I am on the search for a nice quality 1909 VDB Lincoln Cent and I came across a few graded by NGC that were titled "Bandera Bank Hoard." Some were graded numerically, but some were graded "Uncirculated." Are coins designated with some sort of bank hoard valued more than regular coins provided that both coins are equally graded? Also, why are certain coins graded "Uncirculated" instead of a numeric number? Or "Genuine"? Is there some sort of defect?
Yet another stash of found coins given a catchy name to imply some sort of additional worth. "Uncirculated" is what you call coins which are submitted in such bulk, at such a price break, that the time to actually grade them isn't in the budget. Popular tactic for television numismatics.
No. In a deal with the submitter, if it doesn't reach a certain grade it gets an uncirculated grade. Sometimes a genuine grade, instead of a body bag, is given for a coin that won't grade but is of significant value or rarity.
I assume that a grade of uncirculated and genuine are assigned when a large quantity of coins are submitted. So, if someone were to submit a stash of 1,000 uncirculated 1880-S Morgans (let's say a common date and mint), and were only interested in those that were MS65 or higher. Then, everything graded below MS65 would come back "Uncirculated." I'm still not clear about the "Genuine" grade. Is it meant for circulated coins that don't make a certain grade? I saw a "Genuine" PCGS Standing Liberty Quarter at a coin shop that caught my eye because of the low price tag. The guy next to me said the certification number should have a two digit number (where the grade number would be) to designate the reason why it was graded genuine. I believe the first digit of the two-digit number was a nine. I can't remember if it referred to a scratch or a nick on the rim. But the guy next to me knew all of the two digit codes and seemed to know his stuff. He examined the coin for awhile, but he could not find anything he thought was significant. I didn't want to buy it unless I was certain. You mentioned a body bag. What kind of coin qualifies as a body bag coin?
A bulk submission where they just pay for the coins to be authentic but not graded, a bulk submission deal where coins that don't meet the grade specified get the genuine label though usually that is how the uncirculated grades happen, or a details coin where the submitter selected to have them just get labeled genuine instead of the details with grade option. Fakes, a coin that is to damaged/worn to identify, a coin that is to fragile to holder aka would be damaged or break in the process, or some of the more extreme odd shaped ones that just simply wouldn't fit in a holder
Thanks for the clarification. I can see myself buying an "Uncirculated" coin, but I would not buy a "Genuine" coin in fear of getting a details coin - at least for an online purchase where photographs can be difficult to interpret.
This part didn't get addressed. If you make a large bulk submission for a fee you can have anything you want put on the label as a provenance. So unless they are actually from an important collection it is pretty much meaningless. Never heard of this so called bank hoard and don't know any background for it so it is probably just a made up name. I wouldn't pay any premium for the name.
@Conder101 I am glad you addressed that - you answered my next question. While searching for a 1909 VDB Lincoln Cent, I am finding several of these coins with the Bandera Bank Hoard NGC label on both eBay and Heritage. I did a Google search for "famous coin collections" to see which labels may draw added attention. I assume a label designating the Eliasberg collection would be one example. I came across an interesting list of collectors dating back to Caesar Augustus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coin_collectors While on the topic of special slab labels, what shipwrecked coins? For example, I noticed that the $20 gold coins from the SS Central America are being sold with a premium.
