BillJones

We can't help you very much when we have no idea what you have. It sounds like you have U.S. coins.
Are all of your dad's coins in albums, or are some of them in certification holders? Either way, you could have a little or a lot.

I was born and raised in Delaware, and I have a number of items from the 1938 celebration. In addition to the Delaware commemorative half dollar, there were also a number of medals that were issued at the same time. This first piece is about the size of a half dollar. It is listed in the So-Called Dollars book. Interestingly there were at least some these that went unsold at least 20 years after the event. I bought this one on my fifth grade field trip in 1959.
I am sorry ... I find this site very frustrating. I don't know how to post more than one picture per message, no matter how hard I try.  I have many items I could share, but I can't post them here.

Now I have learned that the "Drag File" feature is next to useless. You have to use the "Choose Files."
Here is a Swedish medal in silver. I have also have one in bronze.
 

Here is the reverse of the piece from the previous post. The second set of photos, if they show are the large medal which has the same design. There was also a silver medal in the large size which is very rare.
 

I was born and raised in Delaware, and I have a number of items from the 1938 celebration. In addition to the Delaware commemorative half dollar, there were also a number of medals that were issued at the same time. This first piece is about the size of a half dollar. It is listed in the So-Called Dollars book. Interestingly there were at least some these that went unsold at least 20 years after the event. I bought this one on my fifth grade field trip in 1959.
I am sorry ... I find this site very frustrating. I don't know how to post more than one picture per message, no matter how hard I try.  I have many items I could share, but I can't post them here.

If a coin is graded too conservatively, it can be resubmitted over and over again and can eventually go up in grade. But if a coin is graded too loosely, odds are extremely good that it will not go down in grade. So I believe that grade-flation will continue.

I agree with @Walkerfanwhen it comes to NGC losing business. When I got toward the end of my Classic Head $2.50 set, I needed two coins. In the old days would have been very open to buying NGC coins to fill those slots, but since the other coins were PCGS, I decided to look for only their product to fill those slots. At least I could display my complete set somewhere when I got done. I passed on an 1839-C Quarter Eagle because it was in an NGC holder
Today the set is on the PCGS registry, which not as good as the. NGC software for showing sets, IMO. It is in second place behind Hanson who seems to have almost unlimited resources. According to PCGS, it’s rated among the top five of all time. I take that with a grain of salt because of the modern grading issues. 
 I won’t be catching Hanson, but at least I can display the whole set somewhere. I compiled the Classic $5 set too, but it is NGC and PCGS graded and cannot be shown anywhere in its entirety despite the fact that there are some condition census coins in it. This “NGC only” decision did not help the hobby, and it, on balance, it has not helped NGC.

This thread keeps getting bumped, so my hand is being forced to speak more of my mind once again.
I have been an NGC proponent from the very beginning.  My best coins are in NGC slabs and they are graded very accurately.  I have always bought the coin and not the holder.  What I collect is so rare that it requires the resources of both major grading services for me to properly put together a good quality set.  I started my registry set in 2005 and have been working on it ever since.  I am 97% complete with only two coins left.  Five of my last coins that I acquired were after the decision to no longer include PCGS coins, so I could not add them to my set.  So instead of 97% complete; I am only 89% complete according to NGC.  That is extremely disappointing, even though I know it is not true.
I started here long ago and made many friends here on the chat boards.  I  never even thought about venturing across the street, until years later, as I was more than happy here. I have used NGC grading and conservation services and have found them both to be equal, if not far superior to PCGS, even if the majority of the market makers don't feel this way.  I also like the look of the NGC slab better than PCGS's slab.  But now, after all these years, I can't complete my set with the best coins from both services.  How can you tell me this is a good decision?  This has to be hurting NGC's bottom line, because sooo many people have dropped out of participation on the Registries and the chat boards, now, and are angry and more and more are buying PCGS coins instead.  That is not conjecture... that is a fact, as I have talked to literally about a hundred collectors who have told me they feel this way. 
And don't tell me that I can register my coins in the Custom sets.  It's not the same.  There's no organization, there's no ranking and, unless you are really looking for something specific, it all gets lost in cyberspace and nobody actually sees it. 
Even if NGC would give me zero points for my newer PCGS coins; I would be happy, because then I could at least complete my set and showcase it here. 
Please reconsider NGC.  You are better than that and I feel it will be a much better financial decision for you. 
As for CAC...well, they don't bother me, at all, because I know what I'm looking for and I know how to grade, so if I can buy a GOOD non CAC coin for less money, then all the better for me.  And, if I do happen to see nicely graded CAC coins; I will pick them up, if they are not priced to the moon.  Most of my set was acquired before CAC was even in existence, anyway, so many of my coins would sticker today, if submitted. 
Regardless of what happens; I will always love NGC and will always be loyal to them and support them.
Respectfully submitted,
WF

