Satisfied yes, overjoyed no...

As mentioned in an earlier post, I submitted six old proof sets, my 2009 UHR, and my 10th anniversary eagle set for NGC certification at the last Baltimore show. The coins arrived "home" a week ago.

The one that I cared most about was the UHR. I was going to be more than disappointed with less than MS 70. The coin was ordered about an hour after the Mint's website started accepting orders (despite starting the process at the start...), and was received in time for me to get an Early Releases designation, but I didn't feel like going through the hassle at the time. There are no perceptible flaws. Result: MS 70, so I am pleased.

Next up, the 1995 Eagles. Of course, the W mint ASE in PF 70 UC would be nice. A couple sold for almost 11K at Heritage in the last year, and the current PCGS price guide shows a jump from $3200 in 69DCam to $30,000 in 70DCam! My humble example, not quite perfect with the tiniest of ticks on Miss Liberty's left breast, got the expected 69UC. As for the gold coins, the $25 & $50 got 70UC and the smaller two got 69UC. I can't see why any of the four are better or worse than the others.

The proof sets were a mixed bag. I submitted sets from 1956 and 1960-64. I had decided to have them certified because I saw that the original packaging was not fully protecting the coins. For many years, the 1964 cent has had a large area of "dark toning", the 1962 quarter has a patch of yellowish toning around a darker spot, and the 1962 half has some similar yellowish toning. The packaging wasn't totally original either. When I was much younger, I had replaced the tattered envelopes with similar new ones, and I had cut the text from the original envelopes and glued the pieces onto the new envelopes.

In the end, the three coins mentioned above were not graded due to 'environmental damage', even though they were submitted still in the original material. The other 27 coins ranged from 64 to 68. None have enough cameo to merit the designation.

One thing I found peculiar had to do with the holders. Four of the dimes are in the new edge view holders. Those four were on a 2nd submission form. All the other proof set coins from both forms are in regular holders, including the other two dimes, which were listed on the 1st form. I can understand that the coins from the two forms might be processed separately. But why did only the dimes from only one of the forms get the new holders?

As for the Registry, these coins were worth several thousand points, mostly from the bullion coins, moving me up about 20 notches. I'll be awhile before I have enough cash to make significant acquisitions, so I'll probably slide back near my previous rank before the next lurch forward. With these coins, and an earlier batch of modern commemoratives, my percentage of described and photographed coins has dropped. I'll try to remedy that at some point.

Have a great summer!