Congrats on a year in the books! Here is to many more in your future
so I have told this story many times before obviously, but my late Gramps back in or around Christmas 1997 or 1998 gave me this Morgan with some other silver widgets and rolls. It was in an old-school coin envelope with XF marked on it (his handwriting). It graded ms63 and is still in my current set of basic Morgans. If I ever choose to replace her in my set then that year/date/mm will be the nicest coin in my set...till then, here is the one that started it all for me in Numismatics
ms63 CAC (lol that I actually sent it to CAC...but I did and she may have even gotten a sympathy bean...but I'll happily take it)
Congratulations on the first year Danaca! Its really great to hear you're doing well.
After seeing my Uncle Ron's collection, (mostly common 'melt value' stuff) I went to a flea market and negotiated a price for 3 common seated dimes.....$16. I was about 12.
Most impulsive, probably a really nice toned 1922 Peace Dollar for $100. It graded 64, but have had strong offers for it. I just cant sell it yet.
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased? 1864 2c at the first coin show I ever went to. I was probably about 7 or 8 at the time. I went to the show with my big brother. He just turned 71 and I'll be 61 in Jan.
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase? 1937 PCGS PR67+ Buffalo Nickel I always liked the Buffalo nickels but I thought it would be too difficult to put together a well struck set. I have thought about doing the proof set a few times. I've started it now, don't know if I'll ever finish it.
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Congratulations on your foray into the world of hard commerce!
Earliest? My venture back into coin collecting after a long hiatus was in Feb 2000. Got am 1832 half cent on Ebay that turned out to be scratched/cleaned. First of many lessons.
Thanks for the opportunity and congrats on the 1 year anniversary!
First collectible coins were ones(mercury dimes) I received from my grandfather. I was probably 10 years old when I got them. Still have lots of them, but a few I have passed down to my kids.
Most impulsive purchase would have to be a group of mint sets from the UK. Love their chunky coins and artistry.
Congratulations, and thanks for starting the thread.
My first purchase was when I was around 11 I think, at a coin show at the armory in Collinsville, Va. I was with my dad. despite all the shiny things around, I gravitated to an 1835 half dime, about vg I think, for 7$. I still have it in the original 2x2. And then proceeded to not buy a single coin for 40 years! My most impulsive buy was a Vermont landscape copper, as soon as I saw the design I had to have it!
1st acquired - Lincoln cents from circulation around 1962.
1st purchased - 1943 steel cent
Must impulsive - Henry the VIIIth hammered gold.
"My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal.
Congratulations Tassa! What you've accomplished is very admirable.
I'm glad that you're enjoying it, it's a dream for many of us.
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
On my first trip to a coin shop with my dad, I bought an indian cent, a buffalo nickel, and a liberty nickel. I liked type coins even a a kid, and these were three kinds that weren't in the little cup of junk silver I had gotten from my grandparents a few weeks before. I really enjoyed those dollar-a-piece coins, probably still have them around somewhere..
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
This is a tough one, most of my coin buys are pretty well thought out and serve a defined purpose in the collection, but in my early days on eBay, sometimes I'd browse "seller's other items" and I ran across a 1787 gold escudo that just charmed me to no end, and I hit Buy It Now. Still have that coin, too
Congratulations on the first year, hopefully the first of many more to come. The fastest impule purchase that took just a few seconds to jump on was a gorgeous rainbow toned reverse GSA Morgan.
What a great accomplishment - owning your own shop - you should be proud.
I've been into collecting coins much more seriously beginning about 2011 and still struggle with really "deciding" what I want to collect. I've deemed myself a US Type collector so I guess you could say that just about everything else is a "impulse" buy. Thus, every few weeks I find myself making impulsive numismatic purchases
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
My first numismatic acquisitions came from my Grandfather, who passed along a few Morgan dollars to me for Christmas for a couple years in the 1980s. Along with the other numismatic treasures he'd save for me that would come into the store he owned, my collecting bug was truly sparked. The first purchase I made on my own was a handful of type coins I bought at the local B&M in 1988 using money I saved up from birthday and chores.
