Interesting Pickup at Coin Show today

MICHAELDIXON

I went to the Coin Show in Chambersburg, PA today. It is a small show, but the collector turnout is always good. It is amazing the coins that are for sale there. One dealer had an NGC MS66 1860 Cobalt Blue half dime that was a complete stunner!

Just prior to leaving, one of my friends asked me to sit behind his table while he went to the bathroom. While there I noticed he had an old, original PCI box and a PCI sample slab from the 1993 ANA. Since I was an original PCI dealer (89-93 timeframe) and the only one to buy the slabs sight unseen, I had to have both. The PCI box has the PCI sticker over the Hallmark sticker on top.
Here they are.

Smudge

That brings back memories.

Staircoins

Ah yes, I remember when PCI graded coins with a notation of the degree of "whiteness" shown on the label as a percent.

New ASEs were "100% White"... until the label itself caused them to tone in the holder. Pretty colors too.

Much of the grading was okay otherwise though, with many of these slabs.

Stuart

I remember that certain older generation PCI certified coins were graded very conservatively compared to later generation ones, I believe based on a change in company ownership.

thefinn

I had a 1913 T-1 Buffalo Nickel I sent to PCI for grading. I paid 63 money for it, and it came back AU55. The dealer told me that he would give me my money back, but I declined. I later cracked it out and sent it to PCGS, where it graded MS64. I think conservative is an understatement for the old PCI.

mannie gray

Hallmark.... wow
I wish I still had those slabs.

ricko

Years ago, I would see these at shows in the PNW.....not highly common, but often enough to not be surprised. I would imagine they are fairly scarce now. Cheers, RickO