I am a coin collector, I watch the TV (HSN) (SHAH), one of these promgrams are saying that the edge lettering is changing in 2008……… Why does the usmint NOT SAY IT? WHY IS THEIR NOT ANYTHING ON THE USMINT.GOV SITE? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????/

This is a helpful site for buying / selling gold. Kitco . c om . Go under top tab “precious metal store” then click “selling to kitco” then click “materials for refining”. You will find all scrap prices there on one page! Great to have.

I have recently received 8 FAKE TRADE DOLLARS that were purchased on EBAY. They all were “cast” not “stamped” like the mint makes them. You can easily see if your coin is cast by looking at the surface of the “LIBERTY” Ribbon on the obverse. If the coin is cast the surface of the ribbon wil be rough. Genuine coins will be smooth on that surface. Most of these coins come from China but North American sellers also have them. Look at these surfaces under a 10X power magnifying glass if you have recently purchased them. Return them immediately to the seller and make sure other buyers know that you got FAKE TRADE DOLLARS SOLD AS REAL. Real Trade Dollars also weigh 27.22 grams. Many FAKE TRADE Dollars weigh less. Buying Trade Dollars on the internet is a dangerous business. Make sure you check to see what you got. Replicas are nearly worthless compared to the real thing and selling replicas as real is a crime, ( a federal crime if you ship them out of state).

Whats all the rave about First Strikes ?

NGC would have you believe they are more valuable than say a last strikes. To begin with a first strike coin is a coin the mint would have produced first. By the sound of it a First Strike coin was just minted ,fell off the press and landed in an NGC,PCGS,etc slab.

According to the US Mint there is no way to tell which coins were first struck.You can tell when the coins were packaged, by the date on the upc code but in fact that does not tell you when a coin was minted.Production of coins is a long process that has many steps of quality control.The US MINT wants to insure that the first coin is exactly as impressive as its last coin minted.

In order to insure this , the Mint frequently changes thier Dies. Coins are constantly monitored for flaws and imperfections. The dyes are changed at specific times regardless of condition also to insure perfection.

The Proof is in the Video put out by thew US Mint on thier official Website

Take the tour its very interesting,also I’ll bet you’ll be buying directly from the mint instead of paying premiums on e-bay , for coins that are still available directly from the Mint.

So to summerise; a” First Strike Coin” that you are paying a premium for is nothing more than a coin that was produced and PACKAGED first even tho thousands of coins were struck prior to that one.

A truly first struck coin which can be produced from the moment the presses start till the last coin is struck would be a coin that is struck on a BRAND NEW DIE that was just set in the press and removed from the press. Carefully taken off the press and set aside for NGC , PCGS etc

I truly doubt this is happening.With all the different products the mint produces and the millions of struck coins they have to track, do you honestly believe they are setting aside coins for a few favorite companies?

I can understand why third-party coin grading exists. It presents to a
potential buyer an idea of a coin’s condition without actually seeing it.
Sight-unseen buying is a not a new idea, but far more extensive now
what with coin encapsulation (and the internet).

Shopping by viewing a photograph might be a better way to go, -
you’re actually seeing the coin — but only from one angle and only
reflecting the light a certain amount.

So the ideal way to investigate a coin’s true ‘eye-appeal’ is to hold
it in your hand … what then is a good way to tell what kind of coin
someone has when shopping on-line? Third-party grading is one
avenue … having a picture available is good too …. but to give a
better example of what you are selling is good descriptive language
when describing it to potential buyers.

I can understand why third-party coin grading exists. It presents to a
potential buyer an idea of a coin’s condition without actually seeing it.
Sight-unseen buying is a not a new idea, but far more extensive now
what with coin encapsulation (and the internet).

Shopping by viewing a photograph might be a better way to go, -
you’re actually seeing the coin — but only from one angle and only
reflecting the light a certain way.

