Options
Tell us about your first budget-busting coin...
MrEureka
Posts: 24,790 ✭✭✭✭✭
A coin that you couldn't afford but you had to buy anyway. What was it, why did you need to own it, how did you manage to pay for it, and do you still have it?
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
0
Comments
Probably half the board just committed to the Anniversary AGE set or sets!
I bribed my father to fund the expense, and we will see what happens. Up till now it has been all small price coins, no more than 1/10 once gold, and nothing more than $100 per coin purchases. We got 3 gold sets, and 10 silver sets.
I hope to keep some of them long term.
My wife was so confused at how I could justify spending fiddy bucks on a 1995 "penny" ........
I got this Civil War Token off eBay for 52 dollars delivered. I sniped it at the last minute.
It was a bad thing to do because my dad had told me I was not allowed to bid on it because I had no money. But I bid anyways.
Why did I have to have it? I just love the design.
How did I end up paying for it? The next day I scrubbed the entire house top to bottom indoors and out.
Yes I still have it.
This may not seem like much, but to me 10 dollars is quite a sum of money.
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
Low and behold none of them found it
I still had relatively stiff competition though. The coin was graded the "magic 58" grade, plus it was in a rattler, plus it's an extremely eye appealing coin. So I had to fight with the crackout artists that wanted it to submit, upgrade and sell for a profit. Those folks bid the coin up to mid mint state prices and I'm sure they thought they'd win. The coin, if it were a common coin, would be valued in the $300 range. The bidding ended at $800 and I won. My max bid of just over $900 was pretty much every dollar I had in the bank. There is no way I could make a profit on the coin by getting an upgrade because I was into the coin so heavily. But, remember I knew it was the LM12 R6. The true value of the coin is in the multiple thousands of dollars graded in AU58 (which I believe the coin actually deserves).
Anyways, that's my budget busting story. I know to some here the prices seem like childs play but for me they were monumental. My hands were sweaty, heart beating...complete chaos going on inside when I won. It took me quite some time to financialy recover from that purchase. Definitely a budget buster for me.
I have yet to brake the 4 digit barrier. To date, it's still the highest price I've ever paid for a coin. At the same time it's the best deal on a coin I've ever gotten.
My first coin that made me very nervous was a 1797 Half in AU-55.
I could afford it but it was a large amount for a rookie (with no advice) to spend on a coin. When I saw it though I knew I had to have it.
After I bought it I put it on the consol of my car and stared at it all the way home (a 2 hr drive). I still don't understand how I wasn't in an accident?
Since that day I don't think I have ever come close to the rush I had buying that coin.
The coin below (1926-S PCGS MS63) was a real budget buster. I traded four of my most expensive coins (one of which was a 1909-S VDB in PCGS MS65RB) plus a fist full of dollars. This was the key date I needed for my mint state Buffalo nickel collection. A 64 would cost me an additional $5 grand and I wanted to complete my collection with no coin graded under 63. 63's for this date are quite rare, even for this rare date.
And yes, I still have it.
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
Prior to that purchase I had been attempting to put together an attractive early commem type set, but that goal was gutted when this opportunity arose. Within the course of six months nearly every commem I owned was sold, as well as other coins, and the money taken out of the bank via CD to pay for the 1796 quarter was replaced. This purchase really fired my interest in problem-free, mid-grade, early Federal coinage and has defined my collection since. I still own the coin and it is below.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
57 Proof Linky in 68 CAM
The Sellers know who they are !
Hadda sell my Motorcycle and my POS camper truck plus smoe other goods to cover dem !
In the end, with the inclusion of my 1880-S MS66PL I got last year, it`s stunning MS65+ set.
Extremely boring...lots of new Anniversary sets.
For one reason. To sell and buy a really nice Saint with the profits.
I guess "really nice" is relative. Let me rephrase that. As nice a Saint as I can get for $2000.
My first coin-I-had-to-savealongtimefor was a '77 Indian in XF-45. I told the original Bowers and Merena to go find me a "perfect" one for the grade, and I didn't care how long they had to look, while I slowly sent them money each month towards the price it would be. About a year later, they found me one, and I still have it.
The nicest 1892-O DMPL (NGC 64DPL) I had ever seen....
and the only 1901 DMPL certified (PCGS 61DMPL)....
