BillJones

As a collector who has been part of this hobby for over 60 years, I prefer older copper coins that are Brown to the red colored pieces for two reasons. First, they are less, often much less expensive. Second, they are stable if they are properly stored. 
A red copper coin could stay nice for over century and then suddenly turn on you. When it turns, you could stand to lose a lot of money. Here is an old large cent that is "brown" and also a Choice Mint State piece. 
 

I just received my "sample slab" for the NGC cocktail party which was canceled because of Covid. It is a very nice red Uncirculated 1964 British penny. It's an attractive, collectable coin. 
Thanks NGC! It's a very nice gift! 

I just received my "sample slab" for the NGC cocktail party which was canceled because of Covid. It is a very nice red Uncirculated 1964 British penny. It's an attractive, collectable coin. 
Thanks NGC! It's a very nice gift! 

I just received my "sample slab" for the NGC cocktail party which was canceled because of Covid. It is a very nice red Uncirculated 1964 British penny. It's an attractive, collectable coin. 
Thanks NGC! It's a very nice gift! 

I just received my "sample slab" for the NGC cocktail party which was canceled because of Covid. It is a very nice red Uncirculated 1964 British penny. It's an attractive, collectable coin. 
Thanks NGC! It's a very nice gift! 

I just received my "sample slab" for the NGC cocktail party which was canceled because of Covid. It is a very nice red Uncirculated 1964 British penny. It's an attractive, collectable coin. 
Thanks NGC! It's a very nice gift! 

I just received my "sample slab" for the NGC cocktail party which was canceled because of Covid. It is a very nice red Uncirculated 1964 British penny. It's an attractive, collectable coin. 
Thanks NGC! It's a very nice gift! 

I agree with Mark's assessment of Walter Breen. His private life was reprehensible, but as a numismatic writer he was and remains a very important figure. During the 1960s and for most of the '70s there were very few numismatic writers who provided collectors with much information beyond "The Red Book."
 
The main experts at that time were Breen and Don Taxay. I learned a lot from Breen's articles, booklets and books. He was a much better writer than Taxay was. His prose was fluid and easy to read. His "Supplement" to Valentine's work on the early half dime varieties brought me many hours of pleasure when I was collecting those coins.
 
Breen could have an active imagination about some of the facts, and he was sometimes wrong about the rarity of certain varieties, but that was not always his fault. When a new variety is discovered about all you can do is describe it and make a guess as to how rare it might be. Over time you might be proven right or wrong as more collectors and dealers inspect their items and make attributions. It is impossible for a researcher, like Breen, to get that right every time.
 
Conversely Breen's pronouncements about some items and his testimonial letters were sometimes motivated more by the fees he received than the truth. I doubt that Breen was always paid for what his services were really worth given the lack of ethics that some sellers displayed in the 1950's, '60s and '70s. Therefore he probably needed the money.
 
Breen should not be roundly condemned as some people like to do. He was an important figure in his time and deserves recognition for the good things he did by modern collectors. Many people like to dump on his greatest work, his encyclopedia. Some of facts in it are wrong, but to date no one was come forward to write anything like it. It still deserves a place on every serious collector's bookshelf.

Yep, modern fake and not even close. This is one of those counterfeits you can detect from three feet away.

A couple of "old" gold commemorative pieces, from one of the small ones ...
 

 
To one of the two very large ones ..,
 

1838-D Half Eagel.
 

 
1860-D Half Eagle.
 

 
1849-D Gold Dollar
 

When I was a dealer other dealers asked me to bid in their eBay lots. There was no obligation for me to buy the lot if I won. I refused to place any of those bids, but this shows you how easy shilling is on eBay.

On another forum I ran into a suspect 1876-CC $20 gold. It is in "an NGC holder" which must be bogus.
When I checked the serial number on the NGC verification site, the item in the bogus holder is not the same. When I tried to copy the picture of the coin to warn others about the counterfeit, I was not allowed to do that because "this image has a copyright." 
Okay NGC, you made your point, but I am trying to stop the sale of the bogus coin in a fake NGC holder and get the word out about it. It seems to me that this restriction is penny-wise and pound foolish. 
Here is a picture of the fake item. It is being offered on Face Book according to the person who started the string of posts. 
 
 

I have been posting on "Cointalk" for a couple of years, and have found it most enjoyable. It is great to be able to give an honest opinion about Third Party Graders and not get banned for doing so. The site is strong on giving appreciation to those who try to help other collectors. 
I have no idea what the OP poster did to get banned so quickly. There are a couple jerks on the "Cointalk." I have put them on "ignore" and the problem is solved. I don't even know they are there most of the time. 

I’m glad that someone else has not been enraptured by the writings of Mr. Travers. He has made some positive contributions with respect to consumer protection in the coin industry, but his high handed tone based upon the premise that he is ALWAYS right, ALWAYS perfect and ALWAYS better than anyone else wears on you after a while.