My most impulsive numismatic purchase was probably my most recent online auction purchase. Sent a couple of the coins from an old Dansco album in to PCGS, we'll see how they turn out!
GSAs, OBW rolls, Seated, Walkers. Anything old and Colorado-focused, CO nationals.
I would have run the shop out of business 11 months ago but I would have had a lot of fun just looking through all the coins and deciding I liked them all and couldn't sell any, so congratulations on your first year.
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
My first item was a Whitman Lincoln Cent holder with a starter set for Christmas as a kid. It was really fun to look through the coins and match the date and put the coin in the folder. Of course Christmas as a kid is always fun, but I still remember loading my first folder.
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
I'm going to have to say my latest purchase, a 1799 Gold $10 AU58 was my most impulsive. I had wanted one for a long time and had been looking. One was at HA and I wanted to bid $17,000 since I thought that would be the hammer price.
I held off and then someone came along and bid $17k.
So when it came along to the live bidding I was watching when the coin came up. I was going to do a cut bid, but then I was thinking if someone bid again, it would cost me a full bid increment and then I wouldn't get it.
So with seconds left, I clicked on the [BID $18,000] button and won it. It was my most expensive coin @ $21,150 and also my all time favorite.
I have no idea what my first collectible was....likely native art from Papua New Guinea. As for a coin, who knows, too long ago! My impulse buy lately was a gorgeous end roll toner, 1881 s Morgan in 65. Now I seem to be collecting those!
In 1970 when I was 10, I bought a 1830 Bust Dime on a Bid Board, no real reason, I just thought it was cool and old
Most of my purchases are impulsive, however never more than say $ 50 Bucks, although a few years back on the BST here, I went way overboard and finally bought a 1940 reverse of 38 Jefferson Proof
My first coin was given to me by my great uncle in 1958 on my 10th birthday, an uncirculated 1880 S Morgan Dollar. Wow it was beautiful. I immediately took it to my room and put it in my secret tin, that evidently everyone knew about. My brother took a liking to it also and put it in his secret stash. When my Uncle Schley found out it was missing, he confronted my 12 year old brother and got it back. Schley carried a small black leather coin purse and he put it in the purse in a small paper envelope and kept it for me. He would when asked, open the purse and show me the coin. When he died, the purse disappeared and I no longer had the coin. So sad. In 2001, his daughter, whom my parents had custody of due to health issues, died and Mom found the little purse(which I still have) and in it were the little chicklet gums he so loved, knife and, sure enough, the little envelope. I immediately opened the envelope and gladly the 1880 S Morgan was there. Unfortunately, the heat from the top of the closet and the paper envelope it was in had put such an ugly tone to it, that it looked awful for a coin.
I then later gave it to a grandchild, hoping to spur the collecting spirit in him and he immediately lost it. We never found it, so I guess I wasn't meant to hold on to it. Thanks for the opportunity to tell the story and here if you are interested is a photo of the Morgan.
My most impulsive purchase was in 1972, when I got out of the service, a friend and I went to a gun, coin and knife show and I bought a very expensive KBar knife that had made the trip to VietNam and somehow survived. After buying the knife, a man approached me and wished to purchase the knife from me but had spent all his money. He offered for me to come to his business and we might work out a trade plus cash, if I were interested. He was Mel of Mel's Coin Shop in Johnson City, TN. My friend and I took the knife within the next week and traded it for 2 coins that I really had no interest in collecting, a 1932 D & S Washington Quarter, but thought I could sell or trade them for a good profit. I thought that they were in VF and F condition using my old photograde at the time, so I made the trade. In later years it turned into a great trade, as the coins were graded a grade or so higher.
Thanks and congratulations on your endeavor. I know what it is like buying a business and the stress and enjoyment that goes with it.
Jim
BTW, thought I would add a photo of the coin purse as well.
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I guess my first purchase would be getting the blue Whitman penny folders #1 and #2 after someone in my grade school class gave me a couple of wheat cents dated 1929 and 1953-S. That is what got me hooked.
