Tell the story about the coin that you regret not buying.
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
I'll add mine in a moment.
0
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
Comments
Just looked at the realized price again. Still regret not chasing it, but not as much.
https://historical.ha.com/itm/explorers/space-exploration/buzz-aldrin-s-1923-s-peace-silver-dollar-flown-to-the-moon-aboard-apollo-11-this-historic-peace-silver-dollar-flew-to-the-m/a/669-25388.s
I frequently forget about coins that I purchased years ago, and even still own. But not about a few that I stupidly walked away from. One of them was an 1820/19 large cent, absolutely choice surfaces, uncirculated with some mint red remaining. I think that it was in a 64BN PCGS slab, and I though it would net a choice 63. The price was stiff, but I had the money. I walked because it was offered to me, along with several PCGS certified late-date large cents graded 66BN. Those graded coins all had rough rims, and I was shocked by their grades. I am sure the dealer knew those certified coins weren't up to snuff, even though he was not an early copper specialist. He did offer to sell me the 1820/19 separately. Moral: look at EACH coin on its own, and maintain a sense of objectivity even if annoyed by issues involving other coins, the dealer, or anything else.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Oh wow. Auction will probably see some serious moon money.
If PCGS ever authenticates that, theyll have to prove we didnt fake the moonlanding?
This was the first coin I fell in love with. It was listed with a starting bid of 299 and I watched it get no bids for the full 7 days. I had a starting bid of 300 on it to keep it at the top of my ebay and was going to snipe it against myself to fend off other snipers. I think 6-700 was going to be my snipe. With about 5 minutes to go while watching the countdown I fell asleep. I wake up to a winning bid of 305 taking it. I lost some sleep after that.
To that point my post qualifies the OP rules. But I reached out to the seller asking for the buyers name. He didnt reply right away so I then waited something like a month to get the buyers name from feedback. It turned out to be Rick Tomaska. I reached out to him and offered to buy the coin. I offered him 450 and he accepted despite noting his max bid was 650. He said he had the coin somewhere but hadnt even seen it yet but would sell it to me. Took something like 2 weeks to get it after paying him and I was nervous, but he came thru and I was thankful he sold it to me. It's my favorite coin to this day.
Which one?
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Now that is a gorgeous Peace Dollar!! I think it came as a mixed blessing. Had you stayed awake, it could have cost you quite a bit more. But since you took a power-nap, you were able to pay a lot less than you were willing to at a later date. I'm glad it all worked out for you.
I've had a few coins slip my hands because of software glitches and my bid not going through. I've made it a point to not think about those, so that I can forget them. So far it's working. But I'll tell you, at the time, I was fuming mad. Oh well, maybe it was for the best in the end.
It happened a year ago. Still too soon to speak of it
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......
Two a very long time ago...
I have since tried to scratch both itches with a counterfeit stater struck in gold that has fooled so many folks I'm beginning to believe it may be genuine plus, two "Omega" HR $20.
Still I wish...
My biggest regret was holding the most magnificent 1885cc PCGS 66 dmpl being sold by a very reputable dealer, having the money in my pocket, and wondering if it was better than the one I had - and passing on it until I could be sure. The coin sold, and after selling, the buyer thanked the dealer for selling them the plate coin from the Wayne Miller book! It was not attributed, and even the dealer did not know it was the plate coin. I matched the photo with the book, and yes, it was the coin. To this day it haunts me, some 14 years later.
I have many but this one is fairly fresh
About 2 years ago got a local dealer called to tell me he purchased a set of draped bust half dimes. Most in old green pcgs holders. I picked out a few for my collection at very nice prices but turned down the 1805 in EF. The price was too cheap and the dealer is a friend. I told him to crack and regrade told him it should grade AU. He had offered it to me for 6000. The next week he called me to purchase some more and bragged that he got 6500 for the 1805 half dime that I turned down. I told him he made a big mistake. Soon after the coin showed up with a gold sticker for 17,000. Our current agreement is I should buy anything that is too cheap and then give him a kickback.
