• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

coinsandmedals

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    862

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    12

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by coinsandmedals

  1. coinsandmedals

    The wait is over - the grades are posted!

    By coinsandmedals,


    My 2022 Numismatic Journey
    Before sharing the results of my NGC submission, I want to thank those who reached out to me during my hiatus. It meant a lot to me that so many not only noticed that I was absent but took the time to check in on me. As some of you know, our lives were temporarily derailed due to a sudden passing of a beloved family member. From there, life got super busy, and with everything going on, coins were the last thing on my mind. A few big things have happened since my journal entry in December: I finished my Ph.D., accepted a full-time faculty position at an R1 University, we inherited a house allowing us to move closer to family, and my wife landed a new job (with a five-figure pay raise!). Despite all of that, the best news is that our family will grow by one in December!!! Although it is perhaps a bit early, I have already started brainstorming ideas to get the kiddo involved in numismatics down the road. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
    I hope to be more active here now that life is slowly returning to normal. On any note, I have a major NGC submission update to share. The last of the submissions shipped out last week, meaning I finally got to see how they graded. I have already shared a few of these, but to keep things simple, I included them here to compliment the original journal entry (link to original thread).

    1799 Great Britain proof Farthing with shells – Ex. Matthew Boulton
    NGC grade: PF-63 BN 

    “1791” France Jean Jacques Rousseau Medal – Ex. Matthew Boulton
    NGC grade: MS-64 BN

    1800(11) Westminster Fire Office Medal with shells and wrapper – Ex. James Watt Jr. Collection
    NGC grade: MS-66 BN

    1805 Ireland proof Penny with shells
    NGC grade: PF-64 RB

    1793 Board of Agriculture Medal with shells and wrapper – Ex. James Watt Jr. Collection
    NGC grade: MS-67 BN

    1800 George III Preserved from Assassination Medal with shells
    NGC grade: MS-66 BN

    1803 Boydell's National Edition of Shakespeare's Works with shells
    NGC grade: MS-62

    1793 Death of Gustavus III medal with shells
    NGC grade: MS-66 BN

    1793 Execution of Louis XVI of France – Final farewell medal with shells
    NGC grade: MS-66 BN
    This submission included several other items, but I either do not have an image of them, or it was just a reholder. Overall, I am pleased with the grades. Most of these are top pops, many three or more grade points higher than their counterparts. The only thing left to do now is patiently wait for USPS to deliver them! 
  2. coinsandmedals

    Two more invoices were shipped!

    By coinsandmedals,


    My 2021 numismatic journey
    Recap: I submitted a very complex order to NGC that spanned several invoices and numerous special requests. You can read about it here. Due to a clerical error, I received the grades back on one of the submissions early, which I detail here.
    Almost immediately after posting my last journal, I checked my email to find another shipment notification from NGC. I was somewhat confused as I thought I got this worked out when I talked with NGC yesterday, but I assume that these were already in the queue by the time I placed my call, and they didn’t have time to fix the error. I called earlier today and I think the issue will be resolved for the other four invoices before they are finalized. At one point, the status of the last invoice was safe/complete. Has anyone seen that before?
    On any note, I got an early view of the assigned grades for three coins!
    1.      
    Description: 1799 Great Britain Farthing – Ex. Boulton
    My grade: PF-64 BN
    NGC grade: PF-63 BN  
    Comment: This is one of the best-preserved examples of the variety that I have come across, so I am surprised to see that it graded so low. I tend to be a bit conservative when I grade these pieces, so I really would not have been shocked to see this come back in a 65 holder. I plan to give this coin a thorough examination to try to find what I missed. Either way, I am thrilled to have this in a multi-coin holder alongside its shells. I will post pictures of the slab once I get it back in hand.
    2.      
    Description: “1791” France Jean Jacques Rousseau Medal – Ex. Boulton
    My grade: MS-64 BN
    NGC grade: MS-64 BN 
    Comment: I am happy with how this medal graded, and it will look great alongside its counterpart in my collection (this will be the subject of a future journal). These medals are not particularly rare, but it is nice to have one with the original shells and provenance to the Boulton family. This medal is also housed in a multi-coin holder alongside its shells. I will post pictures of the slab once I get it back in hand.
    3.      
    Description: 1805 Ireland Penny
    My grade: PF-63+ RB
    NGC grade: PF-64 RB 
    Comment: I went back and forth between a 63 and a 64 for this coin, but I figured the small mark on the reverse would preclude a higher grade. I wish this coin would have warranted the cameo or star designation, but those are very uncommon for coins of this series. On any note, I am relieved that NGC was able to make the multi-coin holder work for a coin this size. Once I get this coin back in hand, I will post pictures of the full slab.
  3. coinsandmedals

    World economy submission – The grades are in!

