Ten Years Ago Today I Bought A Cool Coin & Started A Thread About It

[TomB]

It’s pretty frightening to be on these boards long enough to write two threads about the same coin ten years apart, but here we are. It is perhaps even more frightening to not only write two threads about the same coin ten years apart, but to also remember that I had written the first thread in time to write the second thread.

 

This thread is not about a pop-top coin, it is not about an uber- expensive coin, it is not about a coin in a rare slab and it is not about a coin in an exotic series. It is simply about a 1947-S Washington quarter in a PCGS MS66 holder. The 1947-S Washington quarter issue can be had with a terrific strike, fantastic luster, pristine surfaces and even great, colorful toning. It might be thought of as the big tuna of Washington quarters in that it might take less searching to find a wonderful coin of this date than of most any other in the series. In fact, PCGS has graded multiple 1947-S Washington quarters as MS68, which is as high as PCGS is willing to grade Washington quarters and quarters at that grade level are truly scarce, if not rare, indeed. In contrast, the grade of MS66 is extremely common for a coin such as this, which makes the issue quite similar to the 1881-S Morgan dollar. So, why would I write two threads about such a boring coin; perhaps because the coin itself and the circumstances surrounding its acquisition were not so boring.

 

In June, 2002 I came across an auction on ebay where the seller had listed a 1947-S Washington quarter in a PCGS MS66 slab and the seller stated that the coin had “rainbow” colors. Well, I had to take a look at such a coin and what I saw was a drab, dark brown glob of a coin that might better be described as environmentally damaged rather than as “rainbow”. In other words, the coin looked rather nasty in the eye appeal department, however, the coin imaged was a 1947 Washington and not a 1947-S Washington. Therefore, I copied the URL address of the image and changed it to a URL address that I thought would correspond to a 1947-S Washington based on how the seller set up his link. Once I did that, a wonderful image appeared. The coin that showed up on my monitor was lively and attractively toned with rings of color on the obverse and a more speckled pattern on the reverse. I would have been delighted to buy the 1947-S Washington, and was obviously not interested at all in the 1947 Washington.

 

Early in the auction I emailed the seller and told him he had the wrong link up for his image. I received no reply. Two days later I emailed him again to tell him that even though he had the wrong link up, I was able to see the actual image of the coin and that he should change or edit his link. Again, there was no reply. I ended up bidding on the coin and believe I was the only bidder. It was purchased for $42, which included shipping, and this was and remains substantially less than it is worth. This all happened because of the URL and subsequent image error. Apparently, the seller entered the wrong URL for the image and none of the potential bidders on ebay that looked at the image figured out that it was not the coin described, or they simply didn't figure out how to determine what the seller's URL would be for the proper image. Overall, I obtained a superbly toned coin for almost nothing because the seller did not check his listing; never answered his email and other bidders didn't pay attention to the details of the coin. I received the coin ten years ago today and it's even nicer than the image suggests.

 

[jayman1970]

A great story and a fantastic looking quarter!!!

[grip]

Thats a great story Tom.Also a nice looking coin.

Al

[MJ]

Great coin and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy and I mean that. BTW I own exactly one Washington quarter. It happens to be a 47-S and it's former owner was.... TomB. When the dealer told me it came from Tom I just wrote the check. It is also a stunner that is even better looking in hand. The reverse looks like it was stuck by a bull and it's looks like a medal. MJ

[dimefreak]

I thought you were going to tell the story about the 1939D

[Walkerfan]

Great story, Tom. That was pretty smart of you to do what you did and it paid off....sometimes we get lucky. Congrats!! That is one great Washington!!

[jerseycat10]

awesome coin. better story. url manipulation is a great tool to have in your toolbox.

[cpm9ball]

Way to go, Tom, but I do have to add that I get so disgusted because I've seen so many beautifully toned 1947 coins on these forums over the years and it irritates me no end. You see, I was born in 1947, and I don't have a single one of them.

 

Chris

[mkman123]

Great story!! Like MJ said, couldn't have happened to a better guy.....your a great person who treats everyone with respect no matter what their budget is, don't ever change

[rrantique]

That's a beautiful coin Tom (thumbs u

[nunfa0]

Great coin and story Tom. Remebering a thread you started 10 years ago is a reason to celebrate, it means your brain is still firing on most of it's cylinders!!

[MJ]

Great coin and story Tom. Remebering a thread you started 10 years ago is a reason to celebrate, it means your brain is still firing on most of it's cylinders!!

 

Tom's brain barely fits in his head. MJ

[Bruceswar]

I remember this coin well the first time... and now again.... sweet! Hey... Sell me that 1936 D!

[leeg]

Great story and coin!

 

(thumbs u

[SkyMan]

That's a Beautiful '47-S Tom! Neat story too. (thumbs u

 

Were you already involved in collecting Washies at that point in time, or was that the one that got you started?

[yonico]

great story and BEAUTIFUL coin.

i enjoyed reading your post

[TomB]

Thank you, all. Sy, the 1947-S was not one of my first WQs; I had already obtained quite a few really nice coins by that time. Of course, it is always difficult to find the truly wonderful pieces, so whenever you manage to find one it also gets the juices flowing to find more.

[DaveG]

OK - it's a nice story and a nice quarter. . .

 

 

but it's still only a WQ.

 

 

 

Everyone knows your 1796 quarter is way cooler!

 

 

[Keigwin]

Very pretty, Tom. Diligence, and a bit of detective work, really pays off.

Lance.

[erickso1]

I read the post title to fast the first time. I thought it said "Ten years ago today I got cool and started a thread about it" to which I blew my coffee out laughing. A deeper look lead me to think I may have misread.

 

Sweet Washington. Love the backstory too. Stay cool!

 

[mkman123]

I think Tom has held onto that coin for far too long. Sell it via auction here! :D

[Kurtdog]

I could eat that thing! Delicious! (thumbs u