Regrets.....thoughts and opinions

[kryptonitecomics]

I know there are many folks who have had to sell coins or collections of coins under less than optimal circumstances. It goes without saying that in many instances.....we all have regrets and are sad about the loss of our treasured heirlooms.

 

I am in the unique position and rather painful one in that the coins that I collected were very unique and one of a kind as toned coins tend to have there own finger print so to speak. Tonight I have come across 3 coins that I used to own and had to sell due to my divorce. I know that I am not the only one that this has happened too so I wanted to get some insight from other folks that may have gone through a similar situation. How did this affect you.......?

 

Example:

 

This is a coin that I bought from BWRC in a PCGS 65RB holder.....along with the coin came a NGC 66RB lable which was proof of it's previous home in an NGC slab...........Now I see it is for sale in a 66RB NGC slab...which I believe is the correct grade. The picture does not due this coin justice as the obverse has cheery red toning and the reverse is a yin and yang of 50% Hot Pink and 50% Silver toning......very strange combination but quite the looker in hand.

 

1887 Indian Cent NGC Proof 66 R&B (TOP POP 14/0)

 

:( :( :(

[robec1347]

It appears the winner paid a fair price for it. How did you come out when you sold it?

[MikeKing]

different things forced me to sell in the course of my life, illness was one of them, not divorce. I look back at it only to wish I had kept very few of them, because i learned there was always room for improvement. There are two, three, or four that really irk me for having to let go. One is my 1814 Bust Half, a story I went into on here but deleted out of deference to the feelings of the dealer who I'll never deal with again, and for whom I found, several (>5) PMs admitting similar feelings + having dealt with more fair people subsequently, I've only come to realize even more painfully, my mistakes (plural) and the wrong choices I made. But even then there's a lot to learn, like how to stand up for yourself when no one will publically support you, or multiple people go in for the kill to mame you out of their own twisted sense of pride and how they've learned to cover up their own hurt and self-disillusionment.

 

oops, I'm getting too philosophical.

 

But the point I want to focus on is this 1814. Sometimes I think I should just keep the 1814 slot empty so I'll perpetually be reminded of my own stupidity, but rubbing the salt in the wound is really not a helathy thing.

 

So perhaps, if patient, time will bring you (and me), something that will more than adequately compensate for the loss, and thru that loss, either you've been spared a coin that shouldn't have been in your collection no matter how good you thought it was, or leave you open to some other possibility that...if your astute enough...will prove even better for your collection in the long run.

 

Nothing happens for no reason, so rather than sweat if, grab it by the horns and let it take you to a far better place that maybe you have yet to imagine. Growth.

[kryptonitecomics]

Good Sentiment Mike...Thanks (thumbs u

 

Bob...I don't remeber how much I sold the coin for as it was consigned to Heritage for the FUN show but I know I took a bath on most coins so I can only assume I took a bath on that one as well

 

Update...here is the link....yep took a bath vs what I paid.....

 

PCGS 1887 PR65 RB

 

 

Here is a better image of the coin....but it still doesn't show the true color of the coin once tilted slightly....

 

[robec1347]

I've been through one of those big D's before myself. Luckily I was able to keep my small box of coins, and 30 years ago it was small. The great thing is, you, as I was back then, are smarter and still young enough to have a great new start. No looking back and nothing holding you back. Good luck to you Shane. (thumbs u

 

BTW that is a great looking Indian.

[WinstonWare]

I haven’t had to sell any coins due to unfortunate financial obligations but I have had to sell some in order to obtain other coins. It’s difficult to let coins that you really enjoy go. I can sympathize with that.

[MikeInFL]

Shane,

 

I can only guess how hard something like that must be...

 

While never having been in that position before, I've had the opportunity to purchase several coins from collectors, and have offered the coin back should they ever want to buy it back (along with my thanks for letting me take care of it for a while). After all, that's the way I would like to be treated if ever in that situation.

 

That said, I've also had one dealer approach me to try and buy back coins he sold me in the past. At the risk of sounding hypocritical, I must admit that I didn't sell it back to them ( ) -- although I never made the same committment to the dealer, I did tell him that if he finds a better example I'll buy that and sell him back his coin.

