Mike leaves his "children", Ginja and Max. They are now looking for a new good home. He loved playing with them, and they adored him.
Mike put up a good fight for a little over 2 weeks; I hope he went peacefully. I regret not visiting him more often- his wealth of knowledge was amazing.
I'm so sorry to hear about Mike. He certainly had an amazing knowledge base on Barbers. His past holdings that he frequently posted pictures on the thread was beyond amazing. It was so obvious that he really loved collecting coins ... right up to the end.
I wish I would've had the honor to meet him.
Rest in peace Mike.
Milo
*****
What?!?! No Barber quarters in the mail today!?!? ... "heavy sigh" ...
@JeffMTampa said:
I think it's a little early for that, Dr. Pete.
Mike leaves his "children", Ginja and Max. They are now looking for a new good home. He loved playing with them, and they adored him.
Mike put up a good fight for a little over 2 weeks; I hope he went peacefully. I regret not visiting him more often- his wealth of knowledge was amazing.
I've heard that someone in Florida found a good home for Ginja and Max.
It's so hard to believe he is gone. Just last Jan. I stayed with Mike at his home and we drove back and forth to the FUN show. I got to see all of his Barbers in hand. He was the Barber Man!
Back in the mid 90s when I started collecting and fanatically pursuing Barbers he was one of the first fellow collectors I found with a similar passion for them. We were certainly rivals in that sense, didn't always see eye to eye, but damn damn damn he was one of my closest friends in the hobby.
This one hurts.
My current coin collecting interests are: (1) British coins 1838-1970 in XF-AU-UNC, (2) silver type coins in XF-AU with that classic medium gray coloration and exceptional eye appeal.
The past few weeks have been so heavy and hard as Mike began a fast slide. Mike was one of my best friends in the numismatic world. We would walk the floor together at shows, lot view for hours, share a meal and lots of drinks, and often roomed together at shows. I first met Mike in the summer of 2012, in Colorado Springs during Summer Seminar, as Mike was helping Glenn Holsonbake at his table at the inter-session coin show. As was normal for mike, he also had some coins of his out for sale, and I bought a sweet 1921 Peace Dollar for my type set from him.
After several months, we became close friends, over the past few years sharing coin related texts daily. I would visit him in Naples, helping him by photographing his coins for him. As a college student who transplanted alone to Florida, it was nice to have such a reliable and generous friend. Mike lived alone in Naples and would invite me to Thanksgiving, Easter when I didn't go home to Maine, and I'd drive down from Orlando and we had a great time. He had two dogs, Max and Ginja and loved them dearly. He loved Jameson Whiskey, calling it mothers milk.
One of my favorite things about mike was his passion as a collector and love for his collection. One of my favorite things was spending hours, several weekends a year, going through his coins with him. I'd mention one coin in particular that stood out and he'd go, without looking at it, "oh yeah! That's a nice coin. I occasionally buy a nice one." He had ambitious goals and could tell you what grades and examples he had for any denomination of the barber series. He also had an interest in seated material, and collected superb coins of the years 1889, 1890, 1917 and 1921 for the birth years of his parents and grandparents. He loved coins with Blue rim toning. Mike was truly a collector, he never bought a coin just to flip it and he was never afraid to take a bath when he wanted to change his focus a little. I remember mailing him a bar of soap after one particularly rough Heritage sale of his.
Mike'a sense of humor was exuberant, we would go back and forth with one another. As an inside joke between him and a couple other YNs, we would refer to him as Chief. Mike was a mentor and asset to so many YNs and other collectors, always willing to go above and beyond to teach others. Mike always used to tell me that he was counting on me to take care of him once I was "out of med school and making good money."
My heart breaks, it's hard to imagine buying a coin in the future and not texting him a picture of it. I'll miss him dearly. Having a Jameson on ice for you tonight, my friend.
My heart is saddened,I never new Mr. Hayes but read this thread every night. A great loss to this forum.I am in all favor to have this thread changed in his honor.
@DIMEMAN said:
The thread was started by Mike......so the only way to get the Title changed would be for PCGS to do it.
I believe I have the capability, but will only do so if the entire thread is in consensus.
That would be fitting and cool
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
While I have no problem with this. Mike has always had this thread branded. When I look for this thread I just scroll looking for Mike's avatar!
I am still not over the shock of this. The only saving grace, after learning what his diagnosis was, that he didn't suffer a long agonizing end of life.
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I was just thinking that I saw some Hayes pedigreed coins. I have pinged Mike on several occasions about obtaining one of his "down graded" coins, but always a day late in my requests. Mike had some really nice stuff in his collection.
Great idea on renaming the thread!
oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's
I LOVE that the thread has been renamed in honor of Mike. May it ever be so. I'm mostly a Barber thread lurker, but I've have noticed an endless stream of enthusiasm and encouragement from him over the years.
I was rambling through Facebook and just had my world shattered!! I can't believe mike is gone. He mentored me from the very first time I bought a barber coin. I haven't been in here since starting my new business much and I'm devastated. He played a huge part to us all. He will be missed so much. R.IP. Mike. We love ya buddy!
