• 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 Angie1122 in Morgan silver dollar   
    Looks like it might have been polished at some point (no bueno) then re-toned, probably by environmental contact, maybe once abrasively cleaned (not sure). Details look AU-50 or thereabouts. Numismedia would put that at $29 if not doctored, less if so, in any case value is no less than bullion (just a hair shy of $20). My guess is a dealer pays $19, sells it for $28.
  2. Thanks
    JKK got a reaction from Skittlez in Please inform me that I have found some fs rated currencies. What does CAC mean and what else does CAC mean?   
    Welcome. Ahlan wi-sahlan!
    FS is a designation given to Jefferson nickels that have full, unbroken steps on the reverse building (Monticello, Jefferson's estate). I have heard of 5FS and 6FS distinctions, and am not sure which is meant here. The slightest nick in a step, that breaks its fullness, will disqualify it from the FS designation, so it is a desirable one. 67 is a very high grade, but usually what disqualifies a Jeff from FS is striking weakness. On most in that era, the steps were never complete even when the coin left the mint; my guess is that this had to do with the die state (early, I would think, would be best).
    A green bean, the slang term for a CAC sticker, is issued by Certified Acceptance Corporation to an already slabbed coin if in their opinion it meets or exceeds the full specifications for the assigned grade. They're saying that the 44-D is at the very least a solid 66RD--a very nice grade.
  3. Like
    JKK reacted to Coinbuf in Please inform me that I have found some fs rated currencies. What does CAC mean and what else does CAC mean?   
    Just to expand on what JKK said for the nickel, PCGS only needs five steps to be full in order to give the FS designation, they do not require the sixth step.  NGC will designate a nickel with five full steps as 5FS and one with the complete six full steps as 6FS.
  4. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Crawtomatic in 1922 B 10 Francs MS 67   
    The answer is a 63 isn't worth $2100.
  5. Like
    JKK got a reaction from nicky foster in please help identify very old copper coin   
    I'd guess that it's a post-jital era Indian or Afghan civic copper of some sort. Size is about right. There's a place that you could start looking, but you probably wouldn't like it. If it helps, I believe that your first pic needs to rotate 90 degrees clockwise to be properly aligned. The tell you would be looking for is the three nuns (the vertical strokes with one dot above), the Arabic letter N, connected together as they are. Never seen that before, but the size and style are right for Afghan/Indian civic copper.
  6. Like
    JKK got a reaction from MAULEMALL in please help identify very old copper coin   
    I'd guess that it's a post-jital era Indian or Afghan civic copper of some sort. Size is about right. There's a place that you could start looking, but you probably wouldn't like it. If it helps, I believe that your first pic needs to rotate 90 degrees clockwise to be properly aligned. The tell you would be looking for is the three nuns (the vertical strokes with one dot above), the Arabic letter N, connected together as they are. Never seen that before, but the size and style are right for Afghan/Indian civic copper.
  7. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Alex in PA. in Worthington Controls   
    I remember him well.
  8. Like
    JKK got a reaction from RonnieR131 in I'm new and need an opinion on an unusual U.S. penny.   
    Please take a good look at Abe's cheekbone, jawline, collar, and hair. There's where you will see the obverse wear, which is made very obvious by the patina's having worn off in those areas. On the reverse, look at the light wear on tops of the surviving wheat lines, the grains, and the lettering. Plus the rim, lightly worn everywhere it has not been damaged. The wear is light, but to think of it as appearing like it were struck yesterday suggests that you would gain knowledge by comparing it to some uncs, even those with fully brown patina.
    Never glad to bring more bad tidings, but I saw the left side's damage and do not think that's a grease-filled die. I think it's just more PMD. I do not think that any collector who understands errors would consider this coin worth more than its metal value, because anyone could reproduce such damage on their own with practice. To do this one, I'd find some sort of flat-faced pincers or pliers of the right size, pinch the coin's edge in them, then give it a good shot with a hammer. Maybe a flat-headed punch on top of an anvil or the pounding spot on a vise. Bluntly put, there's nothing for collectors to appreciate or enjoy, because most of us don't fundamentally want to see coins abused, and this one has been.
    But if you like it and find it interesting, there's no reason you should not hang onto it and enjoy it yourself. Not every collector collects everything. I have zero understanding of the collecting interest of tokens, for example, but our club has so many token guys that half the presentations are about them. I try to stay awake. With the club meeting on zoom, I read a book where the laptop cam can't see it, so as not to be disrespectful. I presume some of them will do the same thing when I present "Arabic on coinage."
