Debunking the 1977 “missing mint mark” cent

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New members of Facebook and other internet coin sites (eBay, TikTok, Etsy) are told routinely that their face value coins are worth thousands because they lack mint marks. As hobbyists know, at one time the United States only had one mint, in Philadelphia, and so no mint mark was necessary. The U.S. Mint then added other production facilities around the country, so they included mint marks like CC (Carson City), S (San Francisco), D (Denver) and so on.

In 1977, the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia produced 4,469,930,000 cents. All of them lack a mint mark. In fact, if a P mint mark ever was found on one–it will never happen!–that would truly be a rarity of all rarities.

As Coin Week notes, “Modern Proof coins that were struck at the San Francisco Mint, as most Proof coinage has been since 1968, normally bear an “S” mint mark. A small number of these coins have surfaced over the years that lack the mint mark, and they are among the greatest rarities of modern American coins – with some of them even being unique.”

A 1977 proof cent without an “S” mint mark purportedly was found in a cash register that year. Presumably, it was a test coin that someone escaped the mint.

Now take a look at how click-baiters on social media hype a common (in this case, zinc-rotted) face value cent as the illusive 1977 test proof coin without a mint mark.

There are other examples flooding coin sites. This is an almost uncirculated 1977 face-value business strike erroneously labeled rare and selling for $600 on Etsy:

There are dozens of face value cents s on eBay right now are going for hundreds and thousands of dollars. Here’s just one:

On the left is an uncirculated business strike 1977 cent, selling for $1.50 on Apmex. On the right is a proof cent selling for $4.95 on the same site. Note the different surfaces and stronger double strike on the proof cent, bestowing a special high-gloss luster.

Now imagine that the “S” was missing on the proof cent. That would be the fabled experimental coin that somehow escaped the mint.

And yes, the “S” mint mark is missing on proof coins of other years.

A 1968 proof set sells for less than $20. However, about a dozen 1968 proof sets escaped the Mint without an S mint mark. They are worth thousands. Here’s an example of such a proof coin:

Another missing mint mark occurred with the 1975 No S dimes, only a few known. Other coins missing S mint marks are 1970 No S dimes, 1971 No S nickels, 1976 No S Ike and 1990 No S Lincoln cent.

So let’s summarize:

You likely have handled hundreds if not thousands of 1977 business strike cents. You may have a 1977-S proof set. Odds are almost 0% that you have a 1977 proof cent without an S mint mark.

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Close/Wide AM Lincoln Cent Varieties

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Many social media sites—especially TikTok and YouTube—give the impression that it is relatively easy to discover the two major nearly impossible to find 1992/1992-D Close AM varieties.

To give you the odds of your finding one, the 1992 Cent has a mintage of 4,648,905,000. But since 2009, only three Close AM coins have been authenticated. The 1992-D Cent has a mintage of 4,448,673,300. But since 1993, but only 15 Close AM coins have been found.

These are Power Ball lottery odds of your finding something. But the difference is time. You buy a lottery ticket and check the winning numbers once. Searching for a 1992/1992-D Close AM Coin wastes valuable hobby time with chances close to zero that you will ever hit the numismatic jackpot.

The label “Close AM” has sparked hundreds of click-bait posts on social media, promising riches if you only will subscribe to their site. What makes the hunt for the rare 1992/1992-D Close Am cents so confusing are billions of regular 1998, 1999 and 2000 cents, all with Close AM. The moderately valuable error in these years is the Wide AM.

Let that sink in. 1992/1992-D Close AM cents=riches; 1998-2000 Wide AM cents=lunch money, usually.

Now let’s use PCGS CoinFacts photos and values to help you identify the various types.

1992/1992-D Close AM

1992 Close AM (worth $2,600-$26,000 in mint state) and 1992-D Close AM (worth $2,100 to $12,250) in mint state).

Here’s how to tell:

Here are other diagnostics:

The “A” in the Wide AM is centered between the two “T”s. The “A” in the desired Close AM leans toward the second “T.” Also see the difference in the designer initial fonts. The common Wide AM has a trace of a serif on the “G”; the rarity Close AM lacks that with slightly more spacing between the initials and device.

