Best Of
Re: 1983 Lincoln Cent – Defective Bronze Planchet. NGC VS PCGS.
@jmlanzaf said:
@Morgan13 said:
If its a genuine error there has to be more out there.
Right now I am very curious why the cert. number is not showing up.
How can PCGS void a certification number?
Has it been done before?
Will the owner be compensated or just be left with a voided slab?They do it all the time. They MAY comp the submission, but often not. After all, they are being paid to get it right.
We know there are a couple out there, see Mike Byers post. But in 50 years, only a few have turned up.
I have handled (2) dated 1989, (1) dated 1989 double struck, (2) dated 1990 and (2) dated 1991. These all weighed 3.1g or extremely close and were unquestionably struck on the earlier bronze Lincoln Cent planchets. Anything as far off in weight as the 2 being discussed in this thread and several other threads, thought to be struck on the earlier 3.1g planchets need specific gravity tests. XRF analysis isn’t enough.
My prediction is that in the future, before PCGS and NGC designate a transitional off metal that is NOT within the accepted weight range of that planchet, they will notify the submitter and request at the submitter’s expense, authorization to have a specific gravity analysis conducted, in order to proceed!
Byers
Rough day for the local dealer
I travel to work and visit my parents once a month and along the way is a coin/card/bullion dealer that I’ve done business with for going on two decades now. I buy gold eagles from him because his price is $100 over, no matter what size or price of gold. He’s in his 80s.
Last time through I brought my sigma and encouraged him to get one. Being in business that long, he didn’t feel the need.
This month, he had just been taken for $63k from buying a group of NGC holdered eagles, pandas, kangaroos. He sent them to a refiner or wholesaler in NY and they came back fake. He was able to contact the seller while I was there since they were local and it sounded like he may get his money back.
He had saved me a raw 1882 CC $20 from the same deal that looked MS65. Color was off and too nice. Sigma said no gold.
I did try to buy some eagles this time as the spot was 4550 at the time, but he was too shaken up and simply said he couldn’t sell at this price and lose money. Though, I know his inventory doesn’t move so he isn’t into it for $5k/oz. I don’t agree with that business model, but he definitely had greater issues at the time.
Thankfully he sent them in vs trying to retail them. He might never have gotten his money back. He typically only retails raw eagles as the slabbed and foreign gold isn’t very liquid for him.
His son was there taking pictures of the Sigma and I got the sense he would just buy him one. Too much on the line these days.
Re: The 2026 Silver Proof Set is a potential winner
The premiums on these sets are so high that I will have to settle for the counterfeit versions on Temu.
Re: Just how does one ‘find’ the top cent in existence in the wheat series?
In the past I have used this strategy (not with MS68RD Wheat cents!) at PCGS and it has worked. I've taken multiple strong coins of the same date and grade and bundled them together with what I thought was clearly a coin that was at least one grade higher than the others, but that had received the same grade. I've placed the best coin at or near the end of three or four pieces and those limited times I have done this the best coin has received the grade bump to the next grade.
Please note that although these have been high grade and super tough coins to make they are not in the same league, value wise or absolute grade, as the MS69RD 1919 Wheat cent from Stewart. Also, keep in mind that these pieces might have upgraded without the strategy, though in at least one case I attempted an upgrade previously and the coin graded the same. The coins I have experience with in this scenario are twentieth century silver with terrific toning and in super gem grades.
TomB
Re: Post your Pedigreed Coins
A Learning Experience:
This NEWP is just that. One, it’s a CBH - a series I have a lot to learn about (& am enjoying doing so)! This example is a R-2.
Two, then there’s the pedigree. I’ve seen “Link” before & learned about who he is. One, he’s a dedicated CBH collector, including die marriages. Two, he’s an oncologist (Dr. Charles Link) that in the past co-founded a firm that performed research & developed the Ebola virus vaccine.
Amusing side note: the seller of this piece knows Link personally & simply calls him “Chuck”. Provenance indeed!
Copperindian
68% Price Increase in US Mint Dollar Coin Rolls
Just cancelled my subscription after getting notice of a $61 price for a roll of twenty-five dollar coins that cost $36 in December.
I can accept reasonable price increases, but refuse to be gouged just because I have sunk costs in the series already (AI dollars).
Are other items being hit with absurd increases this year?
Re: What Makes a Coin Special?
Great post. I’ll add something that I’ve found non-collectors appreciate more than many collectors is obsolescence. Obsolete denominations that share any of the listed qualities get an automatic bump with the non-collecting world. I’ve got a decent (average?) proof 3CN and it gets a lot of attention compared to some other coins that I consider better in lots of ways just because of the novelty and unknown (to them) place in our history.
Certainly not a requirement, and I think the obsolescence of the designs provided counts, but it’s a lot harder for a coin that looks anything like what you’d find in change today to qualify as special.
ShaunBC5
Re: What’s a coin you used to overlook but now appreciate, and why?
This series I collected in good to fine condition when I first started collecting as a young boy. Never appreciated the coins as the ones I had were very worn out and missing much detail. When I purchased my first choice uncirculated piece, I started studying the series and became enamored with the shear artistry of the design. This is now one of my most favorite series to collect. Finding well struck pieces can be challenging at times, along with Full Head designation. These are where I am in my current collection. I have a long way to go, but so far a fun and rewarding experience.
Zack.