Thank you for providing that bit of information. It was like pulling teeth, but finally we now know the source.

Well since the reasons are public knowedge, why are you playing games? Please enlighten us.

The other night I was reading about the Wells Fargo hoard of 1908 No Motto $20 gold pieces in the Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795 - 1933 by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth. This hoard contained 19,900 double eagles. Many of them were Gem Unc. quality including one that graded PCGS MS-69. It was stated that these coins were found in sealed bags that had not been moved for decades. The name came from their temporary storeage place which was a Wells Fargo bank vault.
 
My question is, if these bags were never moved and deep in the vaults of a bank, how did they escape the 1933 Gold Surrender Order? And if they had been held in the bank, how did the bank get away with it? I thought the Roosevelt Administation required that all of these coins had to be turned in for melting.

That is the one single book that I hate more than all the others I've ever read involving coins, with the possible exception being any "blue book". "How To Make Money In Coins Right Now" is a downright disgusting diatribe, in my not-so-humble opinion. I read it cover to cover, and I am not joking here, I threw the book in the garbage. I can't recall any other book I've ever disposed of.

Since so many people here seem to think that Mr. Albanese is the greatest grader in the history of numismatics and the ultimate savior of the industry from over grading why shouldn’t we concerned about his exit from the two firms he started? If he had remained with at least one of those firms perhaps there would not be a need for his new company now. Right now his firm poses a threat to the value of my holdings. I want to spend my coin budget on coins, not CAC services.
 
I buy coins that meet my standards. If a coin with a CAC sticker and is offered at a fair price, I’ll buy it. If a coin without a CAC sticker meets my expectations and is priced fairly, I’ll buy that. I will not pay premiums for CAC stickers.
 
 
 

This is easily the most negative paragraph in this entire posting. "Institutional participation" should be called what it is: SPECULATION. These people buy coins not for the reasons that collectors buy them, which includes an enjoyment of history and a hobby. They buy for ONE thing to MAKE A PROFIT.
 
I’m not against profits, but when these people become divorced from the collector market, they are doing nothing playing with each other. The motivation for “institutional participation” is very negative for collectors and hobby. It’s basically a scam that is aimed toward benefiting a comparatively small number of people to the detriment many people in this hobby. And in the end it will bad for the institutions as well.
 
As a retiree, I don’t mind having some of my money in my coin collection, but I would not want a dime invested in a mutual fund that is based upon coins. We have seen what happens when “investors” leave the collectors behind. They drive up prices through roof until they stop buying from each other (a.k.a. “bigger fools”) and then the market collapses.
 
As for myself I find this hero worship of Mr. Albanese disturbing. No one on this earth is that good. I have a numismatic library of 300+ books. In reviewing it, I can’t find one work by Mr. Albanese. He’s really great at making money, but I don’t see where he contributed much to hobby except for the start-upt of a couple of grading companies that he subsequently abandoned.
 
When he leaves CAC will it end up like PCGS and NGC? Will their standards slip to the point where CAC stickers end up on "C" coins? It has in one case. I got a "C" coin with a CAC sticker on it that would have cost me $12 grand. I returned it.
 

I have also not been able to get into it. Perhaps it's for maintenance. 

It is counterfeit for sure, and it looks like it is not made of gold. It was only gold plated and most of that has worn off of it. It appears that someone tried to acid test at the bottom of the reverse which resulted in some predictable damage.
 
Beyond that the die work and the design details are all wrong. The reverse does not appear to be in high relief. Compare it with the photos of the coins I posted. If you look carefully you will see that this piece is quite different in the design details.
 
I'm sorry things didn't work out on this. Don't let this deter you from getting into the hobby if you want to do that.
 

The $20,000 price tag would by a piece that is "almost nice." Generally an MS-63 graded example will sell for somewhere in the $25,000 range. An MS-64 will be in the $30,000 range, and an MS-65 sells in the $45,000 range. All of these prices are for coins that have been certified by NGC or PCGS. The genuine examples of this coin can dip below $10,000 if the coin has wear or damage.
 
Uncertified coins or coins that have been certified by less than main stream concerns bring lower prices. The reasons are that their grades have yet to be determiend from the market perspective, and the possibility of repairs, problems or even counterfeiting exist.
 
$20,000 would by you an MS-62 graded coin. Such pieces can be attractive, but many of the examples I have seen have issues, like a light over all rub, slightly impaired luster or minor marks that an experienced collector will notice right away.
 
I would urge you to buy a certified coin, if you are really interested in an example. There are counterfeits and there are genuine coins that have been abused, which can sell at quite a discount when those problems are taken into consideration.
 
For what it's worth here are some photos in three grades.
 
MS-63
 

 
MS-64
 

 
MS-65
 

If that coin is going to make P-L, it's going to have to show a whole lot more to me in the future than it is now showing me in that photo. Remember that it has to be P-L on both sides to make that designation, which is pretty rare from what I've seen.