... or Finding some bargains on Heritage, Great Collections and Teletrade sites!

Coin Journal for the week of 02/27/2012 through 03/04/2012This week saw several top pop additions to my Roosie proof set, and a few for my SBA set. I am still waiting for my 1881 Morgan!!! Listen to this little adventure... the coin left Oregon, sent promptly by the buyer. It spent a couple of days in transit before hitting San Antonio, and another day to get to the main Dallas sort center. The next day it was at the Coppell sort center, and usually that means it will make to me the next day. This time, however, it was back at the main Dallas center the next day, and then back in San Antonio the following day. This began a ping pong situation where it is now back in Dallas, but traveling between Coppell and Dallas each day. This has been going on for about a week now, and I have no idea what is up. I wrote the USPS but am still waiting for a reply. Good thing its not a organ for a transplant or something!Here are the treasures I added to my collection this week: 2002 Bulgarian 5 Stotinki in PF67 1943 D Merc Dime in MS65 FB 1835 Capped Bust Dime in NGC Good Details 1979 S SBA Dollar in MS66 1980 S SBA Dollar in PF69UC 2006 D SMS Jefferson Nickel in MS66 6FS 2004 Michigan Quarter in PF69UC 1981 S Quarter Type 2 in PF68UC 1974 Roosevelt Dime in PR69DCAM PCGS 1942 D Mercury Dime in MS64 1962 Jefferson Nickel in PF64 1995 Clad Roosevelt Dime in PF70UC 2000 Clad Roosevelt Dime in PF70UC 2008 D JQ Adams Dollar in MS66 FDI Started the week off getting an NGC graded proof coin for my Bulgarian set... it would be nice if NGC would honor my request to add these to the competitive set list... I also picked up a complete BU raw set of 1992 Bulgarian circulation issues. These would be the first coins of the new era, free from the grip of the USSR and the Communist regime. These will be going to NGC for grading, along with some silver and gold commems I got on my last trip to Sofia. I've railed against some of the non-eBay sites, citing their high Buyers Premiums as a reason to avoid these sites. Recently, however, I have been comparing the going prices on these sites as compared to eBay, and I have to say that my first impressions were both right and wrong. First, I find that my original sentiment holds firm, that the BPs are keeping people from bidding on the low cost coins that will go cheaper on eBay. I am also finding that the premiums are also keeping the prices for some of the slightly more expensive coins lower than eBay. I picked up this 1835 Capped Bust dime for my dime type set for $22, with a BP of $5 (total $27). The cheapest on eBay for a comparable coin is twice that! This coin has a Details designation for some scratches on the reverse, but the coin itself looks really nice. Its one of those that speaks to me, and it will now have a home in my collection. So I have now purchased coins from both Heritage and Great Collections, and I'm very happy with both experiences. Also grabbed a couple of SBA dollars on the cheap... One for $5 and the other for $1! Since the only one I have in the registry is a PCGS graded coin, I wanted to make sure I have at least one NGC example in each of the MS and PF registry sets. I remember when these came out, and several times I got them in change instead of a quarter. Its funny how the US public shuns the dollar coins... from what I understand, they are again introuducing legislation to get rid of the dollar bill. Canada did this and they have only $1 and $2 dollars in coin form. Seeing how much money it saves, it might just pass... The SMS Jefferson just popped into view, I needed it, it was 6FS and it was cheap.. trifecta! I am, by the way, glad they stopped the SMS coins.. it sucked having to get not only proof and circ sets, but now a third? ! Right after that I snagged a Michagan Quarter at a bargain price as well... slowly but surely I will get the entire set in graded form. The same for the 81 Quarter... its not the highest grade, but I am choosing my battles when it comes to top pop. Dimes are first, then proof sets as I pick a date and work to get the best coins for that year. ... after all the talking about NGC vs PCGS, I picked up the 74 Dime in a PCGS holder. I decided to do this because the PF69UC dime in NGC is going for stupid money... economics prevailed here. The 42D Merc is for my short set and the Memorial Mint Set for my Mom. I grabbed this one because it went super cheap... the 62 Nickel is a lower proof grade than I have, but for 3 bucks, you can't go wrong. I am thinking that later on, these lower grade coins can be used to give to the grandkids if I can get them hooked on the hobby... go ahead kid, the first one is free Picked a few more coins from Heritage this evening... both dimes in PF70UC. Also, I participated in my first Teletrade auction today... that was an interesting experience. I like the fact that they have *fee-free* nights, which I imagine helps get more bids. I grabbed a 2009 P Polk Presidential Dollar in MS66 FDI for $7... about the same as eBay would cost me. Some of the Morgans went for less than average eBay prices, but most about the same as well. The selection of coins is not as diverse as a regular auction, but it was okay. Only thing is your almost have to baby sit your selections the entire time, or wait til the last 30 minutes and see what you want to bid on. I will watch this site, especially on Tuesdays. No change on the NCS status... still waiting for evaluation. I was reading some FAQ questions on the NCS site, and saw that if I requested a concervation and grading, but the coin is not deemed suitable for conservation they will just send it back to me without grading? I wish they'd have some sort of choice box for that... I wouldd rather have the coins graded than just returned to me, so that I have to send them back them again. They also said it could take 4-6 weeks? Damn, they know how to keep a person_too_unaware_of_social_graces in suspense! ;)This weeks picture is latest addition to my Bulgarian collection, the 5 Stotinki coin in Brass Proof. It holds the image of the Madara Horseman on the obverse, and the denomination of the reverse. Thanks for reading, and I will see you fellow coin warriors in the trenches!