My 1937-D 3 Legged Buffalo and 100oz Silver has ARRIVED!

I don't want to pile on here, but when I saw the OP, my first thought was $1015 is a bit high for that coin, though not unreasonably so. Mark confirmed it and the $920 price at Heritage is with the buyer premium. Still, if you like the coin, it is little matter. You certainly have a famous issue with a bit of a clouded history. You can look at your coin and speculate as to what really happened at Denver in 1937...

 

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Right, but Mark, please also take into account the quality of the coin and not just the slab.

In my honest opinion, and this is just My opinion, I think the coin looks better than all those that sold for $920 at Heritage.

I mean, if you see this coin in person, it really has a look to it that to me is well worth the price.

I'm not just going to buy any 1937 d 3 legger for $920 if the looks aren't up to my expectations..

 

Oh I don't care, I trust you guys. I'm saying all this to give a real honest perspective on how my setup is to make sure the contents in the safe are looking nice 20 years from now.

 

The images make it hard to tell, but I think I like the looks of 2 of the 3 Heritage ones better than yours. That said, what you think and like is what counts.

My main point was that you didn't get a bargain - I didn't want you to mistakenly think that, based simply on what others were being quoted at a show.

I must say, I think you have come a log way in a short time. Just don't get too cocky.

 

Well Mark, I have to call a spade a spade here.. I never truly look forward to your posts sometimes. lol. I'm just being honest.. It's like I expected a negative thing to come out of your response and boy was I not let down.

Just saying... No disrespect intended

But thank you for your last comment, that was nice of you. I'll try to stay humble.

 

Sorry you feel that way, except about my last comment, anyway. I didn't see my post, in which I merely disagreed with someone who thought you might have gotten a bargain, as being negative. Ditto for saying, that based on the images, I liked 2 of the Heritage examples better (meaning, I liked yours better than one of them).

 

I don't know, however you want to look at it, but whatever the word is, sometimes people can be an excitement killer. Like, somebody buys something they spend a lot of time looking on the net for scrutinizing dealers for, and then finally gets there reward and it just takes that one person to say "hey its ok nothing special" to really just invalidate all my efforts. lol.

Look it's not a big deal, Mark, it's just that for a $1000 buffalo nickel, I paid nothing bad but nothing great I believe. I've seen those HA auctions and said to myself, "Do I personally like how those coins look" and my answer was eh, so obviously we see things differently here. That's no problem but I still believe I got a good coin out of this, regardless if you believe so or not.

Speaking of which, aside from the HA auctions, Mark, what do you think of my coin? If I let you hold it for a day, would you feel good about it?

Or even better, if I gave you this coin to sell at your next show or auction and you did your best, how much could you bring back to me? This could be now or in 6 months , 2 years.

 

If you really want me to answer those questions, I will, but it will be another "excitement killer". Your call.

 

Sorry, Mark, but you missed this one; http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1125&Lot_No=7393

It sold for $977.50 and the other 2 sold for $920 exactly. Prices including the BP.

 

I just have a quick comment on excitement killing. IMO this world would be all wrong if everything was positive. If I am going to post or share a coin with the world I would expect and want to see comments from every critical point of view both good and bad and if I did my homework before the purchase then unless counterfeit nothing would ruin the excitement.

I did not see anything in Mark's comments that should have demolished that excitement. They were only observations from photos which as we all know can be very different than in hand.

As far as price, many dealers rely on auctions like Heritage to obtain inventory. Paying a small premium over Heritage pricing is nothing to be ashamed of so the price you paid is within the realm of reason just don't expect to make any short term profits off of that, enjoy the coin for what it is and all is good.

 

Sure, well, let me take the first guess..

Sold for $600 and it's nothing special?

lol.

K, i'm listening.

 

You are correct and I am the one who is sorry.

 

Yeah, I respect that. Compared to the dealers at the Arcadia show, I think this is a good purchase. Maybe not within Heritage's standards, but I think it's good.

You think this is a good long term hold then?

 

In reply to your questions:

1) I think it looks OK. It's not bad, but it doesn't do anything for me. I also think that it could/should have a bit more detail and better luster for the grade.

2) If you let me hold the coin for a day, it wouldn't make my day. They are fairly readily available, and I have seen enough of them in higher grades so that I am pretty much immune to them unless they grade MS64 or better and/or are gorgeously toned.