 

Sorry to see your old coins still haunting you, and here's hoping your past purchases pale in comparison to your future ones...Mike

[bsshog40]

I may be in the position to having to sell some coins for financial reasons. I have been able to face the fact tho', that these are materials items that eventually, with good fortune, I will be able to replace. I lost my first collection to my first wife. Luckily, it really didn't amount to a whole lot at the time. Now I have more of a collection than I ever have. I may have to lose some of this collection, but I know it's not the end. Material things don't seem to effect me as much as life does. I would give all I own to be able to change some things. Most coins get sold over and over again. The opportunity to purchase your own coins back may come before you ever realize it. JMO

[GAB]

Wow, that's a pretty good flip for the guy that bought it from you.

60% in less than a year! It looks like eBay is a better place to sell

than a Heritage auction - at least based on this coin? Or - a statement

on how hot nice IHC's are right now?

[realone]

Shane,

you are young, this side step and that is all it is will be behind you soon. You will go on to acquire even nicer pieces. It seems every time I miss an opportunity or are forced to do something that I don't really want to do, and I think that I will never be able to right the situation or replace that item I subsequently find an even nicer piece. It just seems to always happen that way even with genetic or innate bad luck. But you got to be out there in the thick of it scouring for that find , doing the hard work, being in the market and when you aren't giving up in the least all of a sudden when you last expect it boom you find the one (for that time at least) and it feels even better considering what you had to do (or went through) to get it. We have talked via e-mail before and you are a sharp collector who knows his stuff so have faith and you will look back and be glad you made it through the school of rough times. And lastly this is really minor stuff in your long successful career as a collector it just doesn't appear that way right now when the wounds are fresh and you are not seeing clearly.

I have only been in this hobby for 2 years, but 2 years ago I bought $25K worth of raw classics from some of the local B&M's in my neck of the woods, do I have to tell you that after sending them in to pcgs practically all came back bbed or drastically lower grades. I was so pissed at them and finally at myself for not educating myself first, that I ended up selling them all back to the B&M's for a major loss to the tune of $10k and that was the cost of my Numismatic College Education. Not proud of my stupidity but learned from it and now I am a little less stupid, my marks weren't that terrific and I am addicted what can I say.

[kryptonitecomics]

Thanks for the words of encouragement folks.......it seems like so much has gone wrong in the past year that things will never be the same again but I know that is becuase I still haven't moved on completely. I know time heals all wounds and I know the loss of one collection can mean the rebirth of a new one so I am trying to remain patient.

 

I do love the challenge of a good hunt on a budget so I will just have to get down in the trenches and look for those diamonds in the rough

[WinstonWare]

As a side note, it is really good to have you back on the boards!

[BillJones]

I've been fortunate in that I have never had to sell a coin because of financial pressure. Having said that I have sold coins that now wish I still had. The vast majority of these regrets are based on the fact that I could sell those items for a lot more today. In those cases I really can’t kick myself too much because I plowed the money back into other coins.

 

The only BIG regret I have concerns a 1795 large cent I sold many years ago when I was putting together the funds to buy a Gobrecht dollar. The coin was the “super common” S-76b, but I still miss it. The cent is probably in an MS-63, brown holder today, but that’s not the most important aspect of it.

 

Many of these early coins, even in high grade have distracting mint caused defects. Usually the planchet had something wrong with it when the coin was struck. This piece was stuck on a great planchet and looked like a nice piece of chocolate. I’ve looked a number of 1795 large cents, but none of them have measured up to that piece.

 

I have collector regret, and that is the only type of regret about selling a coin that stays with me.

 

[cpm9ball]

Thanks for the words of encouragement folks.......it seems like so much has gone wrong in the past year that things will never be the same again but I know that is becuase I still haven't moved on completely. I know time heals all wounds and I know the loss of one collection can mean the rebirth of a new one so I am trying to remain patient.

 

I do love the challenge of a good hunt on a budget so I will just have to get down in the trenches and look for those diamonds in the rough

 

Yes, Shane, it is good to have you back! It is sad to have things like this happen, but you must look at it positively and learn from the experience. Once you are able to accept it for what it is, you will find that you can put it behind you, and it will never happen again for one simple reason................................ PRENUP!

 

Chris

 

 

[kryptonitecomics]

I don't like tooting my own horn but this was self inflicted really. I tried to do the right thing and sell off all of our joint Marital assets to pay off joint bills prior to the divorce........so as far as joint assets I lost my 2006 Hummer, 1970 Corvette, Coin collection, Baseball Card collection etc.......her contribution was....$0

 

And then she moved out and left me with 3 CC's and 2 Mortages which she was legally obligated to pay. I think the real moral of this story is do not bury yourself to win them back no matter how much you love them becuase in the end......you will lose everything and quite possibly your dignity.

