Mr. Perfection 3

Honestly I am not sure.

Yes I paid the astronomical price of 84k for a Lib Nickel.
Ironically I do not even love Lib nickels and would SELL the set.

It does seem absurd. At least I realize this!
My wife at times tells me certain people take advantage of me.
I tell her that is not true because I realize it and allow it to happen for various
reasons.

So let’s assume the nickel was 30k too much. I do realize it might be, but at times people do not care and
make perhaps foolish decisions! In the life’s big picture, depending on what you want and your financial
position, does it matter? I took my wife and two sons to the Super Bowl.
We live near Phila and it was a once in a lifetime event. The cost was 35k! My sons will never forget it!
I lost 250k last year on a liquor license near Atlantic City. The area is hurting from too much competition elsewhere.
Later this year I am selling land to a major convenience store that I bought twenty years ago for six times what I paid.
So everything in life is relative.

Perhaps I was not so crazy. I did pay more that I wanted to by a greater percentage than I believe any other coin
I have EVER purchased! Around 50% more!

To try and justify the price:

The 1910 is the finest nickel in the entire series. It is rare to get a Pop 1 CAC top coin that is the best coin is a series.
Name one!
There are NO 68 DCAMS other than this one. Think about that. 30 years of grading! Most people say grading is too loose.
I think it is WAY too loose but PCGS DOES hold the line on the top coins and is VERY picky on the highest grades. CAC is even tighter!
There are NO other DCAMS.
There are only eleven Cameo 68’s. CAC of course.
There are thirteen PCGS in 68 cam which means they are tight on grading them.
There are no 68 pluses at PCGS
There is a good chance that there will never be another CAC DCAM. This is the first one in ten years of CAC.
There are only 19, 67 DCAMS at PCGS and only 11 are CAC.
The coin is amazing looking.
There were multiple under bidders.

Over time, buying the absolute best of something usually, works out. (not always of course)
I had the number two set of all time for years.
I was going to beat it this year with ALL CAC coins which is nearly impossible to accomplish with ANY set.
However, the top set was sent to PCGS and they upgraded some of coins at the end of last year.
Because of that, there would be no possible way for me to get to the top regardless of money, as there are no CAC coins to buy that
would score high enough.

I believe ten of the coins in the current top set did NOT pass CAC so the number one ranking is dubious. MY set was really number one BEFORE I added this coin!
Perhaps one day PCGS will relent and count CAC the same as a plus which should be obvious and implemented.
Lastly, and the top reason to pay a more than record price for this coin is to beat a number one set of FIFTEEN years. A tough challenge!
That almost NEVER happens unless the top set Is sold and the sets under it purchase some of the coins. I believe this is a first.

In addition, if you take the perhaps 30k extra I paid and spread it over the cost of the entire set it SEEMS to make sense.
There are 31 coins in the set. So if I add 1K to each one I am in this coin for 54K.
When the set is sold, being number one has to bring at least 30k more.
If you follow the sales of almost ALL top sets you will see that most bring record prices in their entirety because of the fact that a #1 set is being sold.
Ducker, Crow River, Gardener (non sets) Newman, and so many others auctions of sets have sold for record money.

I would NEVER have purchased this coin for what I paid by itself.

TWENTY of the coins in this set are PLUSES. For years I have scoured aucitons, dealer sites, shows and more to find the BEST examples of these Nickels.
There is NO doubt that at CAC + 66 is usually a nicer coin than a NON CAC 67.

Lastly I admit I have cheated. There is ONE coin in this set that is not CAC. When I find a replacement I will purchase it! ☺

2017 December 8
It appears that the top Groman set had many of its' coins upgraded. So weak non-CAC
coins are now even a grade higher. This is what some people do to win. However, most knowledgeable
collectors are aware of this. When the coins are sold the prices are indicative of the circumstances.
Sadly many people buy the grade. When a coin does not pass CAC it 100% means that they saw something
they did not care for. Why would I want a coin with issues? Sure, some people believe that even with the issues the coin still grades what is on the holder. Not me. No way Jose.
The Gardener sales are a good example. Gene did not partake in upgrading. His auctions were wonderful!
To me, building a top set means buying the BEST coins that are solid for the grade. If I cannot get to number one, so be it. My all CAC set was only .07 behind the top set. No more. Oh well. So sad.
Happy Holidays!

