Sandon

1831 Capped Bust half dollar, NGC graded XF 45:

Welcome to the NGC chat board. Questions of this nature should be posted in the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum, not the NGC Registry forum. Your 2014-D Shenandoah quarter does not exhibit a mint error. It is simply corroded and of no value to any knowledgeable collector. Contrary to what you may have read on the internet, significant mint errors and other valuable coins are hardly ever to be found in circulation. As a new collector, you must learn about U.S. coins generally and how to grade and otherwise evaluate them, as well as learning about what constitutes a significant mint error or die variety. The following topics and other links should help you: Variety vs. Mint Error | NGC (ngccoin.com) Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 1 | NGC (ngccoin.com) Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 2 | NGC (ngccoin.com) Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 3 | NGC (ngccoin.com) For a comprehensive overview of mint errors, see the website error-ref.com. You would also benefit from attending coin shows and coin club meetings, where you can see a variety of coins and speak with knowledgeable dealers and collectors.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. Error-ref.com references and shows examples of an unusual type of planchet error called an "incomplete punch" or "incomplete clip". https://www.error-ref.com/incomplete-punch/ The coin posted here does not seem to meet all of the criteria, such as that "[o]n both faces, the surface of the coin should be undistorted on either side of the punch mark." It is most likely post-mint damage. However, you may wish to compare this coin to the photos and list of criteria on the referenced page.

Here are two topics on the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum that will provide you with guidance as to print and online resources that will assist you in learning about U.S. coins and developing the necessary authentication, grading and other evaluation skills: You should also attend events such as coin shows and coin club meetings where you can examine a variety of genuine coins and speak with knowledgeable collectors and dealers.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. This is not a genuine U.S. coin. It is a very crude imitation of a 1907 (in Roman numerals "MCMVII") high relief St. Gaudens double eagle or twenty-dollar gold piece. (I doubt that it contains any gold.) In my view, it isn't even worthy of the term "counterfeit", as it shouldn't deceive anyone who has any idea of what a genuine coin of this issue looks like, such as the one appearing in the following photos from the NGC Coin Explorer: In addition, a genuine coin would normally have the words "E PLURIBUS UNUM" with the words separated by stars on the edge, not a plain edge with a seam running down its center.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. Your best bet would probably be to look up your coins in the NGC World Coin Price Guide at World Coin Price Guide and Values | NGC (ngccoin.com). You can also access guide through the "Resources" tab on the NGC home page. Members of the forum who collect German coins may also be help you if you can post clear, cropped photos of each side of each coin. See also this topic, which was referred to by @JKK:

A fully struck coin with nearly imperceptible imperfections. See NGC Coin Grading Scale | About Coin Grades | NGC

1947 Walking Liberty half dollar, PCGS graded MS 63 in old green label holder:

@PastorKen posted this same coin on the NGC Registry forum back in April. My response is the same as it was there. In essence, it is arguable whether or not NGC "overgraded" this coin. Coins graded "69" aren't required to be free from blemishes but to have only "nearly imperceptible imperfections". What is "nearly imperceptible", especially to the naked eye, is subjective. Even coins graded "70" are only required to have "no post-production imperfections at 5x magnification." In any event, a common date Silver Eagle graded "69" or lower is essentially a bullion item and certainly not worth sending to NGC to be downgraded or for a grading guarantee claim. It is advisable to buy even certified coins on a "sight-seen" basis.

"Ground finds" will usually exhibit corrosion or other forms of environmental or physical damage that will prevent reputable grading services from assigning them numerical of "straight" grades under market standards. Your method of removal of the "earth material" may also cause what collectors regard as "cleaning" or damage. The best you should hope for regarding such pieces are "details" grades, and some, like those to which you refer, will not be eligible for encapsulation at all. Unless you are digging up coins that are likely worth at least several hundred dollars apiece even if impaired, you are likely wasting your money submitting them to grading services. If you don't have sufficient numismatic knowledge to determine this, you should acquire it before making further submissions. Grading services are supposed to provide objective, expert opinions as to the authenticity and grade of coins. If their compensation were dependent upon the decisions they make, this would place their objectivity in serious question. It has been their practice generally to charge a fee without regard to their decision since their inception in the mid-1980s. I agree that it would be preferable for grading services to provide written explanations of their opinions, but this would likely lengthen the turn-around time and increase the cost, which is already substantial. I am often critical of grading service practices and what I see as excessive reliance upon third-party grading by collectors. However, it is important to understand the standards of a particular market before questioning the practices of a business that operates within it.

