Thank you Pinnacle!

[Wihlborg]

As most of you know, one of my primary collecting interests is early silver Commemoratives. I have been working on putting a complete 144 coin set together for a few years now, and during that whole time I have been looking for a nice, eye appealing Lafayette dollar that was either white or nicely toned to add to my set. I decided that I wanted a nice MS-64 example, as I could not justify the large price difference between an MS-64 and MS-65.

 

Trying to find a nice eye appealing Lafayette dollar in any grade is not as easy as it may seem for a few reasons.

 

First, at the time they were minted, little to no care was taken to preserve the quality of the coins.

 

Second, at the time they were minted there was very little collector interest in the coins so most of the 36,000 of them that were distributed were not preserved well for future collectors.

 

And third, the Lafayette dollar is one of the key coins to both The 50 coin type set and the 144 complete set and as such it is always in demand, so when a nice one does become available it is snapped up fairly quick by those collectors looking to add one to their sets.

 

Most of the examples of Lafayette dollars that I have seen have been less than eye appealing to say the least. Most were plagued by large bag marks, ugly toning, and dull luster.

 

Well, finally, yesterday while checking out Pinnacle’s web site I found the Lafayette dollar that I have been searching for. I had them send it overnight and received it today.

 

Here it is.

The centers of the coin are white with a very light gold tint. The rims are ringed in orange/gold and bright electric blue. The surfaces are very clean compared to most of the other MS-64 graded examples that I have seen, there are a few bag marks, but they are very small and look larger in the image than they do when looking at the coin in hand. The thing that really sets this Lafayette dollar apart from most of the others that I have seen is that it still has bright cartwheel luster!

 

I am very pleased to have been able to add this coin to my set. My long search is over, and my thanks go out to the Pinnacle team for helping me to accomplish my task!

 

John

[JamminJ]

That is one sweet looking dollar, congratulations on your new addition! How many more to go in your 144 coin set?

 

If I were ever seduced back to the ligtside from the darkside it would be classic commems that do it.

 

-JamminJ

[gmarguli]

If I were ever seduced back to the ligtside from the darkside it would be classic commems that do it.

 

 

They are addictive. They are also, in my opinion, the only set (other than a type set) of US coins that wouldn't get boring since there is such variety.

[Wihlborg]

Hi JamminJ,

 

I have 21 more coins to go before the set is complete. About 4 or 5 are keys, the rest aren’t key dates, but they are issues that are difficult to find nice. If you get the time, check my set out. I have images and descriptions of all the coins.

 

Thanks for your congratulations!

 

John

 

[Weidel Legacy Collection]

John -

My congratulations on your find. That is a magnificent example and the combination of toning and luster really make this dollar shine!

 

I'm on a similar quest to build a complete set of commem's but my search has slowed as I wait for the 'right' pieces to come along. It sure is a lesson in patience

[jom]

What a great coin! I just love a bright center with rim toning.

 

Coooooooooooooooooool

 

jom

[JamminJ]

If you get the time, check my set out. I have images and descriptions of all the coins.

 

I clicked on the link in you sig line above, but received the dreaded "not found" error.

 

-JamminJ

[Hoot]

Just a WONDERFUL piece John! ! ! I agree with all that you have said. The coin is typically dark with virtually no lustre. Many (most?) come with black toning, at least at the edges, and with mottled centers. Yours is simply stunning - superb!

 

Fixed Linky

 

Hoot

[Wihlborg]

Thanks for all the kind comments guys!

 

Jamming, I fixed the links in my sig line. They must have gotten messed up when they upgraded the registry. Thanks for letting me know that they were not working.

 

And thank you Hoot, for making a working link available until I could fix the ones in my sig line.

 

John

[michael]

[errorist]

In reality that coin is MS-66 or Better.

[TomB]

Nice frickin' coin, John, with a heck of a lot of eye appeal. As you know, many of the lighter toned pieces are really simply dipped out, low eye appeal coins. This is the exception to that rule.

[EVillageProwler]

Tom,

 

Remember my Lafayette? I showed it to you in Balt. Doesn't it look too much like John's? Better go check my stuff...

 

EVP

[jom]

Better go check my stuff...

 

Don't bother. I've already taken it.

 

jom

 

[mommam17]

Hey John, really great coin! Lots of eye-appeal!!!

[the_Thing ®]

I'm not a big fan of toned coins, but I have to say I would take that coin along with its toning any day. The toning on that coin, imo, looks better then any "monster" or "rainbow".

[JamminJ]

I took some time tonight to look your commem set over tonight, and I must say I am impressed! The coins are some stunning examples and I also appreciated the writeups which accompanied them.

 

For the record, here are my favorite classic commen types:

Pan Pac

Antietem

Oregon Trail

Pilgrim

Bay Bridge

Texas

 

Does it get a little dull working the larger issues in the set, like the Booker T's GWC and Oregons? With so many of each issue it almost resembles date/mintmark collecting.

 

-JamminJ

[Wihlborg]

Thanks for taking the time to check the set out JamminJ, I’m glad you liked it. The issues that you have listed are some of my favorites also, but I would add to that list the following coins:

 

Albany

California

Gettysburg

Hudson

Missouri

Norfolk

Vancouver

 

As for the question of if it gets dull working on the multi-year issues, it doesn’t seem dull to me. Some of the lowest mintage and hardest to find nice coins are members of the multi-year issue club, so it keeps the adrenaline flowing searching for nice examples.

 

John