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I'm A Penny Nut Too!

I buy them by the bag when my local Dealer gets them in. He buys them for 1 1/2 cents each and I buy them from him for 2 1/4 cents each. When I get done with them I turn around and sell off what I don't keep for 2 or 3 cents each depending on what the date mix is. Just recently I bought two bags--about 10,000 Wheats. There have not been very many early dates (pre 1940)in this batch but there have been quite a few varieties so far. I sit in my living room chair in the evenings and go through th
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I've been thinking--------With all of the talk about consolidation.

Like I tell the new collectors that ask me what THEY should collect. There is NO wrong way to collect coins. They should find the type of coins that they like and collect those. If that type or series' of coins/collecting is what gives them enjoyment then that is what they should collect. The only catch is that they should not expect to try and make money on their collection immediately-today. If they do make a profit now, that's great but to actually realize any profit in our beloved hobby ti
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Finally I Have It !!!!

Here are the Reverse Pic's of the 1827 Overton 137 Bust Half Dollar. Here are the reverse pic's of the Overton. The patina on the reverse is not quite as dark as the obverse but the spots are more noticeable. The coin Graded an XF-45.
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Finally I Have It !!!!

Here are the Obverse Pic's of the 1827 Overton 137 Bust Half Dollar. This coin has an R-6 rarity rating which according to the book on Overton's mean that there are between 13 to 30 known to exist. Overall it's a nice coin with good detail. It's got a decent strike considering the reverse dies were recycled from 1825. The overall patina is a little dark and there are a few spots on the reverse in the field above the Eagle. Still, it's a nice example of a coin that was minted almost 200 years a
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It's on it's way! My prayers were answered!

The Grading Gods were kind and graded my 1827 O-137 Bust Half! Praise be to those that grade as well as those who do the Variety Plus attributions! Most importantly I must thank the Lord for looking out for me. Blessings do come in all shapes and sizes! Now that I don't have any more finger nails left because I chewed them all off, my submission is finally on it's way back home! It was an Early Bird submission that was received on the 6th and finally cleared Quality Control yesterday. Of the
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RE: Here I sit now broken-hearted

Look on the bright side Bruce. The cut off date for that other Grading service is 1965. At least you have 10 more years with NGC and their turnaround for the Modern tier is 20-30 days. So, all that means is that you would pay more and still not get it back any sooner. Mike
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RE: A very disturbing thought or two

I was around during the last great silver/gold rush. My parents owned a coin shop at the time and it was an extremely turbulent time when you were behind the counter. You didn't have time to actually do what you were there for--Deal in coins! You were essentially a bullion depository. There were people lined up going out the door and down the street carrying everything with them from coins to jewelery to silverware to anything else they even thought might contain silver or gold and this was al
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The results are in on two of my four invoices!

Overall, I don't think that I've done too bad. Of the twelve coins on the two invoices, two of the coins were body bagged and of the other ten The high lights are; a 1962 franklin half,with some nice toning, that graded Proof-67 Cameo. a 1956 Washington Quarter that graded Proof-67* (My first Star!) I had a 1967 SMS Kennedy that I thought would get a Cameo for sure but it got body bagged instead for being scratched. Oh Well. The other four weighed in at rather unspectacular Proof 66's o
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I Think That I've Found A True Rarity !!!

And the wait is driving me Crazy!!!! For a change, it?s one that someone else may want also. Up until now I've been finding VAM's in my local dealers Junk box but this time I got VERY LUCKY!!!!!! There is nothing else that you can call it but sheer, dumb luck!! It's been one thing to find a VAM that was worth 200 or 300 dollars. With those (for the most part) I know what I've been looking for. This time I bought an 1827 Capped Bust Half Dollar from my local coin shop. I bought it because I tho
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Response to Rankings

I'm one of those people that have several one, two or three coin "sets". I really don't collect coins with the idea that I am going to complete a bunch of sets. That is not to say that I don't want to complete a few. I just don't want and can't afford a collection that is based on a bunch of sets. So I buy my coins because, for one reason or another, I like that coin. I like Type coins most of all and again with my budget I can't afford to complete any sets unless of course all of the coins ar
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Finally!!! I've got a subission in the mail going to NGC!

It's "only" 54 coins on four different invoices but I've finally done it! I keep reading about all of the submissions that everyone else has been making and it's been driving me crazy. The problem has been that I've been spending all of my money on coins and I haven't been putting enough aside to get any of them graded but now they are off in the mail. And in keeping with my true collecting style (the shotgun effect) there is a little bit of everything in this submission from Morgan and Peace
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Silver Eagles

Hello again Everybody! I tend to agree with revenant. I don't think that there is much of a future in high-end graded Silver Eagles either. The only ones that I own are for their bullion value. To me there is no comparison between a SAE and a nice high grade or scarce/rare date Morgan or Peace Dollar. Besides the fact that they are intrinsically more attractive, I would go so far as to say that even the common ones are considerably more scarce than any of the SAE's as well as a superior invest
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Issues

O.K. If it is that important to you that you are right then I'll say it. You're Right. No matter who YOU are. But sometimes, even when you are right you are wrong! This is a forum that is designed for coin collectors to share their knowledge and enjoy a little camaraderie as well as have a little fun with other collectors. (Are we having fun continuing with this?!) It is not a place for name calling, much less the wholesale degradation and belittlement of another human being. There is enough o
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RE: Do All Coins Have the Same Criteria for its grade?