The above die markers are critical when evaluating whether or not you have the ultra rarity. China has flooded the market with replicas having the Close AM but forgetting those markers. They turn up on online auctions and land in the hands of hobbyists. Here’s an example:

New collectors beware: The hobby has no mercy. If you do not know what you are buying, trying to score a bargain, you’ll lose hundreds of dollars in a short time. In coin collecting, you get what you pay for.

That’s why articles like this are important.

1998, 1999, 2000 Wide AM

Because values for the Wide AM 1998-2000 are relatively low, you’ll find fewer fakes and replicas. But it still is important to know how to tell if you have one.

Let’s look at the regular issues of 1998, 1999, 2000 cents v. WIDE AM varieties (worth $15-700 based on mint state grades):

Another way to distinguish between the two concerns the placement of the initials. In the Wide AM, the “FG” is closer to the base of the Lincoln Memorial building. 

Commit to memory:

1992/1992-D Regular/Wide Strikes are worth 1 cent to ?? depending on color, grade and condition.

1992/1992-D Close AM are worth thousands.

1998-2000 Regular/Close Strikes are worth 1 cent to ?? depending on color, grade and condition.

1998-2000 Cents Wide AM are worth $15-?? depending on color, grade and condition.

You can also consult this handy chart:

Finally, to complicate matters even further, two additional varieties exist in 1998 and 1999 Proof cents. All Proof Lincoln Cents from 1993 to 2009 should have Wide AMs. But fewer than 100 were struck with the reverse of the business strike, the 1998/99 Close AM. The proof errors here are typically worth hundreds.

If you’re going to spend hobby time looking for the 1998-2000 Wide AM cents, that’s justifiable. You’re training your eyes for grading. But if you’re bent on finding the rare 1992/1992-D Close AM cents, you’re wasting your time … and a good part of your life.

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

What makes coins valuable? Here are 7 answers.

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This simple question–what makes my coin valuable?–requires numismatic knowledge. New hobbyists typically ask, “What’s my coin worth?” (The value of the hobby is the hobby, not the value.) But coins do have investment value, and every collector should know how to tell which ones are worth keeping, spending, buying or selling.

Although there are other factors, here are 7 top reasons your coins may be valuable.

The Metal

This would seem an obvious answer. Gold is more valuable than silver. Silver is more valuable than nickel. Nickel is more valuable than copper. Copper is more valuable than zinc. This is why the U.S. Mint continually changes metal content of coins when the metal exceeds the value of the issue. For instance, a nickel’s melt value (and you can’t do that, per U.S. law) is worth a dime. Pre-1982 cents are worth 2-4 cents as scrap metal. The website, Coinflation, gives melt values based on metal content. One of my war nickels (pictured above), with 35% silver, has a melt value of $1.57. The patina, however, dramatically increases the value of this particular coin.

The Mintage

The smaller production of a coin typically increases value. For instance, the 1893-S Morgan, with 100,000 minted, is considered one of the rarest in the series, bringing fantastic prices, even for low grade examples, such as Good 4, worth $3,900 retail. The 1881-S with a mintage of 27 million at Good 4 (no flaws) is worth a little more than its silver melt, or about $35. Some coins with reasonable mintages are valuable because so many of that year and mint have been melted under the dictates of the Pittman Act of 1918. Some 270 million Morgan silver dollars were cast in the melting pot. So at least with Morgans, the initial print production might be high … but the survival rate, low. This requires knowledge of each year rather than just the Sheldon 1-70 scale.

Key dates often are based on mintages, including rare errors like the 1955 double die obverse cent, about 24,000 of which are thought to have left the mint. That makes it rare and valuable. Here is a scale to help you identify what you should be looking for when adding to your collection.

The Grade

The higher the grade on the Sheldon 70 scale, the higher the value. For instance, the aforementioned 1893-S and 1881-S Morgan dollars at Good 4 continue to rise in value as the numbers increase for those issues. An MS65 1893-S is worth $775,000. An MS65 1881-S is worth $215.

