Coin Community Millennium Pillar Picks

1982 PANAMA 1/2 BALBOA STRUCK OVER 1971 KENNEDY HALF DOLLAR!

Mon, 18 May 2009 23:09:58 -0400

Somehow a 1971 U.S. half got thrown into the hopper with planchets to be struck to make a 1982 Panama Half Balboa coin! Then the coin was somehow not detected by quality control and is available for one lucky collector to own. Details from both coins are very strong. Obverse has strong outline of Kennedy, "In God" under the beard and "We trust" prominently showing on the shoulder. Rev has stars and rays from the half above the shield and eagle of the half Balboa and lettering and more stars visible along the sides. This is an incredible eye appealing, dual county, dual denomination, dual dated (spanning eleven years) error and a wonderful coin to add to your collection!

Proof 1930 Australian Copper Penny Offered for Sale

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 12:50:08 -0400

The Proof 1930 Australian copper penny is internationally renowned as the most valuably copper coin of the modern era through its exceptional quality and the circumstances of its striking. One of the original six pennies has just been offered for private sale, expected to sell for around two million dollars. However some experts have questioned the coin's advertised provenance as the Mint Master's coin......

Today's odd events at Santa Clara coin show

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 12:49:22 -0400

Could anyone describe the commotion at today's coin show in Santa Clara? Upon entering the hall, I saw police but really didn't get the full story outside of a few snippets from my dealer friends. However, as time wore on, I did sense a few dealers were on edge, and here's where I unwittingly became drawn into today's events.

The story begins when I visited a dealer—who shall remain nameless—to browse his inventory of Mexican coins. Here are the full details because they are critical to this story. It's somewhat long, but hopefully to the point.

This dealer takes two stacks of Mexican coins from his case (avg. value $15 each), and hands me one stack at the time, which I then inspect in loupe with both hands in plain view…and the dealer standing just 3ft away. When I finish one stack, I exchange it for another. I'm very methodical when buying, only inspecting one coin from a stack at a time, always keeping inventory in full view. After spending perhaps 10 min. with this dealer, I hand him the last stack and thank him for his time. The whole time, this dealer was standing in front of me, watching me (or so I thought).

Ten minutes later, while at another dealer's table way across the hall, I was confronted by the dealer, who explained that his stack of coins I gave back counted up short (11 vs. 12), and asked if I could explain why? But, as he did not count these coins in front of me, I was at a loss to explain the discrepancy. So I simply asked him if he saw me do anything wrong? No answer from him, so in order to put him at ease, I proceeded to empty my wallet and every pocket on my person. However, this did not seem to put him at ease at all and he said something like "I don't want to insult you…you look like an honest guy, but then again the professionals look that way", casting another suspicious glance toward me.

Honestly, I started to get a little ticked off at this point, and wanted this conversation to end because I could not see satisfying a guy who didn't think he miscounted (and he couldn't name the missing coin). Apparently, he didn't consider that a pro might not waste his time to steal a $15 coin? During the day, I handled coins worth several magnitudes more than that one which mysteriously....did not disappear from dealer's tables. Obviously dealers need to protect their own interests, and with that in mind, may I offer a few suggestions to those who might read this forum:

• If you're going to count stacks of coins, count them (out loud) when you hand them to the customer, and then count them when they're returned. Simple as that—like they do at banks.

• Protect yourself, meaning do whatever you need to feel secure. Set things for your own peace of mind, and don't expect customers to "fill the gaps" by their own conduct, as they cannot possibly secure your own inventory.

• If you feel you must confront a customer on something, it's helpful to come across with something tangible to resolve, rather than a vague suspicion that can neither be proven nor disproven (since we know the pros work "magic").

• Have you ever considered providing a feedback survey for your customers? Many businesses do it, whereby simply asking good questions you'll gain important insights into collector's needs while also serving as positive marketing. In my business, I've found that small contests entice people to fill out surveys.

