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CaptBrian

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Journal Entries posted by CaptBrian

  1. CaptBrian

    A new path for me

    By CaptBrian,

    At a recent coin show, not long ago, I purchased 6 ancient Greek coins, 1 fairly old Japanese and 1 Spanish treasure coin.  I don't usually dive into a stack of unknowns unless I know a little bit about what I am doing as my stash got out of control, lapping up coins like a hungry cat on a dish of cream.  So, with not the irrational exuberance I used to be under, I have been shedding more common coins and looking to be the only one holding a certain item.  So, after asking a coupla dealers what they were worth, I went ahead and bought a bag of unknowns.  Right off the bat I sold one for about what I had in the whole stash, so figuring I was onto something, I had the rest of them graded and was quite happy with the results.
    Got back coins from early as the 5th century BC and I am very excited about 'branching out' as it were.  
    I find that in ancient Greece, there were thousands (2000+) polis's [city states] and each one made its own money/coins/currency.  That being said, delving into their history, dates (which are not on the coins) and pedigree (where and when they are from) can be a daunting task.  Just going on line and putting in what you think may lead you to your coin, is a fool's errand, unless you have unlimited time and even as a retired fellow, there are 'other things'.
    So, I had NGC do the legwork, and now I'm taking it from there.  I have seen that NGC doesn't cooperate a lot as there are no census figures, actual dates, prices and so on. And with that being said, they don't even recognize the coin beyond their description, so to put one a set, much less the registry, one must begin jumping through hoops.  So, be sure you are on track you want to be on.  I am going to pursue this avenue as I believe it will lead me down an unknown [to me] history lesson of the 1st magnitude.  
    I am going to attempt to put up pictures of my Greek Treasures, but if not here, perhaps you could go to my set registry and see them there.
     
    Anyway, happy collections to all.
  2. CaptBrian
    Canadian border guards stop coin returns.
    A friend of ours in Canada needs our help. Every time he sends a coin for grading from Canada to Sarasota, the border guards give him so much grief in proving the coin he is receiving back is the one he sent. It is creating so much trouble, he no longer sends coins for verification.
    I think this should be clarified and there must be a method so that this friend of ours can send coins to NGC without problem.
    Does anyone know what do to?
    Capt. Brian

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  3. CaptBrian

    COIN COLLEGE

    By CaptBrian,

    Go for the gold (and silver)
    COIN COLLEGE.
    TANGIBLE, DIVERSIFIED, PROTECTION
    GO FOR THE GOLD (& SILVER*)
    With all the contrasting investments available, how does one settle on a particular component of available choices? Some of the choices may be physical bullion, being that coins, bars or even a paper investment. There are also many paper investments such as ETF's, stock in mining companies, futures (like a farmer or speculator) and so on. Rare coins, both raw and more. There are many benefits of precious metal for retirement and fun. The thing to do is to determining lastly, the best time to get happily involved.
    Beginning gold collectors should look first to gold bullion - especially gold bullion coins minted by a recognized national mint. Gold American Eagles are the #1 most popular gold bullion coins in the world.
    The 22 Karat Gold American Eagles sell at the prevailing price of gold bullion plus small manufacturing and distribution costs.
    The next most popular gold bullion coins are produced by: Canada (24K Maple Leaf ), Austria (24K Philharmonic), and South Africa (22K Krugerrand. There are other countries producing similar coins but with a lot of counterfeiting going on globally, stick to the known coins for now. Once you settle on a dealer or source of your investments, then his integrity should be enough.
    American Eagles are easy to buy and sell at most coin and precious metals dealers and are welcome in major investment markets worldwide. Many buyers demand the high degree of liquidity and lower dealer buy-sell spreads that American Eagles offer.
    COMPARING YOUR PHYSICAL GOLD OPTIONS
    Jewelry is the customary Old Worlds medium for a family's primary savings. However, jewelry is seldom pure ( 24karat) gold, usually starting with 14 karat. Bullion bars & coins are internationally recognized forms of pure gold or near pure (22 karat) gold in concentrated form. The bullion dealer or national mint is your guarantee of authenticity. The disadvantage is little possibility of gains or losses much greater than bullion prices unless a low mintage bullion coin becomes popular later and developed a collector premium.
    Numismatic coins are the concentrated forms of wealth - so that more value can be saved in smaller space. Over time, quality numismatic coins generally grow faster than bullion in price. According to a recent 30 year study by Penn State economics professor Raymond Lombra. A basket of 3000 rare coins called
    the PCGS 3000 index, far outperformed gold bullion during the 1970 to 2013 time frame. Rare Coins play a major role in diversication of ones gold collection.
    Comparing Your PAPER GOLD OPTIONS Let's start with:
    Futures Contracts are traded on the commodity exchange (COMEX)(NYMEX) for about five hours each business day. The gold contract is for 100 troy ounces, quoted in dollars. Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) contain an amount of bullion equal to the shifts in demand for fund shares. Shares trade at one-tenth the price of bullion ( i.e. $160 per share if gold is at $1,600). the transactions are quick and secure, but you hold no actual gold, Make sure ETF actually has the Physical Gold. Gold Shares trade like any other stock, based on investment demand vs. the supply of shares. With specific gold shares, investors must examine the management and deposits with an eye toward fraud or overstatement, as happened with Bre-X shares. Some mining companies hedge their gold, defeating the purpose of protecting from golds rise. In general, gold mines rise when gold bullion rises, since gold mining leverages gains in gold price, but that is not always the case. When gold rose rapidly in 2008, gold shares did not follow, declining 70% in six months. In recent years, gold shares have continued to decline, even though gold has risen for 12 straight years.
    In another column, we will discuss, 'How to find a coin dealer you can trust'.
    Dealers or Financial competitors who bad mouth the coin market or other dealers typically have many deficiencies themselves. When bad mouthing is present say what they say in Missouri "show me" to both competitors for your business. Give both dealers a chance to provide a response and proof of memberships,awards, accreditations and service. In most cases, the "bad mouthing" dealers or financial competitors are seriously deficient in credibility or their accusations are seriously mis-characterized, outdated orblatantly false.
    *The text would also apply to silver coins. FYI (Au is the symbol for Gold and Ag is for silver) PM is the short form for Precious Metals
    In my next journal, I will go over looking at the economy and U.S.Dollar values looking at things like real inflation and how it drives or hurts the precious metal price, the base of our coin investments and collection values. Stay tuned.
    Capt. Brian

  4. CaptBrian
    Counterfeit hides in many guises
    As most of you know, I do a lot of trading and running around the country and world looking for that elusive billion dollar coin. Usually I buy something and am lucky to get my money back not to mention expenses.
    Unfortunately or fortunately, whatever your bent is, I was long ago bitten by the gold bug.
    Starting about 1988 I began collecting silver and gold when I could get them and on the path strewn with potholes and landmines I am, I believe ahead of the game.
    The other day I came across a hoard of 8 coins and was able to buy them for a little over gold price. Some, right at melt value.
    Sometimes I can even get them for 10% or so under gold price. And since the purchase, I watched gold sink further to a 6 year low, where silver is so far under water I have not got a description to metaphor it yet.
    ANYWAY, I bought some nice looking coins and planned to send them off for grading.
    I like to have raw gold coins graded for two reasons: 1) To be sure they are real. and 2) To hopefully find that one that is worth billions and billions.
    I do not know if it is the collector factor, the greed factor, or the ego factor that keeps me on the trail of the holy grail of coins but sometimes it leads me to the brink of the pit.
    For a while there (after buying another counterfeit coin) I swore off buying raw coins forever. (or at least until the next coin show)
    So, this time, a trusted fellow calls me and has 8 coins. So I hop in the trusty time machine and go to his locale. The coins look great. So I bought all 8 for $3200. Two real hopefuls were $1 and $3 goldies that looked GREAT!
    I got a couple of Indians and a couple of Liberty heads,a St. Gaudens $20, and three others rather generic looking libs and Indians.
    Using the grading book used by ANA and well respected, I sat there and inspected the coins as best as I could and determined they were okay and bought the mini-hoard.
    At the first coin show, the picture blurred as two dealers picked out 4 of the 8 to be counterfeit or not real.
    Then I marked the flips as questionable and again, let two other dealers go over them and they okayed some and culled some. No real agreement. One dealer said, not enough detail on this one and tossed it aside. Another and another came by and after the show I stopped at several coin shops and again, no agreement on good or bad coins. Some dealers offered to buy them at nice profits....
    Well, I did not want them to be calling me or the cops for selling bad stuff, so I kept them to let NGC figure it out.
    Well, today the box came back. (I knew results as they were posted to me well before receipt of the coins. You know the drill.
    SO... look at the picture, and you see the pain..
    One of then seven submitted was real, the rest were marked not genuine. GASP!
    One other, the St. G was real and sold for $1100.00. This leaves me 6 to hopefully break even. The one that did grade was a nice coin worth about $950 or so, the 1890 $10 Liberty, so not all was lost. I can make up about $200 to $500 depending on whether I sell it wholesale to a dealer, or retail to a coin buff.
    Well, this is the reason I refuse to pay much over melt value. I can ascertain that they are gold, and the content thereof so if the worse happens, as it did this time, I can at least recover my costs minus the dice roll for the $30 each for grading and mail.
    Oh well. I am going to try to sell these at shows this month to bail out my friend who also got snared when he bought these, and they will be sold with a copy of the report from NGC and the guarantee that the gold content is what it is.
    Failing that, I will take them back to where I got them, and get a refund.
    So, here is what you need to do when purchasing raw coins:
    1) Weigh coins and be sure of proper weight. That will insure at LEAST it is gold and you can get melt anytime.
    2) Be sure you know your seller and that he will take them back if found to be bogus. This means, you and your supplier must trust each other. There are many devious ways to cheat.
    3) Take a picture with a digital camera so that coins returned as bogus can be identified without question.
    4) Know your buyer, and guarantee him that you will repurchase them within 30 days for any reason, or anytime if found to be counterfeit. Be sure you have a digital picture so buyer cannot replace your good coin with a bad one similar in grade.
    There are so many counterfeit coins, if you do any kind of searching at all, you WILL come across them. With proper precautions, you can save your reputation, and your wallet.
    I could write volumes about this subject, but suffice for now to remind you all to be vigilant to your purchases and sales.
    Happy searching
    Brian

