PICTURES!!!!!! Coins from the St. Louis show (dial-uppers beware....)

[James_OldeTowne]

Before I begin, PLEASE no accusations of me spamming the boards, OK ? Some of these coins are technically for sale, but the vast majority are for my personal sets, and the truth is, I just want to share some neat coins with my fellow board members.

 

Here's a quickie image of fifteen coins I picked up in St. Louis. It's just a sampling, as I actually bought closer to 75 coins overall.

 

The 1916 and 1917 cents you see below are courtesy of Coleman Foster. The 1916 had gooey, gunky PVC residue, but a simple application of Blue Ribbon revealed a near-gem RB coin. Not bad for fifteen bucks! The 1917 was apparently taped into somebody's album at one time, as I had to acetone off some sticky residue. You can still see evidence of the outline of the tape. It's an UNC coin, but more importantly, I cherry-picked it as a double-die obverse right out from under Coleman's nose . Doesn't happen very often!

 

Here's a Patriotic token of some sort that's actually EF+, but weakly struck off damaged dies. I don't know the variety yet, but it only cost me $25, and I like these. Though the image shows it poorly, the Morgan dollar has a fantastic neon-colored rainbow halfway around the left obverse and upper obverse as well. It's an awesome coin for the grade (just MS-63), and cost me a hundred bucks! Ouch!! There also an 1855 half-dime in AU-55 that cost me $180.

 

The 1794 Pillar Dollar you see here is proof-like, though the image doesn't really show it. I'm talking cameo here, as the bust has a matte texture, and the fields are really reflective. My first thought was "this coin is way too nice, gotta be fake", but I took it to ANACS, and Randy verbalized "defintely genuine, high AU", which matched my estimate of AU-55. I took it to Jonathan Kern to solicit some advice, but he was rather short-answered with me and just blurted out that it's "nothing special". It is to me though, as I haven't seen any other prooflike specimens. Cost me $300, too!

 

Here's my new baby, , a coin that requires little by way of introduction. This is a 1918/7 Standing Liberty Quarter which, in my humble opinion, grades EF-45/AU. I'm calling it EF-40 for my set though, because there are two tiny horizontal pinscratches across the torso that should be accounted for. They are so insignificant that the camera really doesn't show them. I was set back five big bills on this coin, which was about half of what I spent overall!

 

I've always had a fondness for the 1917-D and 1917-S type-two SLQs, and the example you see here is a nice one. I grade it AU-55, with about a 90% full head, and tons of nice, original patina.

 

Of course, Capped Bust coins are always my favorite. Here's an absolutely delightful 1832 O-104, a scarce die-marriage. This coin falls just shy of being a total monster AU due to the presence of four or five vertical hairlines in the left obverse field. They are utterly invisible except at a certain angle, and in no way impede the gorgeous, original luster and patina. The technical grade is AU-55, and I'll be savoring ownership of this coin for awhile!

 

As sometimes happens, early coins that have been lightly cleaned can often take on really nice toning, and this coin exemplifies that. It's an 1810 O-101, characterized by a thin die-crack that begins below the date and circles around the stars on the left side. The coin has that "look" which indicates a mild cleaning in the past, but this is easily forgiven when you see it in-hand. It's a properly-graded NGC AU-55 crackout !

 

I alluded to this 1811 O-104 earlier in my show reports. It was sold to me as MS-61 (uncertified), but I grade it AU-58. What's more important than the technical grade is the knockout strike and in-you-face luster that this coin displays. It looks like it's powered by watch battery! The spot you seen in front of Liberty's nose is a planchet annealing defect that almost looks like carbon, and although perfectionists might find it distracting, I find it extremely appealing due to the character and originality it adds to the coin. This one cost me A LOT, and I expect it to stick around for some time.

 

The 1899 nickel is nothing all that special, just an MS-63 with a pretty good strike. It has a minor scrape at the bottom of the obverse, but overall the eye-appeal is nice. I paid a little too strongly for it (got carried away). The 1935-D is a goof-up on my part. The coin had green PVC goop on it, but I bought it thinking it would turn out OK after a simple conservation. Unfortunately, the PVC had already etched the metal , which I couldn't tell until it was gone. Still, it's a very nice and highly lustrous slider UNC that would now grade AU-58. The coin was intended for my set, along with a 1934-D I bought (more later), but I'll end up losing about $60 on this coin . Oh well, win some lose some !

 

I bought this 1925-S Peace dollar from the same source as the 1935-D quarter just discussed, and it too was covered in green slime. The good news here is that a quick little bath in Blue Ribbon and a careful acetone rinse revealed a really pleasing MS-63 coin! This one makes up for my loss on the quarter, and overall, I should break even on these two coins . More importantly, it fits right into a client's set now, so I'll not have it very long.

 

After the "real" dealers left the show, some locals and vest-pocket dealers cannibalized empty tables to set up their wares. One fellow had a lot of quarters from mint sets that he broke up, and I was able to fill in many late-date gaps in my Washington quarter collection. Check out how many of the late Philly mints I now own! I'll tell you what, time was when I would have choked on paying more than face value for a 1996 Washington quarter! The 1934-D is my only new "page one" coin, and although it appears MS-66+ at first glance, it actually grades only MS-63 due to a faint glimmer of hairlines at one specific angle. But it lacks any abrasions or marks of any kind, and that is what I'm putting a premium on for my set.

