• 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.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Stalking the Prey

Started by TomB,

29 posts in this topic

TomB

TomB

Posted
Posted

Have you ever seen a coin and knew you had to have it, but couldn't pry it out of the other collector's hands? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif If so, then you know the feeling that I had about a certain coin that I saw at yesterday's Parsippany show.

 

There is a collector/dealer whom I am a friend with who has a terrific eye for coins. He has some absolutely wonderful pieces and I have been star-crossed with one or two of them. The first is a terrific Type I SLQ that I had seen at a show but that I simply could not afford at the time. 893frustrated.gif So, in the interest of keeping the coin in the hands of someone I knew, I showed my friend the coin and he immediately purchased it. It is securely in his collection. Another piece he owns is a killer Type I Buffalo that he bought at a Baltimore show just moments before I reached the table where he purchased the coin. 893frustrated.gif If I had gotten to the table first, it would have been my coin long ago. I would love to own both pieces, but I am out of luck on these. He also owns, however, about the prettiest business strike Seated Liberty with legend dime that I have ever seen and this coin has only crossed my path while in his possession. It is the finest piece in his collection, in my opinion.

 

The first time I saw this coin was when he took it out to show me and the coin immediately knocked me against the wall and beat me about the face. flamed.gif It then graciously helped me up and let me examine it. 893whatthe.gif Wow! It's only in an MS65 holder but it has a thin, well-delineated electric blue ring about the entire obverse. This circles a nearly uniform bright orange-gold throughout the entire obverse. The reverse has an almost perfectly symmetrical ring of medium blue that surrounds another near perfect circle of burnt orange, which frames a blasty, silvery patina center. The reverse is borderline MS67 in quality while the obverse is comfortably within MS65. The luster pours from the coin as if powered by a flashlight from within. The coin has a soul. Are there higher graded coins in the series? Yes. Are there higher graded coins for this date? You bet. Are there prettier business strikes for the series? Probably, but I have never seen one in-hand. shocked.gif

 

Each time I see the coin I always have to ask him if it's for sale and he always tells me that when it becomes available he will let me know. Well, yesterday he approached the table that I share and he had with him a single box of coins. Unfortunately, at the same time, someone else approached me with two complete sets of MS Washington quarters (1932 1998). The owner of the Washington sets had never met me but had specifically come to the show so that I could look at the coins and give him an idea of what he had. I had to be the one to break the news to him that his '32-D was a cleaned AU, that his '32-S was an AU, that his '34-D, '35-S and '37-S were all wiped and that his '35-D and '36-D were lightly polished. That was from his nicer set. 893frustrated.gif While doing this I could see my friend fidgeting while standing around and I didn't want him to leave.

 

Once I had a chance to look through the box of coins from my friend I noticed that the first coin was THE DIME! I gasped and he shook his head and said, knowingly, "That's your dime". I went through the box and asked if everything was for sale, he grudgingly said yes. I asked how much for the dime. He hemmed. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif He hawed. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif He beat a strategic retreat. 893frustrated.gif893frustrated.gif893frustrated.gif

 

"I wasn't certain I wanted to sell that coin."

 

"It's going to be a lot of money."

 

"Is there anything else you're interested in?"

 

"Let me go around and see if I can sell other coins first before I sell this one."

 

I again asked how much for the dime. He made the tactical mistake of telling me a price in excess of two times Greysheet. I immediately said yes. He told me again he wasn't certain and that he would come back with a decision before he left. Needless to say, I didn't think I would get the dime. 893frustrated.gif As he came back to my table, just before he left, he pulled the dime from the box and said he needed as much cash as I had for it and that the rest could be in check. I quickly wrote a check and his hand shook while he gently put the dime on the table. He shook my hand firmly and said he was glad it was going to me since he knew it would have a good home. grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

 

This coin is a true killer and I have to thank my friend for his generosity in selling it to me.

grin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stman

stman

Posted
Posted

Great story Tom, and glad you got to give that baby a new home. It's always nice to get the piece we really want. Sometimes price is not the biggest factor if it's a must have. Don't get me wrong price has to matter to a certain extent...... but I've never regretted "stepping up" for a great coin. Congratulations!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
truthteller

truthteller

Posted
Posted

Great story. I have lived this experience many times. Some dealers are hesitant on selling me a gorgeous commem because I might resell it at a profit. So I tell them, the coin stays in my collection. They are relieved to hear that, although I pay dearly for my honesty. makepoint.gif

 

 

 

TRUTH

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TomB

TomB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Ahhh...Jeremy...yes, you should have gone to the show. foreheadslap.gif Not only that, but I had 30 wonderfully toned raw Roosevelts with me that I have been putting away for the last several years. These were some of the nicest toned dimes I have seen, that's why I bought them to begin with. At this time I may have to liquidate some of them. 893whatthe.gif

 

Here's an obverse scan of THE DIME. Please note that the scan looks like [!@#%^&^] compared to the coin in-hand. The piece actually glows.

