This little gem I got off a Heritage auction for $1,500.00 one night when no one was paying attention....I thought the photo looked decent. When I got it in hand, I realized it was even better than the TV, super lustrous, and mark free. Why it didn't have CAC, I could care less...I would buy MS65's like this all day long if I could.
@seanq said:
This arrived over the weekend, 1873 Shield Nickel with a monster DDO, old FS-008.7. Unfortunately it's very porous so it's hard to photograph, though it was likely barely circulated before it went into the ground.
i think the place i see it best is in the shield lines extended south. looks like 4 or 5 lines. a great spread.
ok just noticed, i can see it in that cross of M or whatever it is called going south as well too, obviously.
A very rare 1867 with Rays Shield Nickel FS-301 RPD. Unattributed NGC AU55. Worth about $3K-$3.5K. Last pic is courtesy of Howard Spindel at shieldnickels.net
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PCGS graded world banknote won at auction for $49 In 67 PPQ estimate $425 value at very least. Top pop note. Great addition to my retail banknote inventory.
I just picked this one up over the weekend. This is now my best cherrypick of the year so far. It's a 1936 Buffalo Nickel graded MS-64 in an old ANACS holder. It has nice pastel toning on the obverse and is also an unattributed DDO. I brought it home for $48.00.
@Vetter said:
Your best cherrypick of the year so far
Sorry @Vetter - You never said which year. 🤣 Let's update this thread too 2025. 😂
I cherrypicked this from a local coin club auction. I won the bid/coin for $60. I was the only bidder. The coin was in an ANACS slab, MS65. No steps indicated on the label.
I thought the coin looked great and better then a MS65, plus nice toning!
One of the other guys in the club agreed. He suggested I break it out and resubmit it to PCGS. At the time (about 3 months ago) he was getting ready to submit a bunch of coins to PCGS. He offered to submit it with his coins. So I gave him the coin. He broke it out and submitted it with his lot.
It came back MS67FS! Sorry, I which I had taken pictures of it in the ANACS slab!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
You recently picked it from a coin show and the dealer didn't know it was a DDO?
Most dealers I know don’t care or check for varieties, even most of the major ones. I think they care about some, like the 1955 DDO Lincoln, 1937 D 3 Leg Buffalo, and sometimes the 1942/1 Mercury Dimes.
But most of the other ones no one thinks about at all. Might be something to do with having customers who actually ask for some varieties and not others? I dunno…but it’s working out fine for me so far.
You recently picked it from a coin show and the dealer didn't know it was a DDO?
Most dealers I know don’t care or check for varieties, even most of the major ones. I think they care about some, like the 1955 DDO Lincoln, 1937 D 3 Leg Buffalo, and sometimes the 1942/1 Mercury Dimes.
But most of the other ones no one thinks about at all. Might be something to do with having customers who actually ask for some varieties and not others? I dunno…but it’s working out fine for me so far.
Yep, agreed! Most don't know, care or understand them. It's most likely not where the money is. It's worked out for me as well. Thanks for the reality check! 👍
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Another recent example of a coin I didn’t have the chance to buy:
I was in a shop this week and one of the people working there showed me “the nicest 1934 D Peace Dollar I’ve ever seen.” Told me he was keeping it for his collection.
Looked at it with a loupe and was very obviously a strong DDO. Told him, and his response was, “Eh, I don’t care about any of that stuff.”
He just liked the coin.
Most dealers in my area have been almost entirely focused on bullion for the last few years anyway. It’s what most customers ask about.
Plus, variety collectors and hunters have been unfortunately lumped in with all the people scouring dirty pocket change and thinking every mark or stain is a mint error worth a trillion dollars (and nothing you can say will convince them because the Interwebs told them otherwise.)
Also…many dealers could care less about US mint and proof sets and foreign coins too, which also works out great for me.
You recently picked it from a coin show and the dealer didn't know it was a DDO?
Most dealers I know don’t care or check for varieties, even most of the major ones. I think they care about some, like the 1955 DDO Lincoln, 1937 D 3 Leg Buffalo, and sometimes the 1942/1 Mercury Dimes.
But most of the other ones no one thinks about at all. Might be something to do with having customers who actually ask for some varieties and not others? I dunno…but it’s working out fine for me so far.
