BillJones

I have a Proof set run that goes back to 1936. So I keep the date run going. I don't buy the clad sets anymore, however. I buy only the silver sets. So far as the "Should be in circulation thing" is concerned, I buy whatever is in the set. Even in the 19th century, there were "Proof only issues." The main thing that bores me are the women's quarters, which really aren't necessary, but they are there for political reasons.

From my observations "grade-flation" continues and CAC as mostly gone along with it. If CAC were not going along with it, the supply of CAC approved coins would be drying up. I bought this Type I gold dollar many years ago from a dealer who was playing the crack-out game. It is in a PCGS MS-64 holder and he figured it would make MS-65 which carried a $2 to $3 increase in value at the time. I paid too much because of that. It's as good as the MS-65 coins are now, but the MS-65 coins are only selling for a couple thousand dollars. So I'm behind the market with the most common gold dollar of all, the 1853-P. As for CAC, they dampened my purchases of U.S. coins considerably. I got into British and Roman Imperial coins, and have really enjoyed it.

I'd like on the augustus Humbert $50 gold pieces that was issued by the U.S. Assay Office. The Rolled Edge $10 gold is one of the patterns that was made during the time that the mint and Augustus St. Gaudens' representative, Herman Herring, were testing designs for the $10 Indian design. The King of Siam Proof set was an 1834 set of U.S. Proof coins that were struck for diplomatic purposes. The stars of the set were an 1804 "Original" silver dollar and a Proof 1804 dated $10 gold. The set was once owned by Anna Leonowns who was the inspiration for the film "Anna and the King of Siam" and the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, "The King and I,"

I would buy an 1802 half dime, a 1794 Dollar, a $50 gold slug, a 1907 rolled edge $10 gold and if it came on the market, the King of Siam Proof set.

So you want the 100 point system? If so, you are for a huge windfall for the Third Party Graders.

It has been my observation that they have gotten a little tougher on scratches than they used to be. I see ”scratched” on the holder and have to look for a while to find it. They used to be more obvious.

It is interesting to note that some of the coins in the Lilly collection tax deal were fakes. I was too young to have enough money to have any dealings with JJ Ford, but I read about some of the his shenanigans in the Eric P. Newman biography that Heritage published. Collectors from my father's generation told me that you had to watch you step when you make deals with Ford.

These coins generally come in high grades, like MS-65 and 66. I located one of the sales devices which came with the coin when it was issued. This coin came with it, but it was not the original piece. Since I already had a certified example, I sold the coin and kept the York Country holder.

I had been looking for an 1802 over 1 dollar for several years. Although there are five die varieties of it, the coin does not seem to crop up frequently. There were quite a few in the Heritage auction that will close shortly, but I spotted this one at the rent Winter FUN bourse. It is an NGC graded AU-55. The Bowers dollar book variety is BB 234. It is a die chip to the right of Ms. Liberty's eye which is a characteristic of the variety. I liked it because the overdate is very sharp.

I have gotten the log-in straighten out on both devices.

Here is the handout I gave at the end of the presentation. Here are the important points: Go to the certification verification pages at PCGS and NGC. Enter the serial number on the slab. If the response comes back "invalid serial number," there is probably a problem. There is an outside chance that the slab label has a mechanical error, but that is very unusual. If you get a response PCGS and NGC verification responses will have pictures of the coin or the slab for newer slabs. If there are no pictures, PCGS might have one or more citations where the item has been sold in a major auction. The auction site will have pictures. If the item in the slab does not match the picture, it is probably a counterfeit. If you get no pictures or auction responses, you can got to PCGS Coin Facts to compare the item with pictures of genuine coins. This is not as good as getting a pictures of the actual coin in the slab. Jack D. Young has posted many pictures of counterfeits with tips on how to spot them under his name in the “CoinWeek” site. You may got there to sharper your eye for spotting counterfeits.

Uneven dentils around the rim often give these pieces away. The really great first photos of this thing show that the dentils are not the same all the way around on both sides. It also has a layer of what I call "shoe polish toning" on both sides. It's not a definitive marker for a fake, but you often see it. It's funny, but a piece of the "shoe polish" got into Ms. Liberty's eye. She looks like she's rolling her eye in shame for being including on this thing.

I can log-in on my desktop computer, but cannot log-in with my iPad. It's very frustrating. I don't know what I am doing wrong.

I have tried repeatedly to log into the NGC Chat Boards with my iPad. It will not accept my password. Yet the same password works on my desktop. Has anyone else had the same problem?

I'll see what I can do with on-line media. It's been an education for me with the cell phone and iPad. I know a lot more about coins than I do about using devices. I have gotten the PCGS chip to work on my cell phone.

