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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
First piece of knowledge, sgoss66: When johnny54321 talks about gold, listen.  |
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Valued Member
 United States
160 Posts |
Dave -- making a note to myself about johnny54321! :)
Johnny -- that's a nice coin, and at a price I would have been willing to pay, for it. Too bad I missed that one. I will change my approach, and do what you suggest -- keep my eyes open for a lower-end slabbed one...
I hear you, too, about the VG-ish coins being less common than an XF or above...
I think I'll watch for these "low-end" slabbed coins, and then if I find one, show the link here, before buying, just to be sure I'm not messing up/missing obvious issues...
Before I go that route though, that coin Dave posted is interesting...
Dave -- would it be worth making an offer on that coin? Why are you "OK" with that thing I mentioned about the differences in the rim, on one side of the coin vs. the other? Could you share your expertise on why that does not "raise issues" about authenticity in your mind, whereas it would, to my untrained eye?
Steve
Edited by sgoss66
12/21/2013 11:51 pm
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
Dave -- would it be worth making an offer on that coin? Why are you "OK" with that thing I mentioned about the differences in the rim, on one side of the coin vs. the other? Could you share your expertise on why that does not "raise issues" about authenticity in your mind, whereas it would, to my untrained eye?
Keep in mind, we're talking about a half-inch coin weighing less than 2 grams. It's the smallest (although being gold not the lightest) coin we've ever struck. That creates fairly unique problems with die production and the striking process; you'll frequently see odd strikes among coins of this type. Not *all* of them - good strikes are common, too - but once you've looked at a couple hundred of these, you'll know that what you see in the coin I linked is not uncommon. That one in specific seems to have had slightly misaligned dies, resulting in the one-sided weakness. That seller also has a rather nice 1853 with a strong strike, showing some incidental hairlines on the obverse (gold scratches very easily), for the same price. |
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
Dave -- makes sense...I wasn't aware though that there were more issues creating these coins than other types of coins (though I do seem to recall reading that "strike problems" were the reason the Type III coin replaced the Type II after a couple of years...
That 1853 coin in particular is VERY nice...hmm...
Steve
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Little discrepancies in die alignment and striking are magnified by such small coins; you can see similar things with Half Dimes, also very small. |
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
I have one Seated Half-Dime in my "collection;" I'm going to have a closer look at it...
Interesting.
Steve
Edited by sgoss66
12/22/2013 12:47 am
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
They're notorious for incomplete hair, even into higher Mint State grades.
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Valued Member
United States
250 Posts |
I just wanted to say how educational this thread has been for me too. I've got the quarter eagle part of my 7070 gold page done with coins I just happened to get good deals on at my LCS, but don't anticipate being able to get those types of deals on the other coins, especially the eagles and double eagles. I'm fine with an uncertified problem free XF specimen as with what it costs to raise active kids I can't afford choice MS coins. I wasn't aware of the two bullion websites listed above. This whole thread will be helpful as I try to tackle the rest of the gold page. Thanks
Edited by kevro22
12/22/2013 08:57 am
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
kevro22 -- I'm glad this has been helpful to someone else, as well. I have found Provident Metals to be about as inexpensive as they come, for "raw" gold coins, with APMEX not far behind, as long as you aren't having to pay sales taxes to either place (i.e. not an in-state resident). I will post pics later today, in a new thread, showing the quarter and half eagles I got in the mail from Provident just yesterday, so you can see what you get when you buy a "raw/cleaned" coin from them. Steve |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
kevro22 -- I'm glad this has been helpful to someone else, as well. As I clicked into this thread just now, it had 28 posts and 367 reads. Yes, some of those reads were probably from multiple hits by those posting, but it's typical of a thread at CCF that close to 10x the number of people who actively participate, are lurking, reading and learning. You've helped more people than you think, sgoss66. |
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
Dave --
I'd argue that while I may be asking the questions, it is your answers (and those of the other knowledgeable folks here sharing their expertise) that is where the help is really coming from! :)
I am going to post the pictures of the coins I just got from Provident, in another thread here momentarily...
Steve
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
I'd argue that while I may be asking the questions, it is your answers (and those of the other knowledgeable folks here sharing their expertise) that is where the help is really coming from! :)
Yes, but your choice to be other than a lurker is what enables the behavior. Having done that, you're going to wake up one day, down the road, and realize that you're helping more than asking. The cycle does not end. |
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Valued Member
United States
179 Posts |
Ugh. You're banging your head against the wall. Having collected Gold Dollars very seriously (at one time #7 ranked NGC complete gold dollars date/mm)....please pay attention to what I'm telling you here. BOOKS should be what you buy FIRST. Dave Bowers (Whitman) book on gold dollars. David Akers book on Gold Dollars. Learn the odd traits of these coins and how rarity/survivor numbers impact the series. Learn which examples circulated and which did not. Lonesome John and the Fivaz book on counterfeit gold are also needed. As to genuine/fake...Give Up! As others say, buy these slabbed. An excellent grade level is AU55. NGC has loads of great coins graded MS61. Once you learn the various rarity levels you understand why 1862 is common, and 1863 is a great rarity. You'll learn strike characteristics that allow a 1859 C to look like garbage and still be perfect MS. As to type 3s, they are delightful and extremely beautiful coins. Many rarities lurk here, 56D, 61D. 1875.... But again lots of counterfeits. This is hard to fathom but an expert can usually tell a fake 3 feet away instantly. Color says a lot. !Get Those Books!!   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3184 Posts |
listen to ambro, he is well known on another forum :)
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
Hey, ambro, THANKS SO MUCH for the advice. I much appreciate your expertise. I will certainly buy those books. Along the lines of buying books, I just ordered two books, for Christmas: The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins, by Ken Bressett, and, United States Gold Coins: An Illustrated History, by David Bowers. While neither are the ones you mentioned, they are "start" in terms of me learning a little more about all of this. The other titles you offered will go in my " Amazon shopping cart" for purchase in the near future. On the Akers book, are you talking about the "Analysis of Auction Records"? THANK YOU! Steve |
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Posted 12/21/2013 10:38 pm