My most impulsive buy? That would be one night when I was watching a coin auction live with my grandson in my lap. He leaned over and hit the keyboard and somehow got in a bid! I ended up with a PCGS XF-40 1805 large cent, which was an upgrade over the VF-30 I already had. Guess he knew something!
Originally posted by: Tassa What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
The first collectible coin I acquired was a Morgan dollar given to me by my grandmother when I was 6 or 7. My grandmother worked at a bank and would occasionally have people bring in silver dollars to deposit. She would keep them and exchange them for dollar bills. This was in the early 1980s when silver was more or less gone from circulation. She ended up giving me probably a good 15 or 20 of them. No rare dates but one was this unusual variety. My mom also had a collection of Mercury dimes and wheat pennies that she gave me around the same time.
Interestingly, it was the women in my family who kept and collected coins. My dad remembered having a huge stash of Barber dimes as a kid that he got from trading with other kids and from flea markets (they were out of circulation for some time when he was growing up), but he ended up losing or spending all of them. My grandfather had a retail store, and remembers seeing all sorts of 19th century coins in circulation from time to time, but never thought to save them.
The first coin I bought from a dealer was an 1803 large cent in VG from the coin department of Macy's store in Herald Square. I spent my birthday money on it when I was 8 or 9, and I still have it. I also have some two cent pieces that I picked up from Littleton coin company when I was 10 or 11. One is an 1865 repunched date in F/VF.
The first "expensive" coin I bought was an 1803 half dollar in PCGS VF25 from a local coin show, it was when I decided to start collecting again after a 5 year break during my late teenage years, it cost something like $350 and I had to borrow from a friend to afford it!
As far as impulse purchases, sometimes I feel like all of my coin buys are impulsive! The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. I guess I am more impulsive with low priced stuff, for example just bought a nicely toned Roman denarius this week, a coin outside of my main collecting interests, but it only cost about $100. In my main collecting interest, I purchased one Anglo-Saxon coin without even looking at the enlarged pictures because it was a rare moneyer that I needed and had not seen offered for sale since I started collecting. Impulsive, and somewhat foolish, but I have not seen one offered since either.
Congrats on your first year! Hope you have many more successful years in business.
Bought my first coins in the governments Carson City GSA coin sale, I believe, in the early 80s. I bought Morgan CC dollars, an 83 & 84 which I still have along with the documents. Wished I'd bought more, but discretionary money didn't tight...kids in school, new house, y'all know how that goes. But glad I got what I did.
Most impulsive buy was a 1859-S seated half, NGC-63, bought on the old Teletrade system. Loved that half. Sold it a few years back and regret selling it.
Regards, Leo (Steelielee)
************************************
Many successful BST transactions with dozens of board members, references on request.
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased? Gold bullion, a little less than 1/4 oz. of German Kaisers from Jefferson and co.
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase? acting or done without forethought.
"they had married as young impulsive teenagers"
synonyms: impetuous, spontaneous, hasty, passionate, emotional, uninhibited; More
The most irrational purchases were those with "Numisgroup" based on their "grading" by an inhouse "former" PCGS/NGC grader. Returned after talking with Scott Travers.
My first collectable was the three proof coins for the Los Angeles Olympic games in 1984. There was a 1983 dated silver dollar, a 1984 dated silver dollar and a 1984 dated gold $10 piece. I purchased these coins from an ad in the New York Times in 1983, I believe, and that started by interest in numismatic coins. Steve
My very first numismatic purchase was a partial album of Franklins halves off ebay! I think there were 9 of them in the album.
I had just gotten into stacking silver and was buying all kinds of crazy weird Franklin Mint sterling, Peace medals from the 70's, Anything that caught my eye really. None of it was very liquid or "investor smart" but I was having fun at it.
A good friend of mine who had been a coin collector since we were kids opened my eyes to 90% silver as bullion. He told me to just buy an album and you can start looking for dates to fill it up. I was hooked immediately and 15 years later, I'm still picking through junk silver looking for album dates I still need.
Here's some Franklin mint "junque"
My most impulsive numismatic purchase is definitely this little gold piece. It came into a shop one day while I was browsing and I thought it was so cool... I bought it as soon as the customer who sold it had left.
