Lookie what followed me home today.......

Well I dropped my daughter off at college and had to hit the small town coin store. I told the wife no more than $100. Well I lied. Not intentionally of course but as you will see, I could not pass some of these up..

** Pics suck I know, maybe later if one wants to look closer I will retry it **


It started with seeing this, a 1970 Kennedy. No big deal except in was in a PCI Photograde holder. I had never seen one before and I had to have it. Says MS63 but I think it could pass for a MS64, no matter I bought the holder and not the coin.




So after this, the wife is staring at me and asking why? You have those..no matter.

I then picked up a P & D 1974 Mint set. The Ikes looked fairly good.

Then I saw a 1996 Mint set, you know the one with the W dime? This dime was in great shape and better than the one I had.


Next I saw a quarter, not a collector of them but this one grabbed me....not rare in the date but condition wise, wow..



Pictures bad but this thing is MS65 or better!


So at this point the wife asks if she can see one of the halves. She liked it and said "I will take it". Well, who was I to argue with her..



Its nice UNC for sure but a few scratches and I was not about to tell her no.

So then I was near my limit and I saw this:



Neat looking Nickel for sure but I do not like nickels. Something about this one though..



The strike was amazing, and although I do not know my 'steps' yet, I think they are all there......well I asked about it and the cost and about had a stroke as the guy says it also comes with this:



An has a $2 bill with it...it is called a Jefferson Coinage and Currency set. Well I asked to see a Redbook and then I remembered, that is THE nickel I read about. So I bought this:




Well that made me go OVER my limit but I am happy. I have one of the rarest nickels in modern times!


Good day even though I will not see my daughter for a while but this score made the drive home easier I guess.

 

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Well I guess the 1997 nickel is worth more...oh well I am happy though

 

Nice haul. I don't get the photo certification though. They encapsulate an image of the coin along with the coin?

 

Well it doesnt look like the same coin. I am going to research it here in a bit. Its an OLD PCI one I guess. This was then they were respectable maybe? I dunno, I just had to have it and at $14 it did not break the bank.

 

I understand. I wasn't criticizing your purchase. I just find it odd to have a pic of the coin right next to the actual coin, lol. What purpose could that possibly serve? Definitely an interesting curiosity.

 

PCI Photo Certified Institute
PCI is an improving company with their new Signature Series to ensure more accurate variety attribution. The company is good at attribution and authentication, but are not widely regarded as the most accurate grader. It is accepted that the companies "Old Green" Holders define their most conservative grading era. They also grade damaged and clean coin by slabbing them in a "Red" holder, pictured below.



All I can find at the moment.


http://www.sampleslabs.com/pci.html

that is all I can find, if someone knows more please let me know. I bought a 64 Kennedy in a Rattler just to have one..


Updated information,

PCI, Inc, began in 1989 as a service primarily for collectors. In the beginning the company was called Photo Certification Institute, hence the acronym PCI. At the time the company would encapsulate coins in a holder along with a photo of that coin. As time went on, the photos were dropped.


Apparently they were not that bad at this time. The founder passed and it went downhill or something..


Photo Certified Institute
The Photo Certified Institute was formed in 1989. PCI specializes in a signature series that are signed by the founder, J.T. Stanton. PCI's grading is not as universally recognized as the larger services. The service is trusted for its authentication more than it's grading. As the name indicates, coins are graded by photo certification. These photos are typically included in the slab along with the grading numbers.

 

Wait - it IS the same coin. A picture of the coin you have slabbed. I had to look close to see it.

 

Wife just noticed, the 70D is OFF-CENTER about 10 degrees. I thought that at the store but talked myself out of it, but she is right!

 

Nice haul! I've been wanting one of those purdy nickels for a while now....that's a real gem you have there!

 

I love the Jefferson set, but the WQ looks to be AU.

 

Well AU maybe and I will try different pictures....I think the Reverse is MS. 64/65. The obverse not so much, the gouge in the check and a few more maybe MS62. There is no way this is an AU quarter, at least that is what I think.

 

Back to the Photo-Certified-Coin-Institute 1970D Kennedy MS63. More Pictures, better details....I can not find a way to check the serial at all.







Grade or not, I like this. The journey to learn more about this "Photo-Certified-Coin-Institute" is going to be neat!

 

Love those 1994 P and 1997 P Matte Proof Jefferson Nickels! Don't see them very often...I try to buy them when I come across them, too. Once I got a 1997 set for the price of the 1994...(at a coin shop!)

 

I realize that I am not necessarily known on these boards as someone familiar with WQs, but I specialized in this series for years and my niche was 1930s-1950s MS coins. The first images you have of the WQ show a wear pattern on the obverse.

 

Ok I am not expert by any means, can you elaborate a bit? I am not seeing any wear on this. Dents and dings on the obverse yes, especially the cheek.

 

The photo should be of the coin in the holder and your photo's validate that fact.

 

It is.

 

Please note that what I am writing in this post is based entirely on your images, which sometimes can lead folks to different conclusions than if they have the opportunity to examine a coin in-hand.

The highest points on the obverse of the WQ are the hairline going down the face to the bottom of the ear as well as the knob of hair that sits directly on top of the ear. Points that wear just after these include the eyebrow and the back of Washington's neck. I have roughly outlined these areas with black and red, respectively. Your coin shows a bright silver or grey break in the luster across these areas, which indicates wear and defines an AU. It doesn't appear to be significant wear, but I have seen this many times.

The best way to see this in-hand is to rotate the coin under a light source and watch for the breaks in luster or the change in color of the surfaces. There are many WQs that are MS and yet still have breaks over the ear or lightly along the back of the face along the hairline, but those coins that also show this in the areas outlined in red aren't often considered MS.

 

Nice haul no matter the grades, but listen to Tom.

Check the $2 bill in the coin and currency set - some came with * notes. At one point they were selling for a little higher on ebay with the star note. The only reason I know this is because this set is the only modern set I held onto - at least for now.

 

Thanks for the Quarter information. I just got home and will have to confirm it later but it appears you are correct. I will try and get a better picture of these areas.

Thanks