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Augustus 70

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Journal Entries posted by Augustus 70

  1. Augustus 70
    Another dealer takes it on the chin.
    The Tulving and Kitco bankruptcies were two big ones, after the price of precious metals plummetted. Now BullionDirect.com has shut down as well. Apparently, JM Bullion has also stopped taking orders while they move to a warehouse in Las Vegas.
    When these dealers shut down, what happens to the customers who have orders with them?
    Apparently, Apmex has stopped buying gold and silver bullion for now as well. Although, I'd imagine that they are still buying graded stuff.
    Thoughts?
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  2. Augustus 70
    Is this the next "1995W Eagle" kind of rarity?
    Prices for the 2014 Horse/Chinese Characters Double Privy Maple have been exploding. A cleaned/damaged version of this coin has sold for $800, and the set of four coins sells for $1600 on eBay. Wow! This coin was selling for $389 raw last year!

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  3. Augustus 70
    An uber rarity acquired!!!
    When I first started chasing Canadian commemorative coins in high grade, there were very few people competing in this space and the number of items the RCM produced every year was reasonable.
    That has all changed.
    In spite of the 100+ commemorative issues that the Frankling Mint, errm, sorry, the Royal Canadian Mint issues every year ... I find the Canada Privy Maples to be the most exciting and challenging. If you truly love the thrill of the hunt, this is the set for you.
    Mintages are obscure, private issues are released with no announcement from the Mint, low mintage numbers, coins produced for other Mints, coins are often damaged or milky (very hard to obtain in high grade). In many cases, I have had to buy and sell 25 raw examples of a coin in order to find one worthy of grading. At that, they often grade SP67 or SP68. So it is truly exciting and I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. It has taken me 5 years to build this set, and I am still not finished. I even have a privy maple that once belonged to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands!!
    That all being said, after 1.5 years of hunting, I finally found an example of the ever so rare 2014 Horse Double Privy. Very few of these examples have survived, and they are almost impossible to find. In addition, this milky little beauty managed to grade a PF68 and is truly the key to completing the privy maple set.
    Someone on here said to me that you have to be a millionaire or crazy to spend all that time and money chasing the privy maple set in high grade. Heck, maybe you need to be both. Nonetheless, the journey thus far has been interesting and very time consuming, but rewarding regardless.
    Here is a pic of the key to filling this set, a reclusive little gem. I encourage anyone with the fortitude and time to pursue such a daunting task to do so. It truly is rewarding. JG.

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  4. Augustus 70
    As it stands, we are seeing a strange paradox: Mints are rapidly expanding the number of modern commemoratives that they issue, while the modern commemorative collector market is just as rapidly contracting.
    I have spoken to many modern coin dealers this year, and I hear the same refrain: "barely getting by"
    The continued drop in the price of silver, and the overproduction of silver commemorative issues, have driven many collectors out of the modern coin market. This has left a lot of dealers with a lot of overpriced inventory, and very little demand for it. Although we have seen continued strength in PF70 modern commemoratives, modern commemorative coins that do not make a 70 grade can barely be sold at cost (not to mention shipping and grading fees).
    In a few cases, dealers have told me that they have been attempting to clear inventory at a loss to free up cash-flow, and they still can't unload.
    The modern coin market desperately needs the price of silver to move higher to bring more collectors into the market. As it stands, we are seeing a strange paradox: Mints are rapidly expanding the number of modern commemoratives that they issue, while the modern commemorative collector market is just as rapidly contracting.
    I enjoy Canadian commemoratives, and I will keep going with my sets. On that note, however, I have seen the majority of the big collectors of these sets sell their collections online ... with only about 5 or so of us still very active in the Canada Modern Commemoratives Registry.
    Best,
    J.