355539-1a.jpg.ddc0aea73685aa0a054f262a2124eb2a.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TomB

TomB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So, andy007, do you want a ten-day return privilege on the coin after you finish the payments? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

Here's the reverse scan of THE DIME. You will note how much I am emphasizing that these are scans because the coin is waaaaaay nicer in person than in a scan. By the way, DaveG was at the table as I bought this coin and I think his exact quote when he looked at it was a doubled-over exclamation of "Holy [!@#%^&^]!"

355543-2a.jpg.2ae34634379e35ff5136e6512646e556.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EVillageProwler

EVillageProwler

Posted
Posted

Nice story, Tom. Congrats on your successful pursuit. Also, please post an image of your 1796 25C.

 

I have a story of my own too...

 

Several years ago, I was sitting in an auction with a buddy of mine. He points out another guy (beboplawyer from across the street) that he just met. It turns out that I know his cousin. It also turned out that we are competitors, and that I was shutting him out on a bunch of Seated Dollars that he also wanted. So, up comes this utterly gorgeous 76S TD with the T2 obverse. It was in this old NGC MS61 slab, and looked shot 63 to me. I bid, he bid. I looked at him and felt sorry and put my paddle down.

 

Years later, after I've made real progress with my TD set and he's gone nowhere, he discusses with his wife and then he tells me that he'd sell me the coin at a trivial amount over what he paid for the coin. The coin is now in a PCGS MS62 slab, but folks still think it's a shot 63.

 

But, that's not why I like this coin. I like it because it has tremendous eye appeal. It is well struck and PL. It is also patinated with a mostly light to medium champagne toning.

 

The three of us -- beboplawyer, our other buddy and I -- basically have a small set of coins where we'd never let it leave the family. Not for any amount of money. We'd rather dump the coin to one of the other two than to see it go to an outsider. I believe that this coin is one of them...

 

EVP

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DaveG

DaveG

Posted
Posted

I have to say that the scans, at least on my monitor, don't do the coin justice at all!

 

What Tom didn't say, was that after I said "Holy @$#%!" He said "Don't say that! I'm trying to buy the coin! Say that after I've bought it!"

 

The dime really jumps at you. The obverse toning is an amazing electric blue!

 

By the way, Tom needs to raise some cash to pay for that dime, as well as a totally original PCGS-35 1815 half dollar. (It was gorgeous; a light battleship gray all over; well-struck, with a full "E Pluribus Unum" and excellent detail on Liberty's hair.) So he may actually be willing to sell some of those Roosevelts!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wihlborg

Wihlborg

Posted
Posted

27_laughing.gif27_laughing.gif27_laughing.gifsign-funnypost.gif

 

If I could just find another 1893 Columbian that l like more than that one mommam17, your chase will be over and you will have bagged your prey! grin.gif

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TomB

TomB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

To tell the truth, berycoin, with "weak Photoshop skills", has caught the look of the coin with tremendous accuracy. Thanks! smile.gif

 

It is also true that I immediately told DaveG not to say anything about how nice the coin in question was, however, I want to explain why. It had less to do with potentially jeopardizing the deal, which I knew at this point would go through, and more to do with protecting the wounded feelings of my friend after he sold the coin. I didn't want him feeling worse than I knew he already did but I didn't want to come out and say that directly. This is why my statements might have seemed confusing; I was using tact. shocked.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DaveG

DaveG

Posted
Posted

Tom: Oh, TACT! foreheadslap.gif There's very little call for that around here. Next, I suppose you'll want to use irony, too grin.gif

 

By the way, Berylcoin's image still doesn't do the coin justice (in my memory, at any rate) - the center of the coin is much more white and the blue toning is much more electric. (Of course, Tom does have the coin to compare to the image, so maybe he's right.) At any rate, the coin is truly incredible.

 

By the way, Tom, have you sold enough yet so that you don't have to sleep on the couch? devil.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TomB

TomB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

You're correct about your memory of the coin, but the image is still waaaaay better than my sorry attempt at an image. Some or all of the Roosevelts that I sent off for slabbing will have to be parted with when they return so that I can get back into the bed. frown.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing