what is a registry set exactly? can anyone start one? and what are the benefits exactly? (why do people start them?) also i have seen some coins for sale with photos taken on these PCGS cards with the slab number. does this have something to do with registry sets? or is this something else. how does one get a coin photographed like this? i am assuming pcgs does it, if so, are their photo skills as good as privately owned coin photographers such as BluCCPhotos.com? thanks for any info
Go to the PCGS site. Create a profile for yourself. Click Set Registry in the top tool bar banner. Click My Set Registry in the drop down banner from the top tool bar banner. Click "Add a coin" or add inventory. Enter the cert number, click add. Based on the coin(s) you add, you will be elidgeable to start registry sets. Photos? no idea. I just add my own to my coins. No Morgans pics in my Morgan set. Have a few in my Type set.
Your set will be ranked based on your set's rating... which determined by a mathematical formula depending on the set in question. Some coins have multiplyers and some get subtractions. Then the overall weight is averaged for a rating. So, a complete set of MS-64 coins, in theory, should have a rating of 64. But, because some coins count double or tripple and because some things are detractors (a brown coin is a minus 1 vs a full red is a plus 0, DCAM vs circulation, Non-Full head is plus 0 vs full head is plus 1), Your rating will be greater than or less than 64. Personally, I like the NGC's set registry better. I get a new coin, it's a higher grade, I get more points. Simple and elegant.
so what's the point of a registry set exactly? is it just to pass the time? of more of a competition? do people compete with each other for higher numbers? (sort of like bragging rights or something?)
Yes. "mine is bigger" I am using the NGC registry as a list for what is in the Morgan set. It' a decent guide, with some varieties. There is no way I can afford a top ten set, but I'm going to try my hardest for an MS64+ set.
The Registry Sets represent a varied mix of "bragging rights", "keeping up with the Joneses", "deep pockets" and "just for the fun of it". PCGS allows only PCGS-certified coins while NGC allows you to include PCGS-certified coins in their Registry. The biggest complaint that I have is that most of the top-ranked sets are presented with not a single photo. It gives me the feeling that the owners of most, but not all, of these sets are in it only to feed their egos and they could care less about sharing the beauty of their collections with others who aren't fortunate enough to have pockets so deep that you could hide the entire country of China in them. For years, I've maintained that no Registry Set should be able to hold one of the top rankings if they didn't include photos. By the way, some of you may not know that the Society of Silver Dollar Collectors (SSDC) just recently started a VAM Registry. Chris
Vroomer, I have a friend that used to have a license plate " VROOOOM" on his burnt orange corvette. Could this be you? zeke
cpm9ball ... thanks ... you shed a lot of light on this for me. amazing fact about the photo's part (geez, who would have thunk it)
The PCGS photo's are done (for an added cost) at PCGS when you get a coin graded or reholdered. Edit: It is called TruView Linky
Registry sets are fun. It's a great way to organize and track your collection. Sure, you get a ranking based on the grades of your coins. So there's a certain competitiveness to it. But for most of us mortals we are content with our place on the food chain. Here is my PCGS CBH registry set, for example. As for having pictures of your coins -- and making your set visible/public -- I like it, and all my sets are this way. But some folks, particularly those at the very top, don't. They have an odd need to alert the world about the grandness of their sets, while insisting on privacy about their actual content. As for the photo, WL, that's called a "True View", by PCGS. It is a purchasable option when you send in a coin for grading. The coin is shot raw, and with large resolution. The image quality is usually exceptional and hard to beat. Lance. I had the license plate "AVOVOOM" on Porsches for a long time. In your rear view mirror it reads "MOOVOVA". LOL.
Adding photos to coins takes time. I take my own photos and I really make an effort to go for good quality photos. I have 2 cameras, a copy stand, lights, a pay-to-play Photobucket account (where most of my Morgans do have pics)... Most of my photos are not on my set because I am focused on taking the pictures as I get the coins and posting the pictures to message boards. Going back to a registy site, resizing the pictures, editing the picture for that specific site is, to me, double work for little/no pay off. My 1895-O has a picture and a long story with it, on the NGC Set registry site. To me, the threads on message boards with pictures are more interactive than posting pictures to one of my registry sets. And less work. I do use the PCGS registry to track purchase prices and purchase dates for my PCGS coins. I like their set up better than the NGC for that. In the end, it's what you want to get out of it and what you want to put into it.
Thanks, DMiller, but I'm really small potatoes. The registry curve takes a steep climb as you get near the top. I'm a long way off. Plus, mine's just an AU date set. CBH enthusiasts collect a lot of varieties too. I don't have the pocketbook for that nor the single minded focus. Shoot, I don't even qualify for membership in the Bust Half Nut Club because I don't own enough varieties. Lance.