A couple come to mind.
At a local Santa Clara show I found a 1962 proof set in OGP that in it the best DCAM half dollar I had ever seen. Thick, even, snow white frost on both sides, with flawless mirrored fields. I passed on it because it is a 1962 and those coins are "common". The next day I kicked myself for not buying the proof set.
Also at Santa Clara I found a 1958 proof set in an old Capital style holder that was itself inside of a cardboard box with green and white color, plus cellophane windows. The cardboard box probably dated to the 1960's. In the Capital style holder was a 1958 half dollar that had an obverse that was DCAM+++++++ and a reverse that had moderate frost. I passed because it did not have matching two sided frost. The next day I kicked myself for not buying the proof set.
Some of you may remember a guy named Grady that showed up on the eBay coins board several years ago. He was disposing of his father's coins claiming he had sets of trade dollars. We all thought sure, sets of trade dollars. It turns out he did, all raw, plus rolls and rolls of Morgans and a 1795 Flowing Hair (2 leaves if I remember correctly) in AU that he was told had been cleaned. On the advice of folks on the board he sent most of the coins in for grading, some to PCGS, some to NGC and some to ANACS and over the course of about a year sold them on eBay. Some of those Trade dollars ended up in MS65 slabs. He sold hundreds of 1884-O, 1887 and 1904-O Morgans in slabs, sometimes 20 in one lot, sometimes the higher grades 1 at a time. It was an amazing time. Once he was finished his userid disappeared and poof, he was gone. I did manage to buy a few inexpensive foreign crowns from him and he would always include an extra.
Anyway, to make a long story longer I had sold a G - VG 1795 Flowing Hair a long time ago for a couple hundred bucks and was always sorry I did so.
His 1795 eventually showed up on eBay and sold for around $4,000. I still think about that coin but who knows how high the winning bidder was willing to pay if I had bid.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
Not buying something because you didn't have the money should not be a source of regret. If you don't have the wherewithal, that's the way it is.
Many years ago I had a 1796 No Star quarter eagle on memo from a dealer in "perfect AU-50." Today that coin would grade AU-55 or 58 easily. I didn't have the cash so it didn't matter. The one I have now is better, but it cost me a lot more money.
Not buying something when you did have cash is something else. My biggest regret was passing on an 1801 Thomas Jefferson inaugural medal at a Winter FUN show a few years ago. The opportunity to buy a nice looking example of that piece at an affordable price will never come again for me. What I need to remember is that I have pulled the trigger enough times that I really should never have such regrets. Yet on that piece I do. Unlike most items, it was virtually irreplaceable because of the condition and the rarity.
About 15 years ago, I passed on an unopened full box of Federal Reserve Bank wrapped 1958-P Roosy dimes. The seller wanted to sell it all at once, as one lot, and she needed to sell it fast. I passed, even though the price was very reasonable. I recall she only wanted about 70% of market. As I was pondering how to generate the cash needed, she sold it to a local dealer within a couple days.
This one still haunts me.
Dave
I have no regrets on coins I passed on... My major 'did not buy' regret, that I still think of to this day (and it was 56 years ago) was on an ivory chess set... but that is a story for another place... When I pass on a coin, it is gone... from memory as well. Cheers, RickO
Many years ago a group of coins showed up on the BST in the middle of the night. I had to have been the first to see the post. It was from a forum member in the "circle of trust".
Included was an 1877 IHC for $50 that had some forgivable issues and would not have straight graded but it had a full date.
I decided to sleep on it (dumb) and of course, it was gone by morning.
It would have been the absolute perfect hole filler for my XF IHC album. The hole is still empty.
