GoldFinger1969

I read a book "U.S. Liberty Head $20 Double Eagles, The Gilded Age of Coinage."  1880 right in the sweet spot ! 

On 7/29/2023 at 1:03 PM, SilverGary said:

It's funny when you see people listing crazy prices for minor errors. I wonder if anyone actually pays that much.   Lol

Yes, people do....but the problem is that wear-and-tear and minor imperfections are NOT Error Coins. 

People think they have coins worth hundreds or thousands of dollars....and they're worth face value.  It's like digging in your backyard, finding a rock with some yellow in it, and thinking you found a 15-pound gold nugget worth $600,000. 

On 7/26/2023 at 7:31 PM, Henri Charriere said:

Historical Note:  The Seattle Assay Office was in operation from 1898 (a year before the letter to the Director of the U. S. Mint was written) to 1955. With the establishment of the San Francisco Mint in 1852, coinage operations were suspended in 1955 and it became an assay office -- possibly picking up where Seattle left off -- with that designation becoming official in 1962. Coinage operations were again authorized in 1965 and production continues to this day as the San Francisco branch of the U.S. Mint.

What's with assay offices still being used after 1950, maybe even 1920 or 1900 ?

I know they were needed in the 1800's to guarantee purity, weight, etc....but would that still be needed in the 20th century ?

Did you ever hear of any central bank/foreign mint trying to pass off non-gold as gold or cheating on purity/weight ?

On 7/26/2023 at 1:19 PM, zadok said:

one additional fact is that these black core holders often bring premiums of $3000-$4000 or more each....

Depending on the value of the coin, right ?  You're not saying the holders themselves are worth that much money, rare as they are ?

On 7/21/2023 at 2:04 PM, zadok said:

...Bardot, Loren, Ekberg, Hepburn, Lollobrigida, Taylor were often sparsely described, sometimes with just one word...not sure if they were 69s or 70s?....

Bo Derek was a "10"....guess she was graded on that new NGC scale !! 

On 7/27/2023 at 1:05 AM, Tony Follis said:

I put a 1974 D Lincoln cent in a vice then I used my needle nose pliers and bent it. I guess it must be a US Mint error and worth a million dollars LoL.

That's insane.  No way your coin is worth a million dollars.

I'd be willing to give you $5,000....subject to the pliers being deemed authentic. 

On 7/27/2023 at 10:34 AM, Mike Meenderink said:

When I search online (usually eBay) 

Did you check HA or GC ?

On 7/26/2023 at 8:34 PM, meaggiimoo said:

just wondering if any of these are worth getting graded 

Probably only if they are in Mint State condition for the most part.  I am not an expert on rarities in the Morgan series so there are others better qualified to talk.

But I will bet that most of the filled-in holes are commons in circulated grade, meaning they are worth at most their silver content.  But 1 or 2 or 3 of them could be worth triple-digits, so definitely go coin-by-coin (holding them properly and carefully).

Should be easy to determine the more scarce coins and then punch up a value for middle-of-the-pack circulated grades (EF-AU 55) and see if you have anything worth a huge premium to the underlying silver content.

On 7/21/2023 at 2:11 PM, FlyingAl said:

A four paragraph description from GC is practically unheard of. They usually let million dollar coins sell without a single word of description. 

I still don't get that.  HA has pages of descriptives on their 6 and 7-figure coins.  GC has 1-3 sentences. 

I'm not an expert but doubling is clear, distinctive, and sharp.  The overall coin has to be in high-AU or MS condition.

The coin you showed has neither.

True story...one of my astronomy buddies uncles is in both ROCKY (unpaid) and TRADING PLACES (got $25) in the blue-collar, fish-market areas.

The guy who tossed Rocky an orange when he is running to the "Rocky" theme -- that's him.

Intro to TP when they show someone cutting fish -- him again. 

On 7/25/2023 at 7:35 PM, RWB said:

The pictured coin was not struck on a medal press, was not sandblasted at the Philadelphia Mint, has probably never been in Philadelphia, and could not tell a Philly cheese-steak from a Boston barnacle.

I do think it was part of the $500 that Gazzo The Loan Shark gave to Rocky for training expenses. 

