Help me understand how the best got the worst.

J-521 PR62 Sold at ANA 21960, prior sale 38400 in the 4/21 Simpson Auction
J-1181 PR67CAM CAC 34160/48000 4/21
J-1219 PR65+CAC 20740/21600 2/21
J-1434 PR66BN 14030/13200 5/22
J-124C PR66+CAC 6710/7200 1/21
J-815 PR65+ 4148/3600 4/21
J-884 PR67RDCAM 20130/7800 1/21
J-1010 PR66RB 15860/19800 9/20
J-1442 PR66DCAM 39040/25200 1/22
J-1480 PR65RB 10980/12000 5/22
J-1570 PR65+CAMCAC 512400/456000 4/21
J-1068 PR66CAC 10370/5760 8/21

There’s a little over a month left before the first of the two 1 ounce gold coins and silver medal companions drops. As of now, there is no posted ATS or mintage limit. Will the Mint go with 30,000 throughout the program?
Judging by the social media reaction to the series so far, this one seems to be desired more than any of the others. Good luck to all of us who want one!

https://greatcollections.com/Coin/806663/1879-S-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-67

Cert lookup:

https://pcgs.com/cert/37228107

My 7070 type set is coming along slowly

https://pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset/208144

Ken

Have a great remaining Labor Day weekend, all. Post your treasures !

Who's in?

-edited to add "...privy hunt.."

It seems like people started looking at the penny and found modern rolls. Everyone thinks modern penny rolls are oh so common but a few of these are seeing demand as well. Wheat cent (BU) rolls have soared to $15 even for the most common dates. I wonder how many 1958-D's I've spent over the years. I suspect the difficult in actually laying hands on coins like a nice BU '71 is causing more looking at the other denominations which have become far more elusive over the years as no one watched and the coins corroded and wore. The nickel and dime markets are moving and staying ahead of the pennies for right now. Half dollars are strong and have been for a few years now. I'd call the dollars the sleeper. You simply can't obtain nice collectible versions of some of the Ikes except with luck or at retail. The '71 and '72 don't even exist in the sets and the '75 never has a nice Philly. You can clean many of them but few will grade better than MS-63. With quantity and good luck you can still find MS-65's

The pennies are likely to surprise even me. It's hard to know how many were saved each year once that number crossed two or million because it was just "common". But the ones that corrode affect large percentages of some of these dates but even that percentage might vary because some of the accumulations were vast. No matter how it plays out there are going to be some highly elusive dates and a few that exist in enormous quantity. We can't know what survived until this market matures.

This is pretty much the final road sign I've been watching for all these years. From here it's all terra incognita. A huge percentage of the surviving moderns are in the hands of the general public. They will not come to market easily. Dealers don't own these coins because they all gravitated to the public. They were consumed. I should hardly be surprised if the BU rolls don't mostly end up outside the mainstream hobby.

I never imagined this could all be so very anti-climactic. I hardly care myself since most of mine were sold long ago. 23 years ago when I got here I never imagined that many of the BU's would be tough but those rolls I had few of and that were often spotted are tough even in BU now.

https://dfpi.ca.gov/enforcement_action/stella-advisors-llc/

https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/2182871

Coming September 24, 2026, right at the end of the Mint’s fiscal year. Is anyone hoping to still obtain the full set? Or are you making a choice between this final coin in the Best of the Mint series and the 1804?

Common date double eagle in a PCGS holder.

TD

might be in for one of these

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Just picked up this 1903 S last week. Thought I would share with the forum and ask two questions:

Question 1: Do you think it would straight grade if sent in to PCGS?

Question 2: What grade do you think it would come back with?

Thank you if you decide to share your thoughts, I do sincerely appreciate it. In case anyone was wondering about cost, it was literally a melt bucket rescue - so I paid just under melt ($50) for it. Second visit in a row I've found a nice Morgan in that bucket - last time was an 1895 O (in much worse shape, but still...that's better than a melt coin.)

Here's the coin:

(My thoughts: I think it has enough remaining luster for an AU grade, but there are a few rim issues I'd be concerned about - primarily check the obverse around 9 o'clock. The color seems just a bit off to me in hand, my gut tells me it may have been PVC contaminated at one point and dipped to remove the sticky stuff. If I were to have to share my opinion, I'd probably go XF45.)

