The Sheldon Scale is the primary system in use for determining the grade of a coin. The possible grades range from Poor-1 to Mint State-70 (usually expressed as MS-70). Every possible number in between is theoretically available for describing a coin's state of preservation, but in practice only certain points of the scale are used (such as EF-45, but ...
Full Article: The Sheldon Scale for Grading Coins - Susan's Coins Blog
The Sheldon Scale is the primary system in use for determining the grade of a coin. The possible grades range from Poor-1 to Mint State-70 (usually expressed as MS-70). Every possible number in between is theoretically available for describing a coin's state of preservation, but in practice only certain points of the scale are used (such as EF-45, but
... Perhaps numismatics should be on a fiscal year ending Sept. 30 as the U.S. Mint is. One thing about 2011 that occurred to me was it will mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Professional Coin Grading Service. That event certainly revolutionized the hobby.
At the time, it was a better mouse trap. It was not the first third-party grading service. Then the big dog in that field was ...
Full Article: Back where we started? - Buzz with Dave Harper
Number One on my list is the TV shopping show dealers and premium "Mints" out there that sell nice looking commemorative coins for premium prices, but that have no value beyond their bullion (if they have any) when you must eventually sell them. Some of these "Mints" sell on the TV and cable-based shopping channels, and the prices they charge when they do sell genuine U.S. Mint coins are nearly always several times higher than the price the coins would cost from a normal coin dealer! ...
Full Article: Top 5 Worst Coin Investments - Susan's Coins Blog
by The Web on July 21, 2010
in Blogs
I often make buying decisions based on a coin’s popularity. As an example, I will buy a coin like an 1839-O quarter eagle for stock because it is popular and I know it will sell. But I might pass on a rarer coin like an 1862-S quarter eagle because it is not a popular issue and it will be a harder coin to sell. This got me to to thinking: what makes one coin popular and another unpopular?
Certain 20th century series are popular with collectors because of a strong nostalgia factor. I would imagine most of the collectors who focus on Lincoln Cents or...
Full Article: What Makes Certain Coins Popular–and Others Unpopular? - RareGoldCoins.com
Just about every collector knows that mintages ran very high during the state quarter program. It was popular with collectors and it was noticed by the general population. But just how high is high? I decided to do a little bit of calculation this morning to come to a conclusion to that question.
During the 10 years (1989-1998) that preceded the state quarter program, the U.S. Mint produced 14.8 billion quarters. Now presuming...
Full Article: Low mintages as far as eye can see - Buzz with Dave Harper
Maybe numbers don't lie, but they can be wrong. In the case of certified coin populations, such as the NGC Census Report, there are a couple of ways the numbers can be wrong. Clerical errors are easily corrected, but another source is more insidious: the re-submission.
Imagine a coin in an AU55 NGC holder. For whatever reason, the owner ...
Full Article: Coin Monday (Written on a Friday): Two Minus One - Heritage Blog
Question: How Can I Avoid Silver Eagle Coin Fraud and Other Fake Silver Coins?
Coin fraud is an unfortunate reality in the coin collecting marketplace, but you can avoid buying fake silver coins, and avoid coin fraud in general, by learning how to spot fake coins. We will use a fake Silver Eagle to demonstrate some easy steps to avoid buying fake coins ...
Full Article: How Can I Avoid Silver Eagle Coin Fraud and Other Fake Silver Coins? - Susan's Coins Blog
The seven best ways to ruin your coins are things that many beginning collectors do without even thinking about them. I've even seen expert coin dealers spitting on their coins! If you care about protecting the investment you're making in your coin collection, take the time to learn how to properly handle, clean, store, and protect your rare coins.
1. Touch Your Coins... Just touching your coins with your bare fingers is enough ...
Full Article: Top 7 Ways to Ruin Your Coins - Susan's Coins Blog
First of all, Godless Dollar email hoaxes aside, not all Presidential Dollars are "Godless Dollars." The term "Godless Dollar" refers only to those dollar coins that are missing the inscriptions on the edge, which include In God We Trust, E Pluribus Unum, the date, and the mint mark. The proper term for these dollars is plain edge dollars because the edge is plain, rather than inscribed like it should be ...
Full Article: How to Tell if a Godless Plain Edge Dollar is Fake - Susan's Coins Blog
