How often do you "luck into" a coin you need for your collection...

RYK

versus pound the pavement, visit the regular websites, use your usual ebay and auction searches, etc.

Or, how often are your coin purchases where you are not expecting to find them? Do you have any good stories to go along with this?

guitarwes

I luck into some good coins for my collection by clicking refresh at the right time over on the BST.

Walkerfan

Without the internet and without CONSTANT daily searches, which take HOURS over time, we would or, at least most of us, would NEVER find anything that we need. The stuff that I look for is scarcer than hen's teeth. Even doing these searches does not always yield results. When I DO find the grade and issue that I'm looking for, it is often not up to my standards and lacks eye appeal. Finding the right coin could take and DOES take YEARS, sometimes. It will appear out of NOWHERE when it comes. So those who never look will never find it----you gotta sacrifice the TIME to find superior coins. After YEARS of looking, I finally and recently found a 17 S O near gem that I really like for a decent price. I feel EXTREMELY FORTUNATE!!!!

JJM

never

ziggy29

"Luck" is where preparation meets opportunity...

Elcontador

Once. My Heritage rep knew I was looking for an AU Heraldic Eagle Bust $, knew exactly the kind of coin I wanted, stumbled onto it and got in touch.

Walkerfan

<< <i>"Luck" is where preparation meets opportunity... >>



So true.

The more time and effort you put into it, then the better your odds of getting lucky will be.

renomedphys

Luck is for rabbits.

WingedLiberty1957

Anatomy of my LUCKIEST coin buy

(Note that I posted this thread this summer and thought I would repost since it ties in perfectly with this thread)

1913 Matte Proof Lincoln (PCGS PR64BN) "Taste the Rainbow!"

I have an incredibly lucky million-to-one shot story on how I was able to acquire this striking 1913 Matte Proof Lincoln.



It started off with me finding this 1913 Matte Proof Lincoln on CoinFacts .... and then deciding to target this (for attempted acquisition) because, along with my other two Matte Proof Lincolns, this new addition would allow my small 3-coin MPL collection to cover the full spectrum of the rainbow (red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-violet). Something which I thought would be an incredible feat and cool to look at.

{Note that since I first posted this thread, I have added one more colorful MPL to my collection, the 1915}

I started off my "cyber hunt" of this lavender-colored 1913 MPL on the PCGS Cert Verification page, hoping that the current coin owner might have this coin in a registry set, and if their email option was switched on, I would be able to send an email query to the coin owner. However the PCGS Cert Verification page listed no related Registry Sets.

Next, I started to wonder if my attempts to "cyber stalk" the owner would be considered illegal or unethical so I posted my efforts in a thread on this Collectors Universe Forum:

is there a (legal/ethical) way to track down a coin owner to make a generous offer?

I was hoping for two outcomes:

1.) getting feedback if my attempts to contact the owner might be frowned upon
2.) hoping that someone might recognize the coin and know the owner and put me in touch with him or her

Then when I hit a dead-end on that thread, I emailed my good friend Robec asking him if he knew any methods of hunting down a coin owner in order to make a purchase offer.

It turned out that Robec actually photographed this coin about 5 years ago and recognized it (good memory!) and not only that, still had the email address of the owner (at that time).

Unsure if the email address would still work, Robec sent a query email to the "years-ago owner" of this coin.

We were both shocked when that old owner emailed Robec about an hour later that he not only still owned the coin, but that he was (at that very moment) filling out the paperwork to consign this coin to Heritage Auctions for sale. The seller then pulled the coin and said he would sell it directly to me.

Two days later I met the coin owner in a shopping mall parking lot about 30 miles away from my house, where I exchanged an envelope with $995 in cash for this beautiful violet 1913 Matte Proof Lincoln (a 1.66x color premium I was more than happy to pay). (The seller was actually driving from NJ to Ohio and passed within striking distance of my house.)

I actually felt SO LUCKY over the previous few days' events that I went and bought a Powerball Lottery Ticket because I thought I must be on a huge lucky streak to have all this good fortune on my million-to-one shot paying off. (No I didn't win the lottery.)

What were the odds that Robec had photographed that coin 5 years ago and would remember it? And that he still had a 5 year old email address of the coins owner at that time? And that the old email address still worked allowing contact with that old owner? And the the coins owner still HAD the coin in his possession? And that the coins owner was at the very moment in the process of filling out the paperwork to sell the coin on Heritage? If that is not the longest of longshots, I don't know what is.

In any case, this is the latest update to my little 3 coin Matte Proof Lincoln collection:

{To reiterate, since I wrote this thread in early August, I have added one more colorful MPL, the 1915}



I know it's silly, but one of the reasons that I wanted to buy a 1913 Matte Proof Lincoln as my 3rd coin was it would give me 1 coin in each row and each column of my digital coinboard. I am a sucker for symmetry and I just like the way that looks. {No longer a symetric coin board with the new 1915!!}

So here is a breakdown of the rainbow spectrum covered:



ROY G BIV
Red (1914 MPL)
Orange (1909 MPL)
Yellow (1909 MPL)
Green (1909 MPL)
Blue (1914 MPL)
Indigo (1913 MPL)
Violet (1913 MPL)

It's pretty amazing what that sulfur-laden tissue paper in which the U.S. Mint wrapped these coins (before shipping them out) did to these early proofs. It seems no two coins toned quite the same way.