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  5. CaptBrian
    Free money for coins. IRS happy too
    Coin collectors gather round. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!. I know, the biggest issue facing us today is how to get money for our collections without stripping our household budget to the bone, leave the Christmas fund alone, the college fund where it can grow and so on and so forth.
    I retired three years or so ago, and have found that two things loom in my mind that I want to do.
    One: To travel and two: to grow my coin collection to the highest attainable level in my power.
    But there was a tremendous conflict. How can I do both without scouring the bottom of the barrel to accomplish same?
    Well, the answer came to me at a tax meeting a few years ago with my tax man as I was planning my retirement.
    I asked him how i could travel to the far flung corners of the world in my quest of travel, and keep looking in odd places for my coins?
    He didn't know the answer so he dusted off his long forgotten volumes of IRS lore and same up with the simple answer.
    The IRS does not look at your hobby the same as a business so you do have to be careful if you are looking for deductions from the expenses involved with your quest for coins. Or any other hobby for that matter IF you decide to make money from your hobby.
    If you plan to make a profit, you should claim your profits as those things is how our country runs its business. You know, making aircraft carriers and paying the IRS agents etc. and so on and so forth. You would not want them to run up a deficit would you? Of course not.
    So, here is how you do it.
    Keep a simple log, ledger, or even like I do, on an electronic medium like quicken. I like that the best as it is easy to make reports and makes my tax paying easy.
    I also keep every scrap of paper. Guess what? At coin shows many do not make receipts available nor do they want to. So, a simple note of what you paid or got paid for an item will suffice to the fellow or lady whom inspects your taxes. By the way, that is called an audit if you did not know.
    Yup, no matter what, you probably do not believe or even know how much you actually spend on collecting coins. Some folks go at it with much greater fervor than others.
    Take me for instance. I make forays to a number of states JUST for the express purpose of finding coins. The quest is a lot of the fun of collecting for me. Call it the hunt if you like.
    Some big game hunters just like the hunt and when they corner the game, they actually lift a loaded rifle or bow and arrow, draw back and get set, ready and let the beast amble off into the woods.
    My lovely wife Helen and I did that in Ranthambore National Wildlife Refuge in India. Went out in the jungle the day before the big hunt, the guide showed us how to hunt a tiger. We listened, watched and went back to the camp. The next day, Helen went first, she did all the right things, got a tigeress in her sights, pulled the trigger and got off a wonderful shot, just right and took the best picture of a stalking tiger you ever saw. It took most of the day.
    The next day, it was my turn, and I did pretty good, but never got close enough to get off a shot. With our camera of course.
    It is the same with looking for coins, for me, it is the hunt. I love probing the back roads of America for that elusive long lost rare coin. You remember, of course, our truncated journey to the Carolinas looking for a Bechtel mint coin earlier this year when Helen got the tummy thing. She is still recovering.
    I will need to check out just how much of the costs of her stay in the hospital and my motels will be deductible against coin profits this year. Perhaps all if I read the letter of the law correctly.
    So, here is the bottom line: You may deduct all expenses in buying a coin. Postage, coin show costs, fuel, motels and so on.
    Now here is the catch, rub, rules and so on. Of course, I am not a tax man, so do not tell the IRS that I said so. Always check with your rule book, it may be different than mine.
    ANY coin related expense is deductible against the profit you made selling it.
    ANY costs not directly related to buying coins will NOT be deducted from your coin profit.
    Let us say you are going to your Aunt Tillie and her Annual Graduation Week for Elephant Training School, 2000 miles away from your house. On the way you hear of a coin show a bit off your intended track. The costs per mile, any extras you have to pay to get to the show or coin, even if you do not make a purchase is deductible against your profits for the year. The main trip to your aunts home is NOT deductible. ONLY the extras you encountered.
    This is why you need to carry a notebook so your deviation can be recorded and deducted.
    Now here is the rub. If your year showed a loss and your quests netted you more expenses looking for coins than you made in profits, too bad pilgrim. You have to eat those losses. You cannot deduct more than you made.
    Its the same with lottery or gambling debts. You can deduct from winnings ONLY. So, no win, no losses accepted by IRS. Sorry, but they make the rules. Don't wanna play, then don't make money.
    You can ONLY deduct as much as you made AND NO MORE! That should be quite simple huh?
    Oh, within my understanding, you cannot move losses forward like you do with stock and other investments. Sorry again. :^(
    Now up til this year, I have simply estimated profits and losses. Last year, due to extreme trading and investing, much more than selling, I know I did not have a net profit for 2014 and said so on the form, and the IRS accepted my estimate.
    This year, my guy says not so fast. This year he wants an itemized list well reported or there may be an investigation by the collection agency we all know so well.
    So, I have been dutifully keeping all receipts and am now in the tedious task of entering them in my quicken ledger. I now wish I was more fastidious during the year as I had no idea how much I would be involved with coins. This got insane.
    At this writing I have NO idea how many coins came and went. It was like a metro station as coins were traded in an out in big numbers.
    Frinstance, this month I bought 400 coins just for resale to get money for my main quest of one of a kinders and raries. Are those words"? I hope so, cause I am leavin them in there. haha
    Which leads me to the main theme of this journal. MONEY!
    Yup, if you want to find a way to get free money for buying coins for your keepsies, then buy and trade other coins with your stash money, college funds etc. Then just use the profits for coins to keep. That is what I am doing.
    ONE THING! Before you go and do a lot of speculating with your hard earned and needed savings, be sure you have a coin sold before you buy it, or be durned sure you got it at a sub retail price. DO NOT speculate with savings. This is NOT what I am saying.
    There are myriad ways nowadays to find out what is a great price and what you can resell an item for. Do not get sucked in because you are on the hunt. Keep the emotion out of it until you find a keeper, then you are using profit money and you are not reselling it so if you over pay a bit, its not so important.



