Lil_Lincoln

Raw Morgan in pretty good shape, starts at 99 cents: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1891-S-Morgan-Dollar-90-Silver-U-S-Coin-Choice-Extremely-Fine-EF-XF-/281584097862?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item418fb85a46 Obverse Reverse and, an uncirculated 1979-S U.S. Mint proof set, also 99 cents: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-S-U-S-Mint-Proof-Set-/281583845906?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item418fb48212 The image files were too large to upload as attachments, I apologize.

Ah, good point, Art! I'll see if I can't get some info from PCGS themselves. I'm almost positive I've seen NGC do something similar, too. I understand when a TPG decides to slab a coin and authenticate it without giving a grade attribution, but I'm really not understanding the generic "grade range" designation, like Gem BU. I mean, that does provide some info--by the letter of the Red Book, that would mean at least an MS-65, but why not specify? Even with the modern stuff, the price jump between 68 and 69, or 69 and 70, is usually pretty steep. Thanks for the advice, I'll see what I can find out.

^Yeh, I wonder if that will be less confusing than the current "Details" nomenclature for cleaned/problem coins, or if it will actually be more confusing because there is a number assigned to it. In any case, here's a picture of a coin like the one I was talking about--and perhaps it is simply a grading sample? Not sure.

Welcome, and cool Youtube channel!

Ah, that's a good point about trespassing and private property, and it really helps if you're by a beach. Glad you enjoyed the info, though! I just hear too many stories about people finding incredible relics or hoards of old coins to not entertain the idea of metal detecting on the weekends occasionally. I do think the treasure finder's laws in the U.K., or at least their practices where the state splits the money between finder and landowner and puts the find in a museum, are more sensible than in the U.S. Here, everything's a lawsuit!

Hey everyone, I've come across a few coins graded by NGC that don't have any numerical grade, just a vague qualitative designation like "Gem Proof" or "Gem Mint." These all happened to have been modern foreign coins, but I'm not sure if that played any role. To clarify, I'm not talking about the Details Grade that NGC gives for improperly cleaned or damaged coins, such as "UNC. DETAILS" or "AU DETAILS." These were simply slabbed coins that said "Gem Proof" with no other designation. They also aren't "merely certified" coins that have been slabbed as authentic with no grade at all--like I said, they give a vague idea of the coin's grade range, but that's it. I get that a Gem Mint coin or Gem Proof are MS-65/PF-65 or above, but I'm still a little perplexed. Has anyone else seen these, or know what the deal is? Thanks!

Hey everyone, one of our senior content writers, Steven, is a pretty avid metal detectorist. He spends his weekends at Clearwater Beach and other places along Tampa Bay looking for shinies left along the shoreline. For anyone interested in metal detecting and hunting for buried coins, check out this great Beginner's Guide he put together for aspiring treasure hunters. He even recommends some of the best equipment to use, strategies to employ when searching various types of terrain, and some tips on etiquitte and how to endear yourself to both the other metal detectorists and bystanding observers. Don't worry, this isn't spam, just some info on a popular related hobby. You can take a look here: http://www.gainesvillecoins.com/article/metal-detecting-guide Just thought I'd pass it along for anyone who might find it useful or intriguing. Happy collecting!

Yes! Regardless of what I collect, I also enjoy the sense of completeness of collecting an example of every variety or related version (such as patterns and trial strikes). To be honest, this urge (or dream, as you put it) drives me crazy sometimes, because I can't stand sitting on incomplete sets of anything!

Absolutely beautiful note. Always love island scenery--and this got me to look into where the Comoro Islands are! lol

That's awesome; we do run some pretty good deals on occasion. I gotta say, I love that British WWI commem--the Royal Mint did a good job (in my opinion) of using Britannia and the lion in the design. Hard to believe WWI broke out 100 years ago already . . .

I don't blame you for having an obsession with trial strikes; it's awesome to see the various steps and details of the minting process play out. The rarity of the trial strikes would be really enticing to me, too, even if they can't command the same price from a buyer. Yours has so much character!

Oh, wow! The closer view in that picture really gives you a sense of the relief on the medal. And the reverse has an almost hypnotic design. Love it! Maybe I'll have to start looking into schützenfest medals, and medals with other themes! You're right, they are absolutely beautiful; thanks for posting!

This is really interesting stuff; I was doing some research on MTTs and came across the "shooting thalers." It was perfect timing for me to subsequently check out this thread. Really incredible designs and detail on the pictures posted here. Most of my experience with exonumia has been with the tackier stuff--poorly conceived numismatic copies, holiday and birthday rounds, etc.--but these medals are astounding. Those gold and silver 1911 Swiss Shooting Fest medals are gorgeous, hiho. Any chance you can post a picture of the back of one of the slabs? I'm curious about the reverse design.

Sweet find; since I never EVER stumble across silver in my change (and I always look), I was beginning to wonder if each and every piece had already been plucked from circulation! Cool coin.

