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Scott A

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Journal Entries posted by Scott A

  1. Scott A
    Who needs an extra hole?
    1888 1 Centime Double Hole Punch Error PCGS MS66RB. A tremendously cool error in top notch grade.
    Likely a unique error. It does show that the holes were punched after the coins were struck.
    This is a magnificent treasure that will now grace my Belgian Congo collection, where it will find good company with other rarities and gems.

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  2. Scott A
    Mint State Cob
    I am pleased to announce my latest early Latin American coin. It is a Bolivia 1686 P VR 1 Real 2.9 grams NGC MS63. There are no other Bolivian coins of the type approaching the condition of this magnificent Potosi mint Charles II Cob. This coin is also approaching a round shape with the date, mintmark, and assayer initials all struck up and sharply defined. To find a mint state silver cob of any series is quite amazing.

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  3. Scott A
    Extremely rare medal in gold designed by the famous and talented Isidore de Rudder (1855 - 1943)
    I just added this magnificent medal to my Belgian Congo Collection.
    1898 Belgian Congo Oval Gold Ticket or Pass for Congo Railway.
    COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS BY SUBJECT, Exploration and Travel, Africa, Congo Railway (Chemin de Fer du Congo), Inauguration, 1 July 1898, oval Gold Ticket or Pass, by Isidore de Rudder (Belgian 1855-1943), semi-naked female seated before locomotive, rev legend and initials within art-deco named at base a Mr Jones ..., 41.5mm x 23mm, 15.97g, in small blue leather case of issue by Wolfers Frères, Brussels (BDM V, 264; Swann -). A superb piece, struck with a matt surface in the Art-Deco style, extremely fine and extremely rare.
    The ticket believed that presented to Alfred Jones, later (1901) Sir Alfred Lewis Jones KCMG (1845-1909), ship-owner, manager, firstly, of the African Steamship Company then (1891) a director of Elder, Dempster & Co. Around this time he had a monopoly on the Congo-Antwerp mail traffic as well as consular duties representing King Leopold's Congo State in Liverpool. He had been described as the Uncrowned King of West Africa. The railway ran from the port of Matadi to Leopoldville -- now Kinshasa.
    This is a very beautiful medal and a lovely addition to this collection!
    Weight: 15.91 grams or .0561 oz.
    Biography: Isidore de RUDDER
    Isidore De Rudder is a sculptor, sculptor, painter, engraver and ceramist Belgian Art Nouveau period born in Brussels in 1855 and died in 1943 at Uccle.
    De Rudder was formed at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels from 1869 to 1879 (Academy where he became professor from 1911 to 1915 and from 1919 to 1926) and in the studio of Simonis.
    In 1880 he obtained the prize of the Academy of Belgium which enabled him to travel to Germany, England and France.
    In 1882 he received the second prize of Rome.
    He also created models for Philippe Wolfers silversmith who had been his pupil.
    His workshop in the Rue de Hennin, 74 in Ixelles was transformed from the plans of his friend Paul Hankar.
    His wife Helen of Menil, a native of Ypres, was an artist talented embroiderer.

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  4. Scott A

    Pedigree Corrected By NGC

    By Scott A,

    Double Pedigree
    Several years ago I submitted this set of 1887 Belgian Congo silver coins that I purchased in a Stacks Auction, Lot 1479 on 2/17/1999. When I submitted the coins I put a bracket on the submission form to encompass all four coins with the pedigree for ex. Goodman and ex. Hall. Unfortunately NGC didn't notice the bracket and ended up putting Goodman on one of the coin and Hall on another coin and nothing on the other two coins.
    I intended on having this corrected over the years and never got around to it. I brought this set to the NYC Inc. Show this past January and fortunately I still had the original paperwork that I submitted to NGC years ago, as well as my original receipt for the Stacks sale. This made the correction process super easy.
    Now the coins are properly attributed to the ex. Goodman and ex. Hall collections, which makes me quite happy. I would actually grade the 50 centimes and the 5 francs pieces one point higher each than they were graded back then, but I was just happy enough to have the pedigrees corrected.
    Keep your paperwork for important coins.

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  5. Scott A
    Off the market for decades.
    A recent discovery that I found of this extremely rare Specimen Proof from the King's Norton Mint Collection which grades PCGS SP66RD. While no official mintage records are kept for most of these types of coins, typical mintages are 5-15 pieces. Sources that I have believe that there were only 3-5 of these struck, but who really knows for sure? This particular coin was off the market for decades. Currently no example has been graded by NGC, and only two are graded by PCGS, one being a SP65RD and this example, making this the finest of two graded. A truly remarkable find of a coin not documented for the past 55 years. Also a great addition to my award winning Belgian Congo Collection!

