And I "saved" enough for a second nice coin!

I had my eye on several coins in Heritage's recently completed auction in Boston. I had put low internet proxy bids on them to facilitate monitoring them via the My Bids feature of their website. And "low" is a relative term here, meaning that I didn't expect any of them to have any chance of winning. But they totaled well into 5 figures - far more than I can afford.

Anyway, as the auction approached, I decided what my priorities would be, and entered a couple higher bids. In particular, I had my eye on an upgrade for my 1841 large cent. Just last Fall I was able to get a 65BN from the Naftzger collection (which was an upgrade from a 62BN). I really like that coin, but it is not very flashy. If upgraded, I would not sell it, at least not for awhile. But a lustrous 66BN (with several tiny nicks) was available in the auction, and recent auction results for high grade 1841s suggested that I might be able to get it for a price I can live with. So I entered a bid that was 50% higher than my winning bid for the Naftzger coin. It was a serious bid, but I was not highly confident it would win.

There was also a 66BN 1840 cent, which could serve as an equally nice upgrade to my 65BN, but the recent history suggested that it would be a bit to pricey for me just now. Indeed it sold for a little more than I could feel comfortable spending. But the at the end of internet proxy bidding, the 1841 was still mine to lose, the current bid sitting well below my secret max.

After the 1840 was sold, the 1841 was next. There was a floor bid. My proxy bid took it to the next increment. Then... nothing. I had "won" the lot for several hundred dollars less than my maximum! With that purchase, I could no longer afford any of the half dimes I had been considering. But the "savings" could still be put to good use... More on that next time. For now - here's my new cent. Happy collection to all!