The Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) presented its outstanding achievement awards for 2010 during the PNG Day banquet held in Boston, Massachusetts on August 9, 2010.

Patrick Heller of Liberty Coin Service in Michigan was given the Abe Kosoff Founders Award presented in recognition of a PNG member-dealer who has made a significant contribution to the Guild or to the numismatic fraternity in general. “Pat has shown enthusiastic leadership, dedication and selfless sharing of knowledge,” said Gary Adkins, who chaired the Kosoff committee. The award is named after PNG’s Founding President

Prolific author and prominent dealer, Q. David Bowers of New Hampshire, received one of the two Robert Friedberg Awards presented at the PNG Day banquet in Boston, August 9, 2010, and was also honored for 50 years of membership in the Professional Numismatists Guild. (Photo courtesy of Donn Pearlman. All rights reserved.)

David Hall, President of Collectors Universe, Inc. and a co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service, received the PNG Significant Contribution Award “for years of dedication and significant contributions to numismatics,” according to committee co-chairs Dana Samuelson and Barry Stuppler.

New Jersey coin dealer Ken Starrett was presented with the Sol Kaplan Award. He assisted in the recovery of coins stolen from long-time PNG member-dealer Julian Leidman of Maryland, according to Kaplan committee chair, Jeffrey Bernberg. Jointly presented by the PNG and the Lewis M. Reagan Foundation to people who have helped fight fraud and thievery in the numismatic profession, the award is named after a former PNG President who was responsible for the apprehension of several people suspected of numismatic-related crimes.

Paul Whitnah, a Texas collector and travel agent, received the Art Kagin Ambassador Award “for his many decades of volunteering and tireless support of the entire numismatic community,” according to Kagin committee chair Fred Weinberg. The award is named after a former PNG President who provided distinguished service as an advocate of numismatic goodwill.

(Paul Whitnah of Texas received the PNG’s 2010 Art Kagin Award in recognition of his decades of professional assistance to PNG member-dealers and volunteer work in the numismatic community. (Photo courtesy of Donn Pearlman. All rights reserved.)

Book authors Q. David Bowers and Cory Frampton each received a Robert Friedberg Award. Committee chair Tom Denly said Bowers received the award “in honor of his exemplary work on the Whitman Encyclopedia of U.S. Paper Money,” and Frampton received the award “in honor of his exemplary work on Mexican Paper Money.” The Friedberg award is named in honor of a well-known publisher and author of numismatic reference books.

Bowers also was recognized for 50 years of PNG membership. PNG Executive Director Robert Brueggeman announced that Bowers is being given lifetime membership in the organization, only the fifth person in PNG history to be so honored. Bowers joined the PNG in 1960 and holds membership number 58.

Three 25-year members were honored: John Wilkison (#351), PNG Immediate Past President Gary Adkins (#352) and Larry Stack (#355). All three joined the organization in 1985. (more…)

DGS announced today that effective immediately, all grading and certification operations at Dominion Grading Service (DGS) has been discontinued.

In a statement posted on the David Lawrence Blog page, the following explaination was given:

“In the time since we started DGS, both PCGS and NGC have made great strides and improvements to their grading technologies and practices and we no longer feel that our services are needed. Additionally, CAC is doing a fantastic job of assessing the quality in PCGS and NGC holders.

As for DGS, we simply do not feel that there is enough demand for collector coins at this time to merit our further investment. We have discontinued grading at DGS at this time. If you have DGS-graded coins to sell, please offer them to us for sale. We remain committed to the quality and standards of our grading at DGS and we still make two-way markets in DGS-graded coins. ”

In April 2008 DLRC launched Dominion Grading Service using the assets of the old PCI grading services thay had purchases as a base. At the time John Feigenbaum said ” “we had initially planned to keep the PCI brand name, but we quickly realized that it would be impossible to overcome the confusion that would ensue as we endeavor to recalibrate the [PCI] grading standards. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue the PCI brand in favor of an all-new grading company named Dominion Grading Service.“

Although Dominion used the same holder as PCI, that’s where the similarities end. DGS grading was based on strict standards (i.e. Photograde, for circulated coins). On mint state coinage, DGS graded conservatively with a focus on eye appeal, freshness of surfaces (including originality) and marketability.

