Vfox

the proof-set-demolition contest:

I should have called it that!

A HUGE lot of Mexican silver coins from Jeff, thanks so much, ALWAYS willing to deal with this guy, he is great!

Wow, great progress on that, I wish mine was that complete!

So far, of 2 rolls of pennies, nothing interesting except this 1974 cent that looks like its made of aluminum... hmm.. thats odd. 

Would be nice wouldn't it.

Got some stuff off of eBay the other day, basically more Mexican to add to the pile, and a beautiful Chile 1/2 decimo (it's a Xf-Au but the scans make it look like crap, it's a great coin!) from gxseries. Woo!

Some more fantastic finds Vfox! I can't believe people let the red seals go through their hands so easily. I can understand a silver cert here and there but red seals, wow!

 

In fact, I think I only own one red seal and it's a $5.

I haven't found anything for a LONG time in the way of bills, but this past week or so has been a gold mine! A 1950 $100 passed through my hands today, I was about to say hey I should grab this (to put on eBay) and the girl at the register whips out a bill checker pen and markered the crap out of it.....I just looked at her, and said "This is why I don't let you people near anything I want here." and walked away. She later asked me what I was talking about, when I told her she looked at me and replied "You need to get out more." which I then replied "The sun, it burns...Hiss" and I turned into a bat and flew off, but besides that it's been slow lately.

In the same mindset, a slabbed coin graded MS66 has probably never been used in a business transaction as change.  So, I say, where's the history in that?

Good point, I do like the look of a nice MS coin, but I'm a circulated coin collector for the most part, I like Xf-Au coins just fine for that, but sometimes a nice worn down large cent or something is just as fulfilling.

I'm probably just beating a dead horse with this topic, but I just thought I'd ask. Which do you prefer, and why?

I can see upsides and downsides to both.

Slabbing upsides:

The main one with slabbing is that the coin being slabbed is surely not a counterfiet. Secondly it keeps them safe from most enviromental damage, and surface damage. Last for me, is the grade itself, mainly because grading is super super subjective, I've only ever agreed with about 60-70% of the slabbed coins I've seen, and even less when it comes to coins with obvious strike issues and surface problems, mainly on older coins anyway.

Slabbing downsides:

The worst thing with a slab is, you cannot actually touch your coin! Okay, I know you shouldn't really handle coins anyway, but I love the feel of an old coin between my fingers, obviously I wouldn't thumb up an unc draped bust coin or other nice coin, but having one that is G-Fish I see little problems with. Next is one that has been a big problem with older specimens is you cannot see the edge, how annoyed would you be to own a rare example of a lettered edge large cent from the 1790's but never be able to actually SEE the edgework. And then there is the cost of getting it slabbed. I would rather buy a $3 hard plastic holder for mine. Afterall, I'm not selling most of my coins, and I know what grade they are, I'm not without a ANA standards and photograde, so why would I care what somebody else thinks? Not to mention not every coin can be slabbed, some companies don't even touch a coin with corrosion or one from another country. (Non-US)

Upsides to Raw:

You can see every nanometer of the coin, edge and all! You can actually hold it in your hand just as a person 200 years ago held it, that kind of history cannot be felt through plastic cases. You can photograph raw coins easier as well. You have the fun challenge to grade it yourself, and that (at least for me) is rather self-gratifying. And for the most part they take up less room to store.

Downsides to Raw

Your coin can be much more easily damaged by the enviroment or accidental damage such as dropping it, or a staple mishap! For those that cannot grade a coin themselves, they are left with just a guess. The coin may look legit, but could be a fake, sometimes just to have something authenticated it's worth having it slabbed. The coin lacks a serial number which could be traced if it was stolen.

That's my input, if I think of anything else I'll surely rant on it. But please, lets here what you have to spout on this topic?

In the last week and a half this is what I've gotten from my work, this has been about the best week so far for bills.

Other than these I found a 1956 nickel in MS-64+ with full steps, must have been hiding in a bank somewhere, and a 1941 quarter.

All of these bills are for sale btw.

