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Clearwater Coin Show Report
keyman64
Posts: 15,456 ✭✭✭✭✭
It has been a while since I have been able to spend quality time at a show. Today was that day!
I was on multiple missions today.
1. Have Fun - Mission Accomplished.
2. Cherrypick Many Coins(Mainly Mercury Dimes) - Mission Accomplished.
2a. Hope those Cherrypicks were some of the high grade core coins for the Mercury Dime Complete Variety Set that I NEEDED. - Fail...but that's okay, see mission number one!
3. Cherrypick a couple of coins for DIMEMAN if I could find some things he needed - Fail (kinda).
4. Cherrypick a couple of items for another member on these boards if I could. - Fail....I tried!
5. Since I have been studying a couple of other series, I wanted to see if I could Cherrypick a coin from another series. - Mission Accomplished.
I arrived at 10AM and saw coinkid855 arrive just before me and we walked in together. Good times were just beginning!
I only planned on staying a few hours but had allowed myself the entire day which was good. The show opened at 10AM and closed at 5PM. I walked out of there just a few minutes before 5PM! WOW...and the time just flew by.
One of the first dealers I came in contact with was a local that was a not-so-special person that I had run into before at other small local shows. I had forgotten about him. If you walk up to his table with a 10x or higher power loupe he will immediately call you a cherrypicker that is trying to rip him off and he will totally go off on you. I handled it well and told him that I always examine the bands of a Mercury Dime at 20x...WHICH IS TRUE! Geez, dealers act like they have ZERO time with their inventory. If a dealer has a variety that I need, I am happy to pay their asking price...or whatever the coin might be "worth". Why this dealer won't check his two cases of coins for varieties so that he can maximize his profit is beyond me. Anyway, to say the least I did not stay there long and I doubt I WILL EVER GO TO HIS TABLE AGAIN! He's a real jerk. Luckily I did not let that encounter get me down and moved on quickly. There always seems to be one really GRUMPY person in the crowd that thinks everyone is out to get them. Oh well.
My next encounter worth noting. I came across a very nice dealer with a good inventory of Mercs in 2x2s. This made me happy. I went through them and found a 1936 DDO in low Mint State. This was not the FS-101 that is blessed by the PCGS Complete Variety Set...it was one of the other 7 DDOs for the date. I have 3 spare DDOs for the date (non FS-101) already and I also have the Top Pop FS-101 so I really did not need this coin. I helped the dealer out, told him what he had, let him borrow my 20x loupe so he could see it, wrote DDO on the 2x2 for him and then I went on my merry way having done my good deed for the day. He was a very nice dealer and I was happy to help him out if I could.
At this point 2+ hours had passed and I had been striking out everywhere. Everyone was very nice. I enjoyed chatting with lots of people but geez, I was getting a little bummed out. About 3/4 of the way through the room I came to a dealer that had a TON of 2x2s for each series. I happily sat down to plow through the Mercury Dimes. I found a 1935-S/S that is NOT in the CPG and it is also NOT in the Treasure Hunting Mercury Dimes 2nd Edition Book from 2005. It is a minor RPM to the north and one that I do not have. The coin is probably AU53 and happens to be a pretty neat toner with rainbow colors. Not a bad coin for $8! I continue on my quest with the same dealer and find a 1938-D RPM-001 north. This one is not in the CPG but it should be. It is very easy to spot and is pretty significant. This RPM is NOT in the CPG or Treasure Hunting Mercury Dimes book and needs to be researched a bit more, probably another AU53-ish coin. This one is a pretty significant RPM to the north. Very happy with this find for $8! If you have the Treasure Hunting Book, it looks just like the RPM-001 and RPM-002 of the date 1940-D. Good one! I then continue searching this same dealer's inventory and come across a 1943-D RPM-003 in AU-55. This coin is not in the CPG but it is listed in the Treasure Hunting book but the photo there is not that great. It is relatively minor with a repunched D slightly south under the top serif. It is tough to see with a 20x but the folks at MMNS let me use their Dino-lite and it looks great at MEGA-MAGNIFICATION. Not a bad buy at $8 but not as good as the others. Continuing on with the same dealer I then came across a NEW CPG VARIETY, the 1945 FS-901 which is DDO-002. Why this coin is in the CPG over the DDO-001 is beyond me. It is a silly coin and hard to spot. The DDO-001 is a stronger DDO in my opinion. Anyway, this one is a AU58+ slider with a weak strike reverse which is the norm for 1945. Not a bad price at $8...but not great. Considering the variety AND that none have been graded/attributed at PCGS yet, it is a good find but it does not meet the standards for my set. I'd like a MS67FB thank you very much but I won't complain. Finding FOUR unattributed Mercury Dime varieties at one table has to be a crazy thing. As I said, this dealer had a ton of 2x2 material for just about every series. My mind was going a bit nuts trying to think of the varieties from other series that I should look for...so I continued. I checked the War Nickels, nothing. I checked a couple of Washington quarters that I know, nothing. I checked the Buffalo nickels that I could think of...1916/1916 nope, 3-Leggers nope, 1935 DDRs nope, 1938-D FS-511 D/D/D/S...BINGO!!! It is a real easy variety to spot and I was happy to find a VF-30(with scratch on rev) for $3. That was my first ever Buffalo Nickel Cherrypick. Not a big win but I certainly did not lose money on the deal either.
