A nice 1899 Re-punched Date and a nice coin as well.
Every once in a while, I manage to look through many auction houses to see if something appeals to me. I recently had a handful of Indian Cents come back slabbed and attributed as I self attributed them myself. I had a much lower grade of this 1899 RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) and although it was in a lower grade I could clearly see the Re-punched date. As a matter of fact, I believe the lower graded coin has a bit more separation than this currently unslabbed version I am examining now.
Auction house photos of 1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) not the best
The Auction House photos of the 1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) were not the best. I was pretty sure I could see the doubling below the “8” . The auction photos showed something within the hooks of the “9’s” but I was not certain it was doubled.
I decided to give it a shot. Here are the photos I took of this 1899 Indian cent Re-punched date, FS-301, Snow-1, (011-7d).
1899 Indian Cent 1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7)1899 Indian Cent 1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) Reverse
Looking at the 1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) a little closer
I took the coin to the microscope to attribute it and make absolutely sure it is what it is. There were just two re-punched dates that year as far as I know, at least two that are recognized by the major grading companies. Have a look at the date and see if this is a 1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7).
1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) 18XX, x41899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) xx99, x4
Looks pretty convincing to me. It looks better under the scope than in the full coin photo since the cooper red color seems to make the RPD blend in with the rest of the coin.
Looking at Population and Prices.
For the 1899 Indian Cent RPD FS-301 S-1 (011.7) :
PCGS has this valued at $275.00 in MS-63 and $400.00 in MS-64.
PCGS has the population of this coin as:
Two (2) – One in MS-64 and one in MS-65
NGC on the other hand, does not list the FS-301, but lists FS-302.
For Sale at the VNA
My plan is to have the coin slabbed and the attribution authenticated. You will have until Sunday morning at the VNA convention in Fredericksburg VA to take it off my hands. The VNA convention in Virginia happens near the end of September. You can find us at the front tables all the way to the left as you come in the front door.
1885 MS65 Deep Mirror Proof Like & 1899 MS64 MS64 Prooflike
I have just received two more Top Shelf Morgan Dollars. I consider these Top Shelf Morgans for a few reasons. Let’s look at the over all Population numbers for these coins !
1885 MS-65 Deep Mirror Proof Like Morgan Dollar
1885 Morgan Dollar MS65 Deep Mirror Proof Like
NGC Stats:
Total DMPL Graded: 1,258
In MS-65 DMPL : 198
Graded Higher: 63
PCGS Stats:
Total DMPL Graded: 2,111
In MS-65 DMPL : 354
Graded Higher: 142
CDN Retail Price Guide: $1,220.00
I was like, wow, she is a beauty. Not a lot of hits on her cheek and it looks overall appealing. For the population numbers of this coin, there are only 205 total (from NGC and PCGS) that are higher. Pretty impressive since there were 3,369 candidates.
1899 MS-64 Proof Like Morgan Dollar
1899 Morgan Dollar MS64 Proof Like
NGC Stats:
Total PL Graded: 198
In MS64 PL : 86
Graded Higher: 24
PCGS Stats:
Total PL Graded: 426
In MS64 PL :159
Graded Higher: 94
CDN Retail Price Guide: $645.00
It is amazing to see how incredibly affordable these Morgan Dollars really are. I was taken aback by the 1899 MS-64 PL Morgan. I had to do a double take and check the population numbers again. Why doesn’t this coin have a 1 or 2 in front of the retail price? The population for the PL designation is super low, in my opinion.
CONECA is a society for error and variety coin collectors
CONECA Logo
CONECA – Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America (CONECA) is a great organization to offer education about coins, error coins and die varieties.
