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STONE
Posts: 15,275 ✭
0
STONE
Posts: 15,275 ✭
STONE
Posts: 15,275 ✭
Comments
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
2) Care is taken to ensure that each coin purchased fits and matches closely to the other coins in that set (when possible).
3) It is also suggested that one should buy the key dates first, or at least relatively early on, as to avoid price inflation down the road. (Something that Ambro has done considerably well).
Ok, that's about as much flattery to Ambro as I can take. Now it's time to be more selfish and to the point with what I am getting at.
I too feel that I have broken Rule 1 in regards to a collection that I have just completed. As of last night I filled the last hole in my Capped Bust Half Dime Date Set, and completed a collection that I thought would take me many years to finish, but coincidentally didn't. Some may say, "Well, look at the set, you only need 9 coins to complete it, how hard can that be?". Or others may add, "Well, there's not any 'key-dates' like the other Bust Silver denominations have, so cost will be significantly less". And I say that both comments are correct, and I have to agree with them 100%. Although I may add, and the other Bust Half-Dime collectors may agree (or disagree) with me on this, but this series is not about high costs of ownership or key dates (until you get into the Die Marriages!), it's the fact that this series provides a relief from those higher priced coins in larger denominations and in so doing also has fewer coins needed for completing this run of dates.
Let's jump back a bit to the start of my Capped Bust Half-Dime Set with stories about my first Bust Half-Dime purchases.
I will and can never forgot the scenario in which I purchased my first CB1/2Dime. I had just graduated high school (2007) and was searching and applying for any summer job I could get. It was difficult for me to find a job this year as the economy was tanking and I needed money for college in the Fall. I applied to several local outlet stores, but my proactiveness to search for more remedial and labor intensive jobs did not kick in, and I was left without finding a job (just like many of my good friends). I was also still attending the two monthy coin clubs in my area and one of the members, who just so happens to live two blocks away from me, asked if I had found a summer job yet. I told him I had not and he goes on to explain that he has just received a HUGE consignent of coins and wondered if I could help sell many of the coins that he did not want/need. I said I would definitely be interested, and we proceeded from there. This collection was unbelievable as far as early Bust Coinage goes, complete sets of CBHalf Dimes, Dimes, and Half Dollars, with most of the Quarters and Dollars too. I was paid 7.5% commission on everything I sold, and within a week I sold over 8k in coins. Most of the Half Dimes went quickly to people on this board or other MB sites, but due to my poor photography skills at the time some coins that were spectacular to look at in hand didn't sell in that week so I decided to browse through and see which coins were left and which I might want to add to my collection (fully purchased of course). My main thing at the time were the Bust Dimes and Quarters, but I also wanted to pick up a Bust half-dime for a type piece and work to finish that collection after I was close to completing the Dimes and Quarters. Well, it just so happened that one of the remaining Bust Half-Dimes was this gorgeous 1837 in EF/AU with great luster, strike and toning (my pictures made it look like a clown!). I knew from people like Cladiator, MrHalfDime and other Bust Half-Dime collectors that 1837 is very difficult to find nice and in higher grades. So, in a matter of minutes I threw in my $80 from commissions and that was it, the start to my Capped Bust Half-Dime Set.
Fast forward a little, to summer of 2008. Same scenario as the year before in that finding a job was tough, but I managed to find a remedial job in the car sale business. Long hours, not guaranteed income, and little time off, all made collecting coins and picking up new additions very difficult. I was still trolling eBay to see if any Bust Dime or Quarter caught my interest. During a particular week neither category showed signs of promise, so I jumped over the Bust Half-Dime section and began to browse. I didn't see much, but what I did see was a nice crusty 1832 in mid VF. I liked this coin because of the original look and the fact that this date was the second lowest mintage next to my 1837 in the series. I tracked the coin and tossed in a bid near the auctions end. I ended up winning the coin for a little less than I expected and was very pleased to add Half-Dime #2 to the now growing (albeit very slowly, once per year) set of Capped Bust Half-Dimes. As such, I expected a similar scenario to play out year after year with an addition of one new CB Half-Dime per year (approximately).
Let's now jump to Summer '09. Well if this year wasn't the worst year for someone like me to find a job, then I don't know what was. I was only able to find a lawn-care/landscaping job which needed to fill a slot for Friday's and Sunday's (this was prior to my Spain expedition). So, I of course took it since it was better than nothing. I was still afforded plenty of free-time (5 days a week, although I'd rather be making money than spending it), and as such I continued to troll eBay and other dealers inventories. I came across what I thought was a nice VF 1829 for a reasonable price, and so I bought it. It arrived while I was in Spain, and so I had to wait a month to see what it looked like! The coin didn't have the "original" look as the picture made it seem, but nevertheless still a decent addition to my two other little girls. So, it's been three different years, and I've so far picked up 1 new example each year. So, my thoughts about consistently adding one per year seemed to make sense.
Well, I guess I was bitten by the Bust Half-Dime bug lately (or timing and luck played a big role), because last night I found a nice 1830 TPG-ed in AU which I purchased and will be adding to this set as soon as it arrives. Again, reasonably priced, slightly higher grade than what I have been shooting for, but I couldn't pass up this coin, it just spoke to me.
Thus, I now have an 1829, 1830, 1832 and 1837; 4 of the 9 dates needed to complete this set. These are also the four lowest mintage CB Half-Dimes in the series (although no one mintage is particularly low, warranting a significant premium), and I've since purchased them all in order of lowest to highest mintage. I'd say that that is an impressive statistic, and one that I rarely hear others attempting.
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Building this collection, and its Dime and Quarter counterpart, has had its slight consequences but also its favorable advantages.
The consequences of a set like this is that I've slowly lost touch with B&M dealers who I once had good repore with. Don't get me wrong, I still pop my head in every now and then to say hello, of course ask if they have anything I'm looking for, and just shoot the breeze for an hour. I may buy something minimal for the time, but hardly ever big money. Some B&M dealers I used to have a decent relationships with have since grown older and crochety-er, and I don't bother going back there ever again.
But also the adverse affect has occured where concentrating on a set like this has opened up new, stronger, relationships with other (mostly National) dealers. I've streamlined my B&M dealers to just a handful, mostly because they treat me with respect and enjoy talking coins with a young person who has a similar passion. The same goes for the National Dealers, (Rich Uhrich, Dick Osburn, CRO/CCU, Rick Snow, Julian, and many, many more) who always extend to shake my hand. I often can't afford to buy more than one or two coins from any of these dealers during a given show, but they don't seem to mind since they know I'm young and mostly broke!