Saddened to hear of Mike's passing. We just did a deal in Jume. Had a nice visit in
person at Winter FUN. He had a kind spirit. He will be missed. Hopefully heaven will need a great dog walker
Jim
Here's a coin I posted recent;y because I just acquired it back this year. It was consigned to Glenn by Mike as a full raw Dansco set I believe. Glenn had a some of them certified and I bought this coin in August of 2011 from him. I sold it in 2013 (I think that was the year) to Darrell, who recently sold it back to me 4 years later. Mike loved his AU coins, but I'd say his eye for well circulated coins wasn't to shabby either.
Rest easy ol' friend. MIke was the most prolific collector I knew. He seemed to have four or five major collections going simultaneously, and was able to find great coins constantly. I hope he was able to put is affairs in order somewhat before he passed.
Crushing news. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mike in person, but he was a great friend to me here as he was to so many others. So generous with his time and expertise. RIP Mike.
Here is a coin that I picked up at Winter FUN 2013 while getting Mike's enthusiastic approval on it at the show. I later sold it to him as it did not fit my collection. It was cheap but pretty and was in an ANACS MS63 Holder. I understand he tried to cross it and eventually let it go a short time later. It's a real looker in hand but has a few too many luster breaks on the obverse.
"If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64 Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
I met Mike for the first time at the 2011 ANA in Chicago. That happened to be the show where Heritage was selling his complete sets of barbers, and was before prices were really jumping for AU58's. Some of his coins shocked him with how much they brought. I can remember him commenting that his 04-S half astounded him, and more than made up for some coins that didn't bring what he had in them. Here is one of Mike's that came my way in that auction, PC55:
Vern l It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
Comments
I think it's a little early for that, Dr. Pete.
Mike leaves his "children", Ginja and Max. They are now looking for a new good home. He loved playing with them, and they adored him.
Mike put up a good fight for a little over 2 weeks; I hope he went peacefully. I regret not visiting him more often- his wealth of knowledge was amazing.
I'm so sorry to hear about Mike. He certainly had an amazing knowledge base on Barbers. His past holdings that he frequently posted pictures on the thread was beyond amazing. It was so obvious that he really loved collecting coins ... right up to the end.
I wish I would've had the honor to meet him.
Rest in peace Mike.
*****
What?!?! No Barber quarters in the mail today!?!? ... "heavy sigh" ...
I've heard that someone in Florida found a good home for Ginja and Max.
It's so hard to believe he is gone. Just last Jan. I stayed with Mike at his home and we drove back and forth to the FUN show. I got to see all of his Barbers in hand. He was the Barber Man!
I deeply miss you, Mike. RIP my friend.
Dave
I am absolutely crushed by this news.
Back in the mid 90s when I started collecting and fanatically pursuing Barbers he was one of the first fellow collectors I found with a similar passion for them. We were certainly rivals in that sense, didn't always see eye to eye, but damn damn damn he was one of my closest friends in the hobby.
This one hurts.
The past few weeks have been so heavy and hard as Mike began a fast slide. Mike was one of my best friends in the numismatic world. We would walk the floor together at shows, lot view for hours, share a meal and lots of drinks, and often roomed together at shows. I first met Mike in the summer of 2012, in Colorado Springs during Summer Seminar, as Mike was helping Glenn Holsonbake at his table at the inter-session coin show. As was normal for mike, he also had some coins of his out for sale, and I bought a sweet 1921 Peace Dollar for my type set from him.
After several months, we became close friends, over the past few years sharing coin related texts daily. I would visit him in Naples, helping him by photographing his coins for him. As a college student who transplanted alone to Florida, it was nice to have such a reliable and generous friend. Mike lived alone in Naples and would invite me to Thanksgiving, Easter when I didn't go home to Maine, and I'd drive down from Orlando and we had a great time. He had two dogs, Max and Ginja and loved them dearly. He loved Jameson Whiskey, calling it mothers milk.
One of my favorite things about mike was his passion as a collector and love for his collection. One of my favorite things was spending hours, several weekends a year, going through his coins with him. I'd mention one coin in particular that stood out and he'd go, without looking at it, "oh yeah! That's a nice coin. I occasionally buy a nice one." He had ambitious goals and could tell you what grades and examples he had for any denomination of the barber series. He also had an interest in seated material, and collected superb coins of the years 1889, 1890, 1917 and 1921 for the birth years of his parents and grandparents. He loved coins with Blue rim toning. Mike was truly a collector, he never bought a coin just to flip it and he was never afraid to take a bath when he wanted to change his focus a little. I remember mailing him a bar of soap after one particularly rough Heritage sale of his.
Mike'a sense of humor was exuberant, we would go back and forth with one another. As an inside joke between him and a couple other YNs, we would refer to him as Chief. Mike was a mentor and asset to so many YNs and other collectors, always willing to go above and beyond to teach others. Mike always used to tell me that he was counting on me to take care of him once I was "out of med school and making good money."
My heart breaks, it's hard to imagine buying a coin in the future and not texting him a picture of it. I'll miss him dearly. Having a Jameson on ice for you tonight, my friend.