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  6. CaptBrian
    The Hunt For Gold October
    Today, the adult ice cream truck arrived. Very late too. Tomorrow I am heading to Chicago for a wedding, and was waiting with a dripping mouth for my 1990 $25 MS70. The truck was supposed to be here before 4:30 and by almost 6:40 it was still not here. So, on the way out of my neighborhood, there came the brown van, with a harried looking driver. I blinked my lights and waved frantically, as I knew the coin was on the truck.
    Well, he was in a big hurry and there in the middle of the road, I signed for it, and he passed it through my window as neither of us alighted from our trucks.
    I traded three 1988 $50 MS70 Gold Eagles and one 1988 $25 MS70 for the 1990. I usta have five of them, but a dealer talked me out of two of them last January at the F.U.N show in Orlando. That left me only three, and I thought I was pretty smart accumulating those. At the same show,a good contact of mine, wanted them very badly, but had bought all my 1997 Platinum Eagles and had no money left.
    I told the fellow I would hold them, and he never got back to me, so out went two the next day to the fellow I bought one from the previous day. I had bought three of them for $5000 each, and the other two, one from the dealer, for $3,750.00. He talked me out of two of them for $4850 each leaving me only three which I traded for the 1990 mentioned above, plus a 1988 $25 and I got the 1990 and a check for $1500.00.
    I figure I got the better end of the transaction as the 1990 books for over $21,000.00 and $1500.00.
    My collection has been down a weird path in the last year or so. From over 600 graded coins, boxes of raw coins of all kinds and countries to 70 coins now presently residing in my registry.
    I still have a few oddities waiting in the adoption room for a new owner, and some not very valuable, so, I doubt that I will be increasing my points or total value very much until I find a new trade to make.
    After I finish this journal, I will update my registry. I have about 20 or so coins to delete as they got traded away recently.
    I am leaving to go, as I said, to the wedding in Chicago tomorrow, but am taking a few coins with me for trading along the way and a few folding papers.
    I am looking for east coast mints in the likes of Bechtler, Charlotte, and Dahlonega. My quest was cut short last time with my lovely wife getting sick, but this time we are ready.
    Trading coins, has become the main thrust of my dealings in trying to up my actual total rarity of my collection.
    I have gone WAY down in numbers. Meaning, my standing in the registry points from a place under 200, to my present level of the 4000 shelf.
    I am told, that the reason is, that a lot of my coins have not been through the auctions recently or at all. For instance, the one I just acquired for which this journal is regarding, apparently has not been through ANY auction that I can find.
    This action gives my coins a {no price} and or {no points}, and the registry seems to be greatly affected. I was hoping to have a meeting with NGC to see if I can rectify that and get a real idea of where my collection stands.
    Also, I have many PCGS coins, which are quite rare, and I am forced to go with that grader too. I am thinking, those coins may not get a full point level. No matter.
    It is the rarity I am after, not necessarily, to go with one grader or the other.
    The 1907 PF68 with star, $2.5 has not been to auction, it is a top population and none better. The population figure shows 4, but where are they, number one, and two, I know that Kupersmith had the coin graded more than once. If you EVER want to get a coin regraded, PLEASE, inform NGC or whomever is doing the grading, that you cracked it out, or let them do it is better. At least, send pictures of the old holder and so on. But the ONLY way the record keepers can be sure, is for you to send the coin in IN its holder, and don't crack it out yourself. Besides, you could damage the coin and the grade.
    So, off we go again, wish me luck in my Hunt For Gold October.
    Capt. Brian

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  7. CaptBrian
    Presto Change-O
    Traded away my 1990 $50 GAE for a 1989 G$25 and I got $1900 to boot. I feel I got the better end of the stick as I had no place for my 1990 $50, and the 1989 was looking good in the auctions and price guide. I need some trading material so I actually just traded up again.
    I have been trading up now for over a year, and with very careful trading I have built to my current collection.
    My number of coins owned have dropped precipitously from over 600 coins to now only about 96 items and some of those are spoken for.
    Recently, I branched out to currency, and have bought and sold my first one. I switched out a 1928 F USA $5 note and made $15 towards my next purchase, which was an entire portfolio of modern, lower grader stuff, but it is a start towards a new direction.
    I got district sets, oddities, Directors of the Mint signature sets, and so on. I will be doing a journal on them when I sort them out. That will be posted on the notes section of NGCs pages. I have no idea what I am doing yet, but I know I got a fair deal on the portfolio.

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  8. CaptBrian
    Well, maybe not so old, but certainly gold.
    Today two boxes of stuff arrived and I am just now opening it. I can only put one picture in here (because I do not know how to add in several) and I'm like a kid at Christmas.
    Here is the Low Down: 44 coins in, 24 coins out, and a bunch of bank wires. Had to stash all the stuff at banks in the Carolinas and Texas until I got home.
    A 4 coin set of Edmund C Moy 38th Director of the U.S. Mint 2002 W PR70DCAM Gold Eagles, (4 coins), PCGS.
    Two 2014 Eagles, a G$50 MS70, and $25 MS70 NGC.
    1988 G$25 MS70, 1996 G$25 MS70 and 2001 G$25 PF70 ULTRA CAM.
    1988 -2003 $10 GAE PF70
    1996-W G$25 PCGS PR70DCAM EAGLE
    1993-P 4 COIN SET PCGS PR69DCAM SET U.S. MINT DIRECTOR SIGNATURE SERIES PHILIP DIEHL.
    2012 W EAGLE G425 PF70 ULTRA CAMEO
    2012 W EAGLE G$10 EARLY RELEASES PF70 ULTRA CAMEO
    2012 W EAGLE G$25 PF70 ULTRA CAMEO
    2012 W EAGLE 4 COIN SET G$50, 25 10 AND $5 PF70 ULTRA CAMEO
    " " " " " " " " " " " " " " NOT MATCHING...
    1987 $25 GAE PF 70 BUT!!! IT IS LISTED ON LABEL AS 1997. AND IT IS THE ROMAN NUMERAL COIN SO NICE VALUE. HARD TO FIGURE PRICE.
    1996 $25 GAE PF70
    1997 " " (2)
    2001 " "
    1996 $5 GAE MS70
    1999 $5 GAE PF70 ULTRA CAMEO
    1990 $50 GAE PF70
    2000 $5 GAE PF70
    2001 GAE SET MS 70
    These coins are the result of going to myriad coin shows, I won't say hundreds of pawn shops and coin stores, but a lot. I like to hit one city, use my phone to find a list of existing coin dealers and shops. Also do the same thing for coin shows. I have an app which shows local coin shows. Just put in the zip code and it searches in a circle of miles input by me.
    The big thing is to call before you head out. Last trip, forgetting the rule, I drove via the GPS directions and got to a shop and spend some time there.
    When I finished, out in the parking lot asked my phone again, and off I went to a location that had closed up just days before. Then I asked again, and drove to the third location and unreal, it was in the same shopping center of the first one.
    Can you imagine the chances? Well, after running around the truck 20 times as a penalty for not following my own rules, the day was over and off we went to the motel for the night.
    Once in Texas, the GPS system I was using, WAZE, took me in a big 12 mile circle. Rule #2, look at the route your GPS is suggesting.
    Anyway, we are having a ball as fuel prices drop it makes it easier.
    Another bit of advice. If you are going to go hunt as we have done, make a map of your relatives so you can avoid motel bills when possible. Be sure to ask relatives for $50 so you can get home and they won't expect you to pay for the dinner they suggested we go celebrate our meeting after such a long time.
    I hope you all are finding your stuff as you search.
    This last trip was a real nightmare as Helen was sick, but she is almost recovered now. About 90%. She will be okay for the cruise in a few days.
    HAVE FUN
    Capt. Brian

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  9. CaptBrian
    A NICE SET OF LINCOLNS
    While my lovely wife Helen was suffering in the ICU for 7 days, I had to commute from my sons home in Lake Royal to Tarboro. N.C. one of the days I spotted an ad for a coin show along route 64.
    Having a few minutes before expected closing of the show I zipped off the next exit and hit the windows phone looking for COIN SHOWS NEAR ME. Well, Lo, I got one. I made a call suggested by the phone and got a local dealer who was at a show in Washington DC. which was not far away. He suggested I look at the American Legion post which is where the shows were traditionally held.
    So, I zipped up to only two turns to the suspected street and only a mile up the road I spotted the two flags.
    I pulled in and the garb of the folks there was definitely NOT for a coin show. It was a wedding. Well, my questioning gaze quickly saw the other building across the road which was where the coin show was.
    So in there I found few things I was looking for. One of them was the set of Lincoln cents.
    I liked them because so many of the coins had been used in circulation, coin collecting during the war years took a major hit and I felt lucky to find these. They are not rare nor expensive but make a great spot in my collection. I guess I am in love with anything a bit different, rare or hard to find.
    Enjoy the picture, its the best I can do at this time.
    Lincoln cents 1943, steel, and MS66. PCGS and one from each mint that made them. S D and P.
    Have fun. I am, now that my wife is okay. We are both still recovering. I slept 14 hours straight after a harrowing trip down I-95 slogging through the tropical storm conditions almost every mile.
    Happy collecting and traveling. I'm off the road now for a while. In August we are off on a cruise. My gift to wifey after her tribulation.
    I found a few other items I will expose later.
    Capt. Brian