The $50 star note is $55

The 1935 SC is $5

The 1963 red seal five is $6.50

The 1963 star note one is $8

The 1969 one is $2.50

The 1928 star note 2 is $40 (two rust stains on rev)

It's uncommon that I find a crisp unc one (I've found two one hundred consecutive packs already though), but when it comes to circulated star notes I find about 5 or so a night, and don't bother buying them because they are in rough shape. Older notes I'll buy if they are star notes though, even in circ. I find barr notes, pre 80's, 63's, repeaters, and all kinds of stuff there on a regular basis, but it's ussually so worn I don't bother keeping any. The only thing I haven't found is solid number note, like 11111111, the best I found like that was a 00000348 $1 bill which I then sold on eBay for 20 some dollars. Bills are just not my thing, although when I see one I can make a few bucks on, or one that is just interesting, I'll buy it.

If you want I can gather a pile for you and send them your way at face, might take a week or so to get like $20 in singles, but I can also get new (pre-colored) 1-$100's in circ, and on occasion the new colored 10-50's. It's up to you what type you collect, I have no problem putting back a few bucks worth to send to you.

Where do you work again? Can I get a job? You find some of the coolest stuff.

 

Heh, yeah, but the job itself is just plain awful. I work as a checkout coach at Giant foods stores. Basically I boss all the cashiers around, and do paperwork, and the only part I like, rifle through about 20-30 thousand in cash a day!

Oh and btw I found a AU 1963 star note $1 last night too

A 10 cent euro from the Netherlands thinking it was a lincoln cent, and a 2002 20 pence thinking it was a jefferson nickel.

The paper gods have been kind this week. Last night I got a 1963 red seal $5 and a 1977 $50 star note, both are in used condition, but the $50 is going to jump to eBay shortly, so meh. Oh, and a 2003 Canadian PL dime.

A nice crispy Au (looks like it was folded and flattened years ago) 1935 silver certificate $1 bill. But, it has two light marker spots on the obv, looks like someone marked it with a bill checker marker to make sure it was real....oafs. But, for a dollar, I can't complain lol.

Uh, I believe that image is allegorical and refers to her execution (the rock has the date of her execution on it).

In that case a falcon biting the head off of a dove is quite fitting don't you think? Got to love those witty artists lol.

Just noticed something else while photographing that bust half dollar. Not only is the obverse clashed, but the reverse as well. You can see what appears to be an unsidedown and backwards "LIB" of liberty from the obverse libertys cap. This coin keeps me interested I'll say that for sure!

Another great transaction, as always! Thanks Bill!

Quick payment on some notes recently, and is taking his own time to look for a few things for me, what more could you want!?

Thanks Jeff!

I'm actually going to end up selling that one, I don't collect fractional currency anymore, but this was a good price so I picked it up. $7 with shipping if you want it.

Some stuff from the coin shop, and a trade with Blackhawk. Loves me my Mexican and Chilean coins! Also, that's the first stone mountain I've ever owned, and I just love it!

I'm actually working on something similar to this. I have a type set complete, which includes basically every variation listed, and I'm now working on one containing all US coins 1792-present with each variation and a grading checklist. But, my laptop charger died on me, so until I get a new one, my files are locked away at the moment. Nice file btw, I like the setup, mines just textbased on excel.

Nice stuff

Thanks Art, I'm really starting to get into foriegn coins lately, I think artistically, 80% of them blow our coins out of the water.

Todays pile of coins. A set of Irish Euros and a handful of bi-metallic coins, a 1959 Mexican peso, a 1893 Mexican 10 centavos, a 1917 25 Pennia (looks german, not sure), and a 1942 Peso from Uraguay with an awesome puma on the rev. And last but not least a 2005 uncirculated set, and a 1962 proof set. (the proof is the one I'm going to carry in pocket, see my "proof set circulation fun" post for more.)

Thanks Jeff, I couldn't resist picking this up when I saw it, but it was actually the toning that made me want it, if I would have seen the die clash right away it wouldn't have even been a question wether to buy it or not. The dealer didn't even mention anything about it either, which is odd because he normally is on that kind of stuff. It's a shame the face isn't toned like the fields, but its still a nice rainbow coin.

I just noticed this, but there is a very sharp die clash right behind the head, it's of the wing of the eagle, and below is part of the arrows in its claw. It's also really interesting that this clash is perfect alignment, while the actual coin itself is not perfectly aligned.