 

The good news is I have joint custody of my kids and they are worth more than all of the 1804 Silver Dollars in the world to me so I am richer for still being a huge part of their lives. <3

 

 

and......It's good to be back among friends

[joejeweler-migration]

About 4 years ago i was leaving a jewelry store where i had been an independent contractor in jewelery repair for 8 years in a mall setting. It was a good paying position (between $900 to $1,500 most weeks), as the store owner and i split all repairs down the middle. I used my own tools, steamer, and work bench. 7 day weeks averaging 65 hours out to 100 hours the few weeks before Christmas! 3 days off a year,....Xmas, Easter, & Thanksgiving as those were the days the mall closed.

 

BUT...............the store owner decided to cut me out of all scrap gold buys,.....which had offset in my mind waiting on customers during busy times at no compensation to me. (50/50 on repairs was it). So i gave notice and actually left when i saw an ad in the local paper with the store phone number seeking a new jeweler! Funny thing is i didn't burn the bridge, and actually buy their scrap gold every week, and haveeven financed some multi-thousand dollar needs of theirs from time to time,.....and paid back some with every gold purchase.

 

Anyway,.....long way to get to that upon leaving,.......i was a bit worried about meeting current and future financial obligations and decided to sell my 20 coin collection made up of a lot of key date and other tough coins. I made two trips to Baltimore, and i raised over $80,000 in total. Each trip i was able to get my entire selection sold within about 1/2 hour,......as i focused on eye appealing, accurately graded key date material. (There's a lesson here!)

 

Among the coins i "Wish" i could get back was the Eliasberg example 1915 NGC PF68 Barber half with wonderful old albumn toning on both sides. It would surely rate a star, but was graded before they did that. Fantastic mirrors,......simply amazing. Somewhere along the lines i lost the obverse image, ...which was actually a bit nicer than the reverse with more vibrant orange & gold in the centers.......but here is the reverse:

 

 

This coin was originally bought by Laura Sperber (Legend) as a raw coin in the Eliasberg auction, and later sent to NGC somewhere along the way. I purchased it from Anaconda for $16,000 , and they kindly allowed me to pay them out over about a year as funds were much tighter back then.

 

At the Baltimore show Laura bought it back, and sadly (for me! ),......i was informed the coin would go into their personal collection probably not to exit! I've yet to see a Barber half i liked better,....

 

Another coin i sold at that time was a nicely toned PCGS MS64RB 1877 Indian cent,......i still look for the cert number when i can to see if it turns up. It had mild olive toning highlights on the obverse and rose highlights on the reverse,......with PQ surfaces in the truest sense.

 

I had paid around $4,900 from Ira Stein,......and a year later Rick Snow snatched it up for $5,500, which was over sheet at the time but the coin was really nice. Today i'd pay $9K for it if i could find it! The obverse pic doesn't show the olive highlights very well,.....the reverse is better with the rose.

 

If anyone comes across it,.....the PCGS cert # is 2128.64/21132992

 

 

A rather nicely toned NGC MS64 1937-D 3 Leg Buffalo also went away (i've since replaced with an even prettier NGC MS65 with rainbows on both sides and super luster for the issue), as well as a beautifully toned NGC 1828 MS66 Bust Half that i often had to wipe my drool off when i had the pleasure to study it. A 1955 Double Die Lincoln in PCGS MS65RB was another,......and a SUPER MS66RB PCGS 1909-S VDB Lincoln that WAS full red,........except that it had ever the slightest bit of woodgrain effect to the alloy mix only noticable under magnification. I was told PCGS would not full red any 09 VDB when any woodgrain was present,.....not sure if that's still or was the case. The dealer i sold it to was going to break it out and submit to NGC,.......i suspect it now resides in a RD holder. The last coin i have regrets selling was a PCGS MS64 Flat Rim $20 High Relief St Gaudens,........and the 2 years i owned it never seemed to move at all in the sheets. (around the $17K i paid) Now they're $26-$27K as i recall. Nice strike and few marks,......and flat rim a bonus.

 

Last coin i can remember was an NGC 1795 AU58 flowing hair half dime that had absolutely NO luster breaks,.....so in "reality" was a MS coin. However, the reverse eagle had the typical weak strike, and was probably "market graded" by the service. A super clean coin to boot,.......nary a tic.

 

SO............"These WERE just some of my favorite things"......as the song goes.

