ANA Philadelphia Newps

[Steve D'Ippolito]

Another year, another ANA World's Fair of Money, another fall spent eating ramen and/or macaroni and cheese because I spent "too much" at the show....

And my task became harder because I took the type collecting class at Summer Seminar, and discovered there were three types I ought to have included all along, and one of the coins I did have (that I was already suspicious of) should be replaced.  On the plus side, one of the ones I thought I urgently needed to replace, isn't so urgent any more.  A net three steps backwards, just like that, and now I am missing 15 coins instead of 12.  The mildly annoying part is, it went from being a 100 coin set--nice and tidy, satisfactory to my mild OCD--to being 103 coins in the finished set.

I had a possible line on a no drapery half dollar--the toughest thing I still need for my 1800-1964 non-gold type set.  But it turned out that consignor didn't consign one, so I was free to go to Plan B.

Start with an 1864 "No L" cent.  This is one of the three types I realized I needed to include.  After all, if VDB on a 1909 Cent makes a difference (and I regard it as significant both in 1909 and in 1918), the L should, too.  Fortunately, the No L 1864 cent is cheaper than the one with the L:

 

There are something like ten non-urgent upgrades.  I count them as "filled" but if I see a better strike, I jump on it.  Well, here's one:

 

Now we move on to the Big Deals.  I hit a couple of the auctions.  Don't ask me why there were no less than NINE 1836 Reeded Edge Halves in the Heritage auction, but I went for the (nominally) third best one, because I can't afford this in Unc, and the AU55 showed less detail than the AU53.

I had to run down the hall from the Goodfellows meeting to bid on this.  I got it for a LOT less than retail.  Not so ironically, the AU55 I passed up went for a bit less than this one.

 

I went back to the Goodfellows meeting.  The auctioneer complained that I came in, sat down, and bid on one coin and left; I told him I'd be back.  I did return a few minutes later and scooped up this:

There was one in MS64 as well but I actually liked it less...the obverse toning was ugly blotchy.  (The reverse, however, was simply incredible.)  This time the market disagreed with my judgment, and the 64 went for a LOT more money.

Finally...the coin I realized needed to be replaced back at Coin Camp...is now replaced.  At a much higher grade, and this one doesn't have that "I'm probably artificially retoned" look to it.  Sorry about the beat up slab:

 

And now for a delicious macaroni and cheese dinner, as I now have 11 coins missing....

Edited September 3, 2018 by Steve D'Ippolito

[thedeadpoint]

Oh my my my my... This forum hasn't seen a post like this in ages. Thank you so much for the pics and the story. Please keep sharing!!

I haven't been to a real coin show in forever. My favorite one (the only real one I've ever been to) is the Whitman Coin Show in Baltimore. Three times a year and I've been busy each of those weekends for the last few years. It truly brings a tear to my eye. I wish I could find another show that could stand in for that show...

 

[Steve D'Ippolito]

Spotted another one.

As I mentioned before I became aware of three "new" types I was missing at Summer Seminar, and one of them I filled at the ANA show.

I filled another one on Monday.

Edited September 18, 2018 by Steve D'Ippolito
wrong image url.

[thedeadpoint]

Very nice, Steve. Did you buy it online?

 

Fantastic toning. I can only imagine how she looks in hand.

[Steve D'Ippolito]

I did, but it was directly off a dealer's site (one I have trust in), which to me is a bit different from buying off ebay from "who knows who?"  It was effectively no different from mail order from someone's price list would have been fifty years ago.

[thedeadpoint]

I'm conflicted. I have several series I've been working on for a decade (or two???) now because 1) I don't get to go to shops or shows more than once a year and 2) I like the hunt. I know I could find all of the coins I want online, but I like searching the tables and the shops for that perfect one. Not "perfect" as in MS-70, but... "the one".

Anywho, it's frustrating at times because I won't make any progress towards completing them. But I don't want to buy overpriced slabs from Heritage.

[Steve D'Ippolito]

I hit three coin shows a year, the two ANA ones, and the Colorado Springs Coin Show.  Maybe I'll do the Denver Coin expo too.

I've noticed an interesting pattern...unless it's a truly spectacular piece (which goes into "Platinum Night" where they sell absolutely no platinum), Heritage can actually be relatively cheap, because most of their customer base for that sort of thing is dealers, and they want it at wholesale. At least that's my theory; I've done OK at their auctions.

(Note to heirs:  Do NOT consign my stuff to Heritage....you won't even get wholesale for a lot of it.)