If this is a doubled die, about which I'm uncertain, it's a very minor one. As it isn't on VarietyPlus, it is highly unlikely that NGC would attribute it.

As stated, the well-known 1995 doubled die cent is a Philadelphia (no letter below date), not a Denver ("D" below date) product. It shows fairly bold doubling on "LIBERTY" and "IN GOD WE TRUST" that looks like this (NGC VarietyPlus photos):

@EagleRJO and @powermad5000--The NGC Coin Explorer photo for the 1795 Draped Bust variety is of the BB-52, B-15 "centered bust" variety. Bear in mind that dies for pre-1837 or so U.S. coins were made from separate punches for devices, letters, numbers and stars, so each die had these features in somewhat different positions. You need to check the various die varieties before concluding that a coin of that vintage is a counterfeit based solely upon such positional differences. The 1795 posted here is a close match to the BB-51, which you can see photos of on VarietyPlus, but appears to be counterfeit based upon other criteria such as those I mentioned.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. I'm of the opinion that both of these coins are counterfeit based upon comparisons with photos and descriptions of genuine examples. I'll name a few of the more obvious differences: Both coins appear to have a raised rim in places that suggests that the coins were struck in a close collar that wasn't used at the U.S. mint at that time. The 1795 is based on the BB-51, B-14 "off center bust" die variety but has lumps of extra metal around some of the stars and in other places. Some of the berries and leaves on the reverse don't have the same shapes as those on the genuine pieces. The coin appears to have significant wear but has luster in the fields that doesn't resemble the luster on rare About Uncirculated or Uncirculated examples but is consistent with that created by modern dies and equipment. The 1798 has a thirteen-star obverse and a small eagle reverse, for which only the BB-82, B-1 die variety would be a known match. The date on this piece is in the wrong location and has numerals with the wrong shape, most notably a pointed 9 instead of a knobbed 9. The reverse is incorrect in a number of respects, such as the lack of a berry that is supposed to be just to the left of the left facing ribbon. These coins are supposed to have edges lettered with "HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT" with the words separated by decorated rectangles, circles and stars. What is on the edges of these counterfeits?

Welcome to the NGC chat board. This "wood grain" appearance is a normal toning pattern for cents of this era. It can't be removed by any method that would leave an appearance that would be acceptable to collectors. NCS would likely determine that the coin couldn't be improved by conservation and charge a $5 evaluation fee, plus the coin would have to be graded by NGC for a $23 Economy Tier grading fee a $10 processing fee, a $28 return shipping fee, and your cost of shipping the coin to NGC. (The minimum cost for NCS conservation if it were found to be appropriate would be $25, and the other costs mentioned would also apply.) In either case, this cost would likely exceed the retail value of this brown mint state 1909 V.D.B. Lincoln cent with a sizeable nick in Lincoln's beard.

As @Greenstang indicated, mint marks were punched into dies by hand at the U.S. Mint until the early 1990s and could appear in a range of locations and angles. Such coins are not considered significant as varieties unless the variation in position or angle is extreme. In the case of this particular coin, it appears to me that the perceived angle is accentuated by a scrape on the left side of the mintmark.

I'm referring to the provisions of the "PCGS Guarantee of Grade and Authenticity" that refer to "authenticity". "All U.S. and World coins graded and encapsulated by PCGS are guaranteed genuine." A coin whose mintmark has been added, removed or otherwise altered to make it appear to be a different issue is generally regarded by numismatists as a fake and equivalent to a counterfeit. Such a coin is supposed to be rejected by a grading service as "altered" and returned in a flip. Assuming that the coin is still in its PCGS holder, I would contact PCGS customer service about this, as they should pay compensation in these circumstances. You also stated that PCGS has misattributed varieties on some of your coins. You should be able to have these coins re-holdered with correct labels at no charge by PCGS, although you will probably have to pay to ship them to PCGS. (I had a U.S. coin that said "Fifteen Stars" on the on the holder when it was actually the "Thirteen Stars" variety. I took this coin to a show where PCGS was doing on-site grading, and PCGS re-holdered the coin with the correct label the same day without charge. I'm not even a PCGS member.) You may want to take this up with PCGS customer service as well.

@EagleRJO--I hope you realize that you posted a photo of a Kennedy half dollar, not an Eisenhower dollar. Of course, the "Rs" are different!

@Christopherabrockel--Welcome to the NGC chat board. There are already many set categories for American Silver Eagle bullion coins. Go to United States Categories | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com). For instructions as to how to create a set, see About the NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com).

