GoldFinger1969

(1) Is it true that gold coins were strewn around the floors of vault cages at the Philadelphia Mint ? (2) Amazing that with all that attention to detail for microscopic amounts of gold, that the entire bag of 1928 Saints (250 ounces) got stolen.

Some guys talking about it in one of those Reddit channels. Maybe Roger or another Peace Dollar expert wants to chime in ?

It LOOKS like a Liberty Type I, II, or III Double Eagle.....NO IDEA which one it is because of the excessive wear. Sharann, do you have a digital scale (they're like $40 on Amazon) ? Curious to see what the weight is. Regardless of the terrible condition, it still might be worth close to 1 ounce of gold. Of course, if a bunch of other coins are buried nearby for whatever reason, we may have a hoard.

I'm not an expert on pricing, but what are you asking ? If additional fees for a COA are worth something ? I don't think actual sales prices usually includes this. Sometimes its necessary, sometimes its not. Where is the monopolistic behavior entering into it ?

I haven't watched PAWN STARS much lately but didn't realize they brought in actual NGC folks. Interesting..... Ultimately, you can't argue with actual sales prices, from Heritage, GC, or other places. I would throw out Ebay and Etsy and other sites that aren't frequented by numismatists and serious coin collectors.

Most VALUABLE coins are graded because at some point buyers become sellers and the market is higher and deeper and larger for graded, certified coins. With all the problems that the TPGs bring in terms of grading standards, they are INFINITELY BETTER than no-standards which is what you have when dealers self-grade.

Then wouldn't it be appropriate to just look up the date and mintmark ? If the VAM isn't that important, it probably doesn't add much value, no ?

You mean from the last few years ? Probably just people bidding higher for the "newness" factor or even cool labels.

Check out recent auction sales in the last year.

Here's a timeline that may be of interest: March 2nd, 1933: 1st 1933 Saint-Gaudens DEs are struck. The official Mint records and most previous sources do NOT cite March 2nd as the date of first striking, but March 15th. Roger Burdette uncovered this discrepancy from a letter dated 1945. March 4th: FDR sworn in as president March 5th: Last official gold shipment to Federal Reserve banks leaves the Mint March 6th: Treasury Secretary Woodin (a coin collector) orders Mint Director Robert J. Grant to not "pay out" any more gold. Grant complies, with an addendum: "...

Away from The Mob and back to The Saints ......this is an excerpt from Bowers book from R.W. Julian on the famous "Froman Letter": “…..The Bureau of the Mint (BOM) wrote Lewis Froman of Buffalo, NY indicating that gold bullion could be deposited and that it would be paid for by the mint in gold. The letter, which was signed by Acting Director Mary M. O’Reilly in the absence of Director Robert J. Grant, noted that in this way ‘such a transaction neither increases nor depletes the stock of gold in the Treasury.” According to accounts during the trial: "Tripp characterized a March

Never mind...it was Joey Merlino.

There was some younger "made man" or Mafia bigwig in Philly who used to hang out with Philadelphia Flyers star Eric Lindross -- who was that guy ? Anybody ? I didn't have access to the internet then, as I recall the guy told the media to back off Lindross he was just a fan of the teams.

I saw the cop cars heading for 46th Street as I headed back down to 42nd Street where I worked (the old Grace Building). Figured it was just another crime. Then I got home later that night and watched all the local news at 10 PM and 11 PM and wow.

Just a quick search found these: https://coinweek.com/dealers-companies/stacks-bowers-dealers/elusive-full-steps-1969-d-jefferson-nickel-featured-2016-ana-worlds-fair-rarities-night-auction/ https://coinweek.com/us-coins/affordable-us-coins-jefferson-nickels/ https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/full-steps-nickel-value/