Sarasota, FL Coin Show Report
keyman64
Posts: 15,518 ✭✭✭✭✭
If you are looking for an expert market analysis of all of the most popular coins to collect, key dates, expensive and rare stuff etc....you are in the wrong thread. If you want info on my search for little widgets and details of my observations/encounters then go ahead and continue reading. 
As has been the case for the past 1.5 years, I am looking for Mercury Dime Varieties...more specifically the ones that PCGS has blessed for inclusion in the complete variety set. These are the ULTIMATE MERCURY DIME WIDGETS! Out of the 26 varieties that PCGS blesses I was focused on the items below although I did search for all of them!
Even though I have one of the below items below MS, I am still looking for the following 6 in Mint State, preferably FB:
1935-S/S RPM FS-501
1939-D/D RPM FS-501
1941 DDO FS-101
1945-D/D RPM FS-501
1945-D/D RPM FS-506
1945-S/S RPM FS-503
There are also a couple of *NEW* varieties that will be included in the new Cherrypickers' Guide that I was hunting for...
I was looking for any variety upgrades, duplicates that I might find cheap and coins that friends (Jon, Tony, Larry) might need that I do not.
The 3 day Sarasota Coin Show is just a little less than an hour drive for me. It is always nice and well attended. Besides my personal search for widgets, I had additional incentive to go. I got to meet up with fellow Floridian and Forum Member, MFH (Mike). He brought a few of his toys with him for a show and tell session. That was SWEET! That man has some nice toys! One special item he showed me...well let's just say I almost drooled all over Mike's coin. I somehow controlled myself. It was BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, OLD, STUNNING, SHOCKING, in the right FLAVOR HOLDER etc...just not sure if he wants to advertise it here or if he already has. WOWZERS! It was one of the coolest coins I have ever seen. The visit with Mike was good and we periodically checked on each other's progress every now and then during the 4 hours that I was there. The show was worth it just for the visit with Mike. It is always fun to meet up with nice people that we know from the boards...even though this was my second time meeting him. Good guy!
I took 3 coins with me to sell but I did not try very hard to sell them. I only asked a few dealers to look at them...normally when they asked if I had anything to sell. MFH took a look at them and thought they were nice. I'll probably make it a higher priority to sell them in the coming months. All are nice white Mercury Dimes: 1930-S PCGS MS65FB, 1938 PCGS MS67FB, 1943-S MS67FB....
On with my search/finds... I think I looked at darn near every RAW and SLABBED Mercury Dime that might have a variety associated with it. I found a RAW 1941-S/S RPM FS-501 close to MS65. It was already attributed on the 2x2 and the dealer wanted $50 firm for it. Considering I already have one in PCGS Holder at 65FB and it would cost darn near $65 to get that one into a holder etc...I passed. I just did not have a need for a lower duplicate. Else where, I found a 1942-D/D FS-501. It was low MS, maybe MS63. The dealer wanted to know why I had singled out that coin from the ton of coins that I had looked through at his table(but out of the way so as to not take up his table space and prevent other dealings). Being the silly honest person that I am, I told him what I thought it was. Had I been dishonest, I would have walked away with the coin in the $10-$15 range. But now he wanted $30 for it which was just NUTS considering I was not 100% sure it was the variety in that poor light. There are 6, yes 6...maybe 7, RPMs for that date so I was not willing to take the risk with it and spend $30 on a coin that I can only re-sell for $10 if I made a mistake. Ugh! I know Tony and Jon only have the FS-501 in AU58 while I have it in MS64FB. I just wasn't willing to risk it. My honesty caused me to possibly lose out and the dealer lost out on a sale. I offered him $15 for it and he declined. Oh well. At another dealer's table I found a RAW 1940-S/S RPM FS-501 in AU. It was not the prettiest thing, had spots etc. I already have this coin in PCGS MS66 and I also have a RAW AU so I just did not have a need for another one even though this would have been a Cherrypick. The 2x2 said $4.50 and I just could not convince myself to buy it since it would really just be more "stuff" that I don't need. I found a 1945-Micro S that was just marked as a normal S on the 2x2. It was in slider condition. Granted this would have been a Cherrypick, I just could not convince myself to pull the trigger on more low cost "stuff" just for the sake of doing it. I found a number of machine doubled dates throughout the day but I passed on all of them as well. I darn near went blind looking through a 20x for four hours...trying to find one of the hardest to find varieties...the 1941 DDO. It is tough! Sorry Jon, I did not find one for myself...and most certainly did not find a second one for you.
Sorry buddy. This one eludes both of us.
