gmarguli

For the (likely) couple thousand it's going to sell for, it'll be worth it when the dealer uses it as an advertising piece / conservation starter. 

A quick acid dip will turn many red copper coins to gray. Very possible that is what was done here. Look at the reverse of the last pic. There is some red creeping through.

On 9/7/2021 at 3:25 PM, VKurtB said:

The NGC number of this coin is 6085653-044. Its current NGC Price Guide Value is $40. It’s not a bad $20 pick up. The “-044” indicates it was the 44th coin on a submission form, or probably part of a bulk submission. 

PCGS Price Guide is $25.

Recent sales are $19-$22 for either a PCGS or NGC example. 

You will very likely not get the coin pictured. The seller probably has dozens of examples and is using this as a stock photo.

On 9/5/2021 at 5:50 AM, JAnsley said:

Census for this year and grade is only 29 total  if ngc online files are up to date so surly this guy doesnt have more than just a couple anyhow. Thats one reason i disregarded the thought of stock photo and thought it may be a counterfeit slab. And hes selling for 10 bucks when vaule guide shows $350. So i was very sceptical especially me not knowing a lot about slabbed coin.

You're confused. This is the SMS version, not the circulation strike version. Census is 2,921 in this grade and close to 300 graded higher. Didn't check the value, but probably under $20.

1960 Cyprus 5 Mils.

On 9/1/2021 at 9:45 AM, Conder101 said:

You can buy an unc 1881 CC dollar for about the same as a 2021 CC 

Which is crazy because the 1881-CC has a much higher mintage than the 2021... 

Very interesting. Does the book include information on the other 93 genders or is it limited to cis-women? 

Over the last couple months my overseas purchases have arrived extremely fast. I believe all were within 2 weeks and many within a week. 

Before this some would arrive in a few days and others a couple months. I purchased twice from the same German seller. The second order arrived before the first order, even though they were placed weeks apart. 

On 8/27/2021 at 6:16 AM, Just Bob said:

Comparing the shadows, it looks like the "reverse" is incuse. Correct?

Yes, the backside is an incuse impression of the obverse.

On 8/27/2021 at 6:16 AM, Just Bob said:

I notice a difference in the surfaces of the two sides. Is the planchet polished on one side, or is only the obverse die polished?

I looked at one and do not see any die polish on either side. The obverse does appear more flashy, while the reverse is more matte.

On 8/27/2021 at 6:16 AM, Just Bob said:

You said these were all together in a mint holder. Are they now in individual holders? Did you have them graded? If so, what was your reason, and why did you choose PCGS? 

Yes, they were sealed in a cardboard and plastic holder. It was nothing special. I removed them and had them graded. I didn't want to leave them in the holder which was made from soft plastic (PVC) that was pressing against the entire front surface of the coins. I used PCGS because I find that they are much more willing to put something unusual like this in a slab and I like their pictures better. They are all in individual slabs. 

Here is something that you don't encounter every day. 

The actual commemorative coins were struck in silver. These are uniface obverse die impressions struck in aluminum. These 6 "coins" were in a holder from the Italcambio mint, presumably used to show prospective buyers of the coins what they would look like.

The first 3 are 1968 Albania 500th Anniversary of Skanderbeg's Death set of 5 / 10 / 25 Lekë. The last 3 are 1968 Haiti 10th Anniversary of Revolution set of 5 / 10 / 25 Gourdes.

I have no idea how many of these were made, but probably only a handful. I've encountered the Albania once before, but never see the Haiti set before. 

On 8/26/2021 at 1:08 PM, Alex in PA. said:

Only with those who cannot afford the 'Real Deal'.    

They're currently selling for the same amount that generic date MS64/MS65 CC examples sell for. 

On 8/25/2021 at 9:38 AM, Woods020 said:

I periodically get on Craigslist [...]

Well, right there is your mistake. That site is filled with crazies, scammers, and the most clueless people you'll ever meet.

That's not a real ANACS slab. It's an ANACS slab insert in an aftermarket shell. 

Assuming that the insert and the coin actually go together, there is a good possibility the coin is undergraded. ANACS was pretty strict on modern proofs. 

On 8/22/2021 at 7:32 AM, Woods020 said:

Shows are much less a concern with licensing and taxes.

Depends on where you are. I've heard stories of city revenue agents coming into shows to check every sellers license and confirming sales tax collection. 

On 8/23/2021 at 6:55 PM, Jason Abshier said:

@gmarguli I have a question is a specimen graded coin the same as a pattern graded coin ? 

No.

A pattern is basically a coin of a new design that may or may not have been adopted later. It could also be related to the metal it is struck on, for example the 1974 aluminum Lincoln cent.

Specimen is the term being used for coins that are not normal circulation strikes, but also not traditional proofs. A mint may strike a few coins at higher pressure on polished blanks in order to present to government officials. Or they may take special care in grabbing a few early struck examples for record purposes. Or the coin could be an actual proof, but no record of proofs were kept, so the TPG are calling them specimen instead. And admittedly, in some cases the coin may just be a normal circulation strike, but it exhibits characteristics so outside normal examples (such as squared rims, fully PL surfaces, cameo contrast, etc) that the TPG want to give it a special designation to set it apart. 

On 8/23/2021 at 12:28 PM, RWB said:

All the modern books are copyright. One cannot merely scan and distribute.

Go to eBay. Type in the name of a popular coin book. Add (pdf,digital,download) to the search. Find lots of Russian sellers selling download links. The listings come and go. 

There are also lots of free sites online of scanned coin books. 

Most collectors can't be bothered to learn how to grade / authenticate / detect problems/alterations with the coins they collect. They've given that job to the TPG. Why would they bother to read up on the history of the coins? 

Besides, most coin books are awful. Them seem written for parents to buy their young budding coin collector child something to read. 

On 8/16/2021 at 10:29 AM, PluckNine said:

What do you think the coin I posted is worth? Roughly...

$20 if silver. $2500 if gold. I do not believe it is gold. Looks plated.

On 8/16/2021 at 11:19 AM, RWB said:

XRF will only show the surface unless used carefully. Jeweler measurements with a handheld XRF are not reliable.

Saw one used at a show by a MAJOR bullion dealer. The coin was silver plated, but the XRF said silver. Twice I have sold gold jewelry where the gun indicated plated, but they were 18K gold. 

On 8/16/2021 at 5:12 PM, ldhall said:

What does this service do and why does it affect buying and selling prices ? 

Whether it affects pricing is very debatable. It's very hard to compare one coin to the next. Just to give an idea, I looked up sales of 81-S $ in PCGS MS65. Based on the sales, the CAC sticker adds a 30% premium or causes a 50% loss of value. Depends on the sales. 

Nicer for the grade coins have always sold for a premium, so to say a CAC sticker is pointing out a nicer for the grade coin and it causes a premium is a stretch. It's highly likely the coins would also have sold for a premium without the sticker. After all, dealers charging premiums for PQ for the grade coins has been around forever. 

Why did the TPG need to correct the error so quickly? This wasn't some obscure error like D&H-197 has 180 edge reeds, but they listed it as D&H-198 which has 172 edge reeds, that may not be caught in the grading process. This was a completely different coin being listed. It was CLEARLY a data entry error. Anyone who has ever submitted a quantity of coins as seen this happen and it gets corrected along the way. It was almost certainly going to be corrected once the coin hit the grading room. Why not just wait to see if it was corrected? PCGS updates their submission info during the grading process and also lets you see attribution and grades before they ship. He should have just waited.