With every statement you show just how little you understand of the CAC business model, CAC is not here to protect anyone and where you got that misinformation from is just wild.  And I'm beginning to think that there is good reason why your not a dealer anymore.  It seems simple that someone with the experience you claim to have would be making a killing by buying non CAC material, running those thru the bean factory and making mint on the other side.
Kool-aid drinker no I'm more a Gatorade man myself, but you certainly showed just how bad a judge of people you are with that statement haha.  I have never been a dealer and I have zero desire to, nor do I have any ties of any type to CAC.  You make yourself look ignorant making assumptions like that when you have never met or know anything about who I am.
Brow beat you, once again you miss the mark you've done that to yourself by letting one man dictate to you what you collect, no need for me to do so lol.

If the coin is over graded, JA should not put a sticker on it. What is it about that concept that you can't understand? CAC is supposed to protect collectors from over graded materal.
I get it. You are a CAC Kool Aid drinker. You probably have a vested interest in pushing the product because you are either a CAC authorized dealer, have invested heavily in CAC graded coins or both. Others have tried to brow beat me into becoming a CAC cheerleader, so what you are doing is nothing new.
I'm out. Enjoy your Kool Aid, but don't expect me to join you. The game is over for me. The table that was supporting the Kool Aid stand split down the middle for me a couple of years ago.

If the coin is over graded, JA should not put a sticker on it. What is it about that concept that you can't understand? CAC is supposed to protect collectors from over graded materal.
I get it. You are a CAC Kool Aid drinker. You probably have a vested interest in pushing the product because you are either a CAC authorized dealer, have invested heavily in CAC graded coins or both. Others have tried to brow beat me into becoming a CAC cheerleader, so what you are doing is nothing new.
I'm out. Enjoy your Kool Aid, but don't expect me to join you. The game is over for me. The table that was supporting the Kool Aid stand split down the middle for me a couple of years ago.

Bill....though I was never a collector of US coins during the CAC era, I completely agree with you 100% about the absolute ridiculousness of CAC.  I can't stand any of the stickers.  It's really sad to me what CAC has done to the market.......look at your experience.  The whole CAC ridiculousness ruined an area of collecting for you that you enjoyed for years!  When did we get to a point where we have to grade the graders? And, in a few years, are we going to be stickering the stickers?  Where does the craziness end?  Too many people have bought into the hype with the stickers and, on the US side of things, with the PCGS only mindset which has now turned into PCGS+CAC only.  Thankfully, I'm mostly collecting raw Roman denarii of Empress Faustina the Younger and her daughter Lucilla, so CAC does not impact what I do one bit......and that's a great thing!  I'm glad that you found an area to collect in that CAC hasn't impacted as well.......let's just hope that it stays that way!!

As a collector I used to enjoy working with the NGC registry. I enjoyed posting the pictures and doing the write-ups for each coin. I am a collector who buys the coin and no the holder. I defended NGC ATS.
Now all of that is gone because I have buy NGC coins to go in their registry, and I refuse to do that. I still buy the coin. NGC took away a small part of my enjoyment of this hobby. You can called me childish, but I have a right to angry and fed up, and I am. When the provider fails to please the customer, the customer has a right to walk, and I'm walking.

Here is an early, very scarce William Henry Harrison medal from his 1840 presidential campaign. William Henry Harrison won the 1840 Whig Party presidential nomination in December of 1839. On May 4, 1840 the Whigs held a ratification / pep rally convention for Harrison in Baltimore, Maryland. National political conventions were often held in Baltimore in the 19th century because the city was centrally located on the Eastern Seaboard and had an easily accessible harbor. The "young men" aspect was undoubtedly intended to get the young and first time voters energized and enthusiastic for the upcoming campaign.
 
The 1840 William Henry Harrison presidential run set the standard for the modern political campaign. The Whigs pulled out all the stops with huge rallies, parades, barbeques and other events. At one point the Whigs built a huge ball, with slogans written on it, that was 10 feet in diameter and started to push it from Cleveland, Ohio to Lexington, Kentucky. The idea was to "keep the ball rolling" and get the voters out to polls. It was said the parade behind this ball stretched at one point to nine miles long.
 
The Whigs also issued a large number of tokens, ribbons and other campaign items. The output exceeded all previous campaigns, and would exceed most all succeeding elections until the landmark 1896 canvass. As a result there are many political medalets with Harrison on the obverse and a long cabin on the reverse. Here is a typical example, listed as WHH 1840-50.
 