The Condition

Some coins, for one reason or another, went into circulation with few saved and many melted. A perfect example is the 1884-S Morgan dollar. A VF40 example is worth $135. An MS65, $295,000. These are called condition rarities.

Other coins are valuable because the typical strike is weak and the device not well defined. So a stronger strike with these coins brings premiums. An example is the 1945 dime with full bands. An MS65 example without full bands is worth $45. With full bands, $19,000.

The Patina

At one time about 30 or so years ago, coins with rainbow toning were worth less than clear metal with no toning. Now the market for toned coins has skyrocketed with natural colors bringing multiples of what the coin is really worth. A 1964 Kennedy half dollar at MS66 is worth about $90. With this patina, from my collection, hundreds more.

The Variety

Some years and mint marks have different die varieties. The most popular/valuable ones are listed in Red Books and other resources, such as PCGS CoinFacts. Here’s an example that most collectors of Mercury dimes know: 1945-S regular strike, worth $44 dollars at MS65, and 1945-S micro S, worth $135 at the same grade. Add full bands to the latter, and you have a $900 coin.

The Error

One of the most popular errors is the three-legged 1937-D Buffalo nickel. At MS65, a regular strike is worth $105. The error at the same grade is worth $32,500. Because errors are so valuable, scammers try to recreate them with doctored coins. The three-legged nickel is one of the most altered coins. But there usually is a device that is a telltale sign. See this post about how to identify an authentic three-legged 1937-D nickel.

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

1983/1983-D copper cent errors: odds are you don’t have one

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For a long time the transitional error for both the 1983 and 1983-D cents were thought to exist, with none found. Numismatists theorized a small number of these copper cents made it to the public domain. 1983 was a transitional year during which the U.S. Mint stopped producing copper cents and moved to zinc cents, weighing 2.5 grams.

Then a few of these Mint errors were found and authenticated by reputable holdering companies.

You can read about that here.

Have you heard about the fabled 1943/1943-D/1943-S copper cents, which were supposed to have been struck on steel and now worth tens of thousands of dollars? Some 40 such cents were said to have been minted, with 13 found. YouTube, TikTok and eBay use the few such found coins as click-bait, fully aware that you will not find them.

These 1983 transitional error coins are thought to be even rarer than 1943/43-D/43-S errors. So you likely do not have one.

But to make sure, weigh it. If it weighs 3.1 (plus or minus 1 gram or so) you have hit the jackpot, worth thousands of dollars.

Because there were so few copper planchets left in the 1983 bin, the ones found are said to have the same die markers:

But the only valuable diagnostic is weight, 3.1 grams.

While it is good to know about these transitional errors, unfortunately they waste hobby time. You should be using that time to buy coin books or to visit educational sites like this, learning about collecting. The value of the hobby is the hobby, not the value.

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

7 types of 1982 cents and one get-rich error. How to tell what you have.

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Let’s begin by defining the 7 types of 1982 cents. The copper ones should weigh 3.1 grams; the zinc ones, 2.5 grams. The copper ones are Large Date, Philadelphia; Small Date, Philadelphia; and Large Date, Denver. The zinc ones are Philadelphia, Large Date; Philadelphia, Small Date; Denver, Large Date; and Denver, Small Date.

All of those seven are readily available in pocket change. They are valuable only in very high mint state grades.

The transitional error–and only two have been found 40+ years–is the 1982-D, Small Date, 3.1 grams.

Before 2016, numismatists theorized that there may be an 1982-D small date weighing 3.1 grams, otherwise known as a transitional error, in that this coin was supposed to be struck on a zinc planchet and not the copper one.

The U.S. Mint went from copper to zinc in that year because the copper coin was worth more than face value due to the rise in value of that metal.

Numismatic News reported in 2016 that the much-publicized theorized transitional error had been found in a lightly circulated AU58 cent. You can read about that here.

A few years later that publication reported that a second such coin, also AU58, had been found, depicted earlier.

Here is the discovery coin in 2016.

Here is the second example from 2019.

