GoldFinger1969

I actually can't blame him for the prices. And I agree, compared to others, he's much more honest and upfront. He has costs to air the programs...create the infomercial....overhead etc. They ARE informative, especially for novices/newbies. My only problem is he talks about buying the coins in bulk and getting a great discount for the buyers, who may not realize they are paying a premium. I would rather he talk up the mystery, history, and great look of the (Saint/Liberty) coins and just ignore the cost. Plus, with the internet, it might not be that difficult for anybody under the age of 75 to check the FMV.

This is the CAC price guide (for Saints), right ? https://www.caccoin.com/pop/?issue=20 Gold&type=St+Gaudens+No+Motto|St+Gaudens+Motto&desg=&title=Double Eagles&subtitle=St Gaudens (1907-1933)

You're right, I forgot....it only would have been at the Heritage booth. And I am pretty sure they didn't have it unless it was inside near the items they were auctioning, which I doubt. They brought so much stuff they probably figured no need to bring a dozen of the books to sell given all the other valuables they had with them.

You should be very proud, both books required an AMAZING amount of 1st-hand research to do. Nothing like either on so they are each invaluable research and reading tools. Thinking back, I'm kind of surprised I did not see the SAINTS book at the Wizard or Heritage sections at FUN 2020. Maybe they were there and I missed them. I know my main occupation at the Heritage booth was grabbing some of the catalogs since I didn't know if they charged for them.

Asking again....all the catalogs I have were years after the TPGs started grading. Only Heritage seems to have the grades prominently features in the 1st/opening sentence.

I could be wrong, but I'd say that except at the high-end for the super-rich collectors (who care for whatever reason), that the PCGS Premium has been coming DOWN (IMO) the last few years. The entire premium thing may have been -- for legit reasons or not -- PCGS was seen as grading conservatively and NGC was grading looser....or that's how people PERCEIVED it, true or not. For whatever reason, PCGS coins traded at a slight/noticeable premium. And now, for whatever reasons, I think the gap has closed. Aesthetically, I actually love some of the newer NGC labels and slabs. In fact, I wonder if part of the NGC "discount" was when they had that white slab that totally encircled the coin (I personally hate that look, sorry NGC ! ). Seriously, I do love the current NGC slabs and labels. Bought a few at FUN 2020 and from HA, GC, and Ebay the last year or so, far more than PCGS stuff, a reversal from 3-5 years or so ago.

Absolutely.....I need to read that book in a shorter period of time than the Saints book to more effectively absorb the material. I'll keep you posted.....

Not being a long-time vet, that's news to me. Feel free to give more color on that situation. Who or what were these "PCGS-only" dealers ? I know some dealers may have more PCGS and/or more CAC than others...but exclusive is news to me.

Do we know of any other "filled" mintmarks from New Orleans ?? Almost looks like a screw head. BTW, is that Morgan in a GSA holder ? I see black on the edges surrounding it.

Nice Type 1, Timely....where did you get it ?

He has about a page on Striking (p. 46-47) and mentioned those things....I thought it might be a brief summary of stuff covered in-depth and more detail in FMTM. It explained some stuff that had been fuzzy to me. Re-reading the GUIDE BOOK and then going to hit chapters in FMTM. Should make a re-read of key sections of the SAINTS book clearer with all the different striking qualities on various dates and mintmarks.

Roger, I know you are listed in the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS section of Bower's DOUBLE EAGLES GUIDE BOOK....did you discuss with DB striking quality, planchets, and die spacing ?

I meant in terms of enjoyment and learning about coins, history, etc. But if they are smart, they'll do some DD and learn and maybe even make some nice well-timed purchases. I've seen it happen alot in my field of investing and money management where someone ends up paying high fees (or mutual fund "loads")....gets tired of it....and does their own DD and becomes a successful investor.

What do you collect now ?

Well, they might see the infomercials.....dislike the price...and do a little research. Ya Never Know !! The information on the "European Bank Hoard" is a bit oversimplified but still might hook potential collectors.

Hey, I don't LIKE the prices but if someone who is totally unfamiliar with our little hobby gets exposed to it by paying a 1-time exorbitant price, they'll make it back in spades.

I haven't seen any Coin Vault infomericals...but plenty of Rick's with gold coins.....he's about 30% over FMV. Good shows, though....informative. If they get people into coins, worth the admission price.

I plan to check it out but from what I hear it is very high-end and exclusively foreign/ancient coins. No high-end U.S. still like Saints or Liberty's, Busts, etc except a stray here or there. I emailed one of the organizers and he was very clear on that.

Not sure I understood the question, but I know the NY International Coin Show is held in Manhattan. Last time was last January.

Can't FUN mandate a minimum stay if dealers set-up ? We do that with my club's annual big event. It's 2 days (Sat/Sun) and too many vendors were packing up early-Sunday afternoon as folks who paid for attendance that day would come in. Well that's the only non-work day as of now so I think attendnace would hold up. Remember, from what I saw on Sunday (albeit my only time to FUN) it was really dead on Sunday. Not sure how Bingo enters into the equation and I think the "death spiral" might be exaggerated...but you do raise some fair points. From a cost perspective, it probably doesn't cost more $$$ to stay another day what with cheaper flights departing on Sunday and/or Monday. Keeping a 4th day is a small price to pay if it prevents the Death Spiral you fear. For myself, I think 3 days of a show (plus any earlier events like courses) is more than enough. I saw everything by Saturday and did all my buying by then, too. Who knows, maybe there ARE some people who need all 4 days or come later and use the Sunday finale. But it really was dead Sunday esp. compared to Friday and Saturday.

I would be shocked if those go away. I only went to FUN last year for the 1st time, but I am definitely going to now make it a regular occurrence. Florida in January -- Orlando ! -- is a no-brainer. Only thing is if they need to keep the 4th day Sunday as part of the event. Judging by the traffic and activity I saw, I'd say no. Make Saturday a bit longer -- 6 PM ? -- in place of it. Never been to ANA or Whitman but will hit the Baltimore Whitman show this November assuming it's a go. Can make it a 1-day thing from my parents with no need to stay overnight.

Roger, have you ever met/interviewed any of these guys who used to go over to Europe to scour for American gold coins in European banks, including Saints ?

A few vets here and at CT. There were looser/tighter periods during the 1986-2000 period but not to the same extent as happened around 2004. As I understand it, it is when market grading took over from technical grading.

The amazing thing is that Goldfinger (the bad guy, not me ) said that his associates could get 10x their gold holdings once his plan went into effect. Had he just waited 10 years until about 1974, gold went up about 5-fold and then 20-fold in 15 years.

Is there a reason why some catalogs (mostly non-Heritage) do NOT include the grade of the coin in the headline description ? The Dallas Bank/Browning (2001) catalog I got uses pre-TPG terminology like "Gem Uncirculated" in the 1st sentence leading off the commentary. Sometimes, grade is mentioned later on esp. if there are other competing coins and they rank them. Heritage leads right off with the TPG and grade. BTW, I presume that the coins were in fact graded (I was looking mostly at the Saints' listings, but the same abscence of TPG and grade applied to other coins, too).