Have you ever bought a coin for your collection only to find a nicer example come along in the next

TopographicOceans

I try not to do too many impulse buys, but if it is a coin I've been looking for to add to my collection I've already done my research.

Hopefully when this happens you're happy with your selection, but have you then seen a nicer example and/or a better price for another coin you would have preferred show up a few days later?

MrHalfDime

"Have you ever bought a coin for your collection only to find a nicer example come along in the next few days?"

Although this has not happened often, I have had this experience. Several years ago I bought a VF example of one of the six known die marriages for the 1837 No Stars Liberty Seated half dime, at the time the only die marriage for that date that I did not have in my reference collection, and one that I had sought for a long time. Just a few days later, the same dealer (one of my favorites) listed an AU example of the very same die marriage. When I contacted them about the higher grade example, they were gracious enough to allow me the upgrade, crediting me not only for the entire purchase price, but also for the shipping costs for the lower grade example. It was customer service like that which made them my favorite dealer. I won't mention any names, but their initials are JJT.

Walkerfan

YEARS...yes....days......not so much.



Nice coins are getting harder to find by the minute, so this phenomenon will become a rarer and rarer occurrence IMHO.

Sonorandesertrat

Yes, a few times. And I bought the nicer examples too.

mannie gray

Yes, but usually it's more like a month or so.

Walkerguy21D

I spent a year looking for a decent '26D buffalo nickel in XF-AU.

At the Winter FUN show some years back, I found a nice XF at a table about halfway through the bourse, and jumped on it
immediately. Less than 15 min later at Crabtree's table I found another in a PC53 holder with nice blue/gold toning, priced only slightly above
what I had just paid for the XF, so I bought that one too. I owned both for a number of years, sticking the XF in my Dansco, and keeping the other in its slab. I decided to sell the AU last year, so it went to a dealer at FUN for a nice profit.

jcping

Yes, this kind of things happen a few times

Rampage

I think it happens to the majority of the population. No biggie...just sell the extra.

DennisH

Many times.

Buying the first one, I am convinced, causes the next one to appear. I wind up with a lot of nice dupes that way.

BryceM

Funny you should ask......



Most recently a couple of weeks ago. It would have been a mistake to not buy either of them, but now I suppose I'll eventually need to liquidate the one that's not quite as nice.

david3142

Yes! This happened to me once. I was at a major show and found a nicely toned SLQ for my type set. These are fairly rare with color and this one was quite lovely on both sides (and with a FH). It was the most expensive coin I had ever bought at the time. Later during that SAME SHOW, I found the coin that is now my avatar. It was raw, and would later grade MS66*. Although it cost 1/10th of the price of the first one, I wouldn't sell it for twice the price of the other now (although I do wish it had a full head).



First coin MS66FH







Second coin MS66*

oih82w8

Yes, a couple times, and yes, I managed to acquire the upgrade a sell off the one that was replaced.

ebaybuyer

if a certain coin takes years to locate, then obviously its worth having two or three (or a dozen) of. I cannot speak in regards to modern stuff, but with 19th century silver, its tough to go wrong having a few extras

Eagleguy

Sure. I picked up a very nice white 1936 proof WLH in a grade I could afford figuring I wouldn't get the chance to find one that nice in that grade again. The day after the coin arrived I saw another dealer with a super attractively toned one in the same grade. I wanted to pull the trigger on it and sell the first one but I just didn't have the money at the time.

ricko

Within weeks....several times.... amazing how that happens... long drought, nothing.. then

SHAZAM!! You find it..... then bam, bam, bam... two or sometimes three show up within

the next two month. Cheers, RickO

grip

Originally posted by: ricko
Within weeks....several times.... amazing how that happens... long drought, nothing.. then
SHAZAM!! You find it..... then bam, bam, bam... two or sometimes three show up within
the next two month. Cheers, RickO

Sounds a lot like my dating

BryceM

I wonder sometimes if things like this happen a few weeks after someone liquidates a small stash of similar coins. No matter how they're initially offered they often hit the retail level at about the same time.

Bob1951

I once left a bid on an 1873-cc half dollar in a Heritage auction and then went to a coin show and bought one at about the same cost. I forgot that I bid on the Heritage coin. I won it also. Almost the same grade at almost the same cost. I have no regrets about this because duplicates are a plus in this series, but i would not have bought two of them under normal circumstances. Besides, even thought you place a bid on a coin does not mean that you are going to win it. I had been looking for this coin in the right grade to come along for some time.



Bob

mercurydimeguy

Almost always up to about a year ago, now i view things differently.



I buy less "I just have to have it" coins...which helps.



For my core collection, I buy them as a learning experience to see a lot of the same coin in a series.



For example, I've owned 9 different MS61-63 1869-P Seated Half dollars, and 11 different 1869-S $2.50 gold coins...to truly settle on what I believe is the best one for my series given the fact that I've seen a good deal of the census in my price range

keyman64

Yup, it has happened within a span of a couple of weeks multiple times.

TwoSides2aCoin

Yes. A collector asked for a certain coin for his album the other day. I didn't have it in stock so I went to my Dansco and sure enough it was there. About $20.
So, right away , after he left, I ran to ebay to find another. Got a better coin for less than $15. Made me happy. Well, I'm already happy, but it was fun.

RichieURich

Many times. And sometimes the opposite happens - - you miss out on a coin, then miss out on another example of the same coin shortly thereafter.

david3142

I had this almost happen again recently. I often bid early online for big auctions and I put a solid (but not strong) bid on an 1890-S Morgan in 64PL CAC. I then happened to find another one (same exact grade and sticker) on Great Collections but that auction ended first. I bid about the same amount on the GC coin and won it. Thankfully, I was outbid on the Heritage coin, although it would have been nice to be able to compare the two in hand.

SkyMan

The one that got me the most was at the October 2014 Baltimore show. I was looking for nicely toned raw Washingtons for my Dansco. I found a 1952-S no brainer Mint Set toned raw gem, that cost me $35 (FWIW, PCGS slabbed MS65 had a price guide of $32). An hour or so later, I saw an even nicer one that the dealer wanted $27 for, so I got that too (I already had two Washington Danscos by that point in time). An hour or so AFTER THAT, I saw an even nicer one that the dealer wanted $15 for. I couldn't believe it. Given the price of the coin and it's looks I said WTF and got that one too. Given that my total cost was $77 for all three coins I wasn't too worried about it, but it definitely was an, "I can't believe this", streak.