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  5. Augustus 70
    A titanic battle in the registry taking place right now. Absolutely incredible.
    Currently, I have been watching a titanic registry battle take place. The two battlers, Martens and Dan Hughes, are competing in a set with almost 300 modern coins in it. In each case, the competitors are battling over coins with PF70 populations of 1 or 2!!
    It really is awe inspiring, as these coins come in very low mintages and top population coins are acquired at great cost. Congratulations to both, many of us are watching as this battle unfolds! Great stuff!
    Watch for yourself here: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/public_sets.aspx?CategoryID=163&SetTypeID=1613&sets=world

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  6. Augustus 70
    I am tempted to buy the following top graded error coin, after a recent journal I did on this specific coin.
    I recently did a journal on the "CHIIE" error coin and I found it so interesting that I began heavily researching the coin, and images/backstory on this coin. I discovered the top population coin is currently selling on eBay and I am very tempted to buy it ... as I really am intrigued by it. I am a novice to South American coins, so for all you experts out there ... please give me advice!
    Is this a fair price for this coin? Do you think that if I submitted this coin raw, I could get an MS grade? Input needed please )
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/251905400443
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  7. Augustus 70
    The Mint in Chile misspells the name of their country on the 50P coin in 2008!
    A very embarrassing mistake for the Mint in Chile indeed. For a small portion of 2008, the Chilean Mint accidently misspelled the name of their country on the 50 pesos coin. Rather than spelling C-H-I-L-E on the coin, they accidently wrote C-H-I-I-E. The CHIIE error coin is not necessarily rare, but it is almost impossible to acquire in a high grade (Mint State).
    The head of the Mint was fired for the mistake. Furthermore, the Chilean Mint undertook aggressive efforts to recover and destroy all the CHIIE coins in circulation, but it was too late, as collectors had already started stashing these coins away.

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  8. Augustus 70
    I would like to start this set on the NGC Registry, but I am seeing the 2007 Mongolia coin typically selling for $1200 - $3000!!! Is this truly the price of this coin?
    Does anyone have any experience with this set? It seems to be quite pricy! It may be worth it, if the price is stable or going up. $1200 - $3000 per coin? WOWOWOW

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  9. Augustus 70
    Video: Buying and Selling Graded Coins Without Taking Delivery
     
    Guy talks about the potential for a live open market, where coins can be traded intraday for profit, without physical delivery ever taking place.Is it only a matter of time before this market evolves like all others before it?VIDEO HERE:www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bmHuFjSkpQTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  10. Augustus 70
    Picked up another rarity for my registry set.
    I have been attempting to fill the 1953-2012 Canada Circulated 1 Cent Set for a while now. In this set, there are a number of modern rarities which makes this collection very difficult to complete. Included are the 1955 NSF (very few examples (250 or so), AU55 highest graded by NGC), the 1965 Pt5LgBds (MS65RD highest graded by NGC, very few examples), the 1985 Pt.5 (around 250k mintage), the 2006 No Logo Magnetic (1500 or so examples), and the 2010 Copper Plated Steel in Circulated condition (50-250 examples).
    Well, I managed to add another key date coin, the 2010 Circulated Copper Plated Steel 1 Cent coin in MS67. This coin exists in PL or Uncirculated condition, but only VERY VERY few examples were minted in business strike (Circulated condition). The few that do exist, were trial strikes that calibrated the presses for the the Prooflike and Uncirculated issue sets. I am very happy to have added this coin, as I have been searching for it for almost 4 years, and I finally found it!!
    Here is a photo, happy hunting!
    Link to registry set: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=167860

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  11. Augustus 70
    A true modern rarity! I have been searching for this coin in a high grade for nearly 5 years!
    For the past five years or so, I have been searching for this coin in a high grade. One was available at the Torex auction in MS62, but ended up selling for over $5000. The 1955 No Shoulder Fold Canada 1 Cent coin is truly a rare coin, and is the key for the 1953 - 2012 1 cent set. Only very rarely does this coin come up for auction, and they are usually in VF condition.
    I was very lucky to acquire the NGC Top Graded 1955 NSF Canada 1 cent coin at a very reasonable price, and it is the prize of my penny collection. What a great day!