Some numismatist want to dub the 1982-D Small Date bronze cent as a variety and not an error. Ken Potter, the foremost authority on this cent, wrote this in Numismatic News: “Some feel the 1982 cent has grown from a seven-coin set to an eight-coin set if one wants to consider one of these a variety and part of the set. However, this is unlikely to occur due to the rarity of the pieces. As such, it is being considered an error like the 1943 copper cents.”

The key word in the above excerpt is “rarity.” No one has yet to find other examples of this error apart from the two mentioned here. Nevertheless, because of the value of this coin–the AU50 example sold for $18,800 in 2017–social media has hyped the odds of finding more in pocket change and bank rolls.

Click-bait videos like this one have triggered a viral search for the get-rich-quick coin.

Odds are you will never find this particular error coin.

Facebook coin groups are inundated with inquiries about 1982 cents with new members believing they found the treasured error. It requires numismatic skill to do so. And that’s where scams and buyer remorse set in. First, you must distinguish between large date and small date of the various types. Then you have to weigh the coin to see if it is 2.5 or 3.1 grams, with the 3.1 being the winning number.

Here’s a handy chart:

First, the “2” in the small date is a different font than the large date, whose “2” lacks a serif as in the small date. Also, as you can see from the red lines above, the “8” in the small type is the same size as the “1.” If you drew lines as I have, on a large date, you will see that the “8” is larger than the “1” and the “2.”

Note the shape of the “2” in addition to the difference in the serifs above. The 2 in the small date is curved whereas the large date is straight.

Now let’s use an original 1982-D Small Date copper from PCGS to see all 3 die markers:

Numismatic research indicates that the two known examples came from two different working dies because the two known examples have different mintmark placements.

You see in 1982, mintmarks were hand-punched. Because the mintmark in both examples have slightly different placements, we can conclude they came from two working dies.

But the critical difference is in the weight, so you have to have a scale.

Here’s where the trouble begins. Unscrupulous or ignorant coin sleuths can trick you into buying a regular date variety masquerading as the error.

This eBay seller correctly identifies the small date variety and includes several photos, but not one on a scale showing 3.1 grams. Are you willing to believe the seller spending that high amount?

Worse, included in his photos is a PhotoShopped or different small date coin. Compare the photos:

This is a standard 2.5 zinc small date and that you won’t get your money back. And of course, this seller does not accept returns. And even seemingly bills you with the high shipping rate:

Good luck dealing with eBay on this coin not weighing the requisite 3.1 grams. Had he included the coin on a scale, you might be able to tell if this was the same coin as depicted in the sale price. But here again, you can manipulate coin scales to read what you want them to.

Again, consider the eBay listing below. Either the seller is a scammer or just plain numismatically ignorant. Yes. It is a small date. No. It is not the valuable copper one. But if you don’t know how to tell the difference, because you believe click-bait videos, you’ll be out $1,800 for a coin that is really just face value.

Once again, this seller does not accept returns but generously offers free shipping:

Then there are sellers who have holdered their coins with a leading company like PCGS but still claiming that their error coins (NOT!) weigh 3.1 grams.

There are so many things wrong with this eBay listing. First, the seller states that NGC slabbed the coin when PCGS did. But you can also go to the PCGS verification site to view the photo of this large date regular bronze common cent:

The seller posits that this is a very rare cent and, of course, does not accept returns:

Scammers also alter the “8” and “2” of a large date and then show it on a scale weighing 3.1 grams. Also note the larger lower circle of the “8” in the large date.

Here’s an example:

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Identifying full steps on Jefferson nickels

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If your Jefferson nickel has a strong strike, it might have 5 or 6 steps at the base of Monticello on the reverse. That adds value to most years and high value to some years, depending on date and mint mark.

To view steps on Jefferson nickels, use a loupe and look at them at the base of the Monticello depiction.

Keep in mind that this designation is only for business strikes, not proof coins. In fact, if proof coins lack complete steps, they would be impaired and lose collector value.

PCGS awards the designation if 5 lines are complete. NGC has 5-step and 6-step designations.

Sellers and lower tier grading companies often just state “full steps” when there is a break, a blending or a mark on any of the steps. There can be no such issue. The steps must run the complete base.

