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What was the coin that broke your "glass ceiling" as a collector?
2ltdjorn
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Well it seems most collectors started sifting through change to fill albums, or the lucky ones worked through a family members collection. But eventually we all made a purchase. So what coin did you purchase that made this hobby real, in respect to your pocket book? Was it a $50/$100/$1000/$1000000 coin?
Mine was a VF 1918/7-D buffalo nickel.
Mine was a VF 1918/7-D buffalo nickel.
WTB... errors, New Orleans gold, and circulated 20th key date coins!
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-Paul
an 1853 large cent, which was my first numismatic purchase for the intent of collecting/dealing
sent to pcgs and came back 58, arguably an unc
edited to add, i paid $50. the guy whom sold it to me was nice to give a noobie such a good deal. first large cent i'd seen and i knew i was in love aka obsessed
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Cost way more than I was expecting
Member, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors.
Looking for PCGS AU58+ 1901-P, 1896-O, & 1894-O
Eric
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NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"
Prior to this.....several just under 500.
Most notables....purchased a 1911 S Lincoln, raw, MS63BN (with some nice red in the edges) and the venerable 1914 D, raw, XF in 1988 for $325 at Colonel's Coins in Grand Forks, North Dakota. My wife.....FLIPPED!!! Reminded her of the 1877 AG/FR Indian that I purchased from a coin dealers junk box for 15 cents (returned to dealer - dealer said they do not believe it is an 1877), traded the IHC for $65 face 90% silver, sat on that for 6 months....and then bought the 11 S and 14 D. Ah......let the ride begin!
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Very much the same for me, it was 1990 at the Seattle ANA in fact, for one of the nicest 1897-O Barber Dimes I still have ever seen in Choice AU. Today we would call it an AU64, if my memory is worth a damn. Teal and gray, original skin, very well might have graded Unc (I sold it as a shot 62) if it was sent in. I think I remember paying 435. for it (I know it was over 400.). Unfortunately I sold it about six months later for a modest profit. Still haunts me. I wish I could have afforded to keep her.
Buying it, I thought maybe I was crazy. My wife was certain I was. In retrospect, I probably was (and I probably still am) a little crazy.
I didn't break that threshold price again for another four years, and another four years before I did it again.
One thing that coin taught me though, was if I was going to be a collector, to buy only what I could afford to keep.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Hoard the keys.
Empty Nest Collection
Matt’s Mattes
<< <i>The one that shook things up for me was a 1796 Draped Bust quarter in F12. The coin is tough, I purchased it in the 1990s and I still own it. >>
And it's incredible.
An 85-O endroll toned Morgan was my first coin above $100, which was a big deal since I was 15. Since then I've hit $500 and a few above that, but with proportionally much more income, I don't think they hit me the same way, even though they were milestones. At 15, $100 was a lot for anything, and basically unheard of spending for me.
Partner @Gold Hill Coin
After rereading the thread, I need to modify my answer although the purchase of the coins below is not what made the hobby "real" for me. The hobby was always real, it was just a question of financial availability. From a current standpoint though, the IKE made it really Real as it represents a significant "find" and not simply an expensive purchase. With enough money, anybody can make an expensive purchase.
These three were well over $200 when $200 was actually worth $200 (back in the late 70's very early 80's) and represent my first attempt at actually completing a collection which included ALL dates and mintmarks.
The 32-S and 36-D were purchased raw at CA Bay Area Coin Shows. The 32-D was purchased raw at a coin shop in Austin Texas.
The name is LEE!
The real "glass ceiling" for me was a 1799 Bust dollar in VF. That was my first Draped Bust type coin, and it opened a new world for me. That one cost $210 in the late 1960s.
Authorized dealer for PCGS, PCGS Currency, NGC, NCS, PMG, CAC. Member of the PNG, ANA. Member dealer of CoinPlex and CCE/FACTS as "CH5"
But also selling a coin for more than $1,000 (before I bought a coin for that much) was also very awesome
And then things made that glass ceiling shatter thereafter. Spent many many times what I spent on the Tet since then.
Followed about 1 month later with this one ...
Followed about 3 months later with this one ...
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My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
My most costly coin ever is this one, which went from this...
To this...
To this...
Pat Braddick
Tom Delorey
MWallace
the rest of the story.
I purchased a few coins over $1000 but had them pretty much sold to some collecting friends so those don't really count.
The coin that broke a barrier for me and that I held for several years was a 1921-D Walker in original F12. Paid $525 for it about 2 years after I started collecting (in 2006) which was multiples more than I had ever paid for a coin before. Sold it for about $550 several years later.
I enjoy lots of coins, so sinking alot of $$$ into just a few coins don't appeal to my budget too much. $500 is alot of money to me.
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I didn't know that. Then in about 1962 I exceeded the $10 "glass ceiling" and spent about $12
for a '13-D buffalo in F. It came from Jack Beymer who must have been out of F's and sent me a
nice pleasing VF which I mistook for a low end XF. This was the first hint that I had been overgra-
ding and was buried in most of my two and three dollar purchases. I was able to make a small '
profit on the collection because of the increase in value of the '13-D and that many of the coins
came from circulation.
When I returned to the hobby I wanted to collect from the high end of the grading spectrum so grad-
ing wouldn't be an issue. I went through all the affordable US series before settling on clads in '72.
As a teenager, somewhere around $150 was a lot, for a VF 1914-D cent.
As an adult, I have hit several new glass ceilings of greater note, involving my barber half set. The 1901-S in MS 62 was the first I remember, then a 1907-S in 64, later the 1904-O in 66, and then the killer key dates like the 04-S and 92-o micro O. I doubt I will ever top those. The Eliasberg 92-O micro O would be an additional glass ceiling that is so far up there that I don't think I can even see it, much less crash through it..
Just checked and some of them are still in my collection but some have moved on to new homes.
My glass ceiling was shattered when I made what I thought were relatively low bids on two mid-five-figure coins in one auction and ended up winning both of them (my first five-figure coins). I held onto those for a while but have since upgraded and sold them off as well.
I've bought/sold many times more than my collection has ever been worth, but would never consider myself a dealer.
At each step of the way, I thought: "I could never have a collection worth more than $X" and X keeps increasing...
By actually going through the selling process many times now, I'm much more comfortable with how "it" works and am willing to put a higher percentage of my net worth into coins by understanding their liquidity.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
I had been collecting since age 7 (1966) until I was about 17, but took a break for years until 2001.
The first ceiling broken was in 2001 for a 1798 Large Cent for $180. I thought then "wow, did I just do that?"
The next ceiling was in 2003, for a 09 s vdb cent for $650. Again, I thought "wow" and my wife thought "wow" also. better slow down a bit.
in 2005, bought a 1793 Chain Cent for $2000.........I have gone well past that now.........
.........funny how the comfort level of spending changes with experiences. Can be dangerous however!
......I collect old stuff......