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  10. CaptBrian
    WHERE oh where can the Bechtler mint golds be?
    I set out two Fridays ago, on a hunt for Bechtler mint gold coins and the first week went okay, found a beautiful silver eagle. 2003 W PR70 DCAM.
    Nothing else when, on the way to Mount Airy, (Mayberry RFD) at my sons home two Fridays ago, my lovely wife Helen began complaining pretty heavy of a stomach ache. Saying it was not the usual pains, we stopped at a clinic and the doctor sent her away with pain and antibiotic prescriptions.
    I did not like the way he did not know what was causing it, so we went to the nearest clinic, which was closed, as was a 2nd one.
    Finally I found an emergency room open in Tarboro, N. C.
    To make a very long story short, appendicitis. 10 days later we get her out and two days after that, we finally got home.
    I did find a nice coin at a great price. Only $35 dollars. and three steel pennies. I guess the real steal was the eagle.
    More later.
    Capt. Brian

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  11. CaptBrian
    220 years old. Quite an addition
    I recently traded 12 of my last lesser coins for one that will crown my collection as the oldest one. USA type.
    It is a 1795 FLOWING HAIR S$1. In XF40
    Two years ago, at a Stacks and Bower auction my coins cousin sold for $10,016,875. The mouth watering desiree the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, a suberb Gem Specimen, finest known to exist. So, while the purchasing power of our US$ has gone down over the years, the value of our coins increases in value far beyond our dreams.
    The sale mentioned above was up 30% from the previous sale.
    I doubt seriously one of my coins will ever become that highly prized unless I find one in a dusty old garage sale.
    The Founding Fathers of the fledgling United States, made the Dollar the cornerstone of our monetary system in the Coinage Act of 1792. More than two years passed however, between the time Congress authorized dollar coinage and the actual production of the first such coin,the Flowing Hair silver dollar. Congress specified that the Mints Chief Coiner and Assayer, needed to post bonds of $10,000 each before they could work with precious
    metal, which represented more than six times their annual salary of $1,500. Only copper coinage could be produced, until the total $20,000 bond could be satisfied.
    David Rittenhouse, the first Mint Director, requested that Thomas
    Jefferson, the Secretary of State at that time, help in removing this roadblock in minting Americas first Dollars. In March of 1794, Jefferson appealed to Congress to lower the bonds to $5,000
    for Chief Coiner Henry Voigt, and $1,000 for Assayer Albion Cox. He also put up the money himself, so the Mint
    could produce the remaining U.S. coinage denominations.
    His annual salary was a whopping $2,000.00 annually.
    The Mints first Engraver Robert Scot, prepared designs months
    earlier, while the bond issue was in debate. The Dollars size
    and weight were based on the Spanish dollar, which was popular in trade throughout the Americas at that time. Scots initial design depicted a bust of Liberty, while his reverse featured an eagle, both required by the 1792 Coinage Act. The obverse featured a right-facing portrait of a youthful female figure whose hair flowed freely behind her, to signify freedom. The word LIBERTY appears at the top the dentilled rim, with the date at the bottom, and 15 six-point stars around both sides of Lady Liberty, split eight to the left, seven to the right along the rim, which represented the number of States in the Union at that time.
    The reverse was modeled from a 1792 25-cent pattern piece that had been designed by Joseph Wright, who died of yellow fever in 1793, after serving briefly as Mint engraver. In the center a small, spread-winged, right-facing eagle is perched upon a rock and surrounded by 2 olive branches crossed and tied at the bottom, and slightly separated at the top. The left wing (viewers right) is in front of the olive branch wreath, the right behind it. The motto UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircles the coin. No denomination or mintmark appears on these coins, as all were minted in Philadelphia.
    The edge of Americas first Dollar, has the inscription HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT with decorative ornaments separating these words.
    1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollars have two different major die varieties, commonly referred to as "2 Leaves and 3 Leaves describing the leaves on the reverse leaf clusters surrounding the eagle.
    The 2 Leaves variety is approximately three times as rare and valuable as the 3 Leaves variety, according to the PCGS population Report as of September 2011. Mint State examples of both varieties are extremely rare and very valuable. PCGS has graded only a dozen examples of the 2 Leaves variety. The finest known 1795, 2 Leaves Silver Dollars certified by PCGS are a pair of MS65 graded dollars... until recently when NGC graded a recently discovered 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar SP65.
    The First U. S. Mint Engraver, Robert Scot, created the Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, which were only produced for two years,
    from 1794 to 1795. Coin blanks for the Flowing Hair dollars
    were weighed before the coins were struck, blanks that were too-heavy were filed down to remove excess silver. These adjustment
    marks, are often still visible, as a reminder of the history associated with this early coin production. Underweight blanks were adjusted using a small silver plug in the center of the planchet, which was an easier and less expensive solution, rather than melting down the unacceptable coins and starting over.
    On a single day, October 15, 1794, a mere 2,000 Flowing Hair silver dollar were struck at the Philadelphia Mint from a single pair of dies. Out of the 2,000 Silver Dollars, 242 were found to be underweight and were eventually reused as planchets the following year. The remaining 1,758 pieces that were delivered by the Chief Coiner for circulation. Chief Coiner Voight, stored many of these first dollars in the Mints vaults, before giving them to Mint Director Rittenhouse the following May 1795.
    Mint Director Rittenhouse presented a few of these dollars to VIPs as souvenirs, but also made a point of exchanging some them for Spanish dollars, in order to get the new coins into public
    circulation. Rittenhouse never distributed all the coins, because he had to resign due to failing health in June of 1795.
    The new Flowing Hair Silver Dollars were not well received by the Early Americans, as the older, heavier Spanish and Mexican pieces continued to circulate as the preferred medium of exchange.
    Further dollar production was suspended until a new press Coinage was ordered in 1794 after it was determined that the existing presses were too small to fully strike the large dollars.
    A new larger coin press capable of imparting fuller, stronger strikes was constructed specifically for the minting of the 1795 dollars. Beginning in early May of 1795, around 160,295 Flowing Hair Dollars dated 1795 were struck for Circulation on the new coin presses. Later that year, in October 1795, this first dollar design gave way to a new Draped Bust Dollar,making the Flowing Hair Dollar just a two-year type coin.
    Today, the survivors of the short-lived Flowing Hair design dollars are of the utmost rarity and desirability within serious numismatic circles. There are around 120-130, 1794 Dollar survivors today, in all grades. The 1795 Silver Dollar is
    more common, but the demand from type collectors keeps prices high. Over 2,000 1795 issues are listed in census population reports. Mint state pieces of both dates are extremely rare. There are no official mint records of Proofs for either year, but a unique 1795 dollar was recently graded a specimen strike
    by NGC as SP65. Flowing Hair dollars are highly desired by serious collectors, not just because of their great rarity, but also because they possess such a powerful link with the birth of our nation, and the beginning U.S. coinage.
    Just for fun, the following records are reproduced here:
    Top Valuable Flowing Hair Dollars:
    1794 $1 PCGS Specimen-66 (PCGS). CAC Sold For: $10,016,875.00
    1794 $1 PCGS Specimen-66 Sold For: $7,850,000.00
    1794 $1 MS61 NGC Sold For: $747,500.00.
    1794 MS63 PCGS Secure Plus Sold For: $1,500,000.00 (not verified)
     

  12. CaptBrian
    This confirms -at least to me-
    A few days ago, we had a discussion on one of my journals about the 2nd party grading of the CAC, PQ, MAC. Perhaps others to come, which seem to want a piece of the coin grading pie ($s)and not have to go through the processes of the NGCs and PCGSs.
    I said before and I reiterate; We do not need high fives from anyone but the good guys! NGC and PCGS. Certainly not two or three or more of them.
    I just went through a session with CAC and finally gave up. The dealer I went through could not believe my coin did not get the nod from them.
    The dealer even sent a registered letter to CAC which has not been acknowledged as yet and much time has passed. We know they got the letter because it was signed for.
    To further cement my allegations that their system is faulty, and my coin should have gotton their attention (green bean), NGC found it okay to give my coin an award, which in my mind far eclipses any 2ndary labelers thumbs up.
    One picture worth thousand words.
    For me, it puts to rest the question of the secondary labelers. They are no better at grading, than I am at spelling. Pretty good but in no way an authority.
    Thanks, You decide what to do. I for one will NEVER pay more for a coin with a label, and certainly do not want the holder sullied with stickers all over it.
    Capt. Brian
    The Lost Navigator

