Well, they keep paying me and I'm getting a bonus this month, so I pulled the trigger on what seemed like a great opportunity for me to complete the Standing Liberty Quarter collection. So it's Ramen & PB&Js this month! Based on Greysheet and past auction sales on Ebay, etc, I put in a lowball bid for this beautiful ugly holed old babe, and, to my surprise, I won it for hundreds less than I though it would go for (sale price $1663 plus $13 shipping). I'll keep looking in the wild (which is how I found the 1916) but I had to jump on this opportunity when I could - these don't come up often, especially with a really visible date / overstrike for less than $2,500/3,000. PCGS estimates the total population is 3000. This is the most expensive coin I've purchased. From PCGS - David Hall: The 1918/7-S Standing Liberty quarter is one of the key date silver coin rarities of the 20th century. This variety was first noticed in the late 1930's and the first auction appearance was in December, 1937. Collectors began saving the few they could find in circulation. Today, the 1918/7-S is rare and relatively expensive even in the lowest grades. The funny thing about a "complete" collection - for me anyway, is it's not finished for me - now I'm working on improving the set where I can - I'd like to have most of the SLQs in AU or MS and as many Full Heads as I can get (I don't anticipate I'll be able to afford to improve the 1916, 18/7-S overdate, 1921 or 1923-S much, if at all) and now I may be able to focus on the Capped Bust Half Dollar collection. I'm going to try and take some decent photos of the entire top set as it currently exists once I have this in hand. Do you all have any "ugly" treasures that you feel lucky to have, like I do this one? (sellers pics)
Lovely coin! Oh man do I have any ugly treasures... When I started coin roll hunting, I would keep every zinc rot penny I saw. Safe to say those are pretty ugly. A less ugly find for me was on a walk in France near the ocean, I was on an ancient trail that was used as a route for merchants and military personnel that watched over the bay. As I was walking this trail, I spotted a little green dot on the dirt. Picked it up and flipped it around, to my surprise it was a copper coin that had eroded enough to rise above the surface of the ground for me to see. After some light cleaning, turned out to be a 1651 Tournois de Gaston des Dombes. Not rare at all but my favorite find for sure
There are still people who say that details coins aren't worth anything. Auction results like this indicate that they're wrong. Congratulations!
I love people who say details coins aren't worth anything! They make my collecting habit possible - I will happily buy a details coin if a straight graded example is out of my price range. Here's another example from my SLQ set of just that, the 1923-S- in VF-30 Details - Corroded & Cleaned. Heck, my 3 cent Feuchtwanger, my Draped Bust Half Dollars, I have lots of Details graded coins that I wouldn't otherwise be able to own. I'm in the hobby for the history, I prefer straight grades - who doesn't? But I have no issue with most details coins. I'm thankful for them.
Congrats on your purchase! I am sure you saw the SLQ I picked up - “details” coins don’t have to be ugly, nor are they worthless. There’s a reason full UNC SLQs are expensive - they’re worth it. IMO, some of the most rewarding coins to collect, and this is from a guy who focuses mainly on Seated and Bust coinage.
As for “ugly treasures”… this one comes to mind first. 1796 Draped Bust S-99 R-5. One of about 50 known examples, and probably the worst known. Or should I say… about 50.7 known examples?