RIP Mike
Here are a few images of coins, in my collection, that Mike owned at one time. I know how he loved to post his "stuff".
Mike,
You had enough passion for the hobby to carry every single one of us on the thread.
I'll miss you, my friend. RIP.
Lenny
Guys,
I'd love to see this thread renamed in Mike's honor.
Paesan
Agreed. Hayes Barber Mega Thread.
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
The thread was started by Mike......so the only way to get the Title changed would be for PCGS to do it.
My heart is saddened,I never new Mr. Hayes but read this thread every night. A great loss to this forum.I am in all favor to have this thread changed in his honor.
R.I.P
I believe I have the capability, but will only do so if the entire thread is in consensus.
I'm sure it's fine with everybody here.....after all it was Mike's thread.
The Michael F. Hayes Barber Megathread, in his honor. I'll call PCGS if enough agree, or I'm open to suggestions.
Lenny
That would be fitting and cool
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I don't see anyone objecting to this.
Voting yes for the rename.
I'm in favor.
It would be a fitting tribute for sure. I like "The Michael F. Hayes Barber Megathread" that was suggested.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Valente151- have you made the update yet? Please do.
While I have no problem with this. Mike has always had this thread branded. When I look for this thread I just scroll looking for Mike's avatar!
I am still not over the shock of this. The only saving grace, after learning what his diagnosis was, that he didn't suffer a long agonizing end of life.
If PCGS is going to rename the thread can we get it stickied too?
Done. I will work on getting Mike's albums on his registry sets finalized as well. That was the initial reason I had his info.
Well done
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Michael F. Hayes Barber Megathread. I'm also in agreement.
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
I'm glad the title of the thread has been changed to honor the memory of our friend. RIP, Mike.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Great job!
We are on page 117... what if we were to start megathread 4? Would that require a title change?
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
Thank you so much valente151. This is so very fitting. Thank you very much.
Dave
valente151... you're awesome! how fitting
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
Sad news for sure. I think it's very fitting that this thread has been renamed in his honor. R.I.P.
Found this...
http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Michael-Francis-Hayes-105020659
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
I am shocked to hear the terrible news. I thought Mike was getting better.
It certainly is a fitting tribute that this thread be renamed. RIP Mike.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
...A wonderful tribute for Mike. Thank you.
I was just thinking that I saw some Hayes pedigreed coins. I have pinged Mike on several occasions about obtaining one of his "down graded" coins, but always a day late in my requests. Mike had some really nice stuff in his collection.
Great idea on renaming the thread!
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore...
Mike V,
Thanks for taking care of the name change. I'm sure he's smiling up there!
Sorry to hear the news about Mike's passing. RIP Mike
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
I'm shocked and very saddened by the news of Mike's passing. My heart and prayers go out to his family. Mike will be sorely missed.
https://thepennylady.com/
I LOVE that the thread has been renamed in honor of Mike. May it ever be so. I'm mostly a Barber thread lurker, but I've have noticed an endless stream of enthusiasm and encouragement from him over the years.
I was rambling through Facebook and just had my world shattered!! I can't believe mike is gone. He mentored me from the very first time I bought a barber coin. I haven't been in here since starting my new business much and I'm devastated. He played a huge part to us all. He will be missed so much. R.IP. Mike. We love ya buddy!
Hoard the keys
Saddened to hear of Mike's passing. We just did a deal in Jume. Had a nice visit in
person at Winter FUN. He had a kind spirit. He will be missed. Hopefully heaven will need a great dog walker
Jim
Here's a coin I posted recent;y because I just acquired it back this year. It was consigned to Glenn by Mike as a full raw Dansco set I believe. Glenn had a some of them certified and I bought this coin in August of 2011 from him. I sold it in 2013 (I think that was the year) to Darrell, who recently sold it back to me 4 years later. Mike loved his AU coins, but I'd say his eye for well circulated coins wasn't to shabby either.
Good story.
The dime Mike gave my daughter on her birthday.
Rest easy ol' friend. MIke was the most prolific collector I knew. He seemed to have four or five major collections going simultaneously, and was able to find great coins constantly. I hope he was able to put is affairs in order somewhat before he passed.
Crushing news. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mike in person, but he was a great friend to me here as he was to so many others. So generous with his time and expertise. RIP Mike.
Here is a coin that I picked up at Winter FUN 2013 while getting Mike's enthusiastic approval on it at the show. I later sold it to him as it did not fit my collection. It was cheap but pretty and was in an ANACS MS63 Holder. I understand he tried to cross it and eventually let it go a short time later. It's a real looker in hand but has a few too many luster breaks on the obverse.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
I met Mike for the first time at the 2011 ANA in Chicago. That happened to be the show where Heritage was selling his complete sets of barbers, and was before prices were really jumping for AU58's. Some of his coins shocked him with how much they brought. I can remember him commenting that his 04-S half astounded him, and more than made up for some coins that didn't bring what he had in them. Here is one of Mike's that came my way in that auction, PC55:
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.