You would think that would be the case but If I am correct the only differences that are considered when grading are the individual series' specific attributes like the wear points or anything else that may be applicable for that series. For example; the wear points and the prime focal areas for Lincoln Cents are not the same as those for Indian Head Cents, however, that only goes as far as the circulated grades. Uncirculated grades are basically the same. An MS 65 coin, no matter what the coi
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Re: To Jeremy

Grading coins is as much of an art as it is a science. Some would say that it leans more to the artistic side... Others may not agree. In either case the best place to start is to get a copy of "The Official A.N.A. Grading Standards for United States Coins", Published by Whitman Publishing and study it. You can start by studying the series' that you collect and then after you begin to feel comfortable with those you can move on to others. Sending coins in to NGC has taught me a tremendous a
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Paydirt for VAM's at the Bargain Bin!

I Found two more VAM's in the Bargain Bin at my local coin shop today... I love it! Some people look at me a little funny when they see me going through all of the common date Peace Dollars, with a magnifying glass, that are in the Bargain Bin but it only goes to show that one mans trash is another mans treasure! This time I found two Top 50 1922 VAM-2E Wing Break Peace Dollars. Both will grade in at AU 55/58, they are worth 502 points a piece in the Registry. Not bad for the $22.00 ($11.00
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Re: When Is it worth grading?

I personally have been known to get coins slabbed that were worth far less than what it cost me for the slabbing and shipping fees. I look at it this way. I enjoy collecting coins. I enjoy looking at the coins that I collect. And when I look at my coins, I like them to be presented in an attractive manner. 2 X 2's and almost all of the other storage options that are available just don't do it for me. When I'm thinking about getting a coin slabbed, value is only one of the things that I consi
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Gloves or no gloves?? Continued...

I believe that literally by their very nature and design coins are supposed to be held in one's hand. However... With that being said. I believe that some care should be taken when handling at least high grade coins. I personally have about 15 dozen pairs of cotton gloves but I rarely use them except on high grade coins and the very occasional proof coin. But be very careful when you do use them because they can cause you to drop the coins. They tend to make you lose your grip. This has happe
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And The Jury Is In! My 1819 Bust Quarter Has Been Identified!!!

First of all I would like to thank those of you who replied to my earlier query about this coin. It was very much appreciated. My submission of seven coins to NCS/NGC are back, the 1819 quarter is included in those. Overall I did O.K. The Bust Quarter was one of those that I sent. After I sent it off I found a copy of "The Early American Quarters of The United States" by A.W. Browning. (Excellent Book). NCS/NGC attributed it as an 1819 small 9, B-3. A. W. Browning says that "This is the most c
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Finally!!!

I sent a submission of seven coins to NCS around the first week of last month. Finally it has gotten to quality control at NGC! It still has to go back to NCS before it can be shipped back to me but I'm in the Home Stretch! Two of the coins were for a details grade and variety attribution. One of those was that 1819 quarter with the repunched denomination that I had a post on earlier. The other five coins were for conservation and then grading by NGC. So far it looks like all went well. Hope
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Re: Cleaned or Not Cleaned?

I've read some excellent ideas that have been written in these journals about this subject. Here's my two cents worth. Coin Chemistry is a great book and should be in everyone's library. Keeping your coins that didn't make it is also a very good idea. I wish I had kept all of my coins that were BB'd. I would have a very nice collection of tampered coins by now. I have about 150+ coins that have been slabbed and I would guesstimate that I've had about 10 to 15% of the total coins that I hav
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1858-D $1 Gold Piece--What A Wonderful Experience ...Continued

This is another one of my friends coins.   And for those of you who don't know... The South had a total of three mints before the beginning of the Civil War.They were New Orleans, Louisiana, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dahlonega, Georgia. All three mints began producing coins in 1838 and they all stopped production in 1861 with the onset of the Civil War when the Confederacy took control of the mint facilities. Only the New Orleans mint resumed production after the Civil war and then not u
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I Finally Got my Three back from NGC!

I had to go to the Post Office to get them but they are finally home. According to the U.S. Mail tracking # the package arrived in town on May 24th at 8:11 in the morning and as of today (May 29th) they had not been delivered to my house so I went to the Post Office with a copy of my tracking number in hand and picked it up for myself. They don't call it "Snail Mail" for nuthin' This is one of the coins that I was privileged to be able to purchase from my friend before we sent his coins off
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1795 Half Dollar Reverse

This is the revers of the 1795 1/2 Dollar in the previous article. I'll try to post some more pictures later. Mike [attachment=:name]
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