"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
December 10, 2015:
I was at the Iowa City coin show and had searched the bourse for awhile with no real pickups, a few items for myself totaling under $200 and then an 1838 $2.50 gold piece I thought I could flip quick. I was about to leave until a friend of mine told me he had something to show me he knew I would like. He took me over to John Jackson's table where he had a Texas commemorative in MS67 (can't remember the year) with a full red/yellowish blazing tone on the reverse and blast white obverse. The coin was the nicest I had ever seen in hand! (Mind you I am in central Iowa so that might not be saying much). I asked for a price on it and was quoted $1,000.. ouch, I had stupidly bought that 1838 2.50 to flip and didn't want to sell out that much more for the day. I told him I was interested in it and that I would think about it and get back to him if I wanted it. Needless to say by the time I got back to him it was gone. I am not 100% sure it is the same coin but there is one on Ebay currently that looks identical to it... for $2,800.
Interestingly enough when I saw him at the Fort Dodge show last weekend I told him how I still regretted not buying that. Yet again he had something I really wanted but the price kept me from buying it Saturday, I am going to give him a call about it... maybe.
In the early days of eBay, probably '98 or '99, someone had a really nice 1813 large cent with at least a 10% clip. The coin graded VG/Fine but did not have any of the corrosion or planchet issues that plague most Classic Head large cents. I probably could have afforded it, but it was expensive and I was focused more on Lincolns than type at the time. Had I understood then just how hard it is to find nice problem-free CH cent, I would have leapt at it. It still haunts me.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
I saw a 1875 3CN in PCGS AU58 on eBay with a BIN / Make Offer, it was a really nice coin with a TrueView, but just a bit over trends...so I made an offer. Within a matter of minutes I received notice that it was sold and no longer available. It was a nice coin and I have not seen another 1875 3CN in AU58...especially since it was an unattributed MPD FS-301. I should have bit the bullet and snagged it when I had the chance.
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, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
I bid on this ex-John J. Ford Jr. California Gold Mines A.D. 1850 piece but I split my budget across two coins and didn't win either. I learned my lesson and now avoid spreading myself too thin.
When I was in Hong Kong many years ago I picked up an ivory Chess Set. My regret is to this day I have never played chess with it. I will have to add that to my bucket list.
If you ever travel to my neck of the woods, maybe we can arrange for a match. Added incentive, you will probably win given my skill level.
It was in 2002 for me.
Coin Rarities Online
Not many heartbreaking coin misses ... but being inspired by ricko's non-coin regret, I'll share mine. Before the price explosion, I passed on a pristine, original 1969 Boss 429 Mustang owned by an Mustang enthusiast. I couldn't stretch enough without financial challenges to my young family. I really regret missing out on the car, but don't regret missing the financial struggle it would have caused.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
Anything out of the whole case of thick gold half eagles of the 1815-1830s that one dealer had at a Jack Tar SF show in the 1972 time period.
But they were all running from 700-1500 and who would spend that much on a single coin?
@northcoin ... That is a beautiful set....and now I experiencing renewed regret....
Cheers, RickO
I don't even play chess and now I want a set like that, so cool!
I collect gold dollars. I have bought and sold over 200 of them in the last 30 years and I only regret not buying one coin. A very rare proof with a mintage of 30. This one:
I even had it in hand and paid for. I had purchased it from a now deceased dealer here on the BST for a very reasonable price. When it arrived it looked as good as the pics except for a small black raised spot on the obverse. I decided I did not want to hassle with sending it in for conservation and returned it. A couple years later I think I saw the same coin in a PCGS holder without the spot for about 3 times the price.
I was unavoidably detailed leaving for an auction. I had a fairly long drive to that auction. I was told it was an hour and a half, but it was really a solid 2 hours. Not only that, but the directions weren't detailed enough and I first stopped at the wrong auction! I was primarily after what looked in the catalog to be a very nice Trade Dollar for my type set (set #2). By the time I walked in the door, I heard the hammer go down on the lot I wanted and for half of what I would have paid for the coin, assuming I would have liked it in the hand. That was the only time I really regretted not getting a coin, or at least having a chance to view it. I did buy another Trade dollar at that auction, but nothing else I had interest in filled the bill, so I left after only being there a half an hour!
