By Doug Winter - www.RareGoldCoins.com

In the five years since I wrote the second edition of my book on Dahlonega gold coinage, a number of important coins have been sold and some significant changes are going to be have to be made when I release my third edition (which, if I had to guess, will be out in another year or so). I think it would be interesting to look at the ten rarest Dahlonega gold coins and see what important things have changed about them since 2003.

For each of these issues, I am going to focus on the following aspects:

-Changes (if any) in high grade rarity
-Changes (if any) in Condition Census
-New Finest Known coins or important new discoveries
-New price records at auction or via private treaty

Before we begin, I think a quick overview of the Dahlonega market is in order. If I had to summarize it in a paragraph I would say that the market is currently strong. The supply of Dahlonega coins—even schlocky ones—really seems to have dried up in the last two or three years. It was always hard to find choice, original Dahlonega coins; even in low grades. Now it seems hard to find even mediocre quality pieces. And the very rare Dahlonega issues—the coins which we will focus on in this article—have become exceptionally hard to locate. The last really important specialized collection to come on the market was the Duke’s Creek gold dollars and quarter eagles that Heritage auctioned in April 2006.

1855-D Gold Dollar: This remains the rarest Dahlonega gold dollar in high grades and it is the second rarest overall with fewer than 100 known. The rarity of this issue with a full date seems to have been exaggerated by me in the first two editions of my book. I would revise the number of 1855-D gold dollars with a full date upwards from “less than a dozen” to around double this amount. (more…)

By Razi - Wizard Coin Supply
If you have a valuable coin collection or you aspire to build one, it is imperative that you take the necessary steps to protect your coins and, ultimately, your investment. Much damage that is done through improper handling or storage of coins can not be reversed. As a result, each passing year sees fewer and fewer original, problem-free coins remaining.

The incremental cost of quality hobby supplies and tools for the proper storage and handling of one’s collection is marginal compared to the value of the coins in the collection. While there are countless products on the market that claim to offer the best protection for your coins, we have identified what we believe to be the 10 best coin protection products available today.

10. Flat Clinch Stapler

– One big category of coin damage we see is from staple scratches. Much of this damage comes from staples that are not completely clinched. Normal staplers leave a curl of the staple rising above the surface. This piece of staple can easily scratch adjacent coins as the coin shifts in a box or is removed or inserted from the box. Flat clinch staplers fully compress the staple into the surface of the holder leaving nothing behind to damage other coins. We like the Max HD-50DF because it is full size and uses regular staples. Max also makes half strip and palm size versions for collectors that prefer a smaller stapler. All three staplers completely clinch the staple as part of the stapling process.

9. Gloves

– A second big category of damage type we see on coins is fingerprints. The oils and acids present on one’s hands can damage coins if left on the surface of the coin for an extended time. Initially, they can cause a fingerprint pattern toned area that is unattractive and lowers the value and grade of the coin. Left unattended, these oils and acids can eventually etch the surface of the coin making the fingerprint permanent. Even handling coins by their rims still allows the dangerous compounds onto the rims of the coins. Using a pair of soft cotton gloves when handling raw coins helps protect all three surfaces of the coins. Make sure you get a pair of thin gloves so that you can still feel the coin. Bulky “work gloves” make it harder to handle small items and increases the risk of dropping the coin.

8. Silica gel

– Metal and water do not go well together! Almost everyone intuitively knows to keep their coins from getting wet but many collectors do not realize that even the moisture present in the air (humidity) can be enough to cause damage. Silica gel absorbs moisture that makes its way inside your safe deposit box, safe or other storage area preventing it from reaching your coins and causing damage. Silica gel can be easily reactivated in the oven when it has absorbed as much moisture as it can hold. Before shopping for silica gel, measure the size of the area to be protected and then buy the appropriate size of silica gel for storage space. (more…)

Republished from Pinnacle Rarities

These strategies were composed upon considering the true case of two collectors, who in 1996, two collectors decided to assemble a million dollar collection of high grade United States coinage. Seven years later, both decided to sell. One now has a collection that is worth upwards of $2 million while the other individual’s coins are worth $600,000. What did collector #1 do that was so much smarter than the other? In the end, the difference was the way that they bought coins; there were a number of important purchasing strategies employed by the first collector that were ignored by the other.