On the "other side of the coin", there's much that collectors can do to uphold their end, such as:

• Don't give a dealer cause for worry. If you're looking at coins, keep them in full sight at all time. I may be a bit of a stickler, but if I need to get something out of my pocket…I put the coins down, stand up and remove my wallet, etc. I try to keep my hands visible at all times. I also don't bring bags which dealers might need to watch.

• If you can, try to look out for anyone suspicious around dealer's tables.

• Don't mix coins that you previously bought/own with coins you want to buy. Keep the dealer's coins in a distinct pile within their sight until they are paid for. I've even seen collectors wander away from tables with coins they don't yet own.

• Some dealers don't like to haggle on the price—they'll let you know and respect that.

I may be stating the obvious here, but today's events had me wondering.
If you got this far, thanks for reading.

Grading Practice: 1957 D Franklin Half Dollar

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:00:14 -0400

This one of my better raw Franklin halves, and I am not sure about the grade. If I had to make a stab at it, I would say...MS63

Your opinions, please!

Success

Grading Practice: 1927 S Standing Liberty Quarter

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:16:27 -0400

I'd appreciate your thoughts on this well circulated coin. As always, I apologize in advance for the photo size/quality (I couldn't do any better myself); they are the ones provided by the seller. Thanks in advance for your assessments.

2000 Double Struck Lincoln Cent?

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:19:51 -0400

I will admit I know nothing about coins. Well, I know how to spend them.

Today I was putting my change in my drawer and I noticed a pretty neat penny in the group. It is a year 2000 penny. On the side with the face there is no word "trust" as that area has a little straight part on it. On the other side there is "state" printed upside down on the word "cent"

When is a nickel not a nickel?

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:22:49 -0500

In 1866, the Mint introduced a new nickel design to replace the older Half-Dimes. People were hoarding precious metals, and it was felt that a move away from silver was necessary to keep coins in circulation. Between that, and the efforts of magnate Joseph Wharton (for whom the famous business school is named), the decision was taken to produce the new coin in nickel.

The Chief Engraver of the Mint, James Longacre, designed the new coin based upon his Two-Cent piece design, and the mint proceeded to re-learn the lesson taught by the original Indian Head Cent composition:

Nickel doesn't strike easily.

Shield Nickels are notorious for cracked dies and relatively poor strikes, even though they're only 25% Nickel by composition. Clean, fully-struck examples tend to sell at a premium for this reason. All the same, they were popular coins in circulation, replacing the despised fractional currency which precious-metal hoarding had forced into being. So, production proceeded furiously - so furiously, in fact, that no Business Strikes were produced in 1877 and 1878 because of the vast number of nickels in circulation.

But I'm not here to talk about the Shield Nickel, I'm just long-winded.

In 1881, Mint Superintendent James Snowden decided to unify the designs of the Cent, 3-Cent and 5-Cent Nickel. He directed his Chief Engraver, Charles Barber, to develop a unified design. The first two denominations were only ever produced as patterns, but the new 5 Cent piece began Mintage in 1883, which brings us to the coin presented here for your viewing pleasure.

The new 1883 Liberty Nickel was the first in a line of less-than-distinguished Barber coinage designs. In keeping with the unification design, the denomination was represented by only a roman numeral on the reverse, a curious feature which led to the infamous "Racketeer" Nickels. Enterprising profiteers took the new nickel, gold-plated it, added reeding on the rim to mimic that of real gold coins, and passed them off as five-dollar gold pieces. The unsophisticated merchants of the time accepted them, even though the design bore no resemblance to the current true Half Eagle. They were the same diameter, though, and the obverse was close enough to pass a cursory inspection.

Needless to say, the new nickel design was hastily changed during the 1883 mintage run, leaving us with the 1883 "CENTS" and "NO CENTS" types. Approximately 5.5 million NO CENTS nickels were minted, and about 16 million CENTS types. The coin pictured below is the NO CENTS type. It shows both planchet flaws and the die cracks indicative of the Mint's difficulty working with this relatively new metal composition.

