Well I've been a guest reader for years, but this my equivalent of an 80s letter to Penthouse (and at my age and in my condition, much more appropriate). I've been trying to put together a lower grade (G-VF) complete Standing Liberty quarter set with my college aged son for a couple of years. When I have the time and money - and see a good deal - I've been buying. I am secondarily working on a Barber set and a Capped Bust set of quarters. Anyway in early October I bought 80 plus quarters on eBay that were mostly Standing Liberty - some Barber. The dates on the SLs ranged from 1925-1930 - 14 of them were 1929, all VG or lower. 22 of the SLs were "no date" and one of those was a Type 1. I had never submitted to any of the grading agencies, but some of the SLs I have purchased were slabbed - the 1920 P and 1923 S among them, so I thought maybe I'd see if I could affordably have them all slabbed eventually. I know that PCGS is considered the best, then NGC by most collectors, but I didn't particularly care because these aren't high grade expensive coins, ICG was having an economy special and I submitted 18 coins for grading / conservation. I threw in the dateless type 1 because, having looked at hundreds of 1916s online, I thought just maybe it was one - the hair I couldn't tell, but the drape / foot and the sweep of the arm to the left seemed like a possibility when I looked through the loupe - I listed it as 1916/1917 type 1 (?) with an insurance value of $20, lol, I expected that it was a 1917 and I was imagining things. When they came back it was the 7th one I pulled out of the box, and I just started laughing and laughing - I never really thought I'd have a 1916 - let alone pick one up for near melt value (I paid less than $4.70 per coin in the lot). It's in bad shape - it came back FR02 Details, Damaged - but it's a 1916!!!!!!! I still can't believe it, I've been giddy all week - bragging to people who have no interest whatsover in coins. Hah! My set is 100% complete! If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. Good hunting all and may your dateless SLQ Type 1s be 1916s
Welcome to the neighborhood! I never read the articles in Penthouse. I bought it only for the pictures!
Nice job!! It's alway's fun to find more than what you were expecting. I always look at every Type 1 SLQ I come across in hopes of finding one of those sleeping beauties. Congratulations.
Welcome to CT. My story isn't as good as yours, but at a estate sale, they had a bag of silver asking $200 and one of the coins visible was a 1917 Type I in very nice condition. Always a thrill.
How exciting to spot something no one else saw in a prospective purchase! I just got really lucky (and I'm very grateful for it), I like your story!
Very cool find! I bought a bag of silver not long ago that came from a repossessed storage room. Lo and behold I found a worn slick 1916 dime with a part of a blob on the back. I was almost excited. Sadly, there is no way to determine what the blob is so we will never know. But ain’t the hunt fun?
Do you have a clearer picture of the obverse? I don’t want to be a party pooper, but the strong lines on the walls and the position of the deep crease in the sash/ribbon seem more consistent with a 1917. I hope I’m wrong, since it would be a great find to get a 1916 standing liberty quarter for around melt value!
This thread has an image that summarizes all of the key diagnostics: https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=294479
Naysayers - I hear you - and I believe you're honestly taking a look, with no jealousy in your hearts, but I'm going to go with the experts - and it was nice to have my own amateur though well informed suspicions confirmed on this one. It's not a 1917 - it's a 1916 - but hey, if anyone wants to pay for me to submit it and the rest of my little Standing Liberty quarter collection to PCGS and CAC, let me know, lol, I'd be happy to accommodate any generous skeptics accordingly. That would probably up the value on the 1916 alone by $500. I'm still on cloud 9!