Coin Collecting News » Coin Grading & Authentication

PMG Announces Second-Generation Holder

NGC — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:43:06 +0000

The next generation PMG label and holder is scheduled for release on Jan. 3, 2011.

PMG will begin use of a new generation holder on January 3, 2011. All notes encapsulated after that date by PMG will automatically be placed in the new holder. Additionally, the new holder will be used for on-site grading during the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention in January. This holder marks the first design iteration of the PMG holder since the company launched in 2005. The second-generation PMG holder is made from the same high-quality inert materials and is very similar in shape and overall aesthetics; however, it features new, highly sophisticated anti-counterfeiting and tampering-prevention technologies.

While PMG has not had any reported instances of holder tampering or counterfeiting, the company’s mandate requires periodic reviews of the security of its products. PMG was able to take advantage of advances and technologies used by other Certified Collectibles Group companies, including NGC, in their own certification holders. Ultimately, the holder was upgraded to maintain PMG’s leadership role and the strong preference for its certification holder among currency collectors.

“Our newest label and holder fully satisfies PMG’s combined objectives of exceptional visual display, security and long-term preservation,” comments PMG Grader Richard Stelzer.

Some of the changes will be almost invisible. For example, the label in the second-generation PMG holder includes a conservation-grade UV fiber paper, as did the previous version, but also includes a new UV watermark. These features are not visible under normal light, but when viewed under ultraviolet light these features help confirm the authenticity of PMG product.

Additionally, spot metallic-foil and holographic patterns have been added to the label design and borders. A state-of-the-art hologram is also now fused directly to the label paper. All of these features combine to make the PMG label virtually impossible to reproduce.

The outside holder itself has also undergone important changes. The holder’s sealed edges now include an embossed pattern. The custom design relies on a unique safe-sealing method pioneered by Certified Collectibles Group. The complex repeating texture includes the PMG logo and other elements within the seal that also confirm the quality and thoroughness of the holder seal.

For more information or to have your notes encapsulated in the newest PMG holder, contact PMG customer service at 1-877-PMG-5570 or service@PMGnotes.com.

NGC Certifies Historic Cache of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles

NGC — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 12:39:04 +0000

These coins were part of a family’s possessions during World War II exile and remained together for more than 65 years.

NGC has certified a very interesting group of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles that have remained in the possession of a family since prior to World War II. When purchased in Europe last month, their unusual history was revealed to the buyer. During the turbulent period prior to World War II, these coins were a trove meant to sustain a family through the worst possible situation.

Just subsequent to the Nazi invasion of this family’s home country in 1940, each of these coins was sewn into the lining of a leather coat. With great risk, they were spirited out to a safe-haven neutral country, where they have been kept ever since.

According to the gold buyer, who relayed the history of these coins to NGC, the family in possession of the coins elected to sell them this year because gold had risen to record price levels. The group of 200 coins has been encapsulated with the pedigree WWII EXILE HOARD.

While other US gold coins come from caches with similar histories, several features contribute to the significance of this group. When they arrived at NGC, many of the coins still had bits of leather still adhering to the coins’ rims.

At the submitter’s request, professionals at Numismatic Conservation Services expertly removed the leather so that the coins would be eligible for certification. Their unconventional storage imparted a number of the coins with a delicate reddish patina that was left untouched during conservation.

Another unusual feature is the uniformly high grade of these coins. Each graded from MS 63 to MS 67, with seven coins achieving this highest grade and a greater number grading each MS 66 and MS 66+. All are dated 1924 and 1925, with over three-quarters being from the latter date.

NGC Launches New Coin Price Guide Powered by NumisMedia

NGC — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 20:25:11 +0000

Powerful resource includes over five years of historical data and dynamic charting tools.

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) has released a new online price guide, the NGC Coin Price Guide, powered by NumisMedia.

The price guide is now available to all NGC website visitors for free at www.NGCcoin.com. It includes five years of accurate coin pricing data for nearly all US coins, and collectors can analyze coin prices using dynamic graphing tools and ranking filters. Many of these features are entirely new to the numismatic marketplace.

For example, the performance of up to five different coins can be viewed on a single graph. Innovative trend spotting tools allow users to rank coin performance based on criteria they supply to gain unique insight into the value of collectable US coins.

The rare coin values shown in the NGC Coin Price Guide are independently compiled and edited by NumisMedia based on real, documented market transactions.

Since 2005, NumisMedia has served as the official price guide of NGC and the NGC Collectors Society. NumisMedia is the industry’s most accurate, impartial report of US coin values. The online guide constitutes the most comprehensive pricing available for US coins, including prices for the full range of AU and MS grades, as well as prices for a broad number of modern issues.