CONECA (pronounced: CŌ´NECA) is a national numismatic organization devoted to the education of error and variety coin collectors. CONECA focuses on many error and variety specialties, including doubled dies, Re-punched mintmarks, multiple errors, clips, double strikes, off-metals and off-centers — just to name a few. In addition to its website, CONECA publishes an educational journal, The Errorscope, which is printed and mailed to members bimonthly. CONECA offers a lending library, examination, listing and attribution services; it holds annual meetings at major conventions (referred to as Errorama) around the country. The CONECA website is: www.conecaonline.org
Along with our dealer tables, if a promoter is to offer a free table, I will also be manning the CONECA table. CONECA (pronounced: CŌ´NECA) is a national numismatic organization devoted to the education of error and variety coin collectors. CONECA focuses on many error and variety specialties, including doubled dies, Re-punched mintmarks, multiple errors, clips, double strikes, off-metals and off-centers — just to name a few. In addition to its website, CONECA publishes an educational journal, The Errorscope, which is printed and mailed to members bimonthly. CONECA offers a lending library, examination, listing and attribution services; it holds annual meetings at major conventions (referred to as Errorama) around the country. The CONECA website is: www.conecaonline.org
My setup as the CONECA State Rep for Virginia
For the major shows, I push all in. I bring microscopes, Cameras, reference materials and knowledge. I shake hands and offer free attribution services for people with questions about the type of coin they have or wish to purchase.
CONECA VA State Rep set up at VNA.jpg
What does CONECA Have to Offer?
The CONECA organization has a lot to offer. There is a forum that has some of the best attributors in the United States visit the CONECA forum.
Variety Vistaoffers an extensive listing, most with photos of error coins, categorized by year, mint mark and coin type.
CONECA also sports the CONECA master listing which provides a text listing of each coin attributed and listed with a CONECA number. The master listing typically shows Re-punched mint marks, Doubled die obverse and doubled die reverse entries. Many of the coins listed in the CONECA master listing show a URS rarity listing, so it helps the collectors know how rare an error or variety coin is, which may help identify a value of the error coin for insurance purposes or a potential agreed upon sale price.
Low cost attribution service offered by CONECA
CONECA offers a low cost attribution service. Should you find a coin that you think merits a second opinion and would like to get it attributed for a small fee ( plus postage and handling) you can contact one of people on CONECA attributions page.
Error Coins and varieties are getting a little scarce, and the more you know about an error coin, the better you are prepared when you find one, or if you are looking to buy one.
Get a free, second opinion on a coin you have or about to purchase
Don’t be a victim of fraud, or be disappointed in a purchase to find out that mechanical doubling is not a true doubled die coin, or other possible scenarios. CONECA representatives exist in many states. Although many of the representative have their own opinions on what they examine, we all are human. Everyone can make a mistake or inaccurate attribution. The CONECA State representatives will offer their opinion, but in the end, it is up to the customer to make that final decision on what action is best.
CONECA State Reps attend coin shows across the U.S.A.
Beside visiting the CONECA website, you can visit a state representative which may attend a coin show near you. When I attend a coin show and I am offered a free table to use only as an educational “work shop” and offer my opinion on coins people will allow me to examine. I tell the promoters it will help bring in more potential customers over time. It’s a win win situation. But I have a hold card. Most shows I attend I have a error collecting buddy who is the ANACS representative who sends in customers submission to the 3rd party grading company, ANACS. Geoff has about 10-15 more years of error and variety expertise under his belt. Most of the time we tag team and find out an answer if a coin mildly stumps us for a bit.
CONECA Registration online, or by mail
You can join the CONECA society. While it is not a necessity to join CONECA, most of the people who have joined have come back to my table and said “thank you” to me. Most say they were made very comfortable and enjoy every moment, from the awesome greeting and welcome aboard email to the other services that CONECA provides, it has helped quite a few error and variety collectors – and dealers find some great resources.
CONECA offers memberships renewable yearly
The cost to join varies, but young adults, Families and individuals will find great value in joining CONECA. If you choose to do so, as part of your membership, you can receive copies of the CONECA bi-monthly magazine called ErrorScope. The articles offer expert advice and tips on how to recognize error coins from across the world.
