It's starting to get hard and gritty in the netherworld of classic commemorative collecting. The earlier pieces that I've picked up in my quest to amass a date set have been fulfilled. All that remains are the more difficult, more elusive (and pricey) examples. I know that conventional advice given is to buy the 'keys' first and add the more common, 'easy' stuff later, but did I listen? No I didn't. Why not, you ask? Because I wanted it now......I wanted to buy what I always lusted after as a child........ and what I lusted after, wasn't necessarily a key coin. There are many marvelously wonderful designs in the classic commemorative series. All intrigue me. I'm tempted, at times, to add more (Arkansas, sweet Arkansas) but must stay focused in my quest. The opportunity (most timely) presented itself to allow me to acquire this recent addition to my humble collection........... Low mintage, but by no means the lowest in the series, the Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar is a much needed boost to my collecting endeavor. With only 10,008 examples minted it is one of the most expensive coins within the classic series. Please forgive.....the photo depicted here should have been displayed in reverse. Hudsons' ship (the Half Moon) is depicted on the obverse of this coin. The reverse depicts the city seal of Hudson NY.
Woah, Ken, almost forgot you even collected coins... Superb piece, my friend. The Hudson is tougher than most anticipate.
Great coin! Your better half deserves to buy something special for herself after that one. You will probably need to take her to Hawaii after you buy the Hawaii. TC
Here's an interesting tidbit on the Hudson, courtesy of CoinFacts. "The original issue price was $1 per coin, but it was rumored that one dealer had purchased 7,500 of the original 10,008 mintage at 95 cents each. He (or someone) apparently held the hoard off the market as prices in the aftermarket soon reached $9. Collectors were outraged, but this was a situation often repeated in the 1934-1939 commemorative era."
http://www.cointalk.com/members/gre...ons-america-obv-tercentenary-celebration-rev/ ....." Allegedly, New York coin dealer Julius Guttag purchased 7,500 coins for 95 cents apiece, and Hubert Carcaba of St. Augustine, Florida bought another 1,000 pieces. A month after the first coins were distributed, they had reached a peak of $12.50 on the secondary market, the highest price that Hudsons would reach until after the Second World War. Several months later, individual pieces settled into the $4.50 to $7.00 price range, and they saw wide distribution at that level." http://www.coinsite.com/content/Commemoratives/Hudson.asp
