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Bought this out of the UK a little while ago. Very nice!  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1372 Posts |
I picked up the set from the "home of Steelers training camp" this morning, and everything is as I expected it would be ... except there was one very pleasant surprise. No, the 16-S isn't a 16-D ... dangit anyhow.
I knew the 1916-S was high grade, but even I, and I pride myself in being able to read bad pics ... would never have guessed that the 1916-P was of equally high grade, and in fact, even has FSB. I was hoping the 16-S would have 'em, but nope ... close, and maybe closer than the one currently in the collection. I'm not sure however, how the overall luster and surfaces of the coin will stack up against the current resident. The current 1916-S is a "straight up" BU. The one I just got may be that nice, but I won't know for sure until after the conservation process has been completed just how favorably or unfavorably the coin compares.
The 25-D is indeed pretty nice, strong VF or maybe XF. I did nothing to it other than staple it into a holder. It was somehow able to repel the "Whitman Folder Shmooze" that nearly all of the other coins have to some degree.
I set aside 50 to sell in a roll .... which leaves me with 16 coins to keep, for which I'll have paid less than 4 dollars apiece. They're all AU/BU, and the 41-D has FSB. The 34-P is close.
The "expendables" are rolled, and the keepers are soaking in a mild solution of very hot water and dish detergent. A couple of the coins have tape residue on them which I may have to use acetone on ... we shall see.
I was also right about the collection being of roughly the same vintage as the Syracuse NY set. This folder, like that one, has openings so oversized that the worn coins just fall out. Its already in the trash. Its not even worth keeping and cutting up to ship coins in....w/o having to use masking tape to secure them.
I should be able to post some drool worthy pics later today. I think I'll have done pretty well with this set once the dust settles.
Chance
Edited by Chancellor Sutler
12/20/2017 11:17 am
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Good to hear! Looking forward to some photos.  |
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Pillar of the Community
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1372 Posts |
If you sent your Mom out to get napkins ... to mop up the drool ... call her and tell her "never mind". A few of these coins are as I expected they'd be ... but the two I really "wanted" to be ... have been "loved up" some and have fine hairlines across them. The 1916-P is a FB coin ... with tiny little disturbing scratches that couldn't be seen under the "yuck" ... or maybe I grabbed those danged rose colored glasses this morning by mistake. The 16-s is nicer, but has some of the same business going on, just to a lesser extent.
I'll still do OK with this stuff ... but that set from Syracuse spoiled the crap outta me. I think the bottom line is that the NY coins belonged to an adult "long time collector", and this set ... probably someone's set growing up. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa bought them the 1916s ... They probably didn't cost all that much in BU in the 50s.
Oh well ... I'll still post pics a bit later, but no need to get the napkins out.
There's an old saying in these parts ... "Sometimes you eat the bear ... sometimes the bear eats you". The ol' Bruin got a little taste of me this time anyway.
Still ... I'll be back out "bear huntin'" later this evening.
Chance
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Moderator
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but the two I really "wanted" to be ... have been "loved up" some and have fine hairlines across them. Ouch.  Quote:
I'll still do OK with this stuff ... but that set from Syracuse spoiled the crap outta me. I think the bottom line is that the NY coins belonged to an adult "long time collector", and this set ... probably someone's set growing up. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa bought them the 1916s ... They probably didn't cost all that much in BU in the 50s. A reasonable assessment. |
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Pillar of the Community
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1372 Posts |
Here's the 1916-S.... It looks better "in hand" because its a lot smaller. I was really hoping it was in better condition. More later ... Have to finish doing dishes now. Chance   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
591 Posts |
Great thread Chancellor Sutler! I've been enjoying reading through these pages, as I have some Mercury dime collecting goals as well and just started a few years ago. With me, I pretty much only focus on coins in the winter as I have other activities that keep me busy enough the rest of the year. I have tried some local pawn shops, local dealers, and ebay. A few questions for you: 1) what was this Syracuse, NY set you've mentioned a few times? I happen to live here in Syracuse...was this an ebay seller that happens to be here, or was it from a dealer, etc? 2) if you are picking up these sets on ebay, are you searching for "lots" or "sets", etc? 3) on one post you mentioned that once you complete your set you anticipate sending it to the four corners (or something). is that because you feel there is no way to recoup your investment if you tried to sell your complete set as-is and that you'd have much better luck pricing/selling each coin individually? are you selling on ebay or elsewhere? My collecting goal right now is focused on the pre-depression set (1916 to 1931), excluding the 16-D. That is 41 date/mm specimens(compared to 35 issues from 1934 to 1945), and based on total overall mintages, those 41 issues represent only 24% of all Mercury dimes. Also, these are all the coins on page 1 of the Dansco Album for Mercury dimes, so it makes for a decent presentation. I feel it is a more challenging set, and will have greater investment value. Any insights on this type of approach? I'll keep reading your updates, so keep em coming. Thanks for posting! |