2009 Lincoln Cents - I'VE GOT 'EM!

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:46:29 -0500

I attended the 200th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth in his Kentucky hometown of Hodgenville this morning. The Mint was making available to the public a limited number ($5 maximum) of cents. I saw Nelrak's post; I guess you could go through the line multiple times, but I got my 10 rolls and got out of there! Here are some photos. (Note: the roll I opened had mostly pieces with spots, which seems to unfortunately be a chronic problem with new Lincolns).

Have a look on eBay for some now!

My Numismatic Resolutions for 2009

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 15:02:44 -0500

Perhaps a couple of weeks late, but here are some resolutions for 2009 concerning my collection of US coins:

1. Preservation - Be sure that all coins are not stored in any holder that could contain PVC. I have already moved any loose coins in flips into Saf-flips or Capital hard snap cases. Also add another re-chargeable desiccant pack to the bank box.

2. Take Stock - Create an inventory of all my coins on a spreadsheet, by denomination, type, date and mint, with grade, cost and any other features of note. Along with the inventory, photograph all the albums, and single coins that I intend to keep. Put the inventory and pictures on a CD and also create a backup copy on my second hard drive.

3. Pare Down - sell all the duplicates replaced by upgrades and other coins I am not that interested in collecting on the Community or Ebay, or bid board.

4. Acquisitions - continue slowly to acquire key date IHCs, Walkers, and 7070 gold types to complete those sets, but waiting for the market prices to fall and catch up with the recession before purchasing.

5. Generosity - continue to give all the children in my family coins on major holidays to encourage them to collect. Also to look for opportunities to encourage new collectors wherever I encounter them, including new posters on the Community.

6. Knowledge - continue a process of learning all that I can from a variety of sources, but especially from those on this forum.

How about you?? Have a great 2009!

Testing specific gravity of coins: a brief demo

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:59:32 -0500

After a fellow collector expressed interest in determining specific gravity for his coin, I wanted to do a brief demo on how I perform SG tests on small objects including minerals and coins. The credit for this test goes to Swamperbob, who describes his method in detail here.

Yesterday, when I received a fascinating coin in the Secret Santa Exchange, I thought it would be an excellent subject for this demo, as well as suggest composition for 8 Skilling coins during this period.

The most important element of this test is an accurate scale, followed by correspondingly accurate methods. Here I use a pocket jeweler's scale which I have calibrated against other instruments to an accuracy of +/- .04 grams. Previous SG tests with known materials have confirmed reasonably accurate SG results from .7 grams and upward. So at 2.90 grams, this 8 Skilling coin is an excellent candidate for this test.

Since calculating SG involves suspending the coin in water, at first glance a simple electronic scale appears unfit for the task. Yet, it is quite possible to get good results with the setup as pictured, where the scale is positioned over the edge of the table to allow suspension.

For this method to work well, you will create a harness to hold the coin securely but not interfere with the scale or surrounding supports. Pictured below is a light harness made from a bamboo rod and copper wire that holds the coin securely without damage. I should note the wire was not wrapped around the coin, but consists of a few loops which loosely stabilize the coin.

Once your setup is complete, you are ready to conduct the SG test. See above for Swamperbob's detailed method.
• First, weigh the coin without the harness, shown below as W
• Weigh the harness without the coin in air, shown below as Sa
• Weigh the coin suspended in air with the harness, Wa
• Weigh the coin suspended in distilled water* with the harness, Ww
(Note: coin should be completely submerged in water)
• Weigh the harness alone in water, Sw
(Note: if the harness is wet from a previous measurement, dry off completely before this test).
*Note: add a trace of detergent to break surface tension.

Now you have 5 distinct measurements, from which you can calculate SG as shown:

W
_________________ = Specific Gravity

(Wa-Sa) - (Ww-Sw)

Applying my measurements to the coin pictured above, I arrive at the following equation:

W..................................................2.90
_________________ = _______________________________ = 9.35

(Wa-Sa) - (Ww-Sw)..............(3.65 - 0.75) - (3.34 - 0.75)

Given a SG result of 9.35, I have a better idea of the silver content of this coin.
As the SG for .999 silver is 10.49 and .999 copper is 8.96, the SG may suggest a composition of .250 silver and .750 copper.
Does that sound correct?

