Do you ever regret flipping your cherry picks?

unclebob

I am looking at an auction for my favorite VAM.

It's MS64 and either at (or starting at) $1800 with a few days left.

Last year, I sold two MS63 examples for about $1300 and $1500 respectively.

Despite 10X my return, I am now having sellers remorse.

One... I think one of my coins was nicer and would have upgraded to MS64
Two... I didn't really need the money.
Three... Fairly rare. They were about 50 known examples and less than a third in MS
Four... It took a LONG time to find them.
Five... They wont be easily replaced

I could go on...

Any regrets ever flipping or selling a cherry pick?

Barndog

Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exception

yeah, some of them, not all

AUandAG

Yes, I too have wished I should have kept some. However, I do understand that the ones I found were raw and in the wild. So, finding and grading and then selling did allow someone to enjoy in their collections. I don't collect "cherrypicks" per se.

bob:)

koynekwest

Yes indeed.

micromayfly

im thinking of selling my cherry.

DNADave

@Barndog said:
Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exception

yeah, some of them, not all

FRANKIE BABY !

Yes, I've sold some coins I wish I hadn't, one of them being my avatar.

roadrunner

There's the human impulse (greed) to sell your cherry picks to pocket the score/cash....as if it will disappear if you don't cash in immediately. From my own experiences, in the vast majority of cases, it would have been better just to sit on those scores for as long as you're a collector....as most over time have only proceeded to go considerably higher in price. I can't think of too many where the coins receded in value. This also assumes you start by going after things that aren't simple to find in the first place.

I had a couple cherry picks that I put away for a few years than basically forget what tremendous upside they actually had. As soon as I sold those 4/5 figure coins in a fit of "greed" to record a decent profit, the next guy got an immediate 50-150% for relatively little effort expended. In short, try to keep your best coins (ie cherry picks or scores) for as long as you. Odds are you won't ever be able to replace them any ways.

TwoSides2aCoin

I regret telling people that their coins won't grade, but they have a need to have PCGS tell them anyway. Especially some coins. So I let true view and the experts tell us.

Jimnight

From time to time I get thinking

OnWithTheHunt

Since I mainly cherrypick die varieties from the series I collect, I usually keep the best 1 or 2 of whatever I find. That said, there are still a few I wish I had back.

micromayfly

after eighteen years being a terrible coin collector, I just want to make a fresh start.

joeykoins

Good topic. Yes, me too! Esp. the variety that I first found. Way back in 2000. This story been told a few times. It was the 1999 Cent "Wide A.M." Variety. I actually found on the sidewalk. Sent it in across the street and it came back a NGC 64 RB. I end up selling for $200. However, this is the regret part.
At the time (2000) the variety was a new discovery and my submission to NGC was the first ever graded, in any grade for the Wide A.M. varieties! This is why I regret selling it. Oh well, this is the nature of the beast. To make money$$$

steveben

once, but then i figured:

• I doubled my money
• I left room for someone else to make a profit
• i had fun doing it
• it enables me to do more because i increased my cash flow

i don't regret it now. find another and do the same!

TennesseeDave

Definitely on one in particular, even if I made 10X on it.

Meltdown

Some yes, some not so much... Do this long enough and there are bound to be those you wish you'd kept. In other instances, easy money is fun to spend!

micromayfly

back back back way back ... I regret trading silver coins for the silver, before thoroughly checking to see what they were. I let a lady at the local antique mall pick right out of my hand.

dmwest

Where are these cherries in which you speak? I keep finding plums......

DIMEMAN

No regret. I try to sell as many dups as I can so I have money to buy the coins I need. Plus it lets others fill holes.

ctf_error_coins

No. That's the idea, find a cherry and sell it. Repeat.

unclebob

Found my MS63 avatar in less than 10 minutes of looking.

Four more came a lot harder over about a year of relentless searching.

Another MS63, two were Detailed AU, and the third was never sent by the online dealer. It would have been details, also but it's the principle of things.

Would have made up my cost on the detailed coins, but stupidly sold them all.

Looking at the VAM Registry, they had the weighting equal to all but two of the vaunted 1878 VAM 14's

Oh well.... the search goes on.

CommemKing

I regret it all the time. I just could imagine if I kept all my cherry pics what my collection would look like. Much better I guarantee.

johnny9434

yes (sigh). most of us have made them

oih82w8

...at least I kept the images of the coins that went on to other collectors.

mannie gray

@ErrorsOnCoins said:
No. That's the idea, find a cherry and sell it. Repeat.

I know we disagree about eBay, but I am in total agreement with you on this one.

ricko

I have never had this problem.... I just keep them all.... Cheers, RickO

Baley

I knew I would forever regret it if I sold my one big discovery, so I've kept the coin, going on 13 years now

AMRC

I think that the few times that we actually find something of great incremental value, selling becomes a type of "validation" that we were successful. It kind of ends the story with the piece. It takes some patience, but it should be enough to know you found it, would almost certainly NEVER be able to replace it at the price you paid, and you get to take it out again and again whenever you need that positive hit. I keep them until I grow tired of them (until the thrill is gone) and then I sell [most of] them. There are a few I plan on holding on to for a very long time. :-)

CaptHenway

Only one. When I was a student at Wayne State University in Detroit, I would occasionally walk down Woodward Avenue after classes to visit the coin shops downtown and a few used book stores along the way. One day I found a first edition Redbook in great condition priced in pencil at 75 cents on the flyleaf. Heck, for all I know, that was the original 1946 price! Unfortunately I had to sell it a year later to help pay for my tuition. I got $16 for it from a book dealer that advertised in the classified section of Coin World.