Sleepers posted by Jackson

[CSJournals-migration]

still here and still loving the hobby

 

Hi all who enjoy the journals. I know that I'm not as active on the chat boards or journaling but I am still visiting auctions on-line, and am always on the hunt for deals and coins that have that look that I love.

 

As many of you may remember, I get a special thrill out of roll hunting and lot buying. Not the typical "roll from the bank" hunting but mostly ebay roll hunting. I try and but rolls from the Walker half or mercury dime series as close to bullion/melt cost. Then I'll search through for varieties, semi-keys or higher grade coins. I pick these out and add the remainder of the rolls to my silver holdings ( or I'll replace the coins I found from my holdings and re-sell the roll so I can buy more to hunt through). It's not for everyone and there are lots and lots of junk silver rolls out there but the hidden gems is what makes it a thrill.

 

Well I finally got around to submitting a few of the nicer scarce date coins I've found-- along with my 2 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Sets. The silver Eagle's didn't do great-not bad, just not great. One set got 3 PF/MS 70's= the reverse proof, the regular proof and the "S" coin...the other set was all 69's. ( For what it's worth-excuse the spam but if anyone is interested, I'll sell the complete 69 set-they are in PCGS Secure Plus slabs all with the the 25th Anniversary Set connotation-$700 flat-contact me).

Anyhow, the good news was 2 of the "bullion" coins were a 1920-D and a 1919. The 1919 got a VF30 and the 1920-D got a whopping XF45 !! Not bad for melt value.

I feel like I rescued these coins too. They were in the hands of someone who inherited them or had them for years in a shoebox and had no idea of their scarcity.

I looked at POPS and I was extremely surprised to find that the 1920-D is the lowest pop graded coin in the whole series with PCGS grading just 541, the next lowest was the 23-S at 630. The low mintage 1921's all had 1300+ graded ( probably because even an F12 is worth quite a few bucks). For what it's worth--it also is quite surprising to find that the lowest short set pop is actually the 1942-D for total graded and least graded in MS.

I've added 4 or 5 Barber Halves to my "Fine" set- all coins being F12 to XF45. I also sent away an 1854-O Seated Half I bought raw and got a nice XF40 grade for it. Not going to be worth a lot but I was just happy to see it in a slab since I got it raw.

So now with silver having been manipulated down by Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs etal..it is buying and hunting time for more rolls!!

May all of your hunting trips also find an occasional semi-treasure. Happy hunting everyone.

 

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[coinsbygary]

Cool post, years ago I bought a 200 coin unsearched Mercury Dime lot to plug holes in an album. The lot had a few good dates (1945 micro S to name one) and a few well worn Barber Dimes. With the leftover coins I assembled short sets and resold them. The scarce dates (1921) I bought raw. In all it was a lot of fun and relatively inexpensive. One of the few certified coins in the set is a AG-3 1916-D.

Gary

[jayman1970]

A 1919 and a 1920D for melt value is a great find.I guess it does pay to be persistant!!!

[jackson64]

Yes, those are some nice finds. I have also found quite a few 1918-D, 1923-S etc etc in F to VF grade worth $50 to $80 each. The problem with these coins is that it really isn't worth spending the $30+ for slabbing coins that are less than $100 in value ( jmo).

 

Gary..you definitely understand what I was trying to describe. It is the thrill of discovery. We both have in common also that thrill of discovery when we find an undiscovered coin that would make an attractive addition to our Signature/Custom sets. Like you with the Inspirational ladies--when I discover a beautiful coin with a sailing ship it gives me a thrill.

 

I also have built an XF+/AU Walker short set album--all from rolls. Although not on par with building a complete Mercury album from lots/rolls.. it is nice to have such a matching quality and appearance set from bulk rolls by slowly picking and then swapping on and on until I felt it was done.

 

I'll tell one other story about this variety hunting and roll searching that I did in the past. Back about 10-15 years ago when the spread of value for the 1938-D buffalo nickel versus the 1938 D/D and D/S was much greater, I used to hunt for those overdates-RPM's also. Sometimes you could even find old PCGS rattlers or NGC fatties labeled as 38-D when the coin in the slab was an unattributed 38-D/D or 38 D/S. I'd find these, buy them, then send them in for variety attribution. Since the grade was already given for the coin the cost for variety was cheaper and the difference in value made it worth the effort..not so much anymore since grading fees and shipping have soared and the value spread has closed on the variety.

In the end though it was not about netting $30 or $40 bucks for each one I found, it was about the finding, hunting and discovery--that is where the thrill often is in numismatics for me.

I am a bit of a coin "romantic" in that I still believe there are many undiscovered stashes and hoards laying around buried in yards, in boxes in attics or old war chests--just waiting to be brought back into the world for us collectors.......

[Walkerfan]

That is simply amaaaazzing that you got a problem free, XF45, 1920-D for melt or near!! I am very impressed. Congrats to you!!!