If you asked me what it was right now, I couldn't even tell you. It's written on the flip... I could hit the safe deposit box and find out.
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
Feel free to expand on your answers.
Congratulations! This is great news. My first really cool half dime purchase (defined as a coin with a story) came from Jade Rare Coins when Dennis T was set up at the FUN Show many years back. He had a raw 1832 LM-3 half dime that was formerly owned by Russ Logan (co-author of the half dime book). I still have the JRC and Russ Logan envelopes/flips that Dennis had packaged with the coin. It is now PCGS AU58. I have had many, many opportunities to upgrade this die marriage to a mint state example, but I will never do that. Here it is:
Questions you asked:
first collectible coin purchased (limiting my memory to half dime collecting was a necessity as I just don't have many solid recollections of numismatic pursuits prior) was 1829 LM-5 half dime (now PCGS AU58). From HJ Berk
Impulsive: I saw a beautiful PCGS MS66 half dime at another FUN show. It was "not for sale" as it was part of a display of a type set. I went back each day of the show to see it and the dealer was kind enough to keep showing it to me each day. I even brought friends to the table to see it. Last day of the show, I asked if it ever goes up for sale, I would happily buy it. Dealer said they could call the owner of it and ask. About an hour later, I got a call that it was for sale...so I rushed over, asked what number to write on the check (it was a big number to me at the time), and scribbled a check out as quickly as possible. Funny thing, I had not attributed the die marriage any time that I had viewed it, since I was so impressed by its beauty. Turned out to be an R5 die marriage (now R4)! Nicest coin I ever owned (had to sell it due to need to fund a home purchase, so sad)
The first coin I bought with my own money was an 1865 three cent nickel. My most impulsive purchase... that's a tough one for sure, as I haven't made one in quite a while. I'd have to say it was a small bronze bar that I purchased a couple years ago. No clue what I was thinking, and I have no idea where it is now.
My first unusual coin was a dateless silver 3 cent piece given to me by my father's sister about 1939. I still have it, but I can no longer tell it apart from another dateless silver three cent piece.
Later she had a nickel 3 cent piece for me. But on the way over she accidentally spent it for a dime on the trolley car.
Congratulations on what sounds like a dream job for you.
After my grandmother passed some years ago. My family was cleaning out her house and tucked away in the back of the closet was a shoebox full of coins. Nobody wanted them so I took the box. After the box sat in my closet for a few years I finally went through them all and was amazed and intrigued. Nothing worth a big amount but there were some early half dimes, silver rounds and some barber halves. Did some research and went to a local shop and bought a red book and I think it was 1921 xf Morgan that was probably cleaned. I'm 99% sure I over paid. I remember having that huge coin in my hand and feeling the weight of it. As far as an impulse buy it probably is my 1820/19 bust half. I went through a little phase with over dates. I over paid on that one also.
Thank you for the opportunity on your very generous giveaway and congrats again.
Danaca! Congradulations and it sounds like you are doing well!
My 1st purchase...actually not a purchase was a trade with my older brother when I was 8! I traded a model car for his incomplete Whitman penny books(1967). I think my 1st purchase was at woolworths! Crappy Lincoln Pennies from the teens that are still not worth what I paid for them!
My most impulsive buy which I'm sure I will regret when time to sell was paying 66 or 67 money for a POP 4 58 coin I needed for my registry set! ARRRRGHHHH!
Congratulations on your first year in your own shop. What a great topic for a thread and I also would like to hear your answers. It has been very interesting to read all the replies so far.
Back in eight grade our class went to the county seat for a science fair. During the lunch break a few of us guys went out for a walk away from the auditorium and found a coin/barber shop in the Pathfinder Hotel.
There I found my first acquisition and probably my most impulsive too. A 1965 dated British Churchill commemorative. I don't think it has appreciated in value one cent in over 45 years.
I was a big fan of shows like "Man From Uncle", "The Avengers", and "Mission Impossible" so looking back I am sure it had to be something to do with the attraction.