Many years ago, the late coin dealer, Robert Bachelder, had an original 1904 Proof set that had everything but the silver dollar. He told me that the owner had spent the silver dollar during the Great Depression when he was short of cash. There was another story about a depression era dealer, I think it might have been Abe Kossoff, declining to buy a complete 19th century gold set. He paid something like $5 for three dollar gold, but declined to buy the $20 gold. Why? He was concerned that he didn't have a customers who could pay $20 floor that was under the value of the piece. I suppose that he didn't have heart to take the coin to the bank. and lose a couple dollars if he didn't sell it. Of course, all of these coins would be collectors' treasures today, which would be worth many thousands of dollars. It's hard to believe how tough times were then. My parents were lucky. My father lost $75 in gold coins he won for graduating 1st in his class from high school when he deposited it into a local bank that failed. My mother's family survived the Depression and kept their house, farm and store, but she was scared by the experience was very concerned about money, even when they were doing well in the 1950s.

I am scheduled to give a counterfeit detection seminar at the 2024 FUN show. It will be at 11:45 AM on Thursday, January 4.The emphasis will be on how to spot counterfeit coins in counterfeit slabs on-line. There will be handout so that you can use my tips on your computer, cell phone and iPad at home and at the shows. I hope to meet you there!

"Proof" refers to a coinage process, not a a grade. Therefore a coin which was struck as a proof, which was circulated, is graded by the degree of wear. Sometimes it's impossible to tell if a coin was Proof piece after it has been circulated. For example 1955 Proof cent that is put into circulation might look the same as a 1955 business strike piece if it is worn down to something like Fine condition. If however, a 1969-S quarter were to be found in circulation with considerable wear, you would still know that it is a Proof because the San Francisco Mint did not produce any business strike quarters that year. All of them were Proofs.

It was a couple months ago, but here is an 1813 British guinea, which is known as the "Military Guinea." This piece was struck for Lord Wellington's forces when he was fighting the French and Spanish in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. The Spanish locals would not take silver coins which made these pieces necessary. These pieces bring strong prices although they are not overly rare. It is a one year type coin. I bought this one from a London coin dealer who had 11 of them on his site. This one is graded AU-58. He had an MS-62 that I did not like as well. He also had an MS-63, but that was out of my price range.

Yes, all of the dies are polished before they are used to strike coins. The Proof coins get special attention. Sometimes the Proof coin dies are re-polished to extend their useful life, and sometimes the results can be really bad in my opinion. Proof coins are supposed to have perfectly mirrored fields. When you have a bunch of polish lines on a Proof coin, which are raised BTW, they can look very much like hairlines. I avoid those coins, regardless of the grades a TPG might put them. This was a bigger problem in the 1950s and than it is today. Sometimes Proof coins lose design features when they are re-polished. This was a big problem in the 1940s. The Walking Liberty Half Dollars that are missing the designer's initials on the reverse are an example. Once more I prefer not to buy those coins, but error collectors think they are cool.

My upper limit on raw items is much lower for U.S. coins than it is for foreign coins, tokens and medals. The reason is that certification is so engrained in the U.S. coin market. If the coin is not slabbed, you won't get the best price for it. I really dislike certified medals. The trouble is the slabs are so big that storing them is a problem. A valuable medal takes up a lot of space in safe deposit box if it is slabbed. You also can't enjoy the piece as well. NGC does a wonderful with grading imperial Roman coins. Still I prefer the coins raw. I can handle the pieces, and I can take better photographs.

Generally, I don't like them. That is especially true for a special coin, like the 2009 Ultra High Relief double eagle. The mint sent me one with polishing marks in the field. I was not happy with it and ultimately bought another one in the secondary market.

Barber was very good at making designs that were easy to strike up and held up well in circulation. His art was mostly okay. I don't agree with Theodore Roosevelt that it was "hideous." The obverse of the 1915-S Panama - Pacific $2.50 is generally considered to be Charles Barber's best work. George Morgan, who designed the silver dollar that so many collectors like, designed the reverse.

@Qwiksword, Your coin is definitely not Mint State. It has a definite rub on the eagle's breast feathers. This is not unusual for this date. there are many coins that are "close," but not quite Mint State. It's still good if the coin graded AU-50 ($380) or AU-58 ($1,900). I think that it is closer to the AU-50 than AU-58. The reason is that collectors who can't afford the Mint State pieces can use the AU coins which are a close match to the Uncirculated coins. The problem is if the piece has been cleaned or polished. I can't tell if that has been done to it from your photos.

No, it's a contemporary counterfeit all the way. It did not begin its life at the Philadelphia Mint.