    By coinsandmedals,


    My 2021 numismatic journey
    Recap: I submitted a very complex order to NGC that spanned six invoices and several special requests. You can read about it here.
    Much to my surprise, the world economy submission is already on its way back to me, but this was not by design. When I submitted these coins, I requested combined shipping to save on the return shipping charge. For whatever reason, NGC accidentally mailed out the world economy submission on 11-19.  I didn’t notice until I received the shipment notification from NGC later that night. I finally got a chance to call earlier today, but the coins were already on their way back to me. In line with my prior experiences with NGC, they readily acknowledged the error and offered a full credit for the shipping charge. It was nice to see that they are still very customer-friendly despite their massive backlog and continuous staffing shortages. Many, myself included, assumed that the longer turnaround times for the economy tier would delay my other submissions, so this was a big surprise.
    The posted pictures are not my best work. My normal setup was out of commission when I first took these so I had to do the best I could with what I had at the time. I plan to take new images with my typical setup once they arrive back from NGC.
     
    1.      
    Description: Uniface die trial of the 1811 Bank of England Dollar
    My grade: XF – Detail
    NGC grade: Ineligible type
    Comment: This one caught me off guard as this is a well-documented piece described and cataloged in no less than four internationally recognized authoritative guides. After discussing this with the customer service representative earlier today, I plan to write a brief email providing documentation for the piece and making my case that it should fall within the purview of the items they grade. I have been somewhat successful with similar requests in the past, so maybe this will eventually end up in a slab.
    2.      
    Description: 1753 Great Britain ½ Penny
    My grade: AU-55 BN
    NGC grade: AU-58 BN
    Comment: I am not surprised by the grade this coin received. The pictures make it look dull, but in hand, it retains a good amount of luster.
    3.      
    Description: 1754 Great Britain Farthing
    My grade: MS-64 BN
    NGC grade: MS-63 BN
    Comment: I am happy with this coin in an MS-63 holder. I am excited to get it back in hand to see what I might have missed during my initial inspection. Fun fact, a number of these pieces dated 1754 and depicting George II were actually struck in 1762 and 1763 under the reign of George III. This lackluster attempt to address the small change shortage of the era further highlights how disinterested the crown was in helping the average citizen.
    4.      
    Description: 1917 Costa Rica 10 Centavos  
    My grade: MS-63 PL
    Result: MS-64
    Comment: I am happy with the numerical grade, but the lack of a PL designation is disappointing. I have images of this coin, but they all fail to capture how it looks in hand. The devices are slightly frosted, but the fields are fully reflective. At first glance it looks like a proof, but from my research, it doesn’t appear proof strikes were ever recorded for this coin in silver. On any note, it is an interesting coin that will soon find a new home. 
  4. coinsandmedals

    Yet another positive NGC experience!

    By coinsandmedals,


    My 2021 numismatic journey
    With submission turnaround times increasing by the day, it is often easy to focus on the bad while taking the good for granted. That said, I would like to share a recent positive experience with NGC customer service. I submitted a proof 1775 Irish Halfpenny in February of last year, but I did not find the time to inspect the coins until early last month. I know it is ridiculous that it took me that long to enjoy my coins, but I have very little time to kill. Now that things are starting to slow down with the end of the semester approaching, I have a few minutes to spare! On any note, the coin came back XF DETAILS as expected (edge damage); however, the original label omitted an important word (i.e., PROOF). Although it can often be complicated to distinguish between circulated proofs and business strike examples, this is an easy attribution to make in this case. As I explained in my email to NGC, the coin in question was struck on a thick flan with medal orientation (i.e., the essential characteristics only found on a specific proof variety). I also pointed out that the coin is perfectly round and that the denticles are contained within the rims. For those unfamiliar with this series, these are hallmarks that the coin was struck in a collar. According to Dyer and Gaspar (1980), striking coins in a collar was a practice used almost exclusively for proof strikes. It is likely safe to assume that this information is common knowledge for the world coin graders, so it seemed reasonable to conclude that the partially inaccurate label was nothing more than a clerical error. I wrote all this out in an email sent well after business hours.
    I received NGC’s initial response early the next morning requesting images of the obverse, reverse, and label. I obliged, and within a couple of hours, I received an email from NGC with a prepaid UPS next day shipping label. I dropped the coin in the mail later that day, and it arrived at NGC the following morning. From here, things moved quickly. NGC logged it into the system on October 13th, and I had it back in hand by the 29th. Not only did NGC place the coin in a fresh holder and correct the label to include the proof designation, but they also added the extra information to denote it as the variety struck on a thick flan and in medal alignment. They corrected the error free of charge, which I assume cost more than the initial grading charges.
    This is not the first time that NGC went out their way to help a small-time collector such as myself, and I think that speaks volumes about NGC's character.
    So what positive NGC customer service experiences do you have to share?