  9. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Ray, USMC in Inherited coins   
    Sounds like an interesting batch of coins that would be of significant value, at least the gold. You should not only be considering level of circulation, but authentication. Might sound far-fetched, and there's a strong tendency to think Bampaw was the world's greatest numismatist and could not possibly be taken in by phonies, but it happens all the time. I helped a lady liquidate her dad's gold collection, and man, was she *spoon*ed off that her dad had gotten ripped off with two counterfeits. We only learned this when the auction house send them in for grading.
    I do not know much about sending in coins for grading, but that would very likely confirm for you whether they were circulated/authentic. No offense, but new collectors are rarely good judges of whether a coin is authentic or has seen circulation--a fact you clearly recognize, which is to your credit. You could certainly photograph and post them here and get opinions. I don't know what a 1986 Liberty dollar is, but it's unlikely the Kennedy merits having graded.
  10. Like
    JKK got a reaction from RonnieR131 in Inherited coins   
    Sounds like an interesting batch of coins that would be of significant value, at least the gold. You should not only be considering level of circulation, but authentication. Might sound far-fetched, and there's a strong tendency to think Bampaw was the world's greatest numismatist and could not possibly be taken in by phonies, but it happens all the time. I helped a lady liquidate her dad's gold collection, and man, was she *spoon*ed off that her dad had gotten ripped off with two counterfeits. We only learned this when the auction house send them in for grading.
    I do not know much about sending in coins for grading, but that would very likely confirm for you whether they were circulated/authentic. No offense, but new collectors are rarely good judges of whether a coin is authentic or has seen circulation--a fact you clearly recognize, which is to your credit. You could certainly photograph and post them here and get opinions. I don't know what a 1986 Liberty dollar is, but it's unlikely the Kennedy merits having graded.
  11. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Modwriter in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    From the top of the Ask NGC forum:
    Ask NGC/NCS
    13 Moderator-reviewed questions answered by NGC/NCS.   Questions are only visible to the author initially, but will be made public if they're of general interest to the community. Start new topic  Mark forum as read My emphasis added. At first I was perplexed because I haven't seen anyone do it this way before, though there isn't any firm guidance in the forum as to whether one would want to do it this way or not. So here's the guidance: I'd use that forum purely for questions on the coin grading and conservation process as performed by NGC and NCS. Other questions, including ID and grading questions, are best posted in the Newbie forum (if you want to be looked at as a novice and given appropriate education) or US/World/whateverelseitis coins (if you feel a little more secure in your understanding). Not that it really matters much which one you use. In any case, if you repost your thread in Newbie or US/World, where you will actually get replies sooner rather than later, no one's going to piddle themselves. For one thing, they can't see your original thread, so they will have no idea you reposted its contents. And again, big kudos to you for making a serious effort to figure out where to post what, and how to do so, before just diving in. It's uncommon.
  12. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Modwriter in What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry   
    Right this moment it says I don't have permission to see it, but I look forward to when I can.
  13. Thanks
    JKK reacted to Alex in PA. in Im deleting my PCGS Account and never going back   
    We are now fully aware that you will no longer deal with the folks across the street.  Let's put and end to this pity party; shall we?
  14. Haha
    JKK reacted to Just Bob in Im deleting my PCGS Account and never going back   
  15. Like
    JKK reacted to Alex in PA. in Im deleting my PCGS Account and never going back   
    There's no hostility towards this person.  Did the OP take his complaint to the CU Forum - NO!  Did the OP file a complaint with PCGS - NO!  The OP brought his grievance into our house avoiding any contact with PCGS or their Forum.  Why?  You have an untold number of his comments dissing PCGS, their graders and all Californians to boot.  Those are the actions of a blow hard looking to stir up troubles and those troubles could cause a grievance between this Forum and CU like in 2003 and 2004.  The OP needs to accept responsibility and deal directly with PCGS instead of involving our forum and stop being a cry baby about this.    
  16. Like
    JKK got a reaction from RonnieR131 in 1776 Continental Currency- Real or Fake??   
    It was easy. Someone new here posted a pic of it. That told me it was a fake.
