My White Whale brought home
crypto79
Posts: 8,623 ✭
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago, never mind how long precisely I started collecting anew by doing a type set and an UNC set of peace dollars after the typical girls, booze and impoverished break of the teenage-early 20s. While amassing my Type set I set out for interesting one offs instead of highest grade examples and chose a chop marked CC Trade dollar for the slot. I ended up finding one locally through ebay and agreed to a steep discount off ebay and drove out to an IHOP (Pancakes and coins count me in) in an ehhhh area outside of DC off of route1 near college park. I was hooked the second I held the 1874cc PCGS AU50 Chop in my hands and set off to build a CC run of Trade Dollars. That run turned out to have two red book errors that counted (76cc and the 75 S/CC) and two only semi tough Hub type variations that I chose to include. But collecting CC Coins is never cheap so I sold off the Type set (about 6months before gold took off mind you with a full gold run save for the type 2 & 3 dollars and Type 1 Double Eagle ) and ended up with a pretty nice CC + Errors set. (My First Trade Dollar now sold)
The natural conclusion after getting the "hard ones" is to fill in the "easy ones" which one quickly learns that while a few are easy (77s,75s,77p) that most of the others are actually harder just less popular than the CC coins. Making matters worse was there were very few dealers that really carried the material as it was a thin market and too rare to focus on so I turned to EBay. Quickly realizing I needed to learn, I read word for word everything I could in Breen, Bowers and TDN's website. And then when it became apparent I was serious, other serious collectors started reaching out to me which in turned out to not only coach me up but built the bonds that became the most enjoyable aspect of the hobby. The series friends/mentors of note of Keoj, Evillageprowler, Shish, originalDan, DDR, TDN, Tennesseedave, Stealer, Kaz and too many LSCC members to list have guided me and allowed me grow as a specialist to where I have learned ins and out of the series. With this knowledge I have tried to self define a comprehensive collection that tells the story of the chaotic circumstances of Trade Dollar Business strike production and the loose production values that resulted in a wide range of variances.
My set can be seen here The CC Reference Set of Trade Dollars
Since I decided to do the complete set I became aware of the king of Trade dollar Varieties which is universally considered to be the 1876s Doubled Die Obv. I had almost resigned my self to not owning one. Having a Pop of under 10 known means that you pretty much know where they are but they are held in tight hands. I had put feelers out in 2008 but I got no nibbles save for one firm (no) which was much better than the other He*ll NOs from the rest. I did strike lighting once when a junk pile which was sold on Ebay full of holed and tooled junk but one caught my eye. Indeed it was the 9th reported (Since the early 80s) 76s Doubled Die Obv but not the best one for sure.
The the damage and monotone makes the doubling on that one hard to see but the entire portrait of liberty is rotated about 3-4% (note her foot, leg, ribbon chin) and is very apparent on higher grade examples and is really unprecedented in the scope of doubling in American coinage but not the degree of spread. The problem being out of the 9 known only 5 have been seen at all the TPGs combined received grades (VF35) (AU55 Chop Mark), (AU details cleaned NCS) (F details heavily chop marked) and fuggly (mine) . A few raw coins have been reported but are off the grid. I dreamed of a better example to go with my set after talking to TDN about the two he owned (AU55 Chop and the AU details coin). While I don't have the money to afford great coins in every slot and even if I did it could take a life time to find decent seated materiel especially if going for specific varieties that might not even exist. I always knew to invest in the keys as they define the set and if I wanted one of the best varieties set I needed to have the best varietie. Having the King in such bad shape made me fussy even if I felt fortunate to even have one. I continued to grow as a collector and occasionally put it out there that I was an active buyer with little notice needed and as the years went by the rest of the set filled out and the semi-void remained to the point it was always number 1# on my want list. The top 3 coins in a variety set where the quality really defines your set
1876s DDO
1876p type 2/2 BS
1875p type 1/1 BS
The next 7 for a top 10
1875 s/cc (the classic)
1876cc DDR
1877s FS-801
1876p 4finger
1876cc wide CC (Also noted type 1/1)
1874cc Wide CC
1873cc wide CC
The search had always consumed me until about a month ago I came to terms with TDN allow me to be the care giver on the finest know example of this coin allowing me to pass my example along to another specialist in waiting in turn making 2 peoples day. I will get it photographed at ANA (BluCC) where I am also giving a quick presentation on Trade dollars on Friday if anybody is interested, I will show it afterwards. Not sure if I am relieved as I really don't know whats next other than simple upgrades. What did Ahab do next?
