EarlyUS.com

Hey Jim! I seem to have lost my old account so at least from the perspective of "quality posts", yeah... looks that way!

One of THE rarest coins or tokens that I have ever owned ....

. . . . is actually pretty darned nice. I grade the coin pictured below as just VF-35, replaced in my album by a coin that I think grades EF-45. Enjoy!

I sold a couple at the last FUN Show and was only able to get something like $12 for each very decent example.

By "improperly stapled", I mean that whomever stored the coin did not use a staple-flat stapler. They used a normal office stapler which leaves the staple bumped high enough to be able to scratch other coins. By far, most of my collection is not certified, so I am highly particular about proper 2x2 storage!

Forgot to mention that I attribute this as S-292. Let me know whether you agree.

They had all manner of terrible coins in stock - damaged large cents, partial album sets of low grade coins, cleaned silver dollars and the usual stuff like that which holds little interest for me. But stuck way in the bottom of a pile was this coin, improperly stapled into a 2x2 but at least, not cleaned nor molested. The clerk was overgrading almost everything, then using a Redbook to (over)price the coins of interest to me. But even though he quoted me full "good", I paid what he asked for this one. I just don't often see a low-grade Classic Head cent with such a perfectly smooth and original surface. Enjoy!

I took iPhotos of this PCGS MS-67 recently:

The album had a fair number of common, problem-free examples when I bought it and I've since added about an equal number. And I am not the least bit apprehensive about including keys, even in if they have to be cracked out. Enjoy!

Roger, sure, I will get you much better pics. Give me a bit of time as I am heading out of time tomorrow on business. If you want to credit me: James Garcia, EarlyUS.com (although my website is currently messed up ). I will get my macro lens setup and get you images in the 4000x4000 range.

Roger, I hereby grant you permission to freely use those photos for your reference or publication in any book, journal or other article. Also, if you need them, I have 3000x3000 pixel images available for each. That being said, I photographed them in their original 2x2 flips. If you need really high quality images, I can extract them and re-image for you (I have a very good camera setup).

I am reviewing a few partial sets of buffalo nickels and found a surprising number with acid dates. Strangely, the nic-a-date coins often have VG or better sharpness aside from the date being worn off. Then it occurred to me that if a buffalo nickel wore down below, say AG-3, then surely the date would be gone completely, right? Or can you post a certified example at FA-2 or PO-1? Note that I'm generally referring to early dates -- probably pre-1925, as it seems like later issues retained their dates better, though here again, I have never seen a 1938-D in poor, or even fair grade.

As with many numismatic subjects, I just see some chemical properties at work.

Not long ago, I got to catalog this auction listing for nine Boyd's Batteries plus a Dr. Cooper's battery . One of them came with an original NGC slab insert.

Two counterfeits:

I have added two new images, hopefully in the correct orientation and in better resolution. My scale weighs the coin at exactly 11.03 grams.

Roger, I will look for mine. They are not modern counterfeits - at least not the most modern. Fifteen years ago, I bought them from a 1990s collection.

Since I work for an auction company that actually sells such items (and not just Morgan dollars - partial sets of just about every series, really), I can speak with a considerable amount of experience. YES, you can get some really, really nice hits from buying these as long as your seller is reputable. Some of my very favorite purchases were such items, and in fact, my Peace Dollar set in UNC started out as such. I bought a set missing the 1921 and 1928 and probably a third of the coins were mint-state. Of course, there will be some cleaned or otherwise questionable coins as well, but that's why you look at the set before deciding what you are willing to pay.

Roger, could you use pics of known counterfeits as well? I'd imagine that would be a pretty popular section of your tome.

My first thought is to point out that this may be out-of-date information, as there are coins that are circulated which have received a "star" designation. PMG also has a "star" designation for currency, unbeknownst to many collectors out there.

As many of you know, I collect these by "album variety". My #1 set is in a Wayte Raymond album, and my #2 set is in a Dansco album (both are two-album sets) but the sets have slightly different varieties required for completion. Thanks for posting some pics of yours!

I would appreciate any insights on the coin depicted. The holder seems to indicate it was purchased 45 years ago. Thank you.

Thanks for the help! That website helped me definitively identify it as a 1553 dreier.

I think it's 3-pfennig, 1-dreier, but it's underweight at only 0.9g. Thanks for any insights.

I have owned this coin for many years and the prior owner bought it in April 1973 (picture is off my iPhone through the original 2x2). Apparently, a few proof examples have sold at various auction companies, but this appears to be a circulation strike, probably grading around extremely-fine. For comparison purposes, I've only found an ugly example with similar details that sold for about $175. Can anyone offer opinions as to attribution and value? Thanks.