By Doug Winter - www.RareGoldCoins.com

If you collect a set (or sets) and are competing in the Set Registry, the chances are good that you’ve struggled with the Dilemma of the Placeholder. Let’s examine the Pros and Cons of buying a placeholder coin and try to decide whether this is a smart collecting strategy or not.

First off, let’s define what a “placeholder coin” is. I view a placeholder coin as one that you buy as a stop gap. As an example, say that you are assembling a set of Indian Head eagles. One of the few dates that you are missing is a 1911-D. One comes up for sale at auction in a grade lower than what you really want. You decide to buy it anyway because of the fact that it a) fills a gaping hole in your set and b) gives you a sufficient number of Registry Set points that you move up a notch and pass Collector X. Was this is a smart purchase or not?

Let’s look at the pros of buying a placeholder coin. The first is the measure of satisfaction that filling a really nagging hole can give. There is nothing more frustrating for our hypothetical collector than seeing a big ol’ ugly blank every time he looks at his set inventory - especially if he has a nice date run before and after the missing coin. Coin collecting is a very emotional hobby and the Karmic Value of filling a hole is hard to put a value on.

Another pro is the fact that a Placeholder coin might grow in appeal on the owner. I’m going to assume that as a collector you are smart enough to not buy something truly hideous and to at least hold out for a moderately attractive placeholder. You might learn that your placeholder is actually so rare that it represents the only coin that you are likely to have a shot to buy. (more…)

(Santa Ana, California) — The PCGS Set RegistrySM all-time number one finest set of modern U.S. proof coins from 1968 to the present will be exhibited by Professional Coin Grading Service during the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention (booth #138) in Orlando, January 10 – 13, 2008.

“The 361-coin set carries an incredible weighted grade point average of 70.22 out of a possible 70.28, and has been ranked the top set of its kind the
past three years,” said BJ Searls, PCGS Set Registry Manager.

Known as the Erasmus Hall Collection, it was assembled by New York City physician and medical school professor, Dr. Lawrence S. Brown Jr., who says he owes his coin collecting passion to his love of history.

“This is one of the most popular of all the Registry Sets. It’s a panorama of modern proof coins ranging from Lincoln cents to Presidential dollars as well as the clad and silver versions of the statehood quarter dollars. The vast majority of these coins are easy to obtain, but it’s a challenge to find them in top condition,” explained Searls.

Every coin in the collection is certified as Deep Cameo, and 309 are certified PCGS PR-70 Deep Cameo. Nearly all the coins are the highest graded for their date. (more…)

Since the introduction of the Notes Registry at the end of August, interest has been growing. We currently have more than 200 sets that have been created by our users. Now, PMG has released a Colonial and Continental Currency category with numerous sets for the collectors of these unusual notes. These sets were created using the Friedberg arrangement from “Paper Money of the United States – 18th Edition.”

Beginning with Colonial Currency and continued with Continental Currency, which was issued in 11 series by the Continental Congress to finance the Revolutionary War, these early notes established our country’s financial separation from England.

The Colonial notes show how we adapted the denominations of our heritage (Spanish Milled dollars, British Shillings and Pence) but by printing our own money we were attempting to distinguish ourselves from these countries while still keeping trade active.

These notes are collectible for a number of reasons including their rarity, the unique designs and the historical signatures that adorn many of the notes as they were often hand-numbered and hand-signed.

PMG Website

The winners for the 2007 PCGS Set RegistrySM Awards were announced today. The judges, a panel of PCGS experts consisting of John Dannreuther, PCGS Founder; Ron Guth, President of PCGS; and David Hall, President of Collectors Universe and PCGS Founder reviewed all sets after the deadline on June 29, 2007. With over 27,000 sets registered by more than 3,400 active members, this year’s PCGS Set Registry awards competition definitely reached new heights of numismatic achievement. In fact, there were so many great sets that the number of awards was expanded from 20 to 30 in the Classic and Modern set categories. Congratulations are in order for all participants.

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