 

I made excellent progress on the Indians, especially this last page. Most of these coins are borderline AU/UNC coins, with several showing a hint of original mint red. If only Page One could say the same

 

My Lincoln set is now complete, except for 1922-Plain. The 1912-S that looks weird in the image is the only coin that isn't an even brown color, and that's because I like how it has iridescence on both sides. I'll have to get a closeup image of it one of these days. These coins are consistent EF-45 - AU-55 coins, with care given to finding evenly-colored brown coins. A couple might warrant upgrades, such as 1913-D and 1909-S, but I'm really pleased with how this collection has turned out.

 

Here are my new 1914-D and 1914-S examples, grading EF-40 and EF-45 respectively. I LOVE coins that look like this . They were both purchased raw here at the show, though I traded in a 1914-D in VF-20 toward these coins.

 

Here are pages two and three. These pages are really consistent, with no coins grading below EF, and none above MS-62. Only the 1922 Plain lacks a representative, and I'll probably plug a die-pair one or die-pair three ("weak D") at some point, as a real 1922 Plain (die pair two) would #1 be too expensive and #2 totally not match the set, since all "real" plains have a very weak obverse.

 

Comments/reactions welcome!

 

James

[1946hamm-migration]

James; You might want to have that 1918/7 looked at. It looks like a nice coin but something about it just don't look right to me. It might be the photograph.

 

Gary

[kryptonitecomics]

James...another wonderful post complete with pictures...I love the Pillar dollar...but the rest of the coins as really great as well.

 

I tell you if I didn't know any better I would think you were passionate about coins are something??? Your posts are always very informative and geared toward collectors and I almost always want to go out and buy more coins when I see what you've picked up.

 

Please keep up the great work on posting for the common man and I look forward to seeing what you bring back after your next adventure!!!!

 

[cpm9ball]

! ! ! ! ! E ! X ! C ! E ! L ! L ! E ! N ! T ! ! ! ! !

 

Chris

[Bruceswar]

very nice coins.... My favorites are the 1935 D and 1934 D qtrs... along with that 1810 Half.. stunning.... The overdate is cool as well .. congrats on the nice coins

[michael]

 

your photography skills are superb

 

my fav coins are the 1914-d the rare pillar dollar i have dealt with jonathan kern 25 years ago and how he talked to you is my experience too not a bad guy just the way he is

 

i love the capped bust half dollars and all the 19 century type coins

 

an excellent thread positive and what collecting is truly about

 

keep posting anytime here james i spent over one hour looking at your photos and reading and rereading your descriptions

[braddick]

! ! ! ! ! E ! X ! C ! E ! L ! L ! E ! N ! T ! ! ! ! !

 

[Hoot]

Really superb pieces, James. Congratulations. I especially like the SLQs, but everything you've showed is superlative. An obvious sign of diligent hunting.

 

Hoot

[Leothelion]

James; You might want to have that 1918/7 looked at. It looks like a nice coin but something about it just don't look right to me. It might be the photograph.

 

Gary

 

I would think that there are known die charactoristics that help identify such a date. I don't know what they are but I would have educated myself if I were buying any costly coin. I don't believe for a second that James would fling himself into this kind of coin without such information. Isn't that correct James? James? Hello!!!

 

Leo

[James_OldeTowne]

The 1918/7 is genuine, and in fact, I had a couple of specialists look at it. But I was confident that it was genuine from the get-go. I LOVE this coin, though I may not be able to afford to keep it - AND the 1916 ! It's a matter of economics!

 

I bought a lot more coins at the show as mentioned, but most of them were small-time coins, like some fairly common Buff's in F/VF for my set. But as someone pointed out, it does sometimes take me a long time to choose coins for my set. I am one of those collectors who likes all the coins in an album to be matched, and for tougher dates (or even some common ones!), that can mean much looking....

 

THANKS for all the great feedback!

 

James

[1946hamm-migration]

James; You might want to have that 1918/7 looked at. It looks like a nice coin but something about it just don't look right to me. It might be the photograph.

 

Gary

 

I would think that there are known die charactoristics that help identify such a date. I don't know what they are but I would have educated myself if I were buying any costly coin. I don't believe for a second that James would fling himself into this kind of coin without such information. Isn't that correct James? James? Hello!!!

 

Leo

 

 

I have collected SLQ's for years and know the die charactoristics of this date. Like I said, it could be the photo but it is what I'm not seeing in the photo that would make me want a second opinion. I'm not saying that this particular coin is good or bad. I'm just not seeing what should be there in this particular photo. I hope it's the photo.

 

I have met James and bought coins from him in the past both from eBay and in person at the Central States show in Indy when he was with Dennis. He is a good guy and good to deal with.

 

Have a Good Day,

 

Gary

[1946hamm-migration]

James; I was posting this before you responded and am sure it was the photo. I am glad you had it checked out. It is a nice coin but the photo raised questions for me. Photos are hard to get that show all the minute details.

 

Gary

[goose3]

some very nice looking coins! what's on the reverse of that token?

[James_OldeTowne]

John,

 

The obverse states

 

FOR OUR COUNTRY A COMMON CAUSE

 

and the reverse merely states

 

NOW AND FOREVER

 

Do you have an attribution for me?

 

Here's my official website thumbnail , with the enlargement of both sides here .

 

James