@Relaxn. I know how life can get you down when it starts kicking you around. Even worse when you join in yourself. As you say your money losses are just money. I also know some guy once was suppose to have said that "that which does not kill us only makes us stronger".
I also heard an angry mob beat that guy to death. Keep your perspective and if you can I hope you can also enjoy collecting. best wishes. james
I regret selling certain coins or not buying certain coins more than I regret particular purchases.
As a YN in about 2005 or so, traded an AU 1881 $10 Lib for an AU55 Trade dollar in a soapbox holder. The terrible part was that the $10 Lib had been a special gift from a family member. I just desperately wanted a shiny Trade dollar at the time. Stupid.
Don’t ever sell a coin with high sentimental value unless you literally need to put food on the table!
I still love the coin, but I paid too much for it. I got carried away in an auction.
It is fully struck on the reverse which makes up for part of the mistake, but what I paid, it's a financial loser.
To put this in context, the 1855-D gold dollar has a mintage of 1,811. The estimated surviving population is about 80 pieces. This has to be among the better examples, but it's not among the best.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Not the worst, but my first, and the one I tell anyone, including myself to this day.
Indiana State Fair, 1966, Indianapolis, Sesquicentennial. I'm 11 years old. I found a dealer selling a BU 1816 bronze medal. I had $10 on me for the day for food, rides and souvenirs. This was $5 in a flip with cardboard behind it. Didn't want to risk losing it, so I didn't open until I got home. Looks like it was just minted. Couldn't wait to tell the parents I struck it rich.
The Philadelphia Mint: making coins since 1792. We make money by making money. Now in our 225th year thanks to no competition.
I answered a posting at a laundry mat near college. For sale, "1943 copper" wheat penny for $350. We met at a gas station on the interstate and I bought a really well made electroplated counterfiet. It was fall 1971. I was driving a 1962 beat up old Ford Galaxy that cost $125. A gas "war" was selling gas at 24 cents per gallon, with 2 cents back for cash sale. I was working at a gas station for $1 per hour which included fixing flats and repacking wheel bearing. My boss picked up the penny with a magnet and lectured me on being greedy / stupid. To recover my self respect, I quit the job and joined the Navy. Five years later, I traded the penny to another sailor for a bottle of some really nasty Scotch, getting burned twice on one penny. LOL
Now for the opposite side of a bad deal. In the sixth grade, my brothers and I discovered you could rub a half dollar with mercury and sell it for sixty cents to the few dummies that collected coins. Lucky for us, we quickly ran out of dummies and stopped. Malnutrition and lead was not enough brain damage, we had to add mercury.
Every U.S. Mint proof set from 1968 to 1995 when I finally wondered what I was going to do with those, oh and that 1914-D Lincoln in VF30 five days before I got an AU58 with a CAC sticker.
@BillJones: small consolation for your financial loss, but that has to be one of the nicest 1855-D G$1’s I’ve ever seen! The center rev is other worldly!
I did the Statue of Liberty stuff like the OP and lost money selling it (among other treasures) after college to raise some get-my-life-started funds. I've overpaid by a lot for a few coins since, too. But I think I've blown it more often by selling something there would have been a strong profit in holding a little longer, and I've blown it the worst when I didn't buy a few things. For instance in ~2006 (I think??) I paid $2,000 for an 1890-CC $20 in NGC AU58, mind you this was before PL designations for those, and it had full black mirrors on both sides. It was quite arresting to look at. But those great mirrors also highlighted every fine little hairline (wipe marks? whatever you want to call them) so I sent it back because that was basically two years' coin budget and I wanted a coin I'd 110% love if I was going to spend it all in one place. I have to think that would be about an $8,000 coin now.
We probably all have regrets over coins we returned or didn't purchase, or sold off before a run-up. I've watched 39 No Drapery halves and others quadruple in value over 17 years. How many regretted not purchasing a 78-S half in the '90s and early '00s?
@renomedphys said:
Might be the 1909 VDB PR65RB I bought in 2010 at the height of the “MPL mania” for $63K and sold for $38K a couple years later to help finance my current home purchase. Since then the house has tripled in value, so say what you will.
You did good. Not many people can cut big lost and move on.
@braddick said:
Anyone purchase the 1989 "No P" quarter back in the day? At like $100.00 each? And buy multiples with the stars-in-your-eyes thinking they would double or triple in value over the short term?
And having done so because of the success you had purchasing a roll of red 1970-S small date Lincolns in 1971 so you thought you could repeat that success with these 'rare' 1989 quarters?
No?
Oh... Okay. . .
Well, you still have the glory of the 70-S small date roll . . .
