Which coin has eluded you to keep you from finishing a collection?

I have a list of several coins that continue to elude me! What is your one (or more) coins that you just can't seem to find?

These are a few coins I have yet to find that are driving me crazy!

Despite going through at least 15 thousand dollars worth of quarters over the years, these two have yet to show their face!

Northern Mariana Islands - P
Mount Hood - D

I've been through who knows how many pennies, and there is one 2009 that continues to never show up. I have found hundreds of every single 2009 penny, except for the Presidency one with no mint mark.

And finally, I have not found a single 2009 dime. I do not go through dimes much, mostly only look at ones I get back in change and just a few rolls over the years. But no 2009 has found its way to me yet!

What has been eluding you?

 

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It's not that it is eluding me, more that I just cannot justify the cost of a nice looking 1877 IHC.

 

IHC 1877 and 1909-S are still missing for the same reason.

 

I've been looking for years for the right 2 coins. They are all I need to complete my collection. Both are Peace Dollars, PCGS, MS-64 or higher. Nice luster and good strikes. I've seen a few but I'm not going to pay $200 over grey sheet prices.

 

good move.

I wouldn't either.

 

The last ones I saw that fit my criteria were at the Gettysburg Coin show. The same dealer had both of them but he wanted $200 and $250 over the gray sheet. I thank him and started to walk away when he offered a $25 discount. I stopped, turned and politely as I could said no thanks. You are way over the gray sheet. I walked away as he was muttering something.

As I did more of the show I noticed that a lot of buyers just walked past his area of display. Fairly close to him but out of earshot was a great dealer. He asked what happened so I told him. He grabbed his gray sheet and showed me that he was indeed well over priced on both coins. I looked at what he had and ended up buying a very nice Busy Half at a very reasonable price. He even offered me a nice discount, so I did what any sane coin collector would do. I bought it!

 

I think it depends. There is a famous large cent dealer from Omaha who always had great coins, he had them because his prices were much higher than greysheet. Nice man, not saying anything, just saying he had them at his booth because of his prices (meaning not sold already).

However, price guides can only do so much. Remember they are AVERAGES. Better coins bring better prices, well above price guides. I have paid well over the "going rate" for certain coins that are exceptional for their grade. The same works in reverse, many coins should bring much less than price guides for their grade. Dealers always think all of their coins should bring price guide. However, a subset of dealers understand exceptional coins bring exceptional prices, and intentionally buy those coins and price them accordingly.

I have no idea if this is the type of coin/dealer you experienced, but it is a possibility.

As to the OP's question, TONS of coins have eluded me thankfully. If I could buy every coin I desired, collecting would be a function of my checkbook. This is one of the great things about ancients, many times how much you have to spend is completely irrelevant. Finding the coin for sale is the trick. I have a few I own now I pursued every auction I could find for a DECADE before finally finding one I could buy. You know what? Its kind of a letdown once you finally get it. The CHASE is the best part.

 

I considered what you stated but the number of buyers that walked past his table and the lack of conversation between the dealers next to him made me think otherwise.

 

Victoria Gothic Crown; there will always be a hole in my Victoria Whitman Type Set!

 

But you didn't say which ones they are. I have three complete sets of Peace Dollars. The one that cost me most is the one most collectors would expect: a slabbed 1928, graded MS61. An MS-64 in any of several years would be beyond my own maximum purchase price restriction.

As is my preference, most of my Peace and Morgan Dollars were purchased raw. Several might be certifiable, but that would not change my enjoyment of them any.

 

I have the 1928 in MS-65 and a MS-64 1921. The two I need are a 1925-S and a 1927-S, both common dates. I have 4 complete Peace Dollar sets but I'm doing a PCGS graded MS-64 or better and only need these two coins.

 

To the surprise of no one, I’m lacking the 1911-D in my Indian quarter eagles. Since I don’t want a “weak D” that’s probably a permanent hole.

 

Thanks; nice! I'll take the opportunity to correct myself. I looked over my spreadsheet and actually have a slabbed '23-S NGC MS-65 that I got for next to nothing. I also have a '22-S and a '25-S, both NGC slabbed MS-62. The '22-S was reasonable, but the '25-S was over $130 according to the spreadsheet. I usually keep myself to a max of $100 on all but the most exceptional examples. Must have been day dreaming when I bought that one.

 

My missing coins are Buffalo Nickels, 1915Sm 1918/7Dm 1925Dm and 1926S in raw AU to BU condition. I have the rest, including the three legged 1937D. My search shows lots of those coins but always in lower grades, or slabbed and beyond my budget.

 

When you get up to MS-64 they all start to get costly. Especially on lower mintages and the harder to find ones due to melting them.

 

A weak D is about $2000-$2500 and the 1911-D strong D is about $4500 to start. Save your money and you'll get one that suits your needs.

 

I was lucky enough to pick up the 1916-D Mercury at my local coin show last year, but I still need several of the other key date coins (1922 No D, 1877 IHC, 1909 S-VDB, 1869/69 IHC, 1937-D 3-Leg Buffalo). I'll get all of these eventually one by one, but difficulty-wise, I cannot find a 1997-P US Souvenir Mint Set. I have been watching Ebay and other sites for several years and have never seen one listed. I will grab it as soon as I see it. Coin Talk family, please keep your eyes open and if you can get your hands on one, please let me know.

 

Despite going through several boxes and many, many hand rolled Kennedy halfs, I cannot put my hands on a 1979-D. weird, right?

 

Well, relatively low mintage at 15.8 million. PM me and I’ll send you a nice AU one.

 

TexAg, that is a very nice offer - thank you very much. I love the hunt and search, probably more that the finding part. So I will continue to search (I have a new box in front of me right now.) But you have a great heart and I thank you for the offer.