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CBC

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Journal Entries posted by CBC

  1. CBC
    PF70? PF69?
    Have any Collectors Society members received a grading report from their 25th anniversary sets?
    The population report for the regular issue proof 2011 SAE's shows about 70% were graded PF70UC. I'm wondering if this trend is holding true for the 25th Anniversary sets. My five sets arrived in Sarasota yesterday so I'm not expecting a grade report before early December.
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  2. CBC
    Not as good as some have reported, but not too bad...
    Results are in, and while I didn't get 23 out of 25 in the "70" category, there are two complete sets of MS/PF 70's.
    001 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    002 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    003 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 69
    004 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 69
    005 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    006 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 70 ULTRA CAMEO
    007 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 70 ULTRA CAMEO
    008 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 69 ULTRA CAMEO
    009 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 70 ULTRA CAMEO
    010 2011 W EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 70 ULTRA CAMEO
    011 2011 P EAGLE REVERSE PF 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 70
    012 2011 P EAGLE REVERSE PF 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 69
    013 2011 P EAGLE REVERSE PF 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 69
    014 2011 P EAGLE REVERSE PF 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 69
    015 2011 P EAGLE REVERSE PF 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 PF 70
    016 2011 EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    017 2011 EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    018 2011 EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 69
    019 2011 EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    020 2011 EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    021 2011 S EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 69
    022 2011 S EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    023 2011 S EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 69
    024 2011 S EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
    025 2011 S EAGLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SET S$1 MS 70
  3. CBC

    NGC Franklins

    By CBC,

    Are all FBLs created equal?
    Based on my Franklin collection, I believe the answer is "No". NGC seems to be much more strict in granting FBL status that PCGS is. I have read journals from several other collectors (WKF for one) that seem to support this.
    I know my NGC FBLs seem to have stronger bel llines than most of my PCGS FBLs, and I believe several of my PCGS coins would not cross over to NGC with a FBL label. I decided to work on an all-NGC set of Franklins with the objective of completing all except the elusive 1953-S in at least MS-64FBL. My completed Franklin set is about 70% PCGS so I'm splitting the NGC and PCGS coins into two sets to concentrate on the NGC coins. Maybe I'll eventually fill the holes in eth PCGS set; maybe I'll sell the PCGS coins to generate funds to fill holes in other sets.
    Here's my first NGC upgrade, a 1950-D NGC MS65 FBL. 21 more to go!

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  4. CBC

    1946-S/S Walker

    By CBC,

    Highest (only) graded example by NGC
    I bought a 1946-S Walker through a Heritage auction as a MS-66. THe auction photos looked like a S/S, even though it was not labeled as such. I sent it to NGC for Variety review. The NGC Census says it's now the only MS-66 VP-001 certified by NGC; in fact, the only one in any grade. This probably won't last long but it's nice to have the only one, even for a little while.
    My original photo clearly shows the S/S but it's over the 75kb file size limit for journal postings. If you can't see it clearly in this photo, the more detailed photo is in my set listing.
    Only 14 more Walker varieties to go!

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  5. CBC

    Back In the Top 10

    By CBC,

    Temporarily, at least
    Today's mail brought the 1942-S Walker I was surprised to win in last month's Heritage auction. I replaced the MS-65 I had in my Walker sets with the MS-66 that arrived today, and th epoint difference was just enough to get my full (1916 - 47) set back to #10. This probably won't last long, but at least for now I am in the Top Ten in all Walking Liberty categories - #10 in the full set, #10 in the Short (1941 - 47) set, and #9 in the "Other" (1934 - 47) set. This latest upgrade is attached.

