coinman_23885

I also think it is pretentious.  Everyone that is knowledgeable will know that the Eliasberg 1913 PF66 nickel is the highest graded.  You don't need it on a special label. 

Unless it is reserved for coins where there are a small, finite number of coins whose condition census is well known, then this is a horrible idea.  It will generate law suits if new examples are upgraded or come to the market (think the newly 1854-S $5 - what if instead of being XF it bested the Pogue AU58+?).

On 7/10/2019 at 8:29 AM, MarkFeld said:

Below are their particulars, which I think are phrased broadly enough so as not to cause too many problems. I think that in most cases, they will be able to tell whether it's "likely" or "unlikely" that a coin is genuine. And they shouldn't have much difficulty with Proof coins, since they would be providing a grade range of 60-70. I do wonder about problem/details-grade coins, however.

 

• Authenticity Review ($5 per coin): An NGC expert examines the photos from the eBay listing and provides a preliminary opinion of the coin’s authenticity. The preliminary opinions of authenticity are: Likely Genuine, Likely Not Genuine or Inconclusive.

   

• Authenticity and Grade Review ($10 per coin): An NGC expert examines the photos from the eBay listing and provides a preliminary opinion of the coin’s authenticity and, if it is Likely Genuine, a preliminary opinion on its grade range. For US and world coins, the preliminary opinions of grade range include Likely Low Circulated (1-35), Likely High Circulated (40-58), Likely Uncirculated (60-70), Likely Proof (60-70) or Inconclusive. Similar opinions are given for ancient coins.

 

I question the value of the grade review service especially.  If a person cannot tell "likely low circulated" versus "likely high circulated" or better, then that person should probably consider another hobby.  I'm betting the average novice could match NGC's ranges with a high degree of concordance.  Without seeing a coin in hand, I think authenticity review is going to be futile except for the most obvious counterfeit coins.  The photo quality is also horrendous.  The posters would probably fair better posting here or on other coin forums where there are experienced collectors, dealers, and experts who are likely to spend more time on it than a grader.

On 7/1/2019 at 5:23 PM, Coincident said:

$1k lesson

Maybe not.  Do you have the seller's name and address?  Demand a refund and send them comparison photos of a real coin.  If they refuse the refund and can be located, contact the U.S. Secret Service and local authorities. Tell them you were defrauded with an expensive counterfeit coin.  

How did you pay?  What venue was the item sold?  If you paid by anything other than cash you may be able to reverse the payment or at least find out where the seller banks and his contact information.

The registries already award bonuses to PL/DMPL coins.  You could build a PL set there.  A special category could artificially increase demand and destabilize the market for these price wise to unrealistic levels. Many will also be moving ATS anyway as PCGS will now designate them as PL.

I had an interesting thought that might simplify the process.  Skip Fazzari, a former NCS/NGC grader and now ICG grader, posts as Insider2 on the CU Forums.  Skip likes this sort of thing to show off (not a snide remark - he's a nice guy, but he likes to impress others).  This would be right up his alley. Post this with the NGC results, better images, and then make a "contest" thread to see if you can convince Skip to do all the work for fun (read as free) based on the images/diagnostics.  If he is successful in authenticating it, print Skip's notes and submit to ICG.    You'll know ahead of time before spending submission fees and all of the postage and insurance.   If he can't tell you based on the photos, I'm sure he'd love to examine it under his electron microscope if you submit it to ICG.    Either way, if you pique his interest, I think he would spend far more time on this than the average TPG/TPG grader would.

See if one of the other services will authenticate it for you.

8 hours ago, JKK said:

Thank you, Tom. I will check them out.

Coinbuf, they are not yet slabbed--they are someone's inherited collection and I'm helping her figure out what to do--but it may well be the smartest thing to do. I appreciate your seconding the suggestion.

I didn't realize everything was raw.

Discount and bulk grading are available through HLRC.  Submit it all to PCGS through Harry.  Afterwards you can solicit an offer from him but have no obligation to do so.  At least you'll know what you're dealing with at that point.  The more you submit, the better the rate you can potentially get from HLRC in terms of grading fees.

http://www.hlrc.com/Home/Services

16 hours ago, JKK said:

I've been asked to help liquidate a collection of US gold coins, mostly 1800s. Probably half are the sort that aren't worth much more than melt, but the rest definitely are--including some CC issues and one treasured C.

Heritage is the obvious name to consider, but I would like to consider at least one alternative in order make some comparisons. Any other numismatic auction places you would highly recommend for a high five- to low six-figure US gold collection?

For generics, auction houses are a waste of time and money.  You will net far more wholesaling them out on your own if necessary.  Consider crossing anything of large numismatic value to PCGS, and to CAC if you can get a sticker, and try selling yourself here and on the PCGS forums.  If that fails, try consigning them to a dealer.  Sometimes you net more from consignments to dealers than you would an auction house.  Doug Winter comes to mind and can move things very quickly especially if the quality and rarity are there.  Only esoteric and truly better end coins are worth considering the auction route in my opinion.  Another approach might be to submit everything to CAC through a collector (no fee for coins that don't sticker) and sell what stickers to CAC unless you are convinced you can do much better in the larger market (maybe for the very high end stuff).  Other wise a CAC bid would likely net you far more than you'll get after auction fees, and you won't have to wait for the auction to settle!

