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1933 Double Eagles, 1974 Aluminum Cent, 1964-D Peace Dollar, et al...

Why all the fuss over nothing! While the US attorney is thumping her chest and saying "you can't steal from the government and get away it" - the thousands of idiotic deals and contracts that allow people to steal from the government go on... How stupid is this whole thing? Monetize the coins, offer the family a "finder's fee - 10% of the proceeds", sell them at auction and appropriate the money to paying down the national debt. Don't steal from the American people by taking this absurdity t
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Good things come to those that wait...

But, OH how I hate to wait. In a recent post I lamented the fact that I lost a great coin at auction recently. Wouldn't you know it the seller, who is prolific at moderns, posted another. I placed the same bid, didn't learn from the first auction, and once again was sniped in the last 10 seconds of the auction for one bid increment of $2.50... The good news, you might ask. I received the beloved second chance offer for my original bid in the first two auctions. I happily hit the buy it now
TD Henson

TD Henson

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First Submission to NCS

Not sure what to expect... Sent two coins on Modern tier which is a relatively good deal considering grading is included. Sent a really cool 1971-P broadstruck Roosevelt Dime. The unfortunate part is I think it has been cleaned. So, this one is a study in my ability to spot cleaned coins and if by chance they disagree and grade this one, it will be the first FT coin for 71-P graded at NGC. The error in striking was in my favor as the torch on this one is as strong as most of the modern issue
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Auction Bidding

What's the right price, when am I obsessive and why do I screw up so much? Going along the theme DM Merrill Associates has started, why is that I always get cold feet before and after the auction? Here's a recent saga for me, which repeats all too often... I find a coin that I really need/want and stick it in my favorites/watch list to come back to and bid later in the auction. I recently found a tough coin listed on one of the major auction sites for a set I'm working on. It's a modern co
TD Henson

TD Henson

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My five renewal grades...

Grading coins is addicting - I wish I were rich! The whole process from beginning to end is quite fascinating to me. It's a three step process that heightens my enjoyment of the hobby. 1 - Selecting coins - a lengthy process for me - sometimes 2-3 months to make sure I have the right coins in the submission. 2 - Sending to NGC and awaiting the results - agonizing to say the least!! 3 - Getting them back home to re-inspect, learn from mistakes and revel in success! My recent submission
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Great coins, great friends and a wonderful atmoshpere!

There all to be had in the NGC registry. Greetings all, it's been a little while since my last post. In the past week I've been to the local coin shop, conversed with friends from the Collector's Society and renewed my membership and the real reason for my post. I always dread renewals, a cash outlay that takes away from my coin budget - magazines, clubs, yes even Coin World. I almost ditched Coin World this year, but in the last minute pulled the trigger. Somehow though, I never seem to min
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Local Coin Shops or the Internet - that is the ?

Are coin shops a thing of the past? Anyone else get frustrated by prices?!? I stopped at the local coin shop to browse and perhaps buy a coin or two, but I couldn't bring myself to pay the prices they wanted. I know they were most likely negotiable and I know the price of silver is sky high, but... BU Morgans $70-100, I know they had them "graded" as MS 64, but for common dates it seemed rather excessive to me. It's getting harder and harder to find cheap coins that are astetically pleasing
TD Henson

TD Henson

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PCGS vs. NGC Part III

Wow! Lots of comments and opinions. Received the entire gamut of responses from this is a stupid and foolish endeavor to real opinions of grade and condition. The overall intent of this exercise and the reason for the "stupid blow ups" was to show the real discrepancies in the photo. This is what you and I and the TPG will/should see when reviewing the coins through a 10X loupe. Full size photos of coins can easily hide many imperfections as many of us undoubtedly have seen when buying coins
TD Henson

TD Henson

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PCGS vs. NGC Part II

Here's the second dime in this test. Interesting comparison... To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
TD Henson

TD Henson

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PCGS vs. NGC

I'm tired of everyone exalting PCGS... This journal will be two posts and then a follow up. I hope this will be interesting or perhaps even fun. One of the two coins is a PCGS 1973 Roosevelt dime and the other an NGC 1973 Roosevelt dime. My concentration is on two components of the dimes - the forehead and hair and the cheek and ear. I'll tell you all that the dimes are graded between MS 65 and MS 67. What grade do you think this dime was assigned? Hopefully these ultra close ups make sense
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Mint Sets - Not your average coins - sometimes...

This post was inspired by Walnutto and his 1981 D Jefferson Nickel I'm always searching OBW rolls, mint sets, singles, dealer stock at shows or any source that I can find nice BU coins. There are gems to be found if one has patience, patience, patience... Generally, I'm looking for dimes, but I also review the other coins for gems like Walnutto's Jefferson. I generally have pick up points on the other coins like steps/building on Jefferson's, the shield and eagle's breast for Kennedy's and t
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Mail - it's a beautiful thing!!!

Yesterday was banner mail day. The mail lady brought my most recent addition to my Clad Roosevelt Registry set a 2010 D Business Strike MS 67 FT, 10 rolls of OBW dimes for searching, a few clad proofs for an album set of Roosevelts and Ike $'s I've been working on and a few really nice coins on approval. What an evening it was enjoying the best hobby on the planet! I love seeing those bubble mailers and Priority Mail boxes on the counter when I get home in the evening. It's almost like Chr
TD Henson

TD Henson

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America the Beautiful Quarters and set proliferation...

Why not collect something that's so affordable? Good Evening all and hope your day was filled with coin collecting pleasure. The mail lady brought lots of coins today including my next two additions to my ATB quarters the silver and clad versions of the Hot Springs. At first I didn't think that I would be interested in these and especially not proofs, but the more I thought about it and the more I saw the decent price point you could pick up proof 70's the more I couldn't resist. Throw in t
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Registry Collecting - Expensive or Enjoyable?

