• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Oldtrader3

Member: Seasoned Veteran
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,938

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by Oldtrader3

  1. Oldtrader3
    I have built a Registry set over a period of nearly 10 years and had a #1 set for three years. Then came the inevitable let down for all who aspire to be #1.
    Before I moved to Washington State, about (2003), I was buying mostly better date, lower MS and AU gold coins with low pops. This lead me to having three coins dated 1979 (two quarter eagles and an eagle) of which the eagle was later sold. From these two quarter eagles, my 1879 Registry Set began to take shape about 2004.
    Putting this particular set together is always a challenge because many of the coins in this set are quite difficult and expensive to find. Especially the half eagle, eagle and double eagle from Carson City Mint which mintages of range from 1,700 to 17,000 pieces, none of which are easily found, even in large auctions.
    This set is also unique in that the silver minor coins are extremely low mintages also, except for the Morgan silver dollars which are all quite available, despite the 1879-CC being quite expensive. Anyhow by 2009, I had clawed this set up to a #1 registry rank, mostly with coins that I could afford, when I finally found them.
    I have tried to keep most of the gold issues in this set at AU58 grades or higher, except the CC gold. After finally reaching first place with this set in 2009. I held the first place position for three years. However, in coin collecting registries, all things are inevitable, especially unless you have extremely deep pockets. Knowing this, I lost #1 set position in 2012. In fact the new #1 set outscores my set by double the points which I have in my set and effectively makes me uncompetitive, despite my having 12,000 registry points in this set.
    At my age and fixed income, it is doubtful that I will ever regain #1 status on this 1879 Mint Set which is okay. All things come and pass in a sort of natural progression in coin collecting. I am just happy to have retained this set ranking for as long as I had it.
    It is a fact of life with coin collecting, that despite the level which any one collector may attain. he/she is always hearing footsteps from the sets directly behind them and eventually most top sets will lose their claim to #1 set with few collectors regaining the #1 position again after losing it
    I am okay with this and will continue as before because the challenge is in finding the coins, not the ranking that one attains..
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  2. Oldtrader3
    How to play the registry game on a different continuum than just how much disposable income which you have to spend on what is after all, a hobby!
    Brand X TPG has brought a new coin collecting game to town. This game is called Everyman Registry Sets. What this means to the uninitiated is that: somebody like me (an average guy) can have a Top 10 registry set and not be dragged, kicking and screaming to coin collector Debtors Prison the day after he dares go up against deep pockets of vested dealer/collector and enters this registry drubbing! The reason for all of this is simple, Everyman Sets only can contain sets of coins which are graded up to and including AU58.
    Now, I have see a few large EBAY dealers who think that they are crafty, devious and smarter than the rest of us, try and jack their prices up to as high as 20X sheet prices on AU58 coins. The beauty of this is the fact that these jacanapes can only do this with PCGS coins and not NGC. So, their little clever ploy is doomed to failure across the board! Too bad and solely so sad! I have now quit Ebay, or tried to. They made up a rule that I can not quit for 180 days after the last transaction! What dishonest little jokes Ebay plays. Try and call Ebay on the phone and get a straight answer on any issue, absolute nonsense and stupid, made-up rules.
    Once the market settles back to some level of AU price sanity, I intend to avail myself of this opportunity and be free of the hard edged guilt and overwhelming time wasting of trying to play it straight with these guys in the high grade coin registry which is a losing proposition if I ever saw one at least for me, retired and on a fixed income. I had my day. Time for others to play!
    Obscured sets, who cares? Even they are not proud enough to obscure AU sets and have it awe we mere mortals to silence!