coinsandmedals

Thank, @Just Bob. I hope it was an enjoyable read.

This is very exciting! As I inch closer to finishing my degree, it appears all the more likely that I will once again find myself in the Huntsville or Madison area. Should this occur, I would very much like to join the ranks. 

There seems to be a perceived, if not an actual, increase in demand for graded material. The scope of the issue spans from coins to trading cards to comic books. My dad and I talked about this, and he confirmed that many of his regular customers and an even more significant number of newer customers are requesting more graded material. His experience is not unique as he has heard similar situation from dealers within his network of friends that expands the entire eastern seaboard. The issue is locating good quality graded material at a reasonable cost, which I assume to be part of the larger problem. 

@Revenant fair enough! 

@ChrisInJesup and @ronsthank you for the comments! I’m hoping these will entered into the system soon. Updates are pending. 

On 6/15/2021 at 7:57 PM, Revenant said:

I feel your pain to a degree. I let a $500 award credit expire last year. It's the price we pay for procrastinating sometimes. Lesson learned I'm doing better this year.  

It might be worth giving NGC a call. The last time I spoke with someone from accounting they mentioned that they can roll these awards to the following year. 

On 6/15/2021 at 6:21 PM, S.TRZEBIATOWSKI said:

Well, you were lucky you weren't trying to use your membership credit.  I sent my medals in in May. NGC received the mail 5/27/21. Still haven't opened the mail. They said they expect to open it between  6/27 and 6/30. My credit expires 6/16 and NGC accounting says too bad but you will lose your credit and have to pay 100% because they are behind on doing their work of entering submissions in the system. How wonderful after years of being a member.

Have you tried calling? I have always found NGC to be very flexible with stuff like this so long as it’s brought to their attention. 

@Just Bob you always have an open invitation if/when you find yourself in the area! You'll have to bring a few pieces from your collection when you come. You collect the type of oddities that I am not likely ever to see unless they are shared on these boards. 

@Revenant, you win at eight months. I've had a submission sit on my desk for 4/5 months before, but I eventually get tired of it sitting there and find the time to drop it off. 

@Woods020, thank you for your kind words! 

Update: NGC has confirmed receipt of the package, but they have not opened it yet. What a sigh of relief. 

@brg5658 and @Revenant you both are far too kind!

To give you a better idea of what this would like, here are a few pictures (excluding the bar codes) of the pieces that NGC encapsulated for me back in 2019. It still amazes me that NGC is willing to take the time and effort to oblige a small-time collector such as myself. Unfortunately, these coins are not of the standard size accommodated by the multi-holders, so it takes some work to get them just right. This next batch should prove even more difficult given the different pedigrees.

@Revenant Thank you, I appreciate the feedback! I posted this on my computer and did not think to double-check it on my phone. I will consider your comments for future posts.

Congratulations all around! It seems like you've checked several things off your list in such a short period of time. I look forward to seeing the pictures once you get them done. 

12 minutes ago, Mr.Bill347 said:

Those are incredible ! Your pictures aren’t that bad and show the beauty of what you have. I think they are awesome! Just curious what is “the shell” that you spoke if silver lined? 
TY

Thank you! The silver-lined brass shells are the original mint capsules that were at times paired with the coins. I wrote a detailed post on them some time ago (included below). I have recently discovered new information, so what I wrote there is not entirely accurate, but it hits the high points.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback about how this was presented. I wanted to do something different, but in hindsight, this might have been too difficult to read. Any thoughts?

The two sound very similar in their general dispositions. Bill was the type of person who could easily connect with people. I recently joined the Conder Tokens Collector Club, and several members have mentioned how Bill's influence resulted in them pursuing an entirely new area of the hobby, often for decades! I believe I can safely add my name to that roster.

5 hours ago, dena said:

Congratulations to you and all the winners! It is our pleasure to provide the platform and we are grateful that you choose to share your collections with us and the collecting community. Well done.

Thank you! The NGC registry has indeed been an invaluable platform for me to share my collection and passion for the history it represents. I imagine this is a lot of work on your behalf, but please know that it is much appreciated. 

@RevenantThe same thought crossed my mind. Despite the craziness of 2020 and the staff shortage they are experiencing, they still took the time to find something special to send us. In my opinion, that speaks to their dedication to the hobby and collectors alike. The effort is very much appreciated! I took the opportunity to share my experience on my "coinstagram" and it generated a fair number of comments. With any luck, it might persuade a few others to participate here.  

2 hours ago, coinsbygary said:

Congratulations coinsandmedals and all the 2020 registry award winners! My journal award and coin also came in the mail yesterday. Naturally, I was very curious about the special-label coin that NGC was going send with my plaque, and I knew they weren't going to send a valuable coin. That said, what could they send that was both inexpensive and nice? Let me just say that I was pleasantly surprised by the MS-64 1881-S Morgan Dollar that I got! Though the 1881-S Morgan is a very common and inexpensive coin in MS-64, consider the following:

1. NGC sent the 2020 registry winners a choice-uncirculated coin.
2. NGC sent the 2020 registry winners a 140 year old coin.
3. At 38.1 mm in diameter, NGC sent the 2020 registry award winners a large coin.
4. Finally, NGC sent the 2020 registry winners a silver coin!

I am posting a picture of my coin that I think could have easily graded MS-65. Believe me, for someone who has collected Morgan's, I've seen some 64's a whole lot more dinged-up than this coin! My blast-white Morgan literally has no distracting marks in either the devices or fields. The fields also have deep luster lines that give it a distinctive and full cartwheel effect. The technical grade may be correct but it sure does look nice for a 64. Gary

Congratulations to you as well! You make several excellent points, which are even more impressive when considering how many they gave out. I am thrilled with the coin I received, although it will likely remain the only Morgan dollar in my collection for some time. 

