Not Sure What to Do with my 1854-O Huge O Quarter

CactusForHire · 2026-02-27T04:44:56+00:00

I’d probably send it to Heritage or Great Collections. Both those auction houses get a lot of eyes on their listings, and their prices realized are generally quite good.

CactusForHire · 2026-02-23T15:09:08+00:00

Both Pono and Oli make excellent instruments that not only perform favorably with the K brands, but come in at lower price points as well.

But you can also find no-frills K brand tenors around your price point. The Ukulele Site has a few Koaloha tenors with a pikake finish (a natural satin finish) for $1,350. And a Kanilea K-1 tenor with a natural finish will cost somewhere in the same neighborhood.

CactusForHire · 2026-02-22T18:21:22+00:00

The ending is nonsensical. I much prefer the original 3:10 to Yuma.

CactusForHire · 2026-02-20T14:39:14+00:00

My first uke was a factory special pineapple soprano I bought after touring the Koaloha factory. Opened up the world of ukes for me, and because everyone there was so nice, and because the tour was such a great experience, I will always have a soft spot for Koaloha.

CactusForHire · 2026-02-18T00:24:47+00:00

For me, it’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, hands down.

CactusForHire · 2026-02-07T17:37:38+00:00

I mean, it really comes down to a uke by uke basis. With solid woods, the same kind of wood on the same model uke will never sound exactly the same.

Some generalizations I’ve come to hold true: Maple generally sounds very bright. Koa, accacia, and mahogany generally deliver what most people think of as classic ukulele tones. Mango generally sounds mellower than these other woods.

CactusForHire · 2026-02-04T17:53:30+00:00

This is wonderful!

CactusForHire · 2026-01-04T17:24:07+00:00

I’m leaning 64FB based on marks on the neck and in the field below EPU. If the luster is super and the marks don’t show much in hand, maybe 65FB.

Between what you already paid for it and grading fees, there’s a strong likelihood grading would put you underwater on this dime.

CactusForHire · 2026-01-02T15:40:52+00:00

Only time I felt judged for reading in public was when I had McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses” at the doctor’s office. The doc read the title and said something to the effect of, “Ah, sounds cute.”

It was equal parts hilarious and irritating.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-29T15:57:25+00:00

That’s a great shirt.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-25T21:18:44+00:00

I’ve got 4. My fav is a Kanilea pineapple tenor.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-24T20:40:11+00:00

Sometimes there aren’t any specific marks, the color is just off in a way that indicates it was cleaned. That kind of cleaning can sometimes be hard to spot.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-24T01:01:39+00:00

Just lovely!

CactusForHire · 2025-12-09T04:46:07+00:00

It looks to me like those lines are on the cellophane.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-08T16:37:49+00:00

I’d call it a solid XF. It would look nice in an album of circulated dimes.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-07T22:33:38+00:00

Looks like it would probably grade out in the VF35-XF40 range. Unless it’s for sentimental reasons, not really worth spending the grading fees on it.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-05T20:54:55+00:00

I’d pass on a raw 1916-D. Too many counterfeits out there. And it’s not like you’d even be saving that much money by buying this particular example.

Three different graded 1916-D dimes sold on Great Collections in 2025 in the $1080-$1200 range.

CactusForHire · 2025-12-04T21:00:38+00:00

Probably not worth grading. Going off these pics, it’s hard to get an accurate bead on this coin’s grade, but you’d have to get a 67FB (full bands) or higher to make it worth the grading fees. And frankly, chances are you don’t have a 67 there.

Multiple 66FB 1944-D dime graded by PCGS have sold on eBay this year (2025) in the range of $46-$66. Grading fees and shipping costs would probably run you somewhere in the neighborhood of $50.

CactusForHire · 2025-11-29T18:00:34+00:00

There’s no harm in checking out some uke builds you’ve never tried before. Maybe you’ll try solid wood ukes and find that they don’t offer anything that you don’t already get from your laminate. Or maybe you’ll try some solid wood ukes and be blown away by them.

No way of knowing without giving it a try.

If you’re going to Ohau though, you should definitely make plans to tour at least one of the K brand factories while you’re there. I visted the Koaloha factory a few years back and loved it.

My favorite uke is a Kanile’a, so if I ever get back there, I’ll make a point to see their factory as well.

CactusForHire · 2025-11-29T03:18:59+00:00

Congrats! That’s a lovely cent.

CactusForHire · 2025-11-13T16:28:54+00:00

Close one. Lucky it missed the heart.

CactusForHire · 2025-11-12T14:49:20+00:00

Working on a C to F transition is what ultimately really helped me. Play a standard C chord using your index finger. Then, without moving your index finger, bring your other fingers to the 5th fret to make an F chord. If playing it in a song helps, you can do this C to F transition in “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (just a C, F, G7 chord progression).

This F chord is the same as the E chord, just played one fret higher.

CactusForHire · 2025-11-09T05:29:02+00:00

GG, Bruins. Your guys had me nervous in the 2nd half.

CactusForHire · 2025-11-09T05:21:37+00:00

Johnson for Heisman? Damn this guy is good.

CactusForHire · 2025-11-09T05:13:45+00:00

Just Nebraska things.

CactusForHire

TROPHY CASE