So the ideal way to investigate a coin’s true ‘eye-appeal’ is to hold
it in your hand … what then is a good way to tell what kind of coin
someone has when shopping on-line? Third-party grading is one
avenue … having a picture available is good too …. but to give a
better example of what you are selling is good descriptive language
when describing it to potential buyers.

As far as historical reference, a coin is identified as either uncirculated
or circulated. Early guides used words like good, fine, extremely
fine, uncirculated, proof…and other words became commonplace.
Eventually the 70-point grading standard was accepted. But a grade
only tells part of the story…

A freshly minted coin looks a lot like his brothers. And proof coins
will be pretty close to the ones made at the same time by the same
dies (the pair of dies used to strike the coins). But as they enter
circulation - obviously some will be saved while others begin to
trade hands (some cleaner than others). And then as a coin ages
it develops what is called patina - its characteristic colors and hues
and dynamics. Well, the more coins you encounter in this business
the more you will appreciate those with splendid beauty.

Seeing a 100-year old silver dollar with lovely rainbow hues across
its surface is a good example. Or one that is covered from one end
to the other in a deep gunmetal blue with fire below - that is
something to be seen.

So characteristics ought to be used often (or always) when
describing a coin to be sold on the internet.

Some basic terms follow:

Cameo refers to a proof coin (usually) with reflective surfaces
in the fields, and frosty white details in the lettering and bust and
other details. It refers to a coin minted early in the life of the die
pair that originally struck it.

Deep-mirror prooflike is a coin that exhibits obvious reflective
powers of the fields - sometimes as sharp as a mirror.

The term ‘uncirculated’ refers to a coin that has never been
handled (also used to describe a coin that appears to never have
been handled). The actual grade assigned to a coin that appears to
be uncirculated runs from 60 to 70 — eleven different grades!
Does this practice begin to look subjective to you? It does to me.

At base, coin grading IS subjective. Take in hand a fine catalog of
one of the most well-known auction houses and compare side-by-
side coins that were given similar or close grades. I find quite a few
that grade higher than coins right next to them that are far prettier.
The auction houses refer to their holdings with extensive descriptions
for these coins, because a number does not reflect the beauty of
a coin - extensive documentation is paramount - especially when
spending good money over face value. So the subject moves from grading to estimated eye-appeal.

The basics are simple: if is has shown circulation, how much?
Describe what features have worn completely smooth. Unreadable.
Or legible. Or well defined. Or sharp. Or uncirculated. Or early
die state. Or: perfect (there aren’t many of those out there, are there
then?). Also to describe any damage to a coin (I tend to buy only
undamaged coins mostly, or coins with only a tiny ding, because -
hey - try to sell it).

What follows the basics are yours to pursue. As far as colors on a
coin, I try to follow the terms used popularly (champagne; cartwheel
luster; russet; crimson; sea green; forest green; orange gold; magenta;
lavender; pale or pastel or bright or firey or blazing (I like that last) ).
I’ll learn more as I do more.

One aspect that should be considered of importance, especially
on a mint coin, is the condition of the dies that originally struck
the coin. The detail could be first-strike (perfect), or later ‘early
strike’, after that ’sharp’, then ’softness on Legend’, or yet later
‘recarved lettering’ (detail re-engraved after becoming flattened).
Then there are coins whose die pair contained grease over much
of the surface, softening details.

Also, the quality of the fields. Proofs could be utterly smooth,
polished, shiny, or becoming somewhat pitted (usually only under
magnification). Some Gold proof coins display what is called
orange-peel fields (nice, a regular pattern overtop backgrounds).
Some coins exhibit striation lines in the fields or polish marks.

Beyond that? Other descriptions…personal if you like, as:
“Nicest coin I have seen in thirty years of dealing”, or:
“A very pretty example, a rare beauty”.

I am one of those rarities to the coin hobby: I don’t have much
interest in the rarity of the coin - only the beauty (under most
circumstances). Well, rarity would be taken into consideration
in pricing a coin (of course).

I like collecting. Coins are beautiful - and crafted into lustrous
and fascinating metals.

Pass it on.