    I'm kidding with a note of seriousness. The serious part is yeah, the percentage is so overwhelming that we barely need to look at the pics. So many replicas have been made over the years, and it seems like everyone's grandfolks had one. Few of the fakes made any serious attempt at fooling anyone and I think most were for souvenir/fun purposes. This was one of the least serious I've seen in terms of the surface.
    The kidding part sounds like I'm faulting you, but I'm not; you can't hear joviality in typed text. I totally get it that it made sense to check it out and be as sure as possible, just in case. You were aware of the high likelihood of the outcome and accepted it, which is not as common as you might imagine and we might wish, and didn't try to give us *spoon* for not providing a particular answer. You provided photos of both sides. You put yourself squarely into the "worth our time to help" category (at least in my opinion); I hope you stick around, and with coin collecting.
  17. Like
    JKK reacted to Just Bob in The Franklin Mint   
    Welcome to the forum.
    I think the way that the Franklin Mint products have been marketed has much to do with the lack of respect in the numismatic and collectibles community. It (in most cases) has little to do with the quality of the workmanship, or the actual products themselves. I have stated in the past that I really like some of their designs, like in the History of the US set. (Not too fond of the President set designs, though.) I even have some Three Stooges plates, but that is because I am a Stooges fan, not because I think there is any chance they will go up in value.
    The key is your phrase "catches fire." That is not likely to happen in the near future.
  18. Thanks
    JKK got a reaction from 124Spider in Where/how to buy coins?   
    If you want to have a lot of fun without spending too much money, world and ancient coins are there for you. The challenges of identification and historical context last a lifetime. It's not at all rare to find a late 1800s small change Kaiserreich coin in dealer assortment bins for 15-25c. Now and then you'll come across something particularly cool. As for ancients, late Roman bronzes in identifiable condition typically run in the $10-15 range except for rare or high demand issues. I bought a silver antoninianus of Elagabulus (c.220 CE) at a coin show near Salem (Oregon) for about, let's see, $50. There are great resources you can use to find out what you got, if you do like I have often done and buy something cheap then go figure out wth it is.
  19. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Just Bob in Can anybody. Fill me in   
    Welcome to the forum, Mr. Shatner! Loved ST: TOS.
    I agree that it's a damaged quarter, no premium value, not worth sending in for grading.
  20. 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?
  21. Thanks
    JKK got a reaction from markedmoneytech 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?
  22. Like
    JKK got a reaction from FairTradeAct_1935 in New to coin collecting   
    Right now I would not worry about having them professionally graded. You could always do that later. Now is a great time to get hold of a grading book and a loupe and use them to examine your coins and grade them. I would take each coin, take good well-cropped photos of both sides, post them here, and tell us what grade you assigned--then ask for opinions. Don't be surprised if you overgrade; we all did that when we started out. People will explain to you their reasoning for their grades, and you'll get a better understanding.
    I do understand the impetus for starting with professional grading right away; the desire not to cut corners, to do it right. Problem: grading costs $30-60, so unless the coin is worth a lot more than that, you might spend more on grading than on the coin itself. That's no way to have fun collecting.
    Welcome to this hobby that for some of us has lasted half a century (in some cases here, 3/4 century).
  23. Like
    JKK reacted to Woods020 in Corrosion   
    What roll do you sneak 3 cent silvers in?
    I sincerely hope that most of us newbies know you are joking when you give advice. I would hope you would feel pretty bad if someone took if for real advice and ruined a coin they spent their money and time to acquire. Joking is all well and good, and I am by no means an authority on this hobby. However, make sure you qualify your jokes and sarcasm as just that, because those new to the hobby are totally at a loss and see this forum as a source of sage advice. 
  24. Haha
    JKK reacted to Coinbuf in I'm baaaaaack   
    Back on the sauce?  Did you bring any rabbit stew back with you??
  25. Like
    JKK got a reaction from Coinbuf in Is this a double die error on the date and mint mark?   
    In real life I'm an editor, so I recognize the mentality immediately. Some people come to me seeking honesty about their writing. Others are seeking affirmation of the nice things their mom, sisters-in-law, co-workers, and niece said about their writing.
    My way of handling it is simple. My "ignore" is my reminder that this person is pointless to engage with. I might still read something they posted, but will remember not to spend any time trying to answer them. Same for people who repeatedly post random nonsensical stuff, make clear they are full of themselves, or otherwise indicate that it'd be a waste of time and energy.