Collector #1 did the following: he was patient, he chose his coins carefully, he was loyal, he was not a slave to published bid levels, he reached for the best available coins and he assembled a true collection as opposed to an accumulation. Collector #2 made rash, impulsive purchases, bought coins from a wide variety of sources (some reputable, some not), would never purchase a coin unless it was priced at a “bargain” level and wound-up with a strange, disconnected assemblage of coins rather than a true collection.

It is a good idea to look at some of these points more carefully to understand why one collector did so well while the other did not.

1. For the collector, patience is a virtue: One of the key reasons for the success of collector #1 was his patience. Instead of wildly charging out into the market and buying whatever looked interesting, he was highly selective. In fact, he typically purchased just a few coins each year. Collector #2 was extremely impulsive and purchased some coins that, in retrospect, made no sense. As an example, he bought at least three five-figure coins that he didn’t really like and which he knew, even at the time they were bought, that they would have to be upgraded. And he purchased some other coins that had absolutely no thematic tie-in to what he was collecting. These were quickly jettisoned at a significant loss.

2. Always buy the best coins you can afford: If you care about the financial returns provided by your coins (and if you are buying coins that are more than $1,000 each you should) then it is important to buy the best you can afford. A collection should be centered around quality instead of quantity. This means that you will have to tailor your collection around your budget.

3. Both collector #1 and collector #2 had the same budget but collector #2 wound-up buying dozens of coins while his counterpart only purchased a few. The result was that the first collector had a small collection of superb pieces with enough of a synergistic tie-in that it was more valuable as a whole than as a sum of its parts. The second collector had an assemblage of expensive coins that, because of the presence of a number of “dogs”, would have to be broken-up and sold piece-by-piece. (more…)

By SCOTT A. TRAVERS

With the advent of independent third-party certification, many coin buyers and sellers thought all their grading worries were over.

No longer would they have to scrutinize each coin they bought and sold to determine its level of preservation. No longer would they need to concern themselves with grading pointers, grading tips, grading advice–these mattered now only to the experts at the leading certification services.

From now on, all Mint State-65 coins would be created equal, as long as they got those grades from the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC) or ANACS.

In short, buyers and sellers no longer would need to think for themselves and exercise their own common sense. This is not entirely true.

Certification services have made–and are continuing to make–tremendous contributions to standardizing and stabilizing coin-grading standards. In the process, they have dramatically reduced the risk that buyers might suffer significant financial loss because they purchased coins that were overgraded.

But certification services aren’t infallible. And though they strive mightily for consistency, they–like the coins they grade–inevitably fall short of total perfection. Some coins graded Mint State-65 by PCGS, NGC or ANACS are indeed better than others; some might even qualify as Mint State-66. Others, by contrast, might get a lower grade if broken out of their holders and resubmitted.

Over a period of time, subtle shifts in standards or in their application can result in the existence of whole groups of coins that are undergraded or overgraded relative to the rest of the coins from a given grading service.

For example, in 1994, David Hall, founder and president of PCGS, admitted on my radio program–a weekly talk show called One-Hour Coin Expert–that during its early years, his company was reluctant to assign the grade of Mint State- or Proof-68. He candidly agreed that a number of the coins graded Mint State- or Proof-67 by PCGS during that early period might well receive a grade of 68 if submitted today. And that could increase their current market value by many thousands of dollars.

Just because a coin is in a holder and just because that holder carries a grade assigned by a certification service, there’s no reason why you–as a buyer or seller–can’t and shouldn’t resubmit that coin to your own personal grading service … your own common sense and your own store of knowledge … and render an expert judgment of your own.

Knowledge is more than power; in the case of rare coins, it also can mean enormous profit.

With that in mind, here’s my personal list of the top 10 coin-grading tips of all time:

(1) Check the high points for wear.

Even if a grading service certifies a coin as Mint State-63, that doesn’t mean it won’t come back with a lower grade–possibly even AU-58–if you resubmit it. A coin should stand on its own merits; you should buy it for itself and not for the plastic.

Look at the very highest points of the coin. If they’re lighter in color than the rest of the coin, or if you see friction, the coin may not be mint-state; it may be about uncirculated.

Telltale signs of wear are indicated by the color of the high points. On coins made of copper, the high points after friction are dark brown. On coins made of nickel, the high- point color after friction is dark gray. On coins made of silver, the color is dull gray. And on coins made of gold, the high-point color after friction is dull, dark gold. (more…)