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"The one that got away"


KoRnholio

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Post stories (with pics if you can!) about a coin you missed out on and are still kicking yourself about it.

 

I have a few, but the one that really sticks out was an 1820 British halfcrown that I missed out on in an ebay auction quite a while ago. I had always liked this type since I saw it in the Coins of England book.

 

Within a few months I discovered a nice specimen, and when one popped up I made sure to bid on it. Unfortunately, my bid was somewhat of a lowball, and was outbid by no less than 3 other people. Sure taught me a lesson that if it has the eye appeal and you really like it, go ahead and put more of your budget towards it. I search fairly diligently, but to this day still haven't found a suitable specimen, let alone one that's even close to the same quality. On the plus side, at least now I have a "white whale" or sorts to chase.

 

1820 Halfcrown, NGC MS63:

 

1820%20halfcrown%20NGC%20MS63%20rev.jpg

 

1820%20halfcrown%20NGC%20MS63%20obv.jpg

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That's a really beautiful coin, I can see why they would be hard to source, can't imagine they come up for auction very often. I agree when you say that if you find something you really like and could afford then go for it. We advise all our new coin collectors and investors that you should always try to buy the highest quality coin that you can comfortably afford as you will never lose on an investment like that. Good luck with your search. Georgia

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Great looking coin. Sometimes the low bid is the way to go but you have to be willing to live with the lose.

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All part of the learning process. I was just getting into British coins at the time I saw this one offered. I wasn't too confident in what price I should pay, hence the low bid. Seeing this one come up right away after starting my searching, I figured there would be more if I happened not to win this particular one.

 

Boy was I wrong. Especially on Ebay (I agree whole heartedly with Saor's post), there's a lot of drecky early 1820's halfcrowns that I just can't bring myself to even put a lowball bid on in case I actually win!

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I tend to go with my gut on prices - knowledge is understanding that not all you see on auction sites and or catalogues and reference is absolutely in stone. Lots of times stuff is more than catalogue or suggested prices - look at the CNG 87 sale, prices on much materiel were exponentially higher than estimates or even catalogue prices. Elsewise some stuff has saturated the market and prices are soft. :shock:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got this one in the mail today :D Not quite as nice as the one from the OP, but certainly a nice example.

 

Seller's pics weren't so good, I put in a bid pegging it at gVF. In hand I think it's aEF, perhaps EF if not for some small rim bumps and some hairlines. The lighting picked up the hairlines much more than I can see in hand even with my loupe.

my 1820 toned halfcrown obv (Small).JPG

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Nice Coin! I know what it is like to chase a coin like that. I looked for the longest time for a 1953 20 centavos piece from Mexico. I was looking for a red coin MS65 or better. You would think that this would be easy since the coin was not that old. Not the case though I searched and searched for over a year at all of the local shows and finally found one and what a relief!

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