sometimes patience is forced upon you..

Several times over the past year I have seen a coin at auction that I REALLY wanted. I'm sure many of you can relate. For me it is usually a coin that fits my signature set of ship coins. I usually was not even aware of the coins existence, but once I see it at auction-whether from the big auction houses or even ebay- I become enamored. I can already picture how great it's going to look in my set.

However, it doesn't always work out. Most of the time I'm unsure of its value and underbid or get sniped at the end of auction. THEN the quest begins...I look high and low for another one, world coin dealers, ebay, every auction house..even emailing people and asking if they have seen one. On 3 recent occasions I have ended up finding the coin and paying much less for it than my auction bid...and as 70% less than the winning bidder paid.

I guess the lesson I should learn is that I need to curb my impulsiveness and when I see a coin I really like--research it and hunt for a cheaper example. I have started a list of coins that I would REALLY like and now I spend time looking specifically for these coins--like hidden treasures--in some dealers bargain bin.

Here is the latest example of my HUNTING EXPEDITION....This coin is part of an 8-12 piece set that the Royal Mint has made for Bermuda honoring the ships wrecked in the Bermuda Triangle. Each coin is triangular {really cool} and has a different ship inlaid with gold. Unfortunately they are sold by the set and many of the coins have steam ships or military ships---and I collect SAILING ships. I hunted high and low for this coin and finally came across a phone # for a US distributor of Royal Mint coins. After a bit of convincing, they agreed to sell me the single coin with the Constellation on it...it just arrived today and is everything I had hoped...and worth all of the effort....and maybe even a little sweeter since I had to work to find her.

PS: I have just added 15 coins to my High Seas signature Set...I got the coins back from NGC late this week and they are all listed with photos {page 6 of the set gallery} but the descriptions will take a while since I need to research some of the ships/explorers/histories that are depicted on the coins..