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  6. CBC

    Lincolns and Walkers

    By CBC,

    Illusions and Reality
    Looks like the great Lincoln point upgrade was an illusion (error or whatever). I'm happy to see NGC has "corrected" the points back to where they were. I had no takers on my swap offer anyway.
    One of my goals for my Walking Liberty halves has been to complete the short set in MS-66 or better. The 1941-S ans 1942-S are the really expensive ones, and I expected it to be a long time before I found what I could afford.
    Several months ago, I was surprised to get an unbelievable deal on the 1942-S. It was in a no-reserve auction; I placed a low bid and was outbid at the last minute (as expected). A week later I was notified that the high bidder had failed to complete the transaction and was offered the opportunity to but it at my original bid - at least $200 under what I thought it was worth.
    I watched a 1941-S for weeks on an auction site; it never quite met the reserve, even after being re-listed twice. Third time around, I decided to take what I saved on the unbelievable deal on my 1942-S and add it to my bid on the 1941-S.
    It arrived yesterday:

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  7. CBC

    A Real "+"

    By CBC,

    First one for my collection
    I just received the first addition to my collection with a "+" grade - the 1945-S Walker pictured below.
    The "+" designation increases the Registry score by 568 points, which is more that a 50% increase compared to the MS-66 it replaces. It's also the highest grade as I ever hope to get for a 45-S as the prices for MS-67's are out of my reach.

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  8. CBC

    Re: Blindsided

    By CBC,

    You're not the only one
    You're not the only one "blindsided". I logged in to find that my Walker set had dropped almost 5,000 points. The only mitigating factor is that the sets above and below had also dropped a similar amount so my "Top 10" rankings are still there.
    Speaking of glaring points discrepancies, look at the difference between Jefferson nickels and Roosevelt dimes. Take the 1947 issues as an example:
    - 1947-S Jefferson in MS-67: there are only 11 at this grade, none higher, none with any FS designation at this grade or higher. Points for the MS-67: 143.
    - 1947-S Roosevelt in MS-67: there are 833 at this grade, 58 with FT designation, 10 MS-68's and one MS-68FT. Points for the MS-67: 502
    So, there are 75 MS-67 Roosevelts for each MS-67 Jefferson, 69 Roosevelts with hogher grades than MS-67 to ZERO Jeffersons with higher grades, but the Roosevelt in MS-67 carries 3.5 times the point value of the Jefferson?
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  9. CBC
    Finally went for the gold.....
    I have been working on a 1932 Mint set (the year of my mom's birth) for several years. 1932 was an unusual year for the Mint. Deep in the Depression, there wasn't a lot of demand for circulating coins. Cents were produced at Philadelphia and Denver, and the first Washington quarters at all three mints. No nickels, no dimes, no half dollars, no silver dollars. The Washington quarters were supposed to be a sort of commemorative issue of the 200th anniversary of George's birth, therefore the small mintages at Denver and San Francisco, but by 1934 became the new design, replacing the Standing Liberty.
    So, two cents and three quarters were all the "normal" circulating coins produced. But 1932 was also, for all practical purposes, the last year for US gold coinage, as essentially no 1933 gold coins were ever released.
    The 1932 $20 is a rare piece, with a total of only 69 graded by NGC, and a price tag far above my means. But there have been over 46,000 of the 1932 $10 coins graded by NGC. After getting outbid numerous times, I finally came up a winner in a Heritage auction a few weeks ago and completed (as much as I ever will) my 1932 set with the MS63+ shown below (also my second coin with a "+" grade, this one from PCGS).

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  10. CBC

    Surprise!

    By CBC,

    Won....lost....won
    I checked my e-mail this afternoon and had a big surprise waiting. I had placed several low-ball bids in a recent Heritage auction, confident that all would be outbid either during the Internet bidding or the "Live" phase. Sure enough, I started receiving "outbid" notices. By the end of the Internet bidding, I had the high bid on only two coins.
    The "Live" auction (several hundred lots) went well into the night, and I signed off before my two lots came up. I checked the next morning and had been outbid by one bid increment on both lots. No surprise there; I fully expected to be outbid, but I would have been happy to buy at my bid price.
    This afternoon's e-mail from Heritage informed me that the "Live" bid on one of the two lots, a 1942-S Walking Liberty half, NGC MS-66, had fell through and I now have the high bid. So, once again I'm overextended (this one represents October's coin budget for me) but only one upgrade away (1941-S MS-66) from my Short Set goal.
    Here is my other budget-busting purchase; this 1921-D is heading to NGC this week.

