In conjunction with the appearance of his legendary Red Copper Collection in the PCGS booth at the upcoming ANA convention in Baltimore, Stewart Blay was kind enough to spend a few minutes in conversation with PCGS founder David Hall. David is certainly a man who knows just what questions to ask Stewart about his amazing collection and coin collecting in general. (See PCGS Article Here)

Sponsored by the PCGS Set RegistrySM, the entertaining yet informative video will be featured at the PCGS Booth (#1245). For those who are unable to attend the ANA convention, it is now available to view.

Click on the screen below to start Video.

The “Red Copper Collection” of mint state and proof half cents and cents will be publicly displayed for the first time by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money® convention in Baltimore, July 30 – August 2, 2008. Assembled over a period of more than 20 years by Stewart Blay of New York, the collection contains some of the finest known copper coins and has won awards from the PCGS Set Registry annually for each of the past six years.

Among the highlights are a 1796 half cent graded MS-66 RB, the finest known early American copper coin; an 1877 Indian Head cent MS-66 RD (nicknamed “the Golden Princess”); and a 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent MS-67 RD.

“It’s the finest collection of high-grade copper coins ever assembled, and some of these coins have never been publicly exhibited before. There were many excited comments posted on the PCGS Message Board when the word started to spread that this legendary collection would be shown for the first time,” said BJ Searls, Manager of the PCGS Set RegistrySM.

Blay is a sculptor who works in Colorado, Indiana and Italy, and also has acted in television commercials and soap operas. He began collecting at the age of eight.

“I had a neighbor whose uncle worked for the (New York) Transit Authority. He used to bring change home and we’d sort through it. I started with Lincoln pennies and began to fill up an old Whitman folder,” Blay explained.

In addition to the three coins mentioned above, the Red Copper Collection items to be displayed by PCGS at the ANA convention in Baltimore include:

Half cents, 1793 to 1857, all in Mint State including a 1793 half cent MS-65 BN and an 1828 half cent 13 stars MS-65 RD, the finest known. (more…)

Effective immediately, the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) will begin authenticating and encapsulating “problem” coins (i.e. altered surface, cleaned, environmental damage, etc.). Holders and inserts for the Genuine service will be identical to the normal PCGS holder except that the insert will read “GENUINE” in place of the usual grade. No grade will be assigned to these coins, but they will be eligible for inclusion in the PCGS Set Registry with a grade value of 1.

Genuine service coins will be covered under the PCGS Guarantee of Authenticity but not under the PCGS Guaranty of Grade. PCGS reserves the right to reject any coins submitted under the Guarantee Service, including coins that are excessively damaged, altered to such a degree that making a determination of authenticity is difficult or impossible, or which have surface contaminants that may harm the coin in the future. In such cases, PCGS will refund the fee and related shipping charges for that coin. Customers should submit all coins for the Genuine Service on a regular PCGS submission form, marking “GENUINE SERVICE” in the “Other” box.

The fee for the Genuine service is $100 per coin. Turnaround times for the Genuine Service will be approximately the same for all other PCGS services. The Genuine Service is a stand-alone service and is not available in combination with any other service levels. “No-grades” from other service levels must be resubmitted under the Genuine Service in order to be encapsulated.

As part of an effort in 1999 to promote the new Sacagawea Dollars, General Mills scattered 5,500 specially-packaged 2000-dated Sacagawea Dollars among 10 million boxes of Cheerios cereal. Five years later, it was discovered that the so-called “Cheerios” Dollars were actually from a different reverse die type.

Some experts consider these pattern coins; others have called them “Reverse of 1999”. PCGS has labeled them “Cheerios FS-401”, referring to the source and the reference number from the Fivaz-Stanton “Cherrypicker” guide.

Because of the perceived rarity of the Reverse of 1999 and the assumption that all “Cheerios” Dollars bore the Reverse of 1999, the demand for these coins has increased and the coins themselves have become quite valuable.

However, PCGS experts recently opened a sealed “Cheerios” package only to find out that the Dollar contained in the package was of a normal, Reverse of 2000 die type.

The package appeared to be authentic and showed no evidence of tampering. A similar experience has been reported by another grading service. Thus, one may no longer assume that the Dollars in the Cheerios packages are of the rare, Reverse of 1999.

Because the “Cheerios” Dollars are packaged obverse up, the reverse cannot be seen. An obverse die marker has been identified on some “Cheerios” Dollars and may assist in identifying Reverse of 1999 Dollars in sealed packages. The die marker consists of die polish extending into the field from Sacagawea’s wrap immediately below and to the left of the mintmark. Whether this die marker is diagnostic of the Reverse of 1999 Sacagawea Dollars remains to be seen. (more…)

By Jaime Hernandez posted on PCGS

Some of the most beautiful coins in numismatics today are also some of the most intriguing. A simple look at any of the breathtaking 1964 SMS coins reveals their special numismatic status. The special finish of 1964 SMS coins is characterized by a nice, smooth, satin-like appearance. The fields are usually well struck, very clean and tend to come without any major nicks or scratches. The edges for most 1964 SMS coins also tend to be square and sharp. The bust and legends are usually highly detailed and sharp on most examples, especially when compared to business strike coins. The surfaces are non-reflective compared to proof coins of the era, yet are not the same finish as regular-issue coins for the same year.

The U.S. Mint definitely had a rough year in 1964. That was the year they introduced the Kennedy half dollar series both in MS and Proofs, including hundreds of thousands of 1964-D Peace dollars which were later melted! Most significantly, in 1964 all production of 90% silver coinage was being discontinued because of the rising price of silver. The only coins containing silver would be the Kennedy half dollars dated 1965 to 1970, but even those coins only contained 40% silver.

During this time the Mint was also making plans to produce Special Mint Sets from the years 1965 to 1967. These coins were introduced in hopes of eliminating coin shortage within the nation’s monetary system. Consequently, in order to deter the public from hoarding coins, the Mint produced all 1965 to 1967 Special Mint Set coins without any mintmarks. The Special Mint Sets dated 1965 to 1967 were produced instead of regular mint or proof sets for those three years.

Read Full Article on PCGS Here