• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

JKK

Member: Seasoned Veteran
  • Posts

    3,803
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    52

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Hoghead515 in 195x? Lincoln Penny Error?   
    Looks like a normal cent that spent a long time in a tumbler, or something else that caused outsize wear. I bet if you weighed it, it would come in very light to reflect the metal loss. Probably short in diameter as well.
  2. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Lem E in 1959 black beauty nickel. With strike through.   
    Yeah, I see what you're saying. Had never really paid close attention before.
  3. Thanks
    JKK reacted to Lem E in 1959 black beauty nickel. With strike through.   
    The mark at 7:00 is part of his jacket in the design. As far as FS designation, I don't think it matters if it is a strike through or not, the steps are still merged. Thats too bad as your steps look pretty good otherwise. 
  4. Like
    JKK got a reaction from CRGW in Question about proofs   
    Unless it's the clear S variant, I don't see any sense sending it in for grading. If you want to sell it, you could choose to cut it up or sell it as a set. If you are a new collector, I vote for keeping it as a set because you probably have not handled many proof coins and would stand an excellent chance of messing them up (very easy to do even for seasoned collectors). Takes linen gloves or leprechaun condoms, plastic tongs, a very soft and absolutely clean cloth, and methodical patience.
  5. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Ray, USMC in Question about proofs   
    Unless it's the clear S variant, I don't see any sense sending it in for grading. If you want to sell it, you could choose to cut it up or sell it as a set. If you are a new collector, I vote for keeping it as a set because you probably have not handled many proof coins and would stand an excellent chance of messing them up (very easy to do even for seasoned collectors). Takes linen gloves or leprechaun condoms, plastic tongs, a very soft and absolutely clean cloth, and methodical patience.
  6. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Ray, USMC in i ask an opinion for this coin. Thanks   
    Doesn't look like known authentic examples. Replica, especially since it lacks edge lettering.
  7. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Ray, USMC in Advice about Grading   
    Well, if most or all are authentic, that would be a beautiful collection. I'd suggest you first of all make sure that you don't thumb any of them during handling. The really important step here is not so much the grading itself but the authentication. If you wanted to sell them, an auction house would handle the grading aspect for you, but if you want to keep them you'll have to send them in yourself or have a dealer do so.
    What I'd do if I were you is post clear, sharp, cropped pics of a couple of them, both sides please, and let's have a closer look. I'm not a gold expert but some people here have a pretty good eye. If the consensus is that the ones you post are authentic, nice AU or MS, and unmarred by cleaning (or lightly so; there are degrees), then you might start to feel confident about the rest. If the consensus suggests problems, you might want to post more of them here before you start sending them in.
    If it does turn out some are phonies, please understand a thing we deal with every day: folks grow up thinking of their relative as this amazing numismatist who knows all things about coins (in my case, it was my father-in-law, so I have been there myself). Then the relative passes (condolences), and the coins are shown here, and we're in the awkward position of notifying someone that the relative got taken in on counterfeits. Or that the coins have other problems. I call this, rather tactlessly I will admit, the Bampaw's Collection situation. We try to be tactful this way, but we do have to be honest. So I suggest at least bracing for that, and if that's how it goes, do please realize that no one means offense to any memories. Fair enough?
  8. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Ray, USMC in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    Oh, for the love of pete. What do some newbie posts have in common with menopause? NO PERIODS.
    Would it really harm people writing twelve lines of text if they were to end some sentences with punctuation and start new ones?
    Otherwise it reads like this except usually there are far more misspelled words because that seems par for the course I know that nowadays people are typing on their phones and with educational standards in the toilet people can barely write anyway but please think about those of us who have to try and make sense of this *spoon* it really gets tiring and you gain nothing from making us struggle to help you this reads so garbage it would surprise me if anyone were still reading it but somehow one needs to get the message across as to how unhelpful this is let's go back to basics sentences are supposed to begin with upper case in English and end with a period question mark or exclamation point it might amaze you how much clearer your writing can be if you will bother to learn that simple truth if you do not then do not be surprised if no one replies to your posts because I for one am not going to shovel my way through this sort of *spoon* any more I have better things to do and I suspect most regulars do as well at least except for one or two who are regulars from under the bridge if you know what I mean anyway by now I trust I have made my point not that I expect it to make much difference in the ultimate outcome.
  9. Like
    JKK got a reaction from RonnieR131 in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    You're very welcome. What I appreciate is when people gather that the purpose here is not to create hoops to jump through, but to make it as easy as possible to give clear assistance. There are quite a few regulars here who do a lot more work than I ever do, but they'll sure be happy not to have to bug you to crop and orient your photos--they'll probably be able to get right to the answer. That's a win for everyone.
  10. Thanks
    JKK got a reaction from Catatonic1 in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    When you post a question about a coin or coins, it's worth remembering that the people giving you answers--unless it is specifically about an NGC policy matter or submission--are volunteer hobbyists who do this for fun. They are not speaking for NGC; they speak only for themselves, and they want to help people. When you do a good job of posting your inquiry, you increase your chances of helpful replies, because you show respect for the volunteers' time.
    Please do:
    Ask a question, or multiple questions. We need to know what to focus on. Authenticity? Grade? Identification? Value? All of these? Think about your questions. "What would this grade at NGC?" and "What grade would you give this coin?" are two very different questions. If you ask the first one, only people who know a lot about NGC's ways have much to offer you. "How much is this worth?" is another nebulous question. Better: "What would a dealer pay me for this?" Or: "What would a dealer sell this for?" Post clear photos of the entire obverse, reverse, and if necessary the edge. If need be, add zoomed photos of specific features, but always clear shots of both full sides. Post all pictures of a given coin in the same thread. Accept that if you have photographic limitations, and you keep posting badly photographed coins, you'll keep being told they're not good enough to use to answer your question. You can't expect everyone to read all your threads and know your circumstances, be they poverty or Parkinson's or can'tbebothereditis. It's not their fault your photos can't or won't get better, even if it is also not always your own fault. Use a thread title that describes the coin(s), so that people who know the subject matter are likelier to read the thread. If you just inherited Bampaw's silver dollar collection which you can see spans the period 1850-1921, you could title it "Evaluating silver dollar collection 1850-1921." People who know a lot about those silver dollars will see it and be likely to help you. "Grading advice" is bad; everyone wants grading advice. "Morgan dollar grading advice" is good. "Is this fake?" is bad. "Is this Chinese silver coin fake?" is good. Post only once per coin. (If you have received a huge collection, and you want to start with a picture of the whole hoard with zoomed shots of parts, that's no problem. This guideline is intended to keep people from slamming multiple fully photographed coins into a single thread, making it difficult to figure out which one the answers are talking about. So if it's a hoard, and you single out some for close scrutiny, go with new threads for each of those.) If the picture files are too large in terms of data, learn to make them smaller without losing necessary information. Paint.net is a free image editor for Windows. Open your pictures in it, crop them, and save them as .jpgs. Look at what sizes they are now. This is too easy. If there is any question of identification or authentication, include weight in grams and diameter in millimeters. If you don't know the metric system, use an online converter. Weight is one of the key diagnostics of authenticity and unless the coin is too obviously bogus to bother, you will be asked for it. Just include it with your first post. Tell us what you know, or what you believe to be the case, about the coin. It's okay to be incorrect. Understand that the term "melt" does not automatically mean someone plans to melt the coin down, nor is anyone suggesting you should. It refers simply to the value of the metal for its own sake. Do not freak out when someone says "melt" about Bampaw's Morgan dollars. We really do not want or expect you to throw it in a blast furnace, all right? Use punctuation. Being easy to read works to your benefit. When you write a twelve-line paragraph with no periods or commas, people tune you out. For those who need reminders, this , is a comma. You use it to separate phrases, more or less. This . is a period. You use it to end most sentences. Hitting Enter will insert a paragraph break. You use this between series of thoughts. Live them. Love them. Use them. because ill tell u what really suxors is when some1 posts sententses like this 1 4 about half a page its impossibel 2 read and some people including me will prob not finish readin it which means u arent gettin as many respontses think about it ur only hurtin ur own cozz notice how stooped this reads ur in affect makin urself ten times harder 2 help and frankly its disrespectfull 2 assume entellegent people should do all that extra work 4 ur sake now kinely clean up ur act and rite like u at least got thru 6ixth grade im glad we had this little talk Come prepared to accept responsive answers. Brace yourself to learn that Bampaw or Opa, always considered the family's Great Numismatist, may not have been so great at this. No one seeks to offend your relative's legacy, but the coin must be called what it is. Be patient. No one who doesn't know the answer is going to post "I don't know." It can take days to a week for someone to notice. Remember that some inquiries may require research, for which volunteers are not being paid, and are doing as they have time. Expect that opinions may vary, even among experienced numismatists. Realize that if you're rude and/or difficult, your problem is not the people who take time to fight with you. Your problem is the people who, without a word, mark you down as someone not to bother with in the future--because you have no idea who or how many they are, and thus have no power to alleviate that diagnosis. Kindly do not:
    Just post pictures without giving any indication of what you want to learn. Post glare-obscured, blurry, or otherwise poor photos. Post only partial pictures of errors or damage. Complain that your pics are too big to post. Use an image editor to crop and save them as .jpgs. Get defensive when told your pics are not good. Maybe you're bad at photography; maybe you don't have a good camera; maybe the photography gods just don't like you. If you can do better, do so. If you cannot do better, than just accept that this limits how much we can help you. Post a new thread for every photo of the same coin. Post new threads in the same forum, or other forums, with reference to the same coin. Once suffices. The shotgun approach makes one look impatient and immature. Use a meaningless thread title like "looking for advice" or "no idea what 2 do" or "plz help." Those tell people nothing about the discussion except that it was begun by someone who picks meaningless thread titles. Omit weight and diameter, unless they are completely irrelevant to your question. Get annoyed if you don't like the answers. If you disagree with them, fine; act on your views. Ask us to tell you how we know it's a counterfeit. While that's a legit question on its face, the problem is that even if you didn't mint the fake, those who make them are always looking for ways to improve. We frown upon supplying helpful feedback to criminals, and so should you. So no, don't ask us that. And if we tell you politely that we aren't going into detail, don't get annoyed because you don't like that answer. Grouse about not getting any replies. No one knows everything; no one has unlimited time; sometimes no one knows the answer. Come in telling how many Youtube videos you have watched about coins. This will lower your credibility. Use Photobucket links. If you do, don't anticipate that people will use them. Photobucket has been connected with numerous malware and virus infections. Spell 'nickel' as 'nickle.' Whether referring to the element or the five-cent coin, this misspelling is a very bad look. If you take the time to do this correctly, you can learn a lot more here than if you skip important steps.
    If you do not take the time to do this correctly, some posters may decide that their time is better spent helping other people.
    Lastly, here is a Cliff's Notes version that would take care of 95% of the most common disappointed inquiries. If you want to post yours anyway, fine, but just please kindly do not engage in a protracted and dullard debate when you are told that:
    Your 1804 silver dollar is a bad counterfeit. Look up authentic examples and compare closely. Your 1776 Continental dollar is a bad counterfeit or a souvenir replica. Many were churned out. What you think is a double die is almost surely mechanical doubling, which carries no premium. What you think is a mint error is likely post-mint damage, and your coin is worth face value. Your "silver" non-1943 penny is plated, replated, has had the plating come off, is altered, or somesuch. Your "bronze" 1943 penny is altered somehow, and is worth very little. Your Greek "silver" coin with flanges sticking out of its edges is a bad cast counterfeit. Your cheesy-looking brass token is not gold, and is not a coin. Any clown can mint brass tokens with bad designs. Cleaning your coins is a stupid idea. Yes, even for you. You, too. If you ask how, listen to the people who tell you not to do so. If you cite Etsy as an authority, people will laugh their heads off with good reason. This is horrible for your cred. If you cite a Youtube video as an authority, people will laugh with good reason. This is bad for your cred. If you have more than three supposed error coins you found in change, and plan to post them all, the odds are overwhelming that none of them are mint errors worthy of note. If you keep posting these without seeming to learn, people might conclude that learning is not your thing. There, that rounds up the usual suspects. I'm not saying those answers are automatically always right. However, as the strongest probabilities, they should be presumed correct unless they can be proven wrong. If you have one child and something is broken in the house, not by you or your spouse, typically the child did it. If you can prove the kid innocent, fair enough; but you know the kid almost surely did it. If you argue about a "double die" at fatuous length when it's clear you don't know what one really is, you will look like the kid with soot all over him insisting he didn't really dig around in the fireplace.
    Don't be that kid.
    ===
    Opinions, comments, additions, suggestions?
  11. Like
    JKK got a reaction from RWB in How do I know and who do I talk to?   
    No problem. The average non-numismatist has no easy way of assessing such a situation. Any reasonable person thinking they had a great rarity would start to wonder what one does in such a situation. It's not like that happens on an annual basis to most people. This is a very logical place to ask, as one might reasonably suppose that NGC would not tolerate its facilities used for predatory conduct. Glad we could help.
  12. Haha
    JKK got a reaction from Hoghead515 in 1956 steel penny   
    I don't know what the crapulation is, that light green stuff, but the chances of that being a steel cent are right up there with my chances of getting pregnant.
  13. Like
    JKK got a reaction from bsshog40 in How do I know and who do I talk to?   
    No problem. The average non-numismatist has no easy way of assessing such a situation. Any reasonable person thinking they had a great rarity would start to wonder what one does in such a situation. It's not like that happens on an annual basis to most people. This is a very logical place to ask, as one might reasonably suppose that NGC would not tolerate its facilities used for predatory conduct. Glad we could help.
  14. Thanks
    JKK got a reaction from GoldBear150 in 1914-D Wheat Penny   
    Well, you've already done one of the things everyone would recommend by having the books. The only book I have on counterfeits is one on ancients, so I can hope someone else can step up on that (I might buy the suggested book myself).
    One thing to remember is that very rarely will we say openly how we know a coin is counterfeit, because we have reason to suspect that active fakers post their efforts hoping to learn how to improve them. The drag there is that non-fakers with legit honest questions end up not getting details because the active fakers can also read and educate themselves without posting. The situation sucks, but we trust that honest posters will understand our desire not to help the bad guys.
    With that said, if I were you, here's what I would do in the case of any suspected fake: search online for known authentic examples, and compare yours to them, looking carefully for minutiae. Counterfeits tend to be muddy and have sloppy work, especially on lettering and mint marks; as Mr. Lange pointed out, the latter can at times be in the wrong place. Sometimes, such as with 09-S VDBs, there are only so many die combinations known, and all authentic coins will match one of those. Always look for edge seams, which can be signs of cast counterfeits. Any uncertified coin that seems an expensive rarity needs very close and skeptical scrutiny. In the end, this is a long journey in which you build the knowledge gradually so that you come to understand what the real thing looks like. Most counterfeits just look "off," and the learning process is iterative. Certain types, such as Trade Dollars and late 1800s Chinese silver rounds (among others) are so often faked that the skepticism is dialed up to 11. If you keep at it, over time you'll come to learn when one doesn't look right. Good hunting to you.
  15. Like
    JKK reacted to bsshog40 in 2005 D Roosevelt Dime   
    This is actually the most respectable answer you have given in your thread. The rest has just been bashing members which only brings on more attacks. If you could keep your answers more respectful, there are many more members with lots of knowledge that would probably chime in. Bashing answers only steers most of them away. 
  16. Haha
    JKK reacted to coinstudentdeadeye in 2005 D Roosevelt Dime   
    Little punk? Lol its very easy to use that language over a keyboard, out here in California people get hurt using words like that in person. You internet thug. 
  17. Haha
    JKK reacted to Morpheus1967 in 2005 D Roosevelt Dime   
    This is really getting tiresome.  Good luck with your dime.  
    Momma
    momma
     noun Save Word mom·ma  less common spelling of MAMA 1: MOTHER 2slang : WIFE, WOMAN
  18. Haha
    JKK got a reaction from anonymously in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    You're very welcome. What I appreciate is when people gather that the purpose here is not to create hoops to jump through, but to make it as easy as possible to give clear assistance. There are quite a few regulars here who do a lot more work than I ever do, but they'll sure be happy not to have to bug you to crop and orient your photos--they'll probably be able to get right to the answer. That's a win for everyone.
  19. Haha
    JKK reacted to coinstudentdeadeye in 2005 D Roosevelt Dime   
    Maybe they should work on being more open minded and not just think robotically and impose their opinions upon the ones who simply want different opinions which is the point and basis of a thread. As oppose to hearing one person and closing out every other possibility and stop thinking for yourself. No thank you. 
  20. Haha
    JKK reacted to coinstudentdeadeye in 2005 D Roosevelt Dime   
    Im out here grading coins your out here volunteering your opinions. Don’t be mad a rookie can be superior to you. Just know im not your average or typical while your out trying to make ends meet im eating sleeping  devoted to these coins I’ve established myself in real society to not have to work and i could enjoy my hobby as i please i dabble in coins you wish you could obtain i dont wait for the weekend to choose one coin. And then bring it here to show it off. Please know who you are trying to see eye to eye with. Dont judge me based off your limits. Kinda pathetic you felt the need to join the conversation. But hey i get it..
  21. Haha
    JKK reacted to coinstudentdeadeye in 2005 D Roosevelt Dime   
    Whats funny is that you think your opinion is more than it actually is it states your a volunteer not a professional grader. This forum might be a big part of your life than it could ever possibly be for me, so i understand your need to preserve your status here or for your buddies or whom ever. Thats the real joke here, volunteer 😂
  22. Like
    JKK got a reaction from GoldBear150 in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    You're very welcome. What I appreciate is when people gather that the purpose here is not to create hoops to jump through, but to make it as easy as possible to give clear assistance. There are quite a few regulars here who do a lot more work than I ever do, but they'll sure be happy not to have to bug you to crop and orient your photos--they'll probably be able to get right to the answer. That's a win for everyone.
  23. Thanks
    JKK reacted to Santanbecca in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    JKK, thank you for the detailed guidelines. I’ve seen boards where this info would have been very helpful. I’m going to edit and reformat my pics now and will do my best to post without being an annoying newby. 😁 I appreciate everyone who volunteers their time and expertise, as it will hopefully give me some insight and save me some money if it doesn’t make sense to have my coin graded professionally. So thanks again for doing a sometimes thankless job!
  24. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Lem E in 1943 P nickel magnetic!   
    Nickel is in fact attracted to magnets, but only in strong concentration or in combination with another metal that magnets draw, such as iron. (Our Cu/Ni coins do not contain enough Ni for that.) Take an older Canadian nickel sometime (solid Ni) and run a magnet over it. I surprised a coin dealer who did not know this; expecting to make a fool of me, he took out a big magnet and dunked into a small bucket of Canadian nickels. Probably a hundred or more stuck to it.
    As for why your 35% Ag 43-P nickel seems to adhere to a magnet, that I do not know.
  25. Like
    JKK reacted to KyCoinKollektor in EBay selling   
    The only thing you can do if u have a coin worth $500 and say it sells at auction for $20 is cancel the sale. More than likely you are still going to be forced to pay final value fees and you will get a negative seller rating from the winning bidder which is really bad because nobody will buy coins from someone with a bad seller rating. But you are correct this forum probably isn’t the best place to ask this question because in all of your other post here you are not willing to listen to anyone!