coin, so after a couple of PM exchanges we've decided instead that the coin will be auctioned off on eBay and all proceeds donated to the RCC Legal Defense Fund.

The stories people relayed in this thread are all about being able to learn and grow from mistakes with a positive attitude. I believe the same principle is at play behind most of the comments people are now defending in the ACG lawsuit.

Watch the B/S/T forum for a notice when the auction is up and running.


Sean Reynolds

Shamika

Neptune

Yes, the crow eating coin has been donated to the RCC Legal Defense Fund.

Sean, I did love your coin, and appreciate it!!! - but am very glad it will be put to good use! Thanks again for the contest! Be sure to let us know when it starts running on the bay.

Neptune

Here is the link for the coin that has been donated:

crow eating coin donated