Post a pic of a coin you regret buying

No regrets.

@MWallace said:

@Smudge said:
To ashamed.

Now you've got to tell us. My curiosity is peaked.

I’ve told it before, but I was a kid and bought an ancient Roman coin cheap. I was with my dad and he let me buy it. I got it and we left. He later told me to take a good look at it. I did and it was stamped copy. I asked if he knew what it was and why he didn’t stop me from buying it. He said to teach me a lesson.

No pictures, but a couple of stories...

Back when I first started collecting colonial coins, around 2006-2007, I knew even less than I know now if that's possible. I bought a 1773 Virginia Halfpenny from a dealer at a major show. I showed it to another dealer, whom I quickly learned was an expert in colonial era coinage. The colonial expert pointed out that the coin had been waxed. At the time, I really could not tell that anything had been done to the coin. It can be very deceptive. The colonial expert bought the coin from me because he had customers who didn't mind waxed coins. Lesson learned.

Not long after that, I won a Fugio in a major online auction. It had a shiny, wet look. When I showed it to the same colonial expert, he pointed out that it had been lacquered or oiled. Again, he bought the Fugio from me because he had customers who didn't mind that. Another lesson learned.

I understand there are people who don't mind wax, lacquer, etc. on copper...in fact, many like their copper that way. But I learned from these two experiences that I value originality very highly in the coins I collect.

I regretted the purchase of both the VA Halfpenny and the Fugio, but those purchases led to a better understanding of what can be done to enhance copper. They also honed my collecting preferences. By the way, that colonial expert is my primary dealer of choice to this day.