Wise to Get Second, Third Opinions on Possible Variety

What agency do I contact if I think that I have stumbled upon a new coin variation?

It is wise to get a second set of eyes to determine if you have a new coin variety or an anomaly. You might want to start by having a fellow collector or dealer with whom you have a working relationship examine the coin first. Should that party agree that you appear to have a new variety, you may want to consider getting yet one more opinion from another collector or dealer, then invest the money it will take to have a well-recognized, thirdparty certification service examine the coin. A coin dealer can submit the coin for you, but once again expect to pay a fee for the service. A good place to start would be showing the coin to several people at either a local coin club meeting or coin show.

How do I know a third-party service won’t switch coins on me?

Third-party certification services examine thousands of coins. It would only take one incident to put one of these multi-million-dollar companies out of business. How would they have the proper coin to switch and why would they take such a chance and jeopardize their enterprise by so doing?

Have these third-party services ever made a mistake in judging the authenticity, grade or variety of a coin they have examined?

Anyone can make a mistake in judgment. Each of these services has experienced experts on staff or available to examine any coin for any purpose. All of these services have each individual coin examined by multiple individuals before a final determination regarding authenticity, grade or variety is made.

How consistent is the grading used by each of the third-party certification services?

Each of the major third-party services has a standard used when a grade is assigned to a coin. This may be a published standard or it may be examples of a coin type in the grades as were assigned by the service. The bottom line is consistency for which each of these services strives.

It can be expensive to ship coins to slabbing services. Do you have any suggestions as to how to ship them less expensively?

Each of the third-party certification services wants to ensure they received and in turn you get your coins back safely, with the packages being tracked reliably for security purposes. There really isn’t any short cut to the shipping expense when you ship your coins to one of these services; however, you might want to consider sending the coins in a bundle or waiting until one of these services is attending a coin show near you. These services accept coins at these shows, eliminating one of the directions for which you would otherwise need to pay shipping.

How much damage is too much damage to a coin?

Recognize that problem coins will always have problems. Problems don’t go away and may become a liability when you go to re-sell that coin. There are coins that are so rare that damage is unlikely to impact their value, but this is unusual. In general, any detectable damage, be it detectable by using high magnification or being visible to the naked eye, is detrimental to the collectability of that coin.

Why isn’t the Philippines commemorative half dollar featuring Gen. Douglas MacArthur on the obverse not included in Q. David Bowers’ book, US Commemorative Coins? Is it because it is a Philippine issue and not issued by the United States?

Due to the prominent San Francisco mintmark appearing on the Philippines 1947- S Douglas MacArthur 50-centavos and 1-peso coins, it could be argued the coins should be included in a book on U.S. commemoratives; however, on “the other side of the coin,” it can be argued the coins are clearly identified as being an issue of the Philippines, not the United States.

Is there any way to tell if a proof 1856 Flying Eagle cent is an original or made by a midnight minter?

It isn’t known if the original proofs were made in a special striking. According to Q. David Bowers in More

Adventures with Rare Coins, “All of the re-struck 1856 cents were made with proof-like or even full Proof surfaces by resurfacing existing dies.” There are 10 die pairings for 1856 to 1858 Flying Eagle cents listed in The Flying Eagle and Indian Cent Attribution Guide. This would include the dies used to strike the proofs.

Would the value of the coin change either way?

There are specialists who will pay more for a scarcer variety proof 1856 Flying Eagle cent, but most are sold without identifying any die variety.

How can I tell if my Flying Eagle cent is genuine?

A flattened area in the 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock area of the ball of the “5” is an important diagnostic on all genuine specimens, as is the round serif on the lower tip of the “5” projecting beyond an imaginary straight line down the back of the numeral.

How can I tell if my 1856 Flying Eagle cent is a proof or if it is uncirculated?

According to Rick Snow in A Guide Book of Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents, “The majority of the proofs are from the die pair known as Snow-9. These have a centering dot on the reverse under the upper-left serif of the N in CENT. There are other die pairs, but these are rare, and of interest only to the specialist.”

Is there one 1856 Flying Eagle cent variety that is more commonly encountered than the others?

According to Rick Snow in A Guide Book of Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents, “In general, the die pairs known as Snow-3 are mostly Mint State coins from the original striking period and are easily distinguished by the repunching on the 5 in the date.”