Two really special big league coins and anchors for my prooflike set.
NSDR - Life Member
SSDC - Life Member
ANA - Pay As I Go Member
Set: Columbia, SC Commem set all in PCGS 67
Oscar Wilde
Collect for the love of the hobby, the beauty of the coins, and enjoy the ride.
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
Coxe, nice pair of Morgans!
I can say for sure my wife would agree.
You're lucky to have a loanshark in your family. Most kids have to resort to petty theft and drug dealing to raise quick cash.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
http://www.victoriancent.com
http://www.victoriancent.com
-Daniel
-Aristotle
Dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas. Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.
-Horace
Still have it, but it's locked away in a safe deposit box.
Worth a bit more today...apologies to the "coins-are-not-an-investment" crowd.
It was a Silver Rupee in UNC.
TKC
Proud member of the CUFYNA
Need a Banner Made? PM ME!
" . . . . I know not how far it may coincide with the present or future policy of the Government -- but it has appeared to me as a desideratum, that the portion of the circulating medium -- designated as fractional currency should possess an instrinsic value in the material of which it is composed, which it has not now.
If this view should be entertained now, or hereafter: it is important to find or suggest a material that would meet the exigency. The use of aluminum fo the purposes of coinage, was suggested by its peculiar qualities as I became acquainted with them: especially when I ascertained that it was employed successfully in Paris for the purpose of striking medals.
. . . ."
D. Taxay, The U.S. Mint and Coinage at 245-46 (1966). Of course, the nickel advocates had their way, and the Cu/Ni Shield was used to take fractional currency out of circulation.
The hub trial takes me one step closer to Longacre. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the design elements are incuse as well as reversed (like you would expect to see on a die). This piece is a "snapshot" of one stage in Longacre's creative process for the 561. You'll see, for example, that the word UNION is not yet punched into the headdress. You'll note that Longacre modified the design slightly by repunching the stars before striking the 561. You'll also see scribe lines (circular, horizontal, and vertical) used to position the letters.
I researched the piece to its last auction appearance (which had been 15 years earlier), but I still had no clear idea of its value. I did know, however, that I wanted it too much to negotiate the deal myself; I would have been taken to the cleaners. A first-class guy helped me out and we managed to stay way below qualifying for TDN's thread.
Edited because I never catch all the typos before posting.
So I am about 90% done missing a few keys, when all of a sudden a 1914 D in 63 R&B pops up on Ebay. Three things…I KNOW the coin is scarce in any high grade, I Know the coin will sell for OVER PCGS guide, and I KNOW I just got a bank statement on a small investment that reached a $3000 maturity.
So I email the seller, and ask if he would take $3000 for a coin listed at $2700 at the time. Well, it’s a lot easier in my mind today to justify that purchase now than to justify it to myself 3 years ago.
WS
By the way , the member was our one and only John G (goose 3)
jim
My story for the first budget busting coin: Without a doubt, the key to my collecting series, the barber halves, the 1904-S half.
I was starting to put a complete mint state set together in MS 63 and 64. Mot of the coins I had been buying were MS 63's for around $600-800 and MS 64's for around $900-1400 depending on the dates. My set was perhaps 2/3rd completed. At the time, around 1999, I had an example of the 04-S half in PCGS MS 62 and had not seen another example for a few years. The coin I was interested in was in an NGC 66 holder and was for sale by David Lawrence Rare Coins listed for a mere $47.5K. This was WAY above my budget and out into the stratosphere!
It was right before a Milwaukee Central States show and I asked John F. to hold it for me so I could view it and possibly buy/trade for it. This he did and I could barely contain my excitement when the doors to the show opened and I went right to his table. I had my little box of slabbed coins and a few other items available for trade. I loved the coin for sale and its originality. I made arrangements to buy the coin and traded an assortment of items including a High Relief 1907 St. Gaudens in MS 62, my 1904-S half in MS 62, an 1892-O micro O half in PCGS AU 50, a roll of 1878-CC BU silver dollars, and an assortment of other items leaving me with a cash balance still to pay off. I remember leaving the show thinking, "What have I done?" It was the most expensive coin I had ever purchased and was a higher grade than I intended to own and I preferred coins already in PCGS plastic over NGC.
