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The 45 year hunt of finding a great 1926-S lincoln cent!
oreville
Posts: 11,791 ✭✭✭✭✭
A long story made as short as possible. I will TRY to post picture when I get it back from CAC!!!
On a hunt to find complete set of great red or red brown lincoln cents starting in 1967 when I was 14 years old.
By 1970, when I was 17 years old, I managed to complete a beautiful set of solid red 1927 to 1970 lincoln cents and was on a roll. I even owned an obw roll of 1928-D cents which were absolutely gorgeous. Tough date/mm!!
.....I was going backwards in time and did one year and all mm at a time. I had heard how hard the 1923-S and even the 1921-S cent was to find in nice red or totally original red/brown.
I had not even finished high school but worked on weekends and summers at Gristedes supermarket on 48th Street between Madison and 5th Avenue as a stockboy to earn money for my lincoln cents and other coins.
But no one told me about the 1926-S cent. I spent 10 years looking for the ultimate red 1926-S cent.
It broke my heart not to find an original undipped one. I went to the famous New York monthly coin show at the old Statler Hilton across from the Penn Station before it moved to 43th Street and 8th Avenue. It was once a great show but slowly died in the late 1970's.
It really broke my heart. It was the true stopper!! Aside from a few 1909 cents and buying multiple upon multiple 1955 and 1972 DDO cents, I basically abandoned the lincoln cent series.
Sure, I had acquired multiple obw and tubes rolls unc cents over the years from dealers and collectors who are no longer around or no longer sell them. Examples, Emory Mae Norweb, Virg Marshall, the Penny Merchant, more recently, Wayne Herndon just to name a few.
Well, I finally said enough is enough. I finally started up looking for the 1926-S cent again in 2014. I looked and looked and found 1926-S coins in red brown that were not too bad but nothing that excited me. The red ones? Forget them!!! Pink, dipped, and stuff that drove me nuts!!
In desperation, I finally met with Andy of Angel Dee who I had bought multiple 1955 DDO 1972DDO and other wonderful coins he would carry from time to time. Usually one of a kind as they are not easy to acquire and hold.
He promised me he would find one I would like. I was looking for an awesome MS-64RB as I felt it was the sweet spot in possibly finding a truly original coin without having to pay megabucks in the higher grade.
Well, in Baltimore he found one! Another collector/dealer had one and he sent me over to negotiate directly with that dealer. I fell in love with the coin! It was graded PCGS MS-64RB and the seller was willing to sell it at a reasonable price because he had hoped it would upgrade to MS-65RB but failed.
I went back to Andy with the coin (I made my purchase subject to his approval) who looked at it again and said I procured it at a fair price and asked that if it gets a CAC sticker I would owe him a diet coke.
John Albanese sat with me and stated that the 26-S cent was a 64 plus plus plus and loved it.
Yesterday, I got the official word that it stickered.
I emailed Andy that I will get him lunch in addition to the coke for him and his lovely wife. He said no, just the DIET coke.
My thanks to Angel Dee!!!
On a hunt to find complete set of great red or red brown lincoln cents starting in 1967 when I was 14 years old.
By 1970, when I was 17 years old, I managed to complete a beautiful set of solid red 1927 to 1970 lincoln cents and was on a roll. I even owned an obw roll of 1928-D cents which were absolutely gorgeous. Tough date/mm!!
.....I was going backwards in time and did one year and all mm at a time. I had heard how hard the 1923-S and even the 1921-S cent was to find in nice red or totally original red/brown.
I had not even finished high school but worked on weekends and summers at Gristedes supermarket on 48th Street between Madison and 5th Avenue as a stockboy to earn money for my lincoln cents and other coins.
But no one told me about the 1926-S cent. I spent 10 years looking for the ultimate red 1926-S cent.
It broke my heart not to find an original undipped one. I went to the famous New York monthly coin show at the old Statler Hilton across from the Penn Station before it moved to 43th Street and 8th Avenue. It was once a great show but slowly died in the late 1970's.
It really broke my heart. It was the true stopper!! Aside from a few 1909 cents and buying multiple upon multiple 1955 and 1972 DDO cents, I basically abandoned the lincoln cent series.
