jmferris's Last 20 Posts
| Continuing List To Show Everyones Latest Acquisitions
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
 Posted 06/09/2016 1:33 pm
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I have been really bad about not posting recently, but I still have been busy acquiring. Of all my recent pickups, this one is the one that has me the most intrigued, at the moment.
The 1891-O Liberty Seated Dimes are notorious for die breakage, and I saw something that I could only most closely attribute to being a F-115a, which is a nice R6. The condition of this one had me salivating because there are not a lot of known high-grade examples of this variety. The pictures are from the seller, as I have fallen horribly behind on taking my own, of late.
What has me excited about this, is that I think it may actually be a transitional variety that has not been documented, yet. It is definitely a N Reverse, and looks to be early for a N.2 reverse. It has the die cracks that would eventually become the more pronounced cuds, which are not present on F-115. It is the obverse, though, that has me hopeful. While the reverse appears to be more closely relatable to a F-115a, the obverse appears to be more closely related to the F-115.
The F-115a does not have the die scratch/defect across the chest, while mine does. Plus, mine appears to be shattered on the obverse, which is not attributable to either. The die scratch on the chest is gone in F-115a, but it is there in the F-115. However, you can definitely see the progression of excessive cracking around the entire rim and motto on the front, plus the cud under the 8, that is not present on the F-115. To me, that would signify that somewhere between F-115 and F-115a, the obverse die started to quickly deteriorate and was switched out before F-115a, while the reverse was already to show the cracking that would become massive cuds later on.
The diagonal die crack through the mintmark on the reverse is a hallmark of Reverse N, and made that easily identifiable. No clue what is going on with the obverse, though, other than the above theory. I've sent in pictures and a description to Gerry Fortin, to see if this truly is a new discovery, or not.
Either way, though, it is a very nice addition to the set. I have a "soon-to-be" acquisition that I am not supposed to know about, too. Will definitely get pictures of it when I get it for my birthday from my wife, but I had asked her to get me a BU 1845 SLD that is a F-107a. After I saw the dealer didn't have it in inventory any more, I sent him an email asking if he was going to relist it, because I wanted to pull the trigger on it, and he said that it was already sent out to me (assuming my wife). |
| | Forum: "Post Your..." Gallery Topics |
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| Scale Recommendation? 2016 (What Scale Should I Buy?)
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 05/03/2016 07:36 am
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I picked up this one, from Amazon a while back:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Weig...p/B003STEIYY
200g with 0.01g resolution. Works great, and is very sensitive. Only complaint that I had, really, was that the slipcover they provided had a very strong chemical smell to it. Put it outside for a couple of hours, though, and that smell is gone now.
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| | Forum: Supplies, Books, Reference, Software, etc |
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| Just Joined Ana! Got Free ASE!
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 05/02/2016 9:52 pm
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| Mine came yesterday. Thanks for starting this thread, MC. Had been meaning to join for a while, and for once it actually paid to procrastinate! |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
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| 1856 Seated Liberty Quarter Variety Question
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/30/2016 3:28 pm
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I went to reply this morning, and the moment after I hit submit, my Internet went out. Hopefully, it is not an omen for how the weekend will play out.
As to what I had typed before that happened... I agree, paralyse. From the reading that I have done, my understanding of most of the dies used for Liberty Series coinage of any denomination were, essentially, used until they fell apart. It definitely makes sense, when looking at the number of varieties that I've read about, and how some of them are progressive and can be traced from variety to variety. Also, agree on the grading aspect. Definitely see the old cleaning on there, especially on the reverse. Market-acceptable or not, the scratches on the reverse is not going on the reverse are not going anywhere. It almost looks like someone tried to clean that area out with a pin or a small nail. Would love to wring that person's neck. Of course, the flip side of that is that if it were not done, who knows if this specimen would have ever made its way to me.
Quote:
The only one that mentions a cud on the obverse rim is 7-E. I haven't been able to locate an example labeled 7-E to see if the diagnostics match.
