PCGS Variety Attribution Question

Branchmint · December 1, 2012 8:53AM

I have three nice Shield nickels that were formerly in NGC and ANACS holders. Each has a widely repunched date. I've gone through the Fletcher book, but I'm not sure of which specific variety these are. My question ... if I submit these to PCGS and pay the variety attribution fee, will PCGS do the research and label them with the correct variety, or do I need to provide the variety up front? Thanks

keyman64 · December 1, 2012 9:00AM

It is my experience that you should provide the info up front. If PCGS blesses the variety (check the registry sets) then they will label the correctly otherwise they will label them as Minor.

bolivarshagnasty · December 1, 2012 9:03AM

Also make sure that the RPD's are recognized by the Cherrypickers guide. If they are in the guide and not yet in the registry set, you can request they be added AFTER your coin has been attributed as such. Mel

Branchmint · December 1, 2012 9:31AM

Thanks for your replies. I've checked the Cherrypicker's Guide, but no exact matches. I would post photos, but I can't figure out how to upload them. Thanks again.

lkeigwin · December 1, 2012 10:24AM

Don't upload pix here. The size limitation is too restrictive.

Upload them to Photobucket or a similar hosting service. Then just post the image links here.

Once you figure out the variety you can check coinfacts or the price guide to see if PCGS recognizes it. If it's a 5-digit PCGS number you will have to pay for variety attributing and it is best to provide the number on your submission form.

4-digit varieties do not require an attribution fee.

Mel's advice above is good.
Lance.

mozin · December 1, 2012 2:31PM

I would be very concerned about the varieties being recognized by PCGS. Usually, I would submit to ANACS for Shield Nickels instead. I am a PCGS strong supporter, but for Shield Nickel Varieties, most all of my collection is in ANACS holders.

DennisH · December 1, 2012 2:56PM

A better way to avoid wasting money is, check the online PCGS population report for the varieties that PCGS recognizes. If you don't have one of those, then paying the variety fee won't do you any good.

howards · December 1, 2012 3:29PM

Unless the varieties are in CPG, PCGS will not attribute them.

Did the previous NGC/ANACS holders say "RPD" on them? Many collectors are confused by strike doubling, which is not an RPD. Not saying this applies to you - just a caveat.

Chances are decent that PCGS will not get the attribution correct anyway no matter what you do. I have colleagues who have submitted shield nickel varieties with the correct attribution specified only to get it back with some other attribution.

If you can post photos, I will do my best to give you an attribution. I'm a lot cheaper than submitting.

If I can attribute it for you, you will have a better idea of whether it is worth submitting in the event that you really want it in a PCGS holder.

Mel - AFAIK, all of the CPG shield nickel varieties are already present in the CPG registry set. Petitioning to add more won't do any good. I haven't verified that one by one, though.

You said you've checked CPG for matches and didn't find any. Do be aware that the number of shield nickel varieties not in CPG far outweighs the number of varieties in CPG.

If you decide to post photos, I would appreciate enlarged photos of:

1) Full obverse and reverse
2) If it is 1869 or earlier, the upper right area of the obverse (second leaf cluster on the right)
3) The full date in enough context so I can see its relationship to the ball and the denticles.
4) Optional close-ups of the repunching if #3 doesn't show it clearly enough.

If you can't figure out how to post photos, email them to me (email address can be found at my website below), and I'll upload the pertinent photos.

howards · December 1, 2012 3:33PM

<< A better way to avoid wasting money is, check the online PCGS population report for the varieties that PCGS recognizes. If you don't have one of those, then paying the variety fee won't do you any good. >>

How is he going to do that if he doesn't know what variety he has?

DIMEMAN · December 4, 2012 7:34AM

Just because a variety doesn't show up in the pop report does not mean PCGS does not recognize it.

It just means that none have been made. The best way to check if it is a PCGS variety is to look at the PCGS set and see if the coin is included in the set.

Catbert · December 5, 2012 3:27AM

I know the OP and will see if I can help him set up a photobucket account.

howards · December 5, 2012 6:50PM

<< The best way to check if it is a PCGS variety is to look at the PCGS set and see if the coin is included in the set. >>

You can do it that way. The shield nickel complete variety set is here:

Shield Nickel Complete Variety Set

The other way to check is to look in CPG if you have a copy. PCGS attributes all of the shield nickel varieties in CPG.

BTW, the top 3 sets in the Complete Variety Set contain very few varieties. The Complete Variety Set has slots for non-variety generic coins for each year, and the top 3 sets are composed mostly of those.

howards · December 22, 2012 7:07AM

Looks like the OP lost interest - no response from him in quite a while.

Branchmint · December 22, 2012 7:44AM

These are closeups of the three Shield nickels I referred to in the original post.

Thanks - Brad

NotSure · December 22, 2012 7:47AM

<< Looks like the OP lost interest - no response from him in quite a while. >>

Well, he was last on today, so, perhaps, eh, it's holiday time. Lets assume he either was 'gun-shy' about, or lost interest in, getting opinions.

Catbert · December 22, 2012 7:50AM

<< 

<< Looks like the OP lost interest - no response from him in quite a while. >>

Well, he was last on today, so, perhaps, eh, it's holiday time. Lets assume he either was 'gun-shy' about, or lost interest in, getting opinions. >>

Looks like he posted at the same time you did!

DIMEMAN · December 22, 2012 8:46AM

Those look like real RPD's to me, but I will wait until Howard sees them.

lava · December 22, 2012 10:02AM

They look easy to attribute - an 1867 and a 1868.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Nice, strong doubling actually.

howards · December 23, 2012 7:03AM

These were sent to me by private email at about the same time they were posted. I'll copy my email reply here:

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The third coin, an 1867, shows a strike doubled date, not an RPD.

The second coin, an 1868, shows a nice RPD. 1 north, 68 south. I would need a lot more photos to attribute this as there are many similar 1868s. It is possible that it is S2-3005 (F-104). I need to see the reverse, the full obverse, and a closeup of the engraved leaf.

The first coin, another 1867, shows a nice RPD 67 north (not sure about the 1). I would like to see more photos to be sure, but I think this is S2-3015 (PM-02A.2).

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If these are submitted to PCGS for variety attribution, I would expect them to come back with a generic "Repunched Date" in the case of the first 2 coins.

PCGS Variety Attribution Question

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