LOOSE CHANGE: MAY 10, 2020

Selling Coins on eBay

Plenty of people love it and plenty of people hate it, but we can all agree that eBay is a major part of the coin market. The service provides opportunities for everyone from casual collectors to huge dealers to sell their items. Whether you are thinking about selling or have sold on eBay for years, here are 11 things you may not know. Most of these apply whether you sell coins or anything else.

To read the complete article, see:
11 Things You Don’t Know About Selling Coins on eBay (https://coinweek.com/coins/coin-collecting-strategies-2/tips-for-new-collectors/11-things-you-dont-know-about-selling-coins-on-ebay/)

Hole-Fillers: Altered Dates, Replicas and Electrotypes

I have no idea why anyone paid nearly $150 for a heavily scratched large cent. I would say it's worth maybe the $25 suggested by the price tag in one of the images. Altered dates of this nature are commonly used as hole fillers, since 1804 is one of the key dates.

That said, there are some really nice electrotype replicas, many of which were made around 150 years ago, that are nice looking and collectible. I have a 1799 electro that looks to be a mid VF range coin. I paid a couple hundred for it, but were it an authentic coin, it would be more like a $25-30,000 coin. I've also got an electro of a 1793 wreath cent, and a proof-only Classic Head half cent, which I paid similar amounts for.

These electrotypes are fun collectibles, provided you look at them for what they are. They won't appeal to everyone, but, IMO, at least they make better hole fillers than that ugly, scratched up, altered cent.

To read the complete discussion, see:
Why are fakes being sold for so much? (https://www.cointalk.com/threads/why-are-fakes-being-sold-for-so-much.359388/)

Common Coin Problems

Cleaning can be disastrous to a coin’s value as evidenced with the sale of the George Cook Collection last August. Of the 439 lots, most of which were certified by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), about 30 were re-certified with either “cleaned,” “repaired,” “altered surfaces,” “surfaces smoothed” or “questionable colour” designations and given no numerical grade.

A 1905 specimen half-dollar (Lot 31299) re-certified as PCGS Uncirculated Details with an “altered surfaces” designation brought $3,360 US (about $4,475 Cdn.) – just six per cent of the $50,000 the collector originally paid for it before cleaning.

To read the complete article, see:
Five common coin problems and how to avoid them (https://canadiancoinnews.com/five-common-coin-problems-and-how-to-avoid-them/)

The Process For Submitting a Coin Design

Anyone can send an email directly to the US Mint at inquiries@usmint.treas.gov. The email can be on any subject, including ideas for new coin designs. However, the US Mint does not initiate new commemorative coins or coin programs. Instead, the Mint is required to strike coins specified in legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the President.

Mint officials in the last year or so have become more proactive at working with Congress on the details of pending coin bill language so as to try to remove onerous requirements and to have as much flexibility as possible at executing new coins. Thus, it is possible that the Mint’s liaison staff could express support to Congress for any possible new coin designs.

To read the complete article, see:
The Process For Submitting a Coin Design (https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/the-process-for-submitting-a-coin-design)

The Largest Book Ever Published
Dennis Tucker writes:

The National Union Catalog (NUC), Pre-1956 Imprints by Library of Congress and the National Union Catalog Subcommittee of the Resources Committee of the Resources and Technical Services Division, American Library Association, $9,000

The largest book ever published. We are talking largest in terms of volumes - 754 heavy folio volumes bound in green cloth with gilt lettered spines - and weight, which is three tons. This is a reference book containing a list of books published before 1959 that were cataloged by the Library of Congress and other American libraries. Editors started compiling this book in 1909. This is the first and only edition. It contains around 530,000 pages and lists approximately 12 million titles. The Bible section alone contains 63,000 entries. The Shakespeare and Plato sections are also epic.

The NUC displays each entry with a reproduction of the Library of Congress' library card as well information gleaned from the original editions by librarians and additional notes added over the decades. An epic feat to produce and publish in 1968, this massive book is a tribute to American librarians, and perhaps the ultimate book about books. It was also an epic feat to ship this bad boy to its new owner. The NUC was transported to the buyer on palettes by a truck specially hired for the job.

To visit the AbeBooks web site, see:
https://www.abebooks.com/

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web