The CONECA errorscope is sent bimonthly, and that added value alone is worth the yearly fee. You can find out more information about joining CONECA, at the CONECA main website. Click this link to know more about joining CONECA.
If your a Virginia Resident, please feel free to add me as a reference. All you have to do is add “VA State Rep” in the referral line or anywhere on the online form. The only thing that does is help show how many members are in which state, or where they joined CONECA.
Have any questions about joining CONECA ?
If you know some one that wants to join CONECA, or loves to collect error coins and varieties and you want to give them a great gift, the CONECA yearly membership may be the answer. I can answer your questions, or point you to the CONECA person who handles memberships. If you cannot find a CONECA application or locate it online, I will gladly mail one to you or point you in the direction to do the application online.
If you are at a show, come on by the CONECA table and we will shake your hand. Take a CONECA application. It’s free and you can mail it in at your leisure. We’ll offer a CONECA elongated cent for stopping by the CONECA table, subject to availability.
During the 2018 VNA show, I was headed to an objective, and on my way, I walked around a few tables trying to locate a few Lincoln Cent rolls to fill my voids. I walked down a main aisle asking coin dealers as I headed to another objective.
One coin dealer answered up, “Hey I have a few rolls, and if you provide me a list, I’ll see what else I have available and bring them in for you to look at tomorrow”. I finished my quest and then told the coin dealer that I will provide them a list either by hand or email.
Well, the coin dealer brings down three rolls. A few re-wrapped rolls from the 1960’s era, and a 1958 roll in a plastic roll. The coin dealer says, “Look these over and let me know if you are interested in any of these”. The coin dealer then heads back to his table.
Opening the 1958 Lincoln Cent roll
I decide to uncap the 1958 and spread a few over the table. I immediately notice that this roll is far above the usual quality you find at shows in these days. This Lincoln Cent roll had promise for me to pull out a winner or two. – or more. I had my son run the other two rolls back to the dealer, and ask what he wanted for the 1958 roll. My son tells me he wants $3.00 for the roll. I immediately handed the son the cash and I started to sort the newly bought Lincoln Cent roll out.
ANACS always runs specials, so I decided to cherry pick 15 of the best to send into probably the strictest grading company there is and see what comes back. The only thing about ANACS specials is, that it can take what seems forever for your coins to come back.
They DO tell you up front that it is under one of the slowest grading programs they offer, and most of the times, this economy package will take close to a month or more. In working days, this is probably between 25 to 30 days. In ANACS’s defense, there are a LOT of people who take advantage of these specials, and its all about waiting, or coughing up more hard earned money and getting them back just a tad faster.
After I cherry picked about 20-25 1958 Lincoln Cents out of this roll and asked my son to assist in looking over the roll and cherry pick the best over all. I grab an ANACS submission form, fill in the details and hand them over to the ANACS representative, Geoff.
They are sent out during the show, which saves me shipping costs to ANACS. The ANACS special also has free return shipping, so I ended up sending (15) 1958 Lincoln Cents in and four error coins. The total cost was $139.00.
Awesome Grades I got back for the 1958 LincolnCents
The coins came back about 4 weeks later, and I was pleasantly surprised. Of the (15) 1958 Lincoln Cents I sent in, I ended up getting: (8) 1958 Lincoln Cents MS-66 Red (7) 1958 Lincoln Cents MS-67 Red Wait – what ? Seven 1958 Lincoln Cents in MS-67 ?
Lincoln Cents are some of my favorite coins, and I know that grades in the MS-67 range can get pricey. I decided to look up the price first: PCGS price guide for a 1958 Lincoln Cent MS-67 Red is $675.00 each. NGC price guide for a 1958 Lincoln Cent MS-67 Red is $645.00 each
The 1958 Lincoln Cent Population MS-67
The population report for the 1958 Lincoln Cent in MS67 Red is as follows:
ANACS – out of (700) 1958 Lincoln Cents graded as MS, only 27 graded as MS67 with only 1 better.
