Jester

The 2017 10 oz Queen's Beasts Lion Bullion Coin

As of this posting, they are in stock at Apmex and they have 139 remaining.

I think this is Square One of a fairly long journey...

Would have liked to pick up a MS70 but 1) I couldn't find one and 2) the NGC price guide puts it around $600 and I just can't see the value (for me) given what I paid for the MS69...Happy nonetheless!

3 hours ago, Numistacker said:

 

I have one in the May grading from@backyardbullion video up soon. That is the reason I immediately went out and bought one! It is a great coin and the mintage is very low for something like this.

 

Wow, what an idiot I am! You did say in your original post you had a chance to see it...I was trying to think of a good excuse for my bonehead post...I got nothin'. Nevertheless, great purchase!

My chunky Panda arrived today!  That really is a massive slab from NGC.  Send this off to be re-slabbed, a panda label and she'll be good as new.

3 hours ago, Numistacker said:

One of the benefits of getting in coins for grading is I get to see special coins and I just ordered a Tuvalu dragon Antique 2017



Mintage 1000 sold out at Perth mint.

I bought mine for issue price at Talisman Coins in the USA.

http://talismancoins.com/products/65082

Thanks@backyardbullion

Wait until you see this coin in person...it's gonna blow your mind.  Talisman is by far the best place to pick these up...but probably not much longer though with a 1000 mintage.  Great score Numi!

Just now, Numistacker said:

 

This is how I keep mine so fresh and fruity...

 

Beautiful coins!  And NGCs presentation really let's them shine.  The design on both the OBV and REV are so well done.  I think you're on to something with these Libertads.

1987 5 oz Silver Panda Proof. First 5 oz proof of the series with a low mintage and none graded higher by NGC (didn't check PCGS). Verified with the seller prior to purchase that there's no toning, milking or spotting on the coin.  Looks to be a great specimen.  Gonna send it along to @Numistacker for reslabbing in the scratch resistant holder and the panda label.

UPDATE: Yup, no PR70s from PCGS either and a total of 348 PF/PR69s between the two TPGs!

The gateway to a new addiction...

5 minutes ago, shortstack68 said:

I thought you were poor? lol

I've never been poor...an out-of-control coin purchaser? Yes.  I'm trying to focus my purchases a bit more so that I'm able to spend more but less often...the whole quality versus quantity.  I'm probably done for the year with the exception of the '17 Silver QB Griffin Proof, the '17 Silver Britannia Proof and the '17 Silver Libertad 2 and 5 oz Proofs...huh, when I type that out it doesn't really come across as "done for the year" (oh well, maybe those offerings will be spaced out a bit at least).

Finally was able to pick up a 2014 5 oz Libertad Proof!

How is this little chunky, antiqued, high relief, 2 oz beauty flying under the radar at 1,000 mintage from Perth?  I'm working now so the latex gloves and fondling must wait until later (wow that sentence by itself could be taken WAY wrong).  I snagged this from Talisman Coins for around $155 all in.

8 minutes ago, Lindeman said:

I follow your logic @Jester...as I also had the same thought process on the odds/costs of getting 70s from the Mint proofs (the long road via grading), and I did buy an MCM slabbed PF70 a few weeks ago - for $199, and I don't regret it one bit! To cover my bets I am also buying a few of the MInt proofs in the original boxes, on the idea that future collectors need to reach back to get the first proof in the series. Time (and mintages) will tell if that is a smart move or not! Completely agree that a 69 leaves you in limbo. 

Was also wondering about that special label on the slabs from NGC / MCM  - but I was thinking that maybe they stick with that background Lion image for the whole series .... had not thought about the idea that they switch the Beast every time. ?

 

Would that not look amazing in a complete set to have all slabbed PF70 with the corresponding beast from the coin on the label? Purty!

5 hours ago, shortstack68 said:

I bought 2 raw from a German dealer and got 69 and 70 DCAMS so would be interested how much the 70 cost (in private PM if you wish to keep it hush hush) I actually paid £10 below the RM initial release price

TL;DR The coin I purchased above was $290 with free shipping.  I had $28.00 in eBay bucks bringing my final purchase price down to $262.

Thanks so much for the reply.  I certainly don't mind sharing and running through the calcs and thought process I used to determine why this was a decent buy for me.  Disclaimer...when I say "you" in my response, I just mean the generic "you".

The dealer I'd buy the Proofs from is Govmint.com.  They have them in stock for $99.95 with free shipping over $149.00.  If you've got your rabbit's foot, four-leaf clover and your fingers crossed and decided to buy just one to send in yourself for grading, shipping from Govmint.com is $9.95 bringing your coin purchase to $109.90.  As you did and as I had considered doing, I'd buy two and send them in.  At that point, your coin purchase is $199.90.  Grading for modern world coins with NGC is $17/coin.  

