GoldFinger1969

On 1/30/2023 at 8:04 PM, lcourtney123 said:

Do registry coins have to be graded? 

That's the whole purpose with the registry set, as I understand it.

We have a poster here called "Elite" who is the owner of the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (you may have heard about it; highest price ever paid for a U.S. coin).  His Saint-Gaudens collection is listed on the PCGS registry and it was linked in another thread here at the NGC Forums.

Super-impressive collection....legendary, along the lines of the Simpson, Duckor, and Eliasberg collections.  You can make a case that he surpassed them, but then again, registry scoring isn't my game.

On 1/30/2023 at 5:36 PM, World Colonial said:

I don't think you are in the minority with the type of examples you gave.  It's numismatic minutia.  There isn't any reason to believe that most collectors are interested in this type of subject.

In the examples you provided, I'd guess a few percent of both series actively buy this coinage at "full freight" (market price in a TPG holder).  The rest are "cherry picking", trying to complete their sets buying ungraded coins or arbitraging the price difference.

Yeah, for me I've always been interested in history in general, WC.  So it stands to reason that I'd be interested -- and fascinated -- by some of the history behind the coins.

OTOH, some of the pure collectors and registry players have no interest in that at all.  Then again, I have absolutely no interest in the difference between a VAM 7 and VAM 8 or whatever they go by. 

Ali, are YOU personally (above) able to add coins after ID'ing them from the bar scan ?  I noticed you are saying to enter the serial number manually.

The Add Coin button is there after I bar scan.... but as I've stated, I encounter a glitch. Was wondering why you weren't showing how to add a coin after the bar scan as I wanted to see how the screens look (I get a screen cut-off at the middle with no ability to hit the SIGN IN button).

Many good points here.  I'll name 2 good/great points and 2 deficiencies:

GOOD:  Able to use the NGC App to inventory my coins. Better than looking at a mini-Excel spreadsheet.  I'm NOT a registry person at all and would remind NGC that many new people might find the app SUPER-USEFUL as I have so don't shortchange it for the more serious register folks (although I agree they are the priority).

GREAT:  The bar scanner works great, only negative is that you can't use it to add coins to the Competitive Coins inventory list as I explained in another thread (at least on my Galaxy S9).

BAD:  No prices for lots of modern coins, mostly bullion coins like silver.  Should be easy to grab recent sales from Ebay for these moderns....or just use the price of silver bullion....better, start with the price of bullion and build a model that gives a "fair value" for the grade (<68, 68, 69, or 70).  ANYTHING is better than NOTHING -- and having a total (like the folks ATS) would be nice.

WORSE:  As I indicated, can't add coins via the scanner, I had to manually enter all my coins with numbers.  Not a problem for a few dozen...but anybody with hundreds (or thousands !) is going to want to scan as it is so much faster.

Overall, a good app...I NEVER thought to use it for inventory purposes and I've been on these forums for over a decade.  I just did it in the last week or so.   I'd spread the word that it's not just for competitive registry builders and see if you can fix the 2 issues I cited to make it even better for beginner or intermediate collectors. 

On 1/30/2023 at 12:20 PM, Sandon said:

   For many of these coins there may not be a sufficient number of reported transactions to establish a price.  Prices are established by amounts that are actually agreed to by willing buyers and sellers in the marketplace, not by "fudge factors" such as you are proposing!  

There MUST be some transactions for these coins as they are sold on eBay all the time.  But regardless, they're graded bullion coins....even if you just give it the current price of silver that's better than nothing.  The "fudge factors" I cited I think are very easily inputable to a price formula.

I realize that the registry wasn't created for inventory reaons but this is a really simple fix that could make the NGC App and NGC products more user-friendly to the many new novices that have entered in the last 3 years.

Again, I know the basic range for most of these coins depending on the price of silver so it's not like I'm completely lost here.  Actualy sales prices are available but the "fudge factors" are already done for other price guides/charts/values on other websites for NGC and other companies.

In the scheme of things, not a critical problem but given the ease of the solution I figured I'd ask. 

On 1/30/2023 at 12:14 PM, Sandon said:

   This is supposed to occur when a former owner had the coin in his or her coin list and didn't bother to remove it after selling the coin or when someone dishonestly entered the serial number without owning the coin to begin with.  NGC is supposed to e-mail the owner of record to ask whether that person still claims ownership and will transfer the coin to your list if the record owner agrees or doesn't respond.  This happened to me once with a coin I had just purchased and was resolved within two days.   

I can't recall but I am pretty sure the 2 coins were basic 1-ounce silver Brittanias or Pandas, not anything really valuable, Sandon.  I don't have many expensive silver coins anyway -- a couple of $500 - $1,000 Morgans -- and the 2 coins I had a problem entering are both worth under $100 I would guess.

And I doubt anybody but me would have entered them in any registry or certification list.  I think I got 'em new a few years ago.

On 1/30/2023 at 10:15 AM, Just Bob said:

Wouldn't you just love to be the newbie at NGC who gets stuck grading a pallet full of ASEs? I'd go nuts! 