So I looked and looked and looked, and one day three popped up on the website of a dealer I'd never bought from before. I asked a different dealer (whom I've known for a long time) for a reference, and as it happened, the two were sitting together at a show when my text came in. All three got sent to me so I could make a pick in-hand, and would you know, the least expensive was also the one I liked best (stronger frost and a point lower grade traded against slightly nicer fields). So that's how I got the 1963, which is an NGC PF67UCAM. It has a couple tiny spots, but overall I think it's quite nice for the grade.

...and then less than a week later, I saw the 1962 pop up. It's in an old green label PCGS PR66DCAM holder, and while the fields are not quite as deep as the 1962 (and yes, it has a couple tiny spots, as well), it looked really frosty and nicer than most 67s I'd seen though all my time searching as far as haze and spotting go... and as a 66, it was priced low. So I figured why not and bought it, too.

Itch scratched

Essentially, coins $500 and above will go to eBay's "authentication facility" before going to the buyer.

They already have this system for cards sold on eBay...anyone here have experience buying/selling through that?

Here's their FAQ: https://pages.ebay.com/authenticity-guarantee-coins-seller/#faq

Here's the message from eBay:

On August 18, 2026, we began rolling out Authenticity Guarantee for eligible coins listed on ebay.com. We’re excited to inform you that your coins will be eligible for the service beginning next Tuesday.

Why this matters
Coins are a high-trust category where authenticity, condition, and grading influence buyer confidence and value. Authenticity Guarantee helps your customers feel more confident before they purchase and gives you added protection after the sale. Importantly, eBay covers the cost of authentication.

What is eligible
Authenticity Guarantee is available for single graded US and World coins, and single raw US coins, $500 and above. Eligible coins must be listed on the US site (ebay.com) and fall within the following categories:

U.S. Coins = 253 [Raw & Graded]
Coins & Paper Money › Coins: US
Canadian Coins = 3377 [Graded only]
Coins & Paper Money › Coins: Canada
World Coins = 256 [Graded only]
Coins & Paper Money › Coins: World
Note that sets, lots, collections, and mystery products are not eligible at this time.

What you need to do
Keep listing as normal. If your coin is eligible, the Authenticity Guarantee badge will appear automatically. There’s no opt in or opt out.

When an eligible item sells, ship it within your stated handling time to the authentication address shown in your order details.
Upload tracking after you ship. If you buy labels on eBay, tracking will be uploaded automatically.
Ship each Authenticity Guarantee order individually. These items should not be combined with other orders.
How it works

The blue Authenticity Guarantee badge will appear when you list an eligible coin.
When an eligible coin sells, you’ll ship it to the authentication facility.
Our partner team of experts will verify the coin’s authenticity and confirm that it matches the listing through a multi-point inspection.
Once authenticated, the coin is packed securely and shipped to the buyer with tracked delivery.
Note that coins are not graded nor re-graded as part of authentication.

Next steps
Review your active and upcoming coin listings to ensure your item condition, title, photos, item specifics, and descriptions are accurate and complete. This will help support a smooth authentication experience.

Please visit our seller page for more information.

Sincerely,
eBay

Well, because of this, several ideas have crossed my mind. Just to simulate the process, absolutely not to deceive anyone. I just wanted to give myself the pleasure of seeing a coin with those brilliant, eye-catching colors. So, I started experimenting, and I have reached this point.

To be honest, I really love how these coins look. I hope you enjoy them too.

The official PCGS First Strike cutoff date for the Semiquincentennial "Freedom Ringing – Liberty Bell" coins and medals was Monday, August 17, 2026.

How many are in the waiting cue to be graded? Will numbers go up considerably from here?

The poor packaging may have contributed to the early low numbers. The bot buyers may have also reduced submissions. The price for the products may have been a main reason.

But so far only 17 coins have been graded First Strike 70. No silver medals show up at all. These may be the real winners for the set.

