What's your worst coin mistake?

How's this for a mistake?

In 1894 Hallie Daggett spent a 1894S
Barber dime in an ice cream parlor. Her father and Mint superintendent, John Daggett was the one who struck off 24 of them, like an hour before. He gave her three of them and told her to keep them until she was as old as he was and they would be valuable. She should have listed to pa.

To her credit she did manage to not spend the other two dimes which she sold in 1951 for $2,750 each.

 

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I alleviate the issue altogether by using paper flips. I've received way too many coins that have had white flecks on them from the dust leftover from the die cutter punching out the holes in the cardboard 2x2's. This will also leave flecks which WILL cause black spots on high grade/proof silver coins. These flecks also "stick" to the coin, and are difficult to remove, even with an squeeze type air duster. They will also scratch proof coins as well. I have also bought slabbed coins that have had these on them as well, and can be very ugly/distracting. The other nice thing about using paper flips is that if you tuck away unc/proof coins for 5-30 years, they can tone very nicely.

 

Yeah, I agree, the Worst coin mistake and you still made money. I'm calling shenanigans.

I have made a bunch, let's see, buying over graded raw coins, buying toned coins from folks who were Very good (too good) photographers. Not storing a beautifully toned raw buff properly (no longer beautifully toned). Overdipping, and the list goes on. The important part is I did learn from all those mistakes.

 

I don't know if it was my worst mistake but it is described here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/don’t-let-this-happen-to-you-dropped-coin.170244/#post-1161324

 

My "worst" mistake?

That's an easy one.

My WORST coin mistake was thinking that I could make money off of selling coins.

 

sorry I got lost in the silly videos for about 10 minutes. Then I realized where I was.

 

over paying for coins, but if you never see it come up for auction then I think it's ok to over pay. getting in a bidding war and not caring how high it went. I had to have it. lol this has happened with 2-3 coins to where I have waited/hunted for a certain coin for 5-10 years to come on the market. I will over spend for those coins searched for.

 

That is just being a collector sir. If the coin gives you $500 in pleasure, its worth $500 to you regardless of what the "book" value says. I wouldn't consider that a mistake, I would call it a hobby win. I just did the same, bidding $850 against a $100 estimate, and winning at nearly $500. I have chased this coin for 8 years, and by gosh it was not getting away. Yes, it gives me $500 of pleasure, so I do not care what others say its worth.

 

That isn't your mistake, and it sure isn't one of the myriad mistakes you have mentioned here in the past.

Chris

 

I blew a token out from my fingers once with compressed air. But it was light and landed on carpet.

It's probably a good idea to wake up first before working with your coins.

 

OMG, you just reminded me of a thread that I wrote about my biggest mistake. I forgot all about it until you linked your biggest mistake to a different thread. Forget about my staple scratch coin. Does anyone remember when I overpaid by $300 for a proof coin in a mint state holder with a mechanical error on the label?



Here is a link to the thread for the whole story: Mechanical Errors--Another Risk of Buying Sight Unseen

 

My biggest mistake would have to be August, 2008. Should have cleaned-out both safe deposit boxes and sold every single coin I owned at the top. BUT...,, If I need to narrow it down to a single coin, would probably be paying too much for a Type-II gold dollar, --about $150 more than it was probably worth.

 

I don't think this was my biggest mistake but it's the worst my gut instincts ever let me down. When I come across something I've never seen before and the price seems reasonable, I buy it. Usually it gets me a bargain but not with this one

 

My biggest mistake to date (I'm sure I'll make more in the future, just not this kind) was to sign up for some mail order coin programs before I ever learned anything about this hobby. While I didn't get "soaked" I did over pay for each coin. I canceled by half dollar series after about 8 coins and the Morgan collection after 5. After I became a more knowledgeable about this hobby, I viewed the coins they send and realized they're no where near the price I paid. The halves were costing ~$45 per piece and the Morgans were about $90.

The good thing is it got me curious about the hobby, which led me to this site, the NGC boards and the PCGS boards. The rest they say is history!

 

It is my theory that you must fall off the horse at least three times before you become a true coin enthusiast. Here are three throws that battered my ego.

(1) Purchased the Westward Journey collection from HSN for $163 in 2006. It's value is now less than $80. Lesson: don't get suckered by the the slick pitch.

(2) Purchased a 1854 California Bear gold token in 2008 at a local auction. Paid $90; it was fake and worth virtually nothing. Lesson: only bid on stuff you know about.

(3) Purchased a 10X copy of an 1872 Indian Head cent. Paid $45 in 2005. Lesson: don't drink a lot of beer and then bid on ebay stuff.

 

Me I've had a few the draped bust large cent that got caught under the desk interior drawer and had a bunch of fresh scrapes on it. I remember when I was a kid cleaning Mercury dimes with toothpaste and got bored once and took a pencil eraser to a seated half. It was a low grade common date but I might as well took a Brillo pad to it I also once bought a electrotype 1788 Massachusetts cent as genuine

 

Only a Mainiac would take a pencil eraser to a seated half By the way, I'm originally from Brewer so I understand Mainiac. I've taken a greenie to some coins to remove crud. I'm not always displeased by my exploits and often happy with myself dispite the growns from the gallery.

 

Got a friend that moved to brewer. In my defense I think I was 8 or 9 when I did that was sitting in class bored as usual. It really looked like crap when I was done too think I sold it for $5 afterward

 

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