Elgin Commems are down right ugly, but some definitely look nicer than others.
FatMan
Posts: 8,977 ✭
Finally imaged this Elgin that I've had laying around for a while. The slab is pretty scratched up so I may need to get it reholdered. Is it a keeper?
Whatcha think. Guess the grade if you like.
Whatcha think. Guess the grade if you like.0
Comments
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>It's nice, but not nearly as pretty as a Pilgrim I saw the other day >>
That's the one I want to see
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at the 2004 ANA in Pittsburgh i was walking the floor with MDWoods when we met a friend of his in the aisle. while talking, Mark showed his pal a nicely toned 1921 Pilgrim that i think he'd bought from goose3 at the show, maybe in a PCGS MS62-3 holder. as Mark's friend was looking at it he remarked "I can't understand why everyone is buying color" while smiling and shaking his head. granted it was a nice coin and i assume Mark liked the design, but this coin and the ugly comments beg a question or two, at least from me.
do you really think the design is ugly??
if you do, why would you buy the coin except for the color??
don't get me wrong, i appreciate nice tone and my local dealer has finally figured that out. he now sets the better stuff aside till i see him or he calls me, but the coins are design types that i like and appreciate. really, what's the use in collecting colored coins with designs you don't like, as if you'd by a spectacular Shriver Dollar???
of course you could just be pulling our collective leg...........................
oh yeah, NGC MS66 "T" would be my grade estimate.
<< <i>do you really think the design is ugly?? >>
Yes, The design was created with little detail. So little that I would never know that the Pioneer was wearing a fur cap, and that he is bearded and not just having a protruding chin. The first time I viewed this coin I thought the obverse was a Neanderthal, not a pioneer. When I see the coin I often get the feeling the designer didn't finish his work.
<< <i>if you do, why would you buy the coin except for the color?? >>
This is a fair question and one I often ponder myself. As a commem collector I am afraid I am a slave to the full type set. I didn't buy the coin for the color, no more so than I would buy any other commemorative. I bought it cause I need it to complete my set and this is one of the most attractive Elgins I've ever seen. As for the color, I'm not a huge fan of white coins unless they are so lustrous that they are like headlights. I have a few of those in my collection, but the criteria is quite high. No Elgin that I have ever seen meets that criteria.
Your comment "When I see the coin I often get the feeling the designer didn't finish his work." was insightful. I had never thought of the coin in that fashion but from hence I will always think of it that way. I guess it's somewhat appropriate given that the stature featured on the reverse and for which the coin was issued was never finished...
I think your coin is simply stunning. And, I also very much like Bunker's Elgin. Both seem to me to be superior examples of an inferior coin.
Mark
Just send the uglies to me
Regards, Rob
fortunately for me, i only collect the series' i like and when it comes to type i haven't yet pigeon-holed myself into needing anything i don't like. with commems, i pick and choose which design types i buy and tend to focus on the pre-1935 issues and don't get stuck needing to have multiples of any multi-year issues like the Pilgrim.
<< <i>As a commem collector I am afraid I am a slave to the full type set. >>
Many of us are also slaves to the full date set of an issue. I love the design of the Buffalo nickel and yet I find myself almost obliged to spend thousands on crappy strikes and/or dull luster just so I can "complete" the collection.
You are not alone.