This internet seller claims his 1944-P war nickel has full steps. It doesn’t. There is a blending of steps, losing the designation:

One might anticipate such a blending as this coin is almost uncirculated and exhibits wear. In any case, with or without steps, this is a common issue with 119,150,000 minted. This specimen is only worth its 35% silver. But even in gem MS65, the retail value difference is only a few dollars.

A full steps designation on some years and mint marks dramatically increase value. There are many examples, but let’s just look at the 1949 nickel with a mintage of 60,652,000. The strike this year was dull for most of those coins, leading to higher values with full steps:

Some sellers disregard the fact that only some years and mint marks earn those higher values. They are counting on your not knowing which coins are common in full steps and which, rare.

Here’s an example from eBay:

I know where the seller got the idea that this coin would be worth $25,000. That’s the retail price for MS67 Full Steps in a PCGS holder. The nickel above does look gem, but not MS67 professionally graded so these PCGS values do not apply:

As proof of the above seller’s exaggeration, here is the same year and mint mark, MS65 Full Steps, Buy It Now on eBay, retailing at $45.

Now compare the two to help identify the difference:

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Just because you haven’t seen the coin before doesn’t make it valuable

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In addition to being a numismatist, I am a social change professor at an institution of science and technology. My research documents how society has changed since internet access became widespread. Algorithms chart what we like and believe. (Facebook is doing this now with each of your clicks.) After almost a quarter century of this, the common person no longer seeks information. They seek affirmation.

Technology gives you what you want. Not what you need.

No where is this more apparent than with amateurs and visitors to Facebook coin groups. They get their affirmation (get-rich quick) from TikTok, YouTube and eBay, citing all manner of fabulous prices and sky-high values for near impossible-to-find double dies, copper war cents and condition rarities–all available in pocket change.

Note: For those who do not know what “condition rarity” means, that proves the point. It means a coin that is common in low grades but scarce or rare in higher ones. “Absolute rarity” means the total of that date and mint known to survive.

The information, generally, is correct in these click-bait videos. In the one below, there’s lots of useful information. What’s missing is the near impossible aspect of finding one of these copper war pennies in your pocket or in the ground:

See my post about 1943 copper cents available for $10 in Etsy.

What annoys hobbyist members are newbies who just show a coin or coins and post one word: “Value?” “Thoughts?” “Opinion?”

In other words, they don’t want to do the necessary research or even know the faintest idea about collecting. They just want a dollar figure, and if you state, no value, damage, etc., they reply that they have researched the coin on one of these social media sites.

They know little about grading, comparing a circulated coin from pocket change with a condition rarity same date/mint mark coin graded MS67 by PCGS or NGC. Another example:

We see this one just about daily on Facebook coin groups:

These examples above are worth face value or $1 or $2 at most. They are circulated. The reason that some examples go for record prices, again, is the condition.

This website tackles the Bicentennial coin no mint mark with solid numismatic information:

Experienced members are on these sites viewing and answering these inquiries honestly or snarkily. Or worse, not at all. (If you asked the group a question and no one responded, there’s probably an issue with your question.)

The most annoying posts are ones about common coins, often still in circulation, that the person has never seen before. Here is an example with the typical response:

Just because you didn’t know about the circulating coin doesn’t make it valuable.

I hope this post encourages viewers to do the necessary numismatic research rather than rely on algorithms to do that for you.

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Proxiblog also has hundreds of followers on Facebook Coin Groups. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

“Ring of death” not a Mint error

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Many Facebook and coin website viewers, schooled not by Red Book but by TikTok and YouTube, actually believe their “ring of death” coin is a valuable error that happened at the U.S. Mint. It didn’t. The circle was caused by a roll packing machine and is considered damage.

See the ring below.

Here’s the Grim Reaper at work:

Clickbait media has made new collectors believe that fortunes can be found in pocket change.

Here’s an example:

On eBay, people are selling “ring of death” coins as Mint errors. Here’s an example:

Please share this article whenever someone posts a ring of death coin thinking it will ca-ching at the bank.

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Facebook Groups Inundated with Click-Bait Coins

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For years expert hobbyists and coin dealers were used to giving the non-collector or amateur the bad news about their face- or low-value coins. They would check the Greysheet or Red Book for values and show the person or customer the true worth of their lots.