Louis Armstrong
I’m putting together a vintage hobo nickel collection by date and mintmark. I’ve been working on it for a decade. 6 years or so ago I was offered an old one on a 1926-D, but I didn’t think it was nice enough to fill the hole. Down to 5 dates left and it’s the only one I’ve ever seen.
Dempsey & Baxter Rare Coins
6032 Peach Street
Erie, PA 16509
So many......early on when just starting my 7070 in the mid-80's a small local dealer who I had done some previous business with was set up at a local show. He eagerly showed me a new purchase, a beautiful mint state ~50% red 1828 half cent, for $175, and really tried to talk me into it. I was a novice, and skeptical that it could really have that much original red, so I said I would think on it. I walked around for a little bit, then decided I should take a shot - but it was gone. They told me a dealer scooped it up right after I passed. I later determined this was likely from the Collins Hoard, and indeed most of those had considerable original red on them.
Oh pretty much every gold 1oz eagle I passed on under $325
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
The closest I can come goes back to 2004 or 2005, when I was still in high school. I really wanted a 1795 half dollar, and a VG/Fine was going for around $1000. At the time, I think the most I had spent on a coin was under $150. DLRC had an ICG VG10 with spectacular, deep grey surfaces that was everything I was looking for. I bid $1000 and lost to a bidder at $1050. I don't know if another increment would have done it, but certainly now I would much rather have the coin than that $50. I suppose $50 was a lot more back then, though.
Not too long after, there was a nice ANACS F12 on eBay. I had planned to snipe it, but had to go pick up my dad from a train station around 40 minutes away. The train was delayed, and I didn't make it back in time. I did call my mom to try and have her bid, but the bid was placed a bit too early (perhaps 30 seconds), and the guy I supplanted as high bidder had an opportunity to place a new bid at the last second and win. This was before I had an automated sniping tool, and of course, it's not my mom's fault that timing the bid didn't work. The coin wasn't as nice as the ICG one, but it was nice.
In short, I still don't have a 1795 half dollar, though I have been looking more recently. I'm not sure I've seen one as nice as the ICG coin, but then again, I might also be remembering it incorrectly. Time has a way of doing that. When I finally get one, who knows, it might just be even nicer.
Only two come to mind. They were both around the same time frame...circa 2013/2014.
A FULLY original with wonderful toning and sharp strike 1937-D PCGS MS 65 OGH came up for auction and sold for a paltry $575. The buyer cracked it and it's now a 66. It is stunning but looked better in that OGH IMHO.
An obscure West coast dealer bought a complete, old-time, Walker registry set. The 1917 S rev. was a PCGS 64 CAC and had very lustrous surfaces and a great strike---very rare for the issue. He wanted $4250....I foolishly passed. When I decided that I wanted it; it had just sold. Missed it, literally, by about a day. I wound up with a good one from HA but got into a bidding war and paid an extra $750 for mine.
C'est la vie.........
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Several years ago I walked into my local shop just before closing time to see if they had anything new. I spotted an 1868 Two cent piece in a PCGS rattler graded MS-64RD. It was very nice and they had it priced at $325. I picked up a Redbook and looked it up and saw that it was listed at $1800. I told the guy I wanted it, but would have to run down to my bank to get the money. He said that he would hold it for me until the next day, but he had to close up and leave ASAP. Of course I went back the next afternoon to pick it up and another clerk had sold it to someone else for $300. That shop went out of business not long after that.
More than a decade ago, I was at a coin show and was offered a very unusual half cent. 1833, so pretty common date, NGC 64RB and well struck. The price was 2X what a coin like this should have brought. I was surprised by the lack of luster, and had only returned to coin collecting after a long hiatus. My prior experience was with Barber halves and Standing Liberty quarters, not early coppers. Since I had not seen an early copper with the flashy/reflective look of this piece, I walked. Some years later, I noticed that the coin I was offered was reholdered, with a PL designation on the NGC insert (one of just a handful so designated).
