Lessons learned, Break needed

Well today is one of those days that I will be kicking myself for a very long time to come. BIG, BIG, BIG lessons were learned today. The most important being - don't rush into any coin purchase or bid. Heck, for as many times that I have done this, I should have learned my lesson a long time ago so shame on me.

My local coin shop has a weekly bid board or "auction" board. You have one week to look at coins or other items of value and place written bids for them. On every Tuesday, bidding stops and the highest bidder wins the item. The past few weeks have been quite aggravating because there were some really nice coins that I wanted but was outbid - sometimes by only a buck or two. I am typically very conservative with my bids and therefore, tend to get outbid easily. Well By God, nobody was going to outbid me this week. :hammer: And so, as fate would have it, I won more than I was expecting. I bid high, but based on past track records thought that I would be outbid on most, but take home one or two. The ironic thing was, the coin I really, really, really wanted (a 1949 FBL Franklin) I didn't win.

So here was the grab - an 1860 silver three cent piece in fine condition, a 1951D BU Washington Quarter, a 1949 AU Washington Quarter, a 1950 & 1951 BU Roosevelt dimes, 1943D BU FS Jefferson Nickel, a 1939 MS65 Mercury Dime in an old PCGS slab, 1926 BU Oregon Trail commem a 1936 BU Lynchburg, VA commem, a 1936 BU Long Island commem and a 1920 BU Pilgrim commem.

So I know what you are all thinking - what the hecks wrong with that grab? Well, the lighting is not the best in this shop, so its the little things that go undetected until you get home and its too late. The 1860 3cent piece had massive rim damage that I did not notice. I can't explain it, but it looked as if it were chipped away. Still has some nice detail, but the damage is disturbing. The 51D was BU, but not as sharp as I thought and had a few more bag marks than originally noticed. The 49 was AU, but was weak in some areas and probably could have done without. Both the 26 Oregon Trail and Lynchburg were BU's, but had some type of corrosion on it that nobody could identify. It wasn't really a corrosion of the metal, but more like something was caked on the reverses in the low parts of the coins. It looked like dry mud (you know how it gets all cracked when it drys out). The problem there was that I was so blinded with excitement that I was winning the Lynchburg (this is where I went to school for 5 yrs) that I just plainly overlooked the flaws in both of these. The best grabs were the 39 Mercury and the 43 Nickel.

If I could share this one horror story with the hopes that someone can learn a lesson from it then maybe I can save someone from having the same feelings as I do now. Lessons learned - slow down, take the time to look and re-look, and re-look as many times as needed to feel comfortable. Look for better lighting conditions if needed. Ask questions as necessary and never bid more than you are willing to spend or in my case, more than the wife gives you to spend! :headbang: :desk: Some one had to do some explaining tonight. :goof: So anyway, I told her that I will not be doing my weekly and weekend runs to the coin shop for a few weeks and I will take a little break and regroup. We'll see how long I last!

Horror stories and lessons accepted - depressing comments - keep to yourself, I don't need to feel any worse.

 

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It happens to the best of us.
Everyone gets caught up in the moment, once in a while.
You'll feel better in a day or two.

 

sell the ones you dont like back to the dealer on ebay you shouldnt have to live with coins you dont like

 

I don't know if I will get rid of them right away, but maybe down the road. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think. I think they were stored in a folder and this is what created that gunk on the reverse of the coins.

 

That should work (as long as the dealer is the high bidder on eBay).

 

so i forgot to add the word or i am marking my calendar :whistle:

 

Yeah, that completely changes the meaning. Funny how that works.

 

you havent seen fun yet i am watching you

 

It'll get better. A couple of days pass by and you'll be feeling better.
Sometimes it is good to take a break...the coin fever can get to you sometimes and before you know it your barreling down a steep cliff like a snowball growing bigger and more out of control by the minute....I know we've all been there before.

Nice coins anyway, from what I see.

Laura

 

thanks for sharing.. . helps us newbs.

 

that sucks man, Better luck next time,

stainless

 

Be cool. Remember, there's someone who is in a worse place than you.....

If you've got a job and your family's health is more or less good, then you've got the Tiger by the Tail. Run with it.

 

I know how you feel , they always look better in the shop,then when you get home , reality hits . I don't know how many times I thought I learned that leason. rzage

 

Maybe some acetone will take the gunk off. It shouldn't hurt the coins. rzage

 

Hey jaceravone - everyone makes mistakes. And take your own light source next time. I am taking a break until I build back up my reserves. So one I have done to quench my thirst for collecting - is to buy some cheap folders for like pennies, nickels and dimes. I find it fun to fill in an album with my change - I am going to get several more this weekend. I have decided I will try dimes, washington quarters(not silver) and (gasp) the state quarters - just for the fun of it. I know they will never be worth anything. I have a nickel folder that still needs two coins 2004 P and a 1995 P - for some reason I just can't find them in change - yet - been looking for 3 weeks. As I fill an album I am going to get another. Something to quench my collectors thirst without breaking my wallet.

 

Next time pull a magnifying glass and a high-powered flashlight out of your pocket and start examining the coins and see what the shop owner does =P

 

I agree, try a bit of acetone. If it's glue and paper residue, it should come right off with no ill effects. You sure as heck don't want to leave it on, just in case it does something weird like tone AROUND the stuff (if it hasn't already).

Those are nice looking coins, btw!

 

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words - and thanks to those who are biting their tongues as well!!! There was one coin in particular that I must of had a brain freeze. That was the 3 cent coin that is posted under the 1852 three cent thread. (still haven't learned to link threads - can someone send me a pm and show me how) If you read my post you will understand what I mean about the brain freeze. It was my fault for not taking the time to look closely enough. Like I was just telling Stainless, I might as just as well given my money to the homeless guy outside the coin shop - at least that way I would have felt good about giving my money away.

But there were some nice grabs as well. These are probably the better ones of the bunch.

 

No offense Mark_h, but that's how some of us have been collecting for years and years.

And YES, it's fun! It's called COLLECTING coins - not BUYING coins.

I mean no offense, but I find it funny when you say the following:
"for some reason I just can't find them in change - yet - been looking for 3 weeks."

That's what me and a lot of the "pocket change" and "roll hunting" freaks live by. It's the "old-fashioned" way to build a collection.

Back before the Internet. Back before there was a coin shop on every street corner.

Back before there was e-bay.

Goodness sakes, it might take more than a week or two to assemble a complete set of Jeffies or Roosies!!!!

But those WERE the good old days.

 

I'm having a lot of fun pulling pre-1982 lincolns from change and filling a book. It is nice to actually "find" stuff in change on a fairly regular basis.