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Dave1384

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Posts posted by Dave1384

    Has Gradeflation Peaked ?

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted · Edited by Dave1384

    On 10/23/2023 at 8:28 PM, World Colonial said:

    there isn't a dime's worth of practical difference between coins with the different labels in your examples and that it's all financialization and marketing?

     

    I recently purchased a ‘23s quarter. The greysheet wholesale bid price for it is 400.00 more for one with a bean.

    So, I now need 2 ! Opinions to get a better price ? THAT is grade inflation and it permeates this hobby . Another angle to navigate And it irritates me to no end. Roger is right, there is an element of greed. 

     There is a coin shop near me that had 3 half eagles  . They are also on eBay. One of those dates has 2 listings ; one in an NGC holder and one in a PCGS holder. Same grade, ms 61 . The latter holder is 100.00 more. Buy the coin , not the label everyone says. I like the owner, but this is bull sht. 
     

    All this might not quite pertain to the op’s question, but it’s two examples of inflation where it ought not to be. 
     

    So you think you know how to grade a coin? I've been doing it for 25 years and I'm still learning and screwing up. You? Let's talk about the failures and disappointments that come along with the highs and jubilation of submitting raw coins.

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted

    “When I buy a coin It must do two things, please me, and fit my budget. “

    This observation applied to me with uncertified coins, which I have only occasionally purchased .

    What really soured me on this hobby was an experience I had some years ago with a raw 1899 Morgan Dollar from Philadelphia. I had it pegged at a minimum 64 , it was that gorgeous. I bought it at a show . Before I bought it I showed it to two other dealers who saw no flaws. I was excited. 
          I sent it in , through a friend. To NGC. 
           It was returned. In a PINK slab. Some garbage about the rim. You couldn’t see it. I swore it was a conspiracy since a high grade in that coin commands a premium. And it would upset the census. So I had 3 people in the business agree with my opinion but to no avail. I later sold the damm thing at the World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia and THAT guy didn’t see an issue with it either. 
    I ranted about it here after that slab came back . I should have just enjoyed it for what I had. Having it slabbed really sucked the life out of the hobby for me. 

    Guess the grade.

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted

    Thank you .
    @Henri, you have a unique way of looking at things and no, I wouldn’t give it as a gift to someone knowledgeable . It is indeed a high relief . Since I’ve had 35 views and no one else has offered their opinion, I will state that it is labeled MS 64. Which I find laughable because the breast feathers are barely legible. 

    Do you have a direction in the hobby?

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted · Edited by Dave1384

    On 5/4/2023 at 12:22 PM, VKurtB said:

    I retired on November 30, 2020. The idiocy in Pennsylvania especially in the halls of government where I worked, regarding COVID and what to do about it (Gov. Wolf was more of a jerk in many ways than Cuomo was.) literally caused me to go driving a U-Haul metaphorically screaming my lungs out down Interstate 81 as fast and as far as I could. I had to get as far away from Wolf's world as humanly possible. 

    I hated Wolf. He is and was a stupid mfer . I quit my job in a warehouse when he put the mask mandate in. And look what these insufficiently_thoughtful_persons you left behind put in the Senate. 
    Good move. 
     

    PS. Insufficiently thoughtful isn’t what I wrote. 

    What Would You Do With 2.5 tons of Dimes?

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted · Edited by Dave1384

    This is a few miles from me. The area has become crime infested. I doubt it was an inside job. There were multiple cars loading up . They are looking for 6 suspects. What I don’t understand is why the driver parked there , since that location is 20 miles north of the Mint and he was headed for Florida the next morning, Unless he had a delivery around here. The Captain of the precinct says what the driver did is common for long haulers. 

    Any Truth To This Story/ Rumor ?

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted

    I read this today over at Hot Air and am curious if anyone here has heard of it . The supposed 1863 trainload of gold buried in Dent’s Run in Pennsylvania. 
     

    Here is a quoted initial synopsis of the write up :

    “For more than a year now, we’ve been following the story of two treasure-hunters who claimed to have found the location of a huge cache of civil war-era gold buried in rural western Pennsylvania. The men from Finders Keepers sought help from the FBI in their efforts to gain permission to dig for the buried treasure but were kept away by federal agents while the FBI excavated the site themselves. The two men were later shown an empty hole and told there was nothing there, but they suspected that the FBI had simply taken the gold for themselves. A legal battle to get the Bureau to release its records of the dig dragged on for most of a year until a judge ordered the agency to turn over the records last month.”

     

     

    Mints were once major tourist attractions

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted

    “ Mints were once tourist attractions “.

    Yes they were. 
    In the 1960s I visited the Philadelphia Mint - I don’t remember who took me - but I do remember looking down at the massive tubs of glittering metal . And gawking. Being a child, that to me was thrilling. 
     

    Now ? You risk your life getting down there by foot from the train station. And nobody I know goes into the city, anymore if they can help it. The mint , no doubt, like the rest of the city, is not a welcoming place. I remember going in there later on once , thinking of buying a new issue. Now, I’m not even sure you can do a simple retail buy at the counter. 

    What effects will Putin’s War have on the price of gold?

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted

    On 3/4/2022 at 2:15 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

    Actually, LukOil -- #2 oil company -- came out against the war and Putin.  Need others to follow.

    Yup. 
    A station owner was briefly on the radio today, he said he and his colleagues are not happy. Indeed, the two stations I drove past yesterday had no customers. 
    4.20 here in suburban Philadelphia . I have never paid more than 3.25 in my lifetime and that was 2013. 
    If you own oil ( and I have for 2 years) , you can make a killing. The only danger is not knowing when it will end. But the destructive ideology this crew is forcing on us almost insures a continuation of expensive oil . 
    Sorry RWB, didn’t mean to hijack. 

    How are you preparing your collection for your heirs?

    in US, World, and Ancient Coins

    Posted · Edited by Dave1384

    Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is it’s own trouble. 
     

    In other words, I don’t like thinking about it.
    I have expensive restored Pioneer and Marantz receivers , along with restored speakers which no one here wants. Because no one likes music.
     A decorative decoy collection which fills 2 rooms. Not much interest in those either. Slabbed coins, ? What are those ? , they ask.
    So , yes , I have a problem. I’m kinda stuck. 
    Since our friend Quintus is the Socrates of our gatherings , perhaps he’ll have an idea.