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coinsbygary

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Journal Comments posted by coinsbygary

    Revenant

    Posted

    When I buy raw and certified coins from a foreign seller on e-bay I look for a couple of things. One, I try to determine if the seller is a legitimate dealer. Legitimate dealers tend to have an e-bay store. Next I look at the feedback score. For instance, the Argentinian seller of a raw Spanish 5-peseta pattern I bought last year had a 100% feedback rating with over 11,000 entries. The dealer had also been on e-bay since 2004. Still I thought the risk was worth it since I felt the cost was relatively reasonable. As the story goes I had it conserved and it returned at MS-63. What made it especially sweet is that the top NGC graded coin is an MS-64. Some years ago I went out on a limb for a raw Austrian 1908 100-corona gold coin from a German seller on e-bay. Here again the seller is a well known German dealer. The coin had a rim ding only visible from the obverse of which I was fully aware. I knew that I'd get a hefty discount for the coin of which a problem free coin is much more costly. My only worry was if the coin was genuine. It came back from NGC as an AU-details coin putting to bed any worry of it not being genuine.

    One time I was burned when I bought a raw gold coin from a seller who was not a dealer. When I took my coin to a local dealer, he promptly announced it as a fake. Fortunately, the seller who was a US based seller took the coin back and refunded my money. I also got burned on a St Gaudens double eagle. Enough is enough and this subsequently led to my personal policy of buying NO uncertified gold coins. This policy has served me well ever since. The 1908 100-corona was bought before these incidents. 

    There is risk in buying raw coins from e-bay sellers especially foreign sellers. With risk comes great opportunity for gain or loss. When it comes to risk assessment everyone has to determine what level of risk they are comfortable with and are willing to take. Good luck and happy hunting. Be patient though, it may take a number of years to meet your goal. Patience is key. It's that gotta have it kind of thinking that gets most of us including myself in a lot of trouble. Then again there's the old adage that if its too good to be true, it probably is. Enough of rambling, I know that you are a very diligent and conscientious buyer and that you will make good buying decisions.  

    Lastufka Collection

    Posted

    Modern Coin Mart is based in Sarasota, Florida where you guessed it NGC is home based. They can hand carry their submissions back and forth from NGC to save on postage. Next, since they are a regular bulk customer I have to believe that their grading costs are negotiated. Finally, they can sell their coins through their website and bypass E-Bay altogether. Next I have noticed that some sellers that sell on e-bay and their website offer in some cases a discount to the people who buy from the website. In some cases I have bypassed e-bay to reap a discount from a dealers webpage. Other dealers give a discount for check and cash transactions to save on the credit card fees. Though I believe the profit margin is thin and can't be more than 10% that all the large dealers make the difference up in volume. Additionally, some dealers do not do free postage. You're right on this, the little things do add up. Gary 

    Lastufka Collection

    Posted · Edited by gherrmann44

    I like it, especially when you show the coins luster. The historical context with a picture of the Liberty Bell is especially compelling. Perhaps a few more pictures along with the artifacts you show would better give the viewer an idea of how big this event really was. The only other thing I noticed was a technical error. You stated the coin was struck in pure gold, technically speaking the coin is only .900 fine. Otherwise, it looked very professionally done. Gary

    One other thing after watching the video the second time I noticed that you said that MS coins of this coin are rare. I think what you really meant was that Gem BU coins (MS-65, 66) of this coin are scarce.

    Lastufka Collection

    Posted

    Alan

    I have always loved the way you display your coins. The other sesquicentennial artifacts you picture with the coin are skillfully laid out and make for an excellent presentation with the Declaration of Independence softly portrayed in the background. The picture of your coin is very exceptional. Of course it is high quality coins like yours that prove to be the most photogenic! Gary

    Ray, USMC

    Posted

    Let me start my post by saying that I prefer NGC coins and when I submit coins for grading, they all go to NGC. I like their holders, their grading standard, and their customer service.

    I started with NGC's registry in 2008 mainly because I didn't understand or like PCGS's registry format. Secondly, I felt that NGC was more inclusive by allowing both NGC and PCGS United States and world coins in their registry. When NGC refused world coins they were all removed from the competitive registry. The reasoning was that world coins were much more labor intensive to verify for inclusion. I understood this reasoning and though unhappy, went along with it. Subsequently, I seem to remember posts suggesting a future PCGS purge of US coins and NGC said that they had no plans for it at that time.

    The most recent PCGS ban included US coins but with a twist and that was the grandfathering of all existing PCGS coins in the NGC registry. With one foot still in the door one can almost make the argument that this return to PCGS inclusion was inevitable.

    The following is in part what I believe caused this reversal. First, and perhaps most important is that in the marketplace PCGS coins are much more respected. As such, they typically command higher premiums. I don't like it but the market environment favoring PCGS coins can't be denied. I don't know whether it is clever or more effective marketing or just a rabid PCGS following. Furthermore, it seems as if all the rare and visually appealing US coins go to PCGS for grading. This also means that far more coins are cracked out of NGC holders then are PCGS holders. This has made nice NGC coins much scarcer in the marketplace. Therefore, if I am buying the coin and not the holder, then my coin is most likely slabbed in a PCGS holder. If I pay a premium for PCGS coins and crack them out, and if NGC assigns a more conservative grade, I risk losing my shirt just to make them eligible for NGC's registry. This makes no sense. In fact I did this for a handful of my world coins and the best I got is the same grade. Most of the PCGS world coins I crossed went down a grade. If I can't find NGC holdered coins in the grade and eye appeal I want, I will and have become frustrated. Most of the upgrades for my competitive type-set have been PCGS holdered coins and since I could not enter them into my set I uploaded upgraded pictures onto existing coins. I know that this is a work around but the coins I bought will never have to be upgraded. 

