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paperclip drafts

lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,216 ✭✭✭✭✭
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Welcome to Operation Paperclip 2013! image

This is a numismatic trading game based on the "One Red Paperclip" premise.

In other words, I'll start with next to nothing, trade up a little bit each time, and see how far I've gotten after all my trading at the end of one year's time.

The original "red paperclip" story involved a guy who started out with nothing but a single red paperclip, traded it for a fish-shaped pen, traded the pen for something else, and so on down the line, until by the end of one year's trading he ended up with a house! Sure, that guy had plenty of help along the way, and indulgent trading partners (publicity never hurts). I had some indulgent swap partners in last year's paperclip game, too. But I did a drawing and split the proceeds with one of them at the end. Despite several stalls and some long disappearances by yours truly, I think last year's Operation Paperclip was a success.

THIS IS THE MAIN TRADING THREAD.

Read below, scroll down to see the latest item in play, and PM your best trade offer for that item.





Items offered for trade should be at least marginally numismatic in nature, though I'll be considering a little bit of everything: US coins, world & ancient coins, exonumia, and maybe even currency. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes and try to be open-minded.

To give my potential trading partners an incentive to let me "trade up" a little each time, I'm offering a kickback.

At the end of the year, or perhaps just after New Year of 2014, I will sell or split up the final lot, and split the proceeds (50/50) with one of the year's trading partners. I will draw that person's name using a random number generator.

Furthermore, the random drawing will be done by trade number, so if anyone has done multiple trades with me in the course of the year, they'll be getting multiple chances to win half of my proceeds in the year-end lottery. (This probably served TorinoCobra71 well last year, as he had contributed more than one trade and therefore had more chances to win the final drawing.)




SUMMARY (scroll down- the most recent trade will be at the bottom)




Swap #1, my initial investment, was a gift from some kind soul (I'm ashamed to say I forget who), for my old "Holey Coin Vest".

I don't know what it is worth, but it cost me nothing, so that's where we'll start. From nothing, essentially.

Swap #1: British pewter medal struck for Queen Victoria's Jubilee, circa 1887.
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Offered by: lordmarcovan, 1/1/13 (the initial swap starter).
Value estimate when offered: unknown (cost = $0.00).
Traded to: Jinx86, 1/15/13.
Shipping status: RECEIVED (Jinx86 confirmed on 2/12/13).
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Swap #2: 1963 prooflike Canadian half dollar, .800 silver.
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Offered by: Jinx86, 1/15/13.
Value estimate when offered: $9.35 (based on 1/15/13 spot silver price alone).
Traded to: JaLP, 1/21/13.
Shipping status: RECEIVED (JaLP confirmed on 1/29/13).
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Swap #3: 1899 USA Barber half dollar, G4.
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Offered by: JaLP, 1/21/13.
Value estimate when offered: $11.55 (based on 1/21/13 spot silver price).
Traded to: TorinoCobra71, 1/21/13.
Shipping status: RECEIVED (TorinoCobra71 confirmed on 1/30/13).
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Swap #4: Three circulated silver Washington quarters (1940, 1956, 1958-D).
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Offered by: TorinoCobra71, 1/21/13.
Value estimate when offered: $17.27 total (based on 1/21/13 spot silver price).
Traded to: CoinZip, 1/22/13.
Shipping status: RECEIVED (CoinZip confirmed on 1/29/13).
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Swap #5: 1964 silver Kennedy half & six British coins, 1862-1954.
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Offered by: CoinZip, 1/21/13.
Value estimate when offered: $19.63 total (based on $11.63 spot silver price for the half plus $8.00 for the British coins).
Traded to: JaLP, 2/15/13.
Shipping status: RECEIVED (JaLP confirmed on 2/24/13).
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Swap #6: 1915-D Barber quarter (VG+) and Cheerios Millennium promotional Lincoln cent.
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Offered by: JaLP, 2/15/13.
Value estimate when offered: $21.50 total ($14.50 for the quarter and $7.00 for the cent).
Traded to: "The Man In Black" (an anonymous lurker, who told me to give these away), 2/20/13.
The "Man In Black" chose not to keep these items, told me to do a giveaway, and illini420 won the drawing on 3/4/13.
Shipping status: RECEIVED (illini420 confirmed receipt on 3/9/13).
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Swap #7: 1911 Mexico "Caballito" peso, Long Ray variety, ANACS AU50 details (polished).
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Offered by: "The Man In Black" (an anonymous lurker), 2/20/13.
Value estimate when offered: $58.00.
Traded to: nobody- rolled into Swap #7B, below, when The Man In Black kicked in 19 MORE coins!
Shipping status: (See Swap #7B, below)
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Swap #7B: Twenty US and World coins, 1843-1966, including a slabbed Mexican "Caballito" peso and three silver halves.
(More scans in message posting.)
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Offered by: "The Man In Black" (an anonymous lurker), 2/23/13.
Value estimate when offered: $120.48. *
Traded to: LochNESS, 3/1/13.
Shipping status: SHIPPED (presumably received, as LochNESS would have said otherwise and I've spoken with him since)
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Swap #8: A mixed lot of US and World proof sets and slabs, plus some mint set remnants and Canadian cents.
(More images here.)
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Offered by: LochNESS, 2/23/13.
Value estimate when offered: $132.23. *
Traded to: lordmarcovan, 4/22/13.
Shipping status: RECEIVED by lordmarcovan
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Swap #9: 1854-O USA Seated Liberty half dollar, VF35.
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Offered by: lordmarcovan, 5/16/13 (in place of an unsuccessful lot* offered 4/22/13).
Value estimate when offered: $155.00 (lordmarcovan's cost).*
Traded to: Mrcardsniper, 7/8/13 (but communications not finalized until early August).
Shipping status: RECEIVED (Mrcardsniper confirmed on 8/7/13)



