Pattern Coins, Predecessors of Our Coinage

In numismatics an area that is collected by advanced collectors and specialists is pattern coins. Patterns are trial strikes of coins being proposed. These coins are usually struck in very limited numbers and very often only a few survive.

Most patterns are pieces that have been struck as a proposed new design for a coin. The new designs are struck for a host of reasons. First and foremost is how the coin looks in its struck state. Often a drawn concept of a coin looks different than the three dimensional product that is produced from the artist's rendering.

The next reason for striking patterns is for their ease of production. Sometimes the designs are too elaborate and that creates troubles for the minting process. Details that will not transfer during the striking process, too high of die pressure being required to strike the coins, or dies breaking due the details being too close are just a few of the problems to some of the rejected designs. Coins are not only selected for their aesthetics but also for their ease of production.

Another reason for striking patterns is trying different types of metals. Our coins today are struck mostly in clad (a mixed metal planchet) but we have struck coins in copper, nickel, zinc, silver, and gold as well. Patterns from our country have been stuck not only in these metals but also brass, aluminum, and steel. The reason for trying the various metals is not only for ease of production but also durability. Our coins are designed to last for years of everyday use.

In the 1942 our country was looking for an alternative to our copper cent due to the need for copper in World War 2. Cents ended up being struck in zinc during 1943 for the war effort, but zinc was not the only medium tried in 1942. The cent was struck in several different plastics as well. Some of the plastic cents were tested for strength and durability. Stress tests literally broke the patterns during the tests. Ultimately we never produced a coin in plastic, but who knows where the future will lead from this testing.

Over the years there have been over 2,000 different patterns produced. This high number of patterns creates numerous ways for them to be collected. Some try to collect patterns as a separate genre, but others use patterns to top off an advanced collection. A great example of this came from one of our local collectors. Not only did he have collection of Indian head pennies, but he also added about five different patterns of Indian Heads to his already complete collection. Even if you are not up to tracking down patterns as a collection adding a few to an advanced collection can help to add a little uniqueness to your set. 

If you're looking to expand your collection of Pattern Pieces the best place to start is our website page dedicated to various U.S. issues.

GSA Carson City dollars

 

Carson City dollars have long been coveted by collectors for their rarity and allure. When the U.S. Government took us off of the silver standard in the 1960's there was a window in which you could redeem your paper for the silver in the treasury department. Much of this silver was in the form of silver dollars. Eventually the redemption time was up. But the government was then left with a new and interesting problem, it still had silver dollars left in the vaults and to top it off many of those coins were Carson City dollars. Melting the remaining coins would have been a tragedy. Instead the Government Services Administration (GSA for short) was given the task of packaging these coins for sale to the general public. In total there were about 2.9 million Carson City dollars to package and distribute.

The GSA packaged the hoard of dollars in one of two ways, a soft poly-vinyl envelope or a hard cased holder with a black outer box. Since most of the Carson City coins were packaged in the hard plastic case the coin industry quickly started to refer to these hoard dollars as GSA's. With a series of mail bid sales and offerings all of the dollars were distributed to the public.

Many of the Carson City dollars that were once thought rare were now within reach of most collectors. Dates such as the 1885-CC and 1884-CC had been considered rare before the hoard was 'discovered'. Let us look at the 1885-CC for example. This is the lowest mintage Carson City Morgan dollar, but of the 228,000 coins minted 148,485 were found in the GSA hoard. Before the hoard was found an Uncirculated 1885-CC sold for just slightly less than the ever rare 1893-S Morgan dollar. Today it can readily be found in Uncirculated for under $1,000 where as the 1893-S in Uncirculated is $75,000 and up.

The 1884-CC now has an interesting distinguishing fact, it is the most common Carson City Morgan dollar and thus the lowest priced dollar in the Carson City series. Over 1.1 million 1884-CC's were struck, but for years they were considered scarce and one of the keys to the set of Carson City dollars. With the GSA hoard all of that changed. Over 960,000 1884-CC's were in the GSA hoard and all of them Uncirculated. With nearly 85% of the mintage found this date went from being scarce to being the easiest to obtain.

Today Carson City GSA's are highly collectible. In my next article I will address some of the pricing nuances the GSA hoard has created and some of the important facts to know when collecting them. But for now let us just remain thankful that the government helped to preserve these great Carson City dollars for generations to come. 

For more information or to start your GSA collection visit our GSA web page  

Looking back for Carson City's future

 

      When talking about Carson City to those not from our area, our city gets related to Kit Carson, Mark Twain, the Carson City Mint and the old west. Our history is a rich cross roads to the beginnings of our country's westward expansion. Images of dark rough saloons, miners drinking belligerently, ladies of the night, and poker tables stacked with silver dollars and gold coins come to one's mind. The name Carson City conjures all of these images far better than any Hollywood producer ever could.

     Today most of the old icons are gone only to be immortalized in lore and legend, but we still have one of the most foundational pieces of our state's (and the west's) history right here among us; the Carson City Mint. The shortest lived mint in our country's history also is its most famous because it came about in the era of our most known silver dollar, the Morgan silver dollar. Carson City Morgan dollars have long been prized by collectors all over the world.

      Carson City is visited by thousands every year with their main purpose being to see the Carson City mint. Sadly recent years have seen the Carson City mint (or Nevada State Museum) sharply effected by budget cuts and funding issues. Being closed three days a week, the mint has disappointed countless visitors who were expecting to tour one of our nations landmarks.

      In looking to Carson City's future, we can advance the City and its attractiveness by helping one of our greatest pieces of history. Helping preserve our mint is easier than one might think. The Carson City mint is a state funded museum, but it does accept private donations. If you are not philanthropic in your views of the mint you can support it by just touring it a couple of times a year. A great time to visit is when they are striking medallions on the old coin press that they have prominently displayed. These strikings are only done on certain days so calling ahead to find out their schedule would be advised. To further that thought, when guests are in town an afternoon tour can be a refreshing change of scenery.

      Another way to support the museum is to take advantage of the new foyer they built in between their two buildings. This room can be rented for functions or rendezvous, providing a unique location for any type of event. It could be very memorable for your guests to have a meeting in a such a historical landmark.

The Carson City mint is an attraction that we should not take for granted. If we can focus a little thought or funding towards this unique piece of history we may realize that the mint is a bigger attraction than many give it credit for. By rallying behind the mint we can help to have it reopened more days a week and thus increase the number of the out of area visitors to Carson City.

For More information on how you can help give us a call at 888-836-5527

Selling in online auctions

 

Over the last two decades the internet has introduced a new craze; online auctions. But, there are advantages to doing business the old fashioned way with an established business.

At first the internet auctions were a tough place to sell coins as there were very few bidders. Then a tidal wave ensued and the number of people buying and selling online flooded in. Just as a tidal wave is indiscriminate, so was this new phenomenon. Not only did it sweep in good buyers and sellers, but also an ever growing unethical element. Online auctions have morphed into not only a new selling ground, but also the devils playground for those looking to make a quick buck. Counterfeits, over graded or over stated coins, stolen goods, and people selling things that they will never deliver are some of the pitfalls that have been spawned in this anonymous venue.

So what does this mean for a seller today? A few years ago people were selling anything and everything for good money online, but as buyers have encountered bad deals they are now being cautious. Established companies are doing fine online as the reputation they hold assures buyers of good deals. For the individual it means that the person bidding on your item has no idea who you are and whether or not you are trustworthy. Hence, most buyers take the stance, “If I get it for a good (safe) price I'll buy it. But if not, I'll let it go.” Selling to a buyer with this mentality is usually selling at a deep discount.

Also an individual may not know how to describe an item they are selling properly. Many of the expensive coins have special attributes that set them apart from the rest of the coins around them. If a person does not include these attributes in the description how will the buyer know it is worth more? My favorite example happened a few years ago. A smaller dealer bought a coin in an online auction for $1000 from an individual. The dealer's asking price was $1500, so I bought it. I in turn sold the coin for $4500. If the individual had brought the coin to me, I would have offered $3500-4000 outright. Selling online was not that person's best move.

Online auctions rarely bring extra money for coins. Transactions require a seller and a buyer. Auctions require a seller and two willing buyers. In rare cases where a coin is hard to locate this can be good for the seller, but in most cases buyers will not increase their bid prices but rather wait for another one to come along. Paying auction commissions to sell a coin may end up being much less than outright selling it.

Online auctions have created an outlet for those willing to work hard and to take the bad with the good. In some cases online auctions can be beneficial. In many cases taking what people are willing to bid is like watching your coin being swept away by a receding tide.

If you're looking to sell your coins or gold, do yourself a service and be sure to contact us at www.brokencc.com  to learn how to maximize your money received.

Making the grade

 

      In the world of numismatics there are a few factors that help decide the value of a coin. The date and mint mark determine how many were made and the rarity factor, but the grade or condition could be considered the most important. Modern coin grading is based on a 70 point scale, 1 being the lowest and 70 being the highest. In many cases one point higher in grading can increase a coins price by multiples.

      Grading companies are an important factor in today's rare coin market. These companies offer a third party impartial opinion of a coin's grade. Since grading is subjective, having respected graders is paramount. These companies authenticate, grade and then encapsulate coins in tamper proof holders for a fee.

     There are a host of grading companies in the market, but only a few stand out in the numismatic community. Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) are the most highly respected. What does that mean? Dealers in several major trading networks are willing to trade coins graded by these companies without even having to see them.

     Why do PCGS and NGC command so much respect? Well for one they offer grade guarantees. If a coin is believed to be overstated one can return it to the grading company for a review. If after reviewing it they feel that the coin is over graded they will offer to buy it or lower the grade and pay the difference in price for the new lower grade.

      There are a few other grading companies that have earned respect in the numismatic community, but there are many more that dealers are not willing to buy without making their own judgments. Some grading companies even vastly overstate grades so dramatically that some dealers are not even willing to make offers on them. I have seen numerous coins that are graded as being worth thousands, but the true market grade would only have the coin being worth a few dollars. The most heinous grade I saw was an 1886-O Morgan Dollar graded MS65DMPL by one of these 'other' grading companies. If one were to value the coin based on their grade the coin would have been worth $250,000 at that time. What was the coins real grade? An AU55 worth about $75 then. Trying to buy a coin at a bargain price could be very costly. Look at the 1886-O I just described. If a person looked at the grade on that holder and figured it had to be close they could have been out many thousands of dollars.
     The majority of the pieces listed on our website www.brokencc.com are encapsulated.  This gives the buyer an added feeling of security when purchasing coins. Buy coins from a reputable dealer who uses a reputable grading company.

      Not all coins are worth the money to encapsulate them, but some are and having them graded before you buy them is important. Make sure the coin you are buying is graded by a reputable grading the company. The value of a coin can depend on it making the grade, but you want to make sure you aren't buying a coin where the company is making up the grade.
 

Choices in Silver

     This week we will look at how to buy silver with a focus on the physical products available. Just as in gold there are funds that are based on silver. Buying in the stock market offers speed and accuracy but lacks the actual possession. Here are some of the options for buying physical silver.

      The United States makes one ounce American Silver Eagles and Canada produces the Silver Maple Leafs. Other countries make silver products as well, but in America these are the two most popular government issued silver. Government products are popular as their weights and tolerances are very exact and backed by the country producing them.

      There are a number of refineries that produce bullion products in silver today in popular sizes such as 1, 10, and 100 ounce bars. These sizes are sought after because of the ease in calculating the value of these items. Roughly 1000 ounce bars are also produced for the Comex market, but can be found in the open market as well. It should be noted that 100 grams and kilos are popular in other countries that use the metric system, and refineries have produced a host of different sizes.

Older refineries have produced odd weight silver. Rather than producing an exact size piece they would pour bars at a rough size then weigh and stamp them with the exact weight. An example would be a 101.56 ounce bar rather than a 100 ounce piece. With the sophistication of refineries today these bars are not nearly as popular.

Older U.S. Silver coins are also popular for silver enthusiasts. Silver coins produced in this country before 1965 were made with 90% silver and many are sold for just their silver content. A common misconception is that a $1,000 bag of old coins has that many ounces, when in reality it only weighs about 795 ounces and contains roughly 715 ounces of silver. These are popular because they are actually still money and easily recognized.

      As far as value is concerned the government produced pieces carry the largest premiums. Old silver coins command a steady premium as the pieces were made by an exacting government as well. The widest variant in premiums can be found in refined bars. One ounce pieces are produced by a host of regulated refineries and come in numerous designs, but as you go up in size who made the bar becomes more important. The two most popular refineries are JM (Johnson&Mathey) and Englehard. When it comes to larger bars other brands can be discounted much more heavily.

      In the late 70's and early 80's a host of 'homemade' bars flooded into the market. Many of these were produced without regulation and may not bring as much when being sold today. Oddly enough with the rise in silver prices we are seeing this trend again. People are manufacturing their own bars without regulation or registration. Be careful of the silver you buy. If it comes from an unknown source it may have to be re-refined again and thus the selling price for that silver would be much less. It is our recommendation that you stick with buying one of the many good known brands of silver.

Currencies and Gold

 

Lately gold is not headlining news stories as it was last year. Instead we are hearing about the Euro and all of its issues in Greece and Spain. With the negative news many of our customers are asking why gold has not been going up like it was before and has even been seeing some corrections. One would think that with the Euro troubles that the value of gold would be headed up and not down.

I will attempt to explain the basics of why this is not happening, but let me first say that I do not profess to forecast what the value of what gold's price will do. I simply try to logically guess the next direction of golds value.

In terms of the Euro crisis and gold we must first start with the most basic principle that affects gold pricing for us, we price gold in dollars. When the Euro falls in value the dollar appears stronger in the world economy. Our dollar buys more Euros and therefore its value appears to be going up. Even if our dollar is falling in value if the Euro is falling faster our dollar appears to be better value.

As the world turns, all currencies are affected in this type of manner. Dynamics of currency trading are complicated and have many facets, but when we see things like gold, oil, and even stocks falling as the Euro falls we can attribute it to the fact that the world is valuing the dollar higher compared to the Euro. I am ignoring other currencies in this scenario, but the principle remains the same. If the world values dollars higher then the number of dollars it takes to buy things like commodities, oil, or even stocks goes down.

A basic principle with gold is that a person is usually not buying it to make a gain, but rather to maintain buying power. Of course there are always factors that can produce gains or losses outside of normal trading ranges. But gold seems to be the most steady of the commodities. I liken it to a tree. The larger the base of the trunk the less likely it will be swaying in the wind. The taller and thinner trees blow to and fro while the thicker based trees sway, but they do not swing wildly in the market winds. When we look at the long term charts of gold it has been on a steady increase which amounts to a good strong base in value. A ten year chart on gold shows that since 2005 when gold hit $500 it has been on a slow steady increase. It blipped up to $1900 last year, but still fits nicely into the $1550-1650 range today.

Based on what can be seen it appears that gold will continue its upward direction in the near term future. Ultimately the value of currencies appear to remain in decline and hence we could continue to see rises in commodities such as gold. Ultimately, I do not think that our nation will recover with hyper inflation or sky high gold prices, but a wilder thought is that just as Europe may not be able to recover with the Euro we may not be able to recover with the dollar either.