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  13. CaptBrian
    Will the real price please stand up!
    Ok ok, dickering is fun. I love a good horse trading afternoon. I like to do it about 2 - 4 PM when my wits are the sharpest.
    I often find myself in the auction circle selling and buying but I can NEVER figure out how NGC or PCGS prices these things in their sites for Price Guides.
    Now take fer instance, the 2000 $10 Platinum MS70 Eagle. Some call it a liberty head (which I reserve for the Libs of the 1907 or earlier where it actually says, Liberty on the hairpiece).
    Go look at the NGC price for that coin, it has many auctions below $750. $322 is the most expensive an auction went for, not counting buyers and sellers premium which adds a little. I think 17% overall, so if we add in 17% we get: $379, NOT $750 as the guide shows.
    Some upstart company, bid4assets.com or something like that, had one sold for $425.00. More than any of the auctions sold by NGC and hundreds lower than some PCGS auctions.
    So...NGCs price is $750.00 Where did that come from? I need an explanation. But that is an easy one, get this:
    PCGS has their auctions as high as $2,950.00 and one in the $2200 range and a few in the sub $1000 range.
    How in Kelseys hat can you have a suggested price guide at $7500.00?
    A month ago, it was 6000.00. While I was talking about it the price jumped to $6500, and now I look and its $7500.
    Why I do not buy all I can with NGC label, crack out the 70s and send them to PCGS?
    There they show the population or census at 12. NGC shows 291 graded at 70, now that certainly is not rare, hard to find maybe. We need a discussion on just what is rare.
    I spoke with the head honcho of PCGS at the F.U.N. Show in Orlando last January, and he said, quote: Well, its a manufactured market. unquote. When I tried to get a conversation going about it, I got no where and he had no real intelligent response. I mean, nothing I could tell a buyer that he should pay me $7000 or more for a coin I can buy almost anywhere for under $500 easy.
    So, I walked away, dazed and confused as usual, and now I am in a worse state.
    The fellow I bought one from for $6000 allowed me 30 days inspection. After that conversation I sent it back and he credited my credit card account with my $6000. He still professed what a great deal it was at $6000.00.
    Well, since then, I have had many searches out to find one of those 300 or so in either NGC or PCGS. Not really wanting one in one of the lesser graders like ICG.
    So, today in a package from my dealer, whom I trust implicitly, as he was returning a coin I tried to get a CAC label, on which was instrumental in me not going along with the labelers, as I said in a recent journal dated this month. This is a one of a kind coin, with a PF68* and they did not like it.
    Anyway, included in the return package was the $10 Pt MS70 I had sent back.
    Ok, now what? I guess I made some sort of trade with a huge cache of coins, and he included this in the deal and it says PAID.
    Well, now I do not know what to do.
    The question remains: What is the real price of this $10 MS70 Pt coin with PCGS label? I am going to list it on ebay, and a few other websites for $8000 and see what happens. Will someone be needful enough to pay ANYTHING for a semi-rare coin?
    I say, semi-rare, because I cannot find one anywhere in NGC, PCGS or any other secondary slabber.
    Your comments are sorely needed. I intend to tell my dealer about this AFTER I try getting billions and billions for this on an auction site.
    Hope you are having as much fun as I am.
    Capt. Brian
    The Lost Navigator
    PS, I bought a 1907 $20 Lib today at a pawn shop for $100 over. It looks really great. If it has not been cleaned, I figure it for a MS61 should get me about $1700. Oh well, dice roll again.

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  14. CaptBrian
    Hope you get an Oscar
    I left all directions on my comment on the last journal by gherrmann44
    OKAY: Here is the body, so you do not have to run to gherrmann44 if you do not want to.
    I left an eloquent note on how I have learned to do my photos for NGC notes, journals and the registry if not ETC.
    Unfortunately, my note was lost when I attempted to add it to this reply section,
    I had written what follows, so I hope this re-do is as wonderful .
    I had worked with a production company as an extra, and learned about lighting during the shooting of BL Stryker, the Burt Reynolds Sunday Night Mystery Movie of many years ago. (Columbo era)
    I learned that diffused light was the best. My wife, boat and I were just extras, but the shooting went on and on for quite sometime. Blowing up boats, running vans off bridges and so on.
    Keeping their lessons in mind after all these years. [if you remember, photoging was like some sort of mystic art up until I worked this out. The result you can make up your own mind. But, because I cannot seem to get an image in this reply, I will write a tiny journal and the picture is taken with this method.
    First of all, you must look at the image in your cell phone. If it is two years old or less, you have this capability.
    Be sure there is no reflections, from overhead lights, your face in front of or behind the coin. I like to set it on a wood table, or have someone hold it.
    1) Use a little bit of zoom, just a little. If you hold the phone too close, it will blur. We will fix this background you captured in a moment.
    Instead of moving the camera, move the object until all reflections are out.
    Leave a little border of the background.
    Then snap your best with your iphone. ( I use a Nokia Windows phone) Just love it.
    Then here is the secret. Use the CROP TOOL.
    This will allow you, using your finger to bring in or out to include JUST the coin.
    Here is the result. GO TO MY JOURNAL I AM GOING TO POST AS QUICK AS i CAN AFTER POSTING THS.
    GOOD LUCK
    After you have your favorite snap, CROP IT!
    You have a crop tool.
    Capt, Brian

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  15. CaptBrian
    Question everything?
    This is a journal to continue a thread after the previous journal by hightidetech posted 3/19/15 titled, Digital Imaging for a new generation of numismatists....
    I replyed:
    A grade by any other name:
    I use that old saying regarding a rose as a reality check for our graded coins. One can alway hire a lawyer and plead a case and convince a jury of peers that a rose is a peach blossom or some other flower, but in reality it is still a rose.
    If the accepted graders say a coin is a perfect coin, giving it a PF or MS 70, then why cannnot we let it go at that?
    Over the years, technology has gone by us daily. As soon as I buy a computer, it is obsolete. When a highway is planned, before it is finished, it is not big enough or the turns are not banked enough and so on and so forth.
    I am not sure how many coins have been graded by NGC and PCGS, not to mention the 2nd graders and now the labelers, but they must number in the millions. I would not say a trillion yet.
    So, now we have maybe an astronomical number of coins already in slabs and NO ONE can grade a coin through a quarter inch of plastic.
    There are only two alternatives left. Cut out ALL graded coins, bring them all to raw status, and begin to regrade them again with an electron microscope, (which would show more flaws than a hung jury in the south in the 50s.) and therefore NO coin could be ever again called a perfecet coin.
    I have two coins shows coming up this week, therefore I do not have time to make a complete thought, but you get my drift.
    Let us let it alone, lest we open a Pandoras box and ruin a great hobby.
    AND ADD: This technilogical world is a tidy place. The digital age allows many things. Especially TV shows which drag out our realities into some sort of matrix controlled world of a new reality. This smacks of MYTHBUSTERS t-shirt, I reject your reality and insert my own.
    What I mean is, these 2nd party graders, the labelers, and folks who want more verification than offered by NGC and PCGS are muddying the water so that our wonderful hobby will be ruined if us collectors, traders and numismatists allow the incursions into our world by these profit motivated monsters of the midway.
    So, my suggestion is for you coiners to tell all friends and dealers your opinion. Try to let the majority rule and then reality will seep in. If the lablers and third party graders are wanted, they will survive. If the majority does not want them, then us collectors will eventually win out and they will fade away. I do not know anyone who has paid more for a CAC, or PQ or MAC. Personnally, I do not mind a Big Mac, but I do not want one smeared on my $100,000 coin.
    Capt. Brian,
    The Lost Navigator