I've really been enjoying reading the posts. Thank you!
My first coin purchase was an 1879-S Morgan Silver Dollar in XF.
I've made a quite a few impulsive numismatic purchases, but probably the most impulsive coin purchase was my 1839-O half dollar. I've posted pictures of it here a few times.
Nice giveaway Tassa. Well done. And congrats to the winners.
^^^^^^
This!!
mark
Walker Proof Digital Album 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......
Comments
so I have told this story many times before obviously, but my late Gramps back in or around Christmas 1997 or 1998 gave me this Morgan with some other silver widgets and rolls. It was in an old-school coin envelope with XF marked on it (his handwriting). It graded ms63 and is still in my current set of basic Morgans. If I ever choose to replace her in my set then that year/date/mm will be the nicest coin in my set...till then, here is the one that started it all for me in Numismatics
ms63 CAC (lol that I actually sent it to CAC...but I did and she may have even gotten a sympathy bean...but I'll happily take it)
After seeing my Uncle Ron's collection, (mostly common 'melt value' stuff) I went to a flea market and negotiated a price for 3 common seated dimes.....$16. I was about 12.
Most impulsive, probably a really nice toned 1922 Peace Dollar for $100. It graded 64, but have had strong offers for it. I just cant sell it yet.
1864 2c at the first coin show I ever went to. I was probably about 7 or 8 at the time. I went to the show with my big brother. He just turned 71 and I'll be 61 in Jan.
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
1937 PCGS PR67+ Buffalo Nickel
I always liked the Buffalo nickels but I thought it would be too difficult to put together a well struck set. I have thought about doing the proof set a few times. I've started it now, don't know if I'll ever finish it.
I wish you continued success.
The first coins I acquired were the coins my grandmother accumulated.
I was about 10 years old.
Lincoln, Jefferson & Mercury albums, partially filled.
A jar of Wheat cents, etc....
I still have it all just as it was handed to me.
The first coin I bought was not long after.
It was a Barber dime from a guy who had a little kiosk in a shopping mall.
I'm sure I stil have that too.
Thanks for the chance!
"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
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......
Congratulations on your foray into the world of hard commerce!
Earliest? My venture back into coin collecting after a long hiatus was in Feb 2000. Got am 1832 half cent on Ebay that turned out to be scratched/cleaned. First of many lessons.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
First collectible coins were ones(mercury dimes) I received from my grandfather. I was probably 10 years old when I got them. Still have lots of them, but a few I have passed down to my kids.
Most impulsive purchase would have to be a group of mint sets from the UK. Love their chunky coins and artistry.
The first coin I ever purchased was a 1935 Buffalo Nickel in VG condition. Paid 25 cents for it.
Most impulsive was probably some type gold I purchased several years ago. Never got very far on my gold type set, unfortunately.
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
My first purchase was when I was around 11 I think, at a coin show at the armory in Collinsville, Va. I was with my dad. despite all the shiny things around, I gravitated to an 1835 half dime, about vg I think, for 7$. I still have it in the original 2x2. And then proceeded to not buy a single coin for 40 years! My most impulsive buy was a Vermont landscape copper, as soon as I saw the design I had to have it!
1st purchased - 1943 steel cent
Must impulsive - Henry the VIIIth hammered gold.
I'm glad that you're enjoying it, it's a dream for many of us.
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
On my first trip to a coin shop with my dad, I bought an indian cent, a buffalo nickel, and a liberty nickel. I liked type coins even a a kid, and these were three kinds that weren't in the little cup of junk silver I had gotten from my grandparents a few weeks before. I really enjoyed those dollar-a-piece coins, probably still have them around somewhere..
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
This is a tough one, most of my coin buys are pretty well thought out and serve a defined purpose in the collection, but in my early days on eBay, sometimes I'd browse "seller's other items" and I ran across a 1787 gold escudo that just charmed me to no end, and I hit Buy It Now. Still have that coin, too
congrats again, thanks for the chance
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
Chance favors the prepared mind.