It is impossible to give more detailed advice without a list of what you're dealing with including dates, mint marks, grades, services, and quantity.

On 6/18/2019 at 12:04 AM, Mohawk said:

 Really?  I'm quite surprised to hear that.  I sell NGC graded coins all the time and I do rather well with them.  For me, it's PCGS graded stuff that can be a pain in the butt.  But I sell U.S. Moderns....maybe it's different with Classic U.S. material.  But even with that, all of the dealers I know will gladly take both NGC and PCGS with no problem, with U.S. stuff anyway.  World is different......NGC is strongly preferred with non-U.S. coins.  It could just be the preferences of the dealers you know and do business with.....kind of like me.  I prefer not to deal in PCGS coins if I can help it, but I will if the buy price is right and I can make a little money on it.  As for my own personal collecting, I collect raw Roman coins now so none of this matters to me there.

Unfortunately I'm not joking.  I wish I was.  The plastic obsession in this hobby is nutty to me.

I've also noticed a lot of NGC star coins being cracked or crossed over to NGC as evident from sales listings with the old NGC labels.  I have crossed several over myself.  It is anecdotal and hardly a sample size with any statistical power, but still an interesting observation. 

I think the decision has hurt the market for NGC registry coins based on my experiences.  In fairness, there are a number of confounding variables at play including a choppy (at best) larger market.  Some dealers won't even take NGC coins on consignment anymore. 

On 5/29/2018 at 10:29 AM, BIGTEE44 said:

Were you able to view the video in the original post? I'm curious of your opinions based upon the video. It's in line to head to the grading room as of this morning. 

Did they at least give it a star for semi-PL fields if it didn't make a full designation?  Awarding a star for a just miss coin is very common.

On 7/27/2018 at 4:12 PM, physics-fan3.14 said:

Literally every single PL coin from the mid-20th century has die polish lines just like this. The polishing of the die is what gives it the PL effect. I've never seen a PL coin from the mid-20th century that did not have these die polish lines. 

The thing is, it's really, really hard to take a good picture of this type of PL coin. These coins absolutely have to be seen in hand. The video gives a much better idea of what the coin looks like. 

And, on multiple occasions, I've had coins that did not get PL on the first try but then got it when I re-submitted for designation review. This tells me there is something missing from the initial grading process - they only look for it when I tell them to. 

I don't recall any die polish lines on my PL buffalo nickel, but it is the only PL coin that I have owned or had occasion to view from the 1930s through the mid 1950s that didn't have heavy die polish lines.  This includes pretty much every series that PL designated coins exist for including steel cents, Mercury Dimes, silver Roosevelt Dimes, Walking Liberty Half Dollars, Franklin Half Dollars, Washington quarters, and Jefferson nickels (including war nickels).

On 11/29/2017 at 5:06 AM, Conder101 said:

Well for starters it's a large date, so it isn't the rare copper small date.

Please... You mean this isn't an ultra rare transition piece?  

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.

RIP Mike.  I always enjoyed your posts and Barber coinage.

2 hours ago, physics-fan3.14 said:

For the same reason a nail would be: because some wisecracker put it there to make a supposed error and sell it for a lot of money. 

Why wouldn't the federal government seize these if there is no real chance these were accidents?

Can someone also clarify why a Canadian  quarter would be in a U.S. Mint coining press?

.

combined

1 hour ago, allmine said:

it has a Copper core

And?  Weren't Canadian quarters also struck on clad planchets?  If the pieces are both clad, how does that allow us to distinguish anything?  I do not know a lot about this putative Canadian overstrike error.

Just now, allmine said:

they're not "hits"; they were present before the blank was struck. Two strikes and they disappear

Proof coins of this era were not struck twice.

1 hour ago, allmine said:

not to beat a dead horse, but the inherent foreleg "bag marks" belie any notion that it is Proof strike

Improper storage and/or circulation could result in the hits you describe.  I don't think it is a  proof either, but I wouldn't rely on the presence or absence of bag marks or ticks to separate between business strike and proof coinage.

19 hours ago, t-arc said:

No, but in my opinion that would do nothing for the coin.  Would it?  What would you expect to see from a dipping?

The toning doesn't add much in this case, and it can obscure the fields.  There may be some remnant reflectivity in the fields that is obscured.  If so, it could support the hypothesis that this is an impaired satin proof.

On 7/7/2017 at 2:25 PM, t-arc said:

both the 1916 and 1936 nickels were picked up by pcgs today at 9:16 am.  so we shall soon have their opinion of both pieces.  the more i look at the 1936 nickel i am convinced it is something other than the typical garden

variety 1936 business strike.  But what it is and under what circumstances it was produced shall remain unknown.

Have you ever thought about giving it a light dip?