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  16. CaptBrian
    Do we need CAC, MAC and now PQ? Scrape off those stickers!
    I know evolution is a reality for many things. I'm sure coin grading is well involved (or should I say, ensnared) in a manufactured market regarding our wonderful coins.
    I started collecting before all this static came into the picture. I first saw the pretty glitter of physical silver and gold and as you know, if you have been following me, was enticed into numismatics as physicals became boring and not a lot different from trading equities and other investments.
    As a former stock broker, including commodities and insurance, I certainly have seen, heard and felt extreme fear and greed.
    I fully understand how this has happened, this sticker war now evolving.
    First it was my chore to understand grading, of proof and mint strike coins. then, cam grading as I began to have a table at various shows around Florida. As folks would come to me with raw coins I attempted to figure what grade, hence value was the coin offered me for cash.
    The best I could do was to keep a jewelers loop and grading book handy. I use the Official Whitman Guidebook of Numismatic Grading Standards. It has held me in good stead but still have to be wary of many pitfalls and mines lurking with the coins that show up over the counter.
    In my travels I have bought four counterfeit coins and have been offered many Chinese fakes. I'm getting better.
    Due to the charlatans and thieves out there, I can understand how the new sticker crowd is showing up on the scene.
    I feel these companies are jumping on a lucrative bandwagon of an industry fat with money and wealthy people. This sticker war, I feel, must be stopped.
    The two main coin graders NGC and PCGS were first on the scene. Now there are many. Along came ICG, and trying to sell one of those green labels is a fools errand unless you are asking bullion price. Most dealers will not pay over bullion.
    Going to the two main graders, they have the full grades through and up to 70. Should the graders find a coin is a little better than a full grade, there are plus and stars they use to enhance a grade, but not go to the next higher.
    I feel the label makers are totally useless and are making a market along with one with a near perfect system. If it works, do not fix it.
    I mean, have you ever seen a PF70 with a star or plus? NO you have not! WHY? Because a 70 is the best, the pinnacle, the apex the holy grail and so on and so fourth.
    So now, if you have a PF or MS 70, the labelers want to say, Oh, we think this coin is not a good 70 so we will not grade it. It has a spot or flaw. Fine. If a coin is graded at a trusted grader such as NGC and is used by the ANA, then why do we need a 2nd opinion? I mean, do we need all graders and labelers to agree that one specific coin is better than any other?
    What if it is a 70, and CAC doesn't like it. So you send it to PQ. And if they don't like it,you send it to MAC and so on. How many stickers must we have to prove our coin is tops? Twenty, and what if the 23rd company does not like it? Do we need three or more stickers along with the graders grade?
    No,I think this is total nonsense. If NGC or PCGS is not trusted, then why have them grade the coin or why buy it in their holder.
    This subjective, manufactured market is getting out of control and I do not like it.
    I am not going to jump on the bandwagon, and have three or more stickers on my wonderful coins. I will not stay away from a coin graded by a trusted grader because it does not have the sticker.
    At the present time there are myriad coin graders, and then along came the labelers.
    You do what you like, but I am sticking with the pros and not going to be dragged into this whirlwind. I say PFMS70 is good enough for me.
    If you are not sure what we mean, follow this link.
    https://www.google.com/search?q=pq+coin+sticker&rlz=1C1RNPN_enUS407&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=BnL-VLe4AsOkNqa3hKAH&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=1160&bih=904
    You can see all the labels stuck on our coins.
    At the F.U.N. show in Orlando last January, I was approached by MAC labelers. For $20 they would double the value of your coin. I thought it sounded pretty good until he sat down with a stack of envelopes, and began writing out a bill before he even looked at my coins. He was simply interested in the money, and I could see what he was about to do. I sent him away.
    Then I went to his booth and tried to buy a certain silver eagle and he wanted many times its value. Like, $10,000. I made a call and a friend I knew had 2 of them and would sell them for $4500. This fellow bellowed that he would pay $9500 thinking I could not get the rare item. When I took him up on his big mouth, he screamed and yelled. I went to the authorities at the show, and told them what he was doing and in no time, his booth was empty. If you see a coin with the MAC label, it was a purchased label, not a graded coin.
    What do you think?
    Capt. Brian
    The Lost Navigator

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  17. CaptBrian
    Do not tone it down
    Coin toning can actually up or lower the value of coins. Natural coin toning can be quite beautiful. It can also be quite ugly.
    And because beauty is often times in the eye of the beholder, placing a value on a coin due to its toning can present problems.
    Should you pay extra or less for toned coins? After all, a coin that is toned is going through a form of corrosion, right?
    We are talking about a discoloration or patina that forms due to reactions to the metal with the elements. Air, water, humidity; all can result in a coloration changein a coin or parts of it.
    The reaction that creates toning can vary from metal to metal, silver gold copper nickel and so on.
    Coins which are toned are in a normal stage of the process. Do not worry about it, and if stored properly there is no problem. Only being in a vacuum will stop all changes.
    Your coin will not disintegrate or go to a non-collectible state.
    Even in worse cases, the tone color will usually take years to get to its darkest and least attractive appearance.
    Nowadays, a toned coin is appealing, not a detraction.
    Spots on gold coins, spots on copper coins, and milk spots on silver coins are not really part of eye appeal, but they are part of the grade and grade deductions are made similar to those made for marks or hairlines. Note that in some instances, spots can appear subsequent to grading. In the case of copper coins, the spots would result in a grading deduction, and, since there are often environmental factors. For modern silver issues, spotting is a Mint acknowledged problem. For modern silver coins, it is possible for two coins to have the same technical grade and one be spotted and one be spot-free. In these instances, the spotted coins will command a lesser price in the marketplace.
    You could call it tarnish, but that has a negative sound but same on the science level. As long as it is on a natural level, its fine. Do not arificially tone it. You will most likely ruin it.
    There are ways to tell if toning adds value to your coin.
    For most people its eye appeal. If a coin is not good looking, unless its real rare, folks are not going to buy it. On the other hand, if it is for your collection, and you like it, end of story. If collecting was all about shiny coins there would not be a problem with cleaning and polishing like your bumper.
    I would say, not considering rarity, coins with high populations but few toners, would be looking for a nice variant with toning. Morgans are a good example. There are plenty around, but one that is toned would be an example unto itself and very desireable. I will amend my article later by adding in a toned Morgan which is not rare, but pricey due to extreme toning.
    To make a point, I once sent in 20 Morgans for grading, and one came back reverse mounted due to extreme toning on the reverse.
    Obviously, the graders liked toners. Good for me on that one.
    BEWARE OF ARTIFICIALLY TONED COINS
    Some folks like to add their own value by doctoring a coin. I call that forgery. There are ways to do it, but when it gets to the grader, they will know and you will get DETAILS on your coin or it may even come back ungraded.
    I would be quite wary buying toned raw coins. Best to buy graded toned coins and that gives you a nice level of confidence. Any method or way of toning a coin beyond natures way, will and can dramatically reduce your coins value.
    Numismatic metals tone in different ways. Silver coins as a whole tone more beautifully than those made of other metals. Silver, exposed to the right environmental influences -- to small amounts of hydrogen sulfur in the air or larger amounts in albums, envelopes, canvas bags, paper rolls, leather wallets or purses, rubber bands, and some glues and paints -- can naturally turn subtle or sometimes brilliant shades of yellow, magenta, turquoise, and other colors before eventually turning black. The toning on silver is typically silver sulfide.
    Copper is the most chemically reactive numismatic metal used in the U.S., and it and its alloys -- bronze (primarily copper and tin) and brass (primarily copper and zinc) -- usually turn from red to a dark and fairly unattractive brown. But copper can turn green as well (sometimes called verdigris). Sometimes copper and its alloys can pick up multiple subtle and attractive shades of red, brown, green, blue, and yellow.
    Ancient bronze coins can pick up an attractive or desert sand patina. This sandy beige appearance over all or part of the coins surface results from the deposition of microscopic grains of silicate from sand or sandy soil.
    Nickel generally tones only slightly, typically becoming hazy gray though sometimes light golden or pale blue. Nickel coins can also pick up color as a result of PVC contamination from being stored in soft vinyl flips. On nickel, wild rainbow toning, in which multiple colors progress from one to another, is usually artificial.
    Conclusion: Toned coins are a matter of preference. I like them, you may not. Always be sure of how it got its patina. I would stay away from raw coins totally, especially toned items. Price on toned items can vary greatly, so watch the premium you add to one when buying. No one but you may appreciate the color.
    and lastly, if it is for your collection, and you like it, GET IT!
    Capt Brian
     
     
     
     
    INFORMATION HERE COURTESY OF COINSGUIDE, COINNEWS, and personal knowledge agreeing with some verbage on line.

