New to this Help! 0

[EagleRJO]

On 1/25/2023 at 9:50 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Eagle, I think I read somewhere sometime that bulk grading costs for large submitters was maybe $15-$20 per coin, is that right ?  And for most individuals here, $25-$35 is a fair range ?

Your numbers are off.  I have heard that dealers all-in grading costs for large bulk submissions can be as low as $8 to $10 per coin, and Sandon mentioned above that he has encountered $7 per coin.

Also the $23 to $35 you noted is just a minimum base grading cost depending on the type, which goes up from there.  Also, you need to add shipping to NGC w/ insurance, $10 handling, and $28 return shipping w/ insurance.  That comes to about $80 all-in grading cost for a coin.  You can reduce that number by waiting to submit several coins at once and spread out the S&H costs.

Edited February 2, 2023 by EagleRJO

[EagleRJO]

On 1/26/2023 at 10:09 PM, Elithenewguy said:

Ok thanks. So what exactly should I be looking for besides the obvious 🤔. I am definitely guilty of the school of YouTube some of these guys make it seem like you have the holy grail with this 1958 DD penny or that 1943 copper im hear weighing every coin to see if the weight is off and gwt confused. I found a 1988 penny that weighing 3.1 grams I just tossed it in the pile with the rest it so confusing

Virtually all of the YT stuff is click-bait nonsense, self-promotion or just plain garbage.  Stick with YT vids from the ANA and stuff from the ANA eLearning Academy.  Some of the really old ANA vids are a little dated, but still relevant.  Also, start with basic topics first, and then jump into areas of interest later.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 1/27/2023 at 8:04 PM, EagleRJO said:

Your numbers are off.  I have heard that dealers all-in grading costs for large bulk submissions can be as low as $8 to $10 per coin, and Sandon mentioned above that he has encountered $7 per coin.

Also the $23 to $35 you noted is just a minimum base grading cost depending on the type.  You need to add shipping to NGC w/ insurance, $10 handling, and $28 return shipping w/ insurance.  That comes to about $80 all-in grading cost for a coin.  You can reduce that number a little by waiting to submit several coins at once and spread out the S&H costs.

Wow...so a big submitter can be paying 1/10th of what we pay, huh ?  

Edited January 28, 2023 by GoldFinger1969

[EagleRJO]

Some dealers submit bank bags or roll boxes full of coins at significantly reduced rates, and it's also bulk S&H which is a good chunk of the individuals cost per coin.  Economy of scale. 

[VKurtB]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:56 PM, EagleRJO said:

Some dealers submit bank bags or roll boxes full of coins at significantly reduced rates, and it's also bulk S&H which is a good chunk of the individuals cost per coin.  Economy of scale. 

Actual pallets. Wooden skids. I’ve seen it. Brinks drags new ASE’s onto a show floor on a pallet, Lee Minshull signs a submission form and the pallet goes right to NGC. Nobody opens or looks at anything, or even fills out the form, to be honest. 

Edited January 28, 2023 by VKurtB

[Just Bob]

On 1/28/2023 at 4:02 PM, VKurtB said:

Actual pallets. Wooden skids. I’ve seen it. Brinks drags new ASE’s onto a show floor on a pallet, Lee Minshull signs a submission form and the pallet goes right to NGC. Nobody opens or looks at anything, or even fills out the form, to be honest. 

Wouldn't you just love to be the newbie at NGC who gets stuck grading a pallet full of ASEs? I'd go nuts! 

[GoldFinger1969]

On 1/30/2023 at 10:15 AM, Just Bob said:

Wouldn't you just love to be the newbie at NGC who gets stuck grading a pallet full of ASEs? I'd go nuts! 

Aren't those reviewed by 3 graders just like older coins ?

[VKurtB]

On 1/30/2023 at 11:20 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Aren't those reviewed by 3 graders just like older coins ?

Yup, three newbies. BUT, and this is important, they are TOLD where to look to find the most common shortcoming on the coin. If it’s there, it’s a 69. If it’s not, it’s a 70. If there is an extra flaw, it’s a 68. If a coin ONLY has the extra flaw and NOT the key one they’ve been told to look for, it can STILL be a false 70, because they don’t give ANY ASE enough time for a thorough examination. Gotta push that volume through. This is why I’ll never have American bullion coins graded. Not silver, not platinum, not gold, not palladium. Capsules or original government packaging, as the case may be, only. I buy capsules for those that are from bullion strikes. They sell them in all the correct sizes. I also keep a “one non-mint-marked” per year Dansco album of ASE’s. I buy the W burnished too, but they stay in OGP. 