The NGC Registry has generally accepted PCGS graded U.S. coins, except for a few years around late 2016 to, I think, sometime in 2019, when no additional PCGS coins could be added. This policy was very unpopular and was rescinded. (I wouldn't be using the NGC Registry otherwise.) PCGS has generally been the preferred grading service for earlier, now sometimes called "vintage" U.S. coins, so the refusal to allow U.S. coins placed the NGC Registry at a disadvantage. I have read on the NGC website (but can't presently find where) that the reason for NGC not including PCGS graded world coins on the registry is because NGC and PCGS use distinctly different systems of classification for these coins, and NGC personnel would have difficulty determining the sets and slots in which many PCGS world coins could be placed. While some may agree with you, many dealers and collectors I know maintain that--at least where U.S. coins are concerned--PCGS tends to be the more conservative grading service, is especially stingy in awarding grades of "67" and higher on non-modern coins, and is more likely than NGC to "details" grade a coin as impaired. Some dealers have told me that they submit more coins to NGC than to PCGS because they tend to get higher numerical grades and fewer "details" grades from NGC. What is really important, as you have discovered, is that a particular coin be acceptable to you in your own, educated judgment and obtainable at a price that you are willing to pay. The real problem, in my opinion, is with the concept of numerical grading itself, which allows for too many grades based on too many variables, each of which involves a degree of subjectivity. Another problem is the apparent changes in grading standards over time. Regarding the coin that NGC concluded has an "altered mintmark", which I assume means that the mintmark was altered to make it appear that the coin came from a different mint than it actually did, you may wish to take this up with PCGS. If this alteration cam be established, PCGS may have an obligation to you under its guarantee of authenticity, whose terms you should review. You may find of interest the following topics I have posted regarding current grading practices:

Welcome to the NGC chat board. It is difficult to predict the price that an error coin will bring, as each one is unique. My most recent deluxe edition Redbook, the 7th edition published in 2021, lists an Indian cent brockage at $400. Yours is quite eye-catching, especially as each side shows a full date, and may well bring more, perhaps as much as a few thousand dollars. The auction archives at Stacks Bowers Galleries, a major numismatic auction house, shows a few offerings of brockages that blocked the obverse instead of the reverse die selling for as much as $2,880. https://archive.stacksbowers.com/?q=5951db98-5ea4-45eb-813c-ce5fb320b3c9 I found a wide range of prices realized for a variety of Indian cent brockages at Heritage's auction archives at https://www.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=0+790+231&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Nty=1&Ntt=Indian+cent+brockage&limitTo=all . (You may need to get a free password to see the prices realized at Heritage.) You may wish to search for similar archived results at Goldberg Coins & Collectibles (goldbergcoins.com) and Great Collections (greatcollections.com). One option for sale would be to consign your coin to one of these major auction houses. (They will likely have the coin certified by NGC or PCGS prior to sale.) There are also dealers who specialize in mint errors who I'm sure would make offers for your coin. One I know to be active, though I have never done business with him is Sullivan Numismatics, Inc. of Land O Lakes, Florida, (931) 797-4888, www.sullivannumismatics.com, e-mail: jon@sullivannumismatics.com. You may be able to locate other dealers who specialize in mint errors through the NGC dealer directory (go to the "Resources" tab on the NGC home page and select "Locate Dealers"), the Professional Numismatists Guild (pngdealers.org), the American Numismatic Association (money.org), and the PCGS dealer directory (https://www.pcgs.com/dealers). Your documentation from 1970 is interesting. I believe that NECA is now after a merger many years ago known as CONECA.

1938 Washington quarter, PCGS graded MS 65 in green label holder:

1939 proof Jefferson nickel, Reverse of 1938, PCGS graded PR 65:

1874 Liberty Seated quarter, purchased uncertified in 2009, NGC graded AU 55 in 2022:

You might want to post these questions on the "Ask NGC/NCS" forum for the administrator's response. I have filled the submission form out on my computer and used to insert variety information--whether or not a VarietyPlus fee is required--in the empty space after the boxes to be checked when VarietyPlus or Mint Error service is desired. (Don't check the box when no fee is required.) The most recent form I downloaded wouldn't allow me to enter anything in that space, so I entered abbreviated basic variety information, which in your case would be "1878 rev. 79" in the "Coin Date" column. The type size adjusts to fit the box. I'm not sure how you could enter a VAM or other die variety number but if I couldn't get input from NGC would write it by hand into the blank space in the "Variety or Mint Error" column.