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  6. Scott A
    Finally A Real Win With A Grading Service
    I sent an unlisted and very rare pattern in for grading to PCGS since I had a coupon for four free submissions. After several interactions online with their customer service people to correct errors that I saw on the PCGS website related to this coin, as well as providing them with a variety of information about the coin, since it is not listed in any major catalog, the coin was shipped back to me as "unable to authenticate". Now this coin is not a difficult coin to authenticate just because it is not listed anywhere. PCGS didn't used to be so skittish about figuring out the previously "unknown". They did this with a previous coin that I submitted and then authenticated it on my second submission, as the coin had been purchased by me in a Heritage auction, which they failed to search for. Anyway, after bringing all of this to the PCGS customer service representative, he gave me a credit and allowed me to resubmit this coin free of charge and free of shipping both ways. The coin was just shipped back to me, and yes, it was authenticated and graded as SP64. The coin is very rare and quite interesting as it was determined to be a 1944 Belgian Congo chrome-plated steel 2 francs piece. Chrome-plated is a first for me. Given the problems with the 1943 U.S. steel coins, I can understand mints trying to chrome-plate steel coins to try to give the surfaces some integrity.
    Thank you PCGS for making good on one of your errors. They have come a long way from the first time I called them many years ago and the customer service "specialist" told me that "they don't make mistakes". Seriously.

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  7. Scott A
    My display at our club's annual coins show.
    I entered a display for our club's annual coins show this past weekend. The club is certainly one of the more famous coin clubs in America. It is the Rochester Numismatic Association, aka RNA. John J. Pittman is a former member, and I was fortunate enough to meet him shortly before his death, and get to know his wife and daughter soon after his death.
    The coins that I displayed were 17 Belgian Congo coins that depicted elephants on them, including general release coins and rare to extremely rare patterns. Some of the general release coins are the finest graded and some of the patterns are the only ones graded. There was even one error piece for good measure.

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  8. Scott A
    Very Rare, shiny, and new to me!
    My newest Belgian Congo rarity.
    1920 Albert I of Belgium nickel Specimen Essai Franc SP66 PCGS, Dupriez 182.
     
    This enchanting coin depicts the laureate head of Albert I of Belgium with ESSAI stamped to the right of the palm tree motif. Virtually unseen in the marketplace, this rare issue presents attractive features and lustrous surfaces, highly-coveted as such. This piece, very similar to the piece that was sold in the Spink & Son 12/17/14 auction. If so they described the coins as follows:
    "Belgian Congo, Albert I of Belgium (1909-34), pattern Franc, in nickel, 1920, 12.52g, laureate head left, albert koning der belgen, rev. palm tree dividing value, date and legend, congo belge, essai stamped at 3 o'clock, edge, milled, coin alignment, thick (2.5mm.) flan (Dupriez 182; KM.- )"
    One of the most interesting things is that it has a Flemish legend on the obverse and a French legend on the reverse.
    PCGS Population = 2. One graded SP65 and this piece which is graded SP66.
    None graded by NGC to date.

  9. Scott A

    Building A Set

    By Scott A,

    Peru 1850 Date Set
    I just added an 1850 Peru 4 Reales piece to my "Latin American Beauties" Custom Set. The coin is from the Lissner Collection and I bought it in a very recent Heritage sale. I know I overpaid for this coin, but I am putting a mint state, silver date set together, and it's tough to find what you need. Only two are graded by either service, both NGC one MS62 and one MS64. The coin is quite lovely despite the scuff marks, and is one of the best struck pieces of the type that I have seen. So now I have the Peru 1850: 1/2 Real (MS66), 1 Real (MS63), 2 Reales (MS63), and 4 Reales (MS62). I will be hunting down the 1/4 Real and 8 Reales to complete the set. (It's too bad I have a nice 1855 1/4 real piece instead of the 1850).

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  10. Scott A
    Gem Copper Proof
    I was fortunate enough to acquire an extremely rare 1887 10 Centimes copper proof coin. This is not a pattern and was not a coin that I knew was ever made in proof format. But here it is all beautiful and gem looking like the "belle of the ball". This coin will join my very impressive (if I do say so myself) Belgian Congo collection. It will also make a nice addition to my 1887 Silver Proof Set. Maybe someday I will find the other copper pieces in proof, if they exist. The photo was produced by the newish NGC Photo Vision service. The coin was graded NGC PF65BN
    Just a note, I have finally taken the time, and a lot of it, to combine the Part 2 of the set into Part 1 to make a complete set all in one place. I also tried to better organize some of the coins to be grouped together in the most meaningful way possible. So please come peruse my Belgian Congo Coins 1887-1999 Set and enjoy all the remarkable treasures within.