No more running off at the mouth here is a bad IPhone shot with better to follow. also below is what I wrote in my showcase.
Type 2/2 - Doubled Die Obverse Chop Mark, Ex-Legend Collection. King of the Trade Dollar varieties by not only being highly unusual in the scope of it's doubling and the vividness but also the extreme rarity with only about 10 confirmed after 30 years of looking. It is unknown why they are so rare but it is known that the shift to the type 2 obv came late in the year and that at least some made it overseas as two are known chop marked (one heavily so), maybe not many were made or the majority ended up melted/recalled but this is to trade dollars what the 1817/4 is to bust halves. To make matters worse the majority of the known examples are problem coins (including this one depending on how one feels about chop marks). This example has two pleasing chops with one obv and one rev and minimal contact marks on a semi-PL Obv with the standard micro S Rev. This is by far the highest graded example at all major and minor third party graders with only another VF 35 ever receiving a straight grade (non-chop) with 3 problem coins in genuine or details being the only specimens seen and with no known auction appearances at the major houses that I can trace. Easily my 2nd best coin form a series specialist's perspective. A dream coin of mine that I feel fortunate to safe guard until the next caretaker.
The natural conclusion after getting the "hard ones" is to fill in the "easy ones" which one quickly learns that while a few are easy (77s,75s,77p) that most of the others are actually harder just less popular than the CC coins. Making matters worse was there were very few dealers that really carried the material as it was a thin market and too rare to focus on so I turned to EBay. Quickly realizing I needed to learn, I read word for word everything I could in Breen, Bowers and TDN's website. And then when it became apparent I was serious, other serious collectors started reaching out to me which in turned out to not only coach me up but built the bonds that became the most enjoyable aspect of the hobby. The series friends/mentors of note of Keoj, Evillageprowler, Shish, originalDan, DDR, TDN, Tennesseedave, Stealer, Kaz and too many LSCC members to list have guided me and allowed me grow as a specialist to where I have learned ins and out of the series. With this knowledge I have tried to self define a comprehensive collection that tells the story of the chaotic circumstances of Trade Dollar Business strike production and the loose production values that resulted in a wide range of variances.
My set can be seen here The CC Reference Set of Trade Dollars
Since I decided to do the complete set I became aware of the king of Trade dollar Varieties which is universally considered to be the 1876s Doubled Die Obv. I had almost resigned my self to not owning one. Having a Pop of under 10 known means that you pretty much know where they are but they are held in tight hands. I had put feelers out in 2008 but I got no nibbles save for one firm (no) which was much better than the other He*ll NOs from the rest. I did strike lighting once when a junk pile which was sold on Ebay full of holed and tooled junk but one caught my eye. Indeed it was the 9th reported (Since the early 80s) 76s Doubled Die Obv but not the best one for sure.