Some of the innovative concepts at DGS were:

1. AuthentiVIEW ™: DGS introduced a service called AuthentiVIEW ™ which was integral to the submission process. All coins submitted above the “Budget” tier (i.e. valued above $100) were imaged — and this imaged serve as an authentication tool for any DGS certified coin. Anyone was able to go online, enter a serial # and see an image of the coin in the holder after it was graded.

2. Visual Population Report: DGS was the first grading service to have an entirely visual population report on its web site. Users who wished to look up populations were able to see the AuthentiVIEW images of all the coins graded. Feigenbaum stated at the time, “We anticipate this to be a useful tool for all numismatists. Just imagine the ability to see every 1901-S quarter we’ve certified; or a more common coin like the 1933-S Walker. This visual archive will be available to everyone.”

3. Net Grading of Problem Coins: Coins that have been cleaned, repaired, or damaged in any way will be slabbed in the same holder and label as undamaged coins, but the holder will describe the problem without “net grading the coin”. Coins will not be double-punished. The actual best determination of grade will be stated along with the notation of the problem. For example a coin may be described as: DGS AU55: Lightly Cleaned, Reverse scratches. According to Feigenbaum, “most coins are not perfect or original and it’s a shame not to have them in holders.”

by Greg Reynolds

On Wed., Aug 11, during the Platinum Night event of the Summer 2010 ANA auction in Boston, the all-time greatest collection of Barber Half Dollars will be auctioned. This set was assembled and consigned by Dr. Steven Duckor.

I. Overview

Here in part 1, I will introduce Dr. Duckor’s collection, mention the last two coins that were added, focus on his 1904-S half, and discuss the evolution of his set of Barber halves. In part 2, the historical and cultural importance of this set will be analyzed, along with references to other landmark sets of Barber Halves, including those of Thaine Price, Louis Eliasberg and the Norweb family. Plus, there will be some additional information in at least one of my Wednesday morning columns. Please read tomorrow’s column.

All of Dr. Duckor’s coins are authenticated, graded, and encapsulated by the Professional Coin Grading Service. During the Spring, the entire set was re-evaluated by the PCGS under the new SecurePlus™ program. Twenty-seven of Duckor’s halves received plus grades, Duckor himself reports, and “one coin fully upgraded to the next grade.”

In accordance with the rules of the PCGS registry, Duckor’s primary set has a “weighted” grade point average of “66.776.” With inclusion of the rare and recognized 1892 Micro O variety, his GPA drops a little to “66.72” The second ‘current finest’ set is owned by Dr. Peter Shireman and it is third on the “all-time” list. My guess, though, is that the Thaine Price collection is superior to that of Shireman. In accordance with current grading criteria, some of Price’s coins would merit higher grades than these received in the 1990s.

I am not referring to Dr. Duckor’s set of Barber Half Dollars as the ‘all-time’ best because it is the number one “All-Time Finest” in the PCGS registry, though this is so. I am referring to it as the greatest collection of business strike Barber Halves of all time because it is superior to any other, better than those that were disbursed before the PCGS was founded, and better than those that include a mix of PCGS and NGC certified coins. I have spent considerable time researching and analyzing the topic of business strike Barber Half Dollars.

Actually, so few collectors have even attempted to assemble gem quality, complete sets of business strike Barber Halves, it was not that difficult to determine that the Duckor collection is the greatest of all time. References to other sets of Barber Halves are central to an understanding of Dr. Duckor’s set. In terms of the culture of coin collecting, Dr. Duckor’s set of Barber Halves is perhaps the most important collection to be auctioned in Boston this August, even though tens of millions of dollars worth of rare coins, including several wonderful collections, will be sold.

Unfortunately, I am not able here to extensively discuss many of the individual Barber Halves in the collection. The objectives of this two-part series are to explain the importance of this set, to provide information about its evolution, to relate it to other sets of Barber Halves, and to discuss the meaning of this set in the context of the history and traditions of coin collecting in the United States. I will mention a few specific Barber Halves in my weekly columns, starting tomorrow.

Mark Borckardt, surely, did an admirable job of cataloguing Dr. Duckor’s coins. I strongly recommend that collectors read the catalogue. Even collectors who cannot afford these halves will find the catalogue to be educational and interesting. In order to understand the coins that a collector possesses, it is necessary for him or her to learn about coins that are not affordable. (more…)