The Long Beach Expo Gives Me The 1916-D Dime. (Pics Added!)

I am so happy! I went to the Long Beach Coin Expo on the first day! So, anyway, after a long drive from where I live to Long Beach, we screw around trying to find parking, where the show is held, etc. So, at about 1:30, we get onto the bourse floor. I saw a few 1914S Quarters, a 1931S Lincoln Cent, but was looking mostly for my dream coin, The 1916D Mercury dime. (although my mam didn't know it) I was hoping to find a nice G-4, But knew it would set me back $800 or more for a nice Certified. And I saw VERY FEW, 1916D's on the floor, and all the ones I saw early on were PCGS Certified, AG-3's, and most had little eye appeal and were priced around $600-$700. The finest one I saw on the entire floor was a Very Fine, but the Butthead dealer was too lazy to get off his duff to show it to me. Wow! I was like a kid in a candy store! Anyway, I came to a case that had several Certified 1916D's and I asked the dealer to see them. He pulled four out of the case and handed them to me. I looked, and realized one was a PCGS G-6, an NGC G-4, and two NGC AG-3's. I put the AG's down without much thought, (I wasn't really looking for an AG) and looked at the G-4 and 6. I immediately decided I didn't like the NGC G-4. The Obverse had splotches of blue, pink, and Gold rainbow toning ALL over it, and I didn't like the look of it, as I cannot stand rainbow toning on circulated coins, as I prefer the natural color of the metal. I looked at the PCGS G-6, and it seemed nice, but I knew it would likely be out of my price range. So I put the coins down and
(fat chance I'm gonna buy an AG-3)
Looked at the AG-3's. The first one I looked at, I kinda liked. The reverse rim was not worn halfway into the lettering as a classic AG is, and the coin's color was a nice grey Silver, and the Date and Mint Mark were full and bold, nearly as bold as a G-4. I looked at the Mint Mark at 45x magnification, and saw that it looked genuine, the happy "D" sitting proudly underneath the facses. Then I looked at the rim at 16x Mag, to see how strong it was. It was definitely stronger than a usual AG. "What are you asking for this?" I asked the dealer.
"Hold on, let me go talk to my boss and see." He replied. I expected him to quote me around $500-$600, which was still quite high for me to pay. He came back and set the slab on the case and said:
"$400."
$400?!? I thought, looking at the coin. $400? That is unbelievably cheap for any '16D, much less a top notch, above average specimen like this! I immediately examined the coin again, and then looked at the other AG. The other AG wasn't nearly as good, and the Mint Mark was not as defined as the first. I spent about 5 more minutes examining the first coin, and decided to buy it. For any AG '16D, $400, in my experience, is a darn good deal, and for an above average, it is an excellent deal. I asked him how much the others were, and he quoted $800 for the NGC G-4, and $1,100 for the PCGS G-6. I decided I should take the First AG for $400, considering it had only slightly less detail than the G-4, and the Mint Mark and Date was far bolder. I turned to my mam, who was watching me examine the coin, and let her take a look. She thought it was nice as well, a surprise considering she wasn't too excited I wanted to purchase the '16D. I finally handed over $400, and the coin I have been actively seeking for nearly 2 years, and I have wanted for close to 8 years, was finally mine. (I wanted to give you guys in-the-hand-pics, but realized when I got home from the show I lost my camera cord and today I found out I left it at a friend's house, so I'm gonna give you the link so you can see the coin on the NGC database until I can get my charger cord back, which may be about a month , so don't forget this until then! ) Here's the Coin on the NGC Database:

http://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/C...=3442701-002

I promise y'all in depth pics when I get my charger!

Anyway, after buying the '16D, I sorta relaxed and didn't buy any other top coins. However, I did pick up an 1871 VG-8 3 Cent Nickel coin for $13 and a 1910 Liberty nickel for $1.00. I also looked at some extremely rare coins there, including a Mint State 1916 Quarter, several 1893S Dollars, a 1901S Quarter, and even got to HOLD an 1879 Flowing Hair four dollar Gold Piece (Stella), worth over $100,000! What do y'all think?

Johnson1488
"Coincrazed"

P.S.
And I really hope I have redeemed myself enough to come back to Coin Community once again. I am sorry for all the bad and annoying stuff I said on this site before as Coincrazed.

P.P.S. And is Johnny54321, my old NGC VG-8 1916D Bud still here on Coin Community? The bud that gave me all the advice when I was researching purchasing this Coin? I wonder what he'll think when he reads the ending of my 1916D Search Story, the finale and success story of finally purchasing this coin!


OBVERSE:



REVERSE:



GOOD VIEW OF THE MINT MARK, LEFT OF FASCES: