EagleRJO

I'm not suggesting that heavily geared US Treasury agents wielding full-auto HK416s should/could rope in at 2 am to confiscate your illegally post-mint stamped pennys, I'm just pointing something out ... 😉

That, and they are still paying off Bill Clintons cheeseburgers ... lol. Maybe the change because many are stabbing the ASEs? But still the ASE felt display boxes were really nice.

Prior to Mid 2021 the US Mint used these really nice felt display boxes embossed with a metal emblem on the top of an eagle and shield (see photo, left side) for the Proof ASEs, which came inside the outer cardboard mint box. Later in 2021 and now into 2022 the US Mint is going with a really cheesy felt adhered plastic holder that just goes in the outer box (see photo, right side). I really liked the old-style felt display box, and I'm pretty disappointed with the mint going with such a cheap cheesy replacement, so I sent them a complaint. What is the US Mint running out of money? ;-)

Just curious about that last part, because I think the Philly mint has been known to have some lower quality strikes. Are the TPG companies less critical of (P) coins?

Overall, I did like the coin in general looking at the original posted photos, but: (1) I thought it was way overpriced at $400 even if it was an AU, and that there was no way the seller would come down to around $275 to $300, which I think would be a fair price for an AU. I can't see it grading above AU with the number of marks, scratches and scuff marks on the coin, but I am pretty new at this. For just a little more than the list price of this one I can get a solid raw BU from a reputable dealer. (2) The reddish marks and whitewashed appearance bothered me right off the bat, and I don't want a dipped slider in my collection no matter how good of a deal it might be or what it grades out to be ;-)

Can you legally punch US coins with an after-mint mark? I thought you were not supposed to do that.

That last one is an 1878-CC listed on eBay for $400 that I figured was in the XF-AU range looking at the obv/rev, which is overpriced imo even if an AU. I ran away when I saw the reddish stains and didn't even make an offer.

I have been looking at the graded examples on the NGC & PCGS sites as examples. And I agree the guy trying to pass a G off for an XF (at least price wise) previously sold used bridges before watching a few YT vids to become a coin dealer ;-)

Thanks, I just can't see the first one (1) being a borderline F12 cause every example for that grade I looked at had all the ribs/flutes of the rim visible even if they were worn down a lot. The seller must have been on crack thinking that was an XF or that he could price it as such ... lol. I agree the last one (3) has a little nicer surface/shine than an avg XF, except there is some offsetting general discoloration/tarnish I am seeing on the Rev (appears a little greenish in the photos). It is one of the Morgans where they produced a little less at 2M 1904-S coins, vs 3M for 1904-O [picked up a raw AU for $100] and 4M for 1904(P) [picked up a raw BU for $70] so I really wouldn't consider that one a "key date", although the sellers might think so ;-) They are valued by NGC a little higher at $55 for the VG, $110 for the VF, and $260 for the XF (Red Book has XF at $325). Some are asking for between $500 and $600 for a TPG graded XF which I think is way too much. I'm looking at raw AU/BU Morgans in general, or XF as a minimum (except for a few dates like 1893-S), so I was kind of interested in the last one listed for $350 and might offer like $275 to $325. But I have been finding sellers are not very flexible lately and they just hold on to them.

... and it's got a little bit of a whitewashed appearance.

I thought I would take a shot at roughly grading three raw coins I saw for sale (e.g. VG, F, VF etc. without a number modifier) and then seeing what more experienced members here think. The goal is to eventually become more comfortable looking at raw coins and figuring out grades to look up values for making people offers at coin shows, online bids, etc. So let me take a shot at the 3 coins below to start off. (1) For the first one (top/left) I would say it's VG. Pretty worn with flat features (face/hair and eagle), but all the main features still visible. Rim is full but very worn, and almost flat in a few spots (bot rev). Seller claims it's XF which I'm not buying for a nickel ;-) (2) For the second one (middle) I would say it's VF. Light even wear across entire obv and rev high points, but all the letters/features still sharp (e.g. rim worn, but flutes/ribs still all visible). (3) For the last one (bot/right) I would say it's XF. More than just minor wear/marks in the fields of the coin. Light overall wear at the high points, but with all the details still sharp/clear (e.g. rim, letters, face/hair). Okay, so what do others think.

Another dipped Morgan? I see more of those reddish-brown marks.

I like the quarters albums available from Littleton Coin Company you suggested. Heavy duty 3-ring binder type with labeled coin holes visible on both sides. If I'm looking at this right, there are 4 books for quarters from 1932 thru 2021 ... 1) 1932 - 1967 Washington Quarters - Vol 1 2) 1968 - 1998 & 2021 Washington Quarters - Vol 2 3) 1999 - 2009 Fifty State Quarters & DC 4) 2010 - 2021 National Park Quarters I might start with the last 2 since I have the 50 state quarters somewhere and I could probably pick through pocket change and quarters rolls for the most recent ones.

Does sound like overkill, but I did find these heavier duty self-sealing coin slab bags, which are 2 mils thick ... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MC5Y187/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1NQBHLCRUN4JE&psc=1 They don't just crinkle up which looks horrible to me, like the really thin/cheap 1.2/1.4 mil slab bags. I got the heaver ones and threw the other ones out. ;-)

I think it looks like somebody got the dremel wire wheel out and tried to get the gunk out of ridges where it would build up ... but I think someone pointed out correctly that they missed the "1" on the obv and the letter "s" on the rev ... lol.

I was offering in the $350 to $375 range, and he didn't want to come down, Time to move on.

Maybe like around $300 to $350 for a raw one that may be a little better looking.

Yea, that one's more $ for the same TPG AU-58 label, but I agree a little nicer. If the guy doesn't want to come down to $350 to $375 I'm gonna pass and keep looking. There is no rush, and I could always spend a little less and go with a raw one as it's not that expensive imo.

I was thinking about using MS Word, but then I guess ya need sheets with little rectangular punch outs. Unless ya use regular sheets and cut it out with a scissor, which seems just as annoying to get right/squared.

I wanted to see if people that slab/label the coin holders themselves have any suggestions for the labels? I have a bunch of blank slabs for my Morgans and ASEs, and I use a P-Tough labeler to print out lines of text to stick on the little white cards that come with the slabs (see pic). I think they come out pretty nice, but it's a real pain to line everything up nice and put the little text stickers on the cards, so I usually just go with my best shot. Any suggestions for an easier way to do this?

Any suggestions for coin books for a modern US Quarters and maybe Half Dollar collection, like the ones with holes for the coins and labels below the holes. Not something cheap cause if I do the collection I am going to keep it for a while, but I don't need top of the line for the types of coins I had in mind.

I also have those self-sealing non-pvc bags, but they are really annoying and don't look good. I figure my coins are going to stay indoors in a controlled environment (cooled in the summer) where I figure that kind of protection really isn't needed, and I plan on eventually putting the better ones in the Lighthouse slab holders.

Thanks, I pretty much settled on modern US Quarters, and maybe eventually dollar coins since half dollars are not that common, at least around me. Time to see what pocket change everybody has ...

Thanks, I had heard of coins being cleaned with things like acetone or MS70, but not really dipping. You would think they would dip it twice to get rid of the mark where they were holding it, like at 6 o'clock. But maybe they did, and that's why there is another mark on the rev near the rim at 2 o'clock ... lol. Its leaves a really strange reddish-brown spot and a white-washed appearance that I hadn't seen before, so thanks for explaining.

I agree, and why I mentioned the scuff marks I see. Maybe $350 if it's actually a lower AU?