GoldFinger1969

On 1/27/2023 at 9:27 PM, VKurtB said:

Roger and I agree more fully on the benefits AND shortcomings in coin photography than perhaps any other subtopic. I’d venture to guess that fewer than 5% of coin photographers have the first clue what 18% gray even is! Or if they do, they don’t know how to use it. When I was a Gretag AG mini lab installer, I LIVED with 18% gray, in card form and with negatives exposed with those cards on them. The color balance of each batch of paper had to be reset to create 18% gray. I taught this, err, poop. Coins are shiny. Some things render light, others dark. The lighting decides EVERYTHING. So when you take coin pictures, every exposure needs to be read off an 18% gray card, AND NEVER THE COIN ITSELF, … NEVER! And once you have that exposure setting, DON’T CHANGE IT as long as the camera, lights, and subject spot remain the same. And automatic white balance needs to die a horrible death for coins. Otherwise a green background turns your silver coins pink (magenta), and those tan pages in your Dansco turn your coins too blue. This is serious 💩 here, folks. This is important! You need to neuter ANYTHING AUTOMATIC in your digital camera and take a walk on the fully manual side. Hard to do with ANY phone. You have to dig deep for the right apps. The one that came with it will NEVER do. 

I have a Galaxy S9...if you want to recommend some settings I'd be happy to give them a shot, but yeah, so far, every picture I've taken aside from a few with the NIGHT (astronomy) and SPORT (fast-moving objects) settings has been with the PHOTO default settings.

On 1/27/2023 at 8:04 PM, EagleRJO said:

Your numbers are off.  I have heard that dealers all-in grading costs for large bulk submissions can be as low as $8 to $10 per coin, and Sandon mentioned above that he has encountered $7 per coin.

Also the $23 to $35 you noted is just a minimum base grading cost depending on the type.  You need to add shipping to NGC w/ insurance, $10 handling, and $28 return shipping w/ insurance.  That comes to about $80 all-in grading cost for a coin.  You can reduce that number a little by waiting to submit several coins at once and spread out the S&H costs.

Wow...so a big submitter can be paying 1/10th of what we pay, huh ?  

On 1/27/2023 at 7:33 PM, RWB said:

It's just a cleaned and damaged proof. Poor Ike...first the hair, now his dignity.

Hey...lay off....I LIKE IKE !!! 

On 1/26/2023 at 12:36 PM, lcourtney123 said:

I think this one may be called a Proof Prototype? The back of the business strike looks different on the craters. Please help. I am so overwhelmed with it all and learning how to post as well.

We get that and don't sweat it. 

It is always EXTREMELY UNLIKELY that a coin you have is worth multiples of what you paid for it or worth 4 or 5 figures if you found it....it's almost always misinterpreting the coin's pedigree which the ANA courses you are taking will probably correct.

Just keep that in mind....it's so rare to find a super-valuable coin that you picked up for a pittance.

On 1/27/2023 at 11:27 AM, RWB said:

When photographing anything for record purposes, you must be uniform in all technical respects but especially color balance (18% gray) and neutral background. You are not making "nice pictures," you are recording the object for identification.

Roger, I just use default settings on my Galaxy S9. 

Taking the pictures from about 6" away, it appears the settings for the coins are all or congregate at these settings:  F2.4......1/30th second......4.30 mm....ISO 250....White Balance AUTO.

The F number....shutter speed...and ISO can change slightly depending on gold or silver and how big the coin was and how much I zoomed in.

On 1/27/2023 at 11:47 AM, zadok said:

...looks too much like the morgan dollar...in my own personal opinion,

You're not wrong. 

I'm at my registry page and I see my avatar all big....I have 7 competitive coins listed, so I MUST be logged in somewhere, right ?

Uninstalled and then re-installed the NGC app....nothing.  

Still got that stupid image from above with no ability to hit the SIGN IN button or whatever is being cut off.

What good is an App sign-in and login if you can't access it ? 

Anybody else seeing the screen above ?  

On 1/27/2023 at 11:07 AM, The Neophyte Numismatist said:

The cost of these key dates is driven by demand.  If you think about the 1893-S Morgan dollar...There were 100K minted, and there are probably 10K surviving today.  This coin can be found at any large coin show, and is plentiful compared to other series.  On the rarity scale, this coin is an R.1 (common).  However, the demand for this series is so strong that examples will be much more expensive than R.3-4 coins in less popular series (in comparable grades).

Same thing with an MCMVII High Relief Saint, NN and Lcourt.

I would just add that you start with mintage...then look at survivors....then look at HIGH-GRADED survivors (top-collectors want the best coins).....and then figure in demand.  That tells you which coins are likely to be "key dates."

LCourt, I have a Morgan Silver Dollar which is over 100 years old.  I bought it clean and you would think if it didn't "turn" or tone in the 100 years it wouldn't do it in the last few.

But it did. 