So let's say you buy one, send it in, your all in price (not including shipping to get it to NGC) is $126.90.  Should your coin come back PF69 then you would have been better off buying the same coin, same grade with the unique label like the one above (which I think is awesome) for $119.00 with free shipping from MCM. If the one coin came back PF70, well...bully for you and go buy a lotto ticket while you're at it.  Me, I'm a glass-half-empty person and with my luck, it'd be PF69.

If you bought two, your all in price (not including shipping to get the coins to NGC...which would be what, $5-$10?) is $233.90.  If you're lucky, you get two PF70s back and you can keep one or both but likely sell one and recoup your costs.  If you're unlucky, there's the chance you get two PF69s back and you still don't have the PF70 you wanted to add to your collection in the first place (so you either give up at that point or commit more of your resources and time to pursue the PF70). In my search of the PF70, I did notice the PF69s are in pretty abundant supply so you wouldn't be able to command a significant premium should you try to sell and start the PF70 quest anew.  You also could have purchased two of the MCM PF69s with the special labels unavailable to all but the bulk/dealer submitters for $238 with free shipping.  Again, glass-half-empty, I'd get two PF69s.  

The coin I purchased above was $290 with free shipping.  I had $28.00 in eBay bucks bringing my final purchase price down to $262.  So for me, it was worth spending an extra $29 to get the coin I want in the condition I want with the label I want.  I understand if you bought multiples and didn't get the result you wanted you could sell those and try again and potentially not be out any money but for $29, it's not worth the hassle (and for my collection, I don't want multiples in this series...I'm happy with my single PF70).  I also had a pretty difficult time even finding a PF70 for sale so the market right now if you wanted to go that route is slim pickin's.

So that's my logic, flawed or otherwise.  When the RM releases the Griffin proof (whenever that is this year), I plan to not be so indecisive this go-around and quickly snag a PF70 from MCM hoping they have the same special label with an image of the Griffin on it like the Lion above.

On 3/30/2017 at 07:08, shortstack68 said:

Feels a little more satisfying in a fitted box, now for the next set

@shortstack68 where were you able to find the beautiful presentation box?  I tried scouring the Internet to no avail.  Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!  Those dragons look amazing by the way!  Great set.

4 hours ago, PolarPanda said:

I couldn't resist (damn you @Pete  So i bought a couple of these beauties: 

 

Great deals on those slabbed/graded horsies!  Even the MS70s EMK has are quite reasonable when you see what the raw coins are selling for elsewhere.  Nice pick up!

I'd been looking for a PF/PR70 graded 2017 Queen's Beast Lion Proof for a while but none were to be found.  I considered buying a few from the RM myself and sending them to NGC for grading but that still doesn't guarantee you a 70 (and MCM still has PF69s for sale for $119).  Found this today on eBay for a fairly reasonable price given the availability and what these slabbed/graded coins were originally selling for on MCM when I was too indecisive and didn't pull the trigger.  I did verify the coin on NGC and PM'ed the seller to ask about any toning or spotting not showing in the photographs.  He said the coin is perfect and comes with OGP and CoA.  Looking forward to the release of the proof Griffin!

It's official, I'm tapped out at this point.  But check out the clean 1921 High Relief Peace Dollar I just won.  I'm completely disregarding the MS65  but I did compare this to other '21 Peace Dollars graded anywhere from MS63 - 66 and this one certainly looks like it will grade well in May.

OK, I may have a problem...

Just got in my 2016 Bi-Metal Wedge-Tailed Eagle PF70 (No 80 of 750)

2016 Wedge-Tailed Eagle Proof PF70

Two 2015 Wedge-Tailed Eagle Proofs in the OGP (Will be off to see Uncle Numi in May for a trip to NGC)

My 2017 Rwandan Lunar Rooster Proof.  One of the coins I'm sending along to Numi for the May NGC submission.  Apologies for the poor pics...taken with my phone.

Two 2016 1 oz Ag Britannia Proofs from MCM

1 hour ago, metalslug said:

A 1937 Half Sovereign, graded PR66.

Beautiful coin (and in great condition).  Grats on the pick-up!

This morning I picked up:

- 2016 Au/Ag Bi-Metal Wedgie (750 mintage Proof) graded PF70

- 2016 Ag Wedgie (5000 mintage Proof) graded PF70

- Two 2015 Ag Wedgies (5000 mintage Proof) in Perth Mint packaging

Today was a good day...