Parsippany show report.

[Wihlborg]

I went to the monthly Parsippany show today and meet up with Jeremy. We said our hellos, and then off we went in different directions to scour the show for the hidden gems that everyone tries to find at a coin show.

 

As usual I was looking for early commems and buffalo nickels. I couldn't find any of the commems or buffalo's that I need for my sets, however I did happen to notice a cool item in a dealer's case. It was a 1962 Alaska Boosters Souvenir dollar. I have seen these before, but never in such nice condition. The dealer had the 2x2 marked $3 so I thought 'what the heck' and bought it. Here it is.

I'm not sure if NGC grades these, but if they do, I'm going to send it in to them with my next submission.

 

Jeremy and I meet up again after we had walked the floor for awhile to compare observations and pickups. Jeremy showed me a few raw Morgan dollars that he bought. All of them were really nice, clean, frosty white and in the MS-64 - MS-65 range. I on the other hand reluctantly showed him my only pickup, an Alaska Souvenir dollar. Oh, the embarrassment!

 

Jeremy had his coins for sale box with him again...come to think of it; does he go any where without it? Anyway, when I saw him pull it out I remembered that the last time we got together he had the most exquisite little roosie proof dime that he was selling. I asked him if he still had it and he said he did. When he pulled it from his box and handed it to me I thought to myself 'How could I have not bought the coin from him last month!' I feel lucky that he hadn't sold it to someone else during the past month. Here are the photos.

The coin is in a PCI holder graded PR-68, but the interesting thing about the coin is that the label in the PCI holder says 100% white!

This means that the coin acquired all of its wonderful color after it was put in the holder! I've heard of, and seen coins turn in slabs before, but never like this one has!

 

So, the show turned out to be a good one for me after all, thanks to a very nice Alaska Souvenir dollar, and a colorful little jewel from Jeremy.

 

John

[airplanenut]

I'll pretty much agree with John on our interactions (since he didn't make me look bad).

 

I did pick up three morgans, but the real kicker turned out to be whizzed (or at least it looks that way now that I've got good light and took it out of the holder). However, I still got a DMPL dollar and a clean 1885 cheap enough to make that coin essentially, if not totally, free. Oh, well... chalk it up to education.

 

I did have my eye out for an NJ colonial, but when I got to two, I decided one had a little less detail than I wanted, and the other too much corrosion--I want to wait to really find the right one. In addition, I found a dealer who had a lot of nice type--I told myself I'd fill a lot of holes in my album. Ooops... all had something that kept me from buying--a beautiful 1850s half cent with a green splotch on the reverse (otherwise XF and glossy brown), a bust quarter that was just a bit too light, and a few others I didn't remember.

 

Oh, well--I've got an MS large cent coming to me that should take my money, anyway. I didn't get a ton of stuff, but it was a fun show, and talking with John was always a pleasure.

 

Oh, and one other thing. John never told the story of the 1920-S buffalo. He found a really nice one, but it was slabbed in an ACG MS64 holder. He offered to pay for the slabbing to make sure the color was good, but the dealer couldn't/wouldn't. Anyhoo, I got to see the coin a little bit after I heard the story. In about 5 seconds I decided it was AT based on a trick Bob Campbell taught me for finding AT buffalos. Guess I saved John grading fees... so now he should be slabbing something free for me

 

Here are my pics of the dime I sold John:

 

 

Jeremy

[michael]

what is the trick to tell AT buffs

 

and i think your roosie dime was slightly crecsent toned from being pushed into an album crooked and when pci graded this coin it already looked like this and the 100% white description on the holder is a mechanical error

 

michael

[airplanenut]

100% white's not a mechanical error--their old slabs did tone coins... a lot of silver eagles have the designation, especially from 1992, that are target toned from the holder. This wasn't the only 100% white toned dime I had, either.

 

As for the trick with buffalos... it's something that when you see, it's WOW, that's easy, but hard to show online. I'll do my best.

 

Have a regular incandescent lamp face the floor. Take the buffalo and put it on the other side of the lamp from where you are (just beyond the rim of the lamp). Tilt the coin until the lustre is dead from the angle of the light. If peripheral toning shows up as milky/hazy (and usually loses it's color for a brown) the coin is AT.

 

Jeremy

[michael]

that is really interesting jeremy that these pci coins tone like this in their holders and they look good too

 

i never have seen this as i really do not see too many pci slabs this is a really interesting thread for me with much to learn

 

also thanks for that AT thing this is something i do but not this way but i see the same thing too and it confirms what i do but in a different way to tell if the toning is AT or not and usually i can tell must based on the date mintmark comb0o and how they usually look just from my experiences seeing them since the 1960's again an interesting way to tell the AT i just tried it on a coin and i see what you mean

 

again this is really a great thread and reply

 

 

michael

[Wihlborg]

Hey Jeremy,

 

How come your photos of the dime are so dark? Even the white slab insert looks dark gray. No wonder you couldn’t find someone to buy it before I did.

 

Also, I don’t know if I can agree 100% with that method for telling if a buffalo is AT or not for a couple of reasons. One is that I have seen many buffalo nickels as well as other types of coins with that type of colorful but hazy rim tone in both NGC & PCGS holders over the years. The other reason and the one that I think is the most valid is that I personally have had a number of Jefferson nickels develop that type of toning after spending a few years in a Dansco album. I have also had clad coins develop this in Dansco’s. The next time I see you I’ll bring a couple to show you.

 

Granted none of the coins that I have had personal experience with were buffalo nickels, but could Jeff’s be that different? I don’t know. I’m not saying that all coins with this type of toning are NT, but I’m also not prepared to say that all of them are AT either.

Maybe TomB and Hoot can chime in with their opinions.

 

John

[airplanenut]

John,

 

The picture's dark because I meter light on the center of the coin--it oftentimes makes the slab dark with my setup. Overall, the color's not off, though. Then again, it was a quick pic, so I didn't really play with the image for ultimate accuracy (not doctoring, but a hint of brightness, contrast, etc. to be perfect--I thought it was good enough).

 

As far as the nickels go, I've seen other rim-toned nickels (out of albums) that become hazy with this method, but still retain some color... I'm talking haze as in everything goes ugly brown and no colors remain. Then again, even if the trick's not foolproof, I really do think that coin was AT, especially with that spot on the buffalo's butt.

 

Jeremy

[Hoot]

Maybe TomB and Hoot can chime in with their opinions.

 

John

 

Tom would agree that all of jom's coins are AT.

 

Hoot

[Hoot]

BTW, John - great looking dime and I agree that Jeremy's photos suck!

 

Here's my photo of the coin (sight unseen):

 

 

I love the AK token!

 

Hoot

[Wihlborg]

Oh, the light metering, no wonder! Anyway I'm just happy you still had it.

 

John

[Wihlborg]

Hey Hoot,

 

That dime I got from Jeremy looks much better in your image of it. If I sent it to you, do you think you could make it look like that in person for me?

 

Yeah, I think that Alaska token is pretty cool.

 

John

[Hoot]

No probemo. I'll make that dime as fancy as you like it.

 

About the buffalo nickel toning question, I'm not convinced either. I'm also thinking of coins plucked from Dansco and Whitman albums that can have nice tight target toning with a bit of light haze. At the wrong angle, toning on nickels can look brown and even black. I'd like to see what Jeremy's saying in person. Most unnatural nickel toning simply leaps out and pokes me in the eyes, but then again, I'm going blind, so what can I say?

 

Hoot

[airplanenut]

BTW, John - great looking dime and I agree that Jeremy's photos suck!

Just a little dark