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PCGS Slab Question
USMC
Posts: 329 ✭✭✭✭
I see on alot of the slabs there is a coin designation.
I recently picked up this 1878 Morgan at a low price
compared to most all others out there.
What Does - "Series: 52 Coin: 1A" Mean??
Thanks,
Al Varelas / USMC
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I think it is an internally generated number. I found this on Coin Talk:
The numbers were first assigned essentially by looking at Red Book varieties; for the most part, when a coin had a variety listed in the Red Book when the numbering system started, it received its own four digit number.
Certain designations, presumably the ones that were being assigned at the time, also received four digit numbers. For instance, the following all have separate numbers: All copper coins in Red, Red/Brown and Brown; Mercury dimes with full bands; Prooflike Morgan dollars; Full Head Standing Liberty quarters (I think that's all). Proof coins also had completely different four digit numbers than their circulation strike counterparts.
A certain amount of room was left over for new varieties, as well; there are generally several unassigned four digit numbers at the end of each, and in some cases, varieties have already been assigned to the end of the series. For example, these PCGS numbers correspond to the following Morgan dollars:
7292: 1904-O (7293 is the same coin prooflike; the pattern extends throughout the series)
7294: 1904-S
7296: 1921 Morgan
7298: 1921-D
7300: 1921-S
7302: 1901 Doubled Die
7304: 1902-O Micro O (!)
7306: 1903-S MIcro S
7308: 1888-O Doubled Die
7310: (Generic Proof Morgan; they ran out of room for new varieties here)
As more designations were added, new numbers were assigned. There was no more room for four digit numbers, so in general the new numbers were assigned by prepending an 8 or 9 to the basic four digit number. This is how PCGS numbers were assigned to Full Step Jeffersons, Full Torch Roosevelts, Deep Mirror Prooflike Morgans, and Cameo and Deep Cameo proofs. For instance, a 1882-CC dollar has the number 7134 for a normal coin, 7135 if it's prooflike, and 97135 if it's Deep Mirror Prooflike.
PCGS numbers for colonials and Territorial/Fractional gold generally follow the same rules except that Colonials generally have numbers less than 1000, and the others have numbers of 1xxxx.
Patterns have numbers in the form 1xxxx, 6xxxx, and 7xxxx. The last four digits are generally in order of the Judd number, but I don't think there's a whole lot of rhyme or reason to the first digit.
Inevitably, newer coins have caused the original PCGS numbering system to run out of room in places. For most, if not all, coins of the 21st century, the numbering system tends to be based on wherever they could find room. In addition, as entire series are cataloged by variety (most notably Bust Halves), new numbers are found for them as well.
(Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-do-these-mean-on-pcgs-slabs.123205/)
My take:
~ "series" and "coin" numbers are a PCGS organizational system for regular U.S. issues. It excludes colonials, patterns, territorials, modern bullion, and commemoratives. Reference
~ each regular U.S. issue that qualifies is assigned a "series" number. For example: the 'Morgan Dollar' (1878-1921) in the OP was assigned #52, and the 'Eisenhower Dollar' (1971-1978), pictured below, was assigned #103.
Source (CelticKnot; 07/20/20; 10:02 PM)
~ within a "series", each release is assigned a "coin" number. For example, the '1974 IKE Dollar' above was "coin" #10 in the series.
~ this organizational system 'was/is' used internally at PCGS. It was reported to be active as recently as 2020.
Reference (Conder101; 07/23/20; 02:37 AM)
~ the "series" and "coin" numbers appeared on PCGS labels processed between OCT-1998 and NOV-2005. This corresponds to holders GEN 4.0 through GEN 4.3. Reference
~ during the period that "series" and "coin" numbers appeared on PCGS labels, they represented the third identifier on the label.
-----> the label contained the date, denomination, variety (if any), and designation in alpha-numeric characters and symbols.
-----> the label also contained the PCGS "coin number" (i.e., a numeric code used to identify the type of coin by date, denomination, variety (if any), and designation). In your case, the PCGS "coin number" is 7074.
~ the public never really accepted "series" and "coin" numbers. This is, undoubtedly, the reason that PCGS stopped including this information on their labels. Reference (homerunhall; 03/08/06; 5:07 AM)
Note - in the links I provided, you are going to encounter two commonly used numbering conventions used to identify slab 'version' (i.e., PCGS museum and Conder). Be aware that these numbering systems do not synch. For example, Conder refers to coins slabbed between FEB-2002 and NOV-2004 as style #13, while PCGS denotes the same period as GEN 4.1.
Conder Reference (Conder101; 07/15/10; 2:00 PM)
PCGS Museum Reference