My search today was not futile! I found the elusive 1939-D/D RPM FS-501. There are only 3 of these graded at PCGS. It was the lone Mercury Dime in this one particular dealer's case....I never want to pass ONE coin up and I am glad I did not pass this one up just because he only had one dime to look at! You never know when you might find the ONE! This coin is in a NATIONAL NUMISMATIC CERTIFICATION slab. This is a slab that I had never heard of until today. A quick Google search shows they still have an active website and are based in Florida. It is a nice coin, problem free and 99% white. However, the grade on the holder is not one that I would agree with sadly...the dealer did not agree with it either thank goodness so I was able to Cherrypick this coin at an okay price....in the MS65+ retail price realm. The grade on the holder says MS66FB but I would call this coin MS64 or MS65 on a really good day...not Full Bands, although it is very very close. Had I just been looking for a normal 1939-D, there is no way I would have paid his price, especially in this holder. So, if this coin would grade at MS64 with our lovely host it will be Pop Top (for the non-FB). I will continue to look for a higher grade specimen with Full Bands. The past year and a half has taught me that the coins ARE out there, it is just a matter of time to find them.
It was a good day! I did not sample the food so I cannot pass judgement on their hot dogs. I also did not snap any photos. Sorry.
It was nice to see Mike and hopefully we will be able to meet up again at Winter FUN. My search proves there are Mercury Dime Varieties out there to be found. Now, please...all of you go find the high MS FB varieties that I still need to locate.
As has been the case for the past 1.5 years, I am looking for Mercury Dime Varieties...more specifically the ones that PCGS has blessed for inclusion in the complete variety set. These are the ULTIMATE MERCURY DIME WIDGETS! Out of the 26 varieties that PCGS blesses I was focused on the items below although I did search for all of them!
Even though I have one of the below items below MS, I am still looking for the following 6 in Mint State, preferably FB:
1935-S/S RPM FS-501
1939-D/D RPM FS-501
1941 DDO FS-101
1945-D/D RPM FS-501
1945-D/D RPM FS-506
1945-S/S RPM FS-503
There are also a couple of *NEW* varieties that will be included in the new Cherrypickers' Guide that I was hunting for...
I was looking for any variety upgrades, duplicates that I might find cheap and coins that friends (Jon, Tony, Larry) might need that I do not.
The 3 day Sarasota Coin Show is just a little less than an hour drive for me. It is always nice and well attended. Besides my personal search for widgets, I had additional incentive to go. I got to meet up with fellow Floridian and Forum Member, MFH (Mike). He brought a few of his toys with him for a show and tell session. That was SWEET! That man has some nice toys! One special item he showed me...well let's just say I almost drooled all over Mike's coin. I somehow controlled myself. It was BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, OLD, STUNNING, SHOCKING, in the right FLAVOR HOLDER etc...just not sure if he wants to advertise it here or if he already has. WOWZERS! It was one of the coolest coins I have ever seen. The visit with Mike was good and we periodically checked on each other's progress every now and then during the 4 hours that I was there. The show was worth it just for the visit with Mike. It is always fun to meet up with nice people that we know from the boards...even though this was my second time meeting him. Good guy!
I took 3 coins with me to sell but I did not try very hard to sell them. I only asked a few dealers to look at them...normally when they asked if I had anything to sell. MFH took a look at them and thought they were nice. I'll probably make it a higher priority to sell them in the coming months. All are nice white Mercury Dimes: 1930-S PCGS MS65FB, 1938 PCGS MS67FB, 1943-S MS67FB....
On with my search/finds... I think I looked at darn near every RAW and SLABBED Mercury Dime that might have a variety associated with it. I found a RAW 1941-S/S RPM FS-501 close to MS65. It was already attributed on the 2x2 and the dealer wanted $50 firm for it. Considering I already have one in PCGS Holder at 65FB and it would cost darn near $65 to get that one into a holder etc...I passed. I just did not have a need for a lower duplicate. Else where, I found a 1942-D/D FS-501. It was low MS, maybe MS63. The dealer wanted to know why I had singled out that coin from the ton of coins that I had looked through at his table(but out of the way so as to not take up his table space and prevent other dealings). Being the silly honest person that I am, I told him what I thought it was. Had I been dishonest, I would have walked away with the coin in the $10-$15 range. But now he wanted $30 for it which was just NUTS considering I was not 100% sure it was the variety in that poor light. There are 6, yes 6...maybe 7, RPMs for that date so I was not willing to take the risk with it and spend $30 on a coin that I can only re-sell for $10 if I made a mistake. Ugh! I know Tony and Jon only have the FS-501 in AU58 while I have it in MS64FB. I just wasn't willing to risk it. My honesty caused me to possibly lose out and the dealer lost out on a sale. I offered him $15 for it and he declined. Oh well. At another dealer's table I found a RAW 1940-S/S RPM FS-501 in AU. It was not the prettiest thing, had spots etc. I already have this coin in PCGS MS66 and I also have a RAW AU so I just did not have a need for another one even though this would have been a Cherrypick. The 2x2 said $4.50 and I just could not convince myself to buy it since it would really just be more "stuff" that I don't need. I found a 1945-Micro S that was just marked as a normal S on the 2x2. It was in slider condition. Granted this would have been a Cherrypick, I just could not convince myself to pull the trigger on more low cost "stuff" just for the sake of doing it. I found a number of machine doubled dates throughout the day but I passed on all of them as well. I darn near went blind looking through a 20x for four hours...trying to find one of the hardest to find varieties...the 1941 DDO. It is tough! Sorry Jon, I did not find one for myself...and most certainly did not find a second one for you.