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  11. Scott A
    A Real Doubled Die
    I discovered this charming little Belgian Congo 1944 1 Franc error several years ago and had it conserved and graded by NCS/NGC. I could never get a good photo of this coin until today. The coin is graded as a NGC AU55. Regardless of grade this is an exceptional find for this series. I have a few errors in this collection, but they are as rare as can be. So I am finally sharing the photo that I took today with you fine collectors. I hope you enjoy it.
    Note:I am slowly merging my Belgian Congo Part 2 set into my Belgian Congo Part 1 Set to make it one huge comprehensive set. Since NGC upgraded the site, probably a few years ago, it is easier to finally do this.

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  12. Scott A
    Overdate Discovered
    I recently bought a PCGS graded 1923 Belgian Congo 50 Centimes (Flemish version) that was graded MS64. The grade looked right. But within seconds of looking at this coin with a loupe I noticed that it was an overdate of 1923/2, which was not listed in KM. The overdate was easy to spot so I looked the coin up in a Belgian reference book that I have and noticed that the overdate is known to them.
    I resubmitted this coin to PCGS and they corrected the date. I was sure to supply them with a copy of the Belgian catalogue page from that reference book. Now the coin is correctly labeled in the holder. All it took was to actually look at the coin and not just the holder.
    The new overdate will be added to the KM World Coins catalogue.

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  13. Scott A

    Silver Lion Essai Rarity

    By Scott A,

    One tough one left.
    I recently bought one of the last of the 1965 10 Francs Essai coins that was struck in silver and just had it graded and it is now graded NGC MS64. I found it in a London auction. I have the aluminum version NGC MS66, copper-nickel version NGC MS64, and a copper uniface Die Trial NGC MS65BN. So the last piece left is one struck in gold, which is listed in Krause, but I have never seen or heard of one existing in the many years that I have been collecting this series. The silver piece is very rare with only 3 graded by NGC MS63, MS64 (this piece, not yet listed in census), and MS65. PCGS does not show any graded, but it looks like they don't have any of the essais listed in their population report.

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  14. Scott A
    Recent discovery in elephant patterns.
    I have been collecting Belgian Congo coins for many years and discovered some of the 1 franc elephant patterns several years ago. But more recently I discovered that there are some varieties in these elephant coins. The obverses have the same elephant design. However some sport the "PATT" above the elephant and some do not. But the reverses are markedly different as you can see by the photo of the two side by side that I have attached here. I am calling them large and small denominations. There are of course other difference that can be seen. If you are interested in seeing larger full pictures of both feel free to go to my Belgian Congo custom sets for a better view. The patterns, like most, are rare.

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  15. Scott A
    Unusual Variety Find!
    I just bought a rare Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) 1970 Pewter Essai KM E4 Pewter of KM13 from a major auction company. It weighs 14.36g, uniformed bust three-quarters right, rev. arms, value below, essai stamped below.
    This seems to be an odd variety that has the word Zaires instead of Zaire on the reverse for the denomination. This is not like the coin pictured in KM nor is it like the gold and gilt coins that I own, which all are spelled in the expected singular version Zaire. I also have the Piefort KM PE2 version which also has the spelling as Zaire.
    My best guess is that a worker at the mint made a spelling error that made it all the way to the production of this Essai and it somehow survived.
    Take a look at the attached photo and let me know what you think.

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  16. Scott A

    Petite Real

    By Scott A,

    I don't mind the hole.
    I just added a nice little 1/4 Real to my Latin American Beauties collection. It is a Colonial issue of Philip II and looks nicer than most that I have seen of this scarce coin type/denomination. Yes it is pierced, as many are, but it does not detract from the eye appeal in my opinion. It is slightly heavy for the issue as well. A very charming addition to my collection.

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  17. Scott A

    Newest Elephant

    By Scott A,

    One of the Finest Graded
    I just added another Belgian Congo 1943 2 Francs piece to my collections. I actually have a few, but as many of you know, it's nice to keep upgrading when you can. So I finally added a new piece graded NGC MS65, which passes up my PCGS MS64. And for those of you who do not know the series, NGC has only graded 2 in MS65 and one in MS66, while PCGS has only graded 5 in MS64, 4 in MS65, and none higher. So as you can see it is a tough coin to find this nice. I was outbid on that MS66 piece when it showed up on eBay recently, and bid quite strongly too. I will be watching, as usual, for something even better!

