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.

For some collectors a placeholder coin represents a practical decision. Let’s say for example that you are assembling a gold type set from the 19th and 20th centuries and that you don’t have the ability to spend $100,000+ on a nice 1808 quarter eagle. In this case, a decent looking coin in, say, an NCS holder with EF sharpness but with signs of an old cleaning at $40,000-50,000 might be a savvy purchase; especially given the fact that an uncleaned 1808 quarter eagle in this price range might take years and years to locate.

For every pro there is a con, so now let’s look at the cons of buying placeholder coins. To my way of thinking, the biggest con about a placeholder coin is the fact that you know you are going to have to replace it. Unless the market goes up in your series, you are probably going to lose money on it when you sell it. Let’s say, for example, that Collector Z buys the mythical 1911-D eagle we discussed above. He purchases one for $10,500 that’s decent but not really a great looking coin due to the presence of some marks on the obverse. A year later he finds the right coin and it’s going to cost him $27,500. Unless Collector Z has a buyback or “trade up” agreement with the dealer he bought it from he’s probably going to take a 10-15% hit on the coin. Let’s say he’s sells it at auction and nets $9,250; a loss of $1,250. This brings the actual cost of his new coin to $28,750. (more…)

Selling the #1 All-Time Finest PCGS Registry Set in any category is an honor, and Heritage fully appreciates the hard work necessary to put the Joshua II Collection into that position. Completing the all-time finest set, especially in such a popular series, is an accomplishment of the highest order. In a popular series with thousands of collectors, the task becomes nearly impossible.

The consignor of Joshua II did it, and did it convincingly, and with the same style that characterizes his many other Registry leading collections. This set has a collecting background measured in decades, with such uniform quality across the series that the hard work of collecting is almost unimaginable. Heritage has been proud to offer many other collections, of equal quality and note, from this distinguished numismatist. s.

As might be expected from such a high quality set, many of the coins are the finest known of their date. In addition, every circulation strike dime has obtained with the Full Bands designation, and 46 of the 79 coins have the CAC affirmation as well. Each coin grades at least MS66, with the 1939-D, a date called “the quintessential type coin” by David Lange, reaching an astounding MS69 to go along with its full bands. Of course, the overall quality of this set is by no means limited to type coins; the key date 1916-D grades MS67 with full bands, and is one of only seven known in the grade from PCGS with none finer.

A collection like this has innumerable highlights; these are just a few:

• 1918-S 10C MS67 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. Two in this grade, none finer.
• 1919-D 10C MS66 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. Five in this grade, none finer.
• 1919-S 10C MS66 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. Two in this grade at PCGS, one finer.
• 1920-S 10C MS67 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. Three in this grade, none finer.
• 1924-S 10C MS66 Full Bands PCGS. Two in this grade at PCGS, none finer.
• 1925-S 10C MS67 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. Four in this grade at PCGS, none finer.
• 1926-S 10C MS67 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. Two in this grade, none finer.
• 1931-S 10C MS67 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. Five in this grade at PCGS, none finer.
• 1937-S 10C MS68 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. The single finest certified example of the date.
• 1942/1 10C MS66 Full Bands PCGS. FS-101. Six in this grade at PCGS, none finer.
• 1942/1-D 10C MS66 Full Bands PCGS. CAC. FS-101. Unsurpassed at PCGS.

Bowers and Merena Sponsor display of this Multi-Million dollar collection ranked the Finest Registry Set

The number one-ranked collection of United States large cents in both the PGCS and NGC Set Registry listings will be publicly displayed for the first time in Boston, August 10 – 13, 2010, at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money. The historic coins from the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation include some of the finest known examples of large cents struck from 1793 to 1857.

The foundation’s exhibit is co-sponsored by Bowers and Merena Auctions (www.BowersAndMerena.com) and Collateral Finance Corporation (www.cfccoinloans.com), and will be displayed at the Bowers and Merena booth, #1017, during the five-day show.

“This is a truly amazing collection, valued at millions of dollars. There are 77 large cents and each is among the very finest known for its respective date and type. Many of them are simply the finest known, period,” said Greg Roberts, CEO of Bowers and Merena.

This 1793 Chain Cent (S-2), graded PCGS MS65BN, is one of the highlights of the multi-million dollar Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation large cents collection that will be displayed August 10 – 13, 2010 by Bowers and Merena Auctions and Collateral Finance Corporation at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston.  (Photo by PCGS)

While supplies last, visitors to the exhibit can receive a free, 40-page illustrated booklet published by the foundation, “Portraits of Liberty,” that describes the history of U.S. large cents.

Highlights of the exhibit include:

1793 Chain Cent (S-2) graded PCGS MS65BN that set a world’s record in 2005 as the most valuable U.S. cent;

1793 Wreath Cent, PCGS MS69BN, the single highest-graded 18th century U.S. coin of any date of denomination;

1794 Liberty Cap “Head of 1793″ Cent, PCGS MS64BN, described by Logies as “the single finest representative work of early Mint engraver, Joseph Wright;”

1803 Draped Bust Cent, PCGS MS66RB, acclaimed by the Early American Coppers society as tied for the finest known Draped Bust cent of any date or variety;

the record-setting 1842 Braided Hair Cent from the Naftzger Collection, PCGS MS65RD, widely acknowledged as the finest existing “Petite Head” type;

and another record-setting coin from the Naftzger Collection, an 1852 Braided Hair Cent, graded PCGS MS65RD, and acknowledged as the finest existing cent from its era.

“The Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation is a non-profit educational organization that focuses on the study and publication of information about early coinage of the United States of America. The foundation is delighted at the opportunity for thousands of people to see these superb-quality, early American cents in person in Boston with the valued assistance of Bowers and Merena and Collateral Finance Corporation,” said Martin Logies, a director of the Sunnyvale, California-based foundation. (more…)