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  11. CBC

    What to do....

    By CBC,

    about an incorrect label
    I just received the latest addition to my NCG Franklin FBL set - or not.
    I bid on and won an auction for a "1951-S NGC MS-64FBL" Frankiln half. The photos in the listing weren't high resolution, but the label information was clear and the coin looked good.
    It arrived today; the label is 1951-S, MS-64FBL. The coin inside is a 1951-D. Does anyone attach any value to an incorrect label such as this, or should I just send it back?
    The original photo from the ebay listing is attached.

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  12. CBC

    Lincoln Cent issue

    By CBC,

    What REALLY happened?
    Like a lot of other collectors on this site, I was surprised to see the whopping changes in the few Lincoln cents I have (all in Mint sets). But looking a little closer:
    - 1909-S VDB in MS-65 RD.....1,987 points
    - 1947-P in MS-66 RD.........1,999 points
    - 1954-P in MS-63 RD.........1,994 points
    So, to everyone out there, I'll gladly swap my MS-66 RD 1947-P Lincoln for your MS-65 RD 1909-S VDB. You'll gain 12 Registry points! I'll even pay your shipping cost!
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  13. CBC

    2011 Review, 2012 Goals

    By CBC,

    Hope everyone had a good year.
    2011 has been a good year for me, and I hope everyone else inthe Society. A few (collecting) highlights from 2011:
    - Found a few upgrades I had been searching for:
    (1) a 1947-D Jefferson in MS67 5FS. Very tough to find; only 4 exist in MS67 5FS and 2 in MS67 6FS, none better.
    (2) 1918-P and 1933-S Walking Libertys in MS-64, both at affordable prices in the same Heritage auction.
    (3) 1932 $10 Eagle in MS-63+
    (4) Five 25th Anniversary Eagle sets from the Mint, graded by NGC, yielding two complete MS/PF 70 sets. One set is in my registry list, one set I traded for some early date PF-70 Eagles to upgrade that set.
    (5) 1946-S/S Walking Liberty. I won it in a Heritage auction in a NGC MS-66 slab, then sent it in for variety attribution. For a brief period I had the only NGC certified 1946-S/S (there are 10 now; MS-66 is still the highest graded).
    A few (collecting) goals for 2012:
    (1) Finish my NGC Franklin FBL set. Eight more to go.
    (a) Easy - 1953, 1954, 1959. I'm hoping to find affordable MS-65's for these slots.
    (b) Not so easy - 1954-S, 1961, 1962. Probably will have to go with MS-64's for these.
    © Tough - 1952-S. This one may cost me, but I'm holding out for a MS-64.
    (d) Forget about it - 1953-S. FBL is out of the question. I'll have to fill this slot with a MS-66.
    (2) Fill some slots in my 1889 mint set. The easy ones are done; the quarter, half dollar, CC Morgan and gold are left.
    (3) Upgrade my Walker sets when I can find affordable coins; there aren't many more possibilities.
    (4) Upgrade some of the early Proof Eagles
    Probably more goals than funds available but that keeps it interesting.
    It was great to meet a couple of you in person this year. Again, Merry CHristmas to everyone and hope you have a good 2012.
    My latest (and last 2011) addition:

  14. CBC

    First NGC Submittal

    By CBC,

    Quality Control
    My first NGC Collector's Society submittal moved from "Scheduled" to "Quality Control today. I will soon see how my guesses stack up:
    1916-S WL Half - MS scratched
    1921-D WL Half - G-4
    1921-D WL HAlf - F-12
    1889 G$1 - AU-58
    1889 G$2.50 - MS-61
    A photo of one of my recent upgrades is attached (subject to the 75k limit)

  15. CBC
    Once again.....
    I tried to add my latest acquisition to my Registry set, and received the dreaded "registered to another user" message. The last time this happened it took about a month to get the coin released.
    I bought this coin through a Heritage auction. I recently dropped to #11 on the Walking Liberty list; I'll never get to #1 (or even #8) but I'm trying to get back into the Top Ten.