I've been into collecting coins much more seriously beginning about 2011 and still struggle with really "deciding" what I want to collect. I've deemed myself a US Type collector so I guess you could say that just about everything else is a "impulse" buy. Thus, every few weeks I find myself making impulsive numismatic purchases
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
My Entry
Many great replies here and hopefully you'll let us know your answers to your questions when you get a chance.
-d
My first numismatic acquisitions came from my Grandfather, who passed along a few Morgan dollars to me for Christmas for a couple years in the 1980s. Along with the other numismatic treasures he'd save for me that would come into the store he owned, my collecting bug was truly sparked. The first purchase I made on my own was a handful of type coins I bought at the local B&M in 1988 using money I saved up from birthday and chores.
My most impulsive numismatic purchase was probably my most recent online auction purchase. Sent a couple of the coins from an old Dansco album in to PCGS, we'll see how they turn out!
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Good luck with your business. If you are enjoying yourself you are winning the battle.
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
My first item was a Whitman Lincoln Cent holder with a starter set for Christmas as a kid. It was really fun to look through the coins and match the date and put the coin in the folder.
Of course Christmas as a kid is always fun, but I still remember loading my first folder.
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
I'm going to have to say my latest purchase, a 1799 Gold $10 AU58 was my most impulsive. I had wanted one for a long time and had been looking. One was at HA and I wanted to bid $17,000 since I thought that would be the hammer price.
I held off and then someone came along and bid $17k.
So when it came along to the live bidding I was watching when the coin came up. I was going to do a cut bid, but then I was thinking if someone bid again, it would cost me a full bid increment and then I wouldn't get it.
So with seconds left, I clicked on the [BID $18,000] button and won it.
It was my most expensive coin @ $21,150 and also my all time favorite.
I have had many impulsive buys. I bought some scrip from a town just because I had lived there and I thought it looked cool.
I have no idea what my first collectible was....likely native art from Papua New Guinea. As for a coin, who knows, too long ago! My impulse buy lately was a gorgeous end roll toner, 1881 s Morgan in 65. Now I seem to be collecting those!
My first purchase was ten "AU" Mercury dimes out of an ad in The Numismatist when I was 12 years of age.
There are too many impulsive buys to count...
Thanks for the opportunity.
In 1970 when I was 10, I bought a 1830 Bust Dime on a Bid Board, no real reason, I just thought it was cool and old
Most of my purchases are impulsive, however never more than say $ 50 Bucks, although a few years back on the BST
here, I went way overboard and finally bought a 1940 reverse of 38 Jefferson Proof
Steve
I then later gave it to a grandchild, hoping to spur the collecting spirit in him and he immediately lost it. We never found it, so I guess I wasn't meant to hold on to it. Thanks for the opportunity to tell the story and here if you are interested is a photo of the Morgan.
My most impulsive purchase was in 1972, when I got out of the service, a friend and I went to a gun, coin and knife show and I bought a very expensive KBar knife that had made the trip to VietNam and somehow survived. After buying the knife, a man approached me and wished to purchase the knife from me but had spent all his money. He offered for me to come to his business and we might work out a trade plus cash, if I were interested. He was Mel of Mel's Coin Shop in Johnson City, TN. My friend and I took the knife within the next week and traded it for 2 coins that I really had no interest in collecting, a 1932 D & S Washington Quarter, but thought I could sell or trade them for a good profit. I thought that they were in VF and F condition using my old photograde at the time, so I made the trade. In later years it turned into a great trade, as the coins were graded a grade or so higher.
Thanks and congratulations on your endeavor. I know what it is like buying a business and the stress and enjoyment that goes with it.
Jim
BTW, thought I would add a photo of the coin purse as well.
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I guess my first purchase would be getting the blue Whitman penny folders #1 and #2 after someone in my grade school class gave me a couple of wheat cents dated 1929 and 1953-S. That is what got me hooked.
My most impulsive buy? That would be one night when I was watching a coin auction live with my grandson in my lap. He leaned over and hit the keyboard and somehow got in a bid! I ended up with a PCGS XF-40 1805 large cent, which was an upgrade over the VF-30 I already had. Guess he knew something!
