Augustus

A journal by Augustus 70

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Entries in this journal

D. Hughes and D. Martens

You two are probably the only ones who will get a rise from this. Cheers. A hard fought battle, was hoping for a little better of a grade on these two. But all things considered, the calling, the driving, the chasing, the waiting, the looking (repeat, repeat, repeat) ... I found two, and I know you guys will enjoy this. Have a great weekend! Augustus! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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TEMPTED TO BUY ERROR COIN - INPUT NEEDED

I am tempted to buy the following top graded error coin, after a recent journal I did on this specific coin. I recently did a journal on the "CHIIE" error coin and I found it so interesting that I began heavily researching the coin, and images/backstory on this coin. I discovered the top population coin is currently selling on eBay and I am very tempted to buy it ... as I really am intrigued by it. I am a novice to South American coins, so for all you experts out there ... please give me adv
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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Rarities in the Canada Silver Privy Maple Set

The Canada>Bullion>Silver Maple Leafs with Privy Marks Set Privy marked SMLs are notoriously difficult to collect in high grade, and the elusiveness of the set has made it all the more desirable. First off, these are bullion coins, so prior to 2007, most of these coins were stamped out and packed in an SP67/SP68 grade. If you look through the populations, you will see a number of SP64/SP65 OGP coins being graded by NGC. Second, the 9999 purity of the coin makes them very soft and
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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<a href="http://BullionDirect.com">BullionDirect.com</a> Closed For Business

Another dealer takes it on the chin. The Tulving and Kitco bankruptcies were two big ones, after the price of precious metals plummetted. Now BullionDirect.com has shut down as well. Apparently, JM Bullion has also stopped taking orders while they move to a warehouse in Las Vegas. When these dealers shut down, what happens to the customers who have orders with them? Apparently, Apmex has stopped buying gold and silver bullion for now as well. Although, I'd imagine that they are still
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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PCGS coins back in Registry

I believe that I am speaking on behalf of most collectors in here when I say that I welcome the inclusion of PCGS coins back on the NGC registry sets.  I think that NGCs construction of an all inclusive registry/database will continue to set them apart from other grading companies.  I prefer the design and layout of the NGC registry, along with the user friendly interface, will continue to attract the best coins to their site and service regardless of the holder.  Thank you NGC, from all of us.
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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Many Coin Dealers are Teetering on the Brink Right Now

As it stands, we are seeing a strange paradox: Mints are rapidly expanding the number of modern commemoratives that they issue, while the modern commemorative collector market is just as rapidly contracting. I have spoken to many modern coin dealers this year, and I hear the same refrain: "barely getting by" The continued drop in the price of silver, and the overproduction of silver commemorative issues, have driven many collectors out of the modern coin market. This has left a lot of deal
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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Finally a new release that is in huge demand

So, I was getting a little tired and fatigued over all the coins that the RCM has been releasing over the past few years.  The designs have been great, the themes often tired, and they fell into a market with little demand. Then this came along: https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=317284 Although obscure to the rest of the globe, I am excited that the RCM has released a piece of nostalgia that is unique to growing up in Canada.  Captain Canuck is our cheesy, wel
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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CERTAIN COLLECTIONS WILL BECOME IMPOSSIBLE TO BUILD

As time goes forward, certain collections will become impossible to amass on the registry sets, as the number of coins in each set grows, and mintages continue to dwindle. Merry Christmas everyone! Certain registry sets, going forward, look as though they will be increasingly impossible to build. A few I can speak to, in particular, are some of the Canadian commemorative and bullion sets. The Maple Privy Set, for example, is one of my favorites. Every year, the Mint adds four or five n
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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ATTEMPTING THE IMPOSSIBLE

Building an all MS69 Canada Maple Leaf Bullion Set for 5 years now. For the past 5 years, I have been attempting to build an all MS69 Canada Maple Leaf Bullion set. I am very close, and will be sending a few PCGS coins to NGC for crossover. A few pickups from APMEX are on their way ... but nonetheless, this has proved to be an EXTREMELY difficult task.       Here is a link to the set:       http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=154543
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Augustus 70

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Mintage=800 Rare Gold Coins

Canadian Masterpiece Set 015    Ultra Rare Gold Coin ShowpiecesThis gold fractional set was released by the RCM in 2004 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of the gold maple. The fractional set contains one of each of the following: A gold 50c, $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 core surrounded by a silver outer ring (6 coins total). The 50 cent gold coin is the first 1/25 oz coin produced by the RCM. Each coin is marked with a 1979-2004 privy. Total gold weight of this set is 1.94
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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3 Coins with a Dark Past ...

The 1992 Canada S$15 Plain Edge Olympic Rarities Link to the set: https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=173349 The PF69 example of this coin is 1 of 3 known examples certified by NGC. This coin has a very dubious history and an extremely interesting pedigree. This coin was originally acquired by Ohio lobbyist Tom Noe in 1998 for his $50 million rare coin investment fund headed by his company ‘Capital Coin’. The fund held this coin, and two o
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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2008 "CHIIE" ERROR - COUNTRY NAME MISPELLED!!!