The story continues on this coin as I later deduced (in large part by reading the auction lot description of the 1904-S half in the Price collection by David Akers) that my coin could be the Norweb coin. I used DLRC to resubmit my coin for consideration of pedigree (I obtained the Norweb catalog and the small black and white photo and written description were compatible, but not diagnostic to me) by NGC and also obtained a Photo Proof image. The coin did get the Norweb pedigree and later I submitted it to PCGS for crossover, which it obtained. The coin is imaged in my registry set and is the centerpiece of my collection and worth considerably more than my acquisition cost.
My #1 Low Ball Peace Dollar Set
I still have one of them.
When I got the invoice in the mail I thought "what have I done!!!" I didn't really have any problem paying for it but just seemed like
a lot of money (and it was for me at the time). Being of Scot background attitudes about money can be complex and difficult.
The next week, when I went in to check my usual winnings of '33D Lincolns and '19 Buffalo's, there was the 1794 penny in my little pile of winnings. It put a real dent in my checking account, and I felt very guilty, as my wife and I had been married for about 3 months at the time, and we still didn't have stuff like a vacuum cleaner or dish washer.
Knowing nothing about large cents, I brought it home and identified it as a Liberty Cap style of the "1795 variety." I also first noted the '1922' graffito under the chin of Liberty, which is probably why no one else bid on the coin. I hadn't seen that originally, I was too entranced by the 1794 date.
To make a long story short, this coin got me away from modern coins and into old copper. I started bidding on large and half cents. At that time you could pick up reasonably nice ones off the board for a buck. This further led to organizing these coins by date. Of course then, I learned about Sheldon and Cohen types. About 5 years after buying the 1794 large cent, I finally identfied it as a Sheldon S-66 "split pole" variety, early die state, w/o the split. At that time it was rated an R-6, with about a dozen known and was well within the condition census for the type. Since then, more S-66's have been found and it's now an R5+ and is no longer in the condition census, but it is still a key coin in my rather expanded half and large cent collections. A similar specimen went for several thousand dollars in a recent Superior Sale. This coin not only broke my budget the day I won it on the bidboard, it got me into an area-old copper-that regularly broke my budget for the next 25 years!!!!
If I was going to get anything else during the year I would have to sell some stuff, which I did for the first time. I don't think I'd do that again because it just reinforced how much I don't enjoy selling coins.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
set. I saved up the cash then went hunting. Took two years to find and she is in my collection. Bob
Oh yeah, she was true to her word.....now comfortably sitting in PCGS 64 plastic...
I don't know if you realize it, but I had 2 shots at the 04-S half in 66 before you did, and I passed(
First, in 1997, I was viewing a complete Barber half collection in Humble, Texas, north of Houston, and made offers on about 25 of these very pq coins. I did not attempt to buy the 04-S or the 93-S, as those would have used up all the cash I had at the time. I did buy around 15.
Then in 1998/99, the 04-S appeared at US Coins in Houston, on memo from John F of DLRC. I went to see it (again), and it was priced in the mid-$40,000 range. I had not spent near that much on any coin for the set, and I just had to pass.
Congrats to you for stepping up. BTW, your coin not only crossed from NGC, it later was upgraded to 67. What an eye you have!!
TorinoCobra71
If the value of the coin kept up with inflation, it would be worth over $50.00 today. That should have been a lesson for me.
Here be mine. Was looking for a nice hammered toned large cent. Never thought I would find one I liked. Nick Chabot sent me a message about on he had just purchased.
It was about 2x that I had budgeted for but he said if I saw a picture I wouldnt be able to pass it up. He was right
I paid it off by working for mis padres, working extra nights, and tapping in (slightly) to my savings which I hate doing...but that was shortly replaced.
Overall, It was a fun experience and I love the coin. Some may not, but I think the unique color and strike make this coin really special.
">"http://www.cashcrate.com/5663377"
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
It is PCGS VF20 and I still have it. I paid $6100.00 for it, which was a huge amount of money for me then (and still is for me now).
It is still one of the best (and most expensive) coins in my collection.
Box of 20
My budget buster was a 1936 Bufallo for $85.00. Most money I've ever spent on a coin. I guess I lack the cohones to spend 3 figures, let alone 4 figures. Driving a 1998 car still. Can't rationalize spending that kind of money on a coin when I need a new car.
Jonathan