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
The first collectible coin I acquired was a Morgan dollar given to me by my grandmother when I was 6 or 7. My grandmother worked at a bank and would occasionally have people bring in silver dollars to deposit. She would keep them and exchange them for dollar bills. This was in the early 1980s when silver was more or less gone from circulation. She ended up giving me probably a good 15 or 20 of them. No rare dates but one was this unusual variety. My mom also had a collection of Mercury dimes and wheat pennies that she gave me around the same time.
Interestingly, it was the women in my family who kept and collected coins. My dad remembered having a huge stash of Barber dimes as a kid that he got from trading with other kids and from flea markets (they were out of circulation for some time when he was growing up), but he ended up losing or spending all of them. My grandfather had a retail store, and remembers seeing all sorts of 19th century coins in circulation from time to time, but never thought to save them.
The first coin I bought from a dealer was an 1803 large cent in VG from the coin department of Macy's store in Herald Square. I spent my birthday money on it when I was 8 or 9, and I still have it. I also have some two cent pieces that I picked up from Littleton coin company when I was 10 or 11. One is an 1865 repunched date in F/VF.
The first "expensive" coin I bought was an 1803 half dollar in PCGS VF25 from a local coin show, it was when I decided to start collecting again after a 5 year break during my late teenage years, it cost something like $350 and I had to borrow from a friend to afford it!
As far as impulse purchases, sometimes I feel like all of my coin buys are impulsive! The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. I guess I am more impulsive with low priced stuff, for example just bought a nicely toned Roman denarius this week, a coin outside of my main collecting interests, but it only cost about $100. In my main collecting interest, I purchased one Anglo-Saxon coin without even looking at the enlarged pictures because it was a rare moneyer that I needed and had not seen offered for sale since I started collecting. Impulsive, and somewhat foolish, but I have not seen one offered since either.
Bought my first coins in the governments Carson City GSA coin sale, I believe, in the early 80s. I bought Morgan CC dollars, an 83 & 84 which I still have along with the documents. Wished I'd bought more, but discretionary money didn't tight...kids in school, new house, y'all know how that goes. But glad I got what I did.
Most impulsive buy was a 1859-S seated half, NGC-63, bought on the old Teletrade system. Loved that half. Sold it a few years back and regret selling it.
Regards, Leo (Steelielee)
Many successful BST transactions with dozens of board members, references on request.
As to impulse buys, too many at auction to mention, but none for quite some time because I'm older and at least a bit wiser.
Most impulsive purchase was an NGC graded VF25 1799 dollar that successfully crossed to PCGS eventually.
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase? acting or done without forethought.
"they had married as young impulsive teenagers"
synonyms: impetuous, spontaneous, hasty, passionate, emotional, uninhibited; More
acting as an impulse. The song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP3Zn6_VFBw
The most irrational purchases were those with "Numisgroup" based on their "grading" by an inhouse "former" PCGS/NGC grader. Returned after talking with Scott Travers.
My Complete PROOF Lincoln Cent with Major Varieties(1909-2015)Set Registry
I had just gotten into stacking silver and was buying all kinds of crazy weird Franklin Mint sterling, Peace medals from the 70's, Anything that caught my eye really. None of it was very liquid or "investor smart" but I was having fun at it.
A good friend of mine who had been a coin collector since we were kids opened my eyes to 90% silver as bullion. He told me to just buy an album and you can start looking for dates to fill it up. I was hooked immediately and 15 years later, I'm still picking through junk silver looking for album dates I still need.
Here's some Franklin mint "junque"
My most impulsive numismatic purchase is definitely this little gold piece. It came into a shop one day while I was browsing and I thought it was so cool... I bought it as soon as the customer who sold it had left.
If you asked me what it was right now, I couldn't even tell you. It's written on the flip... I could hit the safe deposit box and find out.
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What was the first collectible coin or numismatic item you acquired/purchased?
What was your most impulsive numismatic purchase?
Feel free to expand on your answers.