Aren't those reviewed by 3 graders just like older coins ?

I've read about them in the Liberty Head DE book.  First saw the word online and thought someone had misspelled "dime" !! 

On 1/30/2023 at 12:09 PM, lcourtney123 said:

That is what is really interesting to me the history behind the coin. I always just spent them! Oddness in different coins like a dime I have its smaller different color. I will be posting soon and explaining what I am doing just trying to figure out why its like it is. 

Studying the history of a coin type is fascinating and one of my passions here, more so than trying to complete registry sets or buying many coins (which takes lots of $$$ and we all have limits).  For two of my main holdings -- Saints and Morgans -- the influence of hoards is key to their availability today.  You also have fantastic stories of these hoards coming into the U.S. market in the 1950's and 1960's and beyond.

It's fascinating to know the stories behind coinage.  Some coins have more than others for sure.

On 1/30/2023 at 12:09 PM, lcourtney123 said:

Simplicity is best for me some things I just don't understand in these conversations

You'll pick it up eventually.  I've been here 10+ years (I think) and when the experts/vets go back-and-forth on "FBL" or "5 Steps" or other minute grading details, my eyes gloss over. 

Alot of coins don't have ANY price.  I don't know what the exact algorithim is that produces the NGC PRICE GUIDE VALUE but ANYTHING is better than NOTHING.

Many of them are on my 1 ounce silver coins (Eagles, Brittanias, Pandas, other foreign 1-ouncers).  At a minimum...you have a 1 ounce silver coin....you know the price of silver in recent days/weeks....use that as a starting point....tack on maybe 10% or 20% for a 69 grade and maybe 30% or 40% for a 70....another tack-on fo a PF than an MS grade....and maybe a bit more for PL or DMPL or UCAM or whatever.

I'm not expecting accuracy to within 5-10%, I'd settle for 30-50%.  Just get something in there.  And having a total for all the coins would be useful, too, for those of us who aren't registry kingpins but just want to keep track of our coins and the approximate (even if low-balled) value.

I would think that today, with computing power and databases that you can access, that this shouldn't be a big job for a good software programmer.  My nephew who is a coder said it's a very simple and inexpensive job for popular bullion coins, compared to a rarely traded foreign or ancient coin or some obscure U.S. commemorative or something.

I had this problem over the weekend when 2 coins came up as "belonging to another registered user" or something like that. I believe it said that the coins would be added within 1 or 2 days if some condition wasn't met or something (contacting the other user/registry). 

I don't know exactly what that could mean, I have the coin in hand and manually entered the serial number.  I don't believe I created another registry or something though it IS possible I had a different login and then used the bar code scanner on the coin (though as I said in another thread and PMs to NGC, the coins didn't appear to be getting into my registry/Certified Coins list because of the Login/PW/SIGN IN glitch).

On 1/30/2023 at 6:51 AM, olympicsos said:

Still isn't something the artist would likely support. On a side note I also wonder how many of the Saint Gaudens original plasters, hubs, dies etc. for the high relief coins were destroyed in 1910? Which assets did they use to create the 2009 UHR and the "refreshed" obverse on the 2021 and later AGE? 

I think Roger covers some of that in the Saints book and also his RoAC series.

I don't know if plasters or hubs or dies survived....but patterns certainly did.

On 1/29/2023 at 8:16 AM, NickiO CS said:

Hello @GoldFinger1969, I am sorry to learn you are having trouble with the NGC app. I was not able to duplicate this issue so this issue may be device specific. The first step to troubleshoot your issue, would be to make sure you are using the most up-to date version of the app. I did notice that the font appears larger than normal. If you have any accessibility options for vision, such as zoom or enlarged fonts, enabled on your phone, you may want to try reducing or turning them off temporarily.   I have also sent you a direct message, with further instructions should these options not address the issue.  Thank you and have a good day! 

Hi Nicki, to keep all informed I am reposting that my App Version U.S. is 1.7.1.32.

A Galaxy S9 was once the flagship for the Android phones and only 4 years old or so... I don't know why it would have a glitch; it's not like it's a knock-off or something.  And again, I am adding coins when I manually enter the certification numbers.

Speaking of which...2 coins said "THIS COIN IS OWNED BY ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL OR REGISTRY" or something along those lines which obviously can't be since the 2 coins are mine and I had them in hand.  Anybody else ever get that message ?

Thanks for trying to help, NGC.  The barcode scanner works great, it would be so much easier to just be able to scan and then add.  Althought at this point in time I pretty much added them all manualy. 

I wish NGC would just approximate as many of my bullion coins don't have any price when I use their app. 

We're not looking for accurate FMVs to the nearest week, just a ballpark approximation.

On 1/29/2023 at 12:33 AM, bsshog40 said:

Before I got my microscope, I use to make sure my camera was set on the highest pixels it was able to. Then when cropping, the subject area would still look good. Sometimes.  Lol

Yes, always best to have the camera set to maximum resolution.  Easier to shrink it to fit in texts or emails later on...if you make it low-res it'll look like if you want to see it on anything larger than a phone screen.