I think my worst deal was probably this one. Bought it back in 2010, possibly the peak of market for IHCs. It'll likely never be worth the purchase price. VG10 PCGS now.
Compared to a few of the stories I've read here, I feel lucky that this is my worst one.
I've made a few dollars over the years cherrypicking Bufalo nickel varieties, which has allowed me to improve my collection, but not this time. Was pretty sure the high grade 1913 Type 1 being sold on ebay for $900 was the 3-1/2 leg variety and worth thousands. It wasn't. Lost more than $300 when I resold it in disgust. I guess it pales in comparison to some of the other stories here but sure hurt at the time.
Proud recipient of the coveted "You Suck Award" (9/3/10).
Like others I bought proof sets from the Mint in the 80s and 90s which were losers out the door, like driving a new 1980s American car off the dealer's lot. Then I doubled down in the mid 80s and bought a bunch of 1970s proof sets below issue price thinking they were "undervalued". I should have opened up a mutual fund account instead (the Dow was below 1000).
Edit: Meant to say the Dow was under 1000, not the S&P, which was probably under 100.
Proof sets from 1936 forward are, for the most part, purchases that will not allow the buyer to profit or even break even on a resale. This is particularly true for the post 1970 sets.
However, there are situations where individual coins in these proof sets are "special" and worth far more than the run of the mill example (including varieties, PF67 and higher grades, spectacular toners and Cameo). If one is fortunate to find one of these "special" proof coins in an OGP, or after market proof set it may be acquired by purchasing the entire set for bid or ask. The special coin can be removed and replaced with a run of the mill example. The special coin can be set aside, while the reconstituted set can be resold into the market at 80% of bid.
The special coin may end up, upon grading, becoming a Top Pop that can be sold for many multiples of what the proof set containing that coin cost.
Bought from a well healed EAC collector and thought I was getting a good price at $1,600. Tried hard to sell it and the EAC convention, coin shows, out of the local shop, and finally put it on eBay auction with a $500 starting bid. 1 guy bid on it and got it. After fees, I waved goodbye to $1,200. It was a gut punch. I only try and focus on and deal coins of the best quality now. CAC and CACG. Hard to get burned on them.
Bought from a well healed EAC collector and thought I was getting a good price at $1,600. Tried hard to sell it and the EAC convention, coin shows, out of the local shop, and finally put it on eBay auction with a $500 starting bid. 1 guy bid on it and got it. After fees, I waved goodbye to $1,200. It was a gut punch. I only try and focus on and deal coins of the best quality now. CAC and CACG. Hard to get burned on them.
@bennybravo
Thank you. Yeah, I used to really get excited by old copper but this deal kind of soured it for me. At least I learned a lot from attending the EAC convention last summer and knowing what copper collectors like. Such a specialized market though that I don’t deal much in it. I’ll leave it to guys like Tom Reynolds, Chris McCawley, and Col. Ellsworth. Talked with all of them, and I enjoyed Tom the most. Very knowledgeable, friendly, and professional.
We had a coin club discussion on that. The main group opinion was anything in RCI financed with debt lost money (big time). One guy paying off credit card law suit settlement another had bankruptcy because of coin investment. The other group opinion - some were burned from purchase of an expensive raw coin which when submitted to a TPG came back body bag or details. Huge loss.
A little off subject but I think keeping with the theme:
I’m old enough to have collected/saved silver coins (& wheat pennies) I received in change. Pretty decent accumulation. Then, college came & it was “party on”. I cashed in the silver for beer $$$$.
Normally I bought what I liked and hoped to someday break even. When I thought I could make some money was my usual screw up.
In 1987 the mint did not strike halves for circulation and the only way you could get them was in mint sets. Last I looked the sets were still going for about $7 which is around what they cost 37 years ago.
Successful BST deals with mustangt and jesbroken. Now EVERYTHING is for sale.
@Project Numismatics said:
I regret selling certain coins or not buying certain coins more than I regret particular purchases.
As a YN in about 2005 or so, traded an AU 1881 $10 Lib for an AU55 Trade dollar in a soapbox holder. The terrible part was that the $10 Lib had been a special gift from a family member. I just desperately wanted a shiny Trade dollar at the time. Stupid.
Don’t ever sell a coin with high sentimental value unless you literally need to put food on the table!
I totally agree. You can have a coin worth a fortune or one worth nothing. But it can mean a lot to you and that’s why you hang on to it.
Probably around 2011 I was purchasing MS69 American Silver Eagles. Took a bath when I sold them off. Collectors wanted 70s and stackers preferred raw. I’ll never do graded silver bullion again. Graded American Gold Eagles I did well on though.
