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Monday

My Intermediate Grading course started in earnest today. We viewed a slide show of numerous coins of various grades in the following series: Buffalo Nickels, Morgans and Peace Dollars. We discussed the characteristics that made each coin the grade it was (or was not).

After lunch we got to view 27 PCGS- and NGC-slabbed coins with the grades hidden. The coins included Two Cents, Three Cent Silver, Three Cent Nickel, Half Dime, Mercury Dimes, Walker Half, Morgan and Peace Dollars, $1 Gold, $2 1/2 Liberty, $5 Indian, Saints and a few Civil War Tokens. I was far off the mark on much of the gold and the CWTs. Gold is very hard to grade if you don't see much of it. The CWTs were deceptive where I mistook very weak strikes for wear. Otherwise I fared reasonably well. Tomorrow we get back to looking at a bunch of coins.

I was successful in buying the fake $2 1/2 Indian during lunch. It is not the best conterfeit example I have seen but it is a respectable counterfeit that would fool many collectors.

One of the instructors told a story about something that happened at a coin show. A man came to her table with a box of about 60 raw US gold coins. The man explained that he had bought them all at small auctions here and there over the years and he wanted to get them graded. She looked at the first one and told him it was counterfeit as she picked up the next coin and studied it. She told that the second coin was also fake, and the third one. She heard a thud and looked up to find the guy had fainted and fallen out of the chair! He came to and got back in the chair saying he was OK.

She resumed inspecting the coins and giving him her opinion - some were genuine but most were fake. He fainted and fell out of the chair again! All told he fainted and fell out of his chair three times! Something like 50 of 60 coins were counterfeit.

Moral of the story: Don't buy expensive coins at small auctions if you cannot authenticate and grade them.

I was unable to participate in the evening activities last night of tonight because of work committments. Last night I missed a showing of the movie Who's Minding The Mint? (which was shown at the first ANA Summer Seminar in 1969). Tonight I missed out on a bull session or two. Evening activities are a great way to meet other students who are not in your classes. I hope to be able to participate next week.