PCGS – out of (3522) 1958 Lincoln Cents graded as MS, only 44 graded as MS67 with none better.
NGC – out of (4160) 1958 Lincoln Cents graded as MS, only 159 graded as MS67 with only 1 better.
That is only (230) 1958 Lincoln Cents that has been graded MS67 over all these years. That’s less than 5 rolls of Lincoln Cents. The MS-66 value is close to $45.00 a piece, and the population numbers are a lot higher.
The Monty Haul of 1958 Lincoln Cents
I ended up with eight of these. So for an investment of $3.00 for the roll, plus 139.00 for the grading, I ended up with; (7) 1958 Lincoln Cents worth $645.00 each ($4515.00) (8) 1958 Lincoln Cents worth $45.00 each ($360.00) That’s a total value of $4875.00, if these 1958 Lincoln Cents sell near price guide value. That’s the type of investment I would like to make each and every day.
Traffic seemed light for the 2019 VNA show, but for good reasons on Saturday.
I attended the 2019 Virginia Numismatic Association annual coin convention. Traffic was light all weekend. During Saturday near noon there was a violent thunderstorm that brought heavy rain and dampened the amount of visitors that might have attended the show. I must add in, that for the annual three day show, we did “OK”.
Last year, in 2018, we did absolutely outstanding. In 2019, we did about 1/3 of the sales and revenue we did in 2018. This year the silver bullion purchases which were light. Our main sales were brillant uncirculated slabbed Morgan Silver Dollars MS63 to MS66 and US error coins and varieties. I wish to Thank all that attended the Virginia Numismatic Association coin show convention, especially the customers who purchased from us.
I set up three paid tables and a free table for my part as the CONECA State representative for Virginia. I had a steady flow of people asking questions. I handed out quite a few applications and a reference sheet which have a lot of the CONECA areas that are helpful to coin collectors, especially error and variety coin collectors.
The Virginia Numismatic Association coin show convention is not a small show!
Looking at Virginia Numismatic Association annual coin convention bourse floor layout, I am pretty sure the dealer attendance was a little smaller this year than in the past. The VNA needs to make a slight profit to recoup some of the costs associated with this event. I believe its in a great location, but the word needs to be spread about this coin show and the events it holds. Table fees for this annual show are slightly higher than shows that do two, three or four shows a year or more. I personally don’t mind spending a little extra to set up at one of the biggest coin shows in the state, as long as advertising, word of mouth and websites can inform the coin collectors about the upcoming VNA coin convention. Did you miss this years’ Virginia Numismatic Association coin show convention?
Miss the VNA convention? Our new online coin shop coming soon !
The website for future VNA shows is http://www.vnaonline.org . I suggest bookmarking this website and the VNA. We will be loading up our shopping cart soon, once the software has been upgraded to a newer version. Our shopping cart will be located at auctions.minterrors.org
Young coin collectors were sighted at the Virginia Numismatic Association coin show convention
There were a good number of younger collectors in attendance, but these numbers could also be a lot higher. If I seen young collectors in their teens or so, I would ask the parents to come on over and have a look at the error coins and other type of coins available. The educational director, John P. placed two of the treasure hunt answer sheets close to my CONECA table, and as the younger people were getting answers from these answer sheets, I would simply say, “hey whats that a picture of on the monitor?” Most would toss an answer out there, and I would help them understand what they saw. I was impressed to see that a few younger adults knew what a classic doubled die was, but didn’t understand how the doubled dies were created.
An error coins and varieties presentation at the 2020 VNA ?
I think I will contemplate getting a presentation together for the VNA for next year. It will be simple enough for any staff member to be able to present the material with relative ease. I’ll devise my plan and see if it can be a cost effective solution to help people understand the primary error coins and varieties that can still be found in rolls and pocket change.
We’re currently rebuilding the webserver. The website should be up and operational within a few days. I think I have most of the ground work done. I will be loading up the website with posts as soon as possible.
