An Unexpected Challenge

TheCuyunaCollection · July 17, 2023 9:09PM

Hello everyone! I’m interested in stories you have on a time when you were searching for a coin for your sets that you thought would be relatively easy to find but it proved to be significantly more challenging than you were expecting!

For me, it was this recent purchase of a Lincoln steel cent. For those of you that don’t know, my primary collecting goal is my Type set. I’m using a combination of the Dansco 7070, Basic Us Coin Design Set, and a few additional coins as my overall Type Set goal. The steel Lincoln cent is a part of the Dansco 7070 requirements, which I expect to complete first of the ‘three sets’, and I expected the steel Lincoln cent to be a relatively easy hole to fill. I can only assume that a lot of people need the steel Lincoln cent for type sets. It took me quite some time and being the underbidder over half a dozen times before I finally filled the ‘hole’. I’m very happy with this coin in hand as the marks that stand out a little more in a TruView don’t in hand. MS67 CAC.

TomB · July 17, 2023 10:01PM

For me it was the acquisition of an MS66 Barber half dollar. It took me a bit over a half-decade to find one that was acceptable since essentially every piece I was offered, reviewed in an auction or saw on the bourse floor looked more like a maxed-out or glorified MS65 than a true MS66. Finally, in early 2007 and after all those years, I was able to purchase what is likely my favorite coin in my collection and it is an 1892 MS66 Barber half dollar. The purchase price was likely nearly two-times what an overgraded dog would have cost, but it was worth every cent to me...and then some!

BillJones · July 18, 2023 4:21AM

In recent years it was finding a representative coin for the British king, Henry IV, (ruled 1399 to 1413). I found a couple of his pennies at the shows, but they were terrible coins. In U.S. grading terms, they were what you would “Fair.” The dealers assured me that they were “great bargains” at prices like $2,700.

Finally I figured if was going to have to spend that kind of money that I might as well spend more and get a decent coin. So I stepped up to a gold noble.

Why are Henry IV’s coins so rare and expensive? They weighed too much. The coins that were issued from 1399 to 1411 were largely shipped to the European Continent were they were melted. The weights were reduced during the last two years of his reign, but since those pieces were made for a short time, they are also scarce.

2windy2fish · July 18, 2023 8:38AM

Many will i agree i believe…i have been assembling a PQ Buffalo Nickel set in XF45 To AU
These dates have proven to be exceedingly difficult to find well struck and PQ
1925-D
1925-S
1926-D

TheCuyunaCollection · July 18, 2023 10:51AM

@2windy2fish said:
Many will i agree i believe…i have been assembling a PQ Buffalo Nickel set in XF45 To AU
These dates have proven to be exceedingly difficult to find well struck and PQ
1925-D
1925-S
1926-D

Buffalo nickels are a great set!

World67 · July 18, 2023 11:31AM

Almost any of the 1840's Philly Seated Quarters in nice mid grade. Many are as scarce as the New Orleans coins but substantially less. For instance, right now there are 43 1847-o's on ebay and only 24 1847's, most of which are junk.

airplanenut · July 18, 2023 12:34PM

There are lots of coins where finding a nice one took a while compared to many that ranged from garbage to meh. But for classics I often expect that. The one that was a real challenge? A bicentennial quarter. There's a near limitless supply of these in MS68, and they're cheap, too. When I was looking they were usually selling around $25-50 each. But so many have some kind of haze/splotching on them that grade aside, I wouldn't want one. I must have looked at hundreds before finding this, which set me back a whole $30 or so early 2022.

OAKSTAR · July 18, 2023 2:16PM

@TheCuyunaCollection- If this is your standard you're using for the rest of your type set, you are going to have quite a type set! 👍🏻

TheCuyunaCollection · July 21, 2023 7:57PM

@OAKSTAR said:
@TheCuyunaCollection- If this is your standard you're using for the rest of your type set, you are going to have quite a type set! 👍🏻

Thank you! I’ve been working on the set for 6 years now (same time frame I’ve been ‘seriously’ collecting coins) and I’d say my standards have evolved over time.

Unfortunately this means that I have some coins that no longer meet my standards but I’m excited to fill the remaining holes (about 20) and also ‘upstandard’ about 10 of the current coins to reach my first goal of competing the Dansco 7070 slabbed set.

OAKSTAR · July 21, 2023 8:31PM

@TheCuyunaCollection said:

@OAKSTAR said:
@TheCuyunaCollection- If this is your standard you're using for the rest of your type set, you are going to have quite a type set! 👍🏻

Thank you! I’ve been working on the set for 6 years now (same time frame I’ve been ‘seriously’ collecting coins) and I’d say my standards have evolved over time.

Unfortunately this means that I have some coins that no longer meet my standards but I’m excited to fill the remaining holes (about 20) and also ‘upstandard’ about 10 of the current coins to reach my first goal of competing the Dansco 7070 slabbed set.

Okay, so just to clarify. You're breaking the coins out correct?

TheCuyunaCollection · July 22, 2023 3:32AM

@OAKSTAR said:

@TheCuyunaCollection said:

@OAKSTAR said:
@TheCuyunaCollection- If this is your standard you're using for the rest of your type set, you are going to have quite a type set! 👍🏻

Thank you! I’ve been working on the set for 6 years now (same time frame I’ve been ‘seriously’ collecting coins) and I’d say my standards have evolved over time.

Unfortunately this means that I have some coins that no longer meet my standards but I’m excited to fill the remaining holes (about 20) and also ‘upstandard’ about 10 of the current coins to reach my first goal of competing the Dansco 7070 slabbed set.

Okay, so just to clarify. You're breaking the coins out correct?

No, tracking on registry. Using combo of Dansco 7070, US Basic Coin Design Set, and a few others as the overall goal.

BuffaloIronTail · July 22, 2023 8:22AM

@2windy2fish said:
Many will i agree i believe…i have been assembling a PQ Buffalo Nickel set in XF45 To AU
These dates have proven to be exceedingly difficult to find well struck and PQ
1925-D
1925-S
1926-D

Add the 1920-S to the group.

Pete

Pnies20 · July 22, 2023 8:46AM

I still haven’t found it.

breakdown · July 22, 2023 10:07AM

@BuffaloIronTail said:

@2windy2fish said:
Many will i agree i believe…i have been assembling a PQ Buffalo Nickel set in XF45 To AU
These dates have proven to be exceedingly difficult to find well struck and PQ
1925-D
1925-S
1926-D

Add the 1920-S to the group.

Pete

The others I thought were the most difficult:

18-S
19-S
24-S

OAKSTAR · July 22, 2023 10:36AM

@TheCuyunaCollection said:

@OAKSTAR said:

@TheCuyunaCollection said:

@OAKSTAR said:
@TheCuyunaCollection- If this is your standard you're using for the rest of your type set, you are going to have quite a type set! 👍🏻

Thank you! I’ve been working on the set for 6 years now (same time frame I’ve been ‘seriously’ collecting coins) and I’d say my standards have evolved over time.

Unfortunately this means that I have some coins that no longer meet my standards but I’m excited to fill the remaining holes (about 20) and also ‘upstandard’ about 10 of the current coins to reach my first goal of competing the Dansco 7070 slabbed set.

Okay, so just to clarify. You're breaking the coins out correct?

No, tracking on registry. Using combo of Dansco 7070, US Basic Coin Design Set, and a few others as the overall goal.

Oh okay, got it.

BryceM · July 22, 2023 1:54PM

A solid-for-grade, gem or better 1927 Philly Peace dollar. I've owned several. They're not supposed to be rare, but they were on the particular days, weeks, and months that I spent looking for one.

An Unexpected Challenge

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