The the damage and monotone makes the doubling on that one hard to see but the entire portrait of liberty is rotated about 3-4% (note her foot, leg, ribbon chin) and is very apparent on higher grade examples and is really unprecedented in the scope of doubling in American coinage but not the degree of spread. The problem being out of the 9 known only 5 have been seen at all the TPGs combined received grades (VF35) (AU55 Chop Mark), (AU details cleaned NCS) (F details heavily chop marked) and fuggly (mine) . A few raw coins have been reported but are off the grid. I dreamed of a better example to go with my set after talking to TDN about the two he owned (AU55 Chop and the AU details coin). While I don't have the money to afford great coins in every slot and even if I did it could take a life time to find decent seated materiel especially if going for specific varieties that might not even exist. I always knew to invest in the keys as they define the set and if I wanted one of the best varieties set I needed to have the best varietie. Having the King in such bad shape made me fussy even if I felt fortunate to even have one. I continued to grow as a collector and occasionally put it out there that I was an active buyer with little notice needed and as the years went by the rest of the set filled out and the semi-void remained to the point it was always number 1# on my want list. The top 3 coins in a variety set where the quality really defines your set
1876s DDO
1876p type 2/2 BS
1875p type 1/1 BS
The next 7 for a top 10
1875 s/cc (the classic)
1876cc DDR
1877s FS-801
1876p 4finger
1876cc wide CC (Also noted type 1/1)
1874cc Wide CC
1873cc wide CC
The search had always consumed me until about a month ago I came to terms with TDN allow me to be the care giver on the finest know example of this coin allowing me to pass my example along to another specialist in waiting in turn making 2 peoples day. I will get it photographed at ANA (BluCC) where I am also giving a quick presentation on Trade dollars on Friday if anybody is interested, I will show it afterwards. Not sure if I am relieved as I really don't know whats next other than simple upgrades. What did Ahab do next?
No more running off at the mouth here is a bad IPhone shot with better to follow. also below is what I wrote in my showcase. Type 2/2 - Doubled Die Obverse Chop Mark, Ex-Legend Collection. King of the Trade Dollar varieties by not only being highly unusual in the scope of it's doubling and the vividness but also the extreme rarity with only about 10 confirmed after 30 years of looking. It is unknown why they are so rare but it is known that the shift to the type 2 obv came late in the year and that at least some made it overseas as two are known chop marked (one heavily so), maybe not many were made or the majority ended up melted/recalled but this is to trade dollars what the 1817/4 is to bust halves. To make matters worse the majority of the known examples are problem coins (including this one depending on how one feels about chop marks). This example has two pleasing chops with one obv and one rev and minimal contact marks on a semi-PL Obv with the standard micro S Rev. This is by far the highest graded example at all major and minor third party graders with only another VF 35 ever receiving a straight grade (non-chop) with 3 problem coins in genuine or details being the only specimens seen and with no known auction appearances at the major houses that I can trace. Easily my 2nd best coin form a series specialist's perspective. A dream coin of mine that I feel fortunate to safe guard until the next caretaker.
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Comments
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
I can only hope to complete my dime set.
Look forward to seeing you and your TD's at ANA!
Latin American Collection
Steve
Thanks to you I will (soon) be the caretaker of 5 of the 10 you have listed. Of course, I need to upgrade a few into problem free grades
I knew it would happen.
<< <i>and nice gesture by TDN. >>
Really the moral of the story is that if you take my very best coins it has been forum members who facilitated, sold or assisted in some way in building the set. The top three on my list where sold to me by forum members. And my two best coins that really define my set (76p 2/2 & 76s DDO) where basically favors. Friends are truly more important than money in this hobby but money helps too.
–Ishmael's epigrammatic commentary on the name of a Polynesian island
U.S. Type Set
Erik
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
Great story and great accomplishment. We must share beers to celebrate.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
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.
Congrats John
<< <i>
Congrats John >>
Did you tell your wife yet?
Congrats!!!!!!!!
MJ
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......
Cool story on the cherrypick of your original example, too.
Very cool story and outcome
Thanks for the very educational 'show and tell'.
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
<< <i>
<< <i>
Congrats John >>
Did you tell your wife yet?
Congrats!!!!!!!!
MJ >>
And that is the rest of the story
Also, can we award TDN a retroactive "You Suck" for that cherrypick? (Guess I just did)
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
I wish I was able to see your presentation.
"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>
<< <i>
Did you tell your wife yet?
Congrats!!!!!!!!
MJ >>
And that is the rest of the story
Actually the real rest of the story is that Mrs. Crypto kicked him to the couch after discovering he was sleeping with his new coin in bed at night.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012