GoldFinger1969

Smartphone set to maximum pixel resolution....about 12-24" away....angled at 30 degrees to avoid glare.

Like I said: better than nothing, but FAR from perfect. With some coins, you can expect far more raw unsubmitted coins than others.

Awesome !! Congrats, Eagle ! Post the pics when you get a chance.

I believe markets swing to excess and then mean revert. We are seeing that now given that "cheap money" is ending and companies that were valued at $40 billion in the private/venture market are now worth under $2 billion in the public markets. I think coins will be the best house in a lousy neighborhood of TINA, FOMO, etc.

HOW IT WAS, 1990: This was an article from early-1991 talking about the bursting of the coin bubble that I saved from the Chicago Tribune and was circulated to dozens of newspapers. COIN MARKET EXPECTED TO BOUNCE BACK AFTER `CRASH OF `90` By Roger Boye, Chicago Tribune Jan 13, 1991 Investors may confront a volatile rare-coin market this year in the wake of what some experts are calling the ''market crash of `90.'' Prices paid for coins in the ''mint state-65'' condition category fell 27.2 percent in the six months ended Nov. 30, while the coin market in general slumped 6.5 percent in that period, according to the ''Trends Index'' compiled by Coin World. The MS-65 index had spiraled higher during most of 1989 and the first half of 1990. ''Sharply dropping values of type coins (and) commemorative gold and silver coins, among others, have been responsible for the steep decline,'' wrote Keith M. Zaner, Trends editor. Zaner - whose index tracks nearly 17,000 coin values - blamed the bear market on general economic conditions and the ''cautious approach of investors and Wall Street funds towards rare coins,'' among other things. Especially hard hit have been rarities that were authenticated, graded and encased in hard plastic ''slabs'' by companies such as the Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, Calif. During 1988 and 1989, such keepsakes were the rage of the market, often trading on a sight-unseen basis at ever-increasing prices. Some investors paid seemingly large amounts for relatively common ''mint state'' coins-often called ''generics''- merely because they were in plastic slabs. Last October, the rare coin market ''fell out of bed, especially generic, certified coins,'' wrote long-time coin dealer Burton S. Blumert in Numismatic News. ''Dealers could not sustain their bids as sell orders flooded in.'' The soft market also has hurt the companies that for a fee-grade and slab coins. PCGS - the country's largest - evaluated 25,032 coins in November 1990, compared with 78,192 in November 1989, according to a PCGS spokesperson. Some experts say that lower gold and silver prices and the crisis in the Middle East have contributed to the sour rare-coin market. Ironically, the price of silver, which recently went below $4 an ounce, could foster a business upturn at some coin shops as investors buy more silver bars and coins, thinking the metal`s value has hit bottom. In early 1980, silver sold for more than $30 an ounce. Want to double or triple your money in the rare-coin market? Try tossing some quarters into a slot machine instead, where your odds probably would be better, advises Chicago author and broadcast journalist Donn Pearlman in his latest book, ''Best Buys in Rare Coins'' (Bonus Books, $8.95). Pearlman asked at least 200 hobby pros to recommend the purchase of specific coins for their beauty, importance or value potential. The suggestions, which Pearlman neatly summarizes, range from coins of ancient Greece and Rome to buffalo nickels and Morgan silver dollars. ''These are coins that have built a following over the years, coins that have become popular for their own sake, not just because a few `market makers` are trying to manipulate prices for a few months to attract investors,'' Pearlman wrote. He also includes background tidbits on the most recommended items and hints for effective coin buying. The book is sold in some stores or can be ordered by calling, toll-free, (1-800) 225-3775.

Those same GSA Morgan's probably cost $750 a decade earlier. They collapsed in the early-1990's because MSDs doubled or tripled in a few months and quadrupled or quintupled over a year or so before the bubble burst. PCGS MS65 common date Morgans reached at least $800, and MS64's at least $400.

If you see a coin like this in this grade pretty frequently, then I agree waiting for the price to come to you makes sense. It's when you are paying a premium price but a coin that you like doesn't come up for sale that often that you have a tough decision to make. And sometimes a particular coin just has great aesthetic appeal -- like a Saint with GREAT luster, for instance -- that paying up a bit more makes sense. I waited almost 5 years before pulling the trigger on my 1923-D Double Eagle.

It's just an estimate based on available knowledge to-date. Better than nothing.

It's increasing...gold and OTHER coins......the 2020 and 2021 staying-at-home Covid buyers are now working back at the office and/or don't have the $$$ they did 2+ years ago. Ebay is the worst, GC is seeing more (but I'd estimate for the stuff I follow maybe 20% tops have too high a reserve)...HA and SB and other top-end houses see the fewest.