Yep, agreed! Most don't know, care or understand them. It's most likely not where the money is. It's worked out for me as well. Thanks for the reality check! 👍
This one wasn’t in 2025, but it was decently recent. This was cherry-picked from a brick and mortar shop as a normal proof when it was raw. Dealer had it graded PF63 and PCGS put a PF65 on it!
Judd 300 - normal 1863 proof with a reeded edge. Pretty sweet find from an established dealer. Best Cherry-pick I think I’ve ever had.
I was able to locate this 1951-S/S on a dealer website. The Trueview is not good at all, but I did see enough of the tail on the S sticking out to roll the dice. PCGS did agree and this is the only 1951-S/S graded by PCGS and hopefully these will be difficult to locate. It graded MS-67 too.
@Barberian said:
Not much so far, but I did pick a VG8 55/54 in a "normal date" ICG holder.
(Edited to correct "IGC" to "ICG" after reading someone refer to ICG as "I Can't Grade". It's easy for me to remember their initials now so I won't make that mistake again.)
Is it not standard practice for all the services to note major varieties?
@Barberian said:
Not much so far, but I did pick a VG8 55/54 in a "normal date" ICG holder.
(Edited to correct "IGC" to "ICG" after reading someone refer to ICG as "I Can't Grade". It's easy for me to remember their initials now so I won't make that mistake again.)
Is it not standard practice for all the services to note major varieties?
Sure, but owners need to recognize what they have because they are frequently unrecognized and misidentified by TPG services. There are dozens of these overdates misidentified as "normal" dates by TPG services out there in Coinland. Here are two I found this year on Great Collections. Now that Phil Harris is the photographer there, they're easy to spot at GC.
@Barberian Says it all. I can count the number of raw coins I have cherrypicked on one hand. I would have to be one of those Hindu gods for the other hand. Of couse there have been many slab company's, ANAC, PCGS, NGC, SEGS, DGS, PCI but for many reasons varieties go unidentified or are miss identified. Makes collecting that much more enjoyable. james
@seatedlib3991 said: @Barberian Says it all. I can count the number of raw coins I have cherrypicked on one hand. I would have to be one of those Hindu gods for the other hand. Of couse there have been many slab company's, ANAC, PCGS, NGC, SEGS, DGS, PCI but for many reasons varieties go unidentified or are miss identified. Makes collecting that much more enjoyable. james
The grading services don't go looking for varieties when they grade a coin. They will go by what's written on the label most of the time. Sometimes, they even ignore the identification and coin number the submitter provided and make up their own identification and number for the coin. Assume they know very little about coins, because that is likely the case. Therefore, it's up to the owner to study their coins, identify scarce varieties, and even send reference material to TPGs to ensure they make the correct attribution.
Most of my overdate cherry picks were raw coins off eBay. I don't search eBay anymore since realizing that the auction houses and TPGs misidentify overdates all the time as well. That's where the big scores are, so long as you're not competing with other pickers. Here's an MS61 1855/54 WB-1 that sold for $1200 as an 1855 at Stacks Bowers shortly after this thread was started. The Redbook price for an MS60 55/54 is $2250. In this case, the toning likely helped to hide this coin's very pronounced overdate (WB-1).
The only example I can give of a TPG finding a variety on a coin I submitted without my attribution (or even knowledge it existed) was when ANACS called me a looooong time ago to let me know my 1888 O was an EDS "Scarface" variety. They asked if I’d like it attributed as well - and I said of course I would!
I had no idea what that was at the time. We had just picked one BU silver dollar for each family member to have as a keepsake of her collection, and we were one short. For "my" coin, I just picked the oldest Morgan she had and included it. I had zero idea it would be by far the most valuable coin of the bunch.
If ANACS hadn't called, I would never have known until probably much later.
But in general, I'd agree - unless you call attention to the variety they most likely won't attribute it.
Saw this coin on eBay. 1900 O Morgan. This was the pic of listing.
I looked close and it looked like the very rare vam 29a. So took a chance and bought it. Sent it to PCGS and this is what I got back.
Now I'm top pop. Still can't believe it.
@HowardHill said:
Saw this coin on eBay. 1900 O Morgan. This was the pic of listing.
I looked close and it looked like the very rare vam 29a. So took a chance and bought it. Sent it to PCGS and this is what I got back.