On 7/26/2023 at 12:21 PM, Crumbley said:

I thought I seen doubling in the motto and I looked at the die markers I love collecting Lincoln cents an I try to get my kids involved but I obviously need more information on it I have no problem learning I always want to improve my skills sorry about the post 

No need to apologize, but don't use capital lock in the OP....tone down the exubberance....and ASK folks here with tons of experience their opinions rathter than rely on your emotions.

If you are SERIOUS about coin collecting, you will learn a TON of knowledge from this site. 

On 7/26/2023 at 1:45 PM, dacoopdaddy said:

I also of course have a few silver American Eagles, Brittanias, and Kruggerands. Waiting on buying anything gold at the moment I don't want to put that much money towards my collection (yet)

Nice stuff .....do you buy graded, raw, or both ?

I have a partial affinity for silver commemoratives, including the National Park Foundation Saint-Gaudens coins (proofs, reverse proofs, etc.).  A big numismatic premium, but not alot in absolute $$$.

No more a DDO than your cap-locked OP doesn't contain spilling eras. 

On 7/25/2023 at 5:04 PM, dacoopdaddy said:

Oh well, guess it’s going to stay in a capsule. Thanks for your help and advice!! 

What other coins are you interested in ?

On 7/25/2023 at 10:42 AM, zadok said:

...totally understand that approach...i hate the big national bank chains just too impersonal n down right unfriendly, regionals much nicer to do business with but constantly being bought up...few local banks left to patronize...as far as stocks i too try buy some in the banks i use, mostly holding their own so far this year....

We have 4,000 banks in this country...down from 15,000 about 30 years ago.

On 7/25/2023 at 4:51 PM, Sandon said:

A few years ago, when the PCGS Rare Coin Market Report included a "Best Grade" column, I tried to answer this question. As I recall, the earliest coin graded "70" by PCGS was a proof 1960 nickel.  I have never seen any regular issue coin made for circulation graded "70" by any reputable grading service.  As far as I know, all coins graded "70" are collectors' issues, including proofs, commemorative coins, and bullion coins, that received special handling and packaging.  If anyone wants to scroll page by page through the NGC Census and the PCGS Population Report to verify this, please be my guest.

Has to be an MS-70 from a regularly struck penny, nickel, dime, etc...struck in the last few years or decades, no ?

It's the only one of it's kind known to man and is worth $30,000,000. 

Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

On 7/19/2023 at 12:56 PM, funnylady444 said:

@Sandon @rrantique thank you for your feedback. Will definitely check out the link and yes "P" or Philly is the term I should be using. 

If you are hear to learn about nickles or any coin, we'll be happy to help you. 

But we've seen increasing numbers of Hit-And-Run posters here asking about "super valuable coins" that are worth face value, nothing more.

More Saint hoard information by date:

1925-D:  Mini-hoards in 1950’s, larger European ones in 1960’s.  Merkers Mine Hoard may be responsible for all or many of the coins.  Most newly minted 1925-D double eagles were sent to Europe, and remained stored in banks, primarily in Switzerland and France.  

Analysis of auction and authentication records leads to the conclusion that nearly all known 1925-D double eagles came from European sources, possibly the Merkers Mine hoard. The few genuinely circulated coins are probably from the two cashier’s holdings as the result to payments for gold deposits. A small number of pieces – those now among the very best available – could have been secured direct from the Denver or Philadelphia Mint cashiers. Collectors and dealers of the time, especially those in the Philadelphia area, were known to frequent the mint looking for pieces for their collections. We also have indications that by 1924 or earlier, the Treasurer of the United States was securing new coins for “special purposes” including sale to collectors by mail and in person at the Treasury Cash Room in Washington, DC. The Denver Mint cashier’s statement indicated one 1925-D double eagle was paid out on March 16; possibly for Mr. Morgan’s collection. We also know that compartment #19 in the gold vault contained $30,750,000 in double eagles – probably of 1925 manufacture – that it had been sealed from July 3, 1925 to at least July 1, 1933.

1925-S:  1950’s mini-hoards.  "... the 1925-S is one of the major rarities in the series and has long been regarded as such. Even back in the 1940's it was considered a rarity, not as much so as the 1924-S, 1926-S, and 1926-D, but more or less on par with the 1924-D, 1931 and 1932. I do not recall ever seeing or hearing of any hoards of this issue, not even from the 1950's or 1960's when quantities of many of the Saint-Gaudens issues previously thought to be rare were discovered in European banks." - Akers

In the 1940s, the 1924-S and 1926-D were perceived as the ultimate rarities of the Saint-Gaudens series, and when those dates became more available due to European finds, the previously unappreciated 1927-D was waiting to assume the mantle.

