Just received the Dragon today to finish the Series II graded kilos. Got a decent deal on all of them except the Mouse. Now I'll be starting on the Series I graded kilos. That'll be a great set when completed. Not cheap but it'll be fun!
Hi all stacking experts. Could someone please explain the difference between a graded and normal issue coin please. I am assuming you pay a substantial fee to someone to examine the coin under a microscope to count the number of scratches and digs in the coin, issue a certificate and slab it up ? However I am also assuming the starting point of a graded coin is no different to an ungraded coin so an ungraded coin might in fact be a superior quality depending on the handling of the graded one prior to examination. Am I right ? If so, what is the interest in grading bullion coins ? Ancient historic, Roman coins okay because you need to know something about wear and tear etc. Bullion UNC coins - cannot seem to see the point.
Depend what you collect. For example if you collects mcc (moder chinese coin) a graded one will go for 1.5 or 2 x in ms69. And 4 x or more in ms70 than bu coin in capsule or omp (original mint packashing) http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-23167-opinion-ncs-ngc-experience-pleasure-and-pain.html
I am no expert but this might be helpful. First as far as grading goes there are a few things they are looking for some of which is the die strike ( the die strike tends to deteriorate slightly as the die wears down) , any dents, scratches, blemishes, and spots and toning are also taken into consideration. You are correct that the starting point is the same. People really tend to have mixed feelings as to whether to grade a coin or not which is a debate for another time and I am sure you can find many threads here on that. Some nice things about graded , slabbed coins I personally like are that they generally tend to be less likely to be affected by the enviroment and they are in a nice holder to look at without rick of further damage by moving around in the capsule so they are somewhat preserved for years to come, and when you sell them as long as they are graded by NGC or PCGS people can know what quality they are getting and that they are genuine. I personally like nuministic and semi nuministic coins that are slabbed and graded but I wouldnt bother with ASEs or maples or that kind of thing. But it comes down to personal preference and I am sure some others here will have more to say on it.
Nice collection, the mouse being the hardest to find by far. I am also hunting the 1kg mouse to complete mine. Well done mate
My understanding is that the Perth Mint can mint the 1kg Lunars in unlimited numbers right through to the end of the series in 2018 so you might be seeing many more 1kg Mouse yet given the mint's recent form !
This. Don't pay collector premiums on any Series II 1kg coins until the end of the series. Other Lunar bullion sizes like 1/2oz, 2oz, 5oz and 10oz however will have their mintages closed at the end of each year. At least that's my understanding.
Shipping to and from the US will run you quite a bit. Your better off just buying them already graded. If you were to submit your coins directly to NGC, I'm not sure they would ship back overseas. Your best bet is to buy already graded coins or have a connection in the US. Again, grading modern coins is unnecessary and is a personal preference. For the right price, I'd be willing to sell this set.
I asked Scotty from Unico ,as he gets quiet a few coins graded $40'each $20 to grade them & $20 for postage there & back ,they only use USPS for postage