“Tools this powerful simply were not available to coin collectors before today,” comments Mark Salzberg, NGC chairman. “Since the price guide is free, we’re offering everyone complete access to the most advanced way to assess rare coin valuation trends. NGC is providing the ultimate means for collectors to make better purchasing decisions and build better collections.”

The NGC Coin Price Guide launched November 30, 2010. The price guide is part of a suite of collecting resources available on NGC’s Web site, including a US coin encyclopedia, US coin variety attribution guide, and US coin grading guide. Earlier this year, NGC launched a comprehensive coin collection management portal. Like the price guide, it is a free resource available to the numismatic community.

Coin Rarities & Related Topics: The PCGS SecurePlus Program, Part 2: Reform

Greg Reynolds — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:26:03 +0000

News and Analysis on scarce coins, coin markets, and the collecting community #29

A Weekly Column by Greg Reynolds

I explain the PCGS SecurePlus program in part 1. Here in part 2, Don Willis, the president of the PCGS, responds to the explanation that I put forth in part 1, and I argue, with assistance from expert dealers, that the PCGS SecurePlus™ program should be reformed, not by reformulating the program, but by preventing dealers from submitting rare coins through the old “standard” process. The positions of John Albanese, Ira Goldberg and Mark Feld are featured.

I devoted last Wednesday’s column to an explanation because I have found that many collectors and dealers do not really understand the PCGS SecurePlus™ program. For details of the PCGS SecurePlus™ program, and a discussion of its importance, please read part 1.

IV. Don Willis Responds

Don Willis has been the president of the PCGS since Oct. 2008. I knew him before then, when he was a coin dealer. Earlier, he had a very successful career in the field of information technology, including the founding of a large software company. I have found Don to be honest, willing to address controversial issues, and very concerned about the well being of collectors.

Willis graciously responds to the points put forth in last week’s column and to questions I asked. Fortunately, Don found my explanation last week as to how grading procedures under the SecurePlus program differ from standard PCGS procedures to be “correct.”

“Today, in its early stages,” Willis says, “SecurePlus is being driven by the collector community.” My (this writer’s) impression is that many collectors do not know or do not understand the benefits of the SecurePlus program. Moreover, not all collectors are familiar with the problems of grade-inflation and coin doctoring. Besides, the dealers who submit many coins to the PCGS are typically wholesalers, not dealers who sell directly to collectors. It would be illogical for the SecurePlus program to be steered by collector demands and collector feedback.

Willis continues, “We have seen many finest known and top quality sets submitted for SecurePlus grading.” I (this writer) find that this is certainly true. Several sets in the Simpson collection come to mind. “Most of these sets remain with their original owners and off the market,” Willis states. “One exception would be Dr. Steven Duckor’s set of Barber Half Dollars which were submitted through SecurePlus and later sold at auction for record breaking prices.”

Dr. Duckor is a strong supporter of the SecurePlus program. Please see his remarks in my June 2nd column. (As always, clickable links are in blue.) Further, I wrote two articles on Dr. Duckor’s halves (part 1, part 2). Also, I mention more of his halves in my column of Aug. 4th.

As Willis says, Duckor’s halves sold for extremely strong prices at auction and many auction records were then set. It is not clear, though, to what extent PCGS Secure holders (as opposed to regular PCGS holders) played a role in the prices realized. Dr. Duckor is one of the leading living collectors, and he is certainly one of the most sophisticated collectors of all time. For a Barber Half Dollar, or an early 20th century gold coin, a Duckor pedigree often adds considerable value.

The SecurePlus program should not only be for the benefit of those advanced, knowledgeable collectors who understand the program. “SecurePlus is only six months old,” Willis replies. “Currently all coins valued over $100,000 must go through SecurePlus. This will change in the future as the market dictates.” Willis figures that “the pace of SecurePlus submissions and the expansion of SecurePlus services will be determined by collector demand just as original PCGS submissions were back in 1986.”

I find fault with Don’s reasoning here. In the late 1980s, a very large percentage of PCGS certified coins were sold to investors or trading funds. It took time for collectors to be accepting of PCGS certified coins. Most collectors had to be persuaded; collectors were NOT then driving the demand for PCGS certified coins. There was a need then for the PCGS to aggressively market grading services. Now, more than 90% of all collectors of rare U.S. coins are accepting of the PCGS.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, collectors were choosing between certified coins and not certified coins. This is different from choosing between PCGS certified coins in standard holders and those in ‘Secure’ holders. Much more explanation is required in regards to such a choice. Most collectors will never fully comprehend the importance of the technologies that underlie the SecurePlus program.