Sorry buddy. This one eludes both of us.My search today was not futile! I found the elusive 1939-D/D RPM FS-501. There are only 3 of these graded at PCGS. It was the lone Mercury Dime in this one particular dealer's case....I never want to pass ONE coin up and I am glad I did not pass this one up just because he only had one dime to look at! You never know when you might find the ONE! This coin is in a NATIONAL NUMISMATIC CERTIFICATION slab. This is a slab that I had never heard of until today. A quick Google search shows they still have an active website and are based in Florida. It is a nice coin, problem free and 99% white. However, the grade on the holder is not one that I would agree with sadly...the dealer did not agree with it either thank goodness so I was able to Cherrypick this coin at an okay price....in the MS65+ retail price realm. The grade on the holder says MS66FB but I would call this coin MS64 or MS65 on a really good day...not Full Bands, although it is very very close. Had I just been looking for a normal 1939-D, there is no way I would have paid his price, especially in this holder. So, if this coin would grade at MS64 with our lovely host it will be Pop Top (for the non-FB). I will continue to look for a higher grade specimen with Full Bands. The past year and a half has taught me that the coins ARE out there, it is just a matter of time to find them.
It was a good day! I did not sample the food so I cannot pass judgement on their hot dogs. I also did not snap any photos. Sorry.
It was nice to see Mike and hopefully we will be able to meet up again at Winter FUN. My search proves there are Mercury Dime Varieties out there to be found. Now, please...all of you go find the high MS FB varieties that I still need to locate. "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
0
Comments
Not finding a 1941 DDO for me is a real bummer!
That coin is going to cause me to need new glasses!
Looking forward to seeing you and Mike at the FUN show!!
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
I'll see you at Winter FUN for sure.
Great seeing you again Greg, and yes, your three FB Dimes are very nice
and very salable. You should have no problems selling them... all you need
is the right venue.
I am glad you liked the Die Cap Full Brockage 1898 Barber Quarter; its a very
special coin and unique to the series. I've shown it off before but - ok - you twisted my arm...
I have every intention of having this coin professionally imaged, as the holdered image was from my iPhone;
the close up's are copied from a major error web site.
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Its a stange feeling looking at high end Barbers and appreciating what I'm seeing
but not having that overwhelming urge to buy high end Barber Halves [ Ben at Sarasota
Rare Coin had some beauties... and he was nice enough to show me a coin he bought
for his personal collection. It was just dazzeling !! ].
I still hunted for VF 20- 35 Barber Halves for my 9th Dansco album... got zero to show
for my efforts - there were some common dated AU in PCGS holders - and quite a few
NGC MS common dates - just nothing to write home about. Again, Ben had the better
PCGS Halves all wrapped up.
I was also pleasantly surprised to get a call on the way to the show from another
Barber collector - he and I met recently on Pine Island, FL, and he had noticed my
posts on the Mega Barber Thread - and he actually purchased approximately a dozen
of my coins at the Pre ANA Heritage auction in August. [ He may or may not wish his
identity known.]
Regardless - we had a long chat with a few dealers - and both ended up planning on
meeting up again at FUN.
I did locate two coins for my 1891 Mint Set [ Grand Ma's birthyear ] a nice 1891-S
Morgan in PCGS 62 [ OGH - looks like a 64 - with light golden toning - all it needs is
to be sent to CAC - and I swear is a Gold Sticker candidate !! ] Images to follow !!
My second purchase was a tad more money - alot more - actually !
An 1891-CC in PCGS 63 DCAM - with a very clean cheek - incredible
mirrors [ would stand to reason as its DCAM !! ]. The fields are a touch nicer
than to be expected for a 63 - but not as nice as a 64, not by any stretch of
the imagination ! Still - very sweet. This will also get to CAC - but I only expect
a Green Sticker.
I really don't know how the show did as a whole - but the traffic was amazing !!
I got there an hour after it opened - and there was no place to park in the lot. I ended
up down the block and was a bit nervous having to walk back to my car considering
what I had with me - but a friend was nice enough to walk with me to my car.
That's about it for my part of the show report. I was pleased to locate a nice original roll
of MS 1941-P Dimes - most have FB's and there seems to be a touch of DDO at the word
Trust . Too bad you left so early, Greg.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
... and in case you didn't believe me...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
I usually just hunt for unc. Lincoln Cent RPMs at local shows, so it is kinda fun to read how another collector goes about his search. Having to pass on a variety because it is way overpriced or just plain ratty isn't fun, so I usually just pass them over without a look under the loupe. I've recently started looking for Mercury Dime varieties, so maybe I will have something to report in the future.
Nice job on the 1939 D/D and best of luck with the others on your checklist!