    Now to grandfather some coins and not continue allowing PCGS coins in the registry is more unfair than this simple reversal which I like because now all my pictures and more importantly my coins are in-sync again. Yes I understand the rational of this post but for very selfish reasons I like the reversal and I wish NGC had never banned United States PCGS slabbed coins to begin with. Gary  

    Augustus 70

    Posted · Edited by gherrmann44

    18 minutes ago, Augustus 70 said:

    Yes, but for this reason NGC has opened ‘best presented set’, ‘best custom set’, etc.  A $250k coin should be ranked higher, no matter the holder it is in.  Average collectors will never be able to compete with that, I agree, but nor should they be able to!  Highly pedigreed, top grade rarities will always win the day no matter what.  I enjoy seeing these top coins displayed on here and I also find it inspiring.

    A lot of what I enjoy and call fun is not just being eligible for a major prize but perusing the sets you speak of here and ATS. I simply love and admire numismatic art especially when it is rare and well preserved. Just to be in awe and dream is a lot of fun to me. Without it I would never be where I am today. That said when those top sets have either no pictures or are obscured then I am particularly annoyed. :(   Anymore, I buy coins mostly for their beauty, either artistically or for their state of preservation. This is the reason I am upgrading my type set with coins that I feel are pleasing to my eyes. I feel that with the coins I collect, I can accomplish this without spending a lot of money.

    Augustus 70

    Posted · Edited by gherrmann44

    I'll give NGC credit for changing their mind on one thing though in that they decided to leave PCGS eligible for custom sets. If I remember correctly world coins were also to be excluded from custom sets or was that when they excluded PCGS coins from all sets. No matter, they did listen to their customers and changed their mind!

    Augustus 70

    Posted · Edited by gherrmann44

    The point is to have "fun". I'm here because I am having more fun than I could possibly have ATS. The prizes for the sets here are mostly subjective like "Best Presented" which is why people of more modest means like myself can and do win major awards over here. The following is what the judges wrote of one of my winning sets (2009 "Best Presented" 20th Century type set):

    Assembling a type set is a wonderful learning experience and can guide one toward a favored area of specialization. The owner of this collection truly appreciates the beauty of our coinage and loves the history behind it. While this set includes some really pleasing coins, each one illustrated, the intent was to investigate the history of coinage rather than to dazzle with high grades. A few pieces yet remain to be added, but what has been achieved already makes for a very satisfying experience.

    Especially note the highlight "dazzle with high grades". This makes things here fun because I know I'm always in the game. This year I added a new set and maybe I'll win a prize and maybe I won't. However, this much I know and it's that I had fun doing it. Gary

    Naked Angel

    Posted

    Welcome to the world of journaling where the focus is more geared towards the journey. What a wonderful choice you have made to shift your focus to Libertads and congratulations on that gold reverse proof 70! Just as you are, I am struggling to keep my budget in check. When I was working I told my wife that coin collecting was the more hands-on fun part of my retirement portfolio and saving for the future. Now that I am retired, I have shifted gears and I sell some to buy some. Ahh, the joys of this hobby. Of that you are very well aware. Just one more thing, when you get a chance would you upload some pictures of that Libertad? I would love to match the coin to the great description!

    Gary

    coinsbygary

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, coin928 said:

    I've been using NCS for many years, and most of the time the results have very positive.  Nearly all have been submitted on the recommendation of NGC personnel, so only a few have been a disappointment.  I'm getting better at recognizing good NCS candidates based on their recommendations but I've still got a lot to learn.

    The instances I haven't liked were two silver coins that I thought had near fatal toning which took away from the eye appeal. NCS reviewed them and conserved them. When they came back numerous hairlines and generally poor surface conditions were unmasked. A couple of things I learned. First I should think about the eye appeal and toning BEFORE I buy the coin. One of the coins I am referring to I still own. It came back the same way it went with an MS-64 grade. It is still in my registry but I use the old pictures to show the coin rather than the new ones. Of course if I ever list it for sale, I'll use the new ones. I have had my best luck in conserving copper coins like this one! Previously, I did send in a silver coin with PVC green residue on the coin that came back very nice.

    coin928

    Posted

    Very nicely and cost-effectively done. Most often, I never think of submitting the coins I already own. The last time I re-submitted a coin it was a nice MS-64 1917 Standing Liberty Quarter that returned the same grade. I have a quick question though, did you crack out the 07-S before you resubmitted it? Did you ask Mark Salzburg his opinion on resubmitting at the ANA WFM? Gary

    Mokiechan

    Posted

    My local coin club is just beginning to reach out to the YN's at our shows. At our last show we had a map of the world and a bunch of foreign coins for the YN's to place on the map. With the coins our YN's took home they got a geography lesson to go along with the coins. That said I loved how at one of your shows you had the YN's looking through penny rolls. With this post there are even more ideas that I might want to replicate here at home!