Now I'm top pop. Still can't believe it.
That is a banger!
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
Only 2 have been graded in MS by pcgs, and only 7 others by all grading companies total. In fact no MS has been sold by any auction houses or ebay. Pcgs values at $2500, but according to them, that is a guess.
Comments
This little gem I got off a Heritage auction for $1,500.00 one night when no one was paying attention....I thought the photo looked decent. When I got it in hand, I realized it was even better than the TV, super lustrous, and mark free. Why it didn't have CAC, I could care less...I would buy MS65's like this all day long if I could.
i think the place i see it best is in the shield lines extended south. looks like 4 or 5 lines. a great spread.
ok just noticed, i can see it in that cross of M or whatever it is called going south as well too, obviously.
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hmm it is either the missing ray or something like that or you are thinking gold sticker? looks pretty clean.
one tough son of a gun!
and you kept the cert. nice.
are there really 26 in higher grades attributed. surely it ain't so? a couple/few of those gotta be resubs?
I pickt up a 1913 type one 3 and one half legged buffalo nickel in unc for 125.00
what a great rip that was
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
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i'd say so!
A very rare 1867 with Rays Shield Nickel FS-301 RPD. Unattributed NGC AU55. Worth about $3K-$3.5K. Last pic is courtesy of Howard Spindel at shieldnickels.net
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PCGS graded world banknote won at auction for $49 In 67 PPQ estimate $425 value at very least. Top pop note. Great addition to my retail banknote inventory.
Ebay pick...1995-W Silver Eagle for 1995-P money... 90.00
I just picked this one up over the weekend. This is now my best cherrypick of the year so far. It's a 1936 Buffalo Nickel graded MS-64 in an old ANACS holder. It has nice pastel toning on the obverse and is also an unattributed DDO. I brought it home for $48.00.
I cherried this proof 1956 Type 1 half dollar, with two sided frosted devices, last Friday at a local show. One of my better picks so far this year.
Sorry @Vetter - You never said which year. 🤣 Let's update this thread too 2025. 😂
I cherrypicked this from a local coin club auction. I won the bid/coin for $60. I was the only bidder. The coin was in an ANACS slab, MS65. No steps indicated on the label.
I thought the coin looked great and better then a MS65, plus nice toning!
One of the other guys in the club agreed. He suggested I break it out and resubmit it to PCGS. At the time (about 3 months ago) he was getting ready to submit a bunch of coins to PCGS. He offered to submit it with his coins. So I gave him the coin. He broke it out and submitted it with his lot.
It came back MS67FS! Sorry, I which I had taken pictures of it in the ANACS slab!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Picked this one at a show recently. It is currently in “Encapsulation” with our hosts alongside a few other cherry-picks I am also excited about:
Website
You recently picked it from a coin show and the dealer didn't know it was a DDO?
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Picked up a rare VAM, one of now 15 known:
Most dealers I know don’t care or check for varieties, even most of the major ones. I think they care about some, like the 1955 DDO Lincoln, 1937 D 3 Leg Buffalo, and sometimes the 1942/1 Mercury Dimes.
But most of the other ones no one thinks about at all. Might be something to do with having customers who actually ask for some varieties and not others? I dunno…but it’s working out fine for me so far.
Website
Yep, agreed! Most don't know, care or understand them. It's most likely not where the money is. It's worked out for me as well. Thanks for the reality check! 👍
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
I give you VAM guys credit. My head would explode if I was into VAM's!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Another recent example of a coin I didn’t have the chance to buy:
I was in a shop this week and one of the people working there showed me “the nicest 1934 D Peace Dollar I’ve ever seen.” Told me he was keeping it for his collection.
Looked at it with a loupe and was very obviously a strong DDO. Told him, and his response was, “Eh, I don’t care about any of that stuff.”
He just liked the coin.
Most dealers in my area have been almost entirely focused on bullion for the last few years anyway. It’s what most customers ask about.
Plus, variety collectors and hunters have been unfortunately lumped in with all the people scouring dirty pocket change and thinking every mark or stain is a mint error worth a trillion dollars (and nothing you can say will convince them because the Interwebs told them otherwise.)
Also…many dealers could care less about US mint and proof sets and foreign coins too, which also works out great for me.