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  18. CaptBrian
    Will the real value please stand up.
    I recently wrote about my registry points and collection value falling through the floor. I also, recently. responded to a comment in a recent journal conversation, it follows:
    Well, I still have some more work to do [on my registry]. Guess I sent off some of the wrong coins and kept some here. So I deleted the three I left here, sent them off today and have not added back in the three I sent by mistake. Not sure what they are. Also, have not totally completed the trade for the 1991 WTC MS70, so who knows what. I may wind up paying a little more for it, or getting some back into my registry. In any case, I feel my registry points do not add up to what I really have, nor does the dollar value.
    So many coins are in limbo regarding actual values, and point values. If NGC and PCGS are going to assign labels to coins, as they must as events take place such as the WTC, then those coins should have special slots in the registry and coin census and points.
    As it is, when a true collection must have coins from both NGC and PCGS, I feel registry points and values should reflect reality. So often the dollar value given to a coin is not what is actually what is going on out there.
    I have paid for coins to other collectors, and received money for coins that those prices are not reflected in the registry and or notes. I am sure that if NGC were to believe every note they received then the prices would be all over the place.
    So, when your coins or points do not reflect your reality, you just have to grin and bear it. I guess, a journal is the best place to shed light on some realty between collectors although, that reality may not be shown in the auctions or books.
    Also, when you are about to buy or trade for a coin, perhaps a scan through the journals or queries to members may be a good idea. You may find that someone has recently traded the same coin and grade. In any case, it is best to do the most research you can, and do not rely on any one source, such as the price and cencus given by any one place.
    I think that NGC does a masterful job in updating and giving the best information possible.
    Live with it and HAVE FUN
    Capt. B

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  19. CaptBrian
    Time to tidey up the registry.
    I got quite a suprise in the mail yesterday. My first Journal Award. I have no idea how they made this mistake and sent it to me, but I am not going to say anything lest they ask for it back.
    I am slowly becoming a real collector as my stash has grown by adding almost anything put in front of me like a man starving man at a banquet. I had my collection all over the place since then not having any real focus. Coins came and went like some sort of train station. Some items not staying here long at all, some for just a few days.
    Last August it hit me. I was getting too many coins with no direction at all so I decided to stop buying unless it was totally impossible to trade into something. Since then I have traded myself into only 70 coins left. That is if you do not count coins that are not graded. Those in paper flips.
    I did have, at one time over 400 coins of all kinds and discriptions. I bought a lot of raw coins and had them graded. In doin so I came across four counterfeit coins. I learned some hard lessons but still can eat and pay rent so I guess I did not do too bad.
    I have begun now to focus on hard to find items and low populations.
    Now, I need to clean up a long ignored registry. You are going to see a greater reduction in numbers and perhaps value.
    I did delete a lot of coins a while back when I traded away all my Indian sets, all my foreign gold which I had graded a few years ago. I have traded into what I feel is a real collection not a potpourri of many colors.
    My flagship coin remains the same, the 1907 $2.5 PF68* Cameo, but there are a few others added in recently which are attempting to push it out of position like the 1907 High relief I wrote about recently.
    My latest addition took away 87 coins and has not arrived yet. It is another World Trade Center coin $50 MS70 1991.
    So, currently, do not belive what you read in my registry as it need to have many coins deleted and one added.
    Keep looking and so will I. The coins are out there, have to keep searching.
    Capt. Brian
    HAVE FUN!

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  20. CaptBrian
    Attention Collectors: feast your eyes on this one.
    My phone has been humming with making trades all over the place. The other day my 1870 $10 MS60 went to Texas. The new owner was elated and the money did not grow any grass here. I found a wonderful coin which I had been secretly searching for and up it popped one day last week and I received it in my hand today.
    It is a 1907 High Relief $20 Wire Rim PF65.
    This is a collectors coin.
    Frank Leach became mint director of the San Francisco mint in 1897 after George Roberts resigned. Mr. Leach was instrumental in the making of the Saint-Gaudens coins. President Roosevelt ideas for new designs for gold coins had things in a mix. Lots of folks were important and lobbied for better looking coins. Roosevelt was the big cheerleader for that movement. The idea was to match or exceed the beautiful Greek coinage of yore. The basic idea orbited around the thoughts of future generations to have something that would mirror our then ability, art and technology. I think they succeeded.
    Leach was concerned about the high relief designs being impractical. There was also an argument regarding being copycats not originators. They wanted high relief and made to look like a medal like the ancient coins. They lost sight of the commercial requirements of producing very pretty coins. They did not catch te fact that they would not stack. Stacking was a practical requirement of circulated money of the day, and a death knell to the design.
    None of the designs met the presidents approval until 1907. Minting began from a die model made at Philadelphia. The dies gave such a high relief all effort to produce an acceptable coin were thwarted. A medal press was employed so the beauty of the design might be studied and kept in the shape of a coin, but this process needed annealing between each of the 12 blows in the presses. These few coins numbered less than 20, and were given to mint and Washington officials.
    More attempts were made, and all wound up in the crucible of the recycling smelter. All talk of size changes, and so on, went by the board.
    More changes and attempts were made by Saint-Gaudens but a 2nd and 3rd model still eluded the satisfaction and dream of the crew involved from the president on down. Roosevelt became impatient and was then was promised a satisfactory coin would soon be available.
    In a few weeks the new design was presented in much larger numbers, 12,153 Double Eagles, about $243,060, which was a lot more than was asked for and a bit ahead of schedule.
    As the fascinating and historic Leach account makes clear, the MCMVII Ultra High Relief coins were an instant rarity, and those coins today are all but unobtainable, as only 19 or 20 pieces were struck. In this way the Ultra High Relief coins are in the same class as other legendary rarities
    A so-called "Wire Rim" protruded around the outer extremity of the coins, which resulted from excessive metal flow between the die face and collar during the striking process. Unlike today's collectors who consider the Wire Rim to be a highly collectible variety, Mint officials considered it to be a striking deficiency. This "flaw" in the striking process was corrected around mid-December, and subsequent High Relief double eagles possessed what became known as a Flat Rim.
    The designer was Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and the mintage was only 19-22 pieces. There are some varieties such as lettered and flat rim.
    I could not entice the owner with money, he wanted my main battleship, my flagship, my desktop picture for about 5 years. My 1907 $2.5 PF 68 with star. Along with it went a few more and I will have a major editing job for my enfeebled registry.
    Then, before the dust settled, another series of calls, emails, text messages and a lot of horse trading, a few more coins will leave the nest as I have obtained quite a list of Roman Numeral coins which I have been searching for two years. I suppose that should be a separate journal, but they are mine and on the way. I should have them in a few days.
    In any case, I guess this one is the historical coin I was looking for.
    Enjoy the picture, and I will get it added in the registry later. I am planning on a special coin show a friend of mine and me are putting on in Inverness, Florida the weekend of Thanksgiving.
    Well, hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Do not eat too much.
    Capt. Brian
    Reference: http://www.coinlink.com/CoinGuide/us-type-coins/1907-20-high-relief-wire-rim/

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  21. CaptBrian

    Big Trade Last Week

    By CaptBrian,

    In with the new out with the old.
    Well, seems I can't stop trading, buying selling and so on. Last week, as you know I got the WTC coin and am still talking to the new Freedom Tower and the Museum regarding displaying in New York.
     
    But yesterday, a new adoptee arrived at our nursery, an 1883 CC $20 Gold Piece Pop 59 in MS61.
     
    Seems someone sold their entire collection and a friend of mine was on to it just in time before a dealer got it. I'm not sure what else was in it, glad to glean this one out of the Carolina woods .
     
    My collection, as I have been saying, has been boiling down to some higher grade, harder to find items and trading and selling off many that are standing in a crowd.
     
    Well, so far so good, but my registry is in tatters as I am adding coins that have no price as they haven't gone through an auction, and the registry does not seem to add in any points or values.
     
    I am not in coin collecting to get points or blue ribbons so to speak, but it is nice to have an idea of what things are really worth and my collection compared to others.
     
    I hope I am doing the right thing, and NGCs registry points and collection values are not correct or I am going backwards big time.
     
    I know it is right on my accounting, but it is fearsome to see your collection fall from number 198 to the 1200 level after adding so much money and apparent value.
     
    Oh well, I think I am on the right track.
     
    Enjoy looking at my new coin.
     
    By the way, what I am trading off is common date things and many duplicates.
     
     
     
    Capt. Brian
     
     
     
    The Lost Navigator

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  22. CaptBrian

    A WORLD CLASS COIN

    By CaptBrian,

    Special coin for a special Nation
    This addition to my collection has a special place, not only in my collection, but in my heart. I had owned one of these before, not as rare and valuable as this one, but still most important.
     