Edited January 30, 2023 by VKurtB

[EagleRJO]

I have quite a collection of American Silver Eagle bullion coins starting with 1986 (almost complete).  Now you have to purchase them through dealers who get them in bulk shipments like pallets from the mint and then break out individual coins or rolls.  Some of the larger bullion coin dealers like Apmex and JD Bullion take them and immediately put them in sealed individual or 20 roll protective packaging and call it "MintDirect", "MintSealed" or something similar.  I just leave them in that or put them in easy-open coin coffins if they come raw. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by EagleRJO

[powermad5000]

Hello Eli! Welcome to the hobby and thank you for your service!

I have been collecting coins for 40+ years and I still have a lot to learn but it has been a rewarding and fulfilling experience for me. I agree with the others, before investing or worrying about buying or selling, read legitimate books and turn off YouTube (except the ANA videos which are very informative). Get used to checking out what you get in pocket change. Get used to mintage numbers. Get used to inspecting coins. I say keep your examples in your photos and when you learn more about rarities and grading then you will see your progress and you will then let those coins go but you will understand why.

This hobby does something different for everyone. I began by collecting the oldest coins I could find. Worn Morgans, cull Large cents, Indian heads, and Buffalo nickels. I later learned the ins and outs for myself and my collecting style. I also ended up getting a job that pays real dough and started into collecting higher value coins and higher end coins and spread out all over the place into Trade Dollars, half cents, Franklins, Mercury dimes, Seated Liberty Half dollars, Three Cent Nickels, Two Cent pieces, Capped Bust half dollars, and on and on. With all came pieces of knowledge. I am now comfortable going to coin shows and shopping out raw coins to submit. None of this happened overnight though. You are starting out so get some good books and refer to the price guides and the coin explorer on NGC. A 10X magnifier is fine. Maybe a scale that weighs out grams to two decimal places. Use these to inspect your pocket change which doesn't cost you a thing so you become familiar with inspecting and self grading. 

One thing to take away from my comment is you collect what you want and how you want and nobody can really tell you it is wrong. Keep that penny. And like I said, when your knowledge expands, you will one day let it go but you will understand why it is ok to let it go.

Just my humble opinion.

[EagleRJO]

On 1/25/2023 at 7:20 PM, Elithenewguy said:

I find this process fascinating, im holding a1942 penny right now just thinking of the journey this coin has had all these years and now it sits here with me. But also if there is opportunity to make some money why not just a bonus I guess.

Thinking about the journey a coin could have had before reaching your hand can be fascinating.  One of the coin series I collect are Morgan silver dollars which were mostly struck from the late 1800's to early 1900's.  I could picture an earlier one at some point in an old style canvas bank bag in a backroom office safe at a wild west bank,  or in a persons pocket on a stagecoach with someone riding shotgun, literally.

It was also a common coin stolen by many of the infamous outlaws, so maybe one of the many raw circulated Morgans I have was once in Jesse James' pocket .  As a tribute to that for marketing Apmex came out with NGC & PCG$ BU Grade slabbed "Stage Coach" Morgan Dollars, of which I have a few where it was hard to find a nice raw BU grade one I liked.

On 1/30/2023 at 11:55 PM, powermad5000 said:

,,, read legitimate books and turn off YouTube (except the ANA videos which are very informative) ... A 10X magnifier is fine. Maybe a scale that weighs out grams to two decimal places. Use these to inspect your pocket change which doesn't cost you a thing so you become familiar with inspecting and self grading.

Some good advice, particularly about learning to grade since it's so important.

@Elithenewguy If you want to eventually buy and sell coins you need to have a solid understanding of the basics first, including grading and valuations.  Then eventually cherrypicking under-graded coins, errors and varieties which is more of an advanced area of coin collecting, and something I plan to do in the future.  But I wouldn't go down that road until for example you can just look at a coin and come up with a fairly accurate grade.  It's also typically picked from raw coins, so you also need a good handle on identifying counterfeits.

Edited February 2, 2023 by EagleRJO

[Elithenewguy]

So I just found this and don't know what to make of it any input?

[Sandon]

On 1/31/2023 at 6:14 PM, Elithenewguy said:

So I just found this and don't know what to make of it any input?

   It's just severe damage! Someone took a tool and scraped the date off.  Note how the scraped metal is piled up along the edges of the scraped area.  (Based upon the style of Lincoln's head and the lettering, the coin was likely dated between 1969 and 1973.)

[JKK]

On 1/31/2023 at 3:14 PM, Elithenewguy said:

So I just found this and don't know what to make of it any input?

Yes. It is numismatic garbage. Be glad you can spend it for 1c.