Here are some of my recent. I spent a little time this week at a couple different local coin shops.
One had Indian-Head/Bison nickels, loose in a bowl, for $1 each.
Another had .900 fine US coin priced at "melt" value. Both shops let customers pick through the bins.
This is what I came away with:

Nickels:
1926-S (key date), 1927-S, 1938-D/D (EF45).

Dimes:
1926-D, 1941-D (AU53), 1945-S (micro s), 1945-D (unusual mint mark position), 1955-S (brilliant unc.).

Quarters:
1915-S (semi-key date), 1937-D, 1943-S.

Half Dollars:
1917-S (reverse side mm), 1918-S, 1919, 1943 (MS62), 1949-D (AU55), 1964-D (proof-like).

Dollars:
1886-S, 1904 [P].

Here is a group shot and some close-up:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/296248916359?itmmeta=01HQGE586ZJ21JPG0KXTCW90Q1&hash=item44f9cfb987:g:Ny4AAOSwdvll2r3B

He also has a 1922 No D listed with two stolen pictures of completely different grades.

Uncle Coin Guy

Besides, this is a whole lot cheaper than spending big bucks in the Sports cards. With not so good promising outcomes to even pay for the purchases.
Now listen, this doesn't mean I totally left the Sports Card game. I'm full invested too much to stop.
But for now...
Chasing the hidden Gems in the wild for those elusive "NO MINT MARK" Quarters are so invigorating!
10 times better than the Westpoint Quarters!
Only 250,000!
Holy Cow 🐄
Feels Good to be back!
Thanks

Let's Gooooooooooooooooooo

It's kind of a goofy rendition of the obverse of a Morgan dollar but I still like it. Comparison to the nickels in the photo demonstrate that it is significantly larger than a dollar.

Ideas on origin, who struck it, why and rarity and value?

Thursday was just as busy as Wednesday and again I didn't leave my table until very late in the day. It is so great being busy, wheeling and dealing with customers, answering questions about pennies people bring me to examine, checking out coins folks bring me to buy, and chatting with friends who stop by.

Doug Andrews stopped by to say hi and chat a little about an upcoming ANA Board meeting. My friend Matt took a photo of me and Doug from up on walkway above the bourse floor.

Doug is the Chair of the ANA By-Laws Committee, a committee of which I have been a member for a few years. Doug recruited me directly and of course I wondered why he chose me. He told me it was because of my reputation and my background as a litigation paralegal. I was honored to be asked and have done my best to serve the committee whenever specific issues come up during board meetings that may require clarification and advice from our committee. We recently had an issue that took many weeks to resolve and which would come up for a vote by the ANA board on Friday and Doug was hoping I'd be able to make an appearance, which I told him I would.

Since we (meaning me, Neil, and several other friends and dealers who stopped by) finished off all three of the bottles of wine I had brought, one of my friends sold me an extra bottle he had with him. It was a very nice pinot from Willamette Valley in Oregon.

That night I went to dinner with six of my foreign coin dealer friends to LeMont, which is an amazing restaurant up on the hill overlooking the river - the views are incredible!

The wine was really amazing and went very well with our meals. We even had this unusual bottle of red wine that had nitrogen in it where you would open the bottle, pour a taste, then stopper the bottle and actually shake the bottle, then pour a glass. It's called Mollydooker from Australia and I was told it's the only bottle of wine made this way. It was an excellent wine.

The service was phenomenal and every dish we had was so very delicious!

If you're ever in Pittsburgh, I highly recommend this restaurant in all respects!

Friday was quite a bit slower than the previous few days, which I was a little glad about since I had a couple meetings I needed to attend, and Neil needed to catch his flight home early in the afternoon. Here are some random photos from the show.

Sam works tirelessly around the bourse for the ANA, is that guy who gets things done!

The Artmint

At 10am, I went to the ANA Board meeting and was very pleased that, after Michael Shutterly explained the issues and the reasoning behind how the by-laws committee came to its conclusion and recommendations, the motion passed without any questions or concerns from the Board!

Then I headed over to the Fly-In Club meeting where our President, Chris Pilliod, had a presentation on how counterfeit cents were created, particularly by the famous "Bay Area Counterfeiter" who had been creating very high quality Indian cent counterfeits since the 1960's. With Chris being a metallurgist, it was a very helpful and informative presentation.

