We all know that quality/exemplary coins always sell for more than standard run of the mill examples. With that said post an example you've had to "pay up" for so to speak on account of any characteristics it may have. Heres mine. Certainly didn't come cheap and a rather common coin/doge but certainly one of the more sharper strikes to be found on these.
OK, why not.... I paid 2600 euros for this tiny AV 1/12 Dukat from Breslau. 1711 Its has HRE Josef I on obv. Double headed eagle on rev. Coin is absolutely perfect MS-68 3 known
Then there is a common coin, where I regret paying $750 for. AV Sovereign 1958 London Mint Queen Elizabeth II Young Laureate Head PGGS MS-66+
Spain (French Kings) AV 80 Reales 1810 Madrid Mint Jose Napoleon Rudman Coll. Paid 4500 Euros Aureo & Calico Auction
"Post a coin you've had to pay a premium for" Ouch. For some reason this one always comes to mind. The most common date of the 3 date run of the Brazilian Republic's 1st (and last) full sized silver dollar. Of these three dates, my understanding is that only 1897 was released into general circulation in Brazil: the other dates being used exclusively to repay a debt to Great Britain. Anyhow this one is a slabbed ms-63. While apparently typical, all of the ms-62's (of all dates) that I've seen appeared to be "sliders" or problematic to me. Also I'm a member of the Brazilian numismatic society and lived there 3 years. I've run across plenty of these in Brazil but always in ratty condition. This one is just in a 63 slab but is really nice and is fully unc: the only such I've actually seen. It started out very cheaply at Stack's but ended up being a real fight to get it. I had a bad coin dealer misrepresent me for the Lissner auction {last time I'm doing that} and I missed the slabbed 65 1896 they sold. The dealer rep told me that it wasn't that nice and in any event it sold for a lot of $. Oh, the terms for the loan were that G.B. required the Republic of Brazil to repay the loan in "full silver weight" 2000 reis coins. The Republic of Brazil came into existence in 1889. So Brazil struck these coins in 1891, 1896 and 1897 (25 grams? .9166 fine) to repay the loan. Their currency continued to inflate so their next issuance of silver dollars in 1906-1913 were reduced size. These exist in unc but are still a little tough to find here so when I saw a over-graded (but still unc) ms-64 I bought one recently at auction. Paid too much for that one too but they're cheap coins at the $100 to $200 level so it didn't matter too much. * I'm calling silver crowns, 'silver dollars' here but technically they're 2,000 reis coins.
There were a handful of these 5 kopek coins at my local coin shop. Most were priced in the $25-30 range, but I picked out a rarer date in the highest condition at $40. Not such a premium, all things considered. 1787 5 kopek, in XF40 or better.
THAT is a beauty I'd pay a premium for. I picked up a 1908 proof centavo without paying much over book value. One of my favorite finds prowling eBay late at night from people who didn't know what they were selling. It came back PF62 RB:
This one. I spent more than I should. First of all the toning is darker than I would normal consider, but the underlying luster is to die for. It's a scarcer variant, which wasn't the point of buying it (I have that variant already)...but it just spoke to me. I am buried in it. The Japanese market would hate it...the variant is desirable, but not the toning. Oh well. Love it. And that is the point. PCGS MS-65. Maybe I should be buried WITH in. edited to add (asked about it on another forum oddly), it is a type 1, with no border. A little rarer than the with border variety.
Here is one I paid bit more for.... AV Quarter Noble ND Annulet Issue circa 1430 Tower Mint Henry VI Lancaster 1422-61 Stacks Auction/ Law Collection Paid way too much...$4500
This overdate variety is quite scarce and I paid well over Krause catalog price (for what that's worth) to get an ungraded example. Fortunately, it straight graded and is now pop 1/4 at NGC. I haven't seen another example come up for auction so maybe I'm lucky to even have had the chance to acquire it.
This is one of the very few coins in my collection I had to pay a premium for. I had been waiting literally for more than 20 years to find a suitable one, so, it was this one, or wait till i'm born again....