My 1854 $3 purchased at the 2025 FUN show has been imaged

I bought this coin at the 2025 FUN show, on the final Sunday of the show.




Numismatic photographer John Baumgart (aka @messydesk) had already packed up and left the show on Saturday, or I would've had him image it for me. (He had done a pair of other purchases for me, on Saturday). At ten bucks, he would've been the better option, since the coin was in an older NGC holder without those nasty white prongs to intrude in the photos.

But since John wasn't there, I took it to the NGC table and submitted it for Photovision imaging (which required I also pay for reholdering). This raised the total cost into the upper $30s range, all told, and added weeks of waiting for the turnaround.

But I think it was worth the wait, to obtain a nice set of images. Doug Plascencia at NGC does good work. As of this typing, I still do not have the coin back, but I've got the photographs.

 

One of the other purchases John photographed for me on that Saturday was this lusterbomb Peace dollar in a circa 1990-93 Generation 3.0 OGH. Sure, it's a common date coin, but it flashed at me like a beacon from inside the dealer's case, and I decided it had to come home with me.

 

Yes, the $3 cost me $1,950, which was a $100 reduction from the dealer’s original $2,050 ask price. They said the reduced price was $25 over their cost. So after the imaging and reholdering at NGC, I’ll be into that one for just a small smidgen under $2K.

NGC priceguide value is $2,250. Numismedia trends is $2,040.

 

True.