Colonial Coins in the Slab Era

Sonorandesertrat

I just read John Kraljevich's latest Kraljeblog, which contains some interesting thoughts. For example,
"One perhaps unintended consequence of the decision to start slabbing colonial coins in 1991 is to reward pedestrian coins and penalize those that require some understanding. Since the grading services penalize coins from odd die states, those struck on odd planchet stock, and the crudely struck varieties that make many series so interesting to collect, most collectors who have come to coin collecting in the age of the slab end up collecting coins that in many ways represent the lowest common denominator: common coins whose grading they and the grading services understand."

I think that he has a point. More generally, the changes in grading have had a profound impact on what some collectors choose to collect. Is there a way to move more of the untouchables into the main stream, perhaps by adopting a grading view that is similar to what is used for ancient coins?

Baley

The exact same concept is true for early Federal coins also; collectors ooh and aaah over a (relatively) common coin in a "problem-free" holder and disregard rare coins with "problems"

Personally, I'm in no hurry to "move more of the untouchables into the mainstream", as I am not finished collecting these relative bargains and appreciate the current lack of sophistication with the vast majority of collectors who rely on slabs and will not even consider a rare coin with issues.

CaptHenway

Indeed. Some of my most interesting Honduran coins would never have slabbed due to "problems."

numisma

At one point, PCGS sent colonials out to a specialist for authentication and variety. Not sure if said specialist also graded the coins. Regardless, I never cared much for any TGP grade on a colonial coin, and JK is spot-on. A good example is attribution ink on Connecticut coppers. I love those things, but I wonder how a conventional grader would handle that on the label. I also once owned a Fugio cent with a planchet void about 3mm in size, making for a dramatic hole. That was a great coin, but I am sure it would have been penalized if had ever submitted it.

ColonelJessup

LOL, keep your mouth shut and profit from your EAC and CCCC knowledge with others who are buying the coin and not the holder. .

Sonorandesertrat

Yessir.

astrorat

<< <i>LOL, keep your mouth shut and profit from your EAC and CCCC knowledge with others who are buying the coin and not the holder. . >>

Same advice for Capped Bust halves. You can find some real "gems" if you recognize where the graders have failed to appreciate known weaknesses of particular die marriages and the seller is just a TPG label merchant.

novacaesarea

Hi All,

I just had the privaledge of viewing some of the upcoming Newman Colonial coins on line at http://www.ngccoin.com/gallery/newman.aspx . i would have to say, with few exceptions, PCGS has these 5 to 10 points above what they look like to me. Now, of course, i need to see them in the coin, and there always is 5 points for liking your own coin best, but some are hard to take. A MS-65 Bar Cent with a giant finger print. Lets see what the bean folks have to say.

Worth looking if you have not. There is some real once in a lifetime material in there and even if you are not going to buy it, you owe yourself the look.

Best,

novacaesarea

CoinRaritiesOnline

<< <i>Hi All,

I just had the privaledge of viewing some of the upcoming Newman Colonial coins on line at http://www.ngccoin.com/gallery/newman.aspx . i would have to say, with few exceptions, PCGS has these 5 to 10 points above what they look like to me. >>



These were graded by NGC, not PCGS.

novacaesarea

Sorry JA, I knew that. My bad. But my point remains. Do the " green bean" guys even deal with NGC coins..as you know, I am not generally a slab guy.

nova caesarea

MsMorrisine

<< <i>Sorry JA, I knew that. My bad. But my point remains. Do the " green bean" guys even deal with NGC coins..as you know, I am not generally a slab guy.

nova caesarea >>



yes they do

MrEureka

JK is right, of course.

There's no easy solution for the TPGs. Some colonial series simply have an extra dimension - production quality - that cannot be perfectly incorporated into the 70 point scale.

The frustrating thing about collecting such things is that some coins are worth more in plastic and some coins are worth more raw. If you care about market value, you end up with a collection that is partially slabbed, and the only way it will display well is on a computer screen.