It's also interesting that colorfully toned and attractive 1913 MPLs are actually kind of rare. Most are either red (RD) or red-brown (RB). This lavender-colored brown (BN) 1913 is very unusual for that year.

I hope you all enjoyed my little tale.

GeorgeKellogg

IMO, significant numismatic acquisitions require knowledge (i.e., to know it when you see it and whether or not it's good value), sufficient financial means (we've all been light in the pocketbook at times), and opportunity (which often involves a lot of work and at least an element of luck). In my case, I've been more than a little lucky on a number of occasions.

ormandh

<< <i>"Luck" is where preparation meets opportunity... >>



I also concur with this statement. I pound the pavement on a daily basis and only come across my specialty when it happens by chance. It happens only twice or thrice a month. -Dan

MidLifeCrisis

A better question for you RYK: How often do YOU "luck into" a coin for your collection...that used to be in my collection?

blu62vette

I feel I have had more than my fair share of luck but it also comes from people knowing what you look for and being ready when something comes along.

seanq

<< <i>

<< <i>"Luck" is where preparation meets opportunity... >>



So true.

The more time and effort you put into it, then the better your odds of getting lucky will be. >>




This. I'm always looking or goading others into looking for me, so when opportunity presents itself, I'm ready.


Sean Reynolds

Jinx86

Picked up my 1895-O Barber Dime here on the forum a few years ago and still own it. Hit refresh on the BST forum before bead and there it was..in VF30 plastic, NGC but still nice.

MsMorrisine

none.

I freel lucky when I find what I want the usual ways...

PerryHall

<< <i>"Luck" is where preparation meets opportunity... >>



Bingo! You have to make your own luck by constantly looking. It's very rare when a coin finds me.

Shamika

WingedLiberty1957 - That's beyond luck. I'd call it devine intervention. Incredible story.

Shamika

I can't say luck ever comes into play. Any coin that I add to my collection is a result of obsessive searches and communication.

WingedLiberty1957

<< <i>WingedLiberty1957 - That's beyond luck. I'd call it devine intervention. Incredible story. >>



You got that right Shamika. Another total luck-out like that will never happen again in my lifetime, I'm sure. Million to one shot.

Harry779

Luck? Not too often but.....
I am collecting the 1988 P and D Lincoln Cents known as FS-901 AKA RDV-006 AKA Reverse of 1989.
There are 7 different dies for the Philly coin(and different stages of some of these dies)
I had all the Philly dies and stages untill someone discovered a new die7 Philly coin.
Now these are extremly hard to find in circulation but after the die7 coin discovery....less than a month later I found one searching bank rolls!
Its at John Wexler's right now and has been attributed as a die7 Philly FS-901.
The coin is in excellent shape.
I think thats pretty dang lucky.

messydesk

To some degree, luck always plays a part in acquiring a coin I want or need, as I have to come across the coin and buy it before someone else does. If I cherrypick a better VAM, even though I know what to look for and might be deliberately trying to find it, I have to be at the right place (looking at that coin) at the right time (before someone else) to be able to make the purchase. Maybe what seems more lucky is a purchase I made at a show this year where I spotted a specific coin out of the corner of my eye that I needed while looking at other stuff and it happened to be very choice for the price. I don't think it would have lasted another hour in the case had I not noticed it.

SanctionII

I will know in 4-5 days whether I have lucked into a coin I need for my collection.

TwoSides2aCoin

Interesting twist concerning "lucking into".
A few days ago a collector called the shop with a want list. He needs the '85 and '86 V nickels, but I sold them.
So I'm thinking "Who can I call for these in lower grade ? ".

About that time Larry (a collector of type coins and generally a U.S. Coin Collector) came into the shop looking for some Civil War era coins which I only had one, of the 3 he needed . I told him I was running out of the "stuff" that peole want and mentioned those 2 nickels, as an example. Lo and behold, he says, "I hate V nickels, you can buy miine". I asked "when ?" He said, "I'll be back in a couple weeks". I said, "I need them by Saturday".

He agreed to bring them in. So , by chance or divine intervention or the luck of the draw, a collector will make money and a collector will spend it and a brick and mortar shop owner will say, " I got lucky", thank God.

Lakesammman

The only times I've counted myself lucky was by being at a coin show at the right time or by being offered first shot.

I'm more like a coyote - constantly on the prowl.

TONEDDOLLARS

Not often enough

Matrix1980

Multiple times a day EVERY day of the year even Christmas when I get home from visiting!!! I work for my self from home so I have a lot of time to give to my hobbies...no boss and no employees just contracts I do with a good friend who teaches sociology at the university level...I have my masters so I do the ''dirty'' work if it can be called that. I have off from May to September every year as well so life is good....I get to enjoy all that summer has to offer.

coinkat

look at shows and make the circle more than once or twice- it increases the chance of being at the right place at the right time