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
I was looking at chain cents sometime in the mid 1990's and found a decent one in a PCGS F-15 holder with no major problems. It was running close to $4K and I was going to sell some excess to help fund it. Got close but never pulled the trigger. Still regret not doing it - should have kicked that little "NO!" devil off of my shoulder!
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
I've told this before but in the mid-late 1980's I was in a shop and the guy says "I've got something you'll like". He handed me, loose in a velvet lined tray, a matched set of 1793 cents, chain, wreath and cap. I can't remember if they were high VF or XF (they'd be AU today), he wanted $25k cash, and likely the only time in my life I had that much, but I passed. My only solace is I likely would have had to sell them a few years later, but when I think how much they have shot up I could scream.
I thought all of the stars had aligned.......... My 55th birthday, and in my eyes, a perfect 55 DDO Lincoln was being auctioned at GC. I had passed on so many that never were "just" right. I bid well over price guide at the time and just didn't stretch that extra grand it would have probably taken to win it. I have no doubt that it was upgraded eventually.
When I was a teenager in 1967, which was my first real coin collecting year, I have only one regret from then.
"Twin City Coins" in East Chicago, Indiana was where I hung out. I just started to collect Buffalo Nickels at that time.
The owner said "hey Pete, look at this". He showed me a 1918/7-D overdate that he just found by using nic-a date. The date came out bold after the treatment.
He told me he was going to put it in the display case and sell it for 20 bucks. I had first dibs on it.
I had to refuse. I didn't have that much money and probably never would. I suffered every time I went to the shop and had to see it in the display case. It was there for awhile.
Then it was gone.
It really broke my young heart.
Pete
I have had many, mostly due to too much hesitation on my part. Back in the late 70's I was offered a common date GSA Morgan $ with absolutely wild rainbow toning on most of the obverse. The guy wanted $50 more than the going rate at the time, which I just could not justify. Scares me to think what it would be worth today.
Found it! Sorry for the duplicate post.
I bought a P AU50 89-CC Morgan from the King CC & later flip it to a board member.
The King was in the processs of moving to the left coast at that time.
My biggest regret:
I showed the King a P AU58 1889-CC dollar, full of luster that @RickO will approve. The King talked me out of buying it so I passed on it😩, bad move on my part. It’s probably a $30K+ coin now. I’m shock
, according to CoinFacts, it’s less than $20K, wow.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the King later snapped it up.
In I believe 1987, my LCD offered me a nice AU58 1916/16 Buffalo for what he said was twenty per cent over what he had in it. I really liked the coin, and the price he was asking was reasonable at that time, but I was a lot younger, and couldn't raise the eleven grand he wanted for it. The person who bought it resubmitted it and it graded MS61!
I could write a book on this topic
@northcoin
I probably could checkmate you ..... so come down South
It was 2005 or thereabout. I was at the first show I had been to since I restarted collecting after stopping in the late 70s. I was drawn to a 1934-s Walker in a AU58 holder. Beautiful AU64 coin. It was priced about $200 which was 10 or 20 more than PCGS price guide. Was afraid I’d be overreaching for the coin so I didn’t buy it. Just didn’t know enough at the time. Still looking for the right 34-s Walker.
My regrets always seem to go the other way (i.e. wishing I had not purchased a coin).
Not a pass on buying, but I sometimes do regret passing on a 2 for 1 trade...
Back in the late 1970s I had a chance to trade my VF 1801 and 1815 halves for my choice of either a F 1796 or F 1797 half straight across. At the time replacement value for my two halves would have put me slightly behind on the swap (as I recall, around a hundred dollars or so) so I didn't do it. Today that same swap would net me about 50K in value. And the "skinny eagle" half is STILL the only hole in my half dollar set.