3) If I had the coin available for sale I would want to try to get $900-$1000 for it, though I don't know that I could.

4) I try to make a habit out of avoiding making predictions about where prices/values will be in the future. And I rarely break that habit.

 

I have no idea where the market is going on these so I can't really answer the long term thing. I think I was just trying to say enjoy it for what it is. If you ever have to sell it and if it goes for more or less, don't worry about that stuff if you don't have to.

 

Heh, I do though. I'm an investor. lol.

 

If you are really an investor, I would strongly suggest you join Heritage. It is free. They have invaluable pricing history as well as lots of opportunities to buy coins often (usually?) cheaper than eBay.

 

Wow, this thread sure did take a turn...

Mark, you're 100% correct. I made my comment about BNB getting a great deal based solely on the prices I saw on these at the Arcadia show last weekend. I guess when I saw the lowest priced 3-Leg at around $1300 for a VF20 I think, and a couple XF examples around $1500, I just assumed that was about the going rate and that this was just one of those coins where the Greysheet prices didn't apply. Now that you point out the auction prices, it seems that was a mistake to assume that rather than just assume that the local dealers were maybe trying to make a rip.

That said, given that BNB is a relatively new rare coin buyer, I think he could have done much worse. I made some big buying mistakes when I was brand new and still make a few from time to time. If BNB really likes his 3-Leg then the price he paid seems to be within the ballpark of reasonableness, which is typically the case in auctions whether they be Heritage or eBay. Had he waited until last weeks show to buy, a similar coin would have cost him maybe 50% more. However, it does appear that with some patience and some additional due diligence, BNB could have maybe saved maybe 10% or so in his hunt for a 3-Leg.

And no one knows whether the coin will be worth more down the road, but I'd much rather be playing the odds with a $1000 key-date coin vs. 10 $100 common dates or vs. 40 $25 coins... which is what a lot of folks just getting into the hobby seem to start with.

Finally BNB, there are many folks who participate on the forums with tremendous knowledge/experience about coins and the coin business who are truly trying to help others here learn more. Mark is definitely one of those good guys who is here to help and I would pay particular attention to what he says regarding coins and not take any comments regarding your coins personally...

 

Here is an XF40 3-Leg just to celebrate Saturday

 

You make some great points there, Mike. It's like this with any big purchase, if I buy something, I do hope that the community finds value in it. Most people have. It seems the $60-90 price(depending on which auction you compare it to) I may have overpaid is what is steering the general thoughts on this coin at this point. It's not always an easy game. Sometimes you'll find one for less but the eye appeal may not be as nice, etc.

Example, at the Arcadia show, I saw a PCGS MS 63 1885-cc Morgan for $550. I paid $617 for the same grade(pcgs) on ebay with minimal toning(just to my liking), however, the two being sold for $550 in my opinion were fugly. I mean, F-ugly. Like, toning, half the coin was brown, etc..I like all my coins to be in clean looking condition with very little toning. Maybe some shading around the design to give it that filled in look like my 1921-d merc has, but that's about it.

So, I guess the overall point is, there's no sure bets in this industry.

I realize people (dealers, ebay sellers, etc) are all smart these days. About 90% of them are, at least and people know what they're selling. The days of truly good deals are down the drain. Sure they exist, but they are not common. Take for instance the Arcadia show guys, most the tables there were selling coins at such high premiums. You can't tell me these people need to make a living with the prices they charge.. I mean, some of them were downright expensive for what was truly being sold, are these dealers trying to live the high life off these deals? I mean wow. Truly insulting in some cases.

But anyways, this will be the second case I paid under $90 more for a coin. Not the end of the world if you ask me and that is depending on what price guide you're looking at.

Heritage had these 1937's for $920 least, but it also sold some for $1173 so I believe it all depends on how the coin looks, how it's sold, and who's buying for that day. Not to say I can't resell this buffalo nickel on ebay for a profit or even at a show.

So, the point here guys is that I'm learning this, like currency trading(in forex), is all speculative. There are no sure bets. People may want to pass off examples as evidence as sure bet price that one coin is worth, but it's still down to who's willing to pay for it.

If I paid $1200 like some of these people on ebay are selling this same coin for, then yes, I'd eat my fist, but this wasn't the case.