Which E will it be... I'll be honest and say that when slabs first gained momentum I was a naysayer. I believed that the 10 MS grades were largely indistinguishable and that third party grading was just a way to get more money for especially key date coins and ultra grades. What I didn't realize was that buying raw coins without an "education" was and still is an official warrant to rip off. It's like wearing a big sign on your back - "I don't have a clue what I'm doing, so it's OK to sock it
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Agony turns into Astonishment!!

I would count this as my best submission ever!!! 001 1980 D 10C MS 65 002 1979 D 10C MS 66 003 1994 P 50C MS 67 004 1980 D 25C UNC DETAILS OBV IMPROPERLY CLEANED 005 1986 P 10C MS 67 006 1988 D 10C MS 68 FT 007 1992 P 10C MS 68 FT It started off slow, if the truth be known I almost didn't submit the 79-D or the 80-D, and given the grades I would have been better off. The Kennedy turned out solid and if plus grades were available on the moderns -
TD Henson

TD Henson

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The Agony of Submitting

Just where does that agony reside? When I first started submitting coins several years ago to the service that starts with an A, yes I know I'm speaking heresy, I used to think it was all about picking out some coins and then the agony was waiting the 3-4 weeks. I never did real well, but I was also learning how to grade, and still don't have that one down. My first submission to NGC was better, but still somewhat lackluster and there was a time I thought that there might be a conspiracy aga
TD Henson

TD Henson

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$50 and a local coin shop...

Better than spending $800 for a Super Bowl ticket without a seat!! Sometimes I get wrapped up in certified collecting that I forget how cool this hobby can be when properly appreciated. I spent about two hours at the local coin shop on Saturday looking through mint sets, Eisenhower dollars for an album and buying some raw Roosevelt dimes for several Unc albums I have going... Spent about $50 and received hours of enjoyment, grading, placing them in albums and researching my purchases for RPM
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Gone Wild - Weigh In...

NGC vs PCGS I hate the rhetoric that goes back and forth between NGC and PCGS collectors. I agree with Electric Peak that the Walker was wildly over priced... I've seen lots of examples in the Roosevelt series that are just plain stupid, especially when you consider PCGS grades 5x the coins due to the bulk submissions. I have both NGC and PCGS coins in my set and I'll have to tell you that more than half of the PCGS coins are a disappointment to me when I get them. I buy them due to availab
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Banks and pocket change...

The idea to "buy up" all the change at our local banks probably will never work. Here's why I believe it won't - 1. The local banking systems don't really rely upon the Fed to make up their coin supply. Most locally owned independant banks rely more upon their own systems to acquire change and as such most of them are unwilling to sell rolled coins in bulk. We have several locally owned banks and credit unions close by to where I work and most of them subsist off of Coinstar type programs. M
TD Henson

TD Henson

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The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - of my latest submission...

5 coins - 2 graded as I thought they would and 3 graded lower. One of these days I'll figure this out! My five free grades I decided this time would be a run of 5 Lincoln cents spanning Wheats/Memorials/Birth & Childhood. Going into it I had hopes that the Wheat cent would be an MS-67, but was resigned to my usual MS-66 and I expected the 1970 Memorial to come in at MS-66, which isn't bad for a coin pulled from an original bank roll. However, I had high hopes for a 1988-D and 1995-D - I wa
TD Henson

TD Henson

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A Lincoln cent submission...

The agony of deciding what to send. I received my certificate on Monday and it's been burning a hole in the proverbial pocket!! I've run through about 200 coins thinking that any or all of them are NGC submission worthy. The truth be known I'd probably be disappointed in 180 of them, because the more I study each of them the more I see wrong with them... I had some nice Roosevelt dimes, both silver and clad, but decided against these for this submission, as my "luck" or in reality lack of sk
TD Henson

TD Henson

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The 1974 Aluminum Cent

This nation was founded on the premise of capitalism and freedom, but yet we still choose to be stupid... The mint misses so many opportunities to actually capitalize on their audience, it's amazing to me that it still exists. They run some things into the ground, even after years of unprofitability, Congress makes stupid decisions about how to run the mint and the Secret Service meddles where they don't belong... Ok, admitedly that's about as anti-American as I can get. I bleed the ole' red,
TD Henson

TD Henson

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The New Lincoln Cent and a Bonus

Found some rolls at a local bank! Don't give up looking for these coins at your local bank and save yourself quite a bit of money and frustration dealing with the good ole' US Mint. I haven't bought anything from the mint since the now worthless 1982 commemerative half dollar... Last Friday I asked for the new Lincoln Cents and found that my local Bank of America had just ordered several boxes, and they sold me $5 worth. I was lucky enough to have talked to the "coin teller" and she was ve
TD Henson

TD Henson

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The Roosevelt Dime - A few musings from a collector.

Why all the points? I've often wondered about the point structure on the Roosevelt dimes and considering a recent post about lowering these points, I thought it might be time to interject, as I too thought that they were a bit out of touch. However, all you have to do is submit a few of these diminuitive coins for grading and I think most will find out just how tough this series can be on the collector. First and foremost it's easy to get caught up in luster and ignore a few obvious fault
TD Henson

TD Henson

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Crack outs - my 1/2 cent worth...

Should we or shouldn't we? That is the question... I really don't have a formed opinion on the subject, but I do remember reading the story of an Ebay seller recently on a listing. The listing was for an early date, branch mint Lincoln cent in high grade RD. The seller purportedly cracked this coin out of a PCGS slab (I think a 64 or 65 RD) and sent it to NGC for grading. It was returned body bagged with questionable color...The seller then sent it back to PCGS and it was again body bagged w
TD Henson

TD Henson

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