I had a really good long chat with Robert Haire, President/CEO of MNS (was MMNS). I talked with him at length about the HALO product. It was a great conversation, I really enjoyed it. He is in the early stages of moving his operation to Pinellas County, FL it seems. I guess he is tired of the snow. He is a real innovator and I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet and chat with him at length. Good guy. He was nice enough to let me use his Dino-Lite to look at the varieties I had with me. I need to buy myself one of these things. WOW, that thing is awesome.
I did more chatting with folks than I had expected and was pretty tired. I did not eat or drink anything all day. I looked at the time...WOW, it was 4PM. I had thought I had looked through just about everything there was to see and was starting to wander aimlessly. I walked back to the entrance thinking that I might leave then I noticed a dealer with a TON of 2x2 material that I passed early on in the show because his table was very busy. It wasn't busy at this point!...time to find the strength and look through a couple hundred more Mercs. Wow! I found TWO 1942-D/D coins in slider condition that I did not need...and they both had problemS that would prevent them from going into problem-free holders so I passed on them. I then came across the REALLY REALLY REALLY TOUGH 1941 DDO FS-101. I was very excited at first because all I looked at was the PUP(motto) then I was quickly saddened. AU Details, environmental damage to the face of Liberty. It looked etched as if worms had crawled all over her face, metal missing...I almost cried! There are only 3 graded at PCGS and this variety has been known for several years. I continued on with my quest with this same dealer and found a very very nice MS66+/MS67...with a small shot at FB 1944-D RPM-003 FS-501. It is one of the more common Mercury Dime varieties but it's a good one that is easy to spot. I already own a tied for Top Pop 3/0 MS67FB but was happy to pick this one up for $15. This coin was a pretty good win for the day! After I made my transaction for the 44-D/D and put the coin in my pocket, I told the dealer about the other 3 coins that I had found in his inventory. He was very appreciative and a real nice local guy that I had never met before. We had a good conversation and even exchanged contact info...in case he comes across more Mercs that need searching.
I looked throughout the day for some 10-15 Roosie varieties and came up empty-handed. I also searched for a few of the Washington Quarter varieties...nothing. I tried. I clearly need to study more varieties so I can try to Cherrypick more coins from different series. The one dealer that I found 5 coins at...there were thousands of coins that I did not look at...I just know he has more stuff hidden in those 2x2s.
I had a lot of fun and that was the number one thing I was after. I had the opportunity to hang out with coinkid855 for a while as well. Always nice to see him and chat. I enjoyed looking over a few of his prized posessions as well. Nice stuff!...and he found a couple of nice things today as well. I don't think I was rubbing off on him in any way but he slummed it a bit and actually bought a MERCURY DIME today...who'da thunk? I think he will stick to the BIGGER coins on a permanent basis. I also sold him a 1956 Proof Set that he seemed pretty happy with. I only bought it because based on the eBay photos I thought I had found a nice DDR Frankie...but it was not....but it did turn out to be a nice Frankie so that is the reason he took it off my hands. Win Win....although probably a better win for him since he knows how to grade those things better than I do but that is just fine with me.
All in all, an awesome day!
I can't wait for the next great show to attend.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Photos will have to come some other time....sorry. No time for that any time soon it seems since I am pretty darn busy these days.
I was on multiple missions today.
1. Have Fun - Mission Accomplished.
2. Cherrypick Many Coins(Mainly Mercury Dimes) - Mission Accomplished.
2a. Hope those Cherrypicks were some of the high grade core coins for the Mercury Dime Complete Variety Set that I NEEDED. - Fail...but that's okay, see mission number one!
3. Cherrypick a couple of coins for DIMEMAN if I could find some things he needed - Fail (kinda).
4. Cherrypick a couple of items for another member on these boards if I could. - Fail....I tried!
5. Since I have been studying a couple of other series, I wanted to see if I could Cherrypick a coin from another series. - Mission Accomplished.
I arrived at 10AM and saw coinkid855 arrive just before me and we walked in together. Good times were just beginning!