A sound and tested method for looking through lots of coins.

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:11:40 -0500

This was going to be a reply in another thread, but thought it should get its own thread because I am sure plenty of people have this same question.

So how do I look through cents for die varieties and errors?? Here's how I do it, and if I had the time I could go through 100 rolls a day this way:

1. Sort all the coins in a batch by date if the batch is more than a couple of rolls. I recommend sorting them a bag at a time (5,000 coins). One of the reasons for doing this is so that the more 'expected' dates can be gone through first, and the lesser 'expected' dates can be set aside for a rainier day. Another reason for doing it this way is purely logical and makes perfect sense - if you have 250 examples of 1985 cents to look through, you will get a better sense of how thick the design is and what some of the smaller details look like, and don't have to rethink your knowledge through every time you go from one coin to another. Additionally, you can get out a list of all the known dies for that given year and have them handy while you search, without having to flip back and forth through a LOT of stuff with each coin you look at. If your group is mixed, you might see a 1985 cent, then not see another one for another 60 coins and won't have the visual memory of what the other one looked like. This is more or less a waste of time.

2. Sit in a comfortable environment. If you're using a loupe, sit with a window or other light source behind you. This allows you to sit up in the chair and look at the coin in a comfortable position. Those who try using a desk lamp sitting in front of them have to bend over in different positions to light up the coin, which is a killer on the back after an hour or so of looking. If you are looking through a microscope make sure you set the lighting, magnification, and focus to a comfortable range and LEAVE IT THERE. Constantly changing the settings can play games with your eyes and cause you to miss stuff that's there, and see stuff that's not there.

3. Don't try to look through too many coins at once. Find your limit and don't exceed it. If your eyes start to blur and lose focus after three rolls, call that your daily limit and don't exceed it. I found that my limit is about 20 rolls a day, and I don't go over that. If you get tired of looking, you'll get lazy and stop looking. Your eyes will be catching most of the details, but your brain won't process them, and I promise you'll be missing stuff and wasting your time.

4. Know what you're looking for. Don't just go by what's been listed. Pay attention to all the details and pick out any differences and hold them aside. Keep looking, and if that difference appears over and over, you probably have nothing...but if you see something different on one out of 500 coins of the same date, you might have something worth further investigation.

5. Keep examples of the "nots" as well as the good coins. If you keep the things that aren't collectible, you'll be able to look back on them when you find something else in question and probably answer many of your own questions.

My method:

I have a stereo-zoom microscope with good lighting that did not come with the microscope. More so than not I find that microscope lighting that comes with the scope is not the proper type or intensity of light to use for searching through coins.

I have a stick I made out of ash 1x2 boards that has a flute cut into it that's the right size for cents to fit onto it. I line up half a roll at a time on the stick, obverse facing up and look through them sliding the stick through under the scope. I then have an identical stick I use to flip the coins over so I can look through the reverses. I can often accomplish a half roll in under 3 minutes, or my entire 20 roll daily quota in about an hour, including holdering and marking everything I find.

1795 Reeded Edge Large Cent Found.

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:15:44 -0500

A collector in Oregon purchased a 1795 Reeded Edge Large Cent for $1000. This coin has been examined by numerous dealers raw. These various dealers felt the coin to be an alteration so did not take the coin seriously after examination. While they are deciding weather or not this coin is genuine and finally determined it was not, this collector buys it, submits it to PCGS and it comes back Good4. Now I ask you, why didn't these dealers pay $30 to see what PCGS thought? No brainer to me. This collector is expected to get $200,000-$300,000 for the coin.

No more Body Bagged coins from PCGS?

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:27:13 -0500

I just got this in my email from PCGS...