17 hours ago, Revenant said:

The thing about Michael's is they don't have a section for coin stuff - at least not here - where Hobby Lobby does so you can't buy flips and albums there. But I like the stands I get there. They have other ones of course but I like the clear plastic ones I get - partially because they're like bigger versions of my coin stands, which will help make a nice display. But I'm an art nerd that loves floating mount frames.  They have a 5" and 8" version. I use the 5" version.

I'm up to 6 total - 5 NGC (4 Journal, 1 Best Presented), and 1 PMG (Best Presented). The side-eye from the wife has increased drastically since #5 arrived I find.  My joke about going for the tri-fecta and winnign something in the Comics Registry was ... not well received.

Side note on Micheal's: Remember that they do 40% of 1 regular price item a lot. Always check and print that coupon before going if you go!

It looks like we will be in close proximately to both Hobby Lobby and Michael's this weekend. I might swing by both and weigh my options. The tip about the coupon is very helpful! I know Hobby Lobby does this most of the time, but I did not realize that Michael's ran the same promotion. 

My wife let out a little chuckle when she entered my office yesterday and noticed I had rearranged the top of my bookcase to accommodate the new plaque. Her sister and mom are coming to stay with us this weekend, so I am sure I will get a hard time from them all. 

Once again, congratulations! You have a rather impressive set of plaques there. For the record, the Morgan I received was number -036, but it would be interesting to see who received the first and last number. 

50 minutes ago, dleonard-3 said:

Did you know that you said you were going to "display it along with the plague"?  I assume you meant plaque, but I found it funny.  Congrats on your Very prestigious award.

Wow, I overlooked that until you pointed it out. I’ve since corrected it, but maybe I should have left it. 

Thank you! 

2 hours ago, Revenant said:

I find that sticking to agreed budgets goes a long way in securing and keeping support and goodwill.  

Give it time. As they increase in number she'll probably roll her eyes more. It's even better when they tease you for how you win awards for how you write about how much of a nerd you are.

I pick up my stands at Michael's. They have a nice, simple clear plastic one that's a really good size for these plaques and I've been able to have them all on the same exact stands over the years even though I've needed to add more stands over a span of years now. Where do you go for yours?

Congrats on two awards in two years - quite an accomplishment there!

The first part of your response really made me chuckle! I’m sure I have it coming if I keep up at this pace. 

Oh, Michael’s is a good thought. I purchased my last one at Hobby Lobby, but the closest one is over an hour away. I may check Michael’s if we find ourselves in that area this weekend. I appreciate the tip! 

Thank you! Likewise, you’ve amounted a good number yourself over the years. How many are you up to now? 

@Revenant, this is a point that I likely would not have stumbled upon as I primarily collect copper. I assume this will eventually settle back down after some time?

It seems like you and I are taking similar approaches @Fenntucky Mike other than a few very inexpensive coins to hone my photography skills, I have only purchased two pieces this year. I am so excited to share my most recent addition as it is ripe with interesting history, but I have much research left to do on it. As luck would have it, the progress on that project is likely to be suspended for some time as I finally got the green light on my dissertation project. Now it is time to focus all of my attention on my dissertation, my other academic research projects, and my teaching responsibilities. Hence my very delayed response to this post. For now, I am also pairing down some of the "stuff" that I have accumulated over the years that don't fit within my collection anymore to raise funds for future purchases. I may not have the time to write about and research coins, but it takes little to no time to place a bid or two. 

@ColonialCoinsUK yikes! I had a similar situation with a coin I wanted in an Australian Auction. The high estimate was $4000 AUD (~ $3100 USD), and I sold a bunch of "stuff" to raise funds. I was outbid within about 10 seconds and the lot sold for $30,000 AUD (~ $31,000 USD). I knew it was a longshot, but I raised enough money to nearly double the high estimate, but it was not enough. In hindsight, I should have used better judgment, but my dreams were bigger than my wallet. On the flip side, most of the money found its way into a savings account after I bought a few lovely pieces to help heal my wounds. It may not interest you, but I have found the William III copper coinage to be undervalued relative to its scarcity. Although it would be challenging to find super nice examples at any price range, you could easily build a typeset of the significant designs for well within the amount stated. 

@CBC, I love it when these comments come up! I have had so many interesting conversations with engineers over the years about James Watt. A couple of years ago, I met a James Watt history guru. I swear that man knew everything there was to know about James Watt, likely down to his shoe size! 

On 2/28/2021 at 1:48 PM, Revenant said:

I can sometimes save a photo with photoshop but it's usually better and easier to just take a good photo in the first place. With coin photography,  it seems that either the detail and the luster is there or it isn't. Very little in between.

I agree it is always best practice to do it right the first time. The editing I do for coin photography is mostly limited to cropping and fixing any minor contrast issues. The free Canon Digital Photo Professional is far more sophisticated than I need. Photoshop is something I mainly intend to use as a cropping tool for irregularly shaped coins. I have used PowerPoint and 3-D paint in the past, but these have limitations that I hope to overcome with Photoshop elements. Had the license been more than $10, I probably wouldn't have purchased it as I do not think I will use it often enough to justify the cost. Of course, this could change once Gary shows me the ropes! 

I can't speak for the 10G coins, but from my experience with English and Irish copper, NGC is far more consistent in their grading. I have viewed countless PCGS and NGC graded coins in my area of focus, and more often than not, the PCGS pieces do not meet my expectations for the assigned grade. That said, it can be very hit and miss if you do not have accurate images to rely on. In my experience, PCGS is far more liberal and inconsistent with English and Irish copper. I have read similar sentiments related to other areas of world coins, so I doubt this is an isolated issue. I would be curious to see what others have to say.