What a thrill at the Baltimore show for a Lincoln Cent guy!
iras4
Posts: 300
I had the distinct privilge of brokering the sale of the Walsh specimen of the 1926-S PCGS MS-65RD Lincoln Cent at the Baltimore show! Took about half an hour to make it happen, but when it was all over the dealer who bought it at the Heritage Auction had a check in hand and the collector who now owned this Pop 1 condition rarity had the highlight of his fine collection now in hand.
There had been much discussion on this forum in January about the Bozarth coin being nicer..it was a crazy price, and on and on. Having original sold the bozarth coin into the Northland Collection on the Registries and then bt me to Ron Bozarth in the summer before the sale the following year. Bozarth's coin was a decent 1926-S but certainly not a MS-65 and in my opinion will never likely make one at PCGS unless their tough grading standards are relaxed. It was average or a bit above for the marked grade (MS-64RD) but certainly not a shot 65, at least not in my eyes. Some may disagree.
The Walsh specimen, while clearly not PQ for its MS-65 grade, was clearly superior to the Bozarth coin, and it should be. It was and is a solid MS-65 Rd by PCGS's current grading standards and I've examined it closely enough to know that. I don't expect it will come up for sale until it becomes part of an estate many years from now as it's in strong collector hands.
BTW, I brokered the deal at no charge as the thrill of making the sale happen was MORE than enough reward for me. I expect many other Lincoln specialists would feel the same.
Ira
There had been much discussion on this forum in January about the Bozarth coin being nicer..it was a crazy price, and on and on. Having original sold the bozarth coin into the Northland Collection on the Registries and then bt me to Ron Bozarth in the summer before the sale the following year. Bozarth's coin was a decent 1926-S but certainly not a MS-65 and in my opinion will never likely make one at PCGS unless their tough grading standards are relaxed. It was average or a bit above for the marked grade (MS-64RD) but certainly not a shot 65, at least not in my eyes. Some may disagree.
The Walsh specimen, while clearly not PQ for its MS-65 grade, was clearly superior to the Bozarth coin, and it should be. It was and is a solid MS-65 Rd by PCGS's current grading standards and I've examined it closely enough to know that. I don't expect it will come up for sale until it becomes part of an estate many years from now as it's in strong collector hands.
BTW, I brokered the deal at no charge as the thrill of making the sale happen was MORE than enough reward for me. I expect many other Lincoln specialists would feel the same.
Ira
Dealer/old-time collector
0
Comments
<< <i>By "Walsh" do you mean The Joshua and Ally Walsh Registry Set??-- As someone who had never bought a cent before, I was most impressed with the relative eye appeal of that set, bought examples for some mint sets I'm assembling and was most astonished when a dealer offered me profits at Baltimore! I was only showing the cents to ask about a few missing denominations in the Mint Sets.
That's the one, the Joshua and Ally Walsh Registry Set.
Ira
PS.
I'm hoping no one will ask who bought the coin, because that's something I can't divulge. Ditto for the price.
I know you examined the coin very closely as you mentioned. The print on the reverse of the coin - what was your personal assessment of that? Did you believe that did not obstruct the full GEM RED designation on the coin? I know you believe the coin to be solid 65RD grade. I would be curious to know your thoughts on that.
Wondercoin.
It is people like you, who renew my faith in the human race.
Thanks for sharing it with us all.
and you even got to have a lot of fun doing it too.
The thrill of the Baltimore show for me - besides it being my first show - did not involve purshasing a lincoln cent (I made the decision to just "take in the show" and NOT to buy a lincoln before I had even walked thru the door). The thrill of the show was dropping by to meet one of the best dealers in the "lincoln business" (and a great guy too) only to have him share 45 mins of his time showing me a dozen or so lincolns that absolutely made my heart stop. I probably will never get the opportunity to see all of those coins in one place ever again. There were some real "humdingers" among those coins...that is for sure.
So for those that booed the Baltimore show here on the boards...it's not always about what coins were there...it's also about who you saw and what you learned!!!
<< <i>Ira: Congratulations on the deal. I know how you feel, because I also brokered the exact coin 3 or so years ago when the owner of the coin at that time desired to sell the piece. I carried it around with me for a couple days back then and frankly marveled at the obverse of the coin in particular.
I know you examined the coin very closely as you mentioned. The print on the reverse of the coin - what was your personal assessment of that? Did you believe that did not obstruct the full GEM RED designation on the coin? I know you believe the coin to be solid 65RD grade. I would be curious to know your thoughts on that.
Wondercoin. >>
There is a partial print on the reverse, not overpowering, but the color and luster is excellent and even in PCGS's grading guide, a partial print IS permitted on a MS-65 coin. Heck, I've seen partial prints on coins in that grade of all Types, including one of the handful of 1922-Ds in 66Red! That print was terrible on the 22-D and really dominated ther everse. I can't understand why the dealer bought that one! I was looking thru his boxes and commented on the print on his 22-D, price to me was $12,000 btw, and he merely answered "It's a very nice coin."
In the case of the 26-S, I'll only say it's nice coin. Remember, it's the finest one graded, so it would be like me dissing a 1793 Liberty Cap Cent in AU-50 by saying "there's a tiny patch of porsity art the bottom of the reverse. " With supreme rarities, you take 'em as they come. The Jules Riever sale sure proved that!
Ira
I just love to see such great material.
Mike
Lincoln Wheats (1909 - 1958) Basic Set - Always Interested in Upgrading!