"No more body bags! PCGS is introducing a major change in its grading process, effective for submissions received after December 1, 2008. Coins that would have previously been no-graded and returned in a body bag will now be placed in a regular PCGS holder and labeled simply "Genuine." Of course this applies only to coins that have been verified to be authentic. PCGS is dropping its Genuine-only service level. Now coins can be holdered in Genuine holders regardless of the service level for which they are submitted. Variety and attribution services will be provided for Genuine coins. For example, if you submit a number of Early Half Dollars with the Overton variety requested, your coins (assuming they are authentic) will be holdered with the Overton variety and grade or with the Overton variety and Genuine (see the PCGS website for a description of grading standards at www.pcgs.com/grades.chtml. This service will also apply to crossovers, so all your coins can now be in PCGS holders."

Those Fabulous Barber Dime Semi Key Dates

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:52:44 -0400

There's been a lot of talk recently about barbers and good buys especially among dimes. I've made barber dimes my pet project being as how I really love them the most of all dimes. I don't know why I love them most, but there is just something about them, not to mention the thrill of the hunt when trying to build a nice set in F or above. So I thought, I'd give you a little breakdown in my list of Semi-Key Barber dimes and their values.

Now about the Semi Keys: If you consider the 94-s to be unattainable and the 95-o to be the only key coin, that leaves a list of semi keys in my view that is 13 coins. All but one of these coins has a mintage under one million (that being the 1895-S at 1.12 mil). In order of desirability one should look at purchasing the following as hard to find semi-key barbers (extremely so in some cases) that are guaranteed to go up in value because these are the ones everyone needs and in almost all cases the ones hardest to find.

1901-S mintage 593,022 rated as an R3 in G through F.
1896-S mintage 575,056 rated R3 in G, R4 in F.
1896-O mintage 610,000 rated same as 96-s
1895 mintage 690,880 same as above.
1903-S mintage 613,300 same as above.
1894-O mintage 720,000 same as above.
1897-O mintage 666,000 same as above. (although very HTF)
1892-S mintage 990,710 same as above.
1904-S mintage 800,000 same as above but dropping back to R3 in VF.
1895-S mintage 1.12 mil rated R2 in G R3 in F.
1913-S mintage 510,000 (2nd lowest mintage in series) R2 in G R3 in F
1909-D mintage 954,000 rated R2 in G R3 in VG-VF (prices do not reflect rarity on this one)
1915-S mintage 960,000 rated R2 in G and VG, R3 in F and VF (again prices do not reflect rarity)

Now I know a couple of you are saying that there are other coins I could include on this list but this is my list of keys and I really like this list just the way it is. Now the first 5 coins can be had in the $80-85 range for a specimen in G the next three for $65-75 in G; the next two run in the 40's the 13-S in the mid twenties and the last two can be had for under $10 in G.

But the real challenge here is finding coins that you can afford in Grades of VG-8 to F-12, because this is where most of the sharp inclines in prices lay and if you can get a better date that is just slightly undergraded you stand to profit by it both from a monetary and collection standpoint. The 1901-S for example makes a price leap of over $200 from VG to F, the 1896-S makes a leap of about $120, and so on and so forth. The 1913-S makes the smallest leap of about $50 between the grades of VG and F. This price leap holds true for all of the list except the last two which never really make a large price leap in between grades preferring to go up in value more linearly, but strangely enough despite their rarity the 1909D can be had for just under $100 in VF and the 1915S under $75 in XF. Two very good buys...if you can find them. But you can see from above you can make great additions to your collection by finding F coins for a VG price. Some dealers won't give a coin a F unless you can see a complete liberty, but according to the ANA guide says ll the letters must be visible buy may be weak. In reality if you have a full LI and TY and at least half of BER showing, usu the upper half. The coin is a fine.

As for this list I would also recommend searching out an 1897-O as fast as possible as problem free specimens are harder to find than the rarity scale indicates in VG and better. I would be remiss if I failed to say there are also many minor keys that can be snapped up on this list, but if you see any Barber before 1900 in F or Better it would make an excellent acquisition.

Why did I pay so much for this ugly 1830 bust half dollar?

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:56:03 -0400

I paid approximately 10x what Greysheet says I should pay for a problem free coin of the same date. So why did I pay so much for such a junky looking coin?

And yes, I do know why, and personally think I got it for a great price.