Since virtually all of the specimens later found in Europe were typically in the grades from AU50 to MS62, the 1925-S is still rare today in MS63 and very rare in MS64. 

1926:  Last of big exports of gold coins went overseas as part of Dawes Plan to support Weimar Germany.  The 1926 Saints are another mintage that escaped the 1937 Treasury melting because they were overseas.

Overall analysis of authentication and auction records indicate that surviving 1926 double eagles came from South American and European central banks in almost equal quantities. This is not especially unusual given the direct U.S. – South American trade, and indirect Europe–South American trade of the 1920s. Of the latter, purchases of grain from Argentina by Germany (and Britain to a lesser extent) may have transferred new U.S. coins to stable vaults in the Americas. 

The last of large American loans went to Germany in 1926. This totaled $45 million in gold coins and was the only large shipment of coins to Europe for the year. Over three years $111,391,000 in coins, almost entirely double eagles, was sent to support the Deutsches Reich (Weimar Republic). The money loaned to Germany helped only a little and additional loans were negotiated so that interest on the first loans could be paid. Germany used U.S. gold to buy food and limited quantities of industrial materials throughout Europe, and rebuild its manufacturing infrastructure. These types of purchases fueled multiple European interbank transfers that created many of the “bank-circulated” double eagles seen in European hoards.

1926-D:  European mini-hoards reduced rarity but not at MS66 level (2).  A few came out of Swiss banks after WWII, but not enough to supply an ever-burgeoning demand.  Prior to the discovery of the small hoards in Europe, the 1926-D was considered to be one of the three greatest rarities in the series, second only to the 1924-S and slightly more rare than the 1926-S. It was also thought to be more rare than the 1920-S, 1921, and 1927-D, the three most valuable regular issues of the series today.

The Green specimen realized $2,500 in 1949, the second highest price in that sale behind a proof 1858 eagle that realized $4,250.

David Akers recounts in the Heritage Duckor collection catalog that somewhat later, an Ohio collector “paid only $500 for what is now one of the finest 1926-D’s, indicating he probably purchased it in the early 1950s after the value of a 1926-D had dropped dramatically due to the initial discovery of some small hoards of the issue in Europe.”

Prior to the discovery of the small hoards in Europe, the 1926-D was considered to be one of the three greatest rarities in the series, second only to the 1924-S and slightly more rare than the 1926-S.

1926-S:  1950’s mini-hoards.  Scarcity drops.  Like many dates from the 1920s, the 1926-S began to turn up in European holdings in the 1950s, and its rarity as a date has declined over the years.

On 7/15/2023 at 8:13 PM, Nutmeg Coin said:

The fact there are no Morgan dollars graded by NGC or PCGS as MS70 tells you something.  As far as I know there are a few 1880-s Morgans that graded MS69, and that issue usually comes quite nice.

It appears that no Morgan or Saint (both large coins) have gotten over a 69.

Someone asked and I don't recall if it was answered....what is the OLDEST regularly-minted coin (not a token or commemorative) that achieved a 70 rating ?  I would even allow proofs separately struck to be included but non-proof regular mintage is the focus.

On 7/25/2023 at 7:59 AM, VKurtB said:

This is the undeniable truth and it has been true both before and since TPGS have been “a thing”. Knowledge at a fairly deep level is a prerequisite (and at a roughly equal level, too) for there to be a functioning marketplace. 

Agreed...but many here don't want to or can't spend the time to judge the grade on a coin.  And if you are going to spend thousands of dollars on a coin -- or even hundreds of dollars -- you don't want to be ripped off by a ton because you totally got it wrong on a coin that was sold as MS-63 and in fact was closer to AU-55.

Maybe from the time you join this site you need to wait 1-2 weeks and/or post to other threads 5-10 times before you can create your own thread ?

On 7/25/2023 at 1:18 AM, Tony Follis said:

Makes me wonder just how many "Newbie" coin collectors are just counterfeiters trying to get the "Inside scoop" from legitimate coin collectors to make their counterfeits seem as genuine as possible posting questions.

My Spidey-Sense is tingling !!