Just got the Pan-Pac half for my AU Dansco set.
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,871 ✭✭✭✭✭
It arrived today.
Much, much nicer in hand than in the pics, I'd say. Not nearly so dark. It's basically a once-dipped, white coin with a trace of retoning, which will fit nicely into my raw AU Dansco set. The seller says, "A long time ago, it may have seen a very light wipe of a jeweler's cloth", but it doesn't look overshiny like a polished or whizzed piece, at least in the (admittedly poor) light I am examining it in.
I think this is the sort of cleaned coin I'll have no regrets about buying, really. I don't want any scrubby or polished or overdipped pieces but lightly-dipped ones like this will be okay. Plus it will be a slab crackout so I'm not worried about it being fake.
I am pleased with this one and with the seller. He will get nice feedback.
Much, much nicer in hand than in the pics, I'd say. Not nearly so dark. It's basically a once-dipped, white coin with a trace of retoning, which will fit nicely into my raw AU Dansco set. The seller says, "A long time ago, it may have seen a very light wipe of a jeweler's cloth", but it doesn't look overshiny like a polished or whizzed piece, at least in the (admittedly poor) light I am examining it in.
I think this is the sort of cleaned coin I'll have no regrets about buying, really. I don't want any scrubby or polished or overdipped pieces but lightly-dipped ones like this will be okay. Plus it will be a slab crackout so I'm not worried about it being fake.
I am pleased with this one and with the seller. He will get nice feedback.
0
Comments
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
Chicolini: Mint? No, no, I no like a mint. Uh - what other flavor you got?
I wouldn't have known a nice strike if it struck me between the eyes. Luck of the draw, I suppose.
Not only is this the first I have ever owned, it is one of only maybe three or four that I have seen, ever. This whole commem thing is so new to me- a real learning experience. Which is part of the reason I undertook it. I never paid much attention to commems in the past, though I liked 'em well enough.
I love those Pan-Pac coins. Great history to go with them.
<< <i>Very very hard to find circulated early commems that have not been messed with one way or another. Might as well find the attractive ones like the item you purchased... >>
This is my strategy (such as it is, in my novice days, anyway).
I figure by going with AU coins and accepting lightly cleaned (but not harshly scrubbed) coins, I'll save money. Maybe 'tis a fool's quest but it's different, and who knows, sometimes walking the road less traveled has its benefits.
A couple years ago I was proud to contribute to Baley's amazing Dansco 7070 type set by selling him an ANACS "UNC details/Net AU50 Cleaned" 1861 half dime, and everybody knows that set of his is a sight for sore eyes. That coin really did look like an UNC and was a nice, lustrous little piece, but just a bright white coin that somebody had dipped. Though I already instinctively knew it, Baley's type set encouraged my frame of thought about such coins, which is to say that some coins with UNC eye appeal can be had for a fraction of the price if one is willing to accept nice sliders or cleaned coins. For this reason, I do look at the ANACS net grades and "problem" cleaned coins, and will also look at the (old) PCI red labels when necessary.
If one can get a less-expensive but still fully eye-appealing coin by being less picky about the technicalities, why not? That's the beauty of collectin' 'em raw. I am missing out on some of the Registry fun, but I could never be a contender in that, anyway, on my budget.
LordM, I completely agree with your theory about lightly cleaned coins. I have some old gold in my collection and I can't imagine what has happened to those coins over the past 160+ years. I know originality has its place but sometimes eye appealing coins that have been "wiped" are also a diamond in the rough. At the end of the day, buy what makes you happy. You know exactly how you feel about a coin the second you open the package. If that 1st response is positive, keep it and enjoy.
Damn nice coin!