Thank you for checking, MV. It is definitely more of a lead than I've had, so far. This morning, I figured I might just as well try emailing Larry Briggs to see if he might be able to cross reference that 7-E with the pictures of the coin, assuming that he must/might have seen examples of it. Enjoy the mystery of it all, which is part of how I spent my morning. However, that was trying my hand at Newcomb varieties for my large cents. Only thing I learned this morning, though, is that I need to get a nice loupe, because my magnifier is just not cutting it, anymore. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coin Grading |
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| 1856 Seated Liberty Quarter Variety Question
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/29/2016 7:19 pm
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Thanks, MeadowviewCollector. I've already set up my Followed Search for it, and was shocked when I looked at completed listings. Seems in an auction setting, they tend to end at around $80-ish, but someone snagged a BIN for under $10 recently. All about being in the right place at the right time, I assume. Managed to pull in the Greer book for the Dimes last week for around $30, because the title of the listing was not that good. All about trying to use some of that patience I keep hearing about.  |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coin Grading |
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| 1856 Seated Liberty Quarter Variety Question
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/29/2016 1:41 pm
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I have been looking to get my feet wet in SLQs, now that I am already immersed in SLDs and SLHDs. Apart from being beautiful coinage, I really enjoy variety hunting. This morning, I managed to win an auction for, what I thought, was a variety that I could find no information on. I have already sent an email to Gerry Fortin, but would also like to see if anyone else here might have some feedback, too. I did look on Gerry's site, and unfortunately, his SLQ site is not as complete as his SLD site, yet.
First off, I imagine that this would get a "Details" coin for one or both reasons that it appears to have an older cleaning (although it might be market-acceptable) and that there are some scratches in the detail area around the tips of the arrows on the reverse. Either way, I got this for a very, very reasonable price, so I am happy with it, regardless.
As to what I am finding, the only real recognized variety is the FS-301. This does not match those images, nor does it match the standard images that I have looked at. What I am seeing is, on the obverse, there is the presence of either a die break or non-pronounced cud along the bottom rim. Also on the front, there appears to be some sort of an artifact behind the 6, and hints of one behind the 8 and 5, as well.
For the reverse, note both of the "A"s in AMERICA. It appears like they may have been repunched, or there is some other sort of inclusion in and around them.
These pictures are from the seller. I do not have it in-hand yet. Any feedback would definitely be appreciated, though.
Thank you!
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| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coin Grading |
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| Continuing List To Show Everyones Latest Acquisitions
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/27/2016 5:43 pm
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No pictures of coins today, but I do have this. These are the books that have shown up in a cluster between Saturday and today.
Volumes 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the Gobrecht Journal. All of them are new, but the older you go, the more shelf-wear you see on them. Either way, I paid reasonable prices for all of them - less than a lot of places are getting for well-used copies. Volume 2 is still en route, and I think should be here tomorrow. Each of them, in the $20-$30 range, apart from Volume 5. I paid $50 for that one, which is the going rate. Surprisingly, I had a harder time finding that one than the other four.
The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Dimes. Obviously used, but the actual pages are all intact and well-bound. The book shows its age, but I would prefer to think that it was well appreciated by someone who also had an appreciation for a wonderful series of coins. This one was an absolute steal at around $35. I've seen them go double in similar condition and even more for a new one.
Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. Not much to say about this book other than I would feel strangely naked not having this in my library. I had a copy when I was younger, but it disappeared over the years. Again, this is another spendy book, but I paid $75 for it, brand new.
Finding some of these books is proving to be a challenge. The books are out there to be had, but all being out of print, they become "collectible". I could care less about that, personally. Apart from The Gobrecht Journal, Volume 2, I still have two more books that are due sometime this week. I picked up a "like new" copy of Valentine's "United States Half Dimes" for $20 and Kamal Ahwash's "Encyclopedia of United States Liberty Seated Dimes 1837-1891" listed as being new, but missing the dust jacket, for $35. Still a couple of other books on my list, but the ones that I have gotten so far are going to look lovely in my bookcase, for what little time they spend in it.
After all of that, I did manage to get two coins this week. No pictures yet, as the little buggers just do not show well on my cell phone and I am still too lazy to setup for taking pictures today. Got an 1837 Capped Bust Half Dime that I am estimating at somewhere between VF/XF and my potential "deal of the year" is an 1887-S Seated Liberty Dime that had a not-so-good picture in the listing, but is stunning in hand. It was listed at AU, but the lack of any discernable wear under magnification, an abundance of luster, and blazing cartwheels are strongly suggesting an MS specimen. Bonus is that it has some beautiful toning on it.