Comments
I’m gonna wait to post until I buy a coin to post in this thread.
I purchased a bunch of mint items in 1990's to 2000's. In my defense the 2019 stuff had an extra free coin with it.
My current registry sets:
20th Century Type Set
Virtual DANSCO 7070
Slabbed IHC set - Missing the Anacs Slabbed coins
Actually this is the worst purchase so far.
I picked up this coin (under greysheet at the time) from a person with no refunds. I took a chance.
I didn't like the coin but the deal was done.
I then spent another $62 to have PCGS review it and asked them to conserve it. PCGS didn't conserve, and it was shipped back to me.
I ended up taking it to my dealer that was able to remove the black spots.
We then sent it to NGC to get regraded (another $45).
I'll know if its even worth anything when it gets back, but now I am buried in this coin.
My current registry sets:
20th Century Type Set
Virtual DANSCO 7070
Slabbed IHC set - Missing the Anacs Slabbed coins
@Relaxn. I know how life can get you down when it starts kicking you around. Even worse when you join in yourself. As you say your money losses are just money. I also know some guy once was suppose to have said that "that which does not kill us only makes us stronger".
I also heard an angry mob beat that guy to death. Keep your perspective and if you can I hope you can also enjoy collecting. best wishes. james
How much longer before we got to hear the story from @MrEureka? I’ve heard it before. It’s a doozy!
Empty Nest Collection
Matt’s Mattes
I regret selling certain coins or not buying certain coins more than I regret particular purchases.
As a YN in about 2005 or so, traded an AU 1881 $10 Lib for an AU55 Trade dollar in a soapbox holder. The terrible part was that the $10 Lib had been a special gift from a family member. I just desperately wanted a shiny Trade dollar at the time. Stupid.
Don’t ever sell a coin with high sentimental value unless you literally need to put food on the table!
I'm not sure which one you remember, but I assure you it's one of many.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Probably half a roll of silver chinese pandas in 2011. Still sitting on those.
I still love the coin, but I paid too much for it. I got carried away in an auction.
It is fully struck on the reverse which makes up for part of the mistake, but what I paid, it's a financial loser.
To put this in context, the 1855-D gold dollar has a mintage of 1,811. The estimated surviving population is about 80 pieces. This has to be among the better examples, but it's not among the best.
Not the worst, but my first, and the one I tell anyone, including myself to this day.
Indiana State Fair, 1966, Indianapolis, Sesquicentennial. I'm 11 years old. I found a dealer selling a BU 1816 bronze medal. I had $10 on me for the day for food, rides and souvenirs. This was $5 in a flip with cardboard behind it. Didn't want to risk losing it, so I didn't open until I got home. Looks like it was just minted. Couldn't wait to tell the parents I struck it rich.
Turns out, when I opened the flip, it was just minted!
I got burned twice on the same penny.
I answered a posting at a laundry mat near college. For sale, "1943 copper" wheat penny for $350. We met at a gas station on the interstate and I bought a really well made electroplated counterfiet. It was fall 1971. I was driving a 1962 beat up old Ford Galaxy that cost $125. A gas "war" was selling gas at 24 cents per gallon, with 2 cents back for cash sale. I was working at a gas station for $1 per hour which included fixing flats and repacking wheel bearing. My boss picked up the penny with a magnet and lectured me on being greedy / stupid. To recover my self respect, I quit the job and joined the Navy. Five years later, I traded the penny to another sailor for a bottle of some really nasty Scotch, getting burned twice on one penny. LOL
Now for the opposite side of a bad deal. In the sixth grade, my brothers and I discovered you could rub a half dollar with mercury and sell it for sixty cents to the few dummies that collected coins. Lucky for us, we quickly ran out of dummies and stopped. Malnutrition and lead was not enough brain damage, we had to add mercury.
Every U.S. Mint proof set from 1968 to 1995 when I finally wondered what I was going to do with those, oh and that 1914-D Lincoln in VF30 five days before I got an AU58 with a CAC sticker.
@BillJones: small consolation for your financial loss, but that has to be one of the nicest 1855-D G$1’s I’ve ever seen! The center rev is other worldly!
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
...> @mirabela said:
We probably all have regrets over coins we returned or didn't purchase, or sold off before a run-up. I've watched 39 No Drapery halves and others quadruple in value over 17 years. How many regretted not purchasing a 78-S half in the '90s and early '00s?
You did good. Not many people can cut big lost and move on.
Well, you still have the glory of the 70-S small date roll . . .
Picked off a proof 1868 seated dollar for $3,600 off ebay. Graded unc details at PCGS (hairlines) sold for $1,800.