A very large percentage of PCGS submissions come from dealers, not collectors. There are dealers who engage in unethical or otherwise problematic practices relating to submissions to grading services. It is unrealistic to expect most collectors to be knowledgeable about the variables that relate to coin grading and submissions to the PCGS. Besides, it would be unreasonable to expect most dealers to tell collectors that coins in PCGS Secure holders are less likely to have been doctored than coins in standard PCGS holders. It makes more sense for the PCGS to expand the SecurePlus program now, for the benefit of collectors and the coin collecting community at large, as well as for the benefit of the PCGS itself.

V. Secure All PCGS Submissions?

John Albanese suggests that the PCGS mandate the SecurePlus program for all submissions of coins to be graded. “If they can solve the grade-inflation problem, they should use this [CoinAnalyzer] technology for all submissions, not just one tier.” Furthermore, Albanese declares that the PCGS “should use the sniffer for everything, not just for coins sent under one tier. Why discriminate for the benefit of the higher end coins? A $600 coin may be more dear to some collectors than a $100,000 coin is to others. It would not be fair for PCGS to only use this technology on expensive coins. I hope that they use it for all coins” that are submitted for PCGS grading. They should protect all coin collectors, not just wealthy collectors,” Albanese concludes.

Mark Feld puts forth a similar view. “I [Mark] hope that eventually, PCGS will use the scanner, the sniffer, and whatever else they have available, for each coin, regardless of the value.” Feld adds that, if the PCGS will not use these ‘Secure’ technologies on every single coin that is submitted to the PCGS, then these technologies should be used “on the vast majority of coins” submitted. “The current loophole, which allows submitters to use non-Secure options, severely diminishes the potential effectiveness and benefits of the SecurePlus tier. I [Mark] think that is most unfortunate, as I am vehemently against coin doctoring and its impact on the entire hobby and industry.”

Some information about Mark Feld’s qualifications and perspectives may be found in my column of Nov. 17. Feld clearly believes that the SecurePlus™ program is more successful at filtering doctored coins than the PCGS standard submission programs. Ira Goldberg agrees. Ira and his cousin, Larry, own a leading auction firm.

Ira finds that there are “very few doctored coins in PCGS Secure holders. They are tighter, and they have become too tough, calling genuine [and refusing to grade] a lot of coins that are perfectly fine to be graded.” Goldberg concludes that the PCGS SecurePlus program has resulted in “fewer errors in terms of grading doctored coins and more errors in rejecting coins that should be graded.” In my (this writer’s) opinion, it is much better to reject a coin that maybe should have been graded, and can always be graded at a later time, than to grade a coin that has been doctored. The PCGS grading of a doctored coin will result in at least one coin buyer being seriously hurt.

It is interesting that Feld and Albanese both suggest that the PCGS should require that all coins sent to the PCGS for grading be under the SecurePlus™ program. Similarly, Jeff Garrett is concerned that “the PCGS SecurePlus [program] is like a parallel grading service. I [Jeff] would have liked it better if all PCGS submissions were treated the same.” The two tiers are “a bit confusing for the public,” Garrett believes.

Ira Goldberg is largely in agreement with Albanese, Feld and Garrett. “Yes, all rare coins, not generics,” should be sent under the PCGS SecurePlus program, “if the fees are reasonable. It would be best for all” PCGS graded rare coins “to be in the Secure holders,” Goldberg states. “It would not make sense for common date Morgans or Double Eagles. For coins with much numismatic value, to fight grade-inflation and stop doctoring, it would be better if PCGS put all of them in Secure holders. It would be better if the fees were only a little higher than the current [standard] fees, less than the current SecurePlus fees,” Ira emphasizes. I (this writer) suggest that, if all submissions of rare coins to the PCGS were under the SecurePlus program, then the costs of the SecurePlus program could be averaged out over many more coins and thus the cost per coin (of the new technologies) would become substantially smaller over time.

Besides, it will be necessary to curtail grade-inflation, sooner or later. If more and more AU-55 and -58 grade coins receive MS-61 or MS-62 grades, and more and more previously 64 graded coins graduate to 65 or 66 grades, the system would then gradually lose credibility and may eventually collapse. Under the current two-tier PCGS submission system, dealers have an incentive to submit the same coins over and over again, to the detriment of the collectors who eventually buy doctored, mistakenly overgraded, or otherwise ‘low end’ coins.

Willis responds with the point that collectors may demand coins in Secure holders and not be concerned with those coins in other holders. I (this writer) find this point to be problematic. I care about discouraging the doctoring of all rare coins, not just the ones I may possibly own. Also, the values of coins in PCGS standard holders affect the values of coins in PCGS Secure holders.

Given the nature of markets in rare coins, it would be unusual for a PCGS graded MS-65 (or 65+) coin in a Secure holder to be worth more than a PCGS graded MS-66 coin, of the same type and date, in a standard holder. Under the two-tier PCGS submission system, dealers have an incentive to crackout many 65 grade coins and re-submit them to the PCGS with the aim of getting a 66 grade. If the PCGS required all rare coins to be submitted under the SecurePlus program, upgrades would still occur, but upgrades would be much less frequent. There would be a marked increase in grading stability, which benefits most all collectors.