Will get pictures up of those sometime soon, at least the latter. Want to try my hand at variety/die attribution on both of those, as there is a significant number for each. |
| | Forum: "Post Your..." Gallery Topics |
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| 1891-CC Morgan Cleaned?
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/27/2016 4:48 pm
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| Saw that one pop-up a little while ago. Definitely cleaned at some point, even though PCGS did put it in a problem-free slab. Same dealer has also listed an XF-45 in a PCGS slab, which looks a bit nicer than the XF-40 shown, for only $10 more. That one also shows sign of a cleaning, although it looks like it is a much older cleaning and, to my eyes, has a bit more eye appeal. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coin Grading |
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| 1943-P Walking Liberty Half Grading
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/26/2016 6:28 pm
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 with panzaldi
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the lighting is too strong and washing out the surfaces
You can even see that some of his circulated coins have a very bad white balance. While his pictures appear to be detailed, I am guessing that he is using a very aggressive (read auto) flash setting. It appears to be a single close light source, as opposed to indirect of offset lighting.
Just trying to get my photography skills to an acceptable level, and lustrous coins are giving me the most difficulty. Finding that combination of lighting and camera settings is not fun, and every coin photographs just a little differently - or at least enough to where I am keeping a notebook of settings, lighting, etc.
I think it is an MS coin, no details grade, personally. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coin Grading |
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| More Counterfeit Morgans On Ebay
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/26/2016 6:11 pm
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It is interesting that the seller lives near me (Phoenix area), but says that the item will not post to the US. Only selling to Europe, Asia, and Australia. Possibly a means of trying to skirt postal fraud, or at least make it less likely that someone is going to pursue it, perhaps?
Imagine this will get moved to the counterfeit reporting forum, shortly. Worth noting that the seller has sold a grouping of five 1881-O "Morgans" in the past, and has had quite a run on selling Chinese Panda coins. Would not be surprised if someone from overseas is supplying coins to someone with a US address and then spinning them out to people who have some false level of trust in buying from a "US" seller.
Not saying that any of that is fooling anyone, but would not be surprised if that is what is going on, either.  |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Want Lists, Good Or Bad?
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/24/2016 12:30 pm
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I personally do not do want lists, even though I have been asked for them. Normally, I politely decline and tell the dealer that I will still continue to watch his/her inventory. Basically, once I have a good transaction with a seller, I will move them to a list that becomes part of my search routine. I'll go through their inventories first, before hunting down off of that list.
For me, the reason that I do not want to do want lists is because I find the hunt to be almost as exciting as the acquisition. I maintain checklists in the series that I want, which I will carry with me and update, but that is more so that I do not pick up duplicates or if I want to know if a particular specimen would be an upgrade over what I have. Like Slider23 said, I also do not just want to be a dumping point for a dealer's current inventory, either. I am not a high-value collector (at least not yet), so I would not expect the level of service that someone would get if they were dealing in four-figure coins, and up. That being said, if I was looking for a particular key date at a minimum grade, I would let a dealer know that. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
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| Gradual Grade Inflation Of Slabbed Coins
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/24/2016 12:19 pm
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In order to keep the business going (or growing), you have to have a steady influx of transactions.
Do not want to say it too loudly, but it feels like it is just a matter of time until some TPG announces that they are going to start grading on a fractional Sheldon scale. "Your MS 65 blah, blah, blah? If it regrades as MS 65.6 it is worth $200 more! Send it in for regrading, today!" |
| | Forum: Third Party Coin Grading (TPG): PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG, ETC. |
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| Time Travel Collecting
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jmferris
Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
Posted 04/24/2016 12:00 pm
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| Too much work, involved. I would simply pick a recent mega-lottery that hit high numbers before someone won it, take the numbers for the previous week's winnerless drawing, and then lump sum the whole thing. Then, I could just buy whatever I wanted. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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and thank you for your service!
, and 