The Mint in Chile misspells the name of their country on the 50P coin in 2008! A very embarrassing mistake for the Mint in Chile indeed. For a small portion of 2008, the Chilean Mint accidently misspelled the name of their country on the 50 pesos coin. Rather than spelling C-H-I-L-E on the coin, they accidently wrote C-H-I-I-E. The CHIIE error coin is not necessarily rare, but it is almost impossible to acquire in a high grade (Mint State). The head of the Mint was fired for the mistake.
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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SUPREME REGISTRY BATTLE

A titanic battle in the registry taking place right now. Absolutely incredible. Currently, I have been watching a titanic registry battle take place. The two battlers, Martens and Dan Hughes, are competing in a set with almost 300 modern coins in it. In each case, the competitors are battling over coins with PF70 populations of 1 or 2!! It really is awe inspiring, as these coins come in very low mintages and top population coins are acquired at great cost. Congratulations to both, many o
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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100,000 points removed from sets

It is a little disappointing, I must admit, that a few months before the registry awards NGC has decided to remove 100,000 points from my registry sets.  In some cases, this has reduced my rank from #1 to #2 or #3.  In many cases, these sets have required a decade to complete and are the result of $100s of thousands of dollars of diligent investment.  To see the extreme punitive measures taken on these sets in such a short period of time is something I struggle to understand.  NGC prides itself
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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MODERN RARITY - ONLY 25 TO 50 EXIST

THE STRUGGLE. THE ACQUISTION. THE GOODBYE. One of the thrills of coin collecting is truly the hunt. Recently, I made it my mission to acquire a coin that is nearly impossible to find. Based on my research, only 25 to 50 of these coins even exist, and it is the key in the very lengthy S$20 commemorative series. With the hunt, came months of calling, driving, chasing leads and dead ends. In many cases, I had to drive great distances only to find that the dealer was talking about a different
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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RCM Flooding the Collector Coin Market

Does anyone else feel that the Royal Canadian Mint is flooding the collector coin market? The Royal Canadian Mint has been issuing 100s of collector coins since 2005, some of them quite questionable as to what they are even commemorating. Superman, wolves, cougars, obscure legends/stories, random animals, buildings, leaves and trees, hockey logos, snowflakes ... I mean it is all a little ridiculous. I think this is eroding collector value, as many collectors feel disillusioned with everythin
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Augustus 70

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Does NGC Certify 1oz Bullion Bars?

I have many rare 1oz bullion bars. Will NGC grade them as genuine? Does anyone know if NGC certifies rare bullion bars? I know they fit into their holders, because the RCM playing card money fits into NGC holders. I would like to have these certified, so that they are in protective holders, rather than in sleeves.       Will they certify/holder them?       Best,   JG To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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Either a Millionaire, Crazy or Both!

An uber rarity acquired!!! When I first started chasing Canadian commemorative coins in high grade, there were very few people competing in this space and the number of items the RCM produced every year was reasonable. That has all changed. In spite of the 100+ commemorative issues that the Frankling Mint, errm, sorry, the Royal Canadian Mint issues every year ... I find the Canada Privy Maples to be the most exciting and challenging. If you truly love the thrill of the hunt, this is the
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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1948 Rotated Dies S$1 "The Prince of Rarities"

Very Rare Coin in High Grade Anyone know the story about why only 17,000 of these coins were minted? I have only ever seen two with rotated dies, the other was in ICCS AU50. Are rotated dies common in the Canadian Silver Dollar series, or does it add a premium? Just getting started expanding the circulating coinage collection, and I have a few questions. Any experts? To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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HOW TO STORE NGC FAT SLAB IN A NGC BOX

A lot of people are frustrated that the NGC fat slabs do not fit in their NGC storage boxes. Well, be frustrated no more! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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First Crossover Batch on the Way

Starting to cross all PCGS coins over. This comes at a high cost, and high risk - as the coins must cross the Canada-US border. I have decided to cross all my PCGS coins, some pedigreed to major collections like Norweb, Pittman and Eliasberg. One reason, is that I want my registry sets to be recognized as complete in the World Sets. Even more importantly, the variety attributions on the PCGS coins are weak ... and I believe that NGC has improved service over this. I was very disappointed t
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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My First "Mintage = 1" Coin!

I have managed to get hold of a "Mintage 1", or only coin ever minted, coin for my custom set. MINTAGE = 1.       This coin was the pattern strike for the 1979 0.925 New Hebrides Silver Mother and Infant coin. The strike quality and detail of this pattern coin ultimately lead to the acceptance of this coin for minting. The coin created a fair bit of controversy, and only 60 pieces were minted. Each of the 60 coins minted have the "925" stamped on the obverse of the coin. The pattern strik
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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No more PCGS crossover

$400 later, and almost nothing crossed. For those thinking of crossing PCGS coins, don't bother. I spent $400 crossing PCGS coins to NGC, and most didn't cross. It was ultimately an expensive disappointment and a waste of money. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
Augustus 70

Augustus 70

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