ibognar's Page

I was browsing the mint website and I entered an area I've never been before. The medals section. I've no interest in medals but for some reason my mouse led me there and I clicked.Who stared at me but the devil himself, Hank Paulson. The architect of TARP. The patriarch of Goldman Sachs, appointed by George W. Bush to save our nation.I bought 2. Of all the worthwhile and worthless medals the mint has produced over the years, this one will have some historical significance.See More

Mailman came today and I had to sign for a plain brown package. I opened it and much to my delight I found five 2010 Silver Maples. I didn't know these were out yet.Love the design though my favorite is still the 2009 Thunderbird.I bought them from Teletrade Direct back in early 2008 to ship "when available".Paid $13.67 each. Wish I had bough 500 instead.See More

I wasn't too happy with the quality of the proof Braille Commemorative I received from the mint. The Unc version was perfect, but the Proof clearly not. Wasn't worth the hassle of sending it back so I figured I'd look for a PF70 online.There is only 1 on Ebay. All the rest are PF69's. Moderncoinmart only has MS70's. I could only find one other source online but they didn't have them in stock...only expecting them.Did the Mint have a strike problem with the Proof Braille issue? Does anyone know…See More

Why are most of the coins available from the large online retailers like Moderncoinmart, Gainesvillecoins, etc. seemingly all certified by NGC as opposed to PCGS. I think and most other seem to feel as well that they are fairly equivalent in terms of quality of service. This seems to add to the price premium for PCGS certified coins (which may be a false premium.) There doesn't seem to be a major cost difference between the two services from what I can tell unless NGC offers a bulk discount.