Ten Years Ago Today I Purchased A Very Cool Coin

[TomB]

Some of us on the boards have fortunately been active in this hobby for longer than the current extended bull market and we remember the days of a serious downturn in the hobby-industry and the significant lull that followed. During the height of the slumber through the mid-1990s one would be able to walk the aisles of the bourse with little competition. In those days there were some very nice coins available and they appeared on the floor with a greater frequency than seen today, if I recall correctly.

 

One coin that caught my eye during that time was a raw Columbian half dollar. Of course, the Columbian is a generic classic commem and not only is it available in large numbers in MS, but it is also readily available for a few dollars over melt in circulated grades, which is something that other commems generally cannot match. However, it was also the first classic commem half dollar that the US Mint produced and this gives it added historic significance from a numismatic standpoint.

 

This raw coin was sitting in a 2x2 and was labeled as MS65, which is the grade I also gave the coin and was consistent with the grading standards of the day. At this point in time PCGS was still issuing the green insert slabs and the first intentionally blue insert slab from PCGS that I ever saw was, oddly enough, this coin when I received it in the mail after its submission. I paid MS65 money for the coin and added it to a package sent off to PCGS that week. By the end of October the coin was back in-hand, but my initial reaction was severe disappointment. The disappointment had nothing to do with the coin, but had everything to do with the grade on the insert. PCGS had graded the piece as MS64, which I did not agree with and which “lowered” the value of the coin by about 80%.

 

Over time I realized that the PCGS grade did not matter on this coin since I was so fond of the piece and since I did not agree with the PCGS decision on the matter. There are only a small handful of coins in my collection where I routinely assign them a higher grade than either PCGS or NGC have assigned them and this coin is one of that tiny pool. I always smile when I see this coin in-hand for not only its attractive qualities, but also because it brings me back to those days when the hobby-industry was not supercharged, when the internet effect on coins had not yet begun, when the NGC forum did not exist and the PCGS forum was a nascent entity. This is not nostalgia for a perceived simpler time; it is simply a realization that in a decade’s time the market has changed and exploded in ways that few, if any, could have imagined and that with some patience and discipline it is possible to make a purchase today that will continue to make you happy many years down the road.

 

Here is the coin-

 

[zrlevin]

Beautiful coin, Tom! It looks like a 66ish by today's standards.

[stgecko]

That is pretty! It's always nice to see the detail in the sails on these coins. Very nice indeed.

[jgrinz]

Did you free it free its tomb ? TomB ( No Pun intended )

 

That is a fabulous coin and I will agree with your assessment of the grade but if in a NGC holder it would be a MS65* The fields and the details are amazing. The hold back is always those sail ribs - its tough to get anything to grade higher than a 64 if they are not there ... Looks as though the contrast of the picture negates some of the ribs but looks like they are all there ... NICE COIN!

 

Thanks for sharing

[kryptonitecomics]

I will pay you full MS64 Retail for that coin....wouldn't want you to take a hit on your investment

[pendragon1998]

That's a handsome coin, Tom.

[harvey8542]

Very nice coin Tom

[WoodenJefferson]

This is the kind of slabbed coin that might take a virgin over the edge at a "crack-out" party.

 

That one gives me the chills

[123cents]

PCGS and NGC are grading tough right now. That being said, I think your beautiful Columbian should have graded at least MS-65.

[EZ_E]

I would never crack the coin out for the reasons you mentioned, Tom (nostalgia and unique insert) but I think it is a slam-dunk 66 even on a bad day!!!

[cpm9ball]

Tom, I don't think it matters what grade they gave the coin. It is beautiful!

 

Chris

[rrantique]

Great looking Columbian ,TomB, and i think it needs a grade review.

[relicsncoins]

Very nice, from the looks of it, it's deffinately undergraded by a point if not two.

 

I don't know if it was the packaging these came with or what, but there sure are a lot of nicely toned Columbians floating around.

 

JJ

[CarlWohlforth]

I returned to collecting in the '90s after a long hiatus from my boyhood collecting days. I remember the change from green to blue label holders and the elbow room on the bourse. I was very "green" myself in those days. I felt flush due to a lucky unwinding of start up technology company stock options so I did go for the MS or PR 67s as they were not so terribly much more expensive than their 65 counterparts. There were not all that many 66s if I remember correctly.

 

I like your Columbian! From those photos it would get a bonus for the awesome eye appeal. It would get a minus for the tiny, minor, hits that are obvious on the sails and may or may not be there on the over exposed obverse.

 

Great coin!

[dean1345]

Tom,

I agree with ZRLEVIN, If you submitted to NGC it has a great shot at MS65*. Nice story and great addition to your collection.

 

Dean

[RI AL]

Nice looking coin, Tom, and I enjoyed the story that goes with it as well. I have just a few pieces in my type set that I bought from a classmate in the mid 1960's..(I think he must have been raiding his father's collection) and I wouldn't part with them for anything. We've bonded. Their history as part of my collection is important to me...guess I'm a bit of a sentimentalist. The only problem is...when my son inherits my collection (or my wife sells it off)...all that "history" is gone...but it's nice while I can still remember and enjoy it.

RI AL

[RI AL]

PCGS and NGC are grading tough right now. That being said, I think your beautiful Columbian should have graded at least MS-65.

 

I understand 123's comment about "getting tough right now" in reference to PCGS and NGC. What I don't get is WHY the standards seem to float. Recently here, I've learned that PCGS green slabs potentially were graded harder, as were NGC "no line fatties".

 

What brings on the variances in standards and why are they tough sometimes and more relaxed at others? Can someone educate me?

 

Waiting for tropical storm Hanna to blow through this afternoon. RI AL

[Hoot]

Lovely coin Tom, and even a better story. As you know, the coin was graded in a time when the dings on the curl of Columbus' hair (below his cheek) would have been a feature that any grader might have considered "central enough" that the gem grade would have been precluded. These were once the type of considerations that would cause friendly debate, as the expense of such a coin was not great when you bought it. And ultimately, I'm glad that you stood firm with the coin, simply keeping it for the beauty it truly is and for its uncommon appeal to you. Does the coin pluck the Charles Barber strings of your heart?

 

Mark

[SkyMan]

Lovely coin Tom and a fun story to go with it!

 

[TomB]

Hoot, I guess this coin would have to be considered a "half-a-Barber-half" since Barber engraved the obverse while Morgan engraved the reverse. Additionally, the coin was designed by Olin Warner. I like this coin so much that it might reside in my theoretical box of twenty.