Website
I know a dealer who breaks open proofs sets and uses them as change for his customers. 🤣 👍
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
This one wasn’t in 2025, but it was decently recent. This was cherry-picked from a brick and mortar shop as a normal proof when it was raw. Dealer had it graded PF63 and PCGS put a PF65 on it!
Judd 300 - normal 1863 proof with a reeded edge. Pretty sweet find from an established dealer. Best Cherry-pick I think I’ve ever had.
That Judd 300 is amazing! And what a cherry pick.
But I wanna know, how does someone put that coin into a 2x2 without feeling that the edges are reeded?
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!
Finished my Buffalo Nickels with this one... I think it's a two-feather.
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
I was able to locate this 1951-S/S on a dealer website. The Trueview is not good at all, but I did see enough of the tail on the S sticking out to roll the dice. PCGS did agree and this is the only 1951-S/S graded by PCGS and hopefully these will be difficult to locate. It graded MS-67 too.
Here is my Washington Quarter Variety Registry Set
This is my Washington Quarter Proof Variety Registry Set
Some nice CACG plus coins.
My junk box would love to meet them.
1926 TDO FS-101 Top Pop
Forward me in a PM your address and I'll send off a few for you.
peacockcoins
Apparently they are just junk clad proof sets. You can't sell them, you might as well give them away.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Is it not standard practice for all the services to note major varieties?
Sure, but owners need to recognize what they have because they are frequently unrecognized and misidentified by TPG services. There are dozens of these overdates misidentified as "normal" dates by TPG services out there in Coinland. Here are two I found this year on Great Collections. Now that Phil Harris is the photographer there, they're easy to spot at GC.
@Barberian Says it all. I can count the number of raw coins I have cherrypicked on one hand. I would have to be one of those Hindu gods for the other hand. Of couse there have been many slab company's, ANAC, PCGS, NGC, SEGS, DGS, PCI but for many reasons varieties go unidentified or are miss identified. Makes collecting that much more enjoyable. james
I think i purchased this last year, but finally got around to having it attributed ATS.
NGC Pop 2 with 1 higher at MS62
PCGS Pop 9 overall
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
The grading services don't go looking for varieties when they grade a coin. They will go by what's written on the label most of the time. Sometimes, they even ignore the identification and coin number the submitter provided and make up their own identification and number for the coin. Assume they know very little about coins, because that is likely the case. Therefore, it's up to the owner to study their coins, identify scarce varieties, and even send reference material to TPGs to ensure they make the correct attribution.
Most of my overdate cherry picks were raw coins off eBay. I don't search eBay anymore since realizing that the auction houses and TPGs misidentify overdates all the time as well. That's where the big scores are, so long as you're not competing with other pickers. Here's an MS61 1855/54 WB-1 that sold for $1200 as an 1855 at Stacks Bowers shortly after this thread was started. The Redbook price for an MS60 55/54 is $2250. In this case, the toning likely helped to hide this coin's very pronounced overdate (WB-1).
The only example I can give of a TPG finding a variety on a coin I submitted without my attribution (or even knowledge it existed) was when ANACS called me a looooong time ago to let me know my 1888 O was an EDS "Scarface" variety. They asked if I’d like it attributed as well - and I said of course I would!
I had no idea what that was at the time. We had just picked one BU silver dollar for each family member to have as a keepsake of her collection, and we were one short. For "my" coin, I just picked the oldest Morgan she had and included it. I had zero idea it would be by far the most valuable coin of the bunch.
If ANACS hadn't called, I would never have known until probably much later.
But in general, I'd agree - unless you call attention to the variety they most likely won't attribute it.
Website
"Friendly Eagle" variety. Scarce, not rare though.
peacockcoins
Saw this coin on eBay. 1900 O Morgan. This was the pic of listing.
I looked close and it looked like the very rare vam 29a. So took a chance and bought it. Sent it to PCGS and this is what I got back.
Now I'm top pop. Still can't believe it.
That is a banger!
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
Only 2 have been graded in MS by pcgs, and only 7 others by all grading companies total. In fact no MS has been sold by any auction houses or ebay. Pcgs values at $2500, but according to them, that is a guess.
This, is the S/s variety for the normal price, not huge, but a cool pick.
I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.