Sure, I had acquired multiple obw and tubes rolls unc cents over the years from dealers and collectors who are no longer around or no longer sell them. Examples, Emory Mae Norweb, Virg Marshall, the Penny Merchant, more recently, Wayne Herndon just to name a few.
Well, I finally said enough is enough. I finally started up looking for the 1926-S cent again in 2014. I looked and looked and found 1926-S coins in red brown that were not too bad but nothing that excited me. The red ones? Forget them!!! Pink, dipped, and stuff that drove me nuts!!
In desperation, I finally met with Andy of Angel Dee who I had bought multiple 1955 DDO 1972DDO and other wonderful coins he would carry from time to time. Usually one of a kind as they are not easy to acquire and hold.
He promised me he would find one I would like. I was looking for an awesome MS-64RB as I felt it was the sweet spot in possibly finding a truly original coin without having to pay megabucks in the higher grade.
Well, in Baltimore he found one! Another collector/dealer had one and he sent me over to negotiate directly with that dealer. I fell in love with the coin! It was graded PCGS MS-64RB and the seller was willing to sell it at a reasonable price because he had hoped it would upgrade to MS-65RB but failed.
I went back to Andy with the coin (I made my purchase subject to his approval) who looked at it again and said I procured it at a fair price and asked that if it gets a CAC sticker I would owe him a diet coke.
John Albanese sat with me and stated that the 26-S cent was a 64 plus plus plus and loved it.
Yesterday, I got the official word that it stickered.
I emailed Andy that I will get him lunch in addition to the coke for him and his lovely wife. He said no, just the DIET coke.
My thanks to Angel Dee!!!
A Collectors Universe poster since 1997!
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Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
That was a great story, btw.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
I'm building a PCGS Wheat Set and am going for RD for the mid-1930s through 1958 and being more economical with the earlier ones.
Share some pics.
For my Lincoln collection, which is all colorfully toned, the 26s has also been brutal.
For ten years I had a 63BN DOG. It's strike was so mushy it was hard to look at. But it was a nice reasonably and believable purple brown and saffron. So it counted as a colorful coin. I did eventually sell it when I upgraded but my current coin is not the best in my set by a long shot.
Andy and Alynne are wonderful to work with. They work a wantlist harder than anyone I know.
Here is my MS64BN that I use in my toned set. It has the requisite mushy strike that others have complained about -- but did have a tiny bit of color, was relatively spot free, PCGS graded at a nice solid level, Green CAC stickered, and relatively cheap at $1,195 (which was $205 under the PCGS Guide Price of $1400).
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
OINK
i love andy of angel dees
still one of the only dealers i've met in person
to me one of the better parts of this 45 hunt is found right there
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Thanks for posting
BHNC #203
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Not surprised that Andy was involved even if indirectly. He can find those great coins. A great guy and no wonder he's the Pride of the Mon Valley.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
I was a Monkey
Now, that you brought this up I had to go get my cent book out and take a look at my 26s. The only time I look at them anymore is when one gets talked about here on the forum. Have to get mine checked out again!
I too started collecting cents at an early age and 26s cents were only 25 years in existence back then. I did not have the budget for UNC's and had to settle for pocket change and bank roll searching. Great fun for a kid in the early 50's. I'm sure that kids today could do the same thing as we did but with the Memorials instead of Wheaties.
So, mine is not like yours or WingedLiberty's but it is what it is: Stronger obverse than reverse.
Thanks for the memories, Oreville!
bob
Congratulations.
The 1926-s is very difficult to find fully struck. Some very nice, red-brown uncirculated pieces exist with a weak "O" on the reverse, and I've passed on all of them.
Congrats on completing your goal!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Andy is a great guy. I have used him for a few years now, buying and selling.
You couldn't ask for a better dealer to work with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
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In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Please post a pic when you can.
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
Works for me
Andy's so great to deal with.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
I bought a lovely 65RB for my personal collection more than a decade ago and stopped my hunt for anything better! Sounds like yours will be there (in that grade) someday as well.
Wondercoin.
“I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947)
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
Patience and persistence pays off.
That story should stoke the collecting fire in all of us.
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Any chance of a picture if you still have the coin @oreville
If you want to communicate with Oreville just send him a message. No need in bringing up this old thread that he may not even think to look at.
bob:(