| Author |
 Replies: 16 / Views: 3,506 |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
I bought my first Canadian specimen large cent, an 1858 now in a PCGS SP63BN holder, as a raw coin from Chuck Moore in 1982. Back then, it was more than I could afford (I remember it well at $500USD). I started collecting specimen large cents in earnest in 2007, when I bought an 1859 specimen cent from Mike Walsh. Over the following years, I bought more of these magnificent coins. A few years ago, I was stuck, unable to acquire the really rare and really high-grade pieces, so I approached a Canadian dealer to assist me in completing the set. He ended up helping me a great deal, but his initial comment was; "you won't live long enough." In many eras, he would have been be right, but sometimes fortune smiles upon you and the coins you need unexpectedly become available. They did for me, culminating with the Eric Beckman sale in 2015 and the current Cornerstone sale in 2019. Those two collections contained some of the very best specimen cents and, by unifying my purchases from them, I was able to not only fill in my gaps, but also upgrade several coins and finish the set as defined by PCGS. I believe this is the first complete set, since the registry sets began. It may be the first ever assembled, as the 1898-H and 1912 specimen cents were not in the public domain until the 1980's. https://www.PCGS.com/setregistry/ca...meset/165324 |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
1505 Posts |
Wow, great set! That is a neat body of work over 37 years. Hope you had a little celebration somewhere.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
5585 Posts |
Yes, Rob, you have reached the pinnacle of the long incline that we numismatists try to climb. You have the first specimen set, as well as the spectacular circulating Registry set. Both of those are capped by the 4, soon to be 5, bibles for Canadian large set collectors.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1101 Posts |
Congratulations! That is quite an accomplishment!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
789 Posts |
Wow, what a great set.
Which coin do you favor the most?
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Remarkable accomplishment, congrats!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
851 Posts |
Amazing feat! Congrats!
If someone offered to buy the set from you, what would the price be? Or is there no price?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
9152 Posts |
I can only wish, great collection congrats.
|
|
Moderator
 Canada
10456 Posts |
I assume that some specimen strikes, like 1884, are not in the set composition due to their rarity?
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1695 Posts |
Amazing set. Congratulations.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
1348 Posts |
The short answer on the 1884 is there has never been one in the PCGS census. It was originally in an NGC holder and now is in a PCGS body bag. Others, such as the 1898H and 1912 are rare, with only two of each in private hands, so that is not the reason.
The longer answer is that there are many, many misunderstood things about large cent specimens. I have completed a manuscript about them that tries to make sense of them. I hope to have it published by late this year.
http://www.victoriancent.com2011 & 2025 Fred Bowman Award Winner, 2020 J. Douglas Ferguson Award Winner, & 2022 Paul Fiocca Award Winner. Life Member of RCNA.
Edited by bosox
06/11/2019 12:28 pm
|
|
Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Congratulations on your accomplishment!   |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
987 Posts |
Well-done. Any pics ( or did I miss the on PCGS?)
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
Hi res photos will be in the book
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
Congrats Rob, I've enjoyed your publications, as well as drooling over your coins. Happy it was you that completed this epic quest. Well deserved. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
Thanks for the kind words, guys. Joecoin - I really do not have a favorite large cent specimen, but would probably choose one of my large cent patterns (not in the PCGS set), if pushed. Deductible - the value of the set is moot, as it is not for sale.
|
| |
Replies: 16 / Views: 3,506 |
Posted 06/11/2019 03:21 am
