ddddd's duds of 2024 (lessons learned?)

As alluded to in the top 10 thread, I did have some "duds" this year. These were coins sold in 2024 where I took a hit or at best broke even. Some were purchased in prior years but all found new homes in 2024. Now none of these were bad coins; in fact, most were nice but as I will discuss, there were reasons that made them "duds" for me.

First up is this toned Morgan. It came from Legend Auctions and I certainly had to pay up. I bought into the rattler hype and the photo. In hand, this was a solid coin but with the price I had paid, it was a bit of a let down. It took a while to sell but I was able to get out of it with about an $80 loss. Several lessons here: don't be overly jubilant with a rattler (unless it's a scarce rattler and you collect slabs-that's for a different thread) and don't buy into the Legend hype (or any flowery auction description). Then again, Legend has shut down its auction business and they did have plenty of nice coins-most that I did not win because they went for multiples above my max (which leads to another lesson: don't bid on a coin just because you were shut out on others in the auction and want to come away with something).



Next up is another Morgan (that will be the theme pretty much through the entire thread). A GC purchase, I figured the color was nice and that it might be better in hand. The lack of a star puzzled me but I have seen multiple examples where NGC got it wrong (in both directions with the star). Well the coin turned out to just be ok when I received it. There was nothing wrong but it just did not have the "pop" I wanted for a keeper in my collection. After listing on several venues, I finally "sold" this at the Central States coin show for about a $30 loss. I put sold in quotes because it was actually a trade towards another Morgan (more to follow on that). As far as lessons learned, this one is a little more complicated. I don't regret bidding on it at GC and the lack of a star still won't stop me from getting a toned Morgan but I will up my level of "pickiness" when purchasing.




And as I mentioned with the prior coin, I traded it for this one. Again there is nothing inherently wrong with the coin but the price paid was more than I should have gone. The show lights also made it look a little better than the lights elsewhere. Luckily this one sold a month later at breakeven so I did not compound my error too badly. The lesson learned-be careful with coin show lights as they can make a coin "pop" more than it will under different conditions and don't compound one mistake into another (well I tried to learn the lesson but you will see there was another setback later).




....more to follow in next post....

 

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Probably the worst of my duds this year was the Morgan below. I watched this same coin sell for about $200 more than I paid and that sale was in a weaker market for toned Morgans (both sales at GC). I also thought the photo was hiding a coin with strong PL characteristics and great colors. Well I was quite a bit off. The PL was weaker than I imagined and the breaks in the toning combined with the dark look did not make this coin look anywhere near what I thought it would. Despite getting the almost $200 "discount" from the initial auction, I ended up having to take another $100 cut to sell this coin and it took several months of waiting to find a buyer. The lessons learned: a discount doesn't always mean you are getting a good deal, be mindful of toning breaks, and be careful with darker toners at big premiums (certain near terminal Morgans with great luster can be nice coins but others are just not "all there").

 

This is a bit of a special case. The loss was the entire cost, around $150, but that is due to me using it as a giveaway prize on an Instagram contest I ran. Part of the reason for that was because I could not sell it. While an uncommon fantasy piece, it turned out to be darker than the TrueView photo and the holder came from Stacks with a crack. I might have been able to ask Stacks for compensation for the crack since they did not mention it but I did not think it was worth it (I hadn't had any issues with them before and any fix would take a long time with the current grading/holdering times at PCGS). This was another reaffirmation of not exclusively trusting TrueView photos (one has to consider all the photos available). In addition, I have to be better at not bidding on random items that, while rare, also tend to have little demand.

 

And we finish out with two more Morgans.

This Morgan was a date that is less common for toners and it had a nice TrueView picture. As mentioned previously, I have on a few occasions become too cozy with the PCGS photo and made myself believe a coin was better than it truly was. The better date part tends to get me sometimes as well. I do like to pick up toned examples of dates that I don't have but I have to be wiser to not compromise on the eye appeal. Luckily this coin was part of a group I was able to sell at a show for breakeven on the total deal.




This one was a show purchase that like the earlier example seemed better at the show. After falling for the show lights twice, I think I have now learned my lesson-no more optimistic show buys in 2025. To be fair though, I did have several nice buys at the same shows, so it was not all bad and I just have to continue to be better at what I pick. This coin was bundled with a nicer coin and I came out a bit ahead on the package deal (due to the other coin but the buyer did end up liking both coins).

 

It was a combination of the luster being a bit muted, the colors being somewhat muted, and me having seen (and owned) nicer examples of this date. The reverse was neutral (it would have been better if it was blast white but I didn't think it was a negative).

 

As you say preferences..... I like the 1881-S you described as too dark and your biggest bust the best. I just don't collect morgans at this time. Also nice to see someone who doesn't have to act like they are a coin guru who makes massive profits on every coin. Thanks for the post. James

 

Great write-up! Makes me feel better in that I have some toned Morgans that look like yours, so I'm not the only one. I'm guessing I'll also take a loss when the time comes to sell mine. Hopefully not too much of a loss! Consider it a "rental fee" - the cost you had to pay in order to enjoy the coin for a while.

 

The most attractive of the bunch to my eyes is the 1879 S. I have a Morgan with a reverse that has all the same colors. Makes me think I should find one like the one you gave up here so I can display the two side by side.

 

Everyone definitely has their preferences and the coin isn't terrible, especially if one did not pay as much as I did! However, the break in the toning, particularly the portion around the stars to the left of the date, distracts from the eye appeal. I also had to go through multiple venues (Instagram, the forums, coin show, and eBay) before the coin finally sold on eBay. I did want to minimize my losses so that was part of the reason it took long to sell (had I done a no reserve auction, it would have been quick but probably even more painful).

And I appreciate that this thread has been enjoyed. I've made my share of mistakes this year and paid the price on resale. I did have some positive sales but not everything can be sold for a profit (and part of the lessons learned is knowing when to take a loss on a coin that you just don't want to keep).

 

Thanks! In terms of taking a loss, it all depends on the price you paid and the market at the time you go to sell. What worked against me (and made some of these "duds") was paying too much. Many of these coins could have been successes had I paid $150-$250 less per coin. And if the toned market has some more gains, then even bad buys can turn out ok (there are examples of toned coins that I thought were overpriced in 2015-2019 that sold for well above those levels in 2020-2024).

 

I can make a case for the 79-S being the best among these Morgans. It was also the least expensive. The lack of a star and it being NGC was part of the reason for that as there tends to be a premium paid for PCGS slabbed toned Morgans-I don't subscribe to that mindset (when buying) but do acknowledge it happens in the market.

 

Thank you! I figured it would be an interesting thread and felt I needed to follow through after mentioning the term on one of @geekpryde great threads.

 

I would say after since you don't want to bring extra negative attention to the coins (of course there could be some reverse psychology but that would be less likely than having potential buyers steer clear). Plus, doing it after will tell you for certain what was a dud. You might have some pleasant surprises where a coin actually turns a profit due to some spirited bidding.