What I like about Windows 10 is that it eliminates the need to use Paint or Photoshop to simply reduce the pixel size....very easy to do it once I move pics from my phone to my PC.

Karen, make sure any Android phone you have has the freeze thing or whatever it's called that eliminates motion if you aren't steady.  And best thing of all is to use a mini-tripod with one of those bluetooth thingys that lets you take the picture WITHOUT touching the camera -- no possibility of movement. 

On 1/28/2023 at 4:37 PM, VKurtB said:

Correct! I keep telling everyone who will listen that EVERYTHING in this stinking hobby as it exists today is ALL MARKETING. Don’t try to deny it. You need to understand it and act accordingly. It’s supply and demand, and 95% of what moves prices is changes in DEMAND. What alters demand? MARKETING. Cynical? Heck yeah!

I disagree 100% !!   You offer NO PROOF.  You besmirch some of the folks making lots of money in this business/hobby/racket, and their attempts to spread-the-wealth by cutting lowly peons like me in on their riches.  I am offended, and will not STAND to listen to these attacks on folks whose motives are 100% altruistic and in my best interests.

I'd rip you more, Kurt, but I'm off to my How To Market Coins & Make $1 Million In Your 2nd Year class........

On 1/28/2023 at 8:16 PM, KarenHolcomb said:

I just took my 1st Coin shots and they are awful. I knew I hated the phone the 1st time I used it, but this is ridonkulous for real. My Macro clip on is useless. This is as close as I can get with minimal distortion. So don't anybody ever listen to me again. Thanks for listening. I'm out! 

Actually, that's not bad for a super-closeup.  I don't know who here except those with professional equipment or years of experience could do that well.

However, I think most of won't zoom in that close...we want the entire coin to show and sometimes the holder, too.  At least I do. 

On 1/28/2023 at 5:17 PM, VKurtB said:

Prayers aren’t worth much, but I appreciate the sentiment. I do enjoy this hobby, immensely. But it is a money loser, not a money maker. That’s for YouTube video believers. 

Does this mean your offer to look over my stash of 12,000 pennies for a coin that I know is worth at least $3,000 isn't still valid ? 

It appears I CAN enter coins so long as I enter the numbers and hit the NGC dot to indicate it's an NGC coin....but using the barcode scanner IDs the coin but when I hit the ADD COIN button it goes to that stupid cut-off login. 

On 1/28/2023 at 7:40 AM, olympicsos said:

Because lets face it, Saint Gaudens designs weren't designed to be made as a mirror finish proof. They look good in a satin finish or regular uncirculated finish. The Saint Gaudens obverse is used on the AGE's and something is off about the mirror finish proof with them. But the Liberty Head Double Eagle looks nice in mirror finish proof and would probably be a better fit for the low relief striking common today. 

Roger says the basined dies used on the LH DEs give them that reflective look.  Plus you simply have a cluttered field on the Saint-Gaudens that didn't allow for mirror proofs at the time with their technology.  Today, with the AGE, at least you do have a very nice blackened mirror look esp. with the proofs like this:

On 1/28/2023 at 12:10 AM, VKurtB said:

Man, I don’t have anything that isn’t Apple but my wife DOES have an older Galaxy (was the 7 a big seller?) still in the box. I’ll dig it out, charge it up and see what I can see, okay? My best guess is that you might need an app from the Google or Android store, whichever applies. I know Apple has several manual camera apps in its App Store. I use a mirrorless SLR for everything even remotely important, and film when I’m “attempting art”. By the way, even my Sony SLR is not so easy to get into manual mode. So many menus….

Maybe I'll just play around with the settings....might be a "Smartphone Camera Settings for Dummies" thread or forum somewhere. 

On 1/26/2023 at 2:50 PM, lcourtney123 said:

Why would a coin be black around the edges? Chemical toning or possibly age toning or possibly water damage? I am considering grading this but don't really know if it would be a good call or not.

 

Listen to the experts here on grading.  If you are a beginner, before you buy expensive coins and/or submit your own raw coins for grading.....educate yourself...do LOTS of reading....and buy some quality GRADED coins so you can learn about the coins, the market for them, the history of the pricing of that coin (last few years vs. last 30 years), etc.

Read forum threads here and on other sites on coins you are interested in.  Read some books especially any Whitman Red Books.

As for silver toning or black edges....the reaction of silver to various air elements or other chemicals used (recently) in the striking process explains this.  Plenty of threads here and elsewhere.

On 1/26/2023 at 2:50 PM, lcourtney123 said:

I am having to send photos from my phone to my email to get them on site.

Assuming you have a fairly new smartphone, default settings should be OK to show us decent/good pics, notwithstanding some of the threads we have resurreced in recent days  talking about maximizing photographic perfection.

If you login to the site on your smartphone....you can type the posts HERE on your PC....then add the photos with the EDIT function on your phone if that is where the photos are.  Eliminates transfering the pics to your PC if that is time-consuming.