Don't even know the guy but I could share his excitment
BIGAL2749
Posts: 742 ✭✭✭✭
Attended the Albany NY show today and when I got to JG table (a member) a collector in his 60s was just buying a 16 SLQ.
It was a nice unmolested Au 55 and appeared that 10K ( great value) was a big purchase for the collector but was easy to see the excitement on his face. He only needs the overdate now.
It just brought the memory I had of getting that hole filled nearly twenty years after starting my set. A capital holder (a Xmass present from my wife) holds my set in vf-unc minus the 1916 + overdate. The holder has a second 1918 in the overdate spot and the reverse of a duplicate showing in the 1916 hole.
Being newly married in 1975 and working two jobs and her job to support my new dental practice that only got in the black after the 3rd year, money was very tight. A Sunday outing was sometimes driving 60 miles to a Boston coin show and spending $15 for a XF SLQ. Still remember feeling quite guilty buying two drinks at the hotel bar before going home.
Things did improve and then it was $60 for the harder 19-S, 19-D, 21.
In 1992 I bought the 1916 in MS 63 (the overdate a year later). Buying that coin that I thought I would never own.
Felt like I had made it! The most exciting coin I have ever bought.
I'm sure many of you have had similar stories and have memories of that one coin that really became the high point of your collecting , even if bigger purchases were to be made later.
BTW she will probably sell the slabs but I don't think she will ever sell the set in the capital holder
Do you have that one special coin?
Comments
Was the 1916 designated FH ?
Great story! Are you in good health? The above comment had me hoping so! Cheers!
Yes, great story.
What's nice is that you took note of the other guys excitement.
I don't have a story about that one special coin that closes a chapter............yet.
"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
No it's not
I know very early PCGS weren't designating 1916 FH as they assumed all 1916 were FH but change that. I don't think mine is one of the early ones though so no FH but close
Thanks for the concern but I am in Ok health for being old (68 Feb) LOL
Thanks for the story!
Fan of the Oxford Comma
CCAC Representative of the General Public
2021 Young Numismatist of the Year
Great story. For the 1916 purchaser that is alot of "coin" for a coin.
Good story, one that many enthusiastic new collectors have experienced.
As a kid I was able to put a nice set of Mercury dimes together from circulation, but the excitement of saving for and then completing the set by buying the 16D and the 42/1, has never been duplicated
That novel experience was very satisfying to a 9 year old kid who saved his allowance for months to get those coins.
Commems and Early Type
Great story.... reminds me of a guy I ran into at a gun show. Yep, there are coin tables at gun shows... and he had just purchased a 16D Merc... He was telling 'everyone' and showing it around... He was fairly dancing in the aisles... was great to see such exuberance. I still recall the smile and excitement on his face and this was 22 years ago. Cheers, RickO
That was some achievement for a 9 yr old
At 9 I had an old wood cigar box with $9 and one of those was a silver cert.
He wasn't visibly dancing down the aisles but after I congratulated him on his buy, he showed me the coin and you could tell in spite of a poker face he was "dancing down the aisles"
We are in this hobby for the fun of it and that sense of accomplishment.
Study shows kids who have hobbies have more focus with tasks , are more organized (didn't happen for me), and are more goal orientated.
Very nice story.
I've seen the coin your referring to and know JGN very well. We talked about that coin last night for about 30 min
coool story.
Was in a coin shop once when a young(ish)...mid 20's?...collector came in and told the dealer he was "Ready to pay it of!!f". Dealer pulled a certified 1909-S vdb from behind the counter, and the collector plopped down whatever was left on his payment plan. He let it be known that it was the last of the Lincolns he required to complete his set....
Then he sat there depressed for the next 10 minutes because he didn't know what he wanted to work on next.
Guess that's the flip side.
I remember the day I purchased the Chain Cent, my avatar, that is in my collection. It's not a great one, but it's satisfactory. The coin was and still is a milestone for me.
I wish we could hear more stories like this one. Thanks for sharing.
I have a coin that shipped today that will fill a hole that I have been trying to fill for over 15 years. If it is worthy of my set, I will start a similar thread. I am pretty excited but have learned to temper that excitement until the coin is actually in my hand and I get a close look at it.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
These are great stories. As a collector it is very enjoyable to accomplish a goal that you have have set for yourself.
I had such an experience a few years ago when, after more than 10 years of searching, found a 1957 proof set in OGP containing a Cameo nickel. Not a high dollar coin, but very elusive in the wild. I bought the set and place the nickel in my best 1957 proof set. When I look at that set and see the nickel I still get a great feeling of accomplishment.
Another such experience would come my way (after 54+ years of looking and waiting) if I could only find in pocket change the ever elusive 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent [I remember looking very diligently for that coin as a YN in the 1960s, never finding one and thinking that it was unfair that I did not]. Still look at every wheat cent I come across thinking I will find one.
Four coins for me and in this order of descending importance with #4 being the most important.
The 1923-S. SOOOO many of these '23-S coins DON'T look good to me, even in high grade near gem, gem and better. A FULLY struck thumb and stems coin in an OGH with a CAC sticker came to the block in 2009.......always kicked myself for not bidding on that coin. It had a softer head and some abrasions in the field, however, but never did I see such a sharp thumb and stems on a coin of this year/mm. Skirtlines were full, too. Later in August 2010, a coin that had been off the market for 14 years came up and I bid on it and so glad that I did, as it is irreplaceable to me. Crisp, clean and lustrous.