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  16. CBC

    Guess The Grade - FINAL

    By CBC,

    Here's what NGC says...
    I would grade both of these F-15, with #1 just a hair better than #2. I had #1 in my collection for over 20 years, and sent it to NGC for grading early this year. It came back as F-15.
    #2 was just listed in a Teletrade auction, in a NGC VF-25 slab. For what it's worth , the VF-20 in my Registry set looks better than either #1 or #2.
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  17. CBC

    GSA Set

    By CBC,

    Tough set - is 100% achievable?
    GSA Carson City Morgan dollars are an interesting and historically important subset. Other collectors have fairly extensive writeups on the history of the Carson City mint, the silver mines and the GSA sales in the 1970's, and I won't try to repeat them here.
    I started the GSA subset as part of my Morgan set. My objective with the Morgans was to get as many dates in MS-65 as I can afford (while also limiting the search to nice, appealing examples). Same for the GSA's. I have been fortunate to find MS-65+ examples for the 1881, 1882, and 1883 dates and very nice MS-65's for the 1884 and 1885. The rest will have to be lower grades, starting with the 1880-CC Reverse of 1879 that was recently added.
    The 1878 and the 1880 Reverse of 1878 won't be too difficult. The remaining three, 1879, 1890 and 1891 are rare in GSA holders, with populations under 600 for each date, and only nine of those at MS-65. Those three will be tough to afford in any grade. For comparisin, there are over 4,000 1884-CC GSA MS-65's.
    The obverse of the 1885-CC is attached. Looks like a candidate for PL to me but apparently didn't quite make it.

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  18. CBC

    Re: Point Re-Evaluation

    By CBC,

    Re: Point Re-Evaluation
    Re-evaluation of the Walker series was way past due. Can't say much about the Franklins since I haven't followed them very closely, but I agree with Walt that the Roosevelt dimes are terribly inflated. Look at the 1947 through 1963 Mint sets; 17 total years, and 8 of the #1 sets (and many #2, #3, and #4 sets) contain NOTHING BUT Roosevelt dimes. These "#1 Mint sets" are at most 28% complete but still have the "Best in Category" awards. The point values for the best Lincoln cents and Washington quarters graded are a small fraction of the values for the second or third best FT Roosevelt dime of the same year.
  20. CBC

    Last One

    By CBC,

    The final piece of my VF+ early Walket set..
    I just added a 1921-D Walker, NCG VF-25 to my set. With this last piece in place, my set now meets my original goal of VF or better in the 1916 through 1933 dates (most are AU through MS-64; the 1919's and 1921's in AU are way out of reach) and MS-64 or better for the 1934 through 1947 dates (most are MS-66 or MS-67). The upgrades keep getting more expensive; it will cost close to four figures to upgrade anything in the set now, but I'll keep looking for "bargains too good to pass up".
    I'm not focused on the Registry points, but the difference in score between the F-12 I had in the 1921-D slot and the VF-25 I just replaced it with was only 373 points - 1256 for the F-12 vs. 1629 for the VF-25. Seems like there should be a larger bonus for the VF-25.
     
    My pictures of the 1921-D are over the file size limit, so here's another recent addition to the set.

