GoldFinger1969

Good analysis....while you can never tell what grade a coin that was submitted to CAC and did NOT get a sticker will grade with CACG.....it stands to reason that no CAC-stickered coin could possibly be graded LOWER by CACG. JA/CAC have already said they are strong for the grade ("A" coins). Your POV is also fair, I can't say it's wrong. I think there are merits to both POVs. The main problem is when you grade "on a curve" for a particular year or mint...and then it "bleeds" into other coins. THAT'S gradeflation. Agreed.....but if coins have been considered MS-66 for a while (maybe it was a "B" or "C" coin) and didn't sticker...I can't see CACG suddenly calling it an MS-64. MAYBE an MS-65 but a surge of coins that most consider 66's or were in fact 66's suddenly even showing up as 65's would be problematic for CACG and the market.

I-bonds are limited to $10,000 a year per person. No more than a niche investment for lots of investors.

Setting up for a great investment opportunity. It's at least OK/Good right now.

Cash is King, but Bonds have been trash. Worst year in the last 100 years for the U.S. bond market, if not ever (Civil War ?). The Lehman Aggregate ETF (AGG) is down 17% YTD. That's unheard of for bonds.

I can't say I've gone in regularly, but when I do goto my LCS, prices reflect market prices. Isn't that what a dealer SHOULD be...a guy who sells at market prices, making a small spread buying and selling, not gambling on the price itself....like a bookie doesn't wager on the actual outcome of a game ?

Is that the going rate at LCS and at local/regional coin shows ? I was able to buy an MS-63 Saint for basically spot at FUN 2020. Gold was rising then and would make a run of a few hundred more dollars to top $2,000. So with the wind at its back, dealers were willing to sell for spot. Today, with gold doing NOTHING for years and down lately, "weird" premiums seem to be at play, though nothing like with silver. The quoted premiums in BARRON'S each week are higher than in the past but only by about 3%; these are for regular national bullion coins.

That's interesting because the CAC stickers were pretty much given out for grades consistent with market grading. If the strike for a particular coin or year or mint is "weak" throughout all the coins, then it's really not held against the coin compared to a year or mint that has a "strong" strike. Having split grades (obverse/reverse) or mentioning strike separately is just confusing collectors and Balkanizing the hobby. JA is well-respected but given his past at NGC and CAC, I don't see how he can suddenly "harden" grading even though I am completely in favor of ending gradeflation.

Rates are rising as forecasted. Only a person ignorant of financial markets -- of which there are many -- would have thought rates were staying at zero.

You can always annuitize investments but it generally doesn't pay to try and get the mortality benefit until your 70's. And with investment grade and high-yield bonds now able to give you a 7-8% yield, it's not as important.

It's one of the best-performing asset classes YTD.

Why is it hard to believe she/they believe coins are a bad "investment" when that is backed up by historical numbers ? Devane (great in MARATHON MAN and "24") is talking gold bullion. Haven't paid much attention to the ads but unless he's saying they are better than stocks and bonds not sure he's in the wrong. SEC would have something to say about it. Worse are the infomercials selling overpriced numismatics.

Didn't you mention over the years to your sister that the car(s) were valuable ?

Bunch of generic commons in lower-grades (MS-63 and below) sold for a total cost (including bp) of just under $2,000 on Sunday, Eagle. Hammer prices are $75-$100 over spot gold but the convenience of buying online....the value of the holder....the grade itself....and year....are making some people comfortable paying a 15-18% premium over spot.

I'm aware of that....but as a defined benefit plan, it doesn't affect you (unless SERS/PA go broke).

Harry, many of us are not expert graders in general or on your particular coin type. Toning adds another degree of difficulty. Good luck with your submission and report back.

Doesn't matter. People including many immigrants (like my family) were forced to turn in their gold at an unfair exchange price. How would you like your stock portfolio or state pension to be bought out from you at 60 cents on the dollar ?

Right, the price Americans got for their gold was $20.67/oz. while the true value was closer to $35/oz. (probably $32 oz globally). Are you defending the hand-ins of gold at gunpoint, Roger ?

Roger finds some very interesting and obscure stuff.

As a general rule, probably 80% of the value is in 20% of the stuff. Might even be 90%. Focus on the obvious: gold or silver coins. Classic comics. Use Ebay, HA, and GC to punch up some current or recent sales or offering prices. Gold and silver coins are the easy pickings monetarily to figure out but some small denomination U.S. coins cold be valuable, too. Will require more digging.

It can be done. FIRREA. Kicked the lying SOB government regulators right in the nuts.

If you didn't want to sell it, it's confiscation. Especially when you are told you can get $20.67/oz. and then a few months later it is worth $35/oz., closer to the true spot global price of gold.

I doubt there's any correlation between them. How popular do you think gold confiscation would have been at $20.67 an ounce.....exempting collectors and "The Rich"....and then be told it was worth 70% more at $35 ounce ?

So you're saying they might have talked about that stuff but not put it in writing ? Interesting.... I would have thought there'd be lots of interesting banter once FDR decided to start melting/confiscating gold. You'd also think some people might have objected to striking 1933 DE's (and Indian Head $10) into May 1933 when it was apparent by April 1933 that they'd all be turned into bars. But I could also see why they'd TALK about it and not put it in writing, since it was so political and you could probably lose your job or be demoted/lose a promotion if you disagreed with their moves.

Any memos and discussion pieces talking about more popularly-collected series like Double Eagles, Morgans, etc. ? That would be very interesting, I would think. I would think there should be some interesting back-and-forths on the relative lack of use in regular commerce, especially Saints/Liberty's. If not for backing Gold Certificates and because of domestic silver producers, both coins could have probably justified much smaller mintages at great savings.

They're certainly aware of where the "kinks" and inflection points are for pricing. And they're wary of increasing their population numbers, esp. when they haven't changed much in years. Should have nothing to do with grading a coin before you, but you know it's there -- especially in the minds of veteran or senior graders.