Congratulations! This is great news. My first really cool half dime purchase (defined as a coin with a story) came from Jade Rare Coins when Dennis T was set up at the FUN Show many years back. He had a raw 1832 LM-3 half dime that was formerly owned by Russ Logan (co-author of the half dime book). I still have the JRC and Russ Logan envelopes/flips that Dennis had packaged with the coin. It is now PCGS AU58. I have had many, many opportunities to upgrade this die marriage to a mint state example, but I will never do that. Here it is:
Questions you asked:
first collectible coin purchased (limiting my memory to half dime collecting was a necessity as I just don't have many solid recollections of numismatic pursuits prior) was 1829 LM-5 half dime (now PCGS AU58). From HJ Berk
Impulsive: I saw a beautiful PCGS MS66 half dime at another FUN show. It was "not for sale" as it was part of a display of a type set. I went back each day of the show to see it and the dealer was kind enough to keep showing it to me each day. I even brought friends to the table to see it. Last day of the show, I asked if it ever goes up for sale, I would happily buy it. Dealer said they could call the owner of it and ask. About an hour later, I got a call that it was for sale...so I rushed over, asked what number to write on the check (it was a big number to me at the time), and scribbled a check out as quickly as possible. Funny thing, I had not attributed the die marriage any time that I had viewed it, since I was so impressed by its beauty. Turned out to be an R5 die marriage (now R4)! Nicest coin I ever owned (had to sell it due to need to fund a home purchase, so sad)
Later she had a nickel 3 cent piece for me. But on the way over she accidentally spent it for a dime on the trolley car.
After my grandmother passed some years ago. My family was cleaning out her house and tucked away in the back of the closet was a shoebox full of coins. Nobody wanted them so I took the box. After the box sat in my closet for a few years I finally went through them all and was amazed and intrigued. Nothing worth a big amount but there were some early half dimes, silver rounds and some barber halves. Did some research and went to a local shop and bought a red book and I think it was 1921 xf Morgan that was probably cleaned. I'm 99% sure I over paid. I remember having that huge coin in my hand and feeling the weight of it.
As far as an impulse buy it probably is my 1820/19 bust half. I went through a little phase with over dates. I over paid on that one also.
Thank you for the opportunity on your very generous giveaway and congrats again.
My first coin purchase was a Barber dime, quarter and half from an advertiser in Boy's Life, way back when. It cost $2.75.
For some reason I still remember the coins, can still picture them although they were avg. circs.
Too many impulse buys to even think of one standout.
Many impulse buys as a dealer and also when a collector.
The impulse buys as a dealer usually worked out better for me than the well-calculated purchases. Go figure?
My first coin purchase was made about 1960, 3 coins.
An Indian cent, Liberty nickel and Barber dime, all for a dollar.
My real impulsive first buy, I felt I had over extended myself a little.
But in the short term I was well rewarded.
It was a lovely blaze orange 1933 $10 Indian.
Wish I still had that one, wow.
Mike
My 1st purchase...actually not a purchase was a trade with my older brother when I was 8! I traded a model car for his incomplete Whitman penny books(1967). I think my 1st purchase was at woolworths! Crappy Lincoln Pennies from the teens that are still not worth what I paid for them!
My most impulsive buy which I'm sure I will regret when time to sell was paying 66 or 67 money for a POP 4 58 coin I needed for my registry set! ARRRRGHHHH!
Back in eight grade our class went to the county seat for a science fair. During the lunch break a few of us guys went out for a walk away from the auditorium and found a coin/barber shop in the Pathfinder Hotel.
There I found my first acquisition and probably my most impulsive too. A 1965 dated British Churchill commemorative. I don't think it has appreciated in value one cent in over 45 years.
I was a big fan of shows like "Man From Uncle", "The Avengers", and "Mission Impossible" so looking back I am sure it had to be something to do with the attraction.
My first coin purchase was an 1879-S Morgan Silver Dollar in XF.
I've made a quite a few impulsive numismatic purchases, but probably the most impulsive coin purchase was my 1839-O half dollar. I've posted pictures of it here a few times.
The winners will be announced tomorrow.
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Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Nice giveaway Tassa. Well done. And congrats to the winners.
^^^^^^
This!!
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......