mr1030

On 06/03/2022 at 10:10, DarkChameleon said:

Nice coins, been on with mine but raw in a regular 2x2 album...got and pre 1800s yet...cos they add up quickly...lol.. a 1798 penny is my only dip in the 1700s, crusty and still over $200.

I feel your pain.  I'm buying higher grade coins then I had intended to when I first started the set, but I get so much enjoyment looking at my album with these really nice specimens, that the extra cost is worth it to me.  My Draped Bust is a 1798 as well, and is the poorest quality in the book.  But it only cost me $30, so I'm very happy with it.  Looking for a Draped Bust half cent now, and that is going to be pricey.

I have bought numerous items from The Royal Mint over the years and have seen many of the same issues a lot of you have had.  Capsules opened with loose coins in the box, bad packing material, and bad coin manufacturing that makes you wonder how they could have passed QC inspection.  I've had to return items twice, once for a silver proof set where literally half the coins had scuffs in the mirrored fields going almost entirely around the outer edge of the coins.  And believe me, the thought of having to return an item to the UK from California is something I dread.

Buying items from the U.S. Mint is a similar experience.  Ever increasing premium price hikes, defective manufacturing, crappy QC inspection, and especially with U.S. Mint - absolutely cheap sh*t presentation boxes this last year on even the most expensive gold items.

The reason I mention all this?  I truly hope the emails to customer service reps and execs you guys have sent resolve your issues to your satisfaction.  I'm sure the people you have contacted do want to make you happy.  But I've come to believe the bean counters that ultimately choose policy for The Royal Mint and U.S. Mint are not going to go back to more expensive quality capsules, better boxes, or spend money in better training for their employees, unless the sales revenue of the Mint goes down.  Decreased sales is the only thing that will get their attention and that isn't going to happen with valuable assets like collector coins being the hot items they are these days.  I see buying directly from the Mints is increasingly going to be a c**p shoot where you hope you get a problem free quality item.  I hope I'm wrong.

10 hours ago, goldmember44 said:

Absolutely ridiculous, how they can still have confidence in how America's economy is being run from the White House. Realistically gold should have rallied considerably by this time, based on the inflationary conditions currently prevailing, and is likely to prevail long into the future. Maybe we will still see a gold rally before Christmas.

First Christmas under Biden.

Also worth considering,  I think I remember reading in the Sigma manual that the main sensors are not good at reading very small or thin pieces of gold.  For those they suggest using the small wand on the gold piece and placing the calibration disc that came with the machine on the opposite side of the coin/bar.  I know that isn't feasible in that yours is slabbed.  The point is the main sensor isn't supposed to be used with items that small or thin.  Might be a good idea to contact Sigma support and ask them the best way to test that item.

1 hour ago, CadmiumGreen said:

…and we had a Christmas exchange together in 2018!

Yes we did.  Postage will definitely be lighter on the wallet. 😃

4 hours ago, GreatCoins4U said:

That 1836 is stunning, I would love something like that. Did it cost you an arm & a leg?

An arm, a leg, and my left jewel 🍒.  😆  Yes, it was pricey.  I didn't go into the shop looking to buy one.  It was an impulse buy as soon as I saw it.  Every now and then I think what was I thinking paying that much for a little gold coin, but then I just look at it for a bit, and I feel just fine afterwards.  😊

WOW!  Two years in a row that I have been selected on the first day, giving and receiving.  Early Xmas for me.

On 13/11/2021 at 05:51, dirt94 said:

So are most of you buying from the UK or is anyone else from America as well?

California resident here, although thankfully that will be changing in a few months.

Well The Royal Mint que was a disaster.  Went to Chards and got 5 coin set into cart but went unavailable by the time i got all my shipping info entered.  🙁  Just ended up ordering regular sov.

Looking at graded coins, both CAC stickered and those that are not, you can easily see that CAC stickered coins are usually of a better quality then an equally graded coin without CAC.  Looking at two MS66 Seated Liberty Half Dollars of the same date and mint mark for example, both will have the same number of surface blemishes and other criteria to qualify for the numerical grade.  But one will have unappealing toning and several stars around the circumference that are not fully struck, and the other will have beautiful eye appeal and all stars fully struck.  Yet both coins will have the same numerical grade.  CAC will sticker that superior coin.  If I see a coin has been noted with a CAC sticker, then I certainly would give it a closer look.  Sure, the grading service might give a superior coin a + or * designation, but I personally haven't seen that given on a consistent basis to coins that probably deserved it.  

I do like the Tut mask.  I saw the King Tut exhibit in Los Angeles on a school trip in the 1970's.  It was incredible.

I only have the original version of the Sigma, not the pro, so my information might not be totally accurate.  The bullion wand does give you a bit more depth, but depending on the dimensions of the bar, even the bullion wand won't be able to scan it entirely.  The best you can do is scan multiple locations on every side of the bar to maximize the chance of finding irregularities if there are any.  I've never used the bridge and don't know it's capabilities, but if you plan on buying multiples of those kilo bars, it might be worth the added expense of the bridge for greater scanning depth.

3 hours ago, Leonmarsh said:

Same reason I slabbed this and the only reason is because its the second finest known example. Of a cali gold fractional in the world of that year 

It's the size of a little finger nail so grading helps storage and authenticity for me nothing more nothing less 

Just gave me peace of mind 

 

Very nice coin.  My LCS has one in the shop that I have been seriously considering picking up.  For anyone who has not seen one in person, they are ridiculously tiny.

My personal opinion on the raw vs slab debate, I prefer raw coins.  I love handling raw coins (with appropriate care), and putting coins in albums.  For display purposes, I find it much more satisfying to see coins in albums in close proximity to each other, rather then slabs racked in a slab box or in bulky 3-ring binder slab pages that only hold 6 to 9 slabs per page.  I can appreciate the confidence that graded coins give to buyers that either don't have the necessary experience to grade coins accurately themselves, or have to seek their coins thru online purchasing.  

But part of me regrets the irreversible impact grading services have had on the hobby.  I'm attempting to complete a U.S. Type Set which I want to display in an album.  My goal is to buy coins in XF to MS condition (based on budget constraints) to complete a set with very nice eye appeal.  Here in the U.S. grading is so pervasive, that it is extremely difficult to find older problem free higher grade raw coins.  Most all such coins are sent in for grading, and what raw coins you can find in store inventories are those deemed unworthy that would get a details grade because of cleaning, scratches, other problems, etc.  I also think the explosive rise in prices for higher graded coins has been due in large part to deep pocket collectors who are simply looking to raise their registry scores a fraction of a point, regardless of quality of strike or eye appeal of the coin.  The score is all that matters.

But that is what the hobby is now, and railing against is as effective as pissing into the wind.  Grading services have good points and bad points.  But coin shopping just seemed a more personal affair 30 or 40 years ago, and I miss that.

On 09/10/2021 at 08:22, DarkChameleon said:

They may have been cleaned...lol.

They don't look like they have been cleaned when seen in hand.  My Samsung cellphone which I use to take these pictures tends to over process and ends up washing out the color.  Both of the nickels have light toning which doesn't show, and the half dollar isn't nearly as blast white as it shows in the picture.  The biggest example is the large cent which would be classified as a red/brown.  Most of the center area is still copper colored while the outer edges have toned to brown.  That didn't come out in the picture beyond just a small difference in tint.  I'm going to have to do some research into how to tweak my phone camera to try and get more fidelity in the picture.