First Coin You Got Graded?

The first coin that I submitted for grading comes with an interesting story.

I joined NGC in January, 2005 so that I could submit this coin along with about 50 other coins. At that time, NGC allowed members to make an appointment to come to their offices, and since I lived about an hour (the way I drive!) south of Sarasota, it was easier (and faster) submitting them in person. When NGC called to tell me that the coins were ready, I also had to make an appointment to take delivery of the coins.

This was the old location of the NGC offices. When you were "buzzed" into the building, you entered a waiting room and spoke to a receptionist through a secure window. To the right of the waiting room were two small rooms equipped with a desk and chairs where submissions, with the aid of an NGC staffer, were routinely processed. I waited in one of these rooms, briefly, until the boxes with my coins were brought to me. Naturally, I wanted to verify the submission before leaving, and to my dismay, one of the coins was missing.

I informed "Daisy" (name withheld to protect the innocent) and she left to look for it. About 30 minutes went by when she returned to tell me that it couldn't be found. "Daisy" explained that a complete search of the building was being conducted. Finally, it was located in the vault. It seems that it had been there the entire time but was just overlooked because everyone was looking for a Kennedy half dollar, and nobody expected it to be copper-colored.

Note that the serial number ends in -001. My first coin!

Chris

 

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so is it a TDO?

 

Mt first and only submission, PCI was used because Chuck Daughtry handled the press releases on this coin and PCI agreed to list this as the discovery coin.

 

Although I have purchased my share of graded coins, the first and only coin I ever sent to be graded was a $20 St. Gaudens. I sent it through my local coin dealer (yes, I'm lucky enough to still have one of those) so that the costs of shipping and insurance could be spread out among many coins. He told me that, in his opinion, it was an MS-63 and that just maybe it would get an MS-64. It actually came back as an MS-64. I've trusted his opinion about grading and condition without question since.