Highest Graded 1955 Proof Penny and 1958 Shilling

[dcoin]

but the auctioneer told me he would be happy to dip it for me and call it blast white choice UNC and it would get a better price at auction

You should of kicked him fair in the Nuts just for the suggestion :ok:

PCGS doesn't have a Vested interest in any of the coins they grade.
They simply call them as they see them :angel:
I am SOOO tired of the "Old School" dealers that dip and polish coins simply to improve the saleability of their coins.

I have bought many a coin "Slabbed" and it has been assessed by experts not shysters and I feel comfortable with these coins in my collections :good:
The Major TPG's are making the run of the mill dealers and eBay sellers very nervous because they can't compete and rip off buyers anymore, and IMHO that is a good thing :wavemulticolor:

They'll go out of business while the honest or at least more honest sellers will thrive, whether they sell slabbed coins or not. I don't care how people sell slab or not slab coins as long as I am happy with the coin.

As for the 1958 shilling and in particular the 1955 proof penny:drooling:

[Fulvio]

I've got a 1955M proof in my hand at the moment which we're comparing to that one on ebay. I reckon its every bit as good.

But...

Its not slabbed.

So, using that one as an example (because I can't get a decent pic of this one right now), how much value do you guys reckon the slab adds?

[emu666]

but the auctioneer told me he would be happy to dip it for me and call it blast white choice UNC and it would get a better price at auction

You should of kicked him fair in the Nuts just for the suggestion :ok:

PCGS doesn't have a Vested interest in any of the coins they grade.
They simply call them as they see them :angel:
I am SOOO tired of the "Old School" dealers that dip and polish coins simply to improve the saleability of their coins.

I have bought many a coin "Slabbed" and it has been assessed by experts not shysters and I feel comfortable with these coins in my collections :good:
The Major TPG's are making the run of the mill dealers and eBay sellers very nervous because they can't compete and rip off buyers anymore, and IMHO that is a good thing :wavemulticolor:

They'll go out of business while the honest or at least more honest sellers will thrive, whether they sell slabbed coins or not. I don't care how people sell slab or not slab coins as long as I am happy with the coin.

As for the 1958 shilling and in particular the 1955 proof penny:drooling:

Buy the coin. Always buy the coin.
Coins with better eye appeal will always sell for more than coins of the same grade that have lesser eye appeal; if they have outstanding eye appeal they can sell for more than coins of a higher grade and lesser eye appeal.

[dcoin]

I've got a 1955M proof in my hand at the moment which we're comparing to that one on ebay. I reckon its every bit as good.

But...

Its not slabbed.

So, using that one as an example (because I can't get a decent pic of this one right now), how much value do you guys reckon the slab adds?

The slab adds value by adding certainty, it has been graded by someone with no vested interest in the coin.

If that same coin went to auction raw it wouldn't make $8k but there would be a bidding war over it.

1955 Melbourne pennies can be found red but are hard to find without excessive die polishing which is why so many grade 64/65.

If you find a 1917 penny raw (as an example) which you think will grade MS64rb, in its raw state people will generally bid one grade below what they actually think it will grade at pcgs. So raw it is actually worth a MS63rb slabbed price. It goes both ways though, some coins are very harshly graded for what they are and in those cases the eye appeal of the coin is more important than the grade (like the below link).

http://www.icollector.com/1925-Penny_i12970215

In some instances people pay crazy prices for a number (i.e. $11k for a 1944 sixpence) but in the case of the 1955 penny it would be a combination of the slab grade and the eye appeal of the coin.

[markn]

I've got a 1955M proof in my hand at the moment which we're comparing to that one on ebay. I reckon its every bit as good.

I have heard this catch-cry many, many, many times and in almost every case "every bit as good" has turned out to be anything but.  This is no slight on the coin, the owner of the coin, or you.  It's simply because PCGS do not use the same system for grading coins that is commonly used here in Australia.  And it's difficult to get a handle on the system they use without looking at a lot of graded coins and understanding why those coins are graded the way they do.

All that being said if the owner of the coin thinks it's every bit as good as the eBay one then he/she is throwing money away NOT sending it.

[Fulvio]

I have heard this catch-cry many, many, many times and in almost every case "every bit as good" has turned out to be anything but.

I drove down here loaded for bear... brought along my magnifiers including the cud-o-scope. Under close examination his coin shows absolutely no detracting marks of any sort, so although I have zero expertise in grading, I can compare what I see to what the pics on ebay showed and I don't think he got ripped off. The coin came from a reputable source via one of the major auctions I believe.

That said, this is not about that coin, per se. Its about whether or not it should go on an overseas holiday, and by extension whether its siblings should accompany it if it did. I very much doubt any part of this collection would ever be sold... certainly not by the owner at least. So the intent would not be to make money. Rather its about whether slabs would enhance the collection. I really don't know what to say, because I'm very much in two minds about it. For lesser coins, my opinion of slabs is pretty well known here... but these are exemplary coins worth an absolute fortune, which I suspect just might be prime candidates for coffins. :angel:

[markn]

I very much doubt any part of this collection would ever be sold... certainly not by the owner at least.

