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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Mountain Man, post: 8203444, member: 94733&quot;]Welcome to this &#039;zoo&#039; we call Coin Talk. It is a good place to learn about the hobby but you have to temper yourself to getting some flippant answers. Most of the members here try to HELP collectors, new and old, but you need to follow the forum for a while to learn which ones to &quot;weed out.&quot; There is no test or degree required to join and give your 2¢, so take answers with a grain of salt.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As for paying to have a coin graded, authenticated, conserved, or slabbed, the answers given from members above are good guidelines, in my opinion. I, for one, have never send anything to a TPG as I keep what I like and if I want protection for the item, I self-slab it (you can buy slabs for just about any size coin).</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The reasons I can think of for sending anything to a TPG, is to One: get a professional assessment of the grade for value purposes, Two: have something authenticated, Three: have it conserved (repaired, enhanced, etc.), Four: have it sealed for its protection due to historic or sentimental value.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Age has very little to do with it, so being too new usually isn&#039;t a factor. I&#039;ve read about people that have items graded and sealed simply because they love looking at it and want it protected while handling it, while others want to hopefully increase the value to sell it, so everyone has their own reasons for spending money to have a company do what they do. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Having your father and brother (sorry for your losses) as collectors has probably left you with the curiosity a numismatist has, so welcome to the hobby. I have to assume that you have access to a Red Book, old or new, doesn&#039;t matter. It has a ton of good information regarding coins, but don&#039;t rely on the values as they fluctuate too much to be accurate. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Feel free to ask your questions here, posting FULL IMAGE photos of both sides that are in focus, and cropped to show just the coin, and close-ups of particular areas of concern, and members will give you their FREE opinions. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Good luck[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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