EagleRJO

It went for more than I was looking to pay so I passed. I am just being patient and a good price for a decent circulated grade will come along eventually.

I think that is a lawyer's interpretation (even though I agree and think it's the intent of the law), which is why I tried to keep my quotes to actual law or federal court interpretations.

I have, and it is very clear. 18 US §485 and 15 US §2101-2106 [or the "Hobby Protection Act" and 16 CFR §304 which is a federal advisory restatement of that Act] provides it has to be "in resemblance of" coinage of the mint or an "imitation numismatic item" or coin with the "intent to defraud" which federal courts have interpreted to mean it was struck or altered to "fool the average collector" for coins. Neither of these conditions apply to the 1963 or 1975 Kennedy half dollars struck at said mint as those coins were not struck by the US mint [1963 was still the Franklin, not the Kennedy and 1975 was the bicentennial] and the average collector would know that. [However, for those who counterfeit actual coins struck by the US mint that collectors seek I agree with what Stalin and Trump said about the perpetrators, but not necessarily the buyers who may just be unknowingly fleeced. If that happened more often to actual counterfeiters or re-sellers who know it's a fake but are holding these coins out as genuine maybe the proliferation of these true counterfeits may subside.]

You have quite a lot of amazingly toned coins Lem, particularly the nickels you have collected in your NGC Jefferson Nickel Registry Set here ... [Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com)] From skimming through your NGC Set I'm pretty jelly and actually thought of starting a similar set, but I have my hands full with a complete Morgan set I am working on and some gold coins I have been looking to add to the collection.

Just couldn't let this slide. Absolutely dead wrong again. The US Mint has very tight quality controls on planchets, and for 40% Ag vs Cu-Ni coins there are distinctly different specific gravity values with very small tolerances or variations from established and published SG values (3 significant figures for those who understand scientific methods). Specific gravity tests have been the standard for identifying various coin materials for ages before XRF and other technologies became common and are still used. Just another excuse to list a $0.50 value coin for $13,700. It's not possible that this 1971-D Cu-Ni coin came from that private Colorado mint as they only produce fantasy coins that were not struck by the US Mint, and which would "not fool the average coin collector" like a 1975 Kennedy half dollar which was never a regular circulation strike issue. I think this is well known, and who would fake a regular circulation strike 1971-D Cu-Ni coin worth $0.50, so maybe just baiting the op?

Idk about that Morgan even though it looks pretty good and may be a Near Date VAM-4. The date looks a little off, particularly the closed 6 and misshapen 8. Even though it's a lower value worn Morgan, there have been contemporary copies made which get into circulation. Or maybe it just took a hit to mash the date. Hard to tell with those pics. I would post better pics to the Newbie section in a new topic.

@pigeonman333rdI would start a new thread in the Newbie section with better coin pics and you just need to state the weight. Also since you have the coin in hand go to VamWorld mentioned in the previous thread and identify which VAM that coin is and post that too.

Apparently, the op doesn't realize that the Ni cladding for the 1971 and later half dollars occasionally mix with the Cu to give you a mixed appearance on the edge, like the attached 1974 Kennedy half dollar on a Cu-Ni planchet I have with a mixed silver and copper appearing edge. I have occasionally been faked out by this roll hunting for the rare 1971 on a 40% Ag planchet, and then my heart sunk when I turned the coin edge.

QA, I think you posted in the wrong thread. GoldFinger, modern coins are struck with a much higher force/energy than older coins (including a much higher production rate using modern machinery), particularly when compared to older bullion coins. I have seen a table with these force/energy comparisons which I think is around somewhere and I will try to find that and post it so you have that for the future. Attached is just one example showing a 1910-D Saint and a 2021 Gold Eagle with both being MS/BU grade and having the same picture resolution. Zoom in and compare the upper body and area around the head on the obverse for example. The difference is striking (pun intended).

That was a link to the 2022 1-oz gold coin. This 2021 1-oz gold eagle is the nicer one imo ... https://www.apmex.com/product/218622/2021-1-oz-american-gold-eagle-coin-bu-type-1 The US Mint went woke at the end of 2021 and the quality of products became secondary after that, including the 2022 gold eagle which I also have. In addition I like the 2021 reverse better with the two eagles, instaed of the strangely enlarged eagle's head. In hand the 2021 coin is actually even nicer and the details jump out at you.

The numbers I was seeing in the $50 to $75 range for this coin were from various sold auctions which appear to be generally in line with the UCoin avg pricing.

