GoldFinger1969

I almost pulled the trigger on an MS63+ GSA 1883 CC. But it turns out I have an ungraded 1883 so I didn't want to have 2 of the same year. When the bidding moved from $250 to $300, I bugged out.

It pays to scan GC and HA more than Ebay for this particular coin because their users tend to be more upscale and thus you can occasionally find a cheap coin that "falls by the crack" and goes dirt-cheap, especially a regular common GSA/CC which most serious collectors at GC and HA probably already have their fill of. I've seen it on Ebay too but with reserves/minimums and coins being pulled, sometimes you don't get that 15-25% off FMV or so.

I'm probably going to buy the book anyway, so don't worry. If it's available -- or parts thereof -- on NNP, I'll keep scanning. If not, there's the book. Do you know if the stolen 1928's are still an open file with the Secret Service/Treasury/Mint ?

That's what makes it so enjoyable. BTW, did you get the coin yet, Hog ? Or is it being shipped ?

Medals struck by the U.S. Mint -- or medals struck by private minters like The Franklin Mint, or the Saint-Gaudens National Park coins that I think were struck by the Royal Mint up in Canada ? Face value isn't that important, since nobody would be spending these as currency anyways. At least I hope not !!

I went to Heritage and printed out a combination of the most recent AND highest-priced sales for every single Saint....may of the sales were from previous catalog and FUN (or other auctions) still held.....i.e., Price, Duckor, etc. With the text now in Word/PDF format, I now have it on my smartphone. As an added bonus, I have tons of David Akers commentaries on these coins, many from the FUN 2012 Duckor sale when he sadly passed away later that year. Can't get these catalogs in PDF format, nor alot of my Dougle Eagle and Gold Coin books, either. So at least I now have the Heritage commentaries available at my disposal for the finest coin sales going back 10-20 years along with general commentary on that year or mintmark.

And now we have these digital art and tweet things. Unreal.....

Thanks Roger....thumbnails (of NN) show up, but you can't click-on them to enlarge as it says NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. It's still restricted, as your link says.

I guess the Super had no choice, unless he wanted another count done as he took his position at the Mint and that could take weeks (months ?) as I understand it. It was probably a formality to accept the numbers in the past, there were probably checks and re-checks and thus the math was probably always solid. Obviously, in this case, it wasn't. I've never worked as a cashier, but as I understand it (and have been caught at the checkout line ), when a new cashier comes on they count the money at that time before doing the switch. What's also interesting is that the bag was the last year that you could hope to sell 250 of the DE's. If it was 1929 or later, that quantity would have stood out both then and in subsequent years. But there are so many 1928's today that 250 more doesn't register.

BTW, that "Certificate of Monetization" looks like something you get at the local Kinko's to give to kids who all participated in the Tug Of War Rope thing at summer camp. You'd think after clearing $3.8 million or so that the government would have spent maybe $100 getting something nice with embossed letters, quality printing, etc.

For me, the theft of the 1928 Double Eagles is not only amazing in the amount of coins stolen -- considering how tight security was back then -- but also the tie-in to the 1933's. I personally also think that the theft of the 1928's "ticked off" the Mint and Secret Service folks to the extent that that is why they had such a hard-on for the so-called "thefts" of the 1933's. They ratcheted up their war for the 1933's just at the time they were also lobbying to get personal liability for the stolen 1928's removed via legislation. Roger wrote a great piece on the 1928 theft for the Heritage site. I also have it in my 2012 FUN Duckor catalog.

Thanks Z....I didn't know that or hear about it. Was this something that was passed around or were there actually articles in the coin hobby talking about the glut at that time ? I guess it's always possible that if 1 or 2 large dealers with inventory decide to close up shop that they could dump dozens or hundreds of a particular type of coin all at once.

Some of the CC's and non-CC's are heavily bagmarked, but others are pretty mark-free. You just have to be patient and look around.

The Switt-Langbord Jewelry/Antique/Coin store was still in operation up to a few years ago. It's right in Philadelphia.

Are you able to bring up anything on the chapter on the 1928 DE's ? I can't...I keep getting Weiman's 1933 Saints PA talk. Like they're sticking it in my side.

Does anybody have any more thoughts on the weakness in GSA pricing the last 5 years or so ? Since silver is up over that time, and since GSA's and most Morgans priced similarly don't trade off minor silver price moves.....it would appear that, barring stories of floods of older folks or their kids selling these off, that the price drop is just mimicking the general weakness of non-PM U.S. coins since about 2015 or so.

You mean archived threads here at NGC, not in the NNP, right ? By files... you mean posts ?

We have some good experts on those coins, Hog, make sure you pick their brains.

That's where most of my purchases have been. We all do what we can afford in life, our priority is taking care of ourselves and our families (or in my case, my furry little fuzzy friend ). I like what you did Hog: you saved up for a while...took your time....and then bought what is now one of your dream coins. More meaningful than just going out and buying 40 various Morgans in 2 months from a few coin shows, Ebay, HA, and GC. How can you appreciate 40 coins bought in a few weeks ? I want to buy 1 or 2 more nice GSA Morgans. Love to get a 65 or 66 but then we're talking $500-$800 or so for the commons. CAC or DMPL adds to any coin, too. Might look for some blast-white 63's for ~ $350 and wait until I can spend more.

Great Collections has some nice GSAs -- DMPL, CAC, PL, etc. -- in hard-to-get years with bidding in the 4-figure areas.

Check out the Heritage Auctions or even GC. If you see one you love and it's dirt-cheap, you can always bid. Or just look.

A Liberty Double Eagle should be 90% gold, 10% copper. I'm not sure why trace elements of platinum and silver are present. I don't think a real Liberty DE would have any measurable amounts of those elements. If you have what appears to be a counterfeit, it's basically worth a bit less than 1 ounce of gold, which isn't bad.

I saw an 1883 MS64 on HA with Edmund Moy label for $330 in December 2020. Seller would invite offers of $500 today. https://coins.ha.com/itm/gsa-dollars/silver-and-related-dollars/1883-cc-1-gsa-moy-signature-ms64-ngc-this-lot-also-includes-a-carson-city-mint-coin-bag-piece-measured-1-inch-by-1-inch/a/132053-29497.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

Like I/we always say....assume the value goes DOWN by 50% or even 75% when you want to sell it or when your kids sell it.....and if you're OK with that, then even a modest decline won't matter. Just enjoy it while you have it. That's what I do !! Actually, I think heirs wouldn't mind looking up the values for a few dozen items and finding out it's worth a nice 4-figure or 5-figure sum behind the usual estate stuff like homes, stocks and bonds, IRAs, a business, etc. Of course, nobody wants to look up the price of THOUSANDS of items if 99.9% of them are worth under $5.

I was at the FUN 2020 auction and in the audience when the bidding for the 1927-D Saint hit $2 MM+. I had my camera over my head...my friends said I better be careful, raise them anymore and I'd be bidding for the coin !!!! For Heritage, it's now only phone and internet bidding but before Covid they'd be at various locales (or their Dallas hdqtr) so you'd have 3 different bid sources coming in. But I'd say 95% of the winners except the really big stuff was from the internet. I've won a few coins and lots of bills via HA.