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Shame, obverse looks rubbed.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1372 Posts |
Yeah ... The obverse has some scuffiness to it. Wait until you see the 16-P ... its way worse. The set that came out of Syracuse, NY was sold by an individual seller on ebay, not a coin dealer. Had it been sold by a coin dealer ... all the good stuff I got would have been gone ... sent to PCGS to be made cost prohibitive to me. There are as many ways to search ebay for sets of dimes as one's imagination allows. The good news is that the "set" thing is basically just in the US. I've bought numerous single coins from abroad, but only remember seeing one set offered, on the German ebay site. As to breaking up the set were I ever to decide I was finished ... That's typically what happens. Collections are sold piece by piece. Even if by a large auction house, when the final hammer falls and everybody goes home, the set's been scattered. Its not easy to find somebody who wants to drop 5 figures on a set of dimes ... at least I would imagine it would be. The "back end" of the set is relatively inexpensive as compared to the pre-31 stuff, so while it's probably reasonable to concentrate on that end of things, you'll need to dispose of the "other material" if you're buying and selling sets. Most of what I want to upgrade is pre 1931. Naturally, anything else that happens along that improves my collection will be swapped into it, but nowadays, I find myself frequently looking at just the first 2 pages of the whitman folders. It's not all that often that high end coins from the earlier part of the set appear in these sets. That's what made the Syracuse set so special. It contained numerous issues minted prior to 1931, including a 1920-P FB that's a 66 all day long, an AU 1921-P, a 23-P FB, a 25-P FB, a 27-P FB, and a 29-P FB. With the exception of the 21-P, all of those coins were very high grade. There were a lot of nice post depression ones too, but what made it such an outstanding set of coins was the condition of the early issues. Perhaps the most amazing thing about that set, is that it sat on ebay for 5 days with no takers. Chance Edited by Chancellor Sutler
12/20/2017 5:45 pm
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Moderator
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189203 Posts |
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Here's the 1916-S....
It looks better "in hand" because its a lot smaller. I was really hoping it was in better condition. I had imagined it being much worse that it is. Thank you for the photos.  |
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Pillar of the Community
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1372 Posts |
There will be more pics ... as soon as I get my stomach settled down. I have chronic digestive issues that, along with a huge inguinal hernia that needs repaired again ... make life all the more challenging.
I'll be back on in a couple hours I imagine.....maybe sooner. It depends on how quickly the ranitodine works.
Chance
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Pillar of the Community
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1372 Posts |
Poster child for the "Rub-a-Dub Club" This coin was a surprise altogether. I basically gave it "no value" when assessing the set and coming up with an offer bacause it looked to be VF at the very best. I'm glad I didn't have the value of the set dependent upon it, like the 16-S. The good, the bad, and the ugly ... this one's 2 out of the 3. Talk about a darn shame. Look at those bands. I'll post a few of the nicer ones, but not all of them. I don't want to fill the server with a bunch of mediocre images. Chance   |
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Pillar of the Community
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1372 Posts |
A "worker bee" .... but just over 5 million minted, so a little scarce. This is the first set I've bought that will end up contributing nothing at all to my collection ... bummer. But ... the 3 type dimes I bought, were turned over for a nice profit. It took so long to do it ... that the money went to the Electric Co instead of toward my 1919-S...which those proceeds would have paid for handily. Chance   |
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Pillar of the Community
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1372 Posts |
Pretty strong bands for a 1934, but considerably more traveled than the current occupant in the collection. The bands are a little stronger though. That frosty gold 1917-P may arrive tomorrow. Maybe it will be more worthy of pics. Chance   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1372 Posts |
Last one from this set ... I was looking for a FB 42-S. I actually had 2 chances. The coin occupying the port for 1942-D in this set was also a 42-S. Some of the others are this nice ... others, not so much. Chance   |
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Posted 12/20/2017 11:13 am
