GoldFinger1969

James, go slow pricing and inventorying the coins. Assign conservative grades -- for most in worn condition it won't matter if you are off by 1 or 2 grades, I think -- and that should give you a bottom-line value for the coins and the entire set. Are you going to liquidate it all or keep some coins ? Will you sell to buy other coins ?

1865 ????

But my understanding is it wasn't until John Clapp began collecting and focusing on mint marks in the 1890's that they started to become more popular and collectors began to understand and focus on mintmarks. Bowers notes that a publication dedicated to mint marks had 2 dozen subscribers and this was after 1900. So I kind of think Kimball got it right -- mint marks didn't matter when he typed this letter. If collecting ANY gold eagles was expensive, then the focus on collecting different mint marks would not have been a primary focus, right ?

I'm not an expert on these so hopefully a vet will chime in. But here's my best effort..... They actually look to see reflections from a certain distance (I forget how many inches, you can goto the websites or threads here to see the standard). I believe that PL is some reflectivity on one or both sides of the coin. DPL (Deep Proof-Like) is NGC's classification and DMPL (Deep Mirror Proof-Like) is PCGS's for full-relectivity and dark fields. Impressive.....that's a high-quality set for sure. Some of the Morgan vets here will hopefully chime in, if not, MorganDude and others over at CT can offer some expertise. No, if you go by the Hall of Holders over at PCGS the OGH were from 1993-1998. Most people would probably say that grading standards really loosened after 2000, closer to 2004. But even the OGH years may have been a bit looser than the 1st and 2nd years of the TPGs before the 1989 Coin Bubble. We may have some vets here on Morgans and/or ex-graders. Hopefully, they chime in.

You'll get it, Hog. The book is enjoyable reading and will help educate you, too. When you get close to buying one or seriously researching, we have threads here to resurrect including the SAINTS BOOK thread.

The book is pricey, but less than a Saint.

The price is certainly something that makes collecting them difficult, unless you have plenty of $$$. Unlike more recent coins or less expensive coins, you can't buy one with some loose change and bills you saved since your last paycheck. But that adds to the enjoyment. If money was no object, I could buy 3-5 coins a week and be done collecting in 3 or 4 months. Having to build up savings...finding the right coin....it takes time. Makes it that much more enjoyable. Went 5 years between latest Saint purchase. Gave me lots of time to read up on them....watch prices...read books....read threads and forums. Glad you found the thead useful, Hog. Roger's contribution makes it unique...lots of good threads here and elsewhere on the internet but rarely do you see a numismatic expert and recent author on the subject contribute his thoughts as frequently as Roger has graciously done so. His book is one of 3 "must-reads" for Saint collectors or Saint fans.....plus Akers 1907-33 Gold Coin Book and Bower's GUIDE BOOK on DEs.

For the record....I'm a Mets fan. Seriously, this is a great resource. Plenty of archived threads might be of interest to whatever coins you collect. If you find one that's a gold mine of information for your types of coins, save the threads as PDFs on your PC in case anything ever happens to the thread or this site. I did that with the Saint-Gaudens Burdette thread. Takes a PDF per page (so 25+ PDFs already) but for me, that thread is worth it's weight in Saint-Gaudens !

Brilliantly stated, C101 !

Heritage Auctions is also very good. You can also ask folks here !

There may be other threads here at NGC in the archives on Double Dies. Give them a look. If not, check out other forums like CT.

Fair points....another well-skilled veteran noted that if you complained in the past about loose grading standards, then you can't complain about CAC since they are separating the weak coins from the strong ones in a particular grade.

No, I think more PCGS have CAC but it has nothing to do with quality or grading of the coins that each has submitted. If there was a PCGS gap in favor of tighter grading 10-15 years or so ago, I think it has narrowed or disappeared. Others can chime in who actually spend more time on this and actually submit coins. I freely admit I am going with anectdotal evidence. Some really badly graded coins....outliers, not the norm...do seem to be PCGS graded. Not many, but I've seen them in various forums. Maybe NGC had that problem 20+ years ago and it took a while to shake that reputation.

So basic pros vs. cons......I think that most CAC stickers are on PCGS as opposed to NGC (FWIW) so I would think that would be of special interest over at CU. My feeling is...I'm not obsessed with CAC but I am not vehemently against it, either. I can certainly understand if someone feels their extensive collection has been monetarily devalued because it doesn't have CAC stickers galore (I still feel any collection would still valuable without CAC stickers). And just because something doesn't have a CAC does NOT mean it is a "C" coin.

What's the gist of the CAC discussion over at CU ?

Feel free to chime in and discuss the Albanese interview any time...........

I think it's just a damaged quarter. I doubt it would be worth much.

Not seeing any pics.

Clearly, collectibles (everything from comic books to movie props) are a big business and probably why the PE guys wanted Collectors Universe. Since NGC is private, they can maneuver as they see fit.

Usually, for the top-of-the-line coins in each type, they say the list of owners with the words "Ex." preceeding it. I would think the gallery won't give out that information. Sometimes, bidders are anonymous until they reveal themselves later, if at all (i.e., the 1933 Saint in 2002, the 1927-D Saint I saw auctioned at FUN 2020). This "Harte" collection isn't as famous as the Garrett, Price, Eliasberg, etc. collections that we see on the lineage of other coins. I haven't seen the name before but I'll double-check the Bowers' GUIDE BOOK. It's NOT on the list of the 5 top-end 1907 High Reliefs auctioned through HA because I cut-and-pasted a few of those into my Saints PDF. Could be others I didn't see (and if this was cleaned and/or a lower grade, that would eclipse the ownership of TR and his daughter in terms of making the coin valuable) and/or it could have gone to Stacks or another auction house. The 5 high-end 1907 HR's I included in my Saints PDF were all MS-68 or above, except for the Flat Rim MS-67.

I have a listing of all the 1907 High Reliefs and I don't see any going from TR to anybody with the last name "Harte." I'll keep digging........

Thanks Craw, very interesting. Great job ! I am pretty sure that the official rating of MS-65 is not an actual TPG certification but the grade that "Choice Uncirculated" corresponded to back pre-1986. I wonder if that High Relief actually might score an actual MS-67 from the TPGs. Probably well-taken care of if it was one that actually belonged to Teddy R.....probably a $60,000-$100,000 coin today.

Well, you're here..... Would you check the price of something like that if you were on the fence about buying a coin or just go ahead and buy it ? How would you check the price (besides asking your granddaughter to check ) ?

It did seem to reveal something many have suspected but nobody has gone on the record with. Maybe we misunderstood JA and he meant something other than what we are thinking he said ? Unless he's saying that EVERYBODY has to take into account market grading.

Not sure I understand...what "emergency issues" are you talking about ?