GoldFinger1969

I get it. This was the only book I was reading so I did some reading during the week and then really picked it up on the weekends. Took me about 6-7 weeks as I recall to finish it. Please feel free to post any questions, interesting observations, or pros or cons on various topics, sections, or chapters as you progress !

Not a bad idea. And also having it located in a big city near other museums also works. Las Vegas is intriguing. It would be the only thing that is non-gambling to see pretty much so you could get decent exposure from the tourist bureau, hotel desks, etc. There's alot more things to do in LA, NYC, etc.

I may contact HA and ask how big their production run is because if the book is ever sold out, that may be it. And since the people who buy this book are considered "strong hands" (not like college textbook buyers), you won't even be able to buy it on the 2ndary market. So for that reason I may buy a 2nd book and keep it in storage for when my current one maybe has binder or other problems. Still wish this book had a hardcover edition !

Those 3 sports museums are constantly being referenced by anybody who follows those sports. You know where they are located. I didn't know that the ANA had a museum or where it was located. Also, if you are visiting NYC or Upstate NY (i.e., Niagara Falls), then Cooperstown is only a few hours drive away. Not sure about the NFL and NBA HOFs.

Absolutely....it's just that they aren't here posting and contributing like you have been, but we certainly acknowledge their efforts in the production of this outstanding book. Speaking of HA folks and posting on forums....does HA have Message Boards....anybody ?

Also of Note & Interest: Chapters on the creation of the Saint-Gaudens and 1907 High Relief designs, including other patterns that were created....Price Guide for every year.....featured coin sales and prices....uses and differences between gold coins and gold bars.....a General Commentary section for each year/mintmark which I found probably my favorite section....Production & Survival Data.....quotes from dealers, collectors, and David Akers in appropriate spots (usually the Commentary section).....and lots more !

Congrats on buying the book, Insider....let us know as you progress through it your thoughts on the various sections that stand out. I thought I made it clear that this was clearly The Bible -- or Red Book -- for Saints. Not only do you have a chapter on every year and mint mark, but Roger has interspersed chapters on The Gold Standard, Commerce involving Gold, the Assay Process, World Trade, and other interesting topics. It breaks the monotony of reading year-by-year if that gets tiring to anybody (it didn't to me, but I liked the other chapters just the same).

HA has some GSA Morgns for sale this week, anybody bidding ?

Anybody ever talk to this guy (I wonder if he was at FUN earlier this year) ? I wonder what is his rationale for selling the overpriced stuff he hawks on TV.

People -- non-collectors, esp. -- are not aware of this museum. I wasn't. The 1933 Saint-Gaudens that was auctioned off in 2002 was/is located at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY in downtown Manhattan. Very few people go to the NY Fed, except Fed Watchers, monetarist economists, and devotees of Milton Friedman.

Should be easy to find out, just see when coins from 1986, 1987, and 1988 got put into slabs, right ?

My readings and discussions with veterans of that time (I wasn't active back then) was that during the bubble years of 1989-91 and again in the early-2000's.....grading got lax, volume surges overwhelmed the TPGs....lots of misgraded coins.

And of course, the hidden casualty of the 1st World War.....the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, which saw production cease from 1917-1919.

Also, if you don't want toning or spotting, you're unlikely to see it happen after the coins have been around for 100+ years.

Understood.....then in your opinion, what about these coins that myseriously get re-graded up 2 notches ? Is that just a case of an inexperienced grader (or graders) ? Or a coin that needed more time by all the graders ?

Are you being serious or facetious ? Isn't this one of the reasons why CAC came into being...so many "C" coins getting the same grade as coins that should have been graded higher, or themselves getting re-graded higher ? We have plenty of threads here where people talk about getting cheated out of subsquent upgrades and stuff....clearly, if the follow-up grades are legit, they got it wrong the 1st time and should have spent more time on the coin. And maybe the experts at the TPGs get it right on Saints (and other coins) TODAY.....but 15 and definitely 30 years ago they clearly didn't have the manpower to handle the surge in demand for grading and had graders who didn't getit right as often as they should.

I'll defer to your expertise Mark...but it just seems rush-rush to me. But if you focus on surface quality and luster...and don't look at my mini-checklist....isn't that how you can then get a coin which is MS66 and upon further looks has key dings in the Liberty Mouth, not-formed toes/fingers, etc. ? I'm not asking for 2-3 minutes per coin...but what about 30 seconds...maybe 45 if it's a 5-figure coin ?

So on a Saint....check the fields, devices, rims, high points, Liberty's face, flowing hair details, finger details, Capitol details, toes details.....Eagles feathers on reverse, beak, wings...all in 10 seconds. Riiiiight........

The Met has a big endowment and can make a few phone calls and get plenty of wealthy Manhattanites to give $$$ at any time. What the ANA should be doing is contacting some wealthy coin collectors and asking them to create a legacy by endowing the organization, conference, talks, lectures, prizes, etc. Wealthy people like the idea of their name living on forever. It's win-win.

That would have caused problems if the ANA ever took public or legal actions against the U.S. Mint.

Excellent post, WC !

I wonder how much the "Hawaii 5-0" episode is responsible for that.

Thanks, I had forgotten their names. We are still EARLY in the transition to online and digital -- just think how much more popular/used social media is today vs. 5 or 10 years ago -- and over time we should see growth in online users for GC, HA, Stacks, etc Most collectors are probably not that familiar with them -- I myself just bought from non-Ebay sources only in the last year or so -- so their usage should increase over time.

If there are only 5 Liberty Head Nickels, and given that they sell for millions, I don't think they sell that often. Only 3 are in private hands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_Liberty_Head_nickel ANA has the McDermott and Walton specimens.

PCGS reports just over 5,100 1907 HR's and NGC just over 3,800. So about 8,900, making for just under 3,500 coins not accounted for. If you assume lots of crosses from PCGS to NGC and vice-versa (double-counting), then maybe 4,000 or 5,000 coins not accounted for. Could be more....maybe 6,000 or more. If the "unaccounteds" remain in private, "sticky" hands -- handed down by from family members to heirs -- that could account for the sticky and relatively high price of 1907 HR Saints. If a few hundred 1907 HR's were to hit the TPGs and market every year for the next decade or so and everyone knew they'd be coming out (with grades across the spectrum), my guess is you'd have a slow, steady drizzle downward in price. But I'm not sure how much.