LINCOLNMAN

I've noticed colonial coins that have areas of maroon discoloration. I vaguely recall seeing this on other copper as well. The coins in question aren't details graded. Any idea what causes this, what I'm seeing? 

21 hours ago, VKurtB said:

Maybe it's the "real" #1, since it wasn't offered there? After all, that's the coin that all our grandfathers could use to buy nearly anything.

Could be. 50c was a lot of money back then. I would still put the Walker first, but no argument from me if the Buffalo were chosen. Both sides are uniquely American.  

On 7/22/2020 at 12:29 PM, Conder101 said:

You say you talked to NGC at a show.  Have you tried the Ask NGC forum here?  Explain what you have, that you have been told it is too fragile to holder, and ask if there is anyway it could be put in a foam insert and then holdered.  I'm thinking use the foam insert from an airtite to hold the coin and the the prongs hold the outer edge of the foam ring so as to not put pressure on the coin.

Not to put them down but often the TPG representatives at a show are there and trained to just accept submissions.  They may or may not be knowledgeable about what can and can't be done in the encapsulation room.

It was the PCGS rep that I talked to at the show. NGC was the TPG that sent back my coin. Still, I will try again with both. Thanks for the encouragement.  

11 hours ago, Walkerfan said:

I think you're out of luck. 

Slab it yourself or enjoy as is.  

Agree. Worth a shot. 

37 minutes ago, Conder101 said:

Did you notice the smiley?  PCGS ISN'T going to do that for you.  That was a brief one time fix they did for a problem back around 1989. It isn't something they offer to do.

I did; however, I thought there might be a small chance that they would place my groat inside a foam ring before inserting into a holder - no way? 

19 hours ago, Conder101 said:

This is what you needed   

From the Miscellaneous section of the slabbook

I’m still not sure why this next slab was issued.  Some have told me that PCGS did this briefly during the period between the discovery of the counterfeit slabs and the introduction of PCGS 2.  I find that hard to swallow because if I had recently heard stories about counterfeit holders and then saw a slab like this one  I don’t think I would be too sure about the authenticity of THIS slab.  Personally I think PCGS just temporarily ran out of cent sized holders and used a larger size instead.  Then they used a white foam ring to fill the extra space.  I have seen only two or three of these.

 

That would do it. I may try PCGS again, the kid I talked to at the PCGS table was probably a shoe clerk the week before. Many thanks. 

Correction, make that 1 in 100. 

4 minutes ago, gmarguli said:

For some coins PCGS uses two clear discs that hold the coin in between and then the discs are placed in a gasket. I assume this would work for fragile coins. I seem to recall seeing something similar with an NGC slab, but I'm not 100% positive. 

 

This seems possible. NGC couldn't do it. Thanks all. 

I sent a Mary I groat to our host some time ago and it was returned in a flip as "too fragile to holder". The flan is very thin. At a show I took it to the PCGS table and the kid looked at me like I was speaking Klingon. The ANACS people were nice enough to give it a look, but had the same response as NGC. Any ideas, I would like to get it in a slab? 

An example of a "details" coin that I would love to own. Lovely and sentimentally historical. Just awesome. 

US Coins seem to be doing okay, I've been outbid at close to list, and not CAC. My main interest is in foreign medals; biggest problem there is supply. Very little new to pick from. 

When I collected SLQ's I tended to buy coins that looked at first glance to have a full head - especially in those cases when there was a large price difference for FH. I stayed away from anything where the design was obviously compromised. I was satisfied with a nice 63 or 64 with eye appeal. I found that with such a busy design the technical grade didn't matter as much to me, particularly considering price differences. Just my own taste, beauty with economy if possible. 

One of the problems in achieving transparency is that it isn't possible for scarcer coins because numerous transactions aren't recorded. Expensive coins with low populations might change hands a dozen times before they go through an auction or are transacted on the internet. In addition, even the more common mid-level coins may demonstrate a wide range of prices at similar grades, and must each be subjectively examined in hand before making a value decision (hence CAC, but their criteria may differ from yours). The messiness inherent in collecting things adds to the challenge and the fun.  

17 hours ago, Conder101 said:

People invest time and money in a hobby because they enjoy it and it gives them entertainment value.  Example golf. Can be quite costly, and pretty much NO ONE gets back out the time and money they put in.)  There are very very few hobbies that will return to the hobbyist the money they put into them.  That is unless you put a monetary value on the entertainment they get from their hobby over the years.

This, unless you treat the hobby more like a business or make it a business. I'm building a collection that represents about 2% of my net worth. I go in with eyes wide open, knowing that I or my heirs will likely lose something like 20% in transaction costs, probably more on my medal collection. But I enjoy the heck out of the hunt, the research and the challenge of getting the best value for my money; completing a set or goal; looking at my coins on quiet evenings like Scrooge McDuck; organizing and displaying my collection; visiting with fellow collectors and friendly dealers; learning about new, unfamiliar aspects of numismatics; tying my coins and medals to history, learning the history of the coins themselves, who designed them and why they were made. Others enjoy learning about the coining process and what can go wrong, collecting errors; cherrypicking scarce or rare varieties or die states. (P.S. I also play golf. The wife plays competitive bridge. Both are expensive and guaranteed to be poor investments.)

4 hours ago, Alex in PA. said:

March 2004.

The last red wedding? 

Having reviewed some of the comments that have gotten members banned ATS, I noticed that there were comments that were somewhat ambiguous or offensive only to a very sensitive reader. My overall sense is that they are overreacting ATS, perhaps intentionally in order to finally quash political OT or generally offensive posts. Good luck with that. 

That's a beauty, good luck with the type set. 

Anyone collect coin glass?

I wish Bill Jones were still posting here, I've seen his posts that include political Americana tied to numismatic materials. I collected all sorts of Lincolniana when I was an avid Lincoln cent collector, but sold it off when I got back into US federal type. Sold the cents since then too. Love the sovereign tie-ins posted above! I collect Jean Dassier et fils medals and am looking for one of their watch cases or snuff boxes, assuming I can afford one if I ever find an example. 

Great history presented, thanks. 

Interesting correspondence. Thanks for posting. 

Thank you Mark. Enjoyed the tour. Would love to see these at a show one day. 

16 hours ago, Revenant said:

I've had some luck but it involves patience.

I found a seller a while back offering the last notes I needed to complete my Zimbabwean 4th dollar set. The prices he wanted weren't reflective of the current market though - prices are way down in the last 4 years. He only offered to lower his ask by $1 per note so I walked and waited. 2 months later he lowered his ask but it was still high. 2 months later he lowered it again and took off the OBO but his prices were still too high. So a month or so later I sent him a message and said "Will you give me these 3 notes together for this price." He came back with a modestly higher price and I took it.

I do admit I've been working on a listed medal (not eBay) for about two years. The seller will likely die with his medal before he gets his price, but keeps insisting that market values have gone up since he listed it. The opposite is true but he's stubborn. Me too, only because it's one of three that I need to complete a series. Not valuable but scarce. So, the dollar amount isn't significant, it's the principle!

FWIW I only make offers on items that are priced reasonably. If the seller is way off I assume I'm wasting my time with a realistic offer. Plus, as the OP has encountered, I then have to wait for what is likely to be an unrealistic counter. Maybe others have had some luck with unreasonably priced OBO's?