Might as well.

Well, as some of you might have seen, I had a pretty significant eBay cherrypick a couple weeks ago. I kept it quiet for a couple weeks - in fact, the ONLY person here I told about it was @Lehigh96 - because I needed to decide the next step I would take with it.

Before we get to the coin, let me just state that I'm prepared for some people to throw shade on me, some people to be amazed/doubtful, and some people to be insanely jealous. And for most people to just not care one way or the other...because that's all normal. So, haters, your objections are duly noted. I understand your point, and I post this not to brag in any way, but to encourage others to KEEP SEARCHING - because varieties are still out there.

Lovers, I invite you to share my joy. And people who think collecting varieties are silly, I say, "FIE."

While I'm at it, I'm also going to share two more similar pickups from the last month. All I will say about cost is that I spent less than $100 for all three coins. Let's start with the worst two of the three:





Now, at this point, I was feeling pretty great. TWO DDR in much better than average shape (most of these I see on eBay that are already attributed/recognized are in the AG-F range) on the same day? Heck yeah.

And then...

Well, cherrypickers will know that when you see a major find, you kind of go through the stages of shock / disbelief / enormous stress (Will it be what I think it is? Was it just bad lighting or poor photography? Will the seller switch out the coin? Will USPS lose it?) and then, thanks to USPS tracking alerts, you keep an eye on it each step of the way. When it finally arrives, and your pick is confirmed, pure, pure coin joy.

Is there a moment of empathy for the seller? Of course. But then you realize that you've taken the time to educate yourself; you've taken the time to search; you've taken the risk of buying a coin that may not contain the variety you are expecting. And a coin like this, that has been sitting in a slab for almost 30 years (it was originally graded in 1988) without anyone taking 2 seconds to flip the slab over...you feel lucky. Insanely lucky.

Okay, I've talked too much. Probably 2/3 of you have already scrolled down to see the reveal, so here it is - my finest Jefferson Nickel cherrypick of all time (even better than the MS 1941 S Large S I got at a flea market.)









This coin will be sent off to NGC either tomorrow or the day after for Designation Review/Variety Plus. Depending on the results of that, as well as the timeliness of NGC returning the coin, it may be sent to PCGS for Crossover review. Why, you may ask, when almost my entire high-grade Jefferson collection is in NGC holders? Because...steps.



Now, to me (and Lehigh agrees with me) this is NOT a Full Steps nickel. It's borderline, but IMO there is just enough weakness under the third column to kill the FS designation. Looking at it in hand, with the light just as the right angle, I can actually see the complete 4th line, although it is very, very faint.

Would NGC give it 5FS? I'd say no - but then that's just my opinion. Would PCGS? Well, I think that's entirely more likely, and definitely worth a shot (so I'll definitely want to piggyback on someone's upcoming PCGS Crossover submission, if they have one planned for the end of the month before they kill their special.)

I've also been told that, due to eroding standards, this coin could possibly upgrade (if the minor spot of corrosion under the steps is properly conserved) to an MS67, which would make it a Top Pop coin. For those of you who like to dream big, dream with me - imagine this coin makes it into a PCGS MS67FS holder...

In any case, I wanted to share these pickups because this is a prime example not to take anything for granted, to educate yourself, and to keep looking - while I don't think this is quite a score on the level of the other CT member who cherrypicked a high-grade 1942/1 Mercury a couple years ago (someone remind me where that thread is), this is still an early contender for pick of the year.

It was sent in by someone who didn't think to look for the DDR, or didn't care.
It wasn't automatically attributed by NGC.
Since the variety wasn't attributed on the label, no one for almost 30 years thought to double check for the variety.
It sat on eBay for who knows how long before I found it.

Great, great coins are still out there. Keep looking, and good luck!

 

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I know first-hand that your personal standards for dealing and collecting are very high, and thus you are eminently deserving of this sensational find.

 

Way to go!!! I'd give you a high five in here if I could.. Congratulations, going through all that dreck day in and day out can be tiresome, but it sure paid off.

 

Cha-ching!

Chris

 

I absolutely appreciate the compliment. I do my best to be as fair as I can possibly be, while still recognizing that it's okay for me to find hidden treasure because I've done the work. And yes, sometimes...it IS work!

I think I looked through about 15,000 listings that weekend...so yes, very tiresome. But the reward was worth it.



Of course, my biggest conundrum has been (and will continue to be) this:

I collect Jefferson Nickels. Each of the three examples posted above would be massive upgrades to the 1939 DDR I already had in my collection.

I could never afford to buy a high grade example like this outright, and I'll probably never come across a deal like this again for this particular variety...

So I want to keep it.

BUT the realist in me says SELL IT AND USE THE MONEY TO BUY MORE COINS.

But the collector in me says, "If you can't keep some of the best coins you got at outrageously great prices, what's the point?"

So, I'll probably end up selling the lesser two and keeping the best one...depending on the submission results. Also depending on which side of me wins the argument...lol

 

I'll email you a "20" - you're going to need it to multiply the purchase price of that coin with.

 

Hold on to it for a bit...never know...you might need to send more than $20.

 

Great news for a great guy!

 

congrats!

 

@stldanceartist

It's really a breath of fresh air when someone finds and posts images of a real doubled die instead of one of those that requires the use of a Hubble telescope to see.

Chris

 

Well, yes...but we both know most doubled dies aren't as spectacular as this one. I do get your point about the common "Is this a double die? How about this one?" that happens all the time, especially with machine doubling.

I remember about 15 years ago when I was first starting to search for varieties in Kennedy Half boxes, I couldn't for the life of me tell what a 1974 D DDO was supposed to look like in hand. I'd find plenty of MD coins, plenty of worn dies, but it wasn't until I went ahead and bought a graded PCGS AU58 off eBay to examine that it really sank in. And then, over the next month, proceeded to find over 20 of them for face value.

So, yes, I'll also agree that displaying an example of a strong doubled die (spelled correctly this time, last time was intentionally misspelled) is extremely helpful as a point of reference.

 

What's the hurry to decide? Sit on it for a while.

 

Wow. What a spread!

 

As Mr Burns would say, EXCELLENT!

 

Well done on the Major Variety, I was checking the pop report on PCGS, It seems that 2 of the 67's from previous auctions failed FS because of the very same spot. Yours seems more defined.
I wish you all the luck in your FS designation.

 

Update: all three of the above coins have arrived at NGC. Will see how things go from here...

 

Outstanding finds!

 

Wow
This was an excellent find
Congrats

 

Well, grades just posted for the first two (STILL waiting on the big one, it sat at NCS for a month before they decided they weren't going to do anything to it.)

Would anyone like to do a GTG for the circs?

 

XF 45 details
Au 50