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  18. Scott A
    Varieties Exisit
    I just bought a new Belgian Congo Pattern that is interesting. It is a 1944 1 Franc similar to KM 26, but struck in steel. It is the same design and metallic content to another steel pattern that I have, but this piece has the "PATT" punch above the elephant, while the other steel example has no letters punched over the elephant. Both the copper and brass examples have the "PATT" punch as well. I am not sure if the coin without the punched letters was intentional or just got missed in the punching process. Here is a photo of the new steel pattern. You can view the other steel example in my listing of Belgian Congo coins.
     
     
     
    https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinView.aspx?sc=9844

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  19. Scott A
    Finally got it graded.
    I finally had this very rare obverse die trial of this cool Sierra Leone Company token graded. I tried to have it graded by NGC a few years ago and they sent it back stating that they don't grade these coins any longer. (Funny how my regular issue piece of this type was graded by them). So off to PCGS a month or two ago and now it resides in a nice holder and appropriately graded as MS63RB. A very cool addition to my small Sierra Leone Company collection. It's small but well represented as far as condition goes.

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  20. Scott A

    High Grade Belgian Congo

    By Scott A,

    Top Graded date!
    I just bought a lovely 1919 5 Centimes graded PCGS MS67! Coins from this country very rarely reach this basically astronomical grade, unless they are modern of course. In fact, not counting modern proofs, my collection only consists of 4 coins graded 67 with none higher and none to my knowledge graded higher by either NGC or PCGS. Please take a look at my wonderful Belgian Congo collections (broken up into 2 parts because of prior size restrictions). I am always trying to complete and improve it. If you see something that I am missing and you have one in uncirculated+ condition feel free to contact me about it.

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  21. Scott A

    Red Katanga

    By Scott A,

    Finest Certified Franc of Katanga!
    I just added the finest certified 1 Franc coins of Katanga, a region of the Belgian Congo, to my collection. NGC MS66RD!!!
    Although quite a common coin in general, finding a choice gem piece with original full red color is very difficult. I guess that's why there is only one graded this high and none higher at either service. As nice as one would hope to have in a top notch collection like my Belgian Congo sets. Please take a look.

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  22. Scott A
    Rare and maybe the finest.
    My newest and lovely Latin American Beauty!
    Guatemala 1829-NG M Real, KM75. One of the classic rarities of Latin American, a rare one-year type, provisional issue as the State of Guatemala. The SCWC reports only 4 known, but realistically about 12-15 exist. I have traced most of them and the majority are in low grade and/or damaged. The few that are nice and two that are numerically graded by NGC in the same grade I find to be in lower grade than this example. Even the finest graded Whittier example, graded NGC EF40 appears to be inferior to this coin. In essence, I believe that this coin is under-graded and is equal to or better than the Whittier coin.
    As noted in the Roberts' description, this is a historically important one year type. It indicates that it is both a "moneda" and a "provisional" issue. It is the only coin of Guatemala to be labeled "Estado" The history of this coin is intimately linked to the politics of this most-important Central American nation during its formative years after Spanish rule was ended. While other series indicate, "PROVISIONAL", this one precedes it with the declaration, "MONEDA", thus making it unique. The obverse is also unique in its legend, "ESTADO DE GUATEMALA".

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  23. Scott A
    Extremely rare quality on typically somewhat crudely made coins.
    I recently bought two wonderful little Gems. 1850 and an 1855 1/2 Real Lima, both in NGC MS66! Anyone who knows these small pretty coins knows that to find one of these in this state of preservation is almost a miracle. Well this miracle hit twice. Dos Milagros Baby!!! I have added a slab pic, but to see them in closer detail go look at my Latin American Beauties Custom set.

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  24. Scott A

    Peruvian Curiosity

    By Scott A,

    Mint State Cantina Token
    I just acquired a new Latin Beauty. It is an 1873 Peruvian Cantina Token with a 20 Centavo value from Aguas Del Rimac. I really don't have much information on this token, but love it. It is appropriately graded as NGC MS63, and might be a tad bit finer. Most likely not common, at least in this condition.
    If any of you fine numismatists know more about this token, feel free to share your knowledge.

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  25. Scott A
    1891 5 Francs...Finally!
    I finally found this 1891 5 Francs coin, which is a very very rare Uncirculated coin. This coin is graded NGC MS62 and could easily have graded MS63. It has taken me over 10 years to find an uncirculated example of this date. This is the only one graded in any grade by either service and the first that I have seen so far. I now have all of the KM 8.1 5 Francs pieces in mint state grades from MS62-MS66. (NGC and PCGS). The big one left to get is the KM 8.2

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