Yes...saw it......not a BAD coin but the price is a bit high. Notice no bids. At $3,200 it gets sold. $4,000+ when you include fees is too high.

The 1910 is one of those coins I call a "tweener" -- it isn't super-rare but it's not common enough to survive in quantity enough to satiate Registry and Type collectors and move down to the Investor class (~30,000 or so). RWB estimates about 16,000 survivors. Nice coins !

Nothing right now, looking down the line at a 1908 WF NM MS-66. Probably my next purchase in the Saint series. Further down the line.....awaiting a drop in MCMVII HRs if estate sales increase the supply. We'll see.....

I should have added (7) check out local coin shops (LCS) and (8) Attend coin shows from 1-day local shows to multi-day regional shows to Big Nationals like FUN.

I'll buy that....but still lots never saw anything but a bag. That was the recurring theme for decades....the minting of Morgans was seen as a favor to silver state politicians. They circulated out West in the hundreds of thousands, but there were almost 87 million MSDs, even more than the Saints which at least got used in trade settlements.

Does it cost anything to list at that price if no sale happens ? If not, you can just keep it there for months or years and wait for the market to move towards you or pray for that One Dumb Buyer.

I don't know about relevant but it's another tool I check. Premiums at various times tell me if I am chasing hot money or buying closer to a bottom. For Saints...when the premiums to spot gold get to be about 100-300%, it's time to lighten up and sell. When they get to 500%, it's time to sell it all. Even if there's not much useful information for my buying.....I still like seeing what a given coin commanded over time knowing the underlying gold prices. You can see the time periods when there were buying frenzies and if you're anywhere close to that today, exercise caution.

The amount they are high is much worse on Ebay and especially with lower-priced coins. You're more likely to get $600 for a $350 coin if there aren't many like it than you are to get the same price on GC let alone HA or SB. Ditto higher-priced gold coins. I did notice that unique stuff like modern commemoratives, 5-ounce silvers, etc....got bid up higher by the at-home Covid Crowd and especially if there were unique labels on them. NGC had some nifty ones at that time.

I think virtually ALL Morgans were at one time bank bag coins. Unless a great great relative got one direct from the Mint back in the late-1800's or early-1900's. I think I read where the "average" or median grade of Morgan GSA's was 62 or 63. But many did grade 65-66 with an occasional 67 I believe.

Hopefully we're both around when these collections become public. I've always wondered if a super-scarce coin like a 1927-D Saint might be in someone's collection raw and thus uncounted in the population census.

Just knowing what they commanded at a certain point in time...maybe relative to the price of gold....before, during, or after a price spike or bubble. I find it interesting to know and I do use it as a guide for current prospective purchases. I find it fascinating to track the prices of a generic common Saint over time and see the premium soar and collapse at various times. Let's me know if I am paying a "rich" or "cheap" price when I am considering pulling the trigger.

First, yes....GC. Second, it's not as bad as Ebay with as many coins or the amount that is too high...but yes, the non-bids are out there. And since GC has a pretty savvy clientele, I am kind of surprised folks are high. For instance, I see Superb Gem MS-67 1924 Saints asking $17,000 which is what much rarer 1927's and 1928's command. For a 1924 MS-67 Saint, you probably need to be closer to $12,000. Also see 1908 No-Motto WF MS-66 OGH's asking ~ $3,700 when it has to be $3,200 and under. That's about 20% too high. Any Saint buyer spending that amount of money is going to know the market and not be that high except for a unique, special coin. These are all pretty ordinary, not even CACs.

Jimbo just re-submitted a MSD and posted about it here.....don't know if it's a clear-cut example of gradeflation, but he (apparently correctly) re-submitted and got an MS-61 up from an AU-58 with VAM designations.

Visiting their son. Hey, I have no love lost for a pair of West Coast professors and their spoiled son. Both parents probably know that like Darren (Cosmo Kramer's intern at Kramerica, Inc. )....he's going away for a very long time.

What is CNG ?? If what you are saying is true, considering that is just one nondescript county (not exceptionally wealthy our adjacent to a major metropolitan area, either).....you wonder if that could be true for other counties, too. Or maybe PA just nurtured coin collectors better than other locales decades ago so more people collected in the state and therefore there are more of these "unknown hoards." When The Great Transfer takes place -- the trillions of financial and tangible assets that will be passed from the pre-WW II generation to the post-WW II generation -- you'll get these collections coming out. IF they exist. Any idea what kind of coins might be in those collections ? We talking gold/silver or U.S. Small Denominations or even foreign stuff ?

Interesting.....strange....but interesting.