I only planned on staying a few hours but had allowed myself the entire day which was good. The show opened at 10AM and closed at 5PM. I walked out of there just a few minutes before 5PM! WOW...and the time just flew by.One of the first dealers I came in contact with was a local that was a not-so-special person that I had run into before at other small local shows. I had forgotten about him. If you walk up to his table with a 10x or higher power loupe he will immediately call you a cherrypicker that is trying to rip him off and he will totally go off on you. I handled it well and told him that I always examine the bands of a Mercury Dime at 20x...WHICH IS TRUE! Geez, dealers act like they have ZERO time with their inventory. If a dealer has a variety that I need, I am happy to pay their asking price...or whatever the coin might be "worth". Why this dealer won't check his two cases of coins for varieties so that he can maximize his profit is beyond me. Anyway, to say the least I did not stay there long and I doubt I WILL EVER GO TO HIS TABLE AGAIN! He's a real jerk. Luckily I did not let that encounter get me down and moved on quickly. There always seems to be one really GRUMPY person in the crowd that thinks everyone is out to get them. Oh well.
My next encounter worth noting. I came across a very nice dealer with a good inventory of Mercs in 2x2s. This made me happy. I went through them and found a 1936 DDO in low Mint State. This was not the FS-101 that is blessed by the PCGS Complete Variety Set...it was one of the other 7 DDOs for the date. I have 3 spare DDOs for the date (non FS-101) already and I also have the Top Pop FS-101 so I really did not need this coin. I helped the dealer out, told him what he had, let him borrow my 20x loupe so he could see it, wrote DDO on the 2x2 for him and then I went on my merry way having done my good deed for the day. He was a very nice dealer and I was happy to help him out if I could.
At this point 2+ hours had passed and I had been striking out everywhere. Everyone was very nice. I enjoyed chatting with lots of people but geez, I was getting a little bummed out. About 3/4 of the way through the room I came to a dealer that had a TON of 2x2s for each series. I happily sat down to plow through the Mercury Dimes. I found a 1935-S/S that is NOT in the CPG and it is also NOT in the Treasure Hunting Mercury Dimes 2nd Edition Book from 2005. It is a minor RPM to the north and one that I do not have. The coin is probably AU53 and happens to be a pretty neat toner with rainbow colors. Not a bad coin for $8! I continue on my quest with the same dealer and find a 1938-D RPM-001 north. This one is not in the CPG but it should be. It is very easy to spot and is pretty significant. This RPM is NOT in the CPG or Treasure Hunting Mercury Dimes book and needs to be researched a bit more, probably another AU53-ish coin. This one is a pretty significant RPM to the north. Very happy with this find for $8! If you have the Treasure Hunting Book, it looks just like the RPM-001 and RPM-002 of the date 1940-D. Good one! I then continue searching this same dealer's inventory and come across a 1943-D RPM-003 in AU-55. This coin is not in the CPG but it is listed in the Treasure Hunting book but the photo there is not that great. It is relatively minor with a repunched D slightly south under the top serif. It is tough to see with a 20x but the folks at MMNS let me use their Dino-lite and it looks great at MEGA-MAGNIFICATION. Not a bad buy at $8 but not as good as the others. Continuing on with the same dealer I then came across a NEW CPG VARIETY, the 1945 FS-901 which is DDO-002. Why this coin is in the CPG over the DDO-001 is beyond me. It is a silly coin and hard to spot. The DDO-001 is a stronger DDO in my opinion. Anyway, this one is a AU58+ slider with a weak strike reverse which is the norm for 1945. Not a bad price at $8...but not great. Considering the variety AND that none have been graded/attributed at PCGS yet, it is a good find but it does not meet the standards for my set. I'd like a MS67FB thank you very much but I won't complain. Finding FOUR unattributed Mercury Dime varieties at one table has to be a crazy thing. As I said, this dealer had a ton of 2x2 material for just about every series. My mind was going a bit nuts trying to think of the varieties from other series that I should look for...so I continued. I checked the War Nickels, nothing. I checked a couple of Washington quarters that I know, nothing. I checked the Buffalo nickels that I could think of...1916/1916 nope, 3-Leggers nope, 1935 DDRs nope, 1938-D FS-511 D/D/D/S...BINGO!!! It is a real easy variety to spot and I was happy to find a VF-30(with scratch on rev) for $3. That was my first ever Buffalo Nickel Cherrypick. Not a big win but I certainly did not lose money on the deal either.
I had a really good long chat with Robert Haire, President/CEO of MNS (was MMNS). I talked with him at length about the HALO product. It was a great conversation, I really enjoyed it. He is in the early stages of moving his operation to Pinellas County, FL it seems. I guess he is tired of the snow.