I did make $6k on a raw $20 Lib from the same seller, so that soothed the pain.
I think my worst deal was probably this one. Bought it back in 2010, possibly the peak of market for IHCs. It'll likely never be worth the purchase price. VG10 PCGS now.
Compared to a few of the stories I've read here, I feel lucky that this is my worst one.
I've made a few dollars over the years cherrypicking Bufalo nickel varieties, which has allowed me to improve my collection, but not this time. Was pretty sure the high grade 1913 Type 1 being sold on ebay for $900 was the 3-1/2 leg variety and worth thousands. It wasn't. Lost more than $300 when I resold it in disgust. I guess it pales in comparison to some of the other stories here but sure hurt at the time.
Great stories everyone!
https://www.ebay.com/mys/active
Like others I bought proof sets from the Mint in the 80s and 90s which were losers out the door, like driving a new 1980s American car off the dealer's lot. Then I doubled down in the mid 80s and bought a bunch of 1970s proof sets below issue price thinking they were "undervalued". I should have opened up a mutual fund account instead (the Dow was below 1000).
Edit: Meant to say the Dow was under 1000, not the S&P, which was probably under 100.
Proof sets from 1936 forward are, for the most part, purchases that will not allow the buyer to profit or even break even on a resale. This is particularly true for the post 1970 sets.
However, there are situations where individual coins in these proof sets are "special" and worth far more than the run of the mill example (including varieties, PF67 and higher grades, spectacular toners and Cameo). If one is fortunate to find one of these "special" proof coins in an OGP, or after market proof set it may be acquired by purchasing the entire set for bid or ask. The special coin can be removed and replaced with a run of the mill example. The special coin can be set aside, while the reconstituted set can be resold into the market at 80% of bid.
The special coin may end up, upon grading, becoming a Top Pop that can be sold for many multiples of what the proof set containing that coin cost.
Bought from a well healed EAC collector and thought I was getting a good price at $1,600. Tried hard to sell it and the EAC convention, coin shows, out of the local shop, and finally put it on eBay auction with a $500 starting bid. 1 guy bid on it and got it. After fees, I waved goodbye to $1,200. It was a gut punch. I only try and focus on and deal coins of the best quality now. CAC and CACG. Hard to get burned on them.
Wonderful coin. Sorry you got burned on that one.
https://www.ebay.com/mys/active
@bennybravo
Thank you. Yeah, I used to really get excited by old copper but this deal kind of soured it for me. At least I learned a lot from attending the EAC convention last summer and knowing what copper collectors like. Such a specialized market though that I don’t deal much in it. I’ll leave it to guys like Tom Reynolds, Chris McCawley, and Col. Ellsworth. Talked with all of them, and I enjoyed Tom the most. Very knowledgeable, friendly, and professional.
We had a coin club discussion on that. The main group opinion was anything in RCI financed with debt lost money (big time). One guy paying off credit card law suit settlement another had bankruptcy because of coin investment. The other group opinion - some were burned from purchase of an expensive raw coin which when submitted to a TPG came back body bag or details. Huge loss.
Enjoy your coins but stay in a sane budget.
My commems have been in the dumper, but I do love them.
I should have just bought bullion 🤪
A little off subject but I think keeping with the theme:
I’m old enough to have collected/saved silver coins (& wheat pennies) I received in change. Pretty decent accumulation. Then, college came & it was “party on”. I cashed in the silver for beer $$$$.
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
.> @bennybravo said:
Mine wasn't a story, it's a continuing saga. Want to buy a coin shop ? A stigma automatically comes with one, you know ?
Normally I bought what I liked and hoped to someday break even. When I thought I could make some money was my usual screw up.
In 1987 the mint did not strike halves for circulation and the only way you could get them was in mint sets. Last I looked the sets were still going for about $7 which is around what they cost 37 years ago.
Successful BST deals with mustangt and jesbroken. Now EVERYTHING is for sale.
Any word yet? Hope it went well for you!
https://www.ebay.com/mys/active
I totally agree. You can have a coin worth a fortune or one worth nothing. But it can mean a lot to you and that’s why you hang on to it.
Lafayette Grading Set
not saying
i call it "a financial crime against humanity"
Probably around 2011 I was purchasing MS69 American Silver Eagles. Took a bath when I sold them off. Collectors wanted 70s and stackers preferred raw. I’ll never do graded silver bullion again. Graded American Gold Eagles I did well on though.
MY GOLD TYPE SET https://pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/complete-type-sets/gold-type-set-12-piece-circulation-strikes-1839-1933/publishedset/321940