[Elithenewguy]

Ok I have another one. I found a 1982 penny with a blob where the 2 should be🤦🏽‍♂️

[GoldFinger1969]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:17 PM, Elithenewguy said:

Ok I have another one. I found a 1982 penny with a blob where the 2 should be🤦🏽‍♂️

Just my opinion....don't waste time or effort looking at or for stuff like this.  It's almost certainly not going to amount to anything worth $$$ or your time....focus on coins or coin types you like and buy those...study those...read about those.

JMHO. 

[Greenstang]

The blob could be either a die chip or a plating bubble. Would need a photo to confirm. 
In either case, there is no added value.

[Elithenewguy]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:38 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Just my opinion....don't waste time or effort looking at or for stuff like this.  It's almost certainly not going to amount to anything worth $$$ or your time....focus on coins or coin types you like and buy those...study those...read about those.

JMHO. 

I definitely am. I found the full set of 2009 Lincoln pennies in excellent condition pretty cool to have and a few coins from the 60s and 70s that look really nice I just happen to come across these few coins with minor flaws and just have questions about them. Now really looking for money just want expert opinions. 

[EagleRJO]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:17 PM, Elithenewguy said:

Ok I have another one. I found a 1982 penny with a blob where the 2 should be🤦🏽‍♂️

Well if there is a blob at the 2 how can you tell it's a 1982 penny?

And if you were looking for a 1982-D small date copper penny see the attached I put together from a few sources which may help in your endeavor, however unlikely it may be finding one (virtually impossible).

On 2/1/2023 at 2:38 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Just my opinion....don't waste time or effort looking at or for stuff like this.  It's almost certainly not going to amount to anything worth $$$ or your time ...

Some specifically go out of their way looking for super rare coins and errors like the 1982-D small date copper penny, which I agree is almost certainly going to be a waste of time.

But if I just happen to come across say a 1982 penny, I would quickly look to see if it's a D mark and look at the 2 in the date to see if its a good distance away from the edge (as it would be for a "small date").  Then, once in a blue moon if its a 1982-D small date I might toss it on an accurate scale quick, since that is typically right next to me.  For a basic check as I come across these things it's probably less than a minute, but you gotta be in it to win it.  

[Elithenewguy]

On 2/1/2023 at 7:49 PM, EagleRJO said:

Well if there is a blob at the 2 how can you tell it's a 1982 penny?

And if you were looking for a 1982-D small date copper penny see the attached I put together from a few sources which may help in your endeavor, however unlikely it may be finding one (virtually impossible).

Some specifically go out of their way looking for super rare coins and errors like the 1982-D small date copper penny, which I agree is almost certainly going to be a waste of time.

But if I just happen to come across say a 1982 penny, I would quickly look to see if it's a D mark and look at the 2 in the date to see if its a good distance away from the edge (as it would be for a "small date").  Then, once in a blue moon if its a 1982-D small date I might toss it on an accurate scale quick, since that is typically right next to me.  For a basic check as I come across these things it's probably less than a minute, but you gotta be in it to win it.  

It's definitely not a small date but here is a picture of it

[Sandon]

   This is another example of post-mint damage from being scraped. The right side of the "8" is also scraped.

[EagleRJO]

On 2/1/2023 at 8:15 PM, Sandon said:

   This is another example of post-mint damage from being scraped. The right side of the "8" is also scraped.

I assume the scraping would be to try and alter the date to one that had value.  Perhaps they gave up when they saw how it was coming out?

[Sandon]

   It was most likely accidental, from the coin being scraped by other coins, keys, machinery, etc.  

[Elithenewguy]

Found a coin with this crack in it not sure what to make of it

[Sandon]

   Your most recently posted coin, a 1984 Lincoln cent, has what is referred to as a "die break" or "die crack". The obverse die was worn from use, and a crack formed through the top of "IN GOD WE". When the coin was struck, metal from the coin blank was squeezed into the crack, forming this raised line on the coin. Die cracks are very common and worth little or no premium at this stage, but it's still a nice find. 

  I recommend that you post any additional coins as separate new topics, with a title referring to the coin, so that other viewers may more easily reference and find them.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:41 PM, Greenstang said:

The blob could be either a die chip or a plating bubble. Would need a photo to confirm. 
In either case, there is no added value.

Unless it's a valuable coin by itself a defect like we get asked about means nothing 99.9% of the time.

Getting the Whitman Red Book (A Guide Book To United States Coins) and other primers will explain what defects are valuable and which (most) are just distractions worth nothing.

Edited February 23, 2023 by GoldFinger1969

[VKurtB]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:00 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Wow...so a big submitter can be paying 1/10th of what we pay, huh ?  

Not really. The stuff they submit in bulk is what I call “junk slabbing” - ASE’s and modern commemoratives. They aren’t getting a rate like that for classic coins.