ProfessorStacker

I wonder if NGC has that same policy. I guess on the flip side, I've had coins that look perfect that get a 69. Numistacker often calls the NGC relationship a love/hate one when it comes to 69 vs 70s.

I buy them BU from APMEX. I've had 6 of them graded from APMEX which advertises them as proof coins, and 2 of the 6 got grades as MS not PF. It's a bit of a gamble.

Should I go with a 1oz Platinum coin, 20 grams of gold, or over a kilo of silver?

Personally I grade my coins just because I like the protective slabs in my collection. NGC has a registry where you compete but I mainly like their registry just for my digital library to scroll through my coins. Once in a while you get a failure like a brand new proof that grades at 69 or a Victorian era that comes back "scratched" or "cleaned". Overall it is a fun process and probably the safest way to keep your coins protected. The man I have to thank for getting me into graded coins is Numistacker with his lovely videos.

It's actually a thrill to send off coins to NGC and see if they get a high grade or not. It's also nice to have all the special labels for your modern coins. I don't use PCGS because they have a policy of "no snap cases" when submitting coins, they must be in flips. Those hard plastic snaps are useful in protecting 99.99 soft gold and I never remove my coins from their capsules. NGC isn't as touchie with things like that.

I send all gold coins 1/4oz and heavier to NGC both BU and Proof. Having a graded coin gives you extra confidence that it is real and gives buyers a confidence as well. Also being a bit OCD I like to have most of my gold slabbed. The 1/10th oz coins I typically do not slab but I would if it were a proof coin or a half sovereign.

I had this issue with the 2018 1oz and 1/2oz reverse proof libertads I bought from APMEX. When I got the coins I noticed the frosted portions of the coins had tiny minute areas where the gold was reflective rather than frosted. When you turn the coins from side to side each had 2 or 3 of these little flecks where the frosting process was not complete and gold glinted. I sent them to NGC expecting a 68 or 69, but to my surprise they got 70s. I always wondered why they graded perfect, but as others have said above I suppose that was a mint error.

It may be a larger scale issue. I don't know if every stacker evaluates their coins using a purity checker though. It's possible many slipped through the cracks sort of speak.

Some of their commemorative coins have a advertised purity of 0.986 https://www.apmex.com/product/198957/2019-austria-proof-gold-100-the-magic-of-gold-mesopotamia The Philharmonics are advertised as 4 9s purity though. Maybe some mint mix up with the gold to be used with commemorative vs Philharmonics?

Ebay has a number of them, but from my experience they usually fit PCGS slabs better than NGC. I've found the NGC slabs are a fraction of a mm too large and fit too snugly for my liking. Ideally you don't have to push the slab too hard into the slot. You can buy a large case on Amazon which has pick-foam and pick slot sized areas out of the foam. They sell these cases usually for cameras so if you search "Camera case pick foam", that may find you a nice case.

I ran across this the other day on APMEX and bought a few. The premium is not insane yet; however, knowing Germania Mint it soon will be. These bars may appreciate in years to come because I don't think the Germania Mint is sustainable and these may become a rarity. If you aren't familiar with them they are a non-sovereign mint that sells rounds at ludicrous prices over spot. The 2oz silver Dragon coin for $999 on APMEX comes to mind. Some people think the beauty of their rounds are worth the premium some do not...I am somewhere in-between. APMEX is the only place I have seen these bars and on

I picked up both Germania mint oak leafs. NGC....that PF69 hurts though.

$4k is a ludacris sum for a modern coin. I understand that high of a premium on a MS65 5 pound Victoria sovereign but not a gold round.

I was initially excited about the Germania series. Then I saw how amateurish their entire operation is, and how they can't meet deadlines. In July/August I was ready to drop a couple thousand on their gold oak leaf. Then it slowly set in that it's not even a coin, it's a round. Then I started thinking "the only reason these are expensive is they have to have 500% premiums to keep this amature mint alive with distributions of 100 rounds. When the Mexican mint has a low mintage it's because they are trying to make a limited edition. When germania mint makes a low mintage its because they only HA

I feel like the burlap imprint on this one made it irresistible. It's decades of sitting in a burlap bag preserved like an echo in time. This adds history to the coin and when light glints off the burlap tone it's beautiful.