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Message:: [QUOTE="thecointrader, post: 1448790, member: 6477"]*** Please Post Your Pedigreed Coins For Others To Enjoy *** *** If you're don't know what a Pedigreed Coin is, read on... *** A pedigreed coin is one  that has (usually) been slabbed by one of the grading services with a  special designation on the label denoting either a prior owner (or  owners) of the coin, or another historical fact specific to the  individual coin that lies in that particular holder. Pedigreed Coins are  'Coins With A Story', and as such hold special interest to many  collectors and in some cases non-collectors as well. Shown below, from my own collection, is  an example of a pedigreed coin that has previously been designated to  show that it was at one time held in the numismatic collection of John  Jay Pittman, a prominent collector and former President of the American  Numismatic Association. This particular coin is a 1945 Winged Liberty  Dime, and has been graded MS66 FB (Full Bands) by NGC. While pedigrees  do not increase the technical grade of a coin, a pedigree may increase  it's value or desirability in the marketplace. <img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k481/thecointrader/1945DMercuryPittmanMS66FBNGC674640-032Obv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k481/thecointrader/1945DMercuryPittmanMS66FBNGC674640-032Rev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> John Jay Pittman was a man of modest income, who used his superior  knowledge of numismatics to assemble an extraordinary collection that  would eventually sell at auction for over Thirty Million Dollars. A  chemical engineer for Kodak by trade, Pittman built his collection like  most of us on Coin Talk are doing -- over the years -- searching for and  purchasing coins one at a time. Other examples of pedigreed coins from  prominent numismatists include 'Eliasberg', 'Bass' and 'Reiver',  referencing the surnames of noted twentieth century coin collectors  Louis Eliasberg, Harry Bass and Jules Reiver, whose vast accomplishments  we will need to discuss in subsequent postings. Collectors of Carson City Morgan Dollars are familiar with the  uncirculated CC coins sold by the General Services Administration from  1972-1974. When certified with the GSA designation on the label, these  are another example of pedigreed coins. Major grading services have  checks and balances in place to insure that only coins deserving of the  designation are certified with a pedigree noted on the label. In the  case of the GSA Carson City Morgan Dollars, you will find the  appropriate pedigree designations on both slabbed coins as well as coins  still in the original holders as shipped by the General Services  Administration about 40 years ago. The determination of whether a GSA  Dollar is slabbed in plastic or left in its original goverment issued  holder depends on the preference of the submitter and the policy of the  grading service at the time of certification. Anther example of coins  with a goverment-related pedigree is the 'U.S. Vault Collection'. Some pedigreed coins come from neither a numismatic  collection nor government storage or resale. Occasionally, extremely  large caches of coins are 'discovered' or left to heirs. These  accumulations of coinage are often referred to as 'hoards'. Examples of  coins pedigreed from these accumulations include the 'Omaha Bank Hoard'  and the 'Wells Fargo Hoard'. Depending on the preference of the cache's  owner or submitter, details about the history and creation of the  accumulation may be published in detail or kept completely confidential,  much to the chagrin of some in the numismatic community. It's ironic  that coins from some numismatic 'hoards' have a higher perceived value  in the marketplace if the cache's biography is left to the buyers'  imagination (and hobby innuendo) than if the true history of the cache  was accurately released. Sample Slabs are arguably another type of pedigreed coin.  A Sample Slab  usually contains a common coin that a third party grading service has  given away  for promotional purposes. While some of these coins have a  grade printed on the label, many are just labeled 'Sample' or show an  ambiguous grade like 'FA 00' as a filler for space on the slab insert.  Scarcer is the Sample Slab with its own sub-pedigree, such as the NGC  'ANA 100th Anniversary' samples distributed in limited numbers to  selected attendees at the organization's coin show in Chicago, Illinois  in 1991.  Many sample slabs have sequential or sample-specific  certification numbers (i.e. 12345678) where the number denotes only a  sample slab and is not specific to the coin inside. Like all slabbed  coins, Sample Slabs from scarce or rarely seen holder types command more  desirability in the marketplace. In recent years, an entire numismatic  subculture has formed, devoted to the collecting of Sample Slabs in  their own right. The popularity of competitive and non-competitive 'Registry Sets' has  brought yet another type of pedigreed coin to the hobby. 'Vanity Slabs'  emblazoned with the name of the registry competitor or exhibitor are now  in the marketplace. Qualified registry participants have the option of  naming the collection and the pedigree, so long as the pedigree name  selected doesn't cause confusion or conflict with the 'Classic  Pedigrees' (such as 'Eliasberg' or 'GSA') already in the marketplace.  Qualified collectors pay an additional fee to have the coins reholdered  with the vanity or registry pedigree. While registry pedigrees are  viewed by some people as merely vanity issues, some registry pedigrees may add  desirability (and value) to the coin inside, especially if the  collection it resided in was top in its category or the collector was known for only  buying the best coins for the grade or type. Pedigreed holders contains coins 'with a story to tell'.  In addition to  the various types of pedigrees described above, you may occasionally  run across 'Celebrity Pedigrees' ('Kareem Abdul-Jabbar' is an example),  'Double Pedigrees' (such as 'Eliasberg/Clapp') and even 'Geographical  Pedigrees' which sometimes are former registry coins that the owner  chose to reholder under an ambiguous locational name. 'Geographical  Pedigrees" may also represent coins from the collection of a celebrity  who prefers to remain anonymous.  While the value of any coin housed inside a pedigreed holder (and  indeed the value of the pedigree itself) are always individual to that  coin and holder, President David Hall of the Professional Coin Grading  Service did chime in about which pedigree is held in his highest esteem.  "In my opinion, the most valuable pedigree of all is Eliasberg," Hall  said, in a post on the PCGS forum a year ago this week. "I personally  will always pay a little extra for an Eliasberg pedigree," Hall  continued. "There are some cases where different pedigrees may carry  more weight, say Naftzger for large cents, but in general Eliasberg is  the most important pedigree." <img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k481/thecointrader/HallonEliasberg.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> *** Please Post Your Pedigreed Coins For Others To Enjoy *** I've also created a 'Pedigreed Coins' group here at Coin Talk.  The purpose of the group is to create a meeting place for owners and  enthusiasts of Pedigreed Coins of all types. You can join it here: <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/groups/102/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/groups/102/">http://www.cointalk.com/groups/102/</a> -The Coin Trader[/QUOTE]

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