Coin Grading

An unusual auction took place earlier this year. The sale featured a number of very high-grade early large cents, some with remarkable provenances going back to some of the most famous large cent collections ever formed. Yet they brought only a couple thousand dollars apiece. Even an MS63 example of a very rare variety of 1793 chain cent brought only $3,600. How did this happen?

The pieces being sold were electrotypes, copies made of some of the finest genuine large cents in existence. The auction was that of the Early American Coppers (EAC) club, an organization of half cent and large cent specialists, and the pieces had been properly catalogued as being electrotypes. The sale of these pieces raises a few questions. Why would anyone pay thousands of dollars for what are essentially counterfeit coins? How did the manufacturers of these pieces have access to the clearly amazing genuine samples they had copied? What is the point in collecting and studying these so-called coins?

Editor’s note: It is the opinion of the authors that revisionist theory about Gobrecht dollars is invalid. The Breen theory, that originals can be determined by noting that the eagle flies upward when the coin is properly rotated, they believe should be immediately restored. This article is an attempt to support the contention. It is divided into two parts, with a conclusion following. The first section, by R.W. Julian, deals with the historical aspects of the Gobrecht dollar coinage, while the second, by Craig Sholley, examines the critical areas of mint machinery, weights, die rotation and rarity.

Prior to about 1975 the Gobrecht silver dollars of 1836 through 1839 were all considered to be patterns. It was known that restrikes had been made in the late 1850s but until Walter Breen tackled the problem in the mid-1970s, no one knew how to distinguish the true originals. At the same time, documentary proof was published showing that some of the dollars of 1836 and 1839 were in fact coins issued for circulation.

Read Full Story

The PCGS Grading Standard was first used by the numismatic community; both the collectors who buy the coin and the dealers who sell them, in 1986. At that time, the PCGS Grading Standard was the consensus opinion of the grading experts at PCGS, along with comments and suggestions from the dealer-experts who provided PCGS with input on PCGS grading. In 1988, PCGS constructed a grading set. The PCGS Grading Set consisted of a small group of example coins in various grades from the major coins series, including $20 Saint Gaudens and Morgan and Peace dollars. The grading set was used as a reference by PCGS graders and was also displayed at major coin shows.

Read Full Article

I am just back from the annual paper money show in Memphis. It is the premier paper money event each year and experiences there tend to inform my editorial decisions in the following months. If you are a veteran of the coin market from the mid 1980s, what is currently going on in the paper money field will be familiar to you. Slabbing is affecting the business in a big way. Third-party authenticators and graders are slugging it out for market share.

Source: Numismaster Read Full Story

(Newport Beach, California) – The award-winning, number one PCGS Set Registry sets of circulation strike and proof Buffalo nickels will be displayed by Professional Coin Grading Service at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money® convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 8 – 12, 2007. The sets include a total of 16 coins that are the single finest ever submitted for certification including 1913-S Type One (PCGS MS68) and 1920-S (PCGS MS66).

Read Full Story

Newport Beach, California - Laura A. Kessler has been named Vice President of Business Development for PCGS Currency, one of the world’s largest rare paper money authentication and grading certification services and a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT). Laura A. Kessler Laura A. Kessler With more than two decades of extensive experience as a collector and dealer of rare paper money, she joins the company from her previous position as Owner and President of Kessler Currency in East Peoria, Illinois.

Read Full Story