2017 November #2
Groman did purchase the 1910 for 36k. WOW! A new record for a PR Lib 5C!
I would not pay that just to get to number one. I submit again. I do not see how to get to the top unless
I buy non CAC coins.
I still respectfully challenge Mr. Groman and anyone building a set, to see how many of their coins
will pass the very rigid CAC standards of being "strong for the grade" versus a marginal coin.

2017 November
I never add comments until June but.............Last week a 1910 CAM PCGS/CAC sold at Heritage for
around 36k. WOW! I could not believe it. Sure I bid, but dropped at at 25K all in. I assume one of the
registry people bought it. It was a monster coin but the price seemed so high. I will not buy just to
get ahead in a set. I only have bought one coin since June. Prospects are dim for more but you "never know"

2017 June
I added three coins this year, all CAC. I am still not number one after scouring the auctions, shows, dealer
websites and Ebay for top coins. Hard work and still no go. I do not see it being easy to improve further.
Besides being all CAC, 22 of the coins have a PCGS +. That is not easy. I have replaced many coins with better
looking ones of the same year that were plus worthy. Even though a coin is CAC, there are still differences in the
eye appeal. As of 10/17 I have found no new coins!

For competition purposes I again challenge Mr. Groman to see how many of his coins pass CAC and/ or how many plus grades he can obtain from PCGS.

A top five set should be all CAC approved or "strong for the grade". At the very least it should have ALL,
PCGS + coins which are not easy to obtain. Would you rather have a beautiful PCGS/CAC 66 CAM, or a PCGS 67 CAM without CAC that has been cracked and graded ten times. The last time, a grader gives it the benefit of the doubt
and grades it a 67 CAM? You decide.

Three other notes about CAC.

Complete CAC Set!
June 2016:
I added a handful of nice coins this year. Even with the Top Pop bonuses which I believe are absurd I could have possibly moved to the top if I purchased two non CAC 68's and also two Deep Cams that sold this year. I will not purchase non CAC as I believe a top set should have all coins solid for the grade. I also thought that the two DCAM's being close to 25K was too much to pay to boost my score.
I believe the other top people purchased them.

June 2015
I believe this set is actually the top set of PR Lib Nickels of all time. With all due respect to Mr. Groman and his wonderful set I am pretty sure I finally topped his score before the new PCGS pop bonuses were added. His score went from 68.13 to what it is now. So the average score of the coins in my set are higher than the top set.
Mr. Groman received 5 top pop bonuses and seven ties. I received 3 top pop and eight ties. This is the difference in the total scores making my set two and not one.
I could possibly achieve top set if I choose to included non CAC or top for the grade coins.

I challenge Mr. Groman to compete with me on an even basis getting all CAC or + coins! After all the registry is about competition.
Congratulations Mr. Groman! Nice set.

I believe this set is actually the top set of PR Lib Nickels of all time. With all due respect to Mr. Groman and his wonderful set I am pretty sure I finally topped his score before the new PCGS pop bonuses were added. His score went from 68.13 to what it is now. So the average score of the coins in my set are higher than the top set.
Mr. Groman received 5 top pop bonuses and seven ties. I received 3 top pop and eight ties. This is the difference in the total scores making my set two and not one.
I could possibly achieve top set if I choose to included non CAC or top for the grade coins.

I challenge Mr. Groman to compete with me on an even basis getting all CAC or + coins! After all the registry is about competition.

This set was a long and difficult process. I resisted paying what I thought were crazy prices for two DCAM's that would have helped my score quite a bit. I have also passed on two or three 68's because they were not CAC. I am done with this set because I cannot compete with the top pop bonuses. Congratulations Mr. Groman! Nice set.