     
     
    The first one was similar, but an MS69 and the significance was not lost because of it not being a perfect 70.
     
     
     
    This coin, in my opinion signifies the great loss, sorrow, pain and suffering, which coalesced a fragmented country into one again when the planes destroyed the World Trade Centers Twin Towers.
     
     
     
    This coin is, like America, one of a kind. It is a one population, and MS70. Perfect. I like to think of America as a perfect nation, which we all know, nothing is perfect, but the reaction to the horrible event still gives us all pause to reflect that we are not invulnerable nor hidden between two great seas. We are open to invasion, damage and so on.
     
     
     
    I was in New York City earlier this month, had the honor to go to the New Freedom Tower, and see the momument under construction. As I get older, now 68, more and more memories and images flood my eyes and heart with sorrow and longing for the America I knew as a boy.
     
     
     
    This event brought us together as a nation, but as the years go by, memories and emotions fade. Although folks still say they will never forget, always remember and so forth, I hope the new memorial will keep the heartbeat fresh and strong to remind us the drumbeat must never weaken nor fade for freedom.
     
     
     
    The Twin Towers were the centerpieces of the World Trade Center complex. At 110 stories each they were, for a brief period, the tallest buildings in the world. They attracted an amazing 70,000 visitors and workers daily.
     
     
     
    They could be seen over 45 miles away. I suspect even further, as I can see,on a clear day, Chicagos buildings across Lake Michigan, and that is 60 miles.
     
     
     
    Honoring the lives of those lost will be a 16 acre Memorial and tribute to those lost and a place for hope for the years to come.
     
     
     
    The internet is rife with information and images of the new Memorial. I wish I had space here to include many of the pictures we took while visiting.
     
     
     
    I hope to be there for the grand opening and have a small plan in which I will need help from all corners to implement.
     
     
     
    I acquired a wonderful momemto of that fateful day; A $50 Gold American Eagle, Graded by PCGS as MS70 and given a special label designation as follows: 1998 $50 Gold Eagle. PCGS MS70 9-11-01 WTC Ground Zero Recovery
     
     
     
    This coin was, as others, recovered after the event. There were 73 of these 1998 coins graded 70, but only one with the WTC label and none other. There are two 1991 in 70, but only one in 1998.
     
     
     
    I would like to, somehow include this coin in the memorial event but have no idea on how to do it. I feel it should be there as it is part and parcel of the event. No modern coin has this history, and this rare. Not even the $32,000.00 1987. There are 13 but with no history. This coin is a real piece of history. It needs to be shown at the opening of the memorial. I would consider putting it on loan for a time. Security and costs may prohibit that quest.
     
     
     
    Only 73 of this date are in MS 70, and this is the ONLY WTC coin.
     
     
     
    Any suggestions would be appreciated. In the meantime, enjoy the photo and get in touch with any ideas, either thru this forum, or my email, dragonslayir@aol.com
     
     
     
    All enjoy and NEVER FORGET.
     
     
     
    Capt. Brian Bobbitt

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  23. CaptBrian
    All I want is some Peace...
    All I want is some Peace Dollars and some Morgans. I have just returned from a 6 week 8000+ mile tour of most of the eastern states, including upper Michigan looking for treasure. I found a few things, but nothing on my list.
     
    Six raw Morgan and two Peace Dollars which will, for sure bring more than I invested and one is a 1921 S.
     
    I am seeing more and more shops buying gold and silver, but not selling it. The metals keep falling and falling and those windows keep buying and buying.
     
    I am always going off quests. Like a child with a new whim or purpose. A while back, you may remember, I was questing after Indians. I wound up gathering quite a war party with four sets of the 1908 - 1929 versions, and in looking to finish those wound up with a few keepers.
     
    You may notice, my registry position has dropped considerably as my quests have taken me over roads less travelled. To rare places such as my 1907 $2.5 Liberty Head PF68*.
     
    Well, I unearthed another under the World Trade Center as I passed through New York on my trip.
     
    Subject of my next journal as I am still researching it.
     
    I am finding coins in the oddest places, and next foray out into the wilderness will, I believe, be after some Confederate currency. I think I know just where to look.
     
    Also, another of my quests is for Roman Numeral Gold Eagles. I have been able to piece together only one full set and some common date and denominations. So, if any of you have any you wish to trade or sell, look through my stuff and note me.
     
    I was able to find several sets if Roman Numeral Eagles, but not one MS 70.
     
    Watch for my next journal about the find at Ground Zero.
     
    Capt. Brian

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  24. CaptBrian
    Came back with two small trophies.
    One is an 1885 S $5 MS60 and the other is a coin I did not know existed. An Oregon Quarter. 1933 D MS 64 I got these while foraging throughout the Palm Beach County nooks and crannies.
    Along with these two graded coins, which by the way are up for adoption, I also purchased in the box of scrap metal a 1904 $20 Liberty head, which I feel should grade out about MS 62, but if I get an AU 58, I will be estatic. Along with that I got an Indian. I just traded away 3 complete sets, one left. I got a 1911 which I grade at MS63 or better. I will be happy with anything in the MS range. It really is a stunning coin, but I do not want to get my hopes up.
    Got one oz. of silver in a bar form, and Ag has already gone up a tad, and that helps for breaking even. Makes a fine addition to the table. Folks always want to buy bars of silver.
    I got five Morgan dollars, common dates, but one, the 1894 O could be interesting. HAS to be a VF+, no way is it a VG8, so there is hope above melt value.
    The other four I am afraid are common dates and definately in the fine grade area. But common. I will save for tables for someone to get a great find at a low price. An 1896, a 96 O, an 89, and a 91. All in nice shape, but no rare ones. Again, the 1896 O has about a $3 premium, so no grading there. I call them Table Stakes.
    Now some more oldies but goldies: 1899 1901 1902 and 1903 Russian Tsar Nicholas II Five Roubles Gold coins. These are all pristine, raw, and beautiful. For the last year of so, old Russian coins have been flying off my tables, and as I said before, I traded away all my graded foreign gold, for keepers, and now I am back to these four. I will keep these for coin shows as the Russians always invade a coin show.
    I also have another Morgan, but it is encased in a postal commemorative. I cannot find a price on the combo. But I will figure it out. It is an 1889 P Morgan, in a case with cache a commemorative banking stamp. The coin by itself is rater generic but it is in wonderful shape BU for starters. I bet it could go into the low MS60 grades.
    Then there are various uncirculated sets like the US Bicentennial three coin set uncirculated. The US Constitution Silver coin, with all boxes and papers. 1986 Liberty Silver commemorative with all the boxes and papers, I love the velvet boxes. Now there is a real special commemorative, the Korean War medal with all the stuff.
    Got three silver proof eagles in the mint boxes 1991, 1992, and 1993. Nice, will look at values and see if I want to have any graded.
    Also, a bunch of Korean raw coins, both modern and old. This will take some investigation to see if there is an acorn there. Even a blind pig can find an acorn sometimes.
    Well this has been a fun day going through all these coins. Now on to the Hockey game. Getting quite active here in the last stages.
    Well,happy hunting. If you are looking for a particular coin, I will add it to my watch list as I travel around.
    HAVE FUN!
    Capt. Brian

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  25. CaptBrian
    This one will sit in my "Battleship Row"
    Today, the postman did not have to ring twice. As the clock rolled over and over today, and 4 PM passed, and I had gotten my notice from UPS that it was on its way, I was getting concerned and walked outside looking for the UPS truck.
    No sooner than I opened the door, the driver was walking up the driveway with my treasure.
    I have been trading up for some months now, and I came across this coin and with quite a bit of palaver back and forth, I made a trade. Away went some real heros of my pride. The 1829 Liberty Capped Head in AU55 that I inherited, an 1870 $2.5 Coronet Liberty in MS61, a 1915 S Indian Head Panama Pacific MS64 which I just found at a coin show last January. And some other lesser grades. My coin count is dropping like a rock. But the quality is improving somewhat.
    I also sent the fellow some more coins so he could help me find more of this sort of thing.
    This one, the 1877 S $10, is the highest grade, two in grade and none higher.
    So, with that now in the book, I shall see what else we can find.
    Boy, these coins are quite hard to stop. Its like eating peanuts, one just does not do it.
    Happy Collecting.

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