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jaggy

Accomplished Collector
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Everything posted by jaggy

  1. jaggy

    NGC Details Grading...now what?

    The variety doesn't go away just because it isn't marked on the slab.
  2. I always try to look at like for like on these dealer sites. So it is with Baldwin. So, I looked at their 1790 Droz Pattern sixpence. In reasonable condition except that the toning is a bit blotchy in places and there is a rather nasty 'streak' on the obverse. Price is 450 pounds. My own example cost 366 pounds including BP and postage from DNW (Paul Cattermole Collection). It looks a lot better, toning is even and there is no streak. The Baldwin coin is, in my opinion, overpriced by at least 100 pounds. They do have another 1790 on the same page and at the same price. Problem with this one is that someone has been colouring it with blue marker (unless it is something a lot worse). They also have an 1831 sixpence. They reckon it is a GEF. When I compare it to my MS65, it looks like a GVF (but I will give them a bog standard EF). It also has some red marker on it. They want 350 pounds, mine cost 280 fully juiced. Of course, dealers can be expensive. Look at Atlas Numismatics where I have bought a few coins. But, if you are going to be expensive then you have to offer top quality merchandise and a great buying experience which Atlas does. Baldwins are not doing that. While they have, no doubt, some very nice coins, there is a lot of very average coins in their inventory. Problem is that the prices are not all that average.
  3. jaggy

    CGS v LCGS

    You make a good point. There is a potential conflict of interest between LCGS and London Coins. This is exacerbated by the reality that slabbed coins do tend to sell at a premium to unslabbed. In my own, albeit limited, experience, LCGS does tend to overgrade its coins by a couple of points when compared to the US grading organisations. Thus an LCGS 80 which is meant to map as a MS63, is more likely to come out as an MS60 or MS61. There is always chatter about all the grading organisations, about mistakes they make, about conflict of interest and overgrading. The only way around this is to buy the coin and not the grade. I have seen questionable grades and I have been known to break coins out of their slab and have them regraded. For example, I found an MS65 1887 R over V sixpence which had been misattributed by PCGS as a shilling and where they had missed the R over V. I broke it out of its slab, sent it to NGC where they gave it the correct attribution with the R over V and graded it MS66; result! Grading organisations are fallible like anything else. Ultimately, it is up to us as collectors to know our field of interest and know how to grade.
  4. jaggy

    Storage of sixpences in lighthouse capsules

    I have one or two sixpences .... actually over 400. The ones which are not slabbed are kept in Lighthouse coin trays.
  5. jaggy

    frosted proof

    And certainly not at that price.
  6. jaggy

    frosted proof

    I don't know. I don't know the difference between 'normal' and 'VIP'. However, If I were having a VIP Crown slabbed, I would want that in the description because it would seriously enhance the value.
  7. jaggy

    frosted proof

    I ran the certificate number through the PCGS verification and it gives a population of 25. NB. that is just PCGS and doesn't cover NGC, LCGS, other TPGs or raw. https://www.pcgs.com/cert/84917969 If it is a VIP proof then he will need to provide some evidence because the certification doesn't show that.
  8. jaggy

    1846 sixpence. 6/0?

    I compared this to my own 1846 sixpences (I have two). I don't think the 4 is any higher on the example above than it is on mine.
  9. I use grey NGC boxes for my NGC slabbed coins and blue PCGS boxes for my PCGS slabbed coins. The boxes are made of plastic but are quite sturdy and stack well. Each box holds 20 slabs. https://www.amazon.com/Storage-Sturdy-storage-graded-collection/dp/B0088YW39Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506388677&sr=8-1&keywords=NGC+coin+boxes https://www.amazon.com/PCGS-Plastic-Storage-Slab-Holders/dp/B001NGF8Z2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1506388677&sr=8-2&keywords=NGC+coin+boxes
  10. jaggy

    Henry III AU50

    The problem with grading is that it is an art and not a science. We have all seen grades that we disagree with and that have sometimes shocked us and it really doesn't matter whether it is the TPG doing the grading, an auction house, a dealer or an individual. I have had some good surprises and plenty of bad surprises. My experience of NGC is that they have been pretty strict. My experience of LCGS is that they either overgrade or that their mapping to US grades is out by a couple of points. My experience of buying non-slabbed coins at auction is that they are often overgraded; "almost mint" is usually far from that. And there are plenty of dealers who overgrade too. Ultimately, you have to buy the coin and not the grade. But you also have to understand that, if buying on the basis of a photo, that it can be 'doctored'. There is a lot of risk involved. Buying from a dealer in whom you have trust can substantially reduce the risk. And, despite the above, buying slabbed coins also reduces the risk as, for the most part, they tend to get it more or less right.
  11. jaggy

