I basically got 5 new coins today, including two trades I did to get a couple of them.
My first purchase was an
1770 Pillar Dollar (8 Reales) in XF/AU. I really liked the original look of the coin which is extremely hard to find. There are usually cleaned and look that way...not this one. It might have had an old cleaning a long time ago, but it definitely does not have that look. This coin was not cheap. I spent way over the $250 that these typically go for.
For some silly reason I wanted got the impulse to buy a
1912-S Liberty Head Nickel. The best circulated one I could find on the floor is the one I bought and shown here. I spent too much on it, but Oh Well...it's mine now. I spent about $350. Other dealers had ones (F15 just like this but I still liked mine better) for $300 or less. Ouch. Again, the look of the coin was right for me and it doesn't have that same scrubbed look that sooooo many 1912-S and better date lower grade
Liberty nickels have.
The next coin I think I got a killer deal on. The coin is superb. It's a
1828 Bust Half Dollar in Choice AU. The coin still has plenty of luster and hasn't been screwed with and has no visible problem which is
very hard to find like that! I think it's a common Overton-102 (can anyone verify for me?).
I traded up a coin (actually it was part of the 1912-S Nickel trade) for an
1813 Classic Head Large Cent in F15 (EAC) from Doug Bird. This was an expensive coin. Waaaayyyy over any wholesale price you'll see. But, I wanted to do away with my 1814 that bad surfaces that were mildly treated for porosity for a coin with no porosity and choice surfaces. I think I got one.
Finally, a very special coin that is part of a focal portion of my collection of early proofs. I traded a Barber Proof Dime (a stunningly gorgeous one at that!) and a whole lotta cash for an
1867 3CS NGC PF65 (Cameo but not designated). The coin is is an older NGC holder so I'm not surprised the Cameo was not designated. The coin has beautiful mirrors, pure white but with some hazing that could probably be dipped off (which I won't do). This is my first Gem Proof 3CS. I usually stay away from them because their prices are much higher than just 1 point lower (PF64), but I felt this coin looks great in the holder and the it's "all there". No pictures of this coin (I couldn't get my digital camera to focus on this one...darn!).
There was one coin that I ALMOST got. I wrote the check, gave it to the dealer, asked the dealer to let me have a few minutes to get an expert opinion or two, and then returned the coin and got my check back. This would have been a KILLER coin had it been a non-problem coin. It almost "got" me...as I was fooled. The coin was an 1883 3CN in MS63 (raw). This is a very
tricky coin to buy either raw OR even in a slab. They are notoriously sold as business strikes but are really impaired proofs or just non-brilliant proofs. What KILLS me is the coin was a
no-brainer business strike with a very sharp beautiful strike, LOTS of die-clashing (which is not typical on proofs at all), and looked MS64+. The problem? The person I took it to pointed out that lack of luster (which I did notice but wasn't too fazed because sometimes 3CN in lower MS grades don't have a lot of luster) was the initial concern for him. When he looked closer he said the coin would be body-bagged for altered surfaces. He noted that the metal seemed to be pushed up around the digits. I noticed it afterwards but didn't think anything of it until he pointed it out. It was almost as if the last digits were sitting on a platform of metal. He thinks that it might have been treated deliberately or otherwise(? - environmental?) with acid! Wow! That would have been a BIG mistake. Oddly enough, I should it to another big dealer and he LOVED the coin! Yeah, yeah...I should have sold it to him. He's a local dealer and I see him all the time. I don't want to be known for selling problem coins.
Let me know what you guys think?
I'm pretty much outta money so any other purchase are likely to be small. I'm still looking for more ancient Judaica coins though (mainly bronzes).
Posted 08/16/2006 9:08 pm