PCGS busy as ever!

George and Abe!

A busy bourse floor

Tyler with Great American Coin Show (Larry Shepherd's show which is scheduled for Sept 30-Oct 1-3 in Rosemont/Chicago) stopped by to say hi

Friday night was the big ANA banquet at the Westin where they have a nice dinner, an auction fundraiser, and of course announce the major ANA awards. It's also where I enjoy seeing and having a chance to chat with a lot old friends!

I also bid on and was very pleased to win this gorgeous 22kt gold heart bezel holding a beautiful Proof Half Sovereign!

It was a wonderful evening and a very enjoyable event!

The next morning before the show opened I took the opportunity to view all the collector exhibits. I took pics of the major winning exhibits as well as a few that I personally liked!

I also took pics of Tom Sparks' Short Snorter display - he has some amazing and rare short snorter notes and does a great job displaying them at various shows. If you ever get a chance to see it on display, do take a few moments to view and read the notes!

Saturday was the usual very slow, half vacant day as everyone was packing up to catch their flights home. My flight wasn't until the later afternoon so I was able to get some paperwork done on my laptop. However, when I finally got to the airport, I discovered that several airplanes coming from Chicago to Pittsburgh were delayed due to weather issues, including mine, which meant I wouldn't make my connecting flight to Orange County. So I was able to jump on another flight, but that too was delayed. However, there were around 15 people who were connecting to Orange County, so the gate attendant told us they would hold the connecting flight for us. But once we boarded the plane and settled in, it didn't take long for the flight attendant to announce there was a mechanical issue so we had to deplane and wait for another plane, which meant we weren't going to make any flights to Orange County. I eventually finally found a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, and pleaded with my hubby to drive the hour or so late Saturday night to come pick me up, which of course he did! I was so very glad to finally make it home. I was exhausted but so glad to be home, see my hubby, and of course Penny!

Next up: The Long Beach Expo 9/8-9/11 immediately followed by the Buena Park show 9/12-9/13!

4:33 AM
Departed FedEx hub
NEWARK, NJ
4:36 AM
Shipment arriving early

6:36 AM
At local FedEx facility

6:51 AM
On FedEx vehicle for delivery

9:09 AM
Delivery exception
Customer not available or business closed

9:10 AM
Shipment arriving On-Time

Wednesday, 4/15/26
2:41 AM
At local FedEx facility

2:42 AM
On FedEx vehicle for delivery

8:43 AM
Delivery exception
Customer not available or business closed

7:45 PM
Arrived at FedEx hub

Thursday, 4/16/26
5:54 AM
At local FedEx facility

6:20 AM
On FedEx vehicle for delivery

10:02 AM
Delivery exception
A request was made to change this delivery date. -----NOT TRUE.

I don't know how many times they supposedly "try to deliver" before they send them back to PCGS.

bob
https://www.ebay.com/itm/206525382932

• what is this "Top Rated Seller" thing all about?
• why does "search" work so poorly? seems like string searches are limited or return wacky results
• do YOU actually have success as a buyer? I see mostly astronomical asking prices for coins
• does the site seem terribly slow to you?

Just wondering if it's worth my time to make eBay a destination again -- I have avoided the site for probably at least ten years now and get most of my news and understanding from reading threads on forums like this one.

Lots of questions - please feel free to chime in on any other insights you might have. I loved using eBay up until about the time implementing PayPal destroyed my experience with the site (yes, going back many years LOL).

Apparently the Mint will release Morgan dollars (maybe Peace too) with a diamond pattern in the fields.

Here are some screen captures from a video they posted on their Facebook page today, which was accompanied by this text:

Then watch closely-there could be a sneak
peek hiding somewhere of an entirely new
silver dollar finish for our Nation's 250th that
shows we're not ready to stop celebrating!

You can see the new finish in a render “hiding” near the right in these images. It’s interesting, and I would like to see it in person, but I can’t say I’m particularly inspired by or attracted to the design.

1819/8

.
1824/4

.
1829/7