Idk about that. I know I'm likely in the minority here, but I think modern 1-oz gold eagle coins, of which I have several, have sharper detail and a better strike than the older bullion coins. Particularly the 2021 1-oz eagles with the remake and enhancement of the Saint obverse and flying/perched eagles on the reverse. Absolutely amazing coins, although I have looked at and will likely add at least one common date Saint if I can get it pretty close to spot just to have one in my collection. But that's just me.

The pics show a normal Cu-Ni planchet and this coin shouldn't be listed.

I think US Customs is working with the Treasury Dept to at least try and crack down on the issue as any time I order anything coin related from overseas it gets held up at Customs for quite a while and has often been opened and re-sealed. When I inquired why it was talking so long to clear Customs and packages were opened, I was told they are checking anything coin related for counterfeits. I think that's a good thing, so I am okay with waiting for a bit for these packages. [I have also heard that there are quite a few coin experts in the field working with Treasury and Customs on this issue recently, including a prety well know guy from one LCS I deal with for some raw coins.]

Very difficult to find for modern day coins since they switched to a single squeeze/press working die process.

Keep them and occasionally get them out to check them out and marvel at the achievement you accomplished, like with other collections. I would not sell them after the grinder you have been through completing the collection.

It looks like proof 1992 Bhutan 300 Ngultrum coins have been going for around $50 to $75 for average grade proofs on eBay and other auction sites, which is in line with the UCoin.net average proof pricing. So, I would keep looking for a mid-grade MS coin at around that price.

Much better Bill (the IS storage, not the outgassing being discussed). Btw, I was initially tempted to do a complete mint proof set collection since I have some already (my birth year and some others, including more contemporary ones through an enrollment), but after what you have been through, I think I will pass.

I think the first pic shows the shelf or die erosion "doubling" or "tripling" the best. Definitely cool and a keeper even if not that much added value.

It does look like a 1956-D RPM-006. Can you post full pics of both sides, and have you been able to identify the stage or any of the die cracks/scratches to verify that or is it too worn to look for those.

If you watch the bidding on common date bullion coins at say Great Collections or eBay, like I have lately, you will see lower pre-bid numbers which shoot as you get closer to and at the last minute. Don't look at coins listed for future bids but look at recent sales. Lower MS common date Saints have recently been going for around $2,200 to $2,500, and some over $2,500, but nowhere near the numbers you are suggesting they should go for. Those are mostly PCGS coins where in part I think those sold numbers are high because of their ridiculous values which they have not adjusted yet and some ppl blindly follow. Let me know when you find some at that 10% over spot for lower MS Saints which with the slightly lower gold content of a Saint actually should then be around $1,750 to $1,800.

@CoinbufI'm surprised, you over-bid on this $0.50 valued coin. 😜 Maybe actually worth less since it's now impared from the "tests" the op did. 😉

The op should definitely take the $1 offer as he has a normal 1971-D half dollar worth $0.50. I collect half dollars and look for the rare error/abnormality the op thinks they have, but of course it is not. In 1971 the mint switched from a 40% silver planchet to a Cu-Ni clad planchet (25% Ni clad with 75% Cu core), but some coins in early 1971 were struck on the 40% Ag planchets either by mistake or to use up limited existing stock. The edge of a 40% Ag pre-1971 half dollar or the rare error coin looks like the attached with a solid silver color all the way around. The normal Cu-Ni clad half dollar looks like the op's coin where most of the time it's solid red in the middle all around and occasionally is a mixture like the op's regular strike Cu-Ni coin where the Ni plating mixes with some of the Cu is spots on the planchet. Also attached is a pic of some older Kennedy half dollar rolls I recently went through which of course with my luck were either silver edged pre-1971 or mixed Cu/Ni edges for 1971 and later, with no super rare finds as usual. If it is a 1971-D half dollar with a silver edge all around then you do XRF or specific gravity tests to confirm that before sending it to a TPG for attribution, which is a must for that high of a value coin. It was thought the op's coin had this silver edge since all this testing was being discussed, but it turns out the edge is of a normal Cu-Ni clad coin with no extra value. It is obvious from the pics and the XRF tests done that the op's coin is NOT a rare error and is in fact a normal 1971-D half dollar worth $0.50. He has been told this multiple times by multiple people with decades of experience but refuses to believe that. These worthless half-baked junk science tissue and egg "tests" he has come up with are useless, which he has also been told multiple times, and are absolutely pointless now that he has posted pics of the coin edge showing a normal Cu-Ni clad coin with no extra value. So, he has attacked me and other members who were just trying to help him asking valid questions, criticizing the invalid "tests" and trying to tell him he did not have a rare error coin. So, he is now blocked by me and others and needs to go somewhere else.

There are quite a lot of common date lower MS Saints sold on GC and HA and all over $2,000 recently, more at HA as they have a higher BP.

Is that for you or the coins. 😜