Swap #10: Twenty USA proof sets, two Canadian silver dollars, and a US 1-oz. Silver Eagle.
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Offered by: lordmarcovan, 5/16/13 (in place of an unsuccessful lot* offered 4/22/13).
Value estimate when offered: $155.00 (lordmarcovan's cost).*
Traded to: Mrcardsniper, 7/8/13 (but communications not finalized until early August).
Shipping status: RECEIVED (Mrcardsniper confirmed on 8/7/13)



imageAVAILABLE- PLEASE MAKE A SWAP OFFER!
PLEASE NOTE: If this thing should seem to stall sometimes, or I totally vanish... don't fret. I've been known to disappear completely from cyberspace, sometimes for weeks at a time. But I'll catch up on my PMs when I come back and we'll get the ball rolling again. So far, I've always come back... eventually. Hopefully I won't do any multi-month-long disappearances like last year. I'll try to stay caught up. Just be warned, I do go into "hermit mode" occasionally.

Oh- and if you post a trade offer here, do be sure to PM me as well, so I know to come back over here and look at it!

Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.

Comments

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    lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,216 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Since there were no takers on Swap #8 for more than a month, even after I suggested folks just throw the declared value out the window and offer anything, it's time to clear the table and set up a new Paperclip item. It fell upon me to come up with something of equal or greater value than Swap #8 was, so here is what I will offer:

    SWAP #9

    Three PCGS/NGC-certified coins including two ancient Seleucid Greek pieces and a 1911 British sixpence.


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    The two ancient coins are just back from NGC. The sixpence was acquired from Dimitri Gotzamanis in Greece earlier this year. I had recently offered them for sale.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMAGES.

    My combined cost on these three is about $119.00. A large portion of that was the expense of slabbing the two NGC ancients. As to declared value, it is difficult to ascertain for the ancients, but 2009 Krause UNC price on the sixpence alone is $50.00. If you total the prices I was asking for these, we've got $196.00, but I'll be the first to confess that's probably too high. So for purposes of this swap I'm going to declare each of these coins to have a $49 value, equaling $147.00 total for the trio. That's admittedly a bit arbitrary, but should be close enough. I think the first Seleucid should be worth more than that- it is quite similar to one in my collection which I paid $75 for (+ $35 to slab), and is a very attractive ancient coin indeed.

    Who would like this item? What will you swap me for it?





    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
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