Submissions and certified auctions

Well, I had to bite the bullet and submit raw coins sooner or later so I picked out a couple of "proof" British twopence cartwheels I had purchased at least 15 years ago. As near as I

could tell, the designs were identical but one was coin turn and other medal turn. The scuttlebutt was that NGC might grade them but not encapsulate them (as too large for the standard slab). I had begun to experiment with photographing coins and figured I'd work with them unslabbed in the worst case. Worst case? Having read tons of notes from the bulletin boards, I tried not to think about overgrading, AT, bodybagging, "not proof", etc. and whether I'd feel the need to purge myself on the boards if I had been brutally snookered.

Submitting coins for grading reminded me of racing horses out of town. You pick your spot and level, submit and ship your entry, speculate on the results, watch and wait anxiously for final results to be posted on the big day, then celebrate wildly or bemoan your fate as the case may be. There's even a bodybag analogy but I won't go there.

Checking in on "My Order Status" on this board periodically just increased the delicious sense of anticipation. Turnaround was good and, I'll be darned, they graded out just fine! (I had to remind myself of the line from Star Wars-"Don't get cocky, kid!") When I received a 14 ounce package with only two coins I realized NGC must have slabbed them too! They looked great and although it was neat to have them in their brass capsules all these years, I'm more comfortable with them in slabs. Feeling my oats, I began to think about crossovers, regrades and submission of some of those "odd" coins that local dealers had no time for.

My idea upon reentering the coin hobby was to try to keep it cost neutral by selling off duplicates, bullion coins and pieces that didn't fit my current focus. I had quite a few coins in old PCGS and NGC holders that might well upgrade but I wasn't going to spend the fees for coins that wouldn't pay me back even if upgraded. It seemed like selling on EBay would be a lot of work (and my photography was weak)! I had had good experience with Teletrade way back when so I decided to submit a dozen or so "old slabs" as a test. Oh, and one error coin I had gotten authenticated for my dad a decade ago.

In the meantime I was interested in a coin in a Heritage Signature auction that allowed 6 different ways to bid! I was going to use the internet route but that meant I had to be high

bidder at end of regulation (pre-bidding) and survive overtime (live bidding the next day) as well. I was on vacation at Inn of the Mountain Gods at the time and was monitoring my Teletrade lots (hoping they'd go to the moon) and my Heritage lot (hoping the bidding would stop!). It was auction schizophrenia!! Things were going well enough at the Teletrade auction so I got a bit aggressive at Heritage to end the night as high bidder for the auction the following day. Inasmuch as I was glued to my laptop rather than down in the hotel casino, I actually rationalized that I was saving money!

After a successful designation review for cameos at NGC, I still had a few PCGS coins that I thought merited the cameo designation but they didn't fit in the same "service" category. Ultimately I submitted only one special coin. I used to buy supplies at a little coin shop locally. Most of his inventory was collector coins in 2x2's with a few low grade slabs (walkers and morgans). One day I walked in and he'd basically cleared out the top level of his middle cabinet to display----one coin! At the time, I was putting together a nice proof US type set and there sat a stunning proof cameo Morgan dollar! He claimed he was selling it for a customer at what I figured was about 2 x bluesheet! I picked up a few things and went home but couldn't stop thinking about that dollar. I went back for it the next day and got it upgraded soon thereafter. That's the coin!

Part III-Auction results, Conders and "Hot Rod" Lincolns

Peck-1165