    "My Cabinet" issue on DNW website

    I also followed the DNW auction and 'won' one coin (1828 sixpence) having bid on three. My general impression was that quality coins were selling for well over the high estimate while relatively ordinary or lower quality coins were selling at around estimate. For example, I bid on a 1708 sixpence. Estimate was £340-400 and it sold for £550 which is £660 with juice. On the other hand, a 1787 sixpence - which is a pretty common coin - had an estimate of £70 - 90 and sold for £90. My 1828 cost me £320 compared to the high estimate of £260. That in my opinion was fair market value given that date does not show up all that often.. The estimate was on the low side.
  12. You might be right. I attributed the ticket based on the collection I acquired the coin from. It is entirely possible that the collector used an already existing ticket.
  13. I bid on four lots and won three, all below my max. All three are upgrades.
  14. From time to time I go back and look at the Baldwins offers and I am usually disappointed.
  15. LEWIS P.M. Ticket is 12mm in diameter.
  16. WILLIS, F Part 1 of the Willis Collection was sold by Glendinning's on Wednesday 5 June 1991 and Part 2 was sold by Glendinning's on Monday 7 October 1991.
  17. Bought this about a month ago .......
  18. In the past, I was someone who bought primarily from auctions and almost never from dealers. That has changed and I now monitor several dealer sites, including yours. The advantage of a big auction over a dealer is that there is usually a lot of material on offer and, potentially, you can get coins at very good prices if there is not much competition. The disadvantage is that one is often wondering about the real condition of the coin and prices can go high if there is a bidding war. The advantage of a dealer is that the price is fixed and, if you really trust the dealer, that the coin will be what is described. For me, there are two problems in acquiring new coins. The first is that, as my collection has matured, there are fewer gaps to be filled. Even expanding my collecting to a couple of type sets, has not really changed that. The second is that there are fewer high quality coins available and they are commanding premium prices. Although I can pay those prices for the right coin, I cannot buy a lot of coins at those prices. As an aside, I probably need to sell some of my doubles in order to free up cash but I hate selling my coins. When it comes to dealers, I have three criteria. The first is that they have the coins and the quality I am looking for. The second is that they are easy and reliable to deal with. The third is that their prices have to be right. For the first criteria, having a web site that is easy to search without having to wade through pages of coins that I am not interested in is helpful. Having quality photos and an accurate description of the coin is key. For the second criteria, being able to pay online, being able to use my credit card without an add on fee and reasonable postage costs is important. Getting the coin in the mail quickly and emailing tracking information helps a lot. In the internet world, the competition is only a couple of clicks away so the dealer needs to make the buying experience as easy as possible. For the third criteria, having the right price does not mean being cheaper than in auction. If, for example, I see a dealer price at $500 and auction hammer prices (per the archives) have been floating around the $350-$400 region then that is not necessarily a deal breaker. A dealer can be a bit more expensive than an auction because 1) they have the coin and 2) there is no price risk; the price is what it is. But a dealer cannot be a lot more expensive. The differential cannot be such as to make waiting for an auction and taking the risk that the auction price is high a better option. Incidentally, Rob, I do have my eye on one of your coins. Because of my recent travel schedule, I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but may do in a couple of weeks.
  19. jaggy

    How Are US TPGs with English Coins?

    I have had quite a few of my British coins graded by NGC. For the most part, I have been comfortable with the grade assigned. In the cases where there has been a 'details' grade, I have almost always understood where that has come from. What the grading process has done for me is to make me much more 'picky' when buying coins. I now have a feel for what the graders are looking for and I apply that to my purchases. It has also made me much more skeptical of auction house/dealer/seller descriptions. The question I have is whether NGC applies a different standard to large customers (dealers, auction houses) than the one they apply to the individual collector?
  20. Newman, Eric P. Apr 16, 2014
  21. Lainchbury, Arthur 1838 sixpence. Purchased at DNW, Apr 2, 2014.
  22. Grading is not an exact science, however, I have broken out three CGS coins from their slabs and sent them to NGC. In two cases, they were graded one level lower than the CGS conversion table would suggest. In the third case, it was two grades lower.
  23. Always interesting to see how well, or badly, coins did in the auction. I didn't bid at DNW this time around as I didn't see anything I really wanted. Hopefully, nbext time will be better.
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