Coin Show Report - Parsippany, NJ

[DaveG]

Today I went to the monthly, 80-dealer show in Parsippany, NJ. I don't usually go to this show in the summer, so I was pleasantly surprised that there was only one (or perhaps two) empty tables. This show is usually very busy - it's hard to get down the aisles, much less get to a dealer's table. This month, you could get down the aisles OK, but every dealer had at least two people at his table, so it was still a pretty lively show. Jon Lerner was there, with some nice new material, but I didn't see any of the usual board members.

 

There was the usual "stuff" at the show - lots of Morgans, Walkers, etc., and the usual shortage of Seated or decent Barber material. Commems were seemingly everywhere, more so than usual, it seemed to me.

 

I overheard several comments about ANA - the most common one was that it was a lot more expensive trip than most people expected (although they usually went on to say that they had a great time and got out a lot to see the sights - gee, no wonder it was more expensive than they expected!)

 

I got the impression that prices for older, nicer material are still strong. One dealer had an 1806 pointed 6 half dollar in an NGC-40 slab. As you know, this coin Bids at $850 and Trends at $1100; the dealer had a sticker price of $1250 on the slab. I asked the dealer about his price and he said: "The Grey Sheet is usually behind the market on these coins, there were 'plus' signs on the Grey Sheet in May and I can't buy these coins at Bid. And, he said, Bid for an AU is $2200." The more experienced numismatist next to me looked at the coin and said "ten years ago this coin would have been in a VF-30 slab." (The coin was in the slab style that NGC used from 2001 to 2003.)

 

For my part, I thought the coin had a very original look to it and a slightly rotated reverse. I thought it was a nice coin (I'm no expert on grading this series, though), but it was a bit more than I wanted to spend today. I may have made a mistake letting the coin go, but I'll just have to see if I see the coin again in October.

[DaveG]

I almost forgot: There was a dealer who was "doctoring" coins at the show. He had what looked like a half dollar in his hands and he was rubbing it with a Q-tip. He had an open bottle of "Coin Care" next to him, so I presume that that was what was on the Q-tip. He was saying to the guy at his table: "I had a coin that came back in a body bag for "environmental damage", so I put some of this on it and I soaked (or dunked, I'm not quite sure) the coin in alcohol and then sent it back. This time it came back in a slab, so the coin went from being a $100 coin to being an $800 coin. That's what it is today, all games."

 

Has anyone used "Coin Care"? Does anyone know what's in it? Does the use of Coin Care constitute "doctoring"? - Discuss!

[truthteller]

I almost forgot: There was a dealer who was "doctoring" coins at the show. He had what looked like a half dollar in his hands and he was rubbing it with a Q-tip. He had an open bottle of "Coin Care" next to him, so I presume that that was what was on the Q-tip. He was saying to the guy at his table: "I had a coin that came back in a body bag for "environmental damage", so I put some of this on it and I soaked (or dunked, I'm not quite sure) the coin in alcohol and then sent it back. This time it came back in a slab, so the coin went from being a $100 coin to being an $800 coin. That's what it is today, all games."

 

Has anyone used "Coin Care"? Does anyone know what's in it? Does the use of Coin Care constitute "doctoring"? - Discuss!

 

 

From a purely altruistic point of view, placing any substance on a coin is "doctoring". However, there are some acceptable practices which allow for the preservation of coins, not the "enhancement" or "alteration" of coins. Coin care or Blue Ribbon are manufactured for anti-deterioration of the coin surface. They are, in essence, coin oils that prevent the spread of verdigris and corrosion. The oils are most commonly applied to early copper, to prevent spotting. When applied to copper, the oils give a "glossy" effect. This is acceptable for very early pre 1900 copper and some silver. However, the assertion that the coin will get "graded" higher or slabbed may be misleading, since the grading services really take the glossy effect into consideration when grading. The oils can be removed with an application of acetone.

 

 

 

TRUTH

[DaveG]

Truth:

 

I agree, it's not like he was using JeweLuster and I'm really glad he wasn't using acetone at the show(!), I guess I was mostly wondering what Coin Care was and what it does differently from acetone.

 

It sounds like it not only removes surface contaminants, but also puts some oil on the coin to protect the surface. (I presume that the oil would have been removed by the alcohol bath?)