would pcgs (or one of those other services) grade a Yap Stone?

Aethelred · August 9, 2013 3:53AM

Just wondering?

trozau · August 9, 2013 3:57AM

For the right amount of money, I'm think they'd be glad to.

Aethelred · August 9, 2013 3:59AM

Seems like it would be a great way to advertise their services.

pruebas · August 9, 2013 4:24AM

Maybe Genuine only.

olmanjon · August 9, 2013 5:09AM

I would hate to have to pay the shipping charges

ajaan · August 9, 2013 7:01AM

I would say "no".

OldEastside · August 9, 2013 8:15AM

Can you imagine one of those in a rattler

Steve

Sapyx · August 9, 2013 9:38AM

As I understand it, the golden rule for slabbing companies is, "if it's not listed in a catalogue somewhere, we don't slab it". I'm not aware of any cataloguing or classifying system for Yap Stones. The only books mentioning them that I'm aware of are general guidebooks and travel diaries for the islands, and general books on Primitive Money, neither of which go into specific details on the number of surviving examples known for the different types and sizes. So if they start slabbing Yap Stones, they'll have to start slabbing Katanga Crosses, Kissi Pennies, Feather Coil Money, Wampum and Chinese knives and hoes.

Genuine Yap Stones were made from rocks from specific islands. So they'd need to bring in a specialist geologist just to authenticate them.

LochNESS · August 9, 2013 8:13PM

I have a Katanga in ANACS ... it's a coin but the cross is the main feature!

Don't know if I'd want a yap stone entombed in plastic. I mean, is that really the best storage? Anyway they are actually called rai stones, and were not exclusive to Yap. In fact according to the link most came from Palau.

Hey speaking of alternate forms of money, check this out: yapstone.com/

Aethelred · August 12, 2013 9:35PM

<< <i>As I understand it, the golden rule for slabbing companies is, "if it's not listed in a catalogue somewhere, we don't slab it". I'm not aware of any cataloguing or classifying system for Yap Stones. The only books mentioning them that I'm aware of are general guidebooks and travel diaries for the islands, and general books on Primitive Money, neither of which go into specific details on the number of surviving examples known for the different types and sizes. So if they start slabbing Yap Stones, they'll have to start slabbing Katanga Crosses, Kissi Pennies, Feather Coil Money, Wampum and Chinese knives and hoes.

Genuine Yap Stones were made from rocks from specific islands. So they'd need to bring in a specialist geologist just to authenticate them. >>

Sounds like there is room for a reference book here. Carved into stone tablets of course.

ColinCMR · August 22, 2013 12:23PM

I wonder if any work has every been done to characterize Yap pieces to the individual islands?

LochNESS · August 22, 2013 1:40PM

If you click on the link I provided you'll see that indeed some work has been done.

SaorAlba · August 22, 2013 9:30PM

<< <i>I have a Katanga in ANACS ... it's a coin but the cross is the main feature!

>>

I should experiment and send in my genuine Katanga cross and my Swedish 4 daler plate money and see if they will slab them.

Andres · August 24, 2013 5:57AM

Shouldn't be to difficult ? to appraise a Yap stone by an expert and get a COA signed , with pictures and description.

LochNESS · August 25, 2013 9:42AM

<< <i>Shouldn't be to difficult? >>

And just how would you get the stone to Europe? freight cargo ship?

Andres · August 25, 2013 6:59PM

Dont move the stone but get the expert to the stone .

weresteve · August 26, 2013 12:34AM

<< <i>Just wondering? >>

Accugrade?!? They seem to "grade" just about anything ...

WillieBoyd2 · August 26, 2013 1:06AM

Yap stone money can be small or large, 4 cm to 4 meters.

For a large 5 ton stone, the shipping costs to the grading company would be enormous.

However, one would have to consider the publicity value for the grading company.

A related question, do grading companies make "house calls" for very expensive items kept in bank vaults?

YQQ · August 28, 2013 12:43AM

Centsles will grade it as MS66, full lustre, extremely rare and ship it back for $5....

lololo

Swampboy · August 31, 2013 5:10PM

Here are two pictures of a Rai stone from the island of Yap that I took while at the Geld Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Not my series but I'd grade this piece XF.

LochNESS · September 11, 2013 7:06PM

You see, Andres? somebody is shipping these things. One of the wonderful byproducts of the Art world and our "civilization" ... like when the circus visited NYC back in the golden years and they paraded the animals down Broadway ...

GUFFEY · October 13, 2016 10:38AM

I have a Rai Stone that I got in Yap about fourty years ago. It is about twenty inches in diameter and looks much more weathered than the one in Germany. Any idea what this might be worth?

Stork · October 13, 2016 10:46AM

Clark Smith has a 27 inch one listed in excess of $40K. Museum quality. Has been listed for awhile so I'd bet he would negotiate.

DNADave · October 13, 2016 11:43AM

@Swampboy said:
Here are two pictures of a Rai stone from the island of Yap that I took while at the Geld Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Not my series but I'd grade this piece XF.

Genuine.....due to rim dings

Swampboy · October 13, 2016 2:17PM

@DNADave said:

@Swampboy said:
Here are two pictures of a Rai stone from the island of Yap that I took while at the Geld Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Not my series but I'd grade this piece XF.

Genuine.....due to rim dings

As quarried?

GUFFEY · October 13, 2016 4:43PM

This is it. The front side was exposed to the elements and is dark with moss, the back side was against the ground and is much lighter in color.

Stork · October 13, 2016 5:41PM

That is officially

GUFFEY · October 13, 2016 6:16PM

I lived on Yap for quite a while in the 70's and never saw a clean, fresh looking Rai stone. They were outside and all looked gritty and dirty.

STLNATS · October 13, 2016 8:41PM

I think this is a wonderfully brilliant idea. And just think of the blue plastic box needed to hold your 20 or so Yap slabs. Certainly your box of 20 would be quite impressive and might make an attractive garden wall.

On the other hand, I guess the really big ones are pretty much the epitome of NCLT?

STLNATS · October 13, 2016 8:42PM

@GUFFEY said:

This is it. The front side was exposed to the elements and is dark with moss, the back side was against the ground and is much lighter in color.

We refer to that as "patina" in numismatic land.

would pcgs (or one of those other services) grade a Yap Stone?

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