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  21. CBC
    Latest round of (mostly favorable) results
    The status of my two recent submissions changed to "Finalized/Imaged/Shipped" today. My previous results have been mixed (most of us can probably say the same) - some grades as expected, some higher, some lower, and a few purple labels or, years ago, "body bags".
    I submitted four GSA Morgans with my "free" Collectors Society coupon. I didn't have a fifth GSA so that slot went to waste.
    The first coin was a 1880-CC Reverse of 1878 I bought recently. Like most GSA's this one had bag marks and I was expecting it to grade MS-62 or so, and hit it exactly.
    The scond one was a 1882-CC I bought about a year ago on eBay. The eBay photos were terrible but the coin looked pretty good and the final price was low. It looked much better upon arrival, and I guessed MS-64 or better. Surprise - MS-65+!!!
    The third one was a 1883-CC I bought over 20 years ago while on a business trip in Reno. I looked through about 40 CC Morgans in a coin shop there and picked out one that looked Proof-Like. NGC agreed with a grade of MS-63 PL.
    The fourth one, another 1883-CC, came from a local estate sale a few years ago, and as expected got a MS-62 grade.
    So, three of my guesses were on target and a pkeasant surprise on the fourth.
    I also submitted three Walking Liberty halves for variety attribution. All three were purchased recently in NGC slabs without the varieties noted.
    First, a 1939-D DDO FS-101, graded MS-65. Current population of two, one MS-65 and one MS-62
    Second, a 1942-S Small S, MS-64. Only three graded, but not because of rarity - it's one of the slots in the "Walking Liberty With Varieties" set.
    Finally, a 1944-S/S FS-502 in MS-64. So far, the only one of is variety graded at NGC.
    Wrong photo attached but I can' get it deleted. I'll post a real photo next week when the shipment arrives.

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  22. CBC

    No Longer Top 10

    By CBC,

    I didn't expect it to last forever
    When I made my last post, I had just achieved a Top 10 ranking in all of the circulation strike Walking Liberty half dollar categories. I said at the time I was sure it wouldn't last. So congratulations to mkm4mkm who recently bumped me out of the #10 spot in the full set listings (by 26 points!).
    My only collecting action in the last six weeks was the Heritage auction the first of June. I won one Walker (a 1946, NGC MS-67) and a couple of PF-70UC silver eagles. THe Walker is pictured below.
    Interesting that the Mint has sold about 125k two-coin sets of the San Francisco Silver Eagles in the first week. Last October, they sold out of 100k five-coin sets in less than eight hours. Taking the limit off of the mintage seems to have reduced the interest (speculation?) in the coins. I haven't ordered any of the new sets - the price looks high for "unlimited" mintage coins. By the time you add postage and NGC grading fees, I can probably do just as well buying them already graded later this year. We'll see.
    Congratulations to the new #10 (mkm4mkm) and good luck to the rest of the Society.

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  23. CBC

    25th Anniversary SAE

    By CBC,

    Anyone else having a problem with the Mint's website?
    I logged in on the Mint's website at 11:55 and tried to place an order for the 25th Anniversary SAE sets at 12:02. As of 12:21 the website hasn't even placed them in my cart, much less let me check out. Has anyone successfully placed an order?
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  24. CBC

    Sad News

    By CBC,

    Albemarle, NC
    "A Concord real estate company owner said Tuesday he wants to start a reward fund to help find the person who killed an 81-year-old Albemarle coin dealer during a robbery last week.
    Police say Eldridge Roger Gibson was shot during a robbery around 5 p.m. Thursday at B&G Coins, the West Main Street shop that he operated for decades. Gibson died of his wounds late Thursday night.
    Albemarle police say the man suspected in the robbery and killing drove off in Gibson's 2010 pick-up truck. That vehicle was discovered Saturday at City Lake Park in northwest Albemarle.
    Lancaster said Gibson, whose wife died several years ago, continued to operate his shop on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. He said Gibson told him he'd run the shop for 30 or 40 years."
    More details are available on the Charlotte Observer website.
    I didn't know Mr. Gibson. Whoever did this is the lowest form of life on the planet.
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