 
The strategy worked. Harrison won the presidency despite that fact that the Whigs were the minority party and they were running against in incumbent president, Martin Van Buren. The voter turnout also impressive. Eighty-five percent of the eligible voters cast ballots, which is an amazing percentage compared with today's statistics, which usually hover around 50%.
 
Unfortunately Harrison's presidential campaign was much more exciting that his presidency. On Inauguration Day he stood in the cold and rain without a hat and coat and gave the longest inaugural speech in history. He caught a cold with developed into pneumonia, became progressively weaker and died 30 days after taking office. His vice presidential successor, John Tyler, proved to be more of Jefferson Donkey Party man than a Whig. He vetoed a re-charter for the Bank of the United States, which was the cornerstone of the Whig platform and soon became a president without supporters or a political party.
 
This piece is listed as WHH 1840-1 in Sullivan / DeWitt. It is a very scarce piece, and represents a significant upgrade from me. If anyone has an interest in my old one, which grades VF, send me a PM. I'll warn you these pieces are not cheap. My guess is there are no more than 20 of these pieces still in existence.
 

Here is an early, very scarce William Henry Harrison medal from his 1840 presidential campaign. William Henry Harrison won the 1840 Whig Party presidential nomination in December of 1839. On May 4, 1840 the Whigs held a ratification / pep rally convention for Harrison in Baltimore, Maryland. National political conventions were often held in Baltimore in the 19th century because the city was centrally located on the Eastern Seaboard and had an easily accessible harbor. The "young men" aspect was undoubtedly intended to get the young and first time voters energized and enthusiastic for the upcoming campaign.
 
The 1840 William Henry Harrison presidential run set the standard for the modern political campaign. The Whigs pulled out all the stops with huge rallies, parades, barbeques and other events. At one point the Whigs built a huge ball, with slogans written on it, that was 10 feet in diameter and started to push it from Cleveland, Ohio to Lexington, Kentucky. The idea was to "keep the ball rolling" and get the voters out to polls. It was said the parade behind this ball stretched at one point to nine miles long.
 
The Whigs also issued a large number of tokens, ribbons and other campaign items. The output exceeded all previous campaigns, and would exceed most all succeeding elections until the landmark 1896 canvass. As a result there are many political medalets with Harrison on the obverse and a long cabin on the reverse. Here is a typical example, listed as WHH 1840-50.
 

 
The strategy worked. Harrison won the presidency despite that fact that the Whigs were the minority party and they were running against in incumbent president, Martin Van Buren. The voter turnout also impressive. Eighty-five percent of the eligible voters cast ballots, which is an amazing percentage compared with today's statistics, which usually hover around 50%.
 
Unfortunately Harrison's presidential campaign was much more exciting that his presidency. On Inauguration Day he stood in the cold and rain without a hat and coat and gave the longest inaugural speech in history. He caught a cold with developed into pneumonia, became progressively weaker and died 30 days after taking office. His vice presidential successor, John Tyler, proved to be more of Jefferson Donkey Party man than a Whig. He vetoed a re-charter for the Bank of the United States, which was the cornerstone of the Whig platform and soon became a president without supporters or a political party.
 
This piece is listed as WHH 1840-1 in Sullivan / DeWitt. It is a very scarce piece, and represents a significant upgrade from me. If anyone has an interest in my old one, which grades VF, send me a PM. I'll warn you these pieces are not cheap. My guess is there are no more than 20 of these pieces still in existence.
 

To me the Continental Dollar is a lost cause. They were always just beyond my financial reach when I didn't have tons of money, and and prices were much lower. The situation is similar now that I have more. Adding to the fun, (no pun intended) is that 99% of the raw ones are copies. I've seen some of the copies fool collectors and dealers with a lot of experience. They are not all cast copies that could have been bought for $1.00 at Woolworths or the gift shops.
 
The last time I priced one was at a Winter FUN show. I must of looked really stupid, because the quote was close to $200,000, which was WAY BEYOND the market at the time. That dealer must have thought he saw a rich rube in his midst. I get mistaken for that, even in my old age.
 
Sometimes it's good to look dumb. Other times not.
 

I cannot agree with your first sentence. I have been disappointed too many times with them. 
As for the next two sentences, that is true because many collectors have been drawn in by the marketing. 
As for the "no risk" comment, an over graded coin is still an over graded coin even with a sticker. When you pay more than the retail price because of the sticker for that over graded coin, you take on a lot of risk. 

