GoldFinger1969

If the guy says it will grade MS-66 and it is MS-64, that might be tough to justify. But if it comes back circulated with an AU grade, I would think that's enough to reverse the purchase. Sometimes photos are innocently deceptive. I have a $10 Gold Certificate.....it looks GREAT from photos, most thought it was in the MS category from MS63-65 or so. In fact, it's an EF and has some very hard-to-see folks/creases which simply don't show from photos; you don't have to hide them, they just can't be seen except with the naked eye and the proper lighting.

Could you have returned this coin if you bid more and won the auction ? Just curious....

That's understandable. At least today with the TPGs you can be reasonably sure a coin is as it is graded -- imagine no TPGs and all these coins selling RAW with every Tom, Duck*, and Harry giving them a grade. And circulation wear is tough to see so imagine all the AU coins going for MS money. I will say this: I haven't run across too many posts where someone says that the (hi-res) pics from HA or GC, and the TPG grade, made them regret a purchase or a coin was way worse in-hand than online. * Spelled differently because our AI or AI-less algorithim thinks I am saying a bad word !!

I have the 27th Edition of the Standard Guide to U.S. Paper Money....and the 9th Edition of the Small-Size U.S. Paper Money. Bought both about 8-10 years ago I think.

You didn't see this coin in person, right ? I'm used to buying larger coins from photos or in-person...small denomination coins are definitely tougher for someone like me.

I generally agree with that.....in fact, I have seen the same Saint-Gaudens coin with the lighting slightly changed and the coin went from solid 65/66 to low-60's from my perspective. I couldn't believe just changing the lighting angle (and maybe changing some camera settings, I'm not sure) could make that much of a difference. But it did. As a general rule, if the coin is properly photographed, you shouldn't be off TOO much though lighting could make a coin look better at a key inflection point grade where it commands alot more $$$.

It could be a $3,000 coin and only went for $265 ? Interesting.....

Doesn't Krause put out currency books which are like the Bible for that set ?

That name rings a bell.....why ? Is CDN bigger than WP ? Hopefully the combined entity is on solid financial ground.

Does a coin like this come up often ? If so, then don't worry. What is FMV and recent auction sales for this coin ? If $200, then I hate going 30% above that. If it doesn't come up that often in this grade, then 30% and $100 or so are relatively tolerable premiums to pay, percentage-wise and in absolute dollars.

Also, the small shows are just renting space at a Knights of Columbus or other hall for the most part....low-rent places, no speakers or talks or frills, just tables. Since the dealers and the "promoter" have already covered their minimal costs with 1 or 2 small sales, they really don't need any entry charge. Now...a nice hotel for a somewhat larger show with multiple rooms (and maybe a talk or panel discussion) I can live with a small fee. And something bigger like FUN having all that space at the Orange County Convention Center with all the bells and whistles, not a deal-breaker. Again....I'm not sure what the per-table fee is at a big show like FUN (I think about $500/day, is that right ?) but that revenue stream will dwarf a small entry charge to 1,000 or 1,500 attendees or how many attend (no idea for a big show like FUN -- anybody ?). But I'd really love for any entry fee to go to MORE Big Picture talks or panel discussions and not something specific to expert coin collectors. Silver and Gold price discussions and Silver vs. Gold and the types of coins to get exposure to both are something that should be a staple at these shows. Also, primers on MSDs and DEs. I think that would stimulate the public and get more of them to stick with the hobby.

That's fine. MPT basically says that having an equity exposure below 20% doesn't reduce portfolio risk at that point because as your bond or fixed income portfolio goes over 80% you increase the overall portfolio risk there. Of course, if someone is market-timing and dropping their stock exposure under 20% just for a short period of time, that's a separate manner. Of course, lots of people do that saying it's short-term and then they never get it back to that level.

Gold is a personal choice, not really an asset to be included in a financial plan. But equities should be -- at least 20% -- as an all fixed-income/bond portfolio is riskier than a portfolio with a small allocation to equities.

