MONDAY MARCH 5TH, 2018 – TUCSON, AZ – COIN HEAVEN AND THE HOLY GRAIL OF BASEBALLS

Monday March 5th – Tucson, AZ

Finished up my day job of selling lights to hotels, and had an afternoon off. My favorite thing to do in any town in America is to continue our quest for Rattler Morgan dollars. My partner and I are in the gathering stage of myth busting experiment for these first year graded coins and they are getting harder and harder to find. We have decided that we would like to gather a group of 100 coins to launch us into the next phase. Much to my delight the first store I drop into – Arizona Coins & Collectibles – had one rattler – an 1884-CC in 64 – since the truest way to go about our scientific experiment is not to cherry pick, but to just purchase the coin and move on, I do so, after a delightful conversation with Peter Spooner (the owner) about some Tucson and Tombstone history that included a viewing of an actual saloon token from Tombstone – Very Cool. I was also told that the largest of the Arizona coin dealers was just a few blocks down the road from me and that they would be the best bet in town for more rattlers.

Naturally, down the road I went landing at stop number 2 – a wonderful coin shop in an old bank building, right on the corner – Tucson Coin & Autograph. There is something about walking into an actual coin store, where you can browse, talk, learn and buy pieces of history. We know that the internet may have changed the entire collecting practices of the free world, but you just can’t beat good old fashioned conversations face to face with dealers who still make their living buying and selling coins in a brick and mortar establishment. This particular shop had a whole lot of everything, from nice display cases of coins, to signed celebrity pictures and posters on the walls, to happy browsing customers and attentive staff. The first thing I noticed was an 1892 Morgan in a Rattler holder right in the case – Eureka (I shouted inside my head), knowing this was a semi key date, and especially hard to find in a first generation holder – if I was able to purchase this coin – what a topper to an already fantastic day!

So I waited my turn and introduce myself to one of the staff members as a coin dealer from California writing a book about early first generation slabbed coins using Morgan dollars as our next experiment and that we would like to buy as many as they might have – towards which I was promptly introduced to the owner Brett Sadovnick. What a treat – Brett goes back to the days long before slabbing coins and actually toured the coin show circuit with David Hall, He even discussed the whole idea of grading and slabbing coins with David Hall a couple of years prior to the formation of PCGS. (side story insert here maybe). Then Brett went into his vault – yes an actual bank vault – and sorted through all of his Morgan’s, bringing back an unheard of amount of coins for me to consider – nearly a full red box of them. I literally felt like I had died and gone to coin Heaven! Twenty-six coins in all – I had to pinch myself as I sat there watching him go through each coin and price it out on a list.

While my head was spinning from the shock of so many rattlers in one place in time, I caught a glimpse of a baseball in a display case next to where I was sitting. There, just sitting quietly by itself, the Holy Grail – The Mother of All Baseballs – The Sultan of Swat, yes Babe Ruth! Now if you are like most collectors, you have more than one passion, maybe you already collect more than one thing. We often meet coin collectors who also collect wine, artwork, cars, movie and sports memorabilia and the list goes on, but Babe Ruth transcends into the very fabric of American life and with most people (at the very least) knowing his name. To fans of Baseball – Babe Ruth is the epitome – an absolute legend. He was a shining light bringing a glimmer of hope to Americans through the Great Depression of the early 1930’s.

My expectations of Heaven just rose another 1000 percent, and my dream state only came back to reality when Brett finally reached a total dollar amount he would be willing to sell us the 26 Morgan’s at – OK cold shower time, but in keeping with the full spirit of the experiment, I said we would buy them all (I was only worried at this point about how much cash I had in my checking account). To make a long story short, after checking my online bank app, I knew that writing a check for the full amount would pretty much wipe me out for the next two weeks – so I made a proposition – could we talk about the Babe Ruth ball and could I pay half in cash and half by credit card – After all a Boy can dream, and a Man can Shoot for the moon – Right?

Brett, rocked back in his chair, proceeded to tell me the story of the ball – that the person he acquired it from, told him that the ball was signed at one of the 1932 World Series games and that’s probably why some-one wrote that on the ball to never forget that (not that this could either be proven or disproven or even authenticated now) and that the signature though completely authentic and authenticated, was also enhanced and noted as such on the authentication documentation. Sounded just like a problem coin to me, one that’s been improperly cleaned, over dipped, damaged or altered in a way as to not allow a full grade (more on this subject latter in the book) – but, none-the-less, is still an authentic coin and every bit entitled to whatever pomp and circumstance afforded it. Brett agreed to my proposal and we sealed the deal.

Out I walked carrying with a box full of coins and an authentic signed Babe Ruth baseball, not everyone in life gets to actually visit their field of dreams. I have been and continue to be blessed with many amazing opportunities in life and fortunate enough not to pass up on most of them. If there is one thing you learn quickly in collecting, it is this – The Right Time to Buy Your Dream is When Your Dream is Available – Buy it When You See it! – Otherwise all you will be left with is another story about the one that got away.

Now to keep in step with if you want to Talk the Talk – you have to Walk the Walk – I had enough time left in my day and while still in a state of euphoria – I chose to continue my adventure by driving down to Tombstone for a little more living legend history – the Real Authentic Old West – for tales of heroes’, villain’s, whiskey, gambling, women, wine, silver dollars and of course gun fights!!

After all, when you have an opportunity to meet Doc Holiday, Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt Earp and take a picture with them at the real OK Corral – You Do It! Never let life pass you by!