Rarely would people argue when given the bad news.

But now, in the digital era, content creators and sellers on eBay, TikTok, Etsy and more have hyped common face value coins to such extent that non-collectors scoff at or even argue when told the real value of their so-called errors or faux varieties.

Facebook top contributors say the same things each day: No value. Face value. Buy a Red Book. Or worse, give a snarky reply because, simply, they are exhausted answering the same questions about value.

And here is the kicker: The value of the hobby is the hobby, not the value. Non-collectors on social media are all about the value.

TikTok Click Bait

Videos like this are immensely misleading, showcasing a mule dime/cent as if we can find one in pocket change. You’d have better odds with lighting striking you twice.

@thecoinchannel

Getting rich on U.S mint mistakes. (Episode 6) penny errorcoin pennydime coin foryou

♬ Epic News – DM Production
Click Bait

eBay Inflated Listings

All of these thousand-dollar “best offer” coins either have face value, damage, or cuds.

Etsy Exaggerations

Here are three sample scam listings. One has a filled mint mark, another an uncirculated modern S mint mark cent, and another a few grams of weight above 3.11 for the denomination.

Folks who think they have struck it rich should check the “sold” and “Buy It Now” listings for such coins. Let’s just do that for the eBay listings above:

Non-collectors elevating worth over hobby should do the same process as I did above to learn the true value (or face value) of their misleading strike-it-rich coins.

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Proxiblog also has hundreds of followers on Facebook Coin Groups. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Which holdering company should you use?

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Grading is expensive. If you don’t know how to grade coins, buying coins top-tier will be your best bet. If you want to send you coins to a company, though, you had better know the various companies and which ones to avoid.

Each holdering company has its own rules, but two stand out with their grades so consistent that they were considered sight-unseen buys in the pre-internet era. Those are PCGS and NGC.

TOP TIER

My favorite for U.S. coins is PCGS because of its spectacular TrueView photos and set registries. Here’s one from a coin in my bank box, an MS68 1990 American Silver Eagle that looks like a flag, primarily because it was stored in corrugated cardboard.

NGC grades as consistently as PCGS. I use it for ancients. There is no better grading service for that. This, too, is in my bank box. (Never keep valuable coins in your house, even if you have a safe.)

Both PCGS and NGC have shortcomings, but I always recommend the two if you are considering grading. Click here for PCGS. Click here for NGC.

CAC (see photo below) is as consistent or even more so than NGC and PCGS. But it’s new to the grading game as it initially was founded as a fourth-party grading company, in essence, affirming (or not) grades of PCGS and NGC. One drawback concerns those assembling a set of PCGS or NGC to compete in registry sets. CAC is not there yet but will be in time.

SECOND TIER

Second-tier reliable grading companies include ANACS and ICG. ANACS coins in my view are close to PCGS/NGC in grading. ICG, less reliable.

Older ANACS holders sometimes are rigorously graded, as in this one:

Here is an 1878-S MS64 by ICG (I say MS63 at PCGS):

THIRD TIER

A few other holdering companies are hit-and-miss with a tendency to overstate grades and to overlook flaws. Nevertheless, they are somewhat reliable. I place them in a third tier. Those are old green and yellow PCI holders and SEGS and Numistrust holders. See below. I always look at these coins at auction and rely on my grading ability to affirm their grades. Personally, I like SEGS the best but have spotted common flaws on some of its coins, including pin scratches. So again I inspect rigorously.

BOTTOM TIER

These are some holdering companies I skip right over, not wasting time, because the grades are usually inflated and flaws, overlooked: SCG, National Numismatic Certification, newer PCI, PGA.

Here are examples:

JUST MY OPINION

Keep in mind that this post is based on my opinion and experience. You may think differently, experience different results, and even prefer lower tiers to PCGS and NGC.

But here is a warning if you are buying coins housed in these lower holders: Do not look up the year/date/mint mark on the PCGS or NGC values sites. All grading companies use the Sheldon 70 scale, but different grading standards mean different values. Read this post about that.

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.