CME the analyst was talking about contracts traded, I guess Open Interest. This would signify retail and institutional buying. Normally, public cover stories are reverse indicators (i.e., Time or Newsweek in their heyday), but BARRON'S is different. If they had a cover story that gold was going higher, they'd have lots of sound reasons within the story for that to be the case.

Analyst on CNBC said look for these things as a sign gold is going higher (much higher): Stays above $2,000 an ounce, preferably a new ATH closer to $2,100 A cover story in BARRON'S signifying increased retail interest in gold. 250,000 contracts traded on the gold contract at the CME.

I wonder if anybody has considered waiving the fee if you spent a certain amount of $$$ at the show.

Anything interesting to say about the markets or economy, forget inflation..... I believe they have no more control or ties to the Forbes magazine or media empire.

Did Forbes have anything interesting to say ?

For John Albanese or David Hall or the late David Akers or some of our veterans here, sure. What about some kid in his 20's who's been a coin collector for maybe 15 years and was just hired by PCGS or NGC or CACG because they have thousands of coins to grade and needed a body to hire ASAP ?

I went to a couple of local "clunkers" that probably cost me $10-$15 in gas and tolls (when gas was alot cheaper !! ) and 2-3 hours of my time. That was what sucked more than if I ended up paying $10 to get in, if I had to do that. If there was such a fee I'd probably either ask the ticket seller how many tables had coins or ask to go in for 30 seconds to see if it was worth it. Quite frankly, a few weren't. Going to FUN or a big national or regional...I spend hundreds of dollars just to get there, plus hundreds more to stay in a hotel so my total cost is probably going to be $500 - $1,000 if I stay a few days. So no, a 1-time pass fee of $50 or a daily fee of $10 or $20 isn't going to be a deal-breaker for me. But like I said -- and I realize that the FUN people and others volunteer their time and do a great job -- I'd hope that any new fee like this would be dedicated to having some more speakers and panel discussions on popular topics and coins that appeal to the regular coin collectors as well as the curious public. And no, I don't object to a few perks for the folks who put on the show either, like making sure they can stay in a local hotel to cut down on commuting to the show, dinners, etc. They've earned it, AFAIC.

Roger and other researchers will apply a "fudge factor" to eliminate double-counting. It varies by coin type...by year...by how scarce a particular series is....but I recall him posting way back in the RWB Saints-Gaudens Book Thread that a 40% haircut was not out of whack to eliminate double-counting. That was for a coin with hundreds or thousands in the count. For a super-rare coin with a few dozen or less, it might be a smaller haircut I would guess.

1920's Gold Exports: It's fascinating to own some coins from this era....to read about them....and have it linked to something we all learned about in junior high school, namely the Dawes Plan to help get Germany (and Europe) back on their feet. To think that something I read about all the time in the inter-war period was a key reason so many of the Saint-Gaudens coins survived the 1930's melting is kind of cool and fascinating.

I agree for a show you spend 1 hour or more at, which would include even small shows I would think. The problem -- not that $10 will break any of us -- is when you have these really small local shows with 10-20 tables where most of them are baseball cards or other non-coin stuff. I wouldn't be happy to pay $10 to go through the tables in 2 minutes and head back to my car. I'd probably ascertain before I left (because my time and gas is more valuable to me than the $10 admission fee) if the show was worth my time and $$$. I'd have no problem paying a small fee to the old Westchester Coin Show, the Garden State Parsippany Show, or the Mt. Kisco Westchester Shows. Ditto FUN or the other big national or regionals. However, if the big shows are going to take some $$$ from the public in addition to table and advertising fees....have some good panel discussions, book signings, or lectures by folks like Kurt or RWB.....to stimulate discussion and interest in the hobby.

Roger has nothing to do with the Franklin Gradeflation Thread, FYI. Have you read it ? Very interesteing and curious considering you had some skilled collectors and graders who could NOT get the upgrade and yet after they parted with some coins, they "miraculously" went up 1-2 grades...with FBL...and/or CAC. I've been dubious about "speed grading" for years and yet have been told by folks with much better grading skills than me that when you do this for a living and see hundreds of coins a day for years....all you need is 15-20 seconds, tops....and often times, less.

No idea...but isn't their 50th annivesary 2037 ? They started operations in 1987.