It is not beneficial to the coin collecting community that there are wholesalers, including some leading grading experts, who spend most of their time cracking coins out of holders for the purpose of re-submitting the same coins over and over again. One expert dealer recently told me that he spends around $25,000 per month on grading fees and eighty percent of his income stems from “getting upgrades.”

“The market works like a perfect machine, just follow the money,” Willis publicly declares. This is not true. In economics courses, students learn that markets only work perfectly in theory, when all buyers and sellers have total knowledge, in the present and of the future, regarding the goods and services being transacted. It is just impossible for most collectors to fully understand grade-inflation and coin doctoring, and most collectors will not become expert graders. Besides, most dealers, even those with the best of intentions, are never going to be both WILLING AND ABLE to explain the PCGS SecurePlus program to collector-buyers. Indeed, it required numerous words here, and in last week’s column, for me to explain and suggest reform of the PCGS SecurePlus program.

VI. The Future of SecurePlus

The problems of grade-inflation and coin doctoring are very damaging and, if unchecked, will severely harm the coin business. I strongly believe that both problems are containable, and the SecurePlus program can play a central role in containing them.

Of course, I realize that David Hall and Don Willis are very much aware of these problems and I applaud their efforts in 2010 to address them. They have done more to address these problems than I thought officials at either of the two leading grading services ever would. Richard Haddock also deserves credit for developing and implementing the CoinAnalyzer brand, coin scanning and identification technology. The importance and potential of coin identification and ‘coin sniffer’ technologies cannot be overstated.

“At the upcoming FUN show in January,” Willis informs, leaders of the “PCGS will be making several very important announcements relating to SecurePlus at the PCGS Registry luncheon on Friday,” Jan. 7, 2011. “Those who will be attending the Registry luncheon will see the latest innovations to combat coin doctoring and counterfeiting, which will only be available through the SecurePlus” program,” Willis adds.

I thank Don for inviting me to attend. I hope that at least one of these announcements will lead to a shift in PCGS submissions from standard to SecurePlus. The value of each rare coin in a PCGS Secure holder, and the success of the whole program, is positively correlated with the number of other rare coins in PCGS Secure holders and with the relative importance of the other such coins.

The management of the PCGS should choose to make less profit in the short run by lowering fees and applying these new technologies to most all submissions of scarce or rare coins; I predict that the PCGS would then be much more profitable over the long run. It is fair to suggest that coin collectors and the PCGS would then benefit more and more from the SecurePlus program, as time passes. Also, I hope that the NGC adopts scanning and sniffing technologies as well.

©2010 Greg Reynolds

Rare Slabs Can Carry Big Premiums!

Steve Roach — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:08:17 +0000

By Steve Roach- First published in the December 6, 2010, issue of Coin World

Some collectors wouldn’t agree with the statement, “buy the coin, not the slab,” because to them, the slab is just as important as the coin.

In particular, some collectors have acquired a taste for Numismatic Guaranty Corp. “black” holders.

NGC was formed in 1987 and these holders were used for the first several months of operation, roughly from September through November 1987.

They are similar in shape to today’s NGC slabs, but differ in that the insert securing the coin is black, and the white insert with the coin’s identifying information is on the side that displays the reverse, where the coin seems upside down.

The obverse in black holders is displayed on the side with the NGC stamped logo, which for current holders is on the back of the slab.

Few of these holders remain today. Estimates on the number of surviving black holders range from 35 to 200, and they are collected as novel relics of the early days of third-party coin grading.

Occasionally they turn up and trade at auction.

At a Nov. 14 eBay auction, a New Jersey seller offered a 1924 Saint-Gaudens gold $20 double eagle in an NGC Mint State 62 “black” slab. (Pictured, image courtesy of Danielle’s, on eBay as onionsavenged)

It sold for an astonishing $3,805. In comparison, one major dealer is selling current-holder NGC MS-62 double eagles for $1,600 and MS-66 coins for $2,850.

While grading was perhaps more conservative back in the early days of NGC, and the seller said the coin “looks like a MS64,” the huge premium must be attributed more to the holder than to the coin.

Nine bidders competed for the coin, with the underbidder dropping out at $3,755. The seller set the starting bid at $2,750 – a price nearly comparable to a current holder NGC MS-66 piece.

While the black holders were flattering to brilliant silver coins or lustrous Mint State gold coins, the holders did little to flatter dark coins and copper, and the holder was retired at the end of 1987.

There is even a 420-page book on slabs by Michael Schmidt, Third Party Grading/Certification Services, that covers more than 80 companies that produced slabs and 200 varieties of normal production slabs.