GoldFinger1969

FDR was worried about Japan in 1933 ? Wow.....

I think Charmy did a writeup on Baltimore last November. Including restaurant stuff !

Recent Prices: 1928 OGH MS-66...............$3,624 w/bp 1927 MS-66 1927..............$3,574 1924 NGC MS-66+.............$3,750 And an MCMVII HR Details went for over $10K...haven't seen that in a while....$10,520.

Well, technically it's a Quintuple Eagle since it has a $50 face value. The AGEs use a modified version of the Saint-Gaudens obverse but I never heard it referred to as a Saint.

What coin ? Pics ? I think you may have had 1 too many when you typed that post.

Need to know how that number compares to the past...is it veteran submitters or newcomers.....recent purchases or long-held coins. I doubt that information is available but would certainly be useful.

You would think they would have shrunk some of them for smaller coins. Both NGC and PCGS have prongs, right ?

I think the consensus is that grading was more "conservative" from the TPG inception to about 2000 (some say 2004). Then things got loose for a decade or so. JMHO.

I think this is an EXTREMELY important point, one we sometimes overlook when talking about the TPGs. A grader in the 1990's could put a bit more value on luster, ignoring a few minor bagmarks or dings away from the fields. OTOH, a grader in 2022 could value luster a bit less and focus on bagmarks and dings. As all of us know, and Roger always posts here, grading is subjective. Standards change over time (maybe unfortunately)...but so do graders (inevitably, as people change jobs or retire). Most of the coins I collect or study are larger coins, Saints and Morgans and other gold/silver pieces. So I like to read stories or anectdotal discussions about how dealers and graders and collectors value these coins over time. For instance, right now, Carson City Morgans are super-hot....any raw coins submitted are catching the TPGs at a good time. Maybe you get a bit of leeway and get that extra 1/2 to 1 point grade boost based on specific factors that your grader(s) just happened to "like" that day.

Slow Saturday so just wondering....anybody bought this book in the last few months OR finished reading an earlier purchase ?

Not "lots" as compared to modern or less-expensive coins, of course not. The best survey I saw said that there were about 50 Top Registry players (folks who want Top Coins or near the top).....about 500-1,000 Registry players who collect most of the coins or all of them but in lower grades for some coins (because of the cost)....and about 25,000 - 40,000 type collectors who might collect 1 coin or a few coins or even a few dozen of the less-expensive ones. Beyond that....investment buyers of lower-grade commons.

Just because they are out-of-production (excepting the 2009 UHR and the 2021 Morgan replica) and lots of people collect both series.

But only for SMALL coins, right ? So not for larger coins or our classics like Saints or Morgans.

Yes, that's what I meant. Didn't realize it got this confused/twisted. I meant UNGRADED coins. Of course !! In the 1980's, it would be unreal to see graded coins since the TPGs didn't hit until 1986/87. Even a decade or so later when the Price Auction hit...lots of ungraded coins.

Mark, I added "a few" to my earlier post to indicate that I didn't mean to imply that Saints across-the-board were undergraded by 2-3 grades. Hope that clears it up.

David Akers and others said they got what are today some of the Top Condition coins at those auctions. They were listed in the auctions at MS-63 or 64 or 65....and often came up as 66 or 67. Mark, by "uncommon"....I don't mean to imply that 1/3rd of the coins were undergraded by 2-3 grades. But sharp eyes caught these coins as very undergraded and PCGS and NGC agreed with that conclusion. Here's what comes from the HA archives from David Akers, talking about the 1908-S Norweb Saint: "....The Saints in the Norweb sale were very conservatively and consistently undergraded. For example, the 1925-S and aforementioned 1926-D were graded only MS64 and MS63 respectively. I purchased both of them and subsequently sold them to Dr. Price. After they were sold with his collection in 1998, they were submitted for grading to PCGS and received grades of MS68 and MS66 respectively, the first and second finest of their issues graded."

And often were WAY off, as I am sure you know. Not uncommon to see a few Saints at some of the famous auctions of the 1980's and 1990's be 2-3 grades too low.

Do you still work at or own a coin shop ? I'm wondering if you can briefly elaborate on the changes you have seen vis a vis that 1986 Saint-Gaudens find.....did you find people like that (in smaller quantities, of course) coming in daily or weekly 36 years ago....and then maybe 20 years later only monthly....and today maybe only 1-2 times a year ? The frequency and probably quantity has to be on the downside, no ? Older people in the 1980's would have been in their 30's or 40's when Saints stopped production.....dead today....but their kids today might be in their 70's and 80's and even later. I always imagined that the people walking into coin shops with gold coins (including Double Eagles) must have been NUTS in the 1970's when gold first went up 5-fold and then eventually 20-fold. The volume of people walking in with gold coins and/or DEs, even if small in quantities brought in, must have been very large in terms of walk-in volumes.

Not too long ago, electronic money transfers on a smartphone.....PayPal....checking your bank balances.....even having a bank nearby....was rare for some countries and select geographic areas (i.e, rural areas). So many of the Older Generation of these countries would have large amounts of gold or jewelry.

I'll see you and raise you a myectomy.....

I remind all: if you see interesting material here, save it to your PC (PDF or Word doc) so you have it. Computer glitches happen all the time...servers go down....NGC might not do anything but be the victim of something and a valuable thread like the RWB Saints Thread can disappear (64 pages and counting). I back up that thread every 5 pages or so.

So you're saying they buy the equivalant of small denomination coins, but lots of them ? As opposed to larger coins and/or bars ?

Never met him, he's the guy who specializes in Error Coins, right ? Might look him up and pick his brain if I can see him next year at FUN. I believe he just retired (?) so who knows if he'll be at shows. Figure he still might attend the big ones.

Zadok has great stories and information. Always love his posts.

Thanks for clarifiying Mark.....I remember that there were times when Heritage was a bidder but it wasn't for any nefarious purposes. At other places and times by other firms, this process can be abused but I don't think that was the case at HA. My trust in HA remains. Still wish they'd offers some deals on those commission rates, though.