Well Fargo St Gaudens vs Non Wells Fargo
BWCoin
Posts: 92
Does any one know why it seem that the Wells Fargo ones seem to be graded higher than non wells fargo coins?
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Actually might have more to do with the night the grader had before meeting either.
<< <i>Hoardflation
Yup. When you have nearly 8,000 gem 1908 NM saints put aside at time of issue, it's not much of a stretch to figure there could be a lot of high grades in there. The median grade was MS66 when PCGS first did these (all ogh's). Only a single coin graded less than MS65....a lone MS63. Besides never being circulated, these bags of 1908's must have rarely moved because they don't have the hits often seen on coins this size and weight.
When these came out this lone hoard had >10X the number of 1908 NM MS66's than had ever been graded at PCGS. There had only been <25 MS67's and 0 MS68's up to that time. I've generally liked the quality of WF ogh's that I've run across though many people think they're over-graded. No doubt many were cracked out and resubmitted or sent to NGC. The heavy grade inflation in MS64-67 Saints really didn't begin until the 1998-2004 period. If not for this hoard MS66 and MS67 $20 Saint type coins would be a lot harder to come by. It's interesting that CAC has yet to sticker a single 1908 NM WF saint. Here's the break down.
MS65 - 2237 coins
MS66 - 4867 coins
MS67 - 695 coins
MS68 - 98 coins
Disagreeing with roadrunner (was the thread a year ago?), I've observed these coins, and, because of them, all '08 NMs to be awful "investments" and a drag on the whole common-date Saints market. They are discriminated against for a reason.
The coins may be technical 7+, but the satiny lustre has no immediate visual impact. The absence of detraction/distraction may be very apparent, but the blaze is not there. And they don't dip out worth chit.
As type collector I might consider buying one of these "stigmatized" coins if the price was right (relatively cheap). Getting to upgrade a gold coin from the era from MS-65 to MS-67 could be exciting, but like I said I never see the coins.
Per JA "They're really pretty bullion, aren't they?"
YMMV
Just my 20 bucks worth . . .
My guess as to why not that many around is because lots of ignorant people were sold super-grade coins via promotion by Spectrum at a time when CAC wasn't around. Which may not have mattered. All the NGC coins are attempted upgrades. Some made it, some didn't.
Stagecoaches may well have been the meme from Day One. Romantic history with a touch of truthiness. . . . .