The 1919-S. No other Walker issue has taught me more than this one has. About surfaces, strike, luster, strike-through errors and unsightly cleaning. My first one was a dull, soft to medium strike 63 with an ugly strike-through error on the reverse. I purchased it for GS bid, so I thought that I was safe, but still got hosed for a lot of money by the same dealer that I purchased it from, when I sold it back to him on his 'guarantee'. He and I have permanently parted ways. Second coin was a 64 that I bought in a Stacks-Bowers auction. It was not struck, too well, and was represented as being 'lustrous and original'. It was really dipped and dull with chemical residue all over it. To add insult to injury; I found out later that it was once a 63 and should have remained one, imho. Thought that I'd take another bath on it, too, and was mortified over the prospect, until I was made whole again (and then some), by a BIG TIME dealer who placed it in a client's top ranking registry set. What really helped to save me was that I only paid high end 63 money for it. Finally, in 2010 I bought a beautiful, SHARP, lustrous 64 in an older slab with beautiful toning on the reverse. Three is a CHARM!! Felt better about my whole set, after I finally bought that last one! Huge day for me. The Hoegaarden beer was flowing that day. lol
The 1917 S Obv. Impossible to find sharp and lustrous and they cost a fortune. I found a really nice one for a great price....soooo fortunate----probably my best purchase ever from an economic standpoint. I was told that once I purchased a 1917 S Obv that my Walker collection would enter a whole new level of collecting....so true. A set defining coin. Once called the 'King of the Walkers'. Used to be ranked even higher than the 1921-S in mint state rarity.
The 1921-D. An absolute dream 64 coin that I purchased quite reasonably. Lustrous and sharp, ultra-rare beauty, as so many are flat, dipped and dull. Lowest mintage coin in the entire series. It's a coin fit for a king.....don't know how I got so LUCKY?
I worked with a great dealer on this one and he really did right by me.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I think it was 1998 and I saw an 1835 Half Cent in PC 5 RB in an OGH at an auction. It looked solid for the grade. Just for the heck of it, I threw in an opening bid to meet the reserve. I got the coin because no one else wanted it.
It's an even 40% RD on both obverse and reverse, and the only spot on the coin in on the reverse in the crick of the T in CENT, so you have to actually look to find it. I've never seen another one like it and it would be very difficult to replace.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
I never thought I would ever own the coin that is now my icon, a clipped '09-S VDB cent. One popped up on eBay at a moment when I actually had the funds, I considered it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which I am still happy I didn't pass up. I don't have local "coin buddies" to share it with but I made sure to post about it here.
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've had a few coins that spent some serious time on my want list. The longest of all was a New Jersey copper. I remember back when I was in 4th grade and my brother in 7th, he started reffing youth soccer at $25/game, or $75/weekend. Why do I remember that? There were a few NJ's at my local shop that were $75 each, and I realized if I started reffing, I could afford one in one weekend. I did start reffing, but I put a fair amount of what I made into savings, and my taste started to get ahead of my budget. I spent a long time wanting the perfect mix of affordable and nice--clean surfaces, attractive color, enough details to see everything.
Jump ahead to the week after I graduated college. The Baltimore show was that weekend, and conveniently, I was at home (my parents moved to Baltimore after I finished high school) for the week before driving out to move to Seattle. I bought this from CRO as a graduation gift to myself. It only took about 18 years.
All great stories! It's amazing how just popping a coin into an opening in a folder, or book, or even symbolically "filling the hole" with a slabbed coin can give such a feeling of accomplishment. A chain cent, or 16D may be out of my scope, but that NJ horse is in my sights. Nice example airplanenut!
Guess my coin story is about my 1798 Draped Bust Dollar, Large Eagle:
At the time, maybe 2000, I rarely spent over $200 on a coin because I was just starting out, and I had just bought my first house.
But I went to Vegas for my brother’s wedding, and played host to my parents who were coming in from Texas. While at the airport, killing time waiting for them, I plugged a $20 into a slot machine. I THOUGHT it was a quarter machine, because that’s how I rolled.
I ran through 2 or 3 pulls at 4 credits per pull....which I thought was $1....and hit a minor winner. 450 credits.
While I tried to figure out how many dollars 450 quarters came out to....I realized it was a $1 machine. Boy, did I suddenly feel rich. $450!! (And, who wins at a Vegas airport machine?)
Anyway, for the rest of the trip, while I escorted my elderly mother from nickel machine to nickel machine, I could not lose playing blackjack while I waited for her. I think it was a reward from the gambling gods for helping out my mom. I felt so flush, I bought her a roll of quarters to splurge with! She immediately changed them in for nickels. (Apparently, it’s a family thing).
It was the one and ONLY time I can honestly say I made money in Vegas.
The next weekend was the Long Beach Expo, and I was going to treat myself. Found a PCGS VG-10 Bust Dollar for $490. Imagine! A U.S. coin from the 1700’s!! A coin I always wanted, but was perpetually out of my reach. I spent close to what I won on that first slot machine, and a huge outlay for me at the time.
Still have it. My purchase comfort zone has risen since then, to the point that $490 seems pretty tame. But the prices have risen so much, that type and grade is STILL out of my reach.
The coin just makes me smile every time I pull it out.
This made me smile:...........TommyType Posts. .Anyway, for the rest of the trip, while I escorted my elderly mother from nickel machine to nickel machine, I could not lose playing blackjack while I waited for her. I think it was a reward from the gambling gods for helping out my mom. I felt so flush, I bought her a roll of quarters to splurge with! She immediately changed them in for nickels. (Apparently, it’s a family thing