As I said to trout it's not just his/her own pockets he's robbing it's those of his/her inheritors.  If you don't plan on selling your own collection then the least you can do is make it as easy as possible for those who inherit your collection to sell it.  And maximise the sale price.  Getting coins slabbed by PCGS will help this.  Of course, not all coins are worth it.  Not even the majority are worth it.  But the great coins in a collection?  You owe it to yourself and your descendants to do it.

[dcoin]

It's also about how you like your coins displayed and stored. Personally I like having my coins slabbed where they are hopefully pretty well protected, can be put in display cases if needed and with images online. Having said that I also have some un-slabbed coins (mainly decimal) which I prefer to have that way and/or wouldn't be worth slabbing.

Just remember some coins have characteristics that will make them grade well by auction house standards but will get them sent back with a very low grade with PCGS. Everyone is welcome to their own opinions though, just my 2 cents worth.

[markn]

Just remember some coins have characteristics that will make them grade well by auction house standards but will get them sent back with a very low grade with PCGS.

Very true indeed.  I was reading (with some amusement) the descriptions for an up-coming online auction being held by an Australian dealer.  Not sure which one.  But the dealer clearly wasn't happy with the grades because every second description started with "NGC (or PCGS) made a mistake with this one because the coin is clearly better than the grade indicates....".

[MobOfRoos]

But the great coins in a collection?  You owe it to yourself and your descendants to do it.

I am sure their will be many changes to certified coins in the 30 to 40 years that I have left before I drop off the perch. We've already seen the introduction of the "+" designation. Who knows what other changes will happen in the next 40 years. My guess is that there will be a computer program that will scan a coin and give it a grading.

So in short, I will be waiting 30 years or so before I worry about slabbing my coins. I'm not going to go through all the hassle and expense now. and then have to do it all over again in 30 years.

[Fulvio]

It's also about how you like your coins displayed and stored.

Indeed. I wish I were allowed to post pictures of the coin vault... you would all be foaming at the mouth, trust me.

Heirs both have zero interest, and will have to wait at least four or five decades to get their mitts on this lot anyway, so that's not an immediate concern either.

But the display value may well be the decider I think. This little box doesn't do them justice IMO. That I've got pics of, and should be allowed to post, so you'll see what I mean.

Interesting comment about the different grading standards though. I would think worst case would be sending off something you think is a 68, you bought as a 68 or equivalent, and having it come back with a lesser grade. Even though it would have no monetary significance in this case, it would still be devastating, like when I found a black scrape on my nice shiny new car... it was never the same after that.

[dcoin]

It's also about how you like your coins displayed and stored.

Indeed. I wish I were allowed to post pictures of the coin vault... you would all be foaming at the mouth, trust me.

Heirs both have zero interest, and will have to wait at least four or five decades to get their mitts on this lot anyway, so that's not an immediate concern either.

But the display value may well be the decider I think. This little box doesn't do them justice IMO. That I've got pics of, and should be allowed to post, so you'll see what I mean.

Interesting comment about the different grading standards though. I would think worst case would be sending off something you think is a 68, you bought as a 68 or equivalent, and having it come back with a lesser grade. Even though it would have no monetary significance in this case, it would still be devastating, like when I found a black scrape on my nice shiny new car... it was never the same after that.

Just remember until you send coins off to pcgs it's hard to know how your coins will grade, either in the positive or negative, or spot on as you yourself have graded them.

Here is one example, descried by IAG as ch-unc/gem, however I know for a fact that this coin was previously slabbed by ngc as 'AU details (cleaned)'.

http://www.iagauctions.com/pba/product.php?lot_id=7202

[emu666]

Dcoin, I believe you've got the overdates mixed up.

The previous lot http://www.iagauctions.com/pba/product.php?lot_id=6901 is a cleaned about unc 1934/3 , the coin you mentioned (http://www.iagauctions.com/pba/product.php?lot_id=7202) is an MS64.

[dcoin]

Dcoin, I believe you've got the overdates mixed up.

The previous lot http://www.iagauctions.com/pba/product.php?lot_id=6901 is a cleaned about unc 1934/3 , the coin you mentioned (http://www.iagauctions.com/pba/product.php?lot_id=7202) is an MS64.

Ah yes I did get them mixed up.

[robbiegal]

Just remember until you send coins off to pcgs it's hard to know how your coins will grade, either in the positive or negative, or spot on as you yourself have graded them.

very true
the last 3 that I sent over through a friend came back with two one grade higher than I anticipated and another one being one grade lower than I anticipated
2 out of 3 ain't bad! ha ha

mind you not proofs