With silver, ya never know. 

On 1/27/2023 at 6:42 AM, olympicsos said:

I'd say the Liberty Head $20 is the best Longacre Design IMO. Much better than the Indian Head Cent. But the Saints are still a very attractive design. 

The simplicity of the Liberty Head obverse can grow on you after time.  And the proofs for the LH DE blow away the "proofs" for the Saint-Gaudens DEs. 

On 1/26/2023 at 7:25 PM, EagleRJO said:

Sometimes you get hung up just trying to switch systems which has happened to me before.  Try manually logging out of the NGC system you are in, close all windows, and then log into the one desired.  The two different systems don't seem to play nice together, which was another reason I went with Word/Excel.

The problem is I have all the Previous Searches all lined up ready to be added to my inventory (I seem to have 7 coins already there, don't ask me how....) but when I  hit the ADD COIN feature it asks to login -- and I get the cut-off login bar.

I mean, how the hell can a page ask me to login and then not have the space and button to activate ? 

Any reason this is still pending 8 hours later ? 

On 1/26/2023 at 10:08 PM, lcourtney123 said:

Hey everyone, I didn't know I should come to this section to introduce myself. So sorry, I am obviously new and just seen it was another question group. I been posting under ask NGC. I may be doing it wrong? My name is Lisa I am new to the coin community with a million questions and after about four hours after posting one, it was still not approved for view. It still hasn't after 8 hours. I finally figured out how to get a picture in my profile. It is all a huge learning experience for me. Could you please help me to understand why my post are not being approved?  Can I get some direction on how I can interact with others? Are the newcomers only allowed to post here? Thanks Everyone

Lisa, you created a Thread asking about which TPGs to submit coins to on Monday and I responded there (and just did again).  There are no waiting periods I am aware of before posts or threads show for new members.

It's possible you never created the thread or post on your end...or maybe you posted something in the wrong section and it was moved (but usually you have to request it to be moved and even that takes some time !  ).

Regardless, your Threads AND posts are showing up so you are OK.

Lcourtney, glad you are trying to educate yourself by taking online courses.  It shows dedication and can only improve your grading skills.

With regards to TPG submissions....go slow.  You don't want to pay for grading coins which turn out to be not that valuable; it's a waste of $$$.  The value of your coins should be conservatively graded...remember, if they are common coins like Morgans and if they are circulated and/or heavily "dinged" they're not going to be worth much more than the silver value of the coins.  No need to have those graded.

On 1/26/2023 at 1:40 PM, lcourtney123 said:

Thank you for this information. I have been reading so much and pretty shocked at what goes on. I am in a phase through a class where they are showing counterfeit coins and I would never be able to tell. Then the slabs on Ebay with 3rd party Titles have been spoke about as well. I am getting a few coins but most I have had since a child my mother collected for me. I go through everyone's change just trying to learn something and find something new. It surely is a great hobby I wished I would have taken up at a young age.

 

If you're not sure, WAIT !!  Ask here....make sure you buy from a reputable source, especially if online.

Better to pay a bit more and BE SURE than try and save a few $$$ and get burned with a counterfeit or fake. 

On 1/26/2023 at 6:07 PM, Coinbuf said:

Depends on what you are trying to accomplish, much of this thread has been a discussion about the old registry system as it will allow for raw coins.   If you are trying to access that old system you need to go to https://coins.www.collectors-society.com.   If you were trying to access the new system it looks like you are in the correct screen.

I'm just looking to be able to upload my NGC (and PCGS ?) graded coins; I have very few raw ones and those are mostly bullion.

Thanks for the heads-up, hopefully somebody from NGC gets back to me.

On 1/26/2023 at 5:37 PM, Coinbuf said:

I could be wrong but from the screen shot you appear to be on the new system not the old one.

What's the difference?  Which one should I be using ?

Hello....I'm trying to add coins to my tiny inventory that is already listed in the NGC App for smartphones.  I have a bunch that I scanned in the past and the NGC App remembered them...but when I go to ADD COIN it asks me to login (which is strange, since I am logged in on the Forums from my smartphone).

Well, I try and login but when I input my Email and Password....I can't hit the SIGN IN button or whatever sends it...because it's cut off (see pic below).

Can someone at NGC fix this App glitch ?

Mods, can you ask your tech people to suggest a work-around solution ? 

I'm trying to login on my smartphone, but the stupid SIGN IN button is not showing up, like it's been cut-off at in the middle of my screen below the Email and Password boxes. 

On 1/26/2023 at 12:47 AM, bsshog40 said:

Another thing I forgot to add is that you can use what is called a Hyperlink. You can use it to attach pictures to your coins in the excel worksheet. You hover your mouse over it and your pic pops up showing your coin or any pic you have associated with that coin. 

I was never good at that....I'm basically an Excel beginner. 

Are you talking about the spreadsheet and Hyperlink function on your phone or PC ?