a neat elgin early commem

[michael]

this elgin early commem currently resides in an ngc ms67* star holder the only ms67* star and is very nice for the grade

 

usually elgins come so frosty that it subdues the lustre and the coins also are either blast white dipped or just plain ugly grey deep golden/brown colors and most are just plain fugly looking...... even most all of the ms67 coins

 

not so with this coin

 

on the obverse.............................

the frost is good but it doesnot subdue the lustre and with the centers having a medium original lightly golden white skin makes this coin really eye appealling

and then add the neat colors usually not seen on an elgin the blue/green/red iridescent colors on the rims, moreso into the edge design 9 pm to 3 am and with an above average strike makes the obverse maybe not a monster but close!

 

hard to see these iridescant colors on the obverse rims as the obverse scan looks dark on the rims but i guarantee you it is not when viewing the coin sight seen

 

the photo BARELY DOES JUSTICE TO THE COIN! this coin needs to be sight seen!

 

 

on the reverse........................

the coin has a thicker original skin than the obverse with a slightly subdued but very good lustre! mostly golden/white center and reddish/orange rims into the outer design from 2pm to 11 pm with the reverse being an average strike as such most all are

 

elgins just do not come looking this nice and if you ever seen any coins like ms67 66 65 coins at shows they are just lacklustre and basically white to grey nothing to get excited about coins

 

in ms68 it is a really rare coin and i can see why as usually the coins may have high tecnnical merits but are just not ms68 material as the eye appeal and the lustre are not there basically nothing to get excited about lacklustre coins coins that just do not walk and talk to you! but this is how most all come.....fugly!!

 

i think pcgs has graded 3 elgins ms68 and 4 ngc coins ms68 with two ms68 elgins star coins as they must be if in a ms68 holder there must be something really special about them

 

also in years past there are many really ugly elgins graded ms67 that are just plain not nice coins technically or eye appeal wise let alone with any great toning

 

this coin is an uncommon exception and maybe not a monster toned $12k coin in ms68 or a monster toned ms67 coin say for $7k..........but overall close

 

i can see why ngc gave this coin a star designation and again this coin the photo is not great and this coins looks much better in person

 

and if you know and understand how elgins come and how they usually look this coin will knock you out

 

a technical nice ms67 with GREAT toning and EYE APPEAL for an elgin

 

sincerely michael

[Higashiyama]

I agree, really neat coin!

 

Elgins are funny, almost like modern commems -- it seems like there are lots of perfectly adequate, pretty high grade coins, but they have a bland sameness about them. The one you've attached has a lot of character.

 

[CarlWohlforth]

That is another super Michael coin! Beautiful! I really like the color and imagine the skin and luster are superb in person. I just hope that someday we can meet in person and have a show and tell with bunches of coins.

[ArtR]

A Real Nice Coin Michael.

two ms68 elgins star coins as they must be if in a ms68 holder there must be something really special about them

Michael, I have seen one of the Elgins in person, the one in Gregg Bingham's collection a truly Great Coin, that is more than worthy of the Star Designation.

[TomB]

The Gregg Bingham commem's will blow you away for their color, luster, skin and overall eye appeal! They are a wonderful set that I am glad I have seen and had the ability to closely examine.

 

As for the Elgin that michael has posted, he is correct in that this coin is rare with this type of eye appeal. Elgins come really nice with good frost. However, there seems to be a tradeoff in that the frost subdues most of these coins and the colors that the coins turn are rather limited to the silver through champagne group. This can be a nice color scheme, but, with the frost present they can look lifeless if not rotated or appreciated for what they are; they are Elgins, not Iowas.

 

I once owned a fabulous Elgin that was graded MS64. It was beautiful, with thick frost, champagne crescent toning and good luster, which is unusual for the issue. I sold it for MS66 money on ebay as I described it as "Superb" and the buyer readily agreed. A wonderful coin.

 

This is an issue that was once thought to be extremely scarce in the higher grades but is really one of the easier to find pieces in the commem set. If you find a nice one, buy it, it likely will not be offered with much premium but will be a steal.

[michael]

wow guys thanks for all the great replies!

 

elgins can be found in higher grade and scarce in 67

 

but downright rare in ms67 with great lustre and color as usually they are just drab coins and with the same chanmpgne colored toning and/or dipped white

 

tom i can see from your description why the elgin in ms64 sold for ms66 money on ebay! the new owner got a good deal with that coin!

 

true ms67 elgins are really scarce coins and with very nice toning and 67 with good lustre where the frost doesnot subdue the lustre all these attributes make for really REALLY uncommon coin

 

most ms67 elgins pcgs and ngc are just well coins you would not like the eye appeal at all if you saw them

 

hard to get with eye appeal ie. good lustre without overpowering frost and neat toning that is why when you get an exceptional example like the ms64 you had tom it sells for strong way strong money

 

currently elgins are super buy coins even in ms67 as i have seen downright ugly elgins in the top two grading services ms67 holders sell in the mid 1990's for 3500!! and the coins were ugly and overgraded to boot in ms67 holders!!

 

 

sincerely michael