These RPMs are tough for me. I like the challenge though! Looks like its lining up to where it should be. I think it might be it....but me thinking doesnt mean squat lol! What do you guys think??? Link to VVs listing for reference. http://www.varietyvista.com/02a LC RPMs Vol 1/1929DRPM001.htm
Here is the link to Wexler's listing: http://doubleddie.com/959799.html Also a comment: coin conservation is different than cleaning/cleaning up a coin. If your coin was (or is) the RPM, the cleaned coin is doomed. The conserved coin is not. Your coin looks cleaned.
Its cleaned now! No turning back lol! I was probably a little rough on it with the Viva. There was so much PMD that even if it was one, it would never leave my possession to even see a value. If I ran across some $1000 coin, it would probably change my mind but I just dont find OR fail to identify anything of significant premium. I dont know if Wexlers charts are accurate (I can only imagine most will argue it) but an RPM such as this it states $300. In the banged up busted up dented and worn condition it is, what would it be worth $25? It just doesnt matter to me. Heck, Chris knows his stuff and couldnt even tell if this was one due to the damage and wear. That alone tells me.....if I find a bubble gum machine that still takes pennies, I should at least consider getting a gum ball.
Well, if it were RPM 001, it might have fetched around $18. As Islander mentions, an acetone soak might have done the trick or perhaps a drop of Verdi-Care (for conserving coins). Using the most gentle solutions/approaches and graduating up would help preserve the coin. Finding an $8 coin in a box of cents is an infrequent event. Anything more than that is even more infrequent. Of course, they are your cents, so they are yours to do with as you wish. I just thought I'd throw it out there that conservation is the better approach in the case you weren't aware.
Thanks Kevin! Totally cool man! I need the advice badly. Im probably into this for all the wrong reasons which some people think are weird I suppose. Im hoping to find coins of value but its not why I like doing this. If it were completely based on value, there are other things I could do that are far far more easy to learn and definitely easier to be profitable. This hobby is impossible to know it all.....dang near impossible to be even mediocre. My opinions are generally wrong and my coins are hardly ever what I think they are. I keep coins that others would toss. I enjoy it all though and listen when experienced members like yourself talk....now me remembering what you said is a different thing all together. I try and I respect.
I think that coin collecting is a pretty decent hobby to take up, for whatever reason. What I've found is that my motivations when I first started have morphed over time. Initially, it was started by taking note of the money folks were handing me when I had a paper route as a kid. In an effort to generate more coins to look at, I took up a second paper route. I had no real regard for the grade of the coins back then so I began to hoard, just hoping to find another date/mm to fill another spot in a coin album. Now it's a mix of finds and investments...although my wife might not see it that way. The body of knowledge expanded too. It doesn't take much effort or knowledge to build an album when all you care about is date/mm, but when you start to compare the cent you found with the one you kept, the learning starts. Pretty soon, your picking low mintage coins to save from your vending machine change. I can't buy a can of soda today without working it for a nickel in change. I've been able to collect a small handful of War and Buffalo Nickels doing that (I've cut back the soda...so the finds are slow these days). And while I've picked up a ton of knowledge about our hobby, I have also forgotten quite a bit. Finding my way back into the hobby and hanging around sites like this jostle the neurons in my head and I uncover a tidbit I knew...but had nearly forgotten. Hanging around knowledgeable people in whatever you do, for fun or for work, is a great way to grow yourself. Don't worry about what you forget...be satisfied with what you remember. It's not a race anyway, unless you make it one (which I would suggest you don't). Keep the steady pace until your last breath. Learning is living. With regards your coin, I was hoping it was the real deal (or RPM002). It's not too often that we see a more valuable RPM/DD/Error coin come along, so the community here tends to get excited! Your photos were just a hair out of focus to make out what you had, but I was straining my eyes to make out what you had there. I enjoy being able to identify a variety coin for a fellow enthusiast especially when they didn't even know they had one. Part of the joy of giving. So keep your fingers crossed, eyes peeled, and the steady pace. And continue to share your fun finds. We will help you wherever we can.
Thanks Kevin! Super interesting. I am a very obsessive person by nature. I used to hate it spending hours building ridiculous tiny models or solving strange puzzles. Probably why I like working with viruses and eyes. Over the years I have picked up so many hobbies from stained glass to car modding and all of them have run their course with me. A few years of something and you get to your "ceiling" and its not as fun to me. Coin hunting to me is an odd one. Im not obsessed with it yet really enjoy it. Ive only been doing it maybe 3 years or so. What I really like is that the ceiling is really so incredibly high. I dont "want" to be the expert. Not at all. I dont want to study this 10 hours a day. Not because I dont like this hobby but because I dont want to master it. Besides, I couldnt if I wanted. My brains capacity is maxed with my job. Bottom line I love this for the moment whenever Im in it. I dont have anything to prove here and I appreciate the tough attitude you get that comes out around here at times. I cant stand "butt hurt" and love honesty even when its difficult....especially with coins being that without it, we'd all have a pile of crap in 2X2s. I like the culture of this and I dont have to act like Im trying to be the best or anything stupid. I can show some garbage coins and be told thats what they are and learn from it. Occasionally I have found some cool stuff and when I do and people here verify it, you know its good to go! Theres plenty of forums that will tell members "what they want to hear". Not here and I love it!
You bring up a good point: many folks take a break at some point. Through my college years, starting a first real job, and doing the family thing, collecting was set aside for around 3 decades. Sure enough I still scanned my change and knew enough to save certain coins, but other interests and commitments didn't allow me to re-engage for a long time (my golf clubs sat idle for the same length of time, just about). So, while you might not be hard at it, you'll dabble in the hobby when it interests you. And by the sounds of it, you're living an interesting one. As they say, you get one life with no do-overs. So make it a good one. The sooner folks figure that out, the fuller they live their life. Coins will be there...and for the near future anyway. Let it fit your schedule and not the other way around.