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  12. Augustus 70
    The Canada>Bullion>Silver Maple Leafs with Privy Marks Set
    Privy marked SMLs are notoriously difficult to collect in high grade, and the elusiveness of the set has made it all the more desirable.
    First off, these are bullion coins, so prior to 2007, most of these coins were stamped out and packed in an SP67/SP68 grade. If you look through the populations, you will see a number of SP64/SP65 OGP coins being graded by NGC.
    Second, the 9999 purity of the coin makes them very soft and susceptible to nicks and dents. The American Eagle bullion coins, for example, have more copper in the coin which hardens it.
    Third, the Queen's cheek extends past the rim of the coin. When packaged, the Queen's cheek makes contact with other coins in the roll or in the Mylar, this damaging the coin's surface.
    Let's look at some of the rarities:
    1. 2005 liberation privy (mintage = 3500)
    - released exclusively in Europe, this is the lowest official mintage coin in the set. An SP69 example is about $300USD.
    2. 2000 Hannover Expo (mintage around 750)
    - the official mintage is higher for this coin, but very few were actually sold. The majority of the mintage was smelted. Of the 750 or so remaining coins, it is estimated that under 25 of them are the MS-variety while the remaining are SP. This coin raw is about $200, and sells for about $300-$400 in SP68.
    3. 2011 F15 Privy (Mintage = 1000?). Due to the run up in silver, the Mint did not fully engage/market the privy series for 2011. Due to this, and the extremely high cost, very few collectors subscribed to the series making this coin a rare find. (About $300-$500 raw).
    4. 2015 Heart Privy (Mintage = ?). The entire mintage of this coin was purchased by a California based investment firm. To this date, I haven't seen ANY of these coins turn up on any of the regular sites.
    Enjoy the series,
    JG

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  13. Augustus 70
    $400 later, and almost nothing crossed.
    For those thinking of crossing PCGS coins, don't bother. I spent $400 crossing PCGS coins to NGC, and most didn't cross. It was ultimately an expensive disappointment and a waste of money.

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  14. Augustus 70
    As time goes forward, certain collections will become impossible to amass on the registry sets, as the number of coins in each set grows, and mintages continue to dwindle.
    Merry Christmas everyone!
    Certain registry sets, going forward, look as though they will be increasingly impossible to build. A few I can speak to, in particular, are some of the Canadian commemorative and bullion sets.
    The Maple Privy Set, for example, is one of my favorites. Every year, the Mint adds four or five new coins to this set. The mintages are always low, and purchasing top grade coins for this set (if you can even find them) is often a $200-$500 affair. My set is not yet complete, but has easily cost me close to $20k.
    Even larger Canadian commemorative sets, such as the silver proof $1, $5 and $20 complete sets are enormously lengthy as to the number of different types of coins available for each set. High grade examples will cost you $200-$500. With hundreds of coins required to fill each set, you are looking at quite possibly a six-figure venture for a top set. Furthermore, the Mint quite often issues 10-15 new issues in these sets every year.
    So going forward, it will be very difficult to amass full top registry collections for these set types moving forward. My hat's off to OckDay, Martens, JWillie, Dan Hughes, and Jormaka for their incredible sets in these categories.
    My New Year will include filling the following sets:
    - Canada $5 Bullion Issue Maples
    - !!! Canada $5 Privy Mark Maples !!!
    - Canada 1 Cent Circulation issue 1953-2012
    - Canada 50 Cent Circulation issue 1968-2015
    - Canada Silver $20 Natural Wonder Series 2003-Date
    - Silver $5 Commemorative issues Complete 1998-Date

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  15. Augustus 70
    Starting to cross all PCGS coins over.
    This comes at a high cost, and high risk - as the coins must cross the Canada-US border. I have decided to cross all my PCGS coins, some pedigreed to major collections like Norweb, Pittman and Eliasberg. One reason, is that I want my registry sets to be recognized as complete in the World Sets. Even more importantly, the variety attributions on the PCGS coins are weak ... and I believe that NGC has improved service over this. I was very disappointed that NGC decided to ban PCGS coins from the NGC World Registry Sets, and promised not to switch my PCGS coins over ... but alas, here I am!
    My question is this, if they do not decided to cross them over, am I still charged the grading fee? I have about 200 coins to crossover (slowly), and it costs me about $400 per 20 coins to cross them. All in all, about $4000 to cross all the coins, but am I still charged the fee if some don't cross?
    Best,
    J.

