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 Replies: 34 / Views: 3,115 |
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Valued Member
 United States
160 Posts |
Buddy and Dave -- Yes, good point about APMEX. In fact, I just bought a quarter eagle and a half eagle piece from Provident, a bit cheaper than APMEX but similar in that they are raw/cleaned coins; the half eagle and eagle coins in particular are REALLY reasonable, with just a small (roughly 15%) premium over spot. I decided to buy that $2.50 coin, though carrying a higher premium, just because I wanted one. Otherwise, I'll buy mostly half eagles and eagles. Provident, though, does not carry $1 coins. HOWEVER, as you noted, APMEX does. APMEX is more expensive, especially since they, and I, are in Oklahoma, and thus I have to pay tax. The problem with the $1 coin through APMEX (and I still may end up having to go that route) is that after tax, and shipping/handling, I'm up to nearly $240; that's almost to the level that I could get a slabbed/graded one for... Anyway, I just received that quarter eagle and half eagle in the mail from Provident today; I'm surprised how nice they look, but again -- that's to my "untrained" eye. I'd be interested in posting pics of those two tomorrow, and getting opinions, if that's OK...they seem like pretty decent coins to me but would like to hear others' thoughts... Steve Edited by sgoss66
12/21/2013 10:04 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
The "bare minimum" submission level doesn't usually cover gold, or (NGC) specifically $1 gold as it's a bit of a special case to grade between being so small and subject to such weirdness in strike variance. Submission costs go up with value and the speed with which you need it graded. You'll have to likely double that cost once shipping and insurance are factored in for a single-coin submission, of course.
I've very darn little confidence in the coin you posted, and frankly as your expertise grows you're not going to like it very much down the road even if real. And submission return times are very iffy; I doubt the seller is willing to wait that long especially when you honestly can't guarantee a date.
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
OK, Dave, fair enough then. I trust your judgement on this coin, and just go with the original plan to return it.
I'll be interested to hear your take on the quarter and half eagles...
Steve
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
Just keep your eye out on ebay for low end slabbed gold from company's like ANACS. Here is a very nice looking AU-58 details cleaned gold dollar that sold for $148 http://www.ebay.com/itm/1851-Gold-D...047675.l2557Slabbed is really the best way to go. I have de-slabbed many gold coins for my album, and I purchased slabbed just for sure peace of mind that they are genuine. It really is not all that much added cost, especially for a low end problem coin. Also note that $1 gold did not circulate much, so it is much less common to find examples in say VG or fine...you are mostly looking at XF and above. |
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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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Replies: 34 / Views: 3,115 |
First Page
Posted 12/21/2013 10:03 pm