 

Sad to report i found work just a few months after i sold them all,......and could have easily managed without selling a single coin!

 

Damn you had to remind me of this all over again!!!!!!!

 

 

[kryptonitecomics]

Yes well I can see why you would regret having to let go of some of those beauties......seems like the prices go up and up and my finances go down and down....

[joejeweler-migration]

Well,....it's all relative. Remember that if we buy enough nice coins,.........

 

 

We ALL run out of funds!

[joejeweler-migration]

I feel your pain! I was married to my first and , up to now,.....ONLY true love for 15 years. She was 15 when we met and was a Jehovah's Witness. I was a few years older,.....but KNEW she was the one. While we dated waiting for her to become 18,........we had chaparones anywhere we went. (mostly her younger brother). Never really left alone (young hormones and all),.......for 2 1/2 years we "struggled" until we could marry. Once in awhile we'd be doing the dishes at her parents home,......and could sneak a long kiss. But if the dishes weren't rattling we'd get told about it,.....so it was just a few short moments that we could "cuddle". Our wedding night WAS our first night together!

 

Anyway,.....15 years and 2 wonderful children later, both of whom have now passed thru a highly respected local polytechnic college on full scholorship, she finally walked out on me. This was in 1992,......and i was always hopefull we'd get back together again so i held off dating for another 3 years or so. I had started going to casinos leaning to play serious blackjack,......and her religious backround couldn't handle it.

 

One time after a decent win (6 months into the split), i decided to purchase her a late model car,..... a 3 year old Chevy Caprice station wagon,.......since her old car had a rotty frame and she was still driving my kids around in it. It cost $12,000,.......and even though the car resulted from a casino win,.......she took the car! (smart girl,.....'cept when it comes to me!)

 

I always knew we were a good gene pool mix,....as my daughter was validictorian of her high school, and my 4 year older son was salutorian in his. He won the local school spelling bee once (four schools involved),......and my daughter later won it TWICE!

 

Anyway,.....i never filed for a divorce,......but in 2000 she decided to do it, and i couldn't find the soul to fight her on it. The grounds she sited still bugs me today,...."Abandonment for a period of a year or more".

 

She walks out,......gets $600 a month child support (ended a few years ago,.....around $110K paid out) and extras (like the car and later repairs and other financial help when needed),......not to mention repeated pleadings to come back as i still love her,......and the grounds she uses in the divorce application was "abandonment". !%$&*#@!

 

Worst part is i missed out on a lot of the day to day upbringing of my kids,......weekends doesn't really cut it. My son was 12 and my daughter 8 when we split,........and i can't relate what a hole i still feel in my chest for what i missed out on.

 

........................still carry several pictures of us in my wallet, and would help her any way i could if the need arose. She's about 48 years old now,.....and times are getting tough out there with more to come. This year i've been thinking of giving her a fairly large stash of my gold holdings to make her older years a bit easier.

 

50 ounces of gold would give her a bit more security, as i know it's getting harder and harder to do the job she's had since we were married,......part time house cleaning for other families. Old bones don't bend so good!

 

..............yep,.....still think about her regularly,......wish we could get a "do-over" in life. I guess love doesn't always end just because a marriage does. Sorry if this all sounds a bit riduculous,.......just the way it is. I doubt just before they plant me i'll feel any different...............

 

 

.........hope you feel a bit better,.........'cause i'm not feeling so good right now! ( at least i can laugh a bit about it now,.........time heals some of it) Money can be replaced,.......it's the people and emotional things that can't. You;ll get more coins down the line,.....as i have. Some will even be nicer than the ones you lost, as in my case.

 

But some,....like the Eliasberg NGC 1915 PF68 Barber Half,.....that sucker will haunt me forever!

 

 

I don't like tooting my own horn but this was self inflicted really. I tried to do the right thing and sell off all of our joint Marital assets to pay off joint bills prior to the divorce........so as far as joint assets I lost my 2006 Hummer, 1970 Corvette, Coin collection, Baseball Card collection etc.......her contribution was....$0

 

And then she moved out and left me with 3 CC's and 2 Mortages which she was legally obligated to pay. I think the real moral of this story is do not bury yourself to win them back no matter how much you love them becuase in the end......you will lose everything and quite possibly your dignity.

 

The good news is I have joint custody of my kids and they are worth more than all of the 1804 Silver Dollars in the world to me so I am richer for still being a huge part of their lives. <3

 

 

and......It's good to be back among friends