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  16. Augustus 70
    I have managed to get hold of a "Mintage 1", or only coin ever minted, coin for my custom set.
    MINTAGE = 1.
     
     
     
    This coin was the pattern strike for the 1979 0.925 New Hebrides Silver Mother and Infant coin. The strike quality and detail of this pattern coin ultimately lead to the acceptance of this coin for minting. The coin created a fair bit of controversy, and only 60 pieces were minted. Each of the 60 coins minted have the "925" stamped on the obverse of the coin. The pattern strike (Mintage = 1) does not contain the "925" stamp. Extremely rare coin, only one ever made.
     
     
     
    Do you have any mintage=1 coins? If so, share your pics and description! Check out my custom set to see more pictures of this coin.

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  17. Augustus 70
    Does anyone else feel that the Royal Canadian Mint is flooding the collector coin market?
    The Royal Canadian Mint has been issuing 100s of collector coins since 2005, some of them quite questionable as to what they are even commemorating. Superman, wolves, cougars, obscure legends/stories, random animals, buildings, leaves and trees, hockey logos, snowflakes ... I mean it is all a little ridiculous. I think this is eroding collector value, as many collectors feel disillusioned with everything that the Mint is producing (and in many different denominations).
     
     
     
    Do you all think that the Royal Canadian Mint, Perth Mint and New Zealand Mint (Niue) have gone too far with their silver collectibles?
     
     
     
    They are starting to remind me of the Pobjoy or Franklin Mints ... in that they are taking advantage of silver's recent rise to flood the market with coins.
     
     
     
    I like the RCM, and their coins, and I am going to work hard to fill a few sets ... but I am thinking that maybe I should refocus on decimals to preserve the value of my collection?
     
     
     
    Now that the price of silver has tanked, do you think they will be scaling back?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    JG

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  18. Augustus 70
    Building an all MS69 Canada Maple Leaf Bullion Set for 5 years now.
    For the past 5 years, I have been attempting to build an all MS69 Canada Maple Leaf Bullion set. I am very close, and will be sending a few PCGS coins to NGC for crossover. A few pickups from APMEX are on their way ... but nonetheless, this has proved to be an EXTREMELY difficult task.
     
     
     
    Here is a link to the set:
     
     
     
    http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=154543
     
     
     
    All the best,
     
    JG

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  19. Augustus 70
    NGC REQUEST: 1971 Dahomey Proof Set
    The coins of the 1971 Proof Dahomey Set have been exploding in value over the past 5 years. In 2009, I sold the 500 Franc coin in NGC PF67 for $80. They are now selling for almost $500 in that grade. The trois presidents gold coin just sold for $3800.
     
     
     
    Please add this set to the registry. If this is not the correct method of adding sets to the registry, could someone with the knowledge of how to request sets please help me.
     
     
     
    All the best,
     
    Augustus

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  20. Augustus 70
    I have many rare 1oz bullion bars. Will NGC grade them as genuine?
    Does anyone know if NGC certifies rare bullion bars? I know they fit into their holders, because the RCM playing card money fits into NGC holders. I would like to have these certified, so that they are in protective holders, rather than in sleeves.
     
     
     
    Will they certify/holder them?
     
     
     
    Best,
     
    JG
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  21. Augustus 70
    Need some advice from collectors/investors/hobbyists
    Hello,
    I am building a registry set through a fund. We have several complete high grade modern sets. However, many coins are graded by PCGS. Has anyone had experience crossing these coins over? Is it worth it? These are client coins, and I am hestitant to reholder them unless they grade higher. It appears as though NGC does not allow PCGS coins in their World Registry Sets.
    I am assuming that the higher value coins have already been cracked out and resubmitted a number of times to achieve the 'best grade possible'. Furthermore, many of the coins are pedigreed from collections such as 'Pittman' and 'Farouk'
    Any advice/considerations are welcome.
    Thanks in advance,
    JGG

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