After talking with a number of dealers about CAC, who have sent in a lot of submissions to the company, the candid answer is there is more going on behind the scenes, than just, "Is the grade on the slab right or not?" There is a grading verification AND a marketing component to CAC. Sometimes CAC has an interest in controlling the number of coins from a given issue and type that are on the market at a given period of time. CAC also provides a supply service to some dealers who are mass marketing coins to non collectors or collectors who are involved in the hobby in a casual way.
 
The CAC sticker means something, but it is not the be all and end all that some people make it out to be. In the end you still have know how to grade to avoid making mistakes or work with an honest, trusted dealer who knows how to grade.
 
Now those who are angry at me because I am not a blindly supportive CAC cheerleader can start with their attacks. You are entitled to your opinions and observations, and I am entitled to mine.
 
Those in the middle should bear in made that some of the most vociferous CAC supporters have big dogs in the game. In other words they have a lot of money and marketing invested in CAC products and will defend them to hilt regardless of the facts. The issue is not a "black or white" situation. It is a shade of gray, mostly in favor of CAC, but not supportive of the service 100% of the time.  

As much as it hurts me I do have to agree with Bill Jones on some of his points.
I just purchased a coin to replace my 1872 PCGS MS63 RB CAC 2 Cent Piece with a 1872 (of course) PCGS MS65 BRN CAC example. The reason being is that the 63 example was dipped and IMHO that is the reason it got the RB designation. I'm not a professional by any means but I will wager that anyone that collects copper would agree with my assumption that my coin was dipped..... a long time ago but it was defiantly dipped. I really did not see the "problem" when I purchased it because I got caught up in the excitement of obtaining an MS 1872 2 Cent piece with a CAC sticker on the slab, or maybe I just trusted the CAC sticker and ignored my instincts?
Lots and lots of coins have been cleaned in the past and the past has taken care of some of the "altered surfaces" with time. I'm now wondering if this has become part of the norm as far as coin grading is concerned.
Guess I have to be more observant in the future and less reliant on the grading services. 
 
Ray

Why would you attempt a crossover anyway? Why spend money to make the coin worth less money? NGC did you a huge favor.   For the right buyer, the PCGS OGH and CAC combination can lead to irrational exuberance and a premium.   It would be worth less in the NGC holder even if it restickered.

If the day ever comes that NGC decides to push all of the PCGS coins out of the registry, I tear down my sets and leave NGC behind forever. I will not even look at an NGC coin for purchase.
I tried to carry this company's water for years on the blogs, and this is thanks I get for loyalty.

I agree to a point, it's NGC's registry and they could do what they want.  I would have preferred a middle ground solution with PCGS slabs allowed but with zero points, that way those like BillJones and I that just collect coins, could have a central place to display our collection.  I suppose that could still be done with a custom set, but that just makes us feel like second class citizens, since my bust half collection wouldn't be seen with all the other bust half sets, or Morgan dollars or whatever you collect.

Breen's personal life was obviously reprehensible, but in terms of numismatics, Breen was a saint compared to the likes of John Ford.
I didn't know much about what Ford was up to in his day before I read the Eric P. Newman biography. I knew from the collectors that were my father's age that he was shady, but I didn’t know how shady.
The only time I ever laid eyes on the man was when the Massachusetts Historical Society held an event with Boston Numismatic Society at the unveiling of numismatic display. Most collectors gave him a cordial reception, a few of them rolled their eyes and said that “He’d steal your eye teeth if they weren’t attached to your head.”
Another well know collector and coin magazine columnist was not on the up and up either. One Boston dealer told me about $100,000 collection that a widow had in 10 double row boxes. Back in those days $100,000 collection would be a $1 million or more today.
At any rate, this person took the collection for appraisal, made up one box and paid the widow $10,000 with a promise to buy more. The trouble was he cherry picked the good stuff and left the widow with all of the common pieces. That was the end of the deal for him.

That was not the way the spread of numismatic information was happened in the old days (1960s). A lot of the big dealers kept information to themselves, and as it is today some of them knew less than you might imagine. A few of them, like John Ford, were bad news. Read the book about Eric P. Newman to get the scoop on that. Others had no time for small collectors and kids like me in 1960s.
There were very few books on die varieties and what few there were are often out of print and hard to find. Dr. Sheldon's early date large cent book was the only one that was easy to get in the 1960s. The coin magazines were not great for information. Breen and Taxay were the leading authors. Collectors don't know how great they have it today.

I recently purchased this 1839-C quarter eagle in an auction. I have two more coins to go to complete the Classic Head Quater set. They are supposed to be "somewhat common," but I have not had much luck finding them.