He is a real innovator and I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet and chat with him at length. Good guy. He was nice enough to let me use his Dino-Lite to look at the varieties I had with me. I need to buy myself one of these things. WOW, that thing is awesome. I did more chatting with folks than I had expected and was pretty tired. I did not eat or drink anything all day. I looked at the time...WOW, it was 4PM. I had thought I had looked through just about everything there was to see and was starting to wander aimlessly. I walked back to the entrance thinking that I might leave then I noticed a dealer with a TON of 2x2 material that I passed early on in the show because his table was very busy. It wasn't busy at this point!...time to find the strength and look through a couple hundred more Mercs. Wow! I found TWO 1942-D/D coins in slider condition that I did not need...and they both had problemS that would prevent them from going into problem-free holders so I passed on them. I then came across the REALLY REALLY REALLY TOUGH 1941 DDO FS-101. I was very excited at first because all I looked at was the PUP(motto) then I was quickly saddened. AU Details, environmental damage to the face of Liberty. It looked etched as if worms had crawled all over her face, metal missing...I almost cried! There are only 3 graded at PCGS and this variety has been known for several years.
I continued on with my quest with this same dealer and found a very very nice MS66+/MS67...with a small shot at FB 1944-D RPM-003 FS-501. It is one of the more common Mercury Dime varieties but it's a good one that is easy to spot. I already own a tied for Top Pop 3/0 MS67FB but was happy to pick this one up for $15. This coin was a pretty good win for the day! After I made my transaction for the 44-D/D and put the coin in my pocket, I told the dealer about the other 3 coins that I had found in his inventory. He was very appreciative and a real nice local guy that I had never met before. We had a good conversation and even exchanged contact info...in case he comes across more Mercs that need searching. I looked throughout the day for some 10-15 Roosie varieties and came up empty-handed. I also searched for a few of the Washington Quarter varieties...nothing. I tried. I clearly need to study more varieties so I can try to Cherrypick more coins from different series. The one dealer that I found 5 coins at...there were thousands of coins that I did not look at...I just know he has more stuff hidden in those 2x2s.
I had a lot of fun and that was the number one thing I was after. I had the opportunity to hang out with coinkid855 for a while as well. Always nice to see him and chat. I enjoyed looking over a few of his prized posessions as well. Nice stuff!...and he found a couple of nice things today as well. I don't think I was rubbing off on him in any way but he slummed it a bit and actually bought a MERCURY DIME today...who'da thunk? I think he will stick to the BIGGER coins on a permanent basis. I also sold him a 1956 Proof Set that he seemed pretty happy with. I only bought it because based on the eBay photos I thought I had found a nice DDR Frankie...but it was not....but it did turn out to be a nice Frankie so that is the reason he took it off my hands. Win Win....although probably a better win for him since he knows how to grade those things better than I do but that is just fine with me.
All in all, an awesome day!
I can't wait for the next great show to attend.That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Photos will have to come some other time....sorry. No time for that any time soon it seems since I am pretty darn busy these days.
"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.
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Comments
B
Nice report Greg. Sounds like you had fun. I am pretty sure I have the 38-D and 35-S varieties you found. I will have to look and see when I get home.
NEVER EVER TELL A DEALER ABOUT A VARIETY HE/SHE HAS!! NEVER!!!!
I used to be famous now I just collect coins.
Link to My Registry Set.
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-specialty-sets/washington-quarters-complete-variety-set-circulation-strikes-1932-1964/publishedset/78469
Varieties Are The Spice Of LIFE and Thanks to Those who teach us what to search For.
<< <i>I had a really good long chat with Robert Haire, President/CEO of MNS (was MMNS). I talked with him at length about the HALO product. It was a great conversation, I really enjoyed it. He is in the early stages of moving his operation to Pinellas County, FL it seems. I guess he is tired of the snow.
Greg, Nice Report! Before PCGS was attributing the Inverted S, I had MMNS grade and attribute one for me. Robert and his team are a class act.
Did you pick up the damaged 41DDO? What were they asking?
President, Racine Numismatic Society 2013-2014; Variety Resource Dimes; See 6/8/12 CDN for my article on Winged Liberty Dimes; Ebay
<< <i>Did you pick up the damaged 41DDO? What were they asking? >>
I did not. He was asking $10 for it...he was not aware of the damage at the time. It absolutely was the DDO and I could have Cherrypicked it but it would have been a waste of time and money. I told him what he had but told him it wasn't worth anything to me because of the damage.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
<< <i>For 10 bucks I would have picked up the 41 DDO just to have one. >>
I know. With my sick standards I just could not convince myself to do it. I was very disturbed. If it was problem free, I would have picked it up regardless of grade since I would always be able to sell it later when I could eventually upgrade....but this thing was just plain NASTY!
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
<< <i>Nice read . I can see how the time got away . You must of looked at a lot of coins
Thanks, I easily looked at over 500 coins in hand, most of which was done at 3 tables.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.