^That's a fair point I guess we should all consider, because those are laughable counterfeits. That's probably what the guy is doing. But, at this point, he wouldn't need to fish for improvements, since they're so glaringly bad. Lmao at "UNITHD STATES" too.

Really cool coins--especially that square cent!--and great topic. Our prayers go out to the grief-stricken families in Malaysia.

Awesome note. Really vibrant colors, and it looks crisp.

Awesome Medieval coins! Love that authentic hammered look and feel.

Art, I would agree that the responses we got do cover a pretty wide range of tastes, so by that measure, I would call the "round-up" a success. Yeh, you're probably never going to poll coin experts about their favorites, or what they'd most like to have in their collection, without hearing about the 1933 Saint and the 1907 High Relief. Definitely iconic American coins. I really like your choice of the 1921 High Relief Peace dollar. It would be something to see, and I haven't encountered a lot of the High Relief designs, let alone an old circulating one. A lot of people have mentioned the supposed 1964 Peace dollar, but something tells me that even if those coins were struck, they no longer exist. And, good point, there's gotta be a silver Sacagawea out there somewhere; hell, that mule of a 2000 State quarter obverse and a 2000 Sacagawea reverse (or something like that) wasn't supposed to exist, and it sold for over $100 grand. Let the hunt for the Silver Sac begin!

Hey everyone, So, the Content team at Gainesville Coins reached out and did a bit of research on what coins experts within the industry are most interested in. We limited their responses to just 3 coins in order to narrow it down to their absolute favorites. I think we pulled a fairly decent array of personalities--some people were hardcore numismatists, others were avid bullion stackers, and still others were primarily financial analysts--that represent a diversity of expertise with coins. Some gave detailed explanations, while others were matter-of-fact. We asked our esteemed panel, “If you could ONLY have 3 gold coins or silver coins, which would they be, and why?" The results of our experimental "Expert Round-Up" can be found here>>http://www.gainesvillecoins.com/article/the-most-coveted-gold-and-silver-coins Take a look at their responses, and maybe a few of their choices will resonate with you. Then again, maybe not! We saw plenty of suggestions for rare numismatic coins, both U.S. and foreign, while some respondents preferred modern bullion coins. I would love for this to spark a discussion in the forum. We're all "CoinPeople" here, so feel free to offer your own informed choices!

Hahaha! I love this result. I expected the thread to have been all worn and weathered coins, but an ugly design has equal merits! Like you said, ikaros, it truly was "an ultimately equitable result" because, in some ways, that 2 Euro coin is far uglier than an "innocent victim of living on the streets" lol. Can't wait for the next one!

I do really like some of those coins! The 5-Star Generals is so much more impressive in Proof. And I recognize the 5 Blessings coin from our inventory at GC. I must admit, I'm a total sucker for Walking Liberties, too. "The legendary gambler, Amarillo Slim, once said, 'It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money.'" But if that sucker is having his money taken and gets Walking Liberty halves in return, it's not so bad! lol

Glad to hear you figured it out, Balkanboy. Thanks for the update. Interesting that Orhan was the first sultan with officially minted coins. Discovering the history behind a coin is always what makes it the most intriguing!

Great call on the lot for $14.50. I've yet to experience the dreaded auction cancellation, but I've heard it from enough people to know that it can be a real bummer. I vehemently agree with Art's point about following an honest seller like that; the only way to keep good people in the market is to support them! As far as your original question about gold coins (that everyone ignored, lol), I've always thought of British Sovereigns as the ideal starter coin. They're affordable fractional gold (about a quarter oz of gold) and aren't so rare that you'd pay a great deal over their melt value. But, Sovs are still legal tender coins from the 19th century, and those have always appealed to me more than the modern bullion coins. French Gold Roosters are similar to Sovereigns in that they're very small gold coins with pretty cool designs. If you're into history (and are willing to shop around a bit longer), the Gold Napoleon coins from the early 1800s are pretty neat. Like I said, though, those are really small gold coins. If you're comfortable with the smaller size, I'd even suggest $5 Half Eagle and $2.50 Quarter Eagle coins from the U.S. The ones minted after 1908 have an interesting incuse Indian Head design. But hey, everyone seems to like larger coins. (Why not? The design is usually clearer, anyway.) Even though the $20 Double Eagles get all the pub for being the most beautiful U.S. gold coins, the $10 Half Eagles are one of my favorites. They have this unique design of Lady Liberty wearing the Indian headdress that Teddy Roosevelt suggested, and they contain closer to a half-ounce of gold, making them a hefty piece to behold. I realize that I've only mentioned old, "pre-1933" gold coins, but those are the ones I like. The modern gold bullion coins are generally cool, too, but when the premium on the coin is basically the same whether its old or new, I'll opt for the historical coin. Hope that helps, and I do enjoy talking about all these old gold coins, so feel free to ask me anything else you want to know! I have a blog about gold coins here, check it out if you get a chance: thebullionaire.tumblr.com

^Agreed, awesome quarters--even though I wasn't particularly a fan of the State Quarters, I'm just a bit of a sucker for silver Proofs of any sort.