What's wrong with this slab?

oneor11

Hi again everyone. After the misfortune of my last "raw" Peace 34-S purchase, I took your sound advice and vowed to only purchase expensive coins if they're certified. So I made my first certified purchase online and got it in today. It's my first slabbed coin, but my newfound paranoia makes me critical of it, based on some of the things I see with the slab and the coin. If you have time, I would appreciate your expert assistance in helping me out to see if I should be concerned. The coin is a 1928 Peace, MS64 CAC.

1. Are these not hairlines in the left to the left of Miss Liberty's face and below "God We"? Everything else on the coin seems okay to my amateur eye.




2. There's a weird, whitish anomaly along the left side of the seal. It feels a bit rough, seemingly coming from the inside of the seal to the outside. I can't tell if it's plastic abrasion or what.





3. The hologram seems okay. The sticker feels like it's on the outside. I'm not sure if that's normal or not since it's my first slabbed coin. Seems like it would make more sense to be on the inside. Corners of the slab and midpoints are raised



Thanks for the help all.

Jacob

MilkmanDan

Send it in to PCGS and have it reholdered. Then, if you like the green sticker, send it to CAC to get that back. You'll be out about $60-70 in fees and shipping costs, but it'll be worth it for your piece of mind.

And to answer your question, I think the issue with this slab is the price tag!!!

bsshog40

The lines that you're seeing look like die polish lines to me, not cleaning hairlines. Not real sure on the slab, could be just a small sealing flaw not cut right. Looks like a very nice Peace Dollar to me.

commoncents05

<< <i>Send it in to PCGS and have it reholdered. Then, if you like the green sticker, send it to CAC to get that back. You'll be out about $60-70 in fees and shipping costs, but it'll be worth it for your piece of mind. >>



Don't bother. There is nothing wrong with the coin or holder.

-Paul

joebb21

<< <i>

<< <i>Send it in to PCGS and have it reholdered. Then, if you like the green sticker, send it to CAC to get that back. You'll be out about $60-70 in fees and shipping costs, but it'll be worth it for your piece of mind. >>



Don't bother. There is nothing wrong with the coin or holder.

-Paul >>



Agreed. Dont waiste any more money than that $135,000 price tag

BryceM

In no particular order:

1) What you are seeing in the large left field is mostly what I would call "chatter". The deeper marks don't look like die polish lines or hairlines - just a few hits that keep it from grading higher. There *** might *** be a few very superficial parallel lines in this area. If this is only found in a small region of a coin it can still be consistent with an MS64 grade, especially if there are no other significant distractions. Luster appears nice. Strike is good. The face is clean. Personally, I don't mind a little chatter here and there in the devices, but in the large fields or on the portrait it makes me nuts.

2) The holder and CAC sticker look fine to me. I certainly wouldn't have it reholdered and re-beaned if it was mine.

3) Nice coin!

4) I hope you didn't pay what is on the sticker for it.

5) Buying expensive coins in PCGS slabs is a good thing. Spending > $1,000 on a coin without ever having seen a slabbed coin in person is maybe a tad nuts. There are many, many MS64 1928 Peace Dollars out there. I'd recommend looking at a several before choosing one. I don't know where you live, but I'd try very hard to wander around a few shows and get a good feel for what a 1928 Peace Dollar is supposed to look like. Seriously, buy Burdette's book and thorougly digest it before getting too deep into this game.

6) If you don't believe in number 5, sticking to coins in PCGS holders with little green beans will keep you out of trouble most of the time as long as you don't spend to much to get it.

MilkmanDan

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>Send it in to PCGS and have it reholdered. Then, if you like the green sticker, send it to CAC to get that back. You'll be out about $60-70 in fees and shipping costs, but it'll be worth it for your piece of mind. >>



Don't bother. There is nothing wrong with the coin or holder.

-Paul >>



Agreed. Dont waiste any more money than that $135,000 price tag >>




Sure, I wouldn't either as it looks fine to me. But the OP expressed doubt and may not have the experience to determine if its a fake slab or not, so there's always the option to send it in for that peace of mind. Even forum members can be wrong on judging fake vs. real slabs.

shorecoll

FYI...a hairline looks just like it says, like a piece of hair drew a line across the coin...that stuff is chatter or light bag marks or hits...not inconsistent with a 64 grade.

GRANDAM

It looks like a nice coin to me but at $135,000 it is a tad bit overpriced

GrandAm

oneor11

Thanks for all of the help and education. I'm amazed at how active this forum is and how much help I get. You guys are great.

Thanks again Bryce. Yep. Burdette's book should be arriving today. I ordered it a couple of days ago. Really looking forward to digging into it.

Yeah the price tag is pretty wild. I didn't want to remove it or anything in case I needed to send it back. I didn't pay that for it (or even that divided by 100 ). But that does beg the question on 'what is a good deal'. I have basically been taking the average of what I see past realized prices in Heritage and Teletrade for the same coin/grade to give me a general feeling. It seems the average is about 15-25% less that the PCGS price guide. But I examined some of the pictures of all the coins and the price variations seem to be consistent with the eye appeal, character of the coin, and strength of grade. But ultimately, dunno if I'm getting good deals or not. I saw some wild deals on past auctions in early December. Really absurdly cheap prices. My guess is that people want to unload coins to buy Christmas presents while the buyers aren't coin shopping because they're spending money on Christmas presents heh. Seems like December is a good time to play at auctions.

I'm in the Houston area. Haven't really found any great coin shops or anything. But it's only been a couple of weeks for me. Need to search around and look for the suggested coin clubs and such. Will try to make some of the shows in the area.

Jacob

BryceM

It's sometimes hard to know about getting a good deal or not. For that particular coin at MS64 with a green bean, you did fine if you're around 75%-85% of PCGS price guide point. I have probably 3